Source: https://patents.google.com/patent/US9296629
Timestamp: 2018-04-22 22:37:02
Document Index: 429495773

Matched Legal Cases: ['Application No. 0316432', 'Application No. 1190', 'Application No. 07845507', 'Application No. 11831894', 'Application No. 06114853', 'Application No. 3530', 'Application No. 10', 'Application No. 2009', 'Application No. 2009', 'Application No. 201180060719']

US9296629B2 - Treatment of a waste stream through production and utilization of oxyhydrogen gas - Google Patents
US9296629B2
US9296629B2 US13725074 US201213725074A US9296629B2 US 9296629 B2 US9296629 B2 US 9296629B2 US 13725074 US13725074 US 13725074 US 201213725074 A US201213725074 A US 201213725074A US 9296629 B2 US9296629 B2 US 9296629B2
US13725074
US20130105376A1 (en )
Herbert Wallace Campbell
This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/905,350, filed Oct. 15, 2010. Application Ser. No. 12/905,350 is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/565,240 filed Nov. 30, 2006, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,837,882, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/717,951 filed Nov. 19, 2003, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,160,472, which claims the benefit of priority of U.S. provisional patent application Ser. No. 60/427,921 filed Nov. 19, 2002. All of the above applications are hereby incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.
Oxyhydrogen gas generator 207 may implement a water dissociation technology, such as the kind disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,419,815 and 6,126,794 of Chambers, both issued to Xogen Technologies Inc. and incorporated herein by reference (hereinafter “the Xogen patents”). As described in the Xogen patents at columns 3-5, gas generation apparatuses in accordance with embodiments include electrode “cells” each including two or more spaced-apart electrodes adapted to be immersed in a working fluid including water. In the embodiments described herein, the working fluid comprises waste stream 202. The electrodes are preferably made of the same material. One electrode material may include stainless steel for its low cost and durability, but it may be possible to include other conductive metals. The electrodes may be coated or uncoated. Coated electrodes may be, for example, coated metal, coated plastic, coated glass, or another coated substrate. The electrodes may be coated with a single layer or multiple layers. The coating may include one or more layers of a mixed metal oxide, a conducting metal, a metal alloy, or combinations thereof. For example, the coating may be one or more layers of: Ruthenium Oxide, Iridium Oxide, Platinum, Titanium dioxide, tin oxide, or any combination thereof. The mixed metal oxide, metal or metal alloy may be doped with other metals. One example of a layer that includes a metal doped mixed metal oxide is a layer of antimony doped tin oxide. Specific examples of coated electrodes are available from Denora S.p.A, for example DSA™ electrodes which are titanium electrodes coated with a mixed metal oxide solution of precious metals such as iridium, ruthenium, platinum, rhodium and tantalum. Other examples of coated electrodes include coatings applied to titanium coated plastic. The anode and the cathode may be the same or different. An equal spacing between the electrodes is maintained and it is preferable to minimize the spacing between the electrodes. However, the spacing between the electrodes cannot be positioned excessively close because arcing between the electrodes would occur. It has been determined that a spacing of 1 mm or less is optimal spacing for producing oxyhydrogen-rich gas, but an increased spacing of up to approximately 5 mm may work effectively while being less subject to fouling due to accumulation of solids between the electrodes. A spacing above 5 mm may also be feasible, but tends to reduce the output of oxyhydrogen gas and increases power requirements.
It is preferable to include many pairs of electrodes (e.g. dozens or hundreds) within each cell. The electrodes can be almost any shape, but preferably comprise flat or mesh plates closely spaced and parallel to each other. Alternative embodiments may include coaxially aligned cylinders. Insulating spacers can be interposed between adjacent electrodes to maintain equal spacing between the electrodes and to prevent current leakage therebetween.
Before treated wastewater can be released as effluent 258, it must typically be disinfected to prevent pathogens from entering the receiving water where they could present a health risk. As described above, conventional disinfection processes utilize ultra-violet (UV) radiation, chlorine, or ozone. In accordance with one embodiment, a disinfection process 260 is either replaced or supplemented by an oxyhydrogen gas generator GG2 interposed in the flow path of the treated waste stream, between final clarifier 250 and effluent outlet 258. The pulsed electrical signal applied to oxyhydrogen gas generator GG2 operates to generate oxyhydrogen-rich gas and, by its operation, disinfects treated wastewater. Excess oxyhydrogen-rich gas (H2/O2) 262 can then be conveyed to a secondary use within waste treatment system 240, as described below with reference to FIG. 4. Alternatively, an oxygen component of oxyhydrogen-rich gases (H2/O2) produced by one or more unit processes 242 other than disinfection unit process 242 a can be conveyed to disinfection unit 260 as a feed source for an ozone generator of disinfection process 260, which may result in substantial overall cost savings for effluent disinfection. Typically, the oxygen component would need to be separated from the oxyhydrogen-rich gas (H2/O2) before use as a feed source for an ozone generator. One possible technology for separating the oxygen component from the oxyhydrogen-rich gas is known as pressure swing adsorption (“PSN”), a version of which is available in gas separation equipment sold by QuestAir Technologies Inc. of Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada. Other technologies and devices may also be used for separating the oxygen component from the oxyhydrogen-rich gas.
In FIG. 3 and elsewhere in this specification, the notation “H2/O2” is used to symbolize oxyhydrogen-rich gas, without limiting to clean oxyhydrogen gas or to a pure gaseous mixture of diatomic hydrogen (H2) and diatomic oxygen (O2). Oxyhydrogen-rich gas is typically composed of gas mixture including predominantly hydrogen and oxygen, but may include at least some oxygen and hydrogen in forms other than diatomic oxygen (O2) and diatomic hydrogen (H2), such as hydroxide radicals, for example. Oxyhydrogen-rich gas may further include measurable amounts of components other than hydrogen and oxygen that may result, for example, from the operation of the oxyhydrogen gas generator in the presence of high concentrations of contaminants or from reactions of the generated oxyhydrogen gas with contaminants in the waste streams. For example, small amounts (e.g., 1% to 4% mole fraction) of carbon dioxide (CO2) gas may often be present in oxyhydrogen-rich gas generated from wastewater or tap water. Trace amounts of nitrogen may also be present in oxyhydrogen-rich gas, particularly when generated from wastewater, and may indicate breakdown of the nitrogenous compounds present in the wastewater. Furthermore, oxygen and hydrogen generated in accordance with the embodiment gas generators GG2-GG5 are typically generated in a stoichiometric ratio of approximately 1:2, respectively, notwithstanding the lack of an indication of the stoichiometric ratio or other gas components in the shorthand notation “H2/O2” used herein.
Unit process applications for gas generator 500 in the context of municipal or industrial wastewater treatment may include disinfection, thickening, conditioning, dewatering, and stabilization, for example, as described herein. The combination of operating parameter levels can be optimized for each kind of unit process and may be unique for each application and for each waste stream source. Some of the operating parameters, which can be independently varied, include the submergence depth of the gas generator 500, the magnitude of the power provided to gas generator 500 via power supply 505, the characteristics of the pulsed electrical signal to the electrodes of the gas generator 500, and the temperature and the residence time of the fluid suspension 504 within the reaction vessel 502. Characteristics of the pulsed electrical signal that may be controlled by power supply 505 include pulse frequency, amplitude, pulse duration, mark: space ratio, waveform (i.e., square wave, saw tooth wave, etc.), and voltage relative to ground. Other applications and corresponding operating parameters may also be evident to those skilled in the art.
Raw After treatment After treatment After polishing with After polishing with
Waste with Stainless with Aluminum activated carbon - activated carbon -
1. A system for removing a contaminant from an unclarified waste stream, the unclarified waste stream including a water component, the system comprising:
two coated electrodes spaced less than five mm apart to be submersed in the unclarified waste stream, said system not adding chemicals to said unclarified waste stream for the removing of a contaminant, the coated electrodes defining a vertical interaction zone extending there between, said unclarified waste stream flowing through said vertical interaction zone;
a power supply for applying a continuously pulsed electrical signal to at least one of the coated electrodes to generate from the water component oxyhydrogen-rich gas which will form bubbles in the interaction zone that rise to a surface of the unclarified waste stream;
2. The system of claim 1 wherein at least one of the coated electrodes comprise a coating, the coating being selected from the group consisting of: Ruthenium Oxide, Iridium Oxide, Platinum, Titanium dioxide, tin oxide, or any combination thereof.
3. The system of claim 1 wherein at least one of the coated electrodes comprise a metal doped mixed metal oxide.
4. The system of claim 3 wherein the metal doped mixed metal oxide is antimony doped tin oxide.
5. The system of claim 1 wherein at least one of the coated electrodes comprise titanium electrodes coated with a mixed metal oxide solution of iridium, ruthenium, platinum, rhodium, tantalum, or any combination thereof.
US13725074 2002-11-19 2012-12-21 Treatment of a waste stream through production and utilization of oxyhydrogen gas Active 2024-05-16 US9296629B2 (en)
US12905350 Continuation-In-Part US9187347B2 (en) 2002-11-19 2010-10-15 Treatment of a waste stream through production and utilization of oxyhydrogen gas
US20130105376A1 true US20130105376A1 (en) 2013-05-02
US9296629B2 true US9296629B2 (en) 2016-03-29
ID=48171297
US13725074 Active 2024-05-16 US9296629B2 (en) 2002-11-19 2012-12-21 Treatment of a waste stream through production and utilization of oxyhydrogen gas
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Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNORS:VAN VLIET, DAVE;CAMPBELL, HERBERT WALLACE;CHAMBERS, STEPHEN BARRIE;REEL/FRAME:037785/0024
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