Patent Publication Number: US-2018037484-A1

Title: System and Method for Purifying Water

Description:
REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is related to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/637,022, filed Mar. 3, 2015 by the present applicant entitled System and Method for Purifying Water which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates generally to water purification systems and, more particularly to an electrode water purification system that separates predetermined impurities from water using an electrode associated with the predetermined impurity of diversified size and molecular structure and a centrifuge. The system purifies water without chemicals or filters. 
     Impurities in water can range from just causing cloudiness or discoloration to being harmful when ingested. Solid impurities that are found in water may come naturally from minerals (as in the case of magnesium and copper), may be naturally abundant in natural ground water supplies (as in the case of iron), or be left over from industrial waste products (as in the case of lead and chromium). In these examples, it is desirable to remove the impurity in a manner that results in purified water that is both clear and safe. 
     Various devices and methods have been proposed in the art to reduce or eliminate impurities in water. Although presumably effective for their intended purposes, many of the purification processes require large amounts of chemical additives which can themselves have negative effects on the water or those consuming it later. In addition, some of the known processes may require the use of filters that can become clogged with solid impurities that are blocked from passage through the filter medium or centrifuges being oversaturated with sludge from polymers used that gum up the system. 
     Therefore, it would be desirable to have a water purification and recovery system that utilizes an electrode assembly specifically configured to separate the molecular bonds between a predetermined impurity of diversified size and molecular structure and water. Further, it would be desirable to have a water purification and recovery system that collects and recovers solid particulate impurities after being separated from a water stream. In addition, it would be desirable to have a water purification and recovery system that includes more than one water vessel and electrode assembly so that different impurities can be separated from a single water stream. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     A water purifying and recovery system according to the present invention includes a first vessel defining an interior area and having an inlet for receiving water into the interior area to be purified and an outlet for draining the water from the interior area, the first vessel defining an open top in communication with the interior area. A first electrode assembly includes a first cap selectively situated in the open top of the first vessel, the first electrode assembly having a first electrode body operatively depending from the first cap and positioned in the interior area of the first vessel, the first electrode assembly being electrically connected to an electricity source and configured to energize the first electrode body. The first electrode assembly is configured to separate a predetermined first impurity from the water that is in the interior area of the first vessel when energized. 
     Therefore, a general object of this invention is to provide a water purifying and recovery system that separates a predetermined impurity from water. 
     Another object of this invention is to provide a water purifying and recovery system, as aforesaid, that energizes an electrode with sufficient amperage to break the molecular bond between the predetermined impurity and water. 
     Still another object of this invention is to provide a water purifying and recovery system, as aforesaid, that utilizes an electrode constructed of a particular metal associated with the predetermined impurity to be separated. 
     Yet another object of this invention is to provide a water purifying and recovery system, as aforesaid, in which the principle of sedimentation using centripetal acceleration displaces the separated impurity from a water stream and allows it to be collected for alternative uses. 
     A further object of this invention is to provide a water purifying system, as aforesaid, that is configured to remove one or more than one type of impurity from a single water stream. 
     Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein is set forth by way of illustration and example, embodiments of this invention. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a water purifying and recovery system according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  is an exploded view of a portion of the system as in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 3  is a perspective view of an electrode assembly; 
         FIG. 4  is a perspective view of a water treatment vessel according to the present invention; 
         FIG. 5 a    is a top view of a portion of the system as in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 5 b    is a section view taken along line  5   b - 5   b  of  FIG. 5   a;    
         FIG. 6 a    is a perspective view of a centrifuge taken from  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 6 b    is a perspective view from another angle of the centrifuge as in  FIG. 6   a;    
         FIG. 7  is a perspective view of a water purifying and recovery system according to a another embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 8  is a top view of a water treatment vessel illustrated with enhanced reaction members; and 
         FIGS. 9 to 11  are flowcharts illustrating exemplary processes according to the method of water purification according to the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     A water purifying and recovery system according to embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to  FIGS. 1 to 11  of the accompanying drawings. The water purifying and recovery system  10  includes at least a first vessel  20  configured to contain a first electrode assembly  40  that is configured to separate a predetermined impurity from a water stream. 
     The water purifying and recovery system  10  includes a first vessel  20  that defines an interior area configured to contain a fluid such as raw water. The first vessel  20  may have a generally cylindrical configuration that defines an inlet  30  at an upper end  26  thereof and an outlet  32  at a lower end  28  thereof. The inlet  30  may be in fluid communication, such as with a pipe or conduit, with a water tank  12  that contains a quantity of raw water intended to be purified by the present system  10 . Water is allowed to flow into the interior area through the inlet  30  so that it may be treated or processed. In addition, the first vessel  20  includes an outer wall  22  defining an open top  24  adjacent the upper end  26 . In an embodiment having more than one vessel, the inlet of a downstream vessel may be in fluid communication with a respective outlet  32  of an upstream vessel, as will be described later. 
     The open top  24  is selectively positioned in the interior area of the first vessel  20  adjacent the open top. The first electrode assembly  40  closes the open top  24  when inserted into the interior area and, therefore, prevents access to the interior area other than water flowing in through the inlet  30 . The first vessel  20  includes an inner surface adjacent the open top  24  that defines a plurality of threads. In a complementary manner, the first electrode assembly  40  includes a first cap  42  having an outer surface defining a plurality of threads such that the first cap  42  may be threadably coupled to the first vessel  20 . 
     The first electrode assembly  40  includes a first electrode body  44  coupled to and extending downwardly from the first cap  42  so as to be situated in the interior area when the first electrode assembly  40  is coupled to the first vessel  20 . The first electrode body  44  is sometimes referred to as a rod. The first electrode assembly  40  and, as a result, the first electrode body  44  is electrically connected to an electrical power source  18 , such as a traditional AC source of electrical current. In an embodiment, AC power may be converted to DC current with one or more first electrode body  44  situated between the AC current source and a respective vessel ( FIG. 1 ). 
     When energized, the first electrode body  44  is configured to cause a first predetermined impurity, such as a predetermined metal, to separate from respective water molecules such that the impurity may be separated from the water stream and collected. It is understood that the polarity of current may also be set to either positive or negative polarity. More particularly, the first electrode body  44  is constructed of a predetermined metal specifically configured to separate respective molecules of water (H 2 O) from molecules of the predetermined associated impurity. In an embodiment, the metal from which the first electrode body  44  is constructed is taken from a group that includes copper, lead, nickel, aluminum, steel, cast iron, and carbide. It is understood that the electrode body may be selected and configured depending on the particular impurity to be separated out of the water. Stated even more directly, the metal from which the first electrode body is constructed and the particular amperage and polarity of the electrical current supplied to energize the first electrode body is associated with the first impurity to be filtered out of the water. 
     In addition, the first electrode body  44  may include an amperage requirement that is sufficient to separate a selected impurity from the water within or flowing through the first vessel  20 . In combination, the metal construction and amperage requirement of the first electrode body  44  is configured to break the molecular bonds of an impurity from the water molecules. 
     The first electrode assembly  40  is removable from the first vessel  20  and interchangeable with a second electrode assembly  56  that is configured to separate a second predetermined impurity from a water stream that is in or flowing through the first vessel  20 . In other words, the configuration of the second electrode assembly  56  may be different than a configuration of the first electrode assembly  40 . This difference may include differences in metallic construction, amperage requirements of respective electrode bodies, or the like that are associated with a respective impurity to be removed or filtered from the water stream. 
     Similarly, the water purifying and recovery system  10  may include a plurality of additional vessels each having a construction substantially as the first vessel  20  described above unless described differently below. The one or more additional vessels will be described herein as a second vessel  50 . The second vessel  50  includes a second vessel inlet  52  in fluid communication with a respective outlet  32  of a previous or upstream vessel, such as the first vessel  20  described above. The second vessel  50  also defines a second vessel outlet  54  in fluid communication with a downstream vessel or a centrifuge. The second electrode assembly  56  is configured for attachment to the second vessel  50  in substantially the same manner as described above with respect to first vessel  20 . Similarly, the second electrode assembly  56  includes a second electrode body having a construction substantially similar to that of the first electrode body  44  although it is anticipated the second electrode body will be constructed of a material and be associated with an amperage that is different than that of the first electrode assembly  40  so as to separate a different and associated predetermined impurity from the water passing through the second vessel  50  when the second electrode body is energized. 
     The water purifying and recovery system  10  includes at least one centrifuge  60  that is configured to remove particles of an impurity from the water stream after the raw water has been passed through a vessel and energized by a respective electrode body as described above. The centrifuge  60  is in fluid communication with a respective outlet of a respective vessel such as, in one embodiment, the first vessel  20 . In another embodiment, the centrifuge  60  may be operatively coupled to a last vessel in a series of vessels ( FIG. 1 ). The centrifuge  60  is configured to operate according the principle of sedimentation in which centripetal acceleration causes denser particles to move outwardly in a radial manner while less dense substances are displaced and move toward the center or filter to a bottom area. Specifically, a water stream received into the centrifuge  60  after having passed through a respective vessel and energized is centripetally rotated which causes the separated impurity particles to move outwardly and the purified water to be separated. 
     The separated impurity may be deposited or otherwise collected into a waste reclamation tank  14  while the purified water may be collected in a clean water collection tank  16  ( FIG. 1 ). In some embodiments, more than one centrifuge  60  may be used, such as being positioned after one or more vessels and again after further particular separation in a downstream vessel ( FIG. 6 ). In such a configuration, more than one waste reclamation tank  14  may be implemented to collect respective separated impurities having different densities. 
     A unique aspect of the present invention is that the exemplary process does not result in a waste product that must be disposed of. In other words, even the impurities filtered from a water stream are collected in a form that may be reclaimed and reused. At each stage of filtration, such as in a stage that filters iron out of water, the filtered iron is collected in a reclamation tank for use in an appropriate application. For example, many of the impurities that are systematically collected may be used in concrete, fertilizer, steel structures, and the like, respectively. 
     In another aspect, the construction of the first and second vessels themselves provide increased numbers of variations of metal and amperage available to cause filtration and removal of impurities from the water stream. More particularly, a vessel is preferably constructed of stainless steel. In the present embodiment, however, each stainless steel vessel may also include at least one and preferably a plurality of enhanced reaction members  25  spaced apart and mounted to an inner surface of the vessel, the enhanced reaction members being constructed of a material other than stainless steel. Further, the enhanced reaction members may be constructed of a material different from the material of the electrode body. In an embodiment, for instance, a plurality of enhanced reaction members  25  may be constructed of nickel and coupled to the stainless steel inner surface of a respective vessel and the electrode body may be constructed of copper. Again, this unique construction enables the removal of even more specific impurities. 
     In use, a user or manager of the water purifying and recovery system  10  determines what impurity is to be removed from a quantity of raw water that may be stored in a tank or natural reservoir. This determination will then enable the user to determine an appropriate electrode assembly to insert into a first vessel  20 . It will also be determined if multiple vessels, each having an electrode assembly associated with a respective impurity to be removed. In other words, multiple stations or stages may be prepared in order to remove a plurality of impurities from a body of water. For instance, it may take 6 to 10 stages and configurations to properly transform oil field water into drinking water. Then, respective electrode assemblies are energized with electricity and respective impurities are molecularly separated from the water in respective vessels. The water is routed through one or more centrifuge  60  and collected in solid form apart from the purified water. 
     The many stages of a water purification process are shown in  FIGS. 9 to 11  of the accompanying drawings. Each figure represents a multi-stage or multi-step process that includes many variations of rod construction, amperage, and voltage associated with specific impurities to be removed from a water stream according to the system and method of water purification described above. 
     It is understood that while certain forms of this invention have been illustrated and described, it is not limited thereto except insofar as such limitations are included in the following claims and allowable functional equivalents thereof.