Sorption-Filtering Mixture for Water Purification
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current water treatment technologies fail to efficiently remove a variety of contaminants, including iron, manganese, and arsenic, from drinking water to meet stringent quality standards, particularly in sources like artesian wells, often resulting in water that is still of poor quality due to residual impurities and hardness salts.
Innovation Solution
A sorption-filtering mixture comprising cation-exchange, anion-exchange, iron- and manganese-selective, granular polymer, and granular filtering materials, optimized in terms of volume ratios, surface hydrophilicity, and density, which exhibit a synergistic effect to achieve high-efficiency water purification, reducing contaminants like iron to <0.1 mg/l and manganese to <0.05 mg/l.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If selective filters are used to remove a single type of impurity, then the removal efficiency for that specific impurity is improved, but the device complexity increases and the ability to remove multiple contaminants simultaneously deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple selective sorbents (iron-selective, manganese-selective, arsenic-selective) with non-selective sorbents (activated carbon, ion-exchange resin) into a single multicomponent mixture. This merging allows the filter to remove multiple contaminants simultaneously while maintaining compact device structure. The synergistic interaction between different sorbent types enhances overall purification efficiency without requiring separate filter units for each contaminant.
Solution Approach 2:
The multicomponent sorption mixture serves multiple functions within a single filter device: iron removal, manganese removal, arsenic removal, organic contaminant removal, and general water purification. This multi-functionality eliminates the need for multiple specialized filters while maintaining high removal efficiency for each specific contaminant type through the coordinated action of different sorbent components.
2Adaptability or versatility
If multicomponent mixtures of filtering materials are used for complex purification, then the ability to remove multiple contaminants simultaneously is improved, but the manufacturing precision of the mixture composition deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent specifies precise volumetric ratio ranges for each component in the multicomponent mixture (e.g., iron-selective sorbent 10-30%, manganese-selective sorbent 10-30%, arsenic-selective sorbent 5-20%, activated carbon 20-40%, ion-exchange resin 10-30%). These parameter specifications ensure consistent performance while allowing some manufacturing flexibility. The defined ranges maintain composition uniformity without requiring extremely tight tolerances, balancing manufacturability with purification effectiveness.
3Measurement precision
If known anion-exchange resins are used for water treatment, then the removal of anions is improved, but the ability to inhibit and destroy salt deposits deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a composite sorption system combining anion-exchange resin with cation-exchange resin, activated carbon, and selective sorbents. This composite material approach allows the anion-exchange component to remove anions effectively while the cation-exchange component simultaneously removes cations that form hardness salts. The synergistic interaction between cation and anion exchange mechanisms prevents salt deposit formation by removing both ions before they can precipitate, overcoming the limitation of using anion-exchange resin alone.
4Measurement precision
If known cation-exchange resins are used for water softening, then the removal of hardness salts is improved temporarily, but the ion composition of water deteriorates due to release of other metal cations
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a multicomponent system where the cation-exchange resin removes hardness cations (Ca²⁺, Mg²⁺) and replaces them with benign ions (H⁺ or Na⁺). The activated carbon and selective sorbents then remove the potentially harmful metal cations that the cation-exchange resin releases, effectively discarding these unwanted ions from the water. This sequential removal process ensures that both hardness salts and other metal contaminants are eliminated, maintaining high ion composition quality.
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 sorption-filtering mixture effectively purifies water by achieving a high degree of removal of contaminants, including iron, manganese, and arsenic, to levels compliant with drinking water standards, demonstrating improved efficiency and synergy in contaminant reduction.
Implementation Method 1
Sorbents with cation-exchange properties are widely used in water treatment, in particular for removing cations of alkaline earth metals contributing to water hardness, that is, for water softening
Implementation Method 2
Sorbents with anion-exchange properties are widely used in water treatment, in particular for removing anions of salts and/or acids
Implementation Method 3
an iron- and/or manganese-selective sorbent
Data Source
AI summary
The invention relates to the field of water purification and water treatment, more particularly to sorption-filtering mixtures for complex purification of water coming from various water supply sources, both surface and artesian, in order to produce water of high drinking quality. The present invention also relates to the respective water purification device and method for same. More specifically, the present invention relates to sorption purifying compositions capable to effectively remove iron and manganese from water. In some cases, the present invention may also be used to purify special-purpose water for various industries.