Abstract:
A replaceable module for capturing amalgam and mercury from the waste water disposal system of a dental office, in which the waste water flows into a settling chamber, overflows from the settling chamber into a magnetically-assisted sluice, and then after being further cleaned by the sluice, flows on to a sewer connection.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    The field of this invention is the separation of heavy non-magnetic materials from a fluid body, especially as applied to dentistry. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    In dental offices the grinding and polishing of teeth produces small bits of gold, dental amalgam, and/or other waste materials which are then inputted by a vacuum process into a waste water system. Dental amalgam contains mercury, which is environmentally hazardous. Disposing of the waste water containing the mercury into a municipal sewer system is no longer acceptable in many locales, especially where it is prohibited by law. Reliable separation of the mercury, whether with or without the accompanying waste water, needs to be accomplished so that the mercury can be recovered or else disposed of as hazardous material. 
         [0003]    Gold has advantages for dentistry which have long been known. Gold is non-magnetic and has a density of 19. 
         [0004]    The so-called silver fillings used in dentistry are more accurately described as amalgam, and are typically made of a mixture of silver and mercury. Silver is non-magnetic and has a density of 10.5. Mercury is non-magnetic and has a density of 13. 
         [0005]    When mercury, a liquid metal, is physically mixed with certain other metals it attempts to alloy with them. This reaction between mercury and base metals is called amalgamation, and is a property peculiar to mercury alone. Mercury is able to amalgamate with silver as well as with some other base metals. 
         [0006]    Dental amalgam often contains mercury (45 to 50 percent), mixed with an alloy of silver, tin, and copper (50 to 55 percent). Mixing of the silver filling materials is a dangerous process which must be carefully monitored in the dental office. When those materials are first mixed together, and even before the silver filling is placed into the patient&#39;s tooth, the materials begin to form an amalgam and to harden. The amalgam is also non-magnetic and typically has a density of about 12. 
         [0007]    In dental offices the waste materials derived from a patient&#39;s mouth are applied along with waste water to a screen cup that will remove large objects including amalgam. The screen cup may from time to time be removed and replaced at will. The screen cup generally captures a very large portion of the amalgam and other bulky materials. 
         [0008]    The dentist and his or her assistants must carefully monitor their working time and utilize it very efficiently. In disposing of a hazardous chemical material it is important to minimize the possibility of error. It is therefore desirable to avoid or minimize procedures that rely upon office staff. A waste disposal process should preferably operate by itself automatically, without the need for any attention by the office staff. 
         [0009]    When bits of amalgam enter the dental waste water they do not automatically divide themselves into the individual components from which they were formed. The complete separation of the mercury from silver, silver alloy, and/or other constituents of the amalgam, may require a combination of mechanical, temperature, and/or chemical process steps. 
         [0010]    Some bacteria in municipal waste systems are capable of converting the free mercury found in dental amalgam into the organo-mercuric compound methyl mercury. This form of mercury is responsible for birth defects and nervous disorders in people exposed to methyl mercury through their food. That is the reason why disposing of mercury-containing amalgam into a municipal sewer system is no longer considered acceptable. Recovery of the amalgam and mercury at the point of generation is greatly preferable. 
         [0011]    The vacuum process used in dental offices starts at the patient&#39;s mouth. Water carrying the waste materials is removed by a vacuum system. The vacuum system at its output end generates an intermittent and very forceful water stream, including widely varying amounts of water, dental waste, and air. 
         [0012]    Disposal of waste materials collected from dental waste liquid or fluid is typically performed by an outside contractor to whom the task of separating out and recovering the mercury is delegated. The gold and silver contained in the dental waste water can then be refined to provide an economic return for reducing the charges of the disposal contractor. But whether or not the gold and/or silver is refined and reclaimed, it is very important and apparently quite necessary to have a reliable and safe method for recovering the mercury and disposing of it other than to a public sewer. 
         [0013]    There are therefore two very important objectives for a dental amalgam disposal system. One important objective is to remove at least a large percentage of the amalgam from the dental waste water or effluent. For that there is an ISO standard prescribed by the International Standards Association. A second and separate important objective is to protect the waste water entering a public sewer system from excessive mercury levels. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is reported to have reduced the level of mercury that is permissible in waste water dumped into the Great Lakes to only twelve parts per trillion. That standard would present a great challenge to the dental profession for the appropriate handling of amalgam disposal. 
         [0014]    An article entitled “Purchasing, installing, and operating dental amalgam separators” published in the Journal of the American Dental Association, Vol. 134, August 2003, at Pages 1054 and following, described practices then recommended to the profession for handling and disposing of amalgam. 
       PRIOR ART 
       [0015]    Centrifugal Concentrators. It has long been known to use centrifugal separators for separating amalgam from dental office waste water. Such separators are efficient for separating out large objects that also have a high specific density. They are limited, however, in their ability to separate out very small objects. Thus, passing the waste water through a succession of centrifugal separators would remove a great deal of material in the first separator, but much less in the second, and probably very little in the third. 
         [0016]    Sedimentation systems. An example is the sedimentation system sold under trademark “The Amalgam Collector” by R &amp; D Services, Inc. of Seattle, Wash. 98103. In that type of separator the water does not flow continuously through, but instead is captured in the settling chamber. For a small dental office the sedimentation chamber might be large enough to hold all of the waste water generated during one working day. To provide space for the further inflow of waste water the office staff would then need to carefully draw off the excess water, while also avoiding any disturbance of the accumulated heavy waste or sludge. Settling or sedimentation occurs slowly over time, so the drawing off of excess water would normally be done the first thing in the morning after an overnight settling period. Excess water is then often dumped into the sewer system even though its amalgam and mercury content might greatly exceed a recommended safe level. At appropriate times the remaining sludge containing the captured amalgam will be emptied from the container and taken to a refinery or recovery process. Staff persons who are unskilled in the use of the sedimentation equipment may very well make mistakes leading to inadvertent loss of mercury into the public sewer. 
         [0017]    Chemical Separation. It is also known to use ionization processes and adsorbent materials to remove amalgam and mercury from the dental waste water. An example is described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,063,793 issued Jun. 20, 2006. Those procedures require a continuous electrical energy supply for their reliable operation, and may also require additional water to be added as a supplement to the normal inflow of dental waste water. Because of the required staff attention this kind of procedure is also subject to a significant possibility of error. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0018]    According to the present invention I provide a new apparatus for use in dental offices for disposal of amalgam. I provide a replaceable module in which the waste water enters a settling chamber where heavy materials are removed by gravity. The water flow does not stop there, but overflows and continues through at least one magnetic sluice to a cleaned water output from which it can be continuously exited to a public sewer. I have modified the magnetic matrix and magnetically aided separation process that were described in my U.S. Pat. No. 5,927,508 issued Jul. 27, 1999 for panning gold, and have adapted it to the needs of dental offices. 
         [0019]    My apparatus does not require daily or weekly staff attention; operates without electricity or a need for supplemental water input; accomplishes separation of a very large portion of the amalgam from the waste water; and greatly reduces the level of mercury in the cleaned water that is discharged to public sewer. From time to time the module can be disconnected from the vacuum system and taken to an outside contractor or refinery to complete the safe disposal of the heavy materials that have been retained in the module. 
         [0020]    In the presently preferred form of my invention I provide flow controls for the settling chamber to allow the water to be still for a long enough time to capture a large portion of the heavy materials. I also provide an air relief exit port that connects from the settling chamber to the sewer to safely absorb peaks of air pressure that may occasionally result from violent pressure fluctuations in the volatile incoming waste water. 
         [0021]    Further according to my invention, the preferred form of the removable module includes a series of four magnetic sluices through which the waste water moves for accomplishing the separation of the amalgam. The magnetic sluices are arranged in cascade, requiring the water to reverse course when moving from one sluice into the next, which provides a unique opportunity for the suspended heavy particles remaining in the water to be captured by each magnetic matrix. 
         [0022]    Further according to my invention, my removable and replaceable module is mechanically arranged so that it is compact, minimizing the amount of space it requires, is easy to handle and to transport whether or not partly filled with heavy material, and is easily disassembled for convenient cleaning out of accumulated heavy material. 
     
    
     
       DRAWING SUMMARY 
         [0023]      FIG. 1  is a partially cut away perspective view of the presently preferred form of my replaceable module, showing a waste water inlet, an air relief outlet, and a clean water outlet with which an air relief tube joins before exiting to sewer; 
           [0024]      FIG. 2  is a schematic drawing of a dental office waste disposal system in which my magnetically-assisted replaceable module is incorporated; 
           [0025]      FIG. 3  is an exploded perspective view of my new replaceable module, showing the detachable housing parts and three of the removable magnetic sluices; 
           [0026]      FIG. 4  is an elevation view of the front or output end of my replaceable module; 
           [0027]      FIG. 5  is a cross-section view of my module showing the internal path for water flow; 
           [0028]      FIG. 6  is a vertical cross-section of my module taken on Line  6 - 6  of  FIG. 4 ; 
           [0029]      FIG. 7  is an enlarged fragmentary cross-section taken on circle  7  of  FIG. 6  and showing a portion of the bed of magnetizable particles in one sluice and the flow of the waste water over it and into the next sluice; and 
           [0030]      FIG. 8  is a cross-section view showing a typical magnetic sluice construction. 
       
    
    
     Dental Office Amalgam and Waste Disposal System 
       [0031]    Reference is first made to  FIG. 2  showing how my magnetically-assisted replaceable module  10  may be incorporated in a dental office waste disposal system. A dental patient is in a chair  60  and is being treated by a dentist. A suction hose  62  is part of a vacuum system  64  that picks up waste water and solid materials from the patient&#39;s mouth as the work is being done. This waste water contains, among other things, dental amalgam formed from a mixture of silver and mercury. The vacuum delivers the water through a removable screen cup  66  where larger particles are collected. The effluent then passes through my replaceable module  10  to provide magnetically-aided amalgam separation. Relatively clean water then flows from an output  68  of the separation module direct to a public sewer system  72 . The relatively clean water may, alternatively, also pass through a charcoal or chemical filter  70  before reaching a public sewer. A dotted line  74  and arrow  76  indicate that the entire amalgam recovery module  10  is periodically removed from the dental office and taken to a refinery  78  for further processing. The main requirement for further processing at this special facility is to safely separate out and dispose of the hazardous mercury. An output  80  from the refinery box indicates that mercury waste—now separated from the effluent or waste water—is directed to a destination other than public sewer. Other outputs  82  and  84  from box  80  indicate that the refinery may not only provide an output for the recovery of mercury but may also separate and refine silver or gold captured by the module. 
       DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     FIGS.  1 - 8   
       [0032]    Referring now to FIGS.  1  and  3 - 8 , the details of construction and operation of module  10  will now be described. My module  10  has a housing with detachable upper and lower parts  12 ,  14 . Upper housing part  12  has an inlet port  16  through which effluent is fed into an inlet chamber  18 , which is a first settling chamber. A first set of baffles  20  separate inlet chamber  18  from a second settling chamber  22 . A second set of baffles  24  separate settling chamber  22  from a transfer chamber  26 . A passageway for the waste water allows it to overflow from the transfer chamber  26  through four magnetic sluices  40  into an exit chamber  48 . An air relief exit port  28  is located in the housing wall of transfer chamber  26  to relieve peaks of air pressure that may result from pressure fluctuations in the incoming waste water. 
         [0033]    The baffles  20 ,  24 , control and stabilize the flow of incoming effluent so that in both settling chambers the heavier and more dense particles will become separated by gravity and fall to the bottom, where they are retained until the module is removed to an outside facility  78 . Even though the amalgam has a density more than ten times that of water, the settling of the particles suspended in the waste water, particularly the small particles, is a relatively slow process. Reference numeral  19  represents the sludge collected at the bottoms of the settling chambers. 
         [0034]    A series of three inclined raceways  30 ,  31 ,  32  are supported within housing  12 ,  14  in a cascaded arrangement beneath the settling chambers  22 ,  26 . Each one of the raceways supports a corresponding magnetic sluice  40 . The magnetic sluices are arranged in cascade, requiring the water to reverse course when moving from one sluice into the next, which provides a unique opportunity for the suspended heavy particles remaining in the water to be captured by each magnetic matrix. As shown in  FIG. 7 , the effluent  67  changes course drastically while flowing from one sluice into the next, providing an opportunity for the suspended particles to settle by density and present themselves to the adsorbing matrix  45  of the next magnetic sluice. 
         [0035]    Each one of the raceways supports a corresponding magnetic sluice  40  having a magnetic base member  42  in which a series of longitudinally spaced, transversely extending, magnetic poles  44  are incorporated. A charge or matrix  45  of magnetically susceptible particles  45  is placed above each magnetic base member to form transverse rows  47  of such particles magnetically aligned with the corresponding magnetic poles beneath them in the base member. The magnetic poles  44  and the aligned rows  47  of magnetically susceptible particles are shown in cross-section in  FIG. 8 . The upper surface  58  of each particle matrix  45  has an essentially sinusoidal cross-sectional shape. 
         [0036]    Module  10  in its lower housing part  14  also has a bottom wall  56  upon which a fourth magnetic sluice  40  is supported, adjacent an output port  50 . The output port  50  is provided near the lower extremity of the housing so that cleaner waste water  68  after flowing through the magnetic sluices may then continuously flow through a tube  54  to a public sewer  72 . An air outlet tube  29  from air relief exit port  28  joins with the tube  54 , and a check valve  52  is provided is tube  54  on the inlet side of the junction to prevent air pressure from flowing back into the sluices. The housing can be easily disassembled by detaching the upper housing part  12 , for the purpose of removing sludge and heavy materials accumulated in the bottoms of the magnetic sluices. 
         [0037]    In the construction of each magnetic sluice, as shown in  FIG. 8 , there are successive magnetic poles  44  extending transverse to the direction of flow of the waste water  67 . Above base member  42  the particles of a magnetically susceptible material forming the bed or matrix may be, for example, magnetite. The alternate transverse strips of the base member are preferably magnetized in opposing directions, but satisfactory operating results may also be achieved if the polarities of all are oriented in the same direction. 
         [0038]    The use and periodic replacement of the screen cup is a traditional function in a dental office, requiring regular staff attention, and is effective for very large and heavy particles. The settling process in my settling chambers  22 ,  26 , is also reliable for capturing very large particles of amalgam, and does so without any regular staff attention. The settling process is not as reliable for the smaller particles, because they tend to stay in suspension much longer. The ridges or rows  47  of particles in my magnetic matrices facilitate the amalgam separation by engaging and retaining these smaller amalgam particles that are suspended in the waste water flowing above them, which would otherwise float on out to the sewer. 
         [0039]    Experimental Results. Earlier configurations of my removable module were installed and operated in the office of a single dentist, without staff attention, and the results of the amalgam separation were studied. The presently preferred embodiment of my removable module was then installed and tested for a full year, again without supplemental water input, use of electricity, or staff attention. The level of removal of amalgam which it achieved met the minimum requirements of the International Standards Organization (ISO), and the level of mercury left in the water emptying to sewer was also significantly reduced. 
         [0040]    Alternate forms. The significant features of my invention are that a replaceable module for in-line use in the waste water disposal system of a dental office, utilizing at least one settling chamber followed by at least one magnetic sluice, can be economically operated without electricity, supplemental water input, or regular staff attention. For offices with more than one dentist, other equipment configurations may be desirable, as persons skilled in the art would understand. By employing a greater number of magnetic sluices in series the level of mercury remaining in water exiting to public sewer can be greatly reduced. In other words, even after very small parts of the heavy and dense materials have been removed from the effluent, my magnetic separation process will effectively remove even smaller particles. 
         [0041]    Additional alternate form. While my invention also includes the idea of using non-magnetic sluices in combination with one or more settling chambers, that would be of very limited value because the screen cup will effectively remove particles down to a size of about 150 microns, and adding standard sluices of the types now used in mining operations would have very little effectiveness for particles smaller than that. 
         [0042]    While the presently preferred embodiment of my invention has been disclosed in detail in order to comply with the requirements of the patent laws, there are possible modifications and alternative forms that would be understood by those persons skilled in the art. The scope of my invention, however, is to be limited only in accordance with the appended claims.