Patent ID: 9567883
Date: 2017-02-14
CPC Classifications: E02F,E21B,F01N,F02G,F22B,Y02T

Claim:
1. A system to generate pressurized air for hydro-excavation, the system comprising: an internal combustion engine; an exhaust manifold coupled to the internal combustion engine; a vacuum pump mechanically driven by the internal combustion engine; an exhaust silencer configured to hold water, wherein a portion of the exhaust manifold passes through the exhaust silencer to generate steam therein; a steam turbine configured to be driven directly by the steam generated in the exhaust silencer; a primary steam line secured proximate to an upper end of the exhaust silencer to connect to the steam turbine; an air compressor coupled to a mechanical output of the steam turbine to generate pressurized air; a return line coupled to an outlet of the steam turbine and configured to return the water from the steam turbine back to the exhaust silencer; and a secondary steam line configured to bleed off a portion of the steam from the primary steam line to add downstream to an output line of the air compressor to selectively generate a mixture of the steam and pressurized air for use in hydro-excavation.