Side-stream Particle Precipitator for Cooling Water Treatment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Industrial water cooling systems face challenges with contamination, corrosion, and fouling due to particulate and biological materials, which existing chemical treatments are not entirely effective in preventing, especially in closed-loop systems where chemical concentrations are limited by legislative restrictions and metal compatibility issues.
Innovation Solution
A multi-phase water treatment system using electrostatic fields and mechanical filtering, with ionizers and high-voltage electrodes to charge and precipitate out particulate and biological materials, reducing the need for chemical additives and enhancing thermal conductivity without chemical usage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If chemical treatments are used to prevent scale and corrosion, then protection against contamination is improved, but chemical usage and disposal requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces chemical treatment systems with a mechanical/electrical system consisting of electrostatic precipitators and high-voltage electrodes. The electrostatic fields charge and precipitate particulate materials from the water stream, eliminating the need for chemical additives while maintaining protection against scale and corrosion
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary electrostatic field between the water stream and the particulate contaminants. The high-voltage electrodes create an electrostatic field that charges particles, causing them to precipitate out of the water stream without direct chemical contact, thus protecting the system while avoiding chemical disposal issues
2Reliability
If high chemical concentrations are used to treat water, then contaminant removal is improved, but legislative restrictions and metal compatibility issues worsen
Solution Approach 1:
The patent substitutes mechanical/electrical fields for chemical treatments, using electrostatic precipitators to remove particulate contaminants without introducing chemicals that would have legislative or metal compatibility restrictions. The system achieves contaminant removal through physical charging and precipitation mechanisms
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the treatment parameter from chemical concentration to electrical voltage. By adjusting the voltage applied to the high-voltage electrodes, the system can control the effectiveness of contaminant removal without being constrained by chemical concentration limits imposed by legislation or metal compatibility requirements
3Temperature
If chemical additives are used to prevent fouling, then heat transfer efficiency is maintained, but thermal conductivity improvement is limited by chemical presence
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces chemical additives with an electrostatic field-based system that prevents fouling through physical mechanisms. The high-voltage electrodes create electrostatic fields that repel charged particulate materials from settling on heat transfer surfaces, maintaining heat transfer efficiency without introducing chemicals that would limit thermal conductivity
Solution Approach 2:
The patent enables the water system to self-clean through the electrostatic precipitation process. The continuous application of high-voltage fields keeps particulate materials charged and suspended, preventing them from adhering to surfaces and maintaining optimal heat transfer conditions without requiring chemical additives
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The system effectively removes scale, slime, and corrosion from conduit surfaces, improving thermal conductivity and reducing water usage, while minimizing chemical usage and disposal, and maintaining system efficiency without the need for chemical additives.
Implementation Method 1
A high-voltage low-wattage electrode is situated in close proximity to the mechanical filters to negatively charge the water complex. The negative charging creates a breakdown in the laminar boundary along the inner surfaces of the conduits
Implementation Method 2
The ionizers each contain a unique electrode for use in the substantial elimination of biologic materials in the form of aerobic and anaerobic organisms that are in solution in the water complex, control the regrowth of surface growing algae and slime, and impart a surface charge to any clump, coagulate or colloidal particulate or solid material. The resulting surface charge on the particulate or solid material results in particles in the range of 1-5 microns attracting one another
Implementation Method 3
The series of mechanical precipitators through a tortuous pathway increase the relative time that the water complex remains within the precipitator, i.e., retention time, such that the particles of larger size can precipitate out of the water complex for later disposal
Data Source
AI summary
A side-stream particle precipitator system for the breakdown and removal of organic and inorganic suspended solids in water cooling systems using a plurality of ionizer treatment units utilizing electric and electro-magnetic fields and a mechanical vortex precipitating system with a static mixer for increasing retention time of the water complex in the precipitator to remove particulate materials contained in the water complex as suspended solids. The system also uses high voltage electrodes for charging the water complex to breakdown laminar flow at the conduit walls to mechanically dislodge any build-up of bio-materials or chemical compounds along the walls resulting in an increase in thermal conductivity.