MXPA97009791A - Filtration system to remove the particles of hydrocarb fluids - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to an electrostatic filter for removing particles from electrically non-conductive liquids, said filter comprising two filter housing parts together, a pair of electrically conductive rods extending through one of said housing parts, terminating in another of the housing portions for energizing said pair of conductive bars at a ground level and at a selection of a plurality of DC voltage levels, a filter stack within one of the parts of said housing, this stack comprising a plurality of electrically conductive plates that can selectively connect to one but not simultaneously to both bars, successively one of the plates in the said cell of the filter is connected to alternate one of the two bars by means of which the plates are alternately positive and negative, filter means comprise a filler located between each of plates in the filter stack, each of the means of the plates and filters have the open areas that allow the liquid to flow in at least one determined direction by one of the housing parts and the stack therein, and the permanent magnet means located in the means of said filter which are between pairs of said positive and negative conductive plates, determined with respect to the determined direction of the liquid stream, but not between other pairs of conductive plates which are negative to positive with respect to the determined direction of the flow of the liquid

Description

Filtration System for Removing Hydrocarbon Fluid Particles ^ The present invention relates generally to improvements in electrostatic filters for filtering contaminated liquids, such as oils and liquids. similar, and particularly, improve filters that are smaller in size, easier and less expensive to manufacture and easier to operate. The housing of this new electrostatic filter is comprised of two separate plastic compartments, one of which is intended for , - j. contain the electrostatic filtration process and one of which is intended to contain electronic controls. Each compartment consists of two pieces, a cavity box and a lid, which are sealed together using bolts and a gasket or welded plastic, the two instantaneous compartments together to provide mechanical and electrical connections between the electronic controls and the filtration process . 15 The upper compartment, which contains the 'electronic controls, has > four openings for electrical connections and three for positioning the controls. The upper compartment also has two openings that house running electrodes from the upper compartment to the lower compartment, where. The filtering process occurs. The lower compartment has two corresponding openings for electrodes and two additional openings that allow liquids to enter and exit the compartment.

Inside the filtration compartment, groups of different electrostatic and magnetic ferforated plates, interspersed with the porous media of the filter, allow the filter to be customized to filter specific liquids with greater accuracy. The dimensions and physical shape of the box-shaped cavity and the cover that accompanies it has been improved to allow full access to the groupings, through which the great simplification of the assembly process on previous designs. The surfaces inside the filtration compartment contain the slots in which the plates • Electrostatic and magnetic get in, thereby maintaining the stability and the appropriate space when the filter is in operation. The electrostatic and magnetic plates, which are made of perforated metal, have been redesigned to provide a point of contact between the plates and two electrodes that run the length of the filtration compartment. One electrode is positively charged and the other is negatively charged. The shape of the metal plates allows the top side to be in inverted order to provide contact with either of the two desired electrodes, but not both at the same time. The electrostatic charges necessary for the proper operation of the filter are produced by a solid-state power source that receives electrical power from a power source. The power supply is capable of delivering three voltage levels to 5,000; 10,000 and 15,000 volts to the filter by means of a positive terminal and a negative terminal.

* This is a formal application that replaces a provisional application S.N. 60/033, 242, filed December 6, 1996. Background of the invention The invention relates to electrostatic systems for reactivating contaminated liquids by removing particles therefrom and particularly small systems for removing particles. The reference is made to the US patent. 5,149,422 and 5,242,587 which shows a superior filter system of the types described. However, the system described in those patents is adapted to process the liquid in a reservoir having a capacity in the range of 100-2000 gallons. The cost, service, and maintenance requirements are in proportion to the size of these large systems. Technically, these patented systems are not limited by the lower end of this particular large volume., but they are not entirely practical for use as small systems adapted to process liquid in, say, a 10-40 gallon deposit, for example The reasons for large / small scale differences are many such as a need for mechanical construction containing large volumes, the manner of assembly, the size of the required source of power, and the like, another, and a somewhat similar large system is shown and described in US Patent 5,556,522.

Congruently, the fact of only scaling down a system "(large, as described in the patents identified above, is not a response to the needs of the small system.) Rather, for a small system, there must be a way to use injection molded plastic parts, arming at the lowest cost, replacing parts without having to disassemble and reassemble everything in the system, returning the filters to a factory or a repair center, and the like Brief description of the invention ff aspect of the invention, the filter is enclosed in a housing having two injection molded parts which slide together.

Then, the closing of the one to the other takes place by simple screws.

A part of the housing contains the electrical power source for the system.

The other part of the housing contains a filter stack formed by a plurality of electrostatic plates of alternating polarity separated one from the other i5 by plastic foam fillings. The plates are perforated with the area • Open enough to facilitate the flow of liquid through them. The foam has "straws" that are the microscopic pores that extend directly through the foam, again, with enough open area for the liquid to flow there. From here on, the liquid to be Processing can pass through the perforations in the plates and the "straws" in the plastic foam.

The Technical Products Group of 1500 East Second Street, Eddystone, J afcPA 19022 has manufactured a high performance foam, such as that sold under the trademark "Foamex". This foam material can be described as: A totally cross-linked and flexible urethane polyester foam with a three-dimensional structure of skeletal strands, yielding an exceptionally porous and permeable material where each cell in the middle is completely interconnected with all the cells that surround it. Alternated, one of the plates is coupled to the positive pole of a source of direct current power The rest of the plates are coupled to the negative pole of the power source. Each plate has an arm on one side that can make an electrical connection simply by sliding the plate into the stack.

Accordingly, the selection between a positive or a negative electrostatic charge is made by the simple means of returning on the electrostatic plate. Each other foam padding contains permanent magnets. These magnets in the foam fillings between the positive and negative plates, relating to the current direction of the liquid. There are no magnets in the foam fillings between the negative and positive plates, again relating to the current direction of the liquid. Since the metal pipes, couplings, etc. run from the filter housing and in public areas, it is important that the negative plates are connected to the physical ground.

A preferred embodiment of the invention can be understood from the following Prescription taken with the attached drawing, in which: Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a complete assembly of two parts of the housing for the inventive filter; Fig. 1 A is a bottom view of the plane showing a path for the liquid being processed to flow through the housing; Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the two parts of the housing of Fig. 1, with the electric power source part separated from the part of the filter that contains a filter stack and with several electrostatic plates and a foam filling. removed from the filter stack; Fig. 3 is an exploded view, in perspective, of two electrostatic plates, a foam filling, and two electrical bars of the conductor; Fig. 4 is a side view of a foam pad, partially broken away to show the microscopic straws and a ceramic magnet inside the foam pad; Fig. 5 is a schematic display of a stack of plates and foam fillings, and of the magnetic force field and the electric array forming the filter stack; Fig. 6 schematically shows how the particles are collected in the foam and how they are removed from the processed liquid; Fig. 7 shows a transformer to give three, for example, separate voltages; Fig. 8 graphically shows how any of the three voltages can be produced by turning an electrical switch on and off at selected phase angles of an AC waveform; and Fig. 9 shows the digital power output that results from the angular phase selection of Fig. 8. Detailed Description of the Invention The filter housing 20 has two parts 22, 24, each of which is a molded part. injection. The part of the filter 22 contains a stack of jelter formed by a plurality of parallel electrostatic plates spaced apart from one another by foam fillings. The housing part 24 contains a power source that can selectively deliver any of a plurality of voltages D.C., here: 5,000; 10,000; 15,000 volts, by way of example. The two parts 22, 24 are electrically connected by two bars 26, 2, 3) which extend through the length of the filter housing part 22 and adapt it in jacks 27, 29 in the part of the electrical housing 24. Mechanically, the two housing parts are connected by a flange 30 extended from the part of the housing of the filter 22 and adapting below it a cover 32 of the electrical part of the housing. The screws 34 penetrate the cover 32 and the flange 30 to complete the mechanical connection. Electrically, the two parts of the housing are interconnected to bars 26, 28 and jacks 27, 29 (Fig. 1 A). The electric power pack in the part of the housing 24 is connected to an external source to the connectors 36. posts 35 (Fig. 2) are molded on the final surface of the plastic part of the housing 22 to fit them in two gear teeth 37 molded onto the corresponding end surface of the plastic housing part 24 in order to strengthen the mechanical connection between the two parts of the accommodation. The connections and the path to supply and remove the liquid are best seen in Fig. 1 A. The used or "dirty" liquid F1 enters the housing part 22 in the adapter 38, runs through the housing (Arrow F2) , Y IP-Je as reactivated and "clean" stream F3 by means of adapter 40. D uring its passage through housing part 22 (indicated by arrow F2), particles and other foreign matter are removed from the liquid. Almost, any liquid can be supplied as long as it is not an electrically conductive liquid since the system depends on effects that result from electrostatic charges. The negative potential of the power supply and all the negative electrostatic plates are connected to physical ground. This is because electrostatic plates can have direct current as high as 1 5,000 volts and the liquid flow stream could conduct an electrical charge that can be conducted beyond the filter and into the tubes, adapters, and any other electrically conductive adjacent structure. Obviously, such voltage would be a hazard in a work area.

The power package in the housing part 24 can produce convenient and appropriate voltage. The current system uses a selected selection of 5,000; 10,000; and 15,000 volts D.C., with the selection being made by a choice of power terminals 36 that are used to connect the filter to a power source such as 1 10 or 220V of commercial power. The power source in the housing part 24 is connected or disconnected at 42 (Fig. 2). Two pilot lamps 44, 46 give a green or red light, respectively, to indicate the ignition conditions. < ßt An advantage of this modular construction is that either the power supply provided in the housing part 24 or the filter in the housing part can be replaced or returned to the manufacturer for maintenance. Also, as the system is improved, either the filter part 22 or the part 24 of the power supply can be updated with a newer design. The internal construction of the filter housing part is shown in Fig. 2. Inside the housing part 22 molded ribs or wedges 48 are formed periodically along the length of the internal walls of the housing. The dimensions are such that a plurality of perforated electrostatic plates 50, 52 can be introduced inside and supported by tracks formed by the ribs 48. These plates are perforated uniformly across its entire surface, (one of the perforations is shown in the drawings and they are marked "P1"). The end spaces 54, 56 are emptied for accumulate water, a foreign liquid similar, or similar, which can be dispatched ^^ n the liquid that is being processed. Two conductive bars 26, 28 extend along the full length considerably of the housing part 22 and in jackets 27, 29 which are energized by the power pack in the housing part 24. Some of the bars ( 28) are on a positive voltage. The other bars (26) are in a negative potential (connected to ground). This means that bar 28 is in one of the positive potentials 5,000; 10,000; or 15,000, relative to the physical connection to ground. ? o A simple configuration is used for all perforated electrostatic plates. As will be observed in Figs. 2 and 3, the plate 50 has an arm 62 on one side but not on the other. Therefore, when such a plate 50 is installed in the housing to slide it down the track 48, the arm 62 touches and makes firm electrical contact with the bar 28 that lifts the potential of the plate i5. to the positive level of the voltage supplied by the power of the package in the part of the ? ^ housing 24. The opposite side 63 has no arm and does not touch the bar 26. Note that the plate 52 bends in contrast to the plate 50. Now the arm 68 is on the right side so that it makes contact with the bar 28. hereinafter, plate 52 is at a negative potential of the earth ground, as indicates to EG in Fig. 3. The next plate 72 (Fig. 2) will be turned over, as the plate 50 is turned, so that the bar 28 is made and nickel 72 is at the positive potential. In this way, each plate becomes relative to its neighboring Hacks so that the succession of plaque potentialities is: (-), (• * •), (-). (+) etc. The attachment of the top cap 58 (Fig. 1) to the housing portion 22 5 will impart sufficient pressure contact to ensure a good electrical connection between the electrostatic plates and the conductive bars 26, 28. A porous plastic foam pad 74 (Fig. 3) is made of an electrical insulating material and is located between the plates 50, 52. Likewise, a similar foam fellene is located between each pair of plates in the part of the housing 22. Each of these fillings is made of a porous material that is evenly penetrated through its surfaces by microbags (called "straws"), such as 76, for example. Collectively, these straws form an open area through the foam that gives a relatively easy passage for the liquid being processed. i5 magnets vertically arranged, preferably permanent Ceramic 80, 82 are buried in the center of the foam insulating pad 74 which is located in a space between the positive (+) to negative (-), relative plates taken to the current direction of the liquid F2 by the housing part 22 (i.e. the liquid that runs through the positive plate 50 before that it runs through the negative plate 52). there are no magnets in any of the other foam fillings located between the plates negative (-) to positive (+), again relative taken to the current direction of the liquid F2.

The reason for this is that a crown 84 (Fig. 5) is formed around% s positive (+) plates. This crown has a force field that acts in the direction D1 (counter in the clockwise direction). The magnets 80, 82 have a toroidal flow field 86 that interacts with the discharge 84. As shown in Fig. 5, the toroidal flow field helps the discharge to some places D2 and opposes it in other places D3 to cause a turbulence of the particles suspended in the liquid. If not restricted within the straws 76 by the filled plastic foam 74, the particle in the liquid would be in constant motion more or less trapped in the field? Or resultant of force established by the interaction of the flow 86 and discharge 84. The different effects A different locations in the force fields tend to create greater random agitation. However, since the particles are restricted within the straws 76, this agitation causes them to become embedded within the foam at 88, 90 as shown in Fig. 6. No manes are present in the foam filling. 92 located ^ between plates 52, 72 in the direction of negative current (-) to positive (+) F2.

No discharge is formed on the negative (-) plates to the ground.

Therefore, no trapped particles are shown in the foam filling 92. Once the trapped particle 88, 90 (Fig. 6) builds sufficiently, the part of the filter housing 22 is the back-level, which washes away most of the particles embedded in the shape. Without However, after sufficient time, it is not possible to clean the foam with a simple spraying. When this happens, the foam fillings reach They are very hard and rough, they are discarded, and they are replaced by the new foam fillers. To replace the foam in the filters shown in the above patents 5,149,422 and 5,242,587, complete cleaning and disassembly is required, which is appropriate for such large scale filters, but which is not economically feasible with small filters. However, with the current design, it is possible to simply remove and replace the plates and the foam, as required. Another advantage of the invention is that all parts are uniform for all systems. The filtration needs change with the additive package that is put in the hydrocarbon liquid. From now on, the needs change with almost every manufacturer of a liquid which is to be filtered. This means that most of the filters were designed to adapt the Aryans In the previous system, or the space between the positive (+) and negative (-) plates would be changed to equalize the additive or less than the maximum was efficiently accepted. The filtration is directly proportional to the current consumption within the filter stack. Therefore, with the current invention, the current consumption is controlled by selecting the voltage level applied through the bars 26, 28. From now on, there is no need to change the space between plates. It has been found that, for most hydrocarbon liquids of interest, three voltages 5,000; 10,000; and 15,000 D .C. are better. Therefore, when changing the liquid to be filtered, one of these voltages is selected, usually based on the additive package in the liquid to be filtered. If some other voltage is required, it is only necessary to replace the power pack of the housing part 24. Fig. 7 shows an arrangement of the transformer to produce these three voltages. An appropriate source of power (such as the commercially available source) ^ available 1 10V or 220V 60 Hz) is connected through the primary winding W1. In effect, for 5,000 volts, the switches S1 and S2 are closed to take an output voltage from the secondary winding W2. For 10,000 volts, switches S2 and S3 close to take an output voltage from secondary winding W3. When a full voltage of 15,000 volts is needed, the switches S 1, S3 are closed to take an output voltage u_ from both secondary windings W2, W3. Another way to produce a selectable output is to use an electronic switch (such as an SCR), designed to fire over a select angle phase in the commercially available sinusoidal wave form 94 (Fig. 8). If the SCR is set to turn on the angular phase A1, a series20 relatively narrow voltage pulses 96 (shown in Fig. 9A) is produced and integrated to provide 5,000 volts. If the SCR fires at the angular phase A2, a series of the larger voltage pulses 98 occurs, as shown in Fig. 9B, and integrated to provide 20,000 volts. If the SCR ^ is for the angular phase A3, a series of the still wider voltage pulse 100 is produced as shown in Fig. 9C, and integrated to provide 15,000 volts. Regardless of how voltage selection occurs, current consumption can be controlled by adapting with that system to filter a specific liquid without having to change the physical construction of the filter. Those who are practical in the art will easily perceive how to modify the invention. Therefore, the appended claims are to be interpreted to the cover all equivalent structures that fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention. *

Claims (6)

1. CLAIMS ^ r 1) An electrostatic filter to remove particles from electrically non-conductive liquids, said filter comprising two filter housing parts together, a pair of electrically conductive bars extending through one of said housing portions, ending in another of the housing portions for energizing said pair of conductive bars at a ground level and at a selection of a plurality of DC voltage levels, a filter stack within one of the parts of said housing, this stack comprising a plurality of electrically conductive plates that can selectively connect to one but not simultaneously to both bars, successively one of the plates in said filter stack is connected to alternate one of the two bars by means of which the plates are alternately positive and negative, the filter media comprises a filler located between each of plates in the filter stack, ca one of the means of the plates and the filters have the open areas which allow the liquid to flow in at least one determined direction by one of the parts of the housing and the stack therein, and the permanent magnet means located in the means of said filter which are between pairs of said positive and negative conductive plates, determined with respect to the determined direction of the liquid stream, but not between other pairs of conductive plates that are negative to positive with respect to the determined direction of the liquid stream.
2. 2) The filter of claim 1 wherein said plurality of D.C. There are 5,000; 10,000; and 15,000 volts.
3. 3) The filter of claim 1 wherein the selected DC voltage creates a corona around those electrically conductive plates that are in a positive voltage, and the permanent magnets are between the plates determined positive-negative relative to the determined direction of said current liquid.
4. 4) The filter of claim 3 wherein the location of said permanent magnet related to said electrically conductive positive voltage plates is such that a magnetic flux field of said permanent magnet interacts with said corona to cause a turbulent movement of particles in said fluid.
5. 5) The filter of claim 1 wherein each of the plates have substantially the same shape with a projection on one side to make contact with one of said bars, and said polarity of alternating positive and negative plates is achieved by inverting the plates so that the projection is on an opposite side of the plate.
6. 6) An electrostatic filter comprising a filter housing containing a filter stack having a plurality of identical electrostatic plates, a pair of conductive elements C.D. which extend along said filter stack, means for mounting said plates in one of two orientations, each of said plates making contact with one of said conductive elements and have a corresponding polarity D.C. which depends ^ of the two orientations that said plate has inside the stack, a filter filler located between each of the plates and their neighboring plates by means of it forming the filter stack, said mounting means allowing said plates to be installed and Remove from the filter stack without requiring a complete disassembly of the filter stack, which means that it is a means of response to close the housing to apply a pressure contact between said electrostatic plates and said conductive element of the corresponding polarity Jjp.C, each of said plates and the fillers of the filter have an open area therein suitable for the liquid to flow through it, which means that the particles are agitated in the liquid so that they become imbibed in said filtering of the filter while in and moving through said open areas of said fillers, and means for regulating a voltage difference between the conductive elements DC In order to control the current electrical consumption in the filter. The filter of claim 6 wherein said means for agitating said particles comprises means for alternately energizing one of said electrostatic plates a level that creates a corona in an area around the plate, and means for creating a near magnetic field sufficient to said corona for interact with this one 8) The filter of claim 7 wherein said pair of conductive elements of C.D. comprises a pair of spaced parallel bars that extend through the filter stack, means for electrifying one of said -A ^ bars to have a polarity of a selected selection of a plurality of high voltages, means to maintain the other said bar to the physical ground potential, each of said electrostatic plates having a side with a 5 projected configuration so that said individual plates do contact with one of the bars depending on which plate is placed in the stack with the orientation of the plate having a projection located on one side or the other to contact one or the other of the bars. 9) The filter of any of claims 1 -8 wherein each of the fillings is a foam filling having microscopic pores therein forming the straws that extend through said filling and which collectively they form an open area for the liquid that flows through them, said particles moving with a stir while in the straws they are captured in the foam that surrounds the straws. s_ 10) The filter of claim 8 and response means to close the # 'housing for making pressure contact between said electrostatic plate and said contact bars. 1 1) The filter of one of claims 7 and 8 wherein said magnetic field creation means are at least one ceramic permanent magnet or embedded in each of the fillings located between the relative positive and negative plates taking into account the direction of the liquid flowing inside the housing. 12) The filter of one of claims 1 and 8 and a second housing? < which contains a power source for alternately energizing the plates to the positive potential and said ground, respectively, and the means for coupling the second housing to the filter housing. 13) The filter of claim 12 wherein said coupling of the second housing to the filter housing is an electrical coupling. 14) The filter of claim 12 wherein said coupling of the second housing to the filter housing is a mechanical coupling. #