Vertical Sorbent Panel-Beds for Ammonia Capture Without Heat Loss
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional ventilation systems in CAFOs fail to effectively reduce gaseous pollutant concentrations, leading to health issues for animals and workers, increased heating costs, and environmental impact, while existing filtration technologies are inefficient, require large equipment, and produce byproducts that need disposal.
Innovation Solution
A panel-bed filtration system using solid sorbents arranged in vertical beds with a customizable duct system independent of main ventilation, allowing targeted pollutant capture and regeneration, producing a usable byproduct to offset costs.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If ventilation rates are increased to reduce ammonia concentrations, then indoor air quality improves, but heat loss increases and heating costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and removes ammonia and other gaseous pollutants from the air stream using filtration devices equipped with sorbent materials. The filtration system selectively captures harmful gases while allowing the ventilated air to maintain its thermal properties, thus removing pollutants without the need to increase overall ventilation rates and associated heat loss
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces sorbent materials as intermediary substances that mediate between the polluted air and the external environment. These sorbents chemically or physically bind with ammonia and other pollutants, enabling pollutant removal while maintaining the thermal characteristics of the ventilated air, thereby avoiding excessive heat loss
2Object-generated harmful factors
If conventional ventilation systems are used to remove pollutants, then pollutant removal occurs, but equipment size becomes large and energy consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs porous sorbent materials with high surface area to volume ratios that can capture pollutants efficiently. These porous structures provide extensive contact area for pollutant absorption within a compact device, enabling effective pollutant removal with minimal equipment size and reduced energy consumption for air movement
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the physical-chemical parameters of the air stream by passing it through sorbent materials that selectively bind pollutants. This parameter change approach allows for targeted pollutant removal rather than bulk air exchange, reducing the energy required for ventilation while maintaining effective pollutant control
3Productivity
If solid sorbents are used in vertical beds for filtration, then pollutant removal efficiency increases, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the filtration system into multiple vertical beds or stages, each containing sorbent materials. This segmentation allows for progressive pollutant removal and easier maintenance or regeneration of individual beds without shutting down the entire system, thereby improving overall efficiency while managing complexity through modular design
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transitions from horizontal to vertical bed configuration, utilizing the vertical dimension to pack sorbent materials more densely and increase contact time without expanding the horizontal footprint. This dimensional change improves pollutant removal efficiency while maintaining a compact overall device size and simplifying the structural layout
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 achieves high-efficiency pollutant removal, improving indoor air quality, reducing emissions, and enhancing animal performance and worker health, while minimizing equipment size and energy consumption.
Implementation Method 1
passing air into contact with a solid sorbent to capture a gaseous pollutant, such as ammonia, from the air
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus for collecting a gaseous pollutant from air may comprise multiple vertical panel-beds each containing a solid sorbent; a fan to pass the air through the multiple vertical panel-beds and over the solid sorbent; an outlet gate configured to release the solid sorbent from the multiple vertical panel-beds after the fan passes the air over the solid sorbent; a regeneration vessel configured to regenerate the released solid sorbent by recovering the gaseous pollutant from the released solid sorbent; and a conveyor configured to return the regenerated solid sorbent to the multiple vertical panel-beds.