Abstract:
A multi-modal system for modifying water structure in a solution to continuously affect the hydration forces acting on the constituents in the solution. The system includes a containment vessel defining a treatment environment and including a wall defining a fluid passage and a fluid inlet. The inlet is coupled to the passage to centrifugally direct the solution helically along the wall. At least one electromagnetic energy delivery unit is disposed within the containment vessel. The electromagnetic energy delivery unit is responsive to generate variable electromagnetic energy sufficient to stimulate the solution and affect the hydration forces. Also provided is a controlling unit coupled to the electromagnetic delivery unit to alter the variable electromagnetic energy in response to spectral information about the solution and in accordance with optimal treatment parameters.

Description:
This application is based on U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/032,235, filed Dec. 2, 1996, and is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/695,039, filed Aug. 9, 1996 and still pending, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/554,458, filed Nov. 7, 1995, now abandoned, and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/378,462, filed Jan. 25, 1995, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,606,723, the disclosures of which are expressly incorporated herein by reference. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention relates to water treatment systems and methods and more particularly a system and method of integrating a plurality of water treatment modes into a single treatment environment. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Chemical-free water processing provides a popular alternative to environmentally undesirable chemical based treating. Conventional non-chemical techniques typically focus on ways of directly affecting constituents suspended in the water. By directly affecting the constituents, such as particles or other forms of contaminants, the colloidal relationships between respective particles may be altered. This often causes an overall coagulation, agglomeration or other condition allowing for the straightforward separation of the constituents from the water. 
     One form of direct particle manipulation is disclosed by Miller in U.S. Pat. No. 4,279,743. Commonly referred to as an air sparged hydrocyclone, the disclosed device typically utilizes a combination of centrifugal force and air sparging to remove hydrophobic particles from a fluid stream. The stream is fed under pressure into a cylindrical chamber having a porous wall. The inlet into the chamber is configured to direct the fluid stream into a generally spiral path along the wall. The angular momentum of the fluid generates a radially directed centrifugal force related to the fluid velocity and the radius of the circular path. The porous wall is contained within a gas plenum having gas pressurized to permeate the porous wall and overcome the centrifugal force acting on the fluid. 
     In operation, the unit receives and discharges the rapidly circulating solution while the air permeates through the porous wall. Air bubbles that emit from the wall are sheared into the fluid stream from the fluid flow. Micro-bubbles formed from the shearing attract the hydrophobic particles and float them toward the cylinder as a froth in a vortex. The centrally located froth vortex is then captured and exited from the cylinder. 
     Another form of direct particle manipulation is disclosed by Duczmal in U.S. Pat. No. 5,224,604. The treatment unit is similar in most respects to the Miller device by incorporating an air sparged hydrocyclone, but additionally employs a cylindrical permanent magnet disposed centrally around the cylinder. The magnet generates a static magnetic field directed radially inwardly towards the fluid stream and having a static magnetic flux sufficient to attract or repulse relatively large ferromagnetic and non-ferromagnetic particles, respectively, during the centrifugal separating operation. 
     While direct particle manipulation schemes work well for their particular applications, they tend to be particle specific. As a result, the mechanical and magnetic forces required to directly affect the particles must often be tailored to one form of particle treatment. Moreover, in the case of Duczmal, the permanent magnet is of a design suitable for generating only static magnetic fields that directly affect only relatively large particles. Unfortunately, static magnetic fields have been shown to offer only small performance enhancements as a complement to the normal operation of the air sparged hydrocyclone. 
     In an effort to solve the problems involved in water treatments that directly affect suspended constituents, the inventors have disclosed a unique treatment device and method in U.S. Pat. No. 5,606,723, and pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/695,039, filed Aug. 9, 1996, and entitled “System For Delivering Electromagnetic Energy into a Solution”, both of which are assigned to the assignee of the present invention. The treatment apparatus and method directly affects the water structure at the intermolecular level in a deliberate and controlled manner. This causes an indirect manipulation of the suspended constituents as the molecular water structure varies. 
     One problem commonly shared by conventional direct particle manipulation techniques and water structure modification methods involves the inability to successfully integrate more than one mode of treatment in a single environment. Multiple treatment modes are often necessary when the water suspends several forms of constituents, requiring more than one technology to efficiently treat the water. Conventionally, however, applying multiple treatment modes involves separately treating individual batches of water with individual treatment units acting non-cohesively in separate environments. 
     What is needed and heretofore unavailable is a multi-modal system and method having the capability of monitoring and controlling water treatment with technologies that directly and indirectly affect constituents in a single environment. The system and method of the present invention satisfy these needs. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The apparatus and method of the present invention provide an integrated water treatment capability that modifies the treatment parameters of one or more treatment modes to effect efficient and rapid water processing. As a result of the increased efficiencies, facility setup and operating costs are substantially reduced. 
     To realize the advantages above, the invention, in one form, comprises a multi-modal system for modifying water structure in a solution to continuously affect the hydration forces acting on the constituents in the solution. The system includes a containment vessel defining a treatment environment and including a wall defining a fluid passage and a fluid inlet. The inlet is coupled to the passage to centrifugally direct the solution helically along the wall. At least one electromagnetic energy delivery unit is disposed within the containment vessel. The electromagnetic energy delivery unit is responsive to generate variable electromagnetic energy sufficient to stimulate the solution and affect the hydration forces. 
     In another form, the invention comprises a method of affecting hydration forces in a solution stream to control intermolecular and surface forces acting on constituents in the solution. The method includes the steps of directing the solution stream through a first mode of treatment in a contained environment; exposing the solution stream to at least one further mode of treatment inside said contained environment comprising the delivery of variable electromagnetic energy. 
    
    
     Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description thereof and the accompanying exemplary drawings. 
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a longitudinal perspective view of a multi-modal system according to one embodiment of the present invention; 
     FIG. 2 is a partial longitudinal sectional view of one embodiment of the multi-modal system of the present invention, with certain components shown as functional blocks; 
     FIG. 3 is a fragmentary longitudinal sectional view showing an electromagnetic energy unit according to a further embodiment of the present invention; 
     FIG. 4 is a fragmentary longitudinal sectional view showing an electromagnetic energy unit according to a further embodiment of the present invention; 
     FIGS. 5A,  5 B, and  5 C are fragmentary longitudinal sectional views similar to FIG.  1  and illustrating additional embodiments of the electromagnetic energy unit according to further embodiments of the present invention; and 
     FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a solution content detection system according to a further embodiment of the present invention. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 2, one embodiment of the multi-modal system of the present invention, generally designated  10 , includes a containment vessel  12  defining a treatment environment for providing multiple modes of solution treatments. The treatment units are driven by a controller  60  that sets the treatment parameters according to the condition of the water in the single treatment environment. 
     Further referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the containment vessel  12  comprises a first mode of treatment in the form of a conventional air sparged hydrocyclone or one such as that disclosed in pending U.S. Provisional Patent Application Serial No. 60/052626, entitled “Apparatus and Method For Separating Hydrophobic Particles From A Solution”, filed Jul. 15, 1997, and incorporated herein by reference. The hydrocyclone includes an open ended porous tube  14  formed of an electrically non-conductive gas permeable material. The tube includes an interior wall  18  defining an inner fluid passage with respective inlet and outlet openings  17  and  19 . An enlarged cylindrical hollow housing  20  is disposed concentrically around the first tube to form an annular chamber  22 . The chamber includes an inlet  24  coupled to a source of regulated pressurized gas such as an air or oxygen lecture bottle (not shown). A solution input apparatus or accelerator  26  is mounted to the proximal end of the housing. The accelerator includes water manipulation elements (not shown) to manipulate and direct the flow of input fluid into a helical ribbon-like stream through the fluid passage  18  and exiting into an effluent tank  29 . 
     Recent publications imply that additional gas content in bulk water increases the surface area of the liquid-gas interface, thereby improving the energetic processes that depend upon the liquid-gas interface. Thus, by integrating one or more sources of variable electromagnetic energy inside the hydrocyclone containment vessel, the improved effects may be accurately monitored and controlled. Variable electromagnetic energy, as that term is used throughout this disclosure, refers to resulting dynamic electromagnetic forces generated either directly or indirectly by the delivery unit. Such forces have been found to substantially increase the performance of conventional hydrocyclones. 
     To consistently obtain the improved performance noted above, disposed within the containment vessel  12  is an electromagnetic delivery unit  30  (FIG. 2) for delivering an additional mode of treatment into the system and configured to selectively deliver one or more forms of variable electromagnetic energy into the fluid as it circulates through the fluid passage  18 . The delivery unit includes an electrical conductor  32  wound helically about the non-conductive porous tube  14  to define a helical resonator as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,606,723. The distal end of the conductor couples through a hermetic high voltage connector  34  to a high voltage DC power source  36 . Noise and AC transient signals are grounded to the housing  20  through an RF bypass capacitor  38 . The electric field generated by the DC source acts to charge the gas as it enters the fluid stream, further influencing the liquid-gas interface to increase the probability of desirable interactions with constituents. 
     Further referring to FIG. 2, the helical conductor  32  is tapped by an RF connection at  40  as taught in U.S. Pat. No. 5,606,723. The tapped location represents the point measuring an approximate RF impedance of 50 ohms when the helical conductor is at a one-quarter wave resonance. The tap is fed through a capacitor  42  having a sufficiently low impedance at the one-quarter wave resonant point to provide good coupling efficiency at the resonance of the helical conductor. The coupling capacitor is connected to a hermetic RF coaxial connector  44  mounted to the housing  20 . A coaxial cable  46  connects the helical conductor to an RF generator  48 . The RF generator is tunable to the resonant frequency of the helical conductor and provides sufficient output to generate appropriate RF voltages at the end of the conductor  32 . 
     With continuing reference to FIG. 2, the proximal end of the helical resonator  32  is coupled to a water-module interface device  50 , such as that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,606,723 to produce controllable levels of RF photon radiation into the treatment area, and providing an additional mode of controllable treatment. 
     As a driver for the various treatment modes, the controller  60  may be of any configuration as is well known in the art to provide the capability of setting treatment parameters for the plurality of modes. An optional closed loop construction, shown in FIG. 2, includes a computer  62  having a plurality of control outputs directed to the various treatment mode generators  36  and  48 , and including a memory  64  sufficient to maintain a database of water condition parameters versus mode application parameters. A plurality of sensing devices  66  and  68 , such as pH meters, turbidity sensors, zeta potential meters, flowmeters, or the like, are disposed at the fluid passage inlet  17  and effluent tank  29 . The respective sensor outputs are fed to the controller  60  which responds to the outputs to provide varying inputs to the respective treatment modes according to the computer database history. 
     The multi-modal system  10  is typically installed downstream of a solution source (not shown) and configured with an appropriately sized inlet and restrictors to accelerate and direct the water stream through the fluid passage  18  at a velocity sufficient to impart a particle separating centrifugal force. Forces in the range of 1 G to 2000 G&#39;s have been found to be effective for treatments in various applications. 
     During operation, the gas inlet  24  to the chamber  22  is opened to pressurize the chamber. Because of the gas permeability of the porous tube  14 , gas is released through the tube and into the passage  18  where it encounters the fluid stream. As fluid flows through the passage, gas bubbles are sheared from the porous tube, resulting in relatively fine micro-bubbles entering the solution in both dissolved and undissolved states. The chamber inlet pressure is set at a level sufficient to introduce gas at an optimal gas-fluid ratio as is well known in the art. 
     In addition to solubly receiving the particle adhering micro-bubbles during circulation through the passage  18 , the fluid also receives controlled exposures to one or more forms of electromagnetic energy from the watermodule  50 , and the respective RF and DC forms generated by the helical resonator  32 . The amplitudes, frequencies, and duty cycles of the respective energies delivered may be set by the controller  60  depending on the condition of the solution and the optimum treatment parameters. 
     Referring now to FIGS. 3,  4  and  5 A through  5 C, the electromagnetic energy delivery unit may comprise several embodiments to fully reflect the flexibility in the range of anticipated modes applicable in the present invention. For example, in FIG. 3, an electromagnetic energy delivery unit  70  comprises a porous cylindrical electrode  72  layered coaxially around a porous tube  74 . Utilizing this construction provides a more uniform and predictable electromagnetic field interface acting on the solution stream as compared to the helical resonator embodiment  30  (FIG.  1 ). 
     Similarly, in FIG. 4, an electromagnetic energy delivery unit  80  includes a photon generator  82  for emitting photon energy in the range of frequencies spanning the infrared, visible light, and ultraviolet frequency bands. The photon generator is disposed axially inside the fluid passage to more effectively deliver the energy into the fluid stream. This particular mode provides not only the ability to restructure the water, but to additionally carry out photochemical processing and eliminate undesirable biologicals from the solution. 
     FIGS. 5A,  5 B, and  5 C illustrate three further embodiments of an electromagnetic energy delivery unit, generally designated  90 ,  110 , and  120 , respectively. Referring specifically to FIG. 5A, the electromagnetic energy delivery unit  90  is shown as an electrochemical construction. In this configuration, a pair of axially spaced-apart ring electrodes  94  and  96  cooperate with a plurality of radial insulators  98 ,  100 , and  102  to form a portion of the proximal end of a fluid passage  104 . A voltage source  106  comprising, for example, a DC, pulsed DC, or AC source  106  drives the electrodes to affect the solution in a manner allowing electrochemical reactions to occur just before sparging. 
     Referring more specifically to FIG. 5B, another embodiment of an electromagnetic energy delivery unit  110 , utilizes an ultrasonic transducer ring  112  driven by an ultrasonic generator  114  and disposed annularly to form a segment of a fluid passage  116 . Optionally positioning the transducer ring downstream of the sparge tube  117 , creates additional benefits by introducing a sonoluminescence effect, as is well known to those skilled in the art. Applications for this embodiment include situations where agglomerated particles in the fluid stream would be more effectively sparged in a more dispersed form, or situations where sonoluminescently generated photon energies may have efficacious photochemical effects. For applications suitable for specialized variable magnetic forms of treatment, portion  120  (FIG. 5C) illustrates the insertion of a ring electromagnet  122  having radially displaced alternating poles to deliver a variable magnetic field into the solution stream. 
     Referring now to FIG. 6, a control system, generally designated  130 , according to a further embodiment of the multi-modal system, utilizes new discoveries in spectroscopy to detect solution conditions and provide feedback control to adjust multiple modes of treatment in a single environment. The inventors have discovered that solutions stimulated by electromagnetic energy irradiate magnetic fields having a spectral response dependent on the characteristics of the solution. This unexpected response of solutions stimulated with electromagnetic energy provides a new form of solution content detection and control. 
     The control system  130  includes a detector  132  that comprises a loop antenna on the order of approximately 10 millimeters. This approximate loop size establishes a loop resonance in the high gigahertz range, rather than the megahertz/low gigahertz range of interest. The antenna is constructed of semi-rigid coaxial cable having an inner conductor which forms the loop. The outer shield of the cable is terminated at one end and forms a Faraday shield to eliminate external electric field influences. The end of the loop connects to a coaxial cable  138  having a distal end terminated with a 50 ohm resistor matching the cable&#39;s characteristic impedance. The output of the loop antenna feeds a spectral analyzer  140  which has a control output connected to the tracking generator. The spectral analyzer provides a control signal to a tracking generator  134  to then stimulate a source transducer  135 . The spectral information from the loop antenna also provides feedback to a controller (not shown) which is coupled to the respective treatment modes in the multi-modal system. 
     In operation, the spectral analyzer  140  generates and sends a tracking/control signal to the tracking generator  134 . The control signal causes the tracking generator to provide a signal synchronous with the measurement frequency of the spectrum analyzer input. The signal range of the combination is approximately 14 Hertz to 20 gigahertz and at a leveled amplitude within the range of approximately 1 microvolt to 1 kilovolt. The tracking generator under control of the tracking/control signal generates a swept output signal within the defined RF range. The swept output signal drives a source transducer  135  which is preferably located proximate to or within a portion of the solution stream. The loop antenna  132 , which is immersed in the fluid stream, detects the magnetic fields generated by the tracking generator  134  subject to the current characteristics of the solution. The spectral analyzer  140  extracts the spectral response information from the detected signals and feeds the response data to the controller. The controller then processes the acquired information by comparing the data to a database (not shown) to determine the optimal solution treatment modes and operating parameters corresponding to the detected solution characteristics. 
     Those skilled in the art will appreciate the many benefits and advantages afforded the present invention. Of significant importance is the ability to deliberately manipulate and control multiple treatment modes in a single environment. Moreover, employing variable electromagnetic energy provides substantial performance enhancements in solution treatments. By incorporating these advantages into a single water treatment environment, substantial cost reductions in facility construction and operation may be realized. 
     While a particular form of the invention has been illustrated and described, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and improvements can be made without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the following claims. For example, while an air sparged hydrocyclone has been described throughout as providing one mode of treatment, it should be understood that non-sparged hydrocyclones are intended to be within the scope of the present invention. Additionally, the aforementioned modes described throughout this disclosure may be combined within the containment vessel in any serial or parallel fashion to satisfy specific customized applications.