WO1994013388A1

WO1994013388A1 - Scrubber system apparatus and method for cleaning air/gases

Info

Publication number: WO1994013388A1
Application number: PCT/US1993/012220
Authority: WO
Inventors: John David Chambers
Original assignee: Clarion Environmental Systems, Corp.
Priority date: 1992-12-16
Filing date: 1993-12-15
Publication date: 1994-06-23
Also published as: AU5849894A

Abstract

A scrubber system for cleaning air/gases by removing particulate matter and noxious gases therefrom. A sorbent injection sub-system (100) removes particulates from the gas via electrostatic attraction between electrically charged sorbent particles and the contaminant particles in the gas stream in a manner that promotes absorption and adsorption of the contaminant particulate or noxious gases onto the charged sorbent particles. A particulate removal sub-system (200) is provided for removal of the particulates from the gas. A media filtration sub-system (300) is provided for even distribution of the gas through the media beds.

Description

SCRUBBER SYSTEM APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR CLEANING AIR/GASES

Background Of The Invention

1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates generally to a scrubber l system apparatus and method for cleaning air/gases, and more particularly, to an apparatus and method that injects sorbents into an air/gas stream so that the particulate and/or noxious gases in the gas stream can be removed, that removes particulate from air/gases by having forces act on the particulate so that they fall out, and that filters particulate and/or noxious gases from the air/gases through the use of media. The present invention comprises three main systems: 1) a sorbent injection system; 2) a particulate removal system; 3) a media filtration system. The present invention also comprises a controller which controls the overall system for cleaning air/gas streams.

2. Discussion of Background and Prior Art There are many industrial and manufacturing processes that exist which result in adverse consequences to the environment and in particular to the air that we breathe. Industrial applications that result in these adverse effects are combustion air processes such as a copper smelt, a hot mix asphalt plant, a rubber processing plant, and a steel refinery plant. These processes result in particulate matter and noxious gases being entrained into the combustion air which is released back into the environmen . These particulate and noxious gases can be harmful to all life forms, and, therefore, they need to be removed from the air/gas stream so that they are not released into the environment.

As examples, the copper smelting process and the process used at a hot mix asphalt plant result in the by- products of sulfur dioxide and other sulfur type chemicals being released into the air. Various apparatuses and methods have been used to remove these particulate and noxious gases which have been entrained in the air. A hydroxide (i.e. (0H)₂), for example, can be used to remove the sulfur dioxide (S0₂), and other sulfur containing chemicals. This hydroxide is typically in the form of Calcium Hydroxide Ca(0H)₂ or Sodium Hydroxide Na(0H)₂.

a. Sorbent Injection System Prior Art

One method of removing particulate matter and noxious gases from an air/gas stream is to inject and entrain the air/gas stream with sorbent material. The injected sorbents would then react with the particulate matter and noxious gases in a way that removes them or make them easier to remove. Therefore, the injection of sorbent material into an air/gas stream to remove particulate matter has been known in the art.

In U.S. Patent Nos. 4,220,478 and 4,290,786, the inventor, Richard Schuff, disclosed a method and an apparatus for removing particulate matter which used the technique of injecting sorbent particles into a gas stream. The sorbent particles are first injected into the air/gas stream so that the process of absorption can take place. After being injected into the air/gas stream, these sorbent particles are then electrostatically charged to a certain charge. This is achieved by locating an electrostatic charging means within an inlet plenum and then by positioning the charging means in the path of the sorbent particles. The particulate matter then get charged with the same charge which the sorbent particles have by either coming into direct contact with the electrostatic charging means or by mixing with the already charged sorbent particles. The sorbent particles and the particulate matter are both given the same charge so that they can later be taken out by opposite charged media that is located in a media bed. Therefore, these sorbent particles and particulate matter will attract and attach to the media inside the media bed because they have the opposite electrostatic charge.

The concepts of adsorption and absorption are now briefly explained in order that the sorbent injection system can be better understood and its advantages can be fully realized. Adsorption occurs when there is a "taking on by the surface of a substance of molecules or atoms from a substance touching it." The Basic Dictionary of Science, edited by E.C. Graham, Ph.D., The MacMillan Company, New York, ^β1965, (Definition of "Adsorption"). For the present invention, adsorption occurs when sorbent particles take on one charge while particulate matter takes on the opposite charge, and the particulate matter then attract and attach to the sorbent particles. For example, sorbent particles such as Calcium

Hydroxide Ca(OH)₂ can be given positive charges while particulate matter or a noxious gas such as sulfur dioxide S0₂ can be given negative charges.¹ Therefore, each positively charged sorbent particle, Ca(OH)₂, will attract and attach several negatively charged particles, such as S0 , to itself. This results in what is called agglomeration. Agglomeration occurs when a various number of similarly charged particles attract and attach themselves to a particle with the opposite charge. This results in the air/gas having heavier particles with a larger mass and surface area which would then be easier to remove. Therefore, the amount of overall adsorption that occurs depends on the size of the sorbent particles that are injected. For example, if smaller sorbent particles are injected into the air/gas stream, then a larger surface area for adsorption exists because there are a greater number of sorbent particles entrained into the air/gas which provide an overall larger surface area.

Absorption has been defined as the process of "a substance taking into itself of another substance." The Basic Dictionary of Science, edited by E.C. Graham, Ph.D., The MacMillan Company, New York., ^β1965, (Definition of "Absorb"). In chemistry, absorption is more specifically defined as the "taking into itself of a solute by a solvent." .Id. The difference between absorption and adsorption is that absorption involves chemical reactions between the sorbent particles and noxious gases, i.e. S0₂, while adsorption involves the

^hen the terms positive charge and negative charge are used, it is meant that the particles with the positive charge are higher in potential than the particles with the negative charge. agglomeration of sorbents and particulate matter through physical attraction.

In the present application, absorption occurs because certain sorbent particles are injected into the air/gas stream so that they can chemically react with the noxious constituents entrained in the gas stream. The chemical reaction that occurs between the sorbent particles and noxious gases result in the sorbent particles "taking into itself" the noxious gas to form a different chemical compound. The best analogy that relates to the concept of absorption is the example of a sponge taking up water from a surface. The same concept applies here where the sorbent particles take into themselves the noxious gases, and these reacted sorbent products are later removed by a certain process at a desired location. The concept of dispersion is also explained since it is very important in the sorbent injection system. Dispersion has been defined as "the process of distributing anything in all directions." Id. (Definition of "Dispersal"). For the technology relevant to this art, sorbent particles are typically injected into the air/gas by dispersing them into a plenum by forcing sorbent particles through a nozzle. The amount of dispersion that occurs determines the extent to which air/gas gets entrained with the injected sorbent particles, and this determines the amount of sorbent material required to achieve optimum utilization with the noxious gases in the air/gas. The problem is that if only a small level of dispersion of sorbent particles is achieved, then this results in having to inject more sorbent particles to effectively clean and treat the air/gas. If, however, a greater amount of dispersion of sorbent particles occurs, then this results in the use of less sorbent particles to achieve the same effectiveness in cleaning and treating of the air/gas. The inefficiencies, therefore, in the dispersion of the sorbent particles result in less effective treatment and cleaning of the air/gas and this in turn results in higher process costs.

In the past, there have been processes where particulate matter have been removed by electrostatically charging them. They have also involved the use of electrostatic precipitators and processes of ionization for separating particulate matter from the air/gas. Other processes have involved the use of charged aerosol spray droplets, which attract the oppositely charged particulate. All of these other processes are different from the present invention because they involve a wet process instead of a dry scrubbing process.

In the Schuff invention ("Schuff"), as mentioned earlier, the sorbent particles are first injected into the gas stream and after they are injected, they chemically react to the particulate in the gas stream. Therefore, in Schuff, the absorption process occurs before the electrostatic charging of the sorbents and this is fundamentally different from the present invention. In the present invention, the sorbent particles are passed through an electromagnetic field and then after being charged, they are injected into the gas stream. The absorption process occurs after the electromagnetic charging of the sorbents. Schuff discloses only the process of electrostatically charging both the sorbent particles and the particulate matter with the same charge while the present invention charges only the sorbent particles to the opposite charge of the particulate matter entrained in the gas stream. Schuff is also different because the charging means is located in the gas stream and therefore the charging process occurs after dispersion of the sorbent particles has occurred. In the present invention, the charging means is located outside of the gas stream and therefore the electromagnetic charging process occurs before dispersion has occurred. Due to charging prior to entry into the gas stream, the commonly charged sorbent particles will repel immediately upon injection into the plenum and thereby achieve a high degree of dispersal. The problem, therefore, is providing a sorbent injection system which can remove particulate matter out of a gas stream through more effective processes of dispersion, adsorption, absorption, and agglomeration. At the present time, there is not available on the market an apparatus and a process that would charge sorbent particles to an opposite charge to that of the particulate matter before the sorbent particles are injected into the air/gas stream (i.e. charge sorbents outside of the air/gas stream) and would also compress these sorbent particles within the sorbent injection system before injecting them into a plenum. This type of apparatus/process would have the advantage of being able to form agglomerations of submicron particles that make them easier to remove from the air/gas since the sorbent particles would have the opposite charge to that of the particulate matter, and, the particulate matter would attract and attach to each sorbent particle. Therefore, a novel feature of the present invention would be that the sorbent injection system would be able to more completely remove particulate from the air/gas stream through the processes of adsorption and through the particulate removal system process. Schuff, however, teaches away from this process in that Schuffs process uses the process of charging the sorbent particles and the particulate matter simultaneously in the gas stream plenum with the same charge which would then have the effect of the sorbent particles repelling with, instead of attaching to, the particulate matter.

The present invention would have the advantage of resulting in more efficient adsorption and absorption. Since the sorbent particles and particulate matter/noxious gases attract, attach, or chemically react to each other, there would be a higher rate of adsorption/absorption between sorbent particles and particulate matter/noxious gases. The adsorption/absorption efficiency level in this instance would be higher than the instance where the sorbent particles have no charge applied to them at all.

The present invention would have the further advantage of having a sorbent injection system process that results in better dispersion of the sorbent particles. The electromagnetic process in this sorbent injection system would compress the charged sorbent particles, and they in turn would then repel one another after injection into the air/gas plenum because they have the same charge. The sorbent particles would, therefore, be more widely dispersed once they exit the nozzle of the sorbent injection system. The more widely dispersed sorbent particles would result in better efficiency and utilization resulting in higher adsorption/absorption rates.

It is an object of the present sorbent injection system to provide an apparatus and a method to compress sorbent particles, then charge said particles to the opposite charge of particulate matter in the gas stream plenum before they are injected into said plenum, thereby achieving wide dispersion of the sorbent particles to such an extent in a gas stream that the processes of adsorption and absorption take place more efficiently to remove the particulate/noxious gases from the gas stream. It is a further object of the present sorbent injection system to provide an apparatus and method for electromagnetically /electrostatically charging the sorbent particles through the use of electromagnetic apparatus/process. This would in effect provide two advantages. The first advantage is that the sorbent particles could retain either type charge, positive or negative, depending on the way and direction the sorbent particles are passed through the electromagnetic field. (In other words, simply reversing the direction of the polarity of the electromagnetic apparatus and specifically the electromagnetic coil would switch the type of charge the sorbent particles would receive as they pass through the apparatus.) The second advantage of using electromagnetic means to charge the sorbent particles is that the passing of the sorbent particles through the electromagnetic field results in the magnetization of the particles. The sorbent particles then have the further feature of being able to magnetically attract and attach to particulate matter in the gas stream plenum which would further increase the efficiency of the removal of the particulate matter.

b. Particulate Removal System Prior Art Another method of removing particulate matter from an air/gas stream involves the process of allowing the particulate to drop or fall out of the air/gas stream. There are many methods and apparatuses that exist which utilize this drop out particulate removal method. Typically, the processes involve a method or apparatus in which gravitational forces act on the air/gas which cause the particulate to fall out. Additionally, in the past, there have been apparatuses that have elements which create cyclonic/centrifugal forces that act on the air/gas. A good example of a cyclonic drop out particulate removal system is the cyclonic separator. The cyclonic separator normally comprises a turbine shaped blade element which is the part that causes air to flow in a circular movement. This circular air flow movement results in centrifugal forces acting on the particulate matter in air/gas. These forces cause the particulate larger than 10 micron entrained in the air/gas stream to fall out. Other types of drop out particulate removal processes incorporate impaction forces to cause the particulate to fall out. This usually involves directing the air/gas stream to some impaction apparatus which, as a result of the particulate matter hitting the impaction apparatus, results in an impaction force which causes the particulate to fall out of the air/gas stream. One of the problems that exists for the prior art drop out particulate removal methods and apparatuses is that a means for acting on the entrained air/gas to create the forces that act on the particulate matter must exist in order for the particulate matter to be effectively removed. There also exists no apparatus that amalgamates centrifugal, gravitational, and impaction forces in a three stage apparatus which is controlled by an adjustable, cone-shaped, multiflapped apparatus within a cyclindrical housing.

It is an object of the present particulate removal system to be a cost-effective, adjustable system in which the air/gas stream is directed through the system in stages such that centrifugal forces, reverse air flow, reduction of velocity of air flow, gravitational forces, and impaction forces, effectively act on the entrained particulate matter so that they can drop out of the air/gas stream.

c. Media Filtration System Prior Art

Another method that exists for removing particulate matter from a gas stream involves the use of media and the passing of the air/gas stream through the media. This method usually involves the filling of a media bed with media. The media bed usually has two walls with Louvers or perforated holes spaced evenly throughout the entire cross-sectional surface of the two walls. The two walls are held together by a housing structure which can support the weight of the media.

Media and media beds have been used for a long time, and they are well known in the art for removing entrained particulate matter from an air/gas stream. The concept behind the use of media beds is that the contaminated or dirty air/gas passes through the media beds, and the media in the media beds then filters the particulate matter out of the air/gas stream. The cleaned air/gas is then exhausted either to the outside environment directly or to the next system for further treatment.

One of the main functions of the media beds is that it filters out the particulate matter entrained in the air/gas stream. The function of these media beds is similar to that of any other type of air filter. For example, a filter for an air conditioning duct is similar to the function of these media beds. The filter traps dirt and dust particles, and the cleaned air is then exhausted to the environment.

A difference in the use of media beds as compared to the use of an air filter, however, is the fact that the media is then discharged in some fashion so that the particulate trapped by the media can then be removed. The present invention has the unique feature of allowing new media or recycled media (i.e. media that is passed through the media bed, sized, cleaned and returned to the bed for reuse.) to then fill the media beds back up to a certain level. This feature of the present invention makes the media bed filtration system a closed loop system. Another difference in the media bed filtration system compared to that of a normal air filter is that the media may also react with a noxious gas in the gas stream. This action between the media and the particulate matter may be a physical action such as inertial impaction forces that causes the particulate matter to be separated from the air/gas. Another action between media and a noxious gas could be a chemical reaction, such as absorption. Depending on the media selected, various chemical reactions could occur, which would remove noxious gases from the entrained air/gas. An example of this would be calcium Oxide (CaO) selected as a media, which would react to remove S0₂ S0₃, H₂S0₄, CL, HCL or other noxious gases.

In U.S. Patent Nos. 4,220,478 and 4,290,786, the inventor Schuff discloses a method and apparatus for removing particulate matter from a gas stream which uses media filter cells. Schuff discloses the use of cylindrical and concentric beds. The media beds are comprised of an outer cylindrical wall and an inner cylindrical wall. The media is placed in between the two cylindrical walls, and the air/gas is drawn through the media in the center hollows of the cylindrical beds. The air/gas flows through the media and out through the cylindrical structure in different directions. Schuff further discloses the use of a screw feeder at the lower end of each media bed for withdrawing the media from the media bed at a fixed predetermined rate. A motor is attached to the screw feeder which controls the rate at which the media is discharged. The problem with the Schuff invention is that the inner surface area of the cylindrical media bed where the air/gas flows through is not very large. Therefore, a greater number of media beds would have to be used to filter a large amount of air/gas. The use of more filters directly affects the cost of the system. Therefore, the expense of cleaning air/gas with cylindrical and concentric media beds of this nature may be higher than other types of media beds.

Another problem with the Schuff invention and with other media filtration systems is that they rely on the natural flow of the air/gas to pass through the media beds. The distribution of the air/gas along the surface of the media bed, however, is usually uneven because the system relies on natural air/gas flow. This then results in the inefficient and unequal use of the media and the surface area of the media beds. Because of the unequal distribution of the air/gas flow, pressure will build up at certain areas of the media bed, and this pressure can build to a point that the media is pushed inwardly to the inside of the media beds and holes are then in effect blown in the media bed. This pushing of the media inwardly can result in voids of media at certain areas in the media bed, and these voids are a problem because the air/gas would not be filtered at all in those areas.

A further problem that may exist with the Schuff invention along with other media filtration systems is that the screw feeder located at the bottom of each media bed may not pull the media down evenly across the total horizontal length of the bed. The screw feeder may discharge the media on one side of the media bed and this could cause one side to discharge faster than the other side. The uneven discharge of the media could cause inefficiencies to the operation of the media filtration system since particulate would be trapped within the system that could have otherwise been discharged. Because of the uneven flow of the media, the particulate would then concentrate and build up in the media and this could cause bridging where the concentration of particulate begins to harden to each other and to the media. This hardening of the particulate would then cause the flow of air/gas through the media to be blocked.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a media filtration system which makes more efficient use of the total cross sectional screening area of the media bed(s) by providing more even distribution of air/gas flow to the media bed(s) and to further provide a way to discharge the media evenly from the media bed(s) so that particulate caught by the media are not as likely to be trapped within the system and the problem of bridging is prevented. The more efficient use of a larger filtering surface area and the more even discharge of media through the media bed should provide a media filtration system that is more effective and efficient in cleaning air and gases.

d. Overall System Prior Art

At the present time, there does not exist an entire amalgamated scrubber system which utilizes a pre-charged sorbent injection system, an adjustable particulate removal system, and a closed loop, self-cleaning, automated media filtration system to simultaneously remove particulate and noxious gases from a hot gas stream. The present system incorporates all of the features and novelties of each of the subsystems and processes that have been described above. It is, therefore, an object of the present scrubber system to provide an apparatus and method which give sorbent particles an opposite charge to that of the charge of particulate matter prior to injecting the sorbent particles and by compressing and then dispersing them into a gas stream so that reaction processes take place; which will direct air/gas through an adjustable particulate removal system so that forces such as centrifugal forces, reverse air flow, reduction of velocity of air flow, gravitational forces, and impaction forces can act on the particulate matter to cause them to drop out of the air/gas stream; and which will efficiently filter the air/gas through media by providing a more even distribution of air/gas flow to a media bed with a larger surface area and by discharging the media evenly from the media bed.

The present invention, a modular design and apparatus, can be used in various applications. Depending on the application in which this scrubber system is used, certain particulate may be desired to be taken out before other types of particulate. Therefore, a certain sub-system of the scrubber system may be preferred to be used before another type of sub- system. Another problem that various industrial plants face is the changing requirements of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) . For example, the EPA could require certain levels of particulate removal and/or noxious gases to be taken out, which were not required to be taken out before. The industrial plants would then have to meet these standards of removal, which in certain instances would require the installation of a new or additional air pollution control system.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a scrubber system which incorporates any or all of the following sub-systems to remove particulate and noxious gases from air/gas: a pre-charged sorbent injection system, an adjustable particulate removal system; or a closed-loop, self-cleaning automated media filtration system. It is a further object and advantage of the present invention to provide a scrubber system in which the sub¬ systems are modular so that the entire system can be tailored to remove particulate and/or specific noxious gases in a preferred order and manner. It is a further object and advantage of the present invention to provide a scrubber system in which the sub¬ systems are modular so that additional sub-systems may be added so that new particulate and/or noxious gas removal standards can be met.

Summary Of The Invention

Set forth below is a brief summary of the invention in order to solve the foregoing problems and achieve the foregoing and other objects, benefits, and advantages in accordance with the purposes of the present invention as embodied and broadly described herein.

One aspect of the invention is an apparatus for injecting electromagnetically pre-charged sorbent particles into a gas stream which comprises a sorbent feeder module, a sorbent eductormodule, an electromagnetic/electrostatic charging module, and an injection nozzle module.

A further feature of this aspect of the invention is that the sorbent feeder module comprises a variable feed rate capability.

A further feature of this aspect of the invention is that the sorbent eductor module comprises an eductor and a high pressure blower. A still further feature of this aspect of the invention is that the electromagnetic/electrostatic charging module comprises electromagnetic means for charging the sorbents.

A still further feature of this aspect of the invention is that the electromagnetic field that is created by the electromagnetic/electrostatic charging means both charges and magnetizes the sorbent particles.

A still further feature of this aspect of the invention is that the electromagnetic/electrostatic charging means can be made to charge sorbent particles either positively or negatively. A still further feature of this aspect of the invention is that the injection nozzle module comprises a liner which allows the charged sorbent particles to retain their charge before being injected/dispersed.

A still further feature of this aspect of the invention is the placement and attachment of the apparatus outside of a plenum where the gas stream is located where the sorbent particles will be dispersed. A second aspect of the invention is the method of injecting electromagnetically/electrostatically pre-charged particles into a gas stream which comprises the steps of feeding and educing the sorbent material through the sorbent injection apparatus, electromagnetically/electrostatically pre-charging the sorbent material to the opposite charge of the particulate matter in the gas stream, and widely dispersing the sorbent particles.

A further feature of this aspect of the invention is that the sorbent particles are electromagnetically /electrostatically charged before being dispersed into the gas stream.

A further feature of this aspect of the invention is that the sorbent particles are given a charge that is opposite to that of the particulate matter. A still further feature of this aspect of the invention is that the sorbent particles are electromagnetically /electrostatically charged through electromagnetic means.

A still further feature of this aspect of the invention is that the sorbent particles are magnetized when passed through an electromagnetic field and these sorbent particles magnetically attract the particulate matter once they are injected into the gas stream.

A still further feature of this aspect of the invention is that the like-charged sorbent particles are first compressed within the apparatus and then dispersed into a plenum which contains the gas stream. A still further feature of this aspect of the invention is that the pre-charged dispersed sorbent particles act on the particulate matter and noxious gases in the gas stream through the processes of adsorption and absorption and also by magnetically attracting the particulate matter so that they form an agglomeration and can be more easily removed.

A third aspect of the present invention is an apparatus for dropping out particulate that are entrained in the air/gas stream which comprises a cylindrical housing tank structure where the gases will flow, an adjustable diffuser cone, transport tubing for removing the fallen particulate matter, and a diffuser plate for reducing the velocity of air/gas flow and for acting as an impaction device.

A further feature of this aspect of the invention is that the inlet of the gas stream is placed at a tangent to the cylindrical housing tank structure so that circular motion of the gas flow is created. Centrifugal forces would then exist to cause coarse particulate to initially fall out.

A further feature of this aspect of the invention is that the adjustable diffuser cone has flaps in which impaction, reversal of air/gas flow and further reduction of velocity of air/gas flow occurs to further remove remaining particulate matter by the action of these forces.

A still further feature of this aspect of the invention is that the diffuser plates toward the upper section of the cylindrical housing tank are fixed to a percentage open to reduce the velocity of the air flow. This diffuser plate causes impaction and reduction of velocity of air flow which causes particulate to fall out.

A fourth aspect of the present invention is a method for dropping out particulate matter from an entrained air/gas flow by directing the air/gas stream in such a way that it moves in a circular motion in the housing structure, directing the air/gas flow so that impaction and reversal of direction of the air/gas flow occurs, reducing the velocity of the air/gas flow, and allowing the forces of gravity and impaction to cause the particulate to fall out from the air/gas.

A fifth aspect of the present invention is an apparatus for filtering particulate from an air/gas stream through the use of a media filtration system which comprises a housing structure, sectional diffuser plates that have adjustable openings so that the incoming air/gas which flow into the system will be evenly distributed along the entire cross-sectional face of the media bed, two media beds, an enclosed vertical conveyor which feeds new or recycled media into a holding bin at the top of the media beds, a hopper underneath each bed which catches and retains media, a media discharge system that is controlled by detecting pressure differential across the media bed, and an automated media handling system.

A further feature of this aspect of the invention is that the two beds are placed in a chevron shape. This configuration provides maximum achievable cross-sectional media bed surface area exposure in the confines of a cylindrical holding tank. A further feature of this aspect of the invention is that the media discharge system comprises the use of a tapered screw auger apparatus which will evenly draw the media from across the entire length of the bottom surface of the media beds. This ensures that particulate caught by the media are not as likely to be trapped within the system.

A sixth aspect of the present invention is a method for filtering particulate matter from an air/gas stream through the use of media in a media bed which comprises the steps of evenly distributing the inlet air/gas flow so that it evenly flows along the entire front cross-sectional area of the bed, allowing the air/gas to pass evenly throughout the entire media column, discharging the media from the media beds at a variable rate controlled by pressure drop detected across the thickness of the media bed, sizing and cleaning the used media, adding additional make-up media to the recycled media, conveying all such media to a holding bin at the top of the media bed, and filling the media bed with recycled media as required to replace exposed dirty media that is discharged. A further feature of this aspect of the invention is the use of more surface area of the media bed(s) which increases the filtering efficiency.

A further feature of this aspect of the invention comprises the step of drawing media evenly from the entire length of the bottom surface of the media bed for discharge.

A seventh aspect of the present invention is an apparatus that is an air/gas scrubber system which comprises a sorbent injection system, an adjustable particulate removal system, a closed loop self-cleaning automated media filtration system, and an overall automated control system that allows for the simultaneous removal of particulate matter and noxious gases from the air/gas.

An eighth aspect of the present invention is the method of scrubbing air/gas to remove the dirty particulate matter and noxious gases which comprises the steps of pre-charging sorbent particles to an opposite charge to that of the particulate matter in the gas stream, injecting and dispersing the sorbent particles into the gas stream so that reaction processes take place, directing gases through an adjustable particulate removal system so that forces such as centrifugal forces, reverse air flow, reduction of velocity of air flow, gravitational forces, and impaction forces, can act on the particulate matter to cause them to drop out, and by evenly distributing air/gas to a larger media bed cross-sectional surface area and by evenly discharging, cleaning, sizing, and recycling the dirty media from the media bed.

Brief Description Of The Drawings

Fig. 1 - Block Diagram of the overall scrubber system for cleaning air/gases. Fig. 2 - Perspective view showing all of the modules of the overall scrubber system for cleaning air/gases. Fig. 3 - Block diagram of the sorbent injection sub¬ system. Fig. 4 - 1-1 Perspective view of Fig. 2 showing the sorbent injection system.

Side view of the sorbent injection system.

Perspective view of the particulate removal system.

Side view of the particulate removal system.

Perspective view of the diffuser cone of the particulate removal system.

Side view of a portion of the diffuser cone showing the mounting of the flaps.

Top plan view of a portion of the diffuser cone showing the opening and closing of the flaps.

Top plan view of the diffuser plate located inside the particulate removal system.

Perspective view of the media filtration system.

Top plan view of the media filtration system.

11b-11b view of Fig. 11a or side view of the media filtration system.

12-12 view of Fig. 11a or side view of the

adjustable diffuser plates of the media filtration system. Fig. 12a - 12a-12a view of Fig. 12 showing the thickness of the adjustable diffuser plates. Fig. 13 - 13-13 view of Fig. 11a or end view of the media beds with media discharge system.

Fig. 13a - 13a-13a view of Fig. 13 or side view of media bed wall showing perforated holes. Fig. 14 - Perspective view of media beds with media discharge system. Fig. 15 - Side view of the screw auger for the media discharge system. Fig. 16 - End view of the media discharge system for the media filtration system. Fig. 17 - Side view of the media handling system for the media filtration system. Fig. 18 - Perspective view of the media handling system for the media filtration system showing also the media bed and media discharge system.

Detailed Description Of The Invention

Fig. 1 is a block diagram of the present invention of a scrubber system for cleaning air/gases. The overall scrubber system 400 is comprised of three main sub-systems: 1) a sorbent injection system 100; 2) a particulate removal system 200; 3) a media filtration system 300. The sorbent injection system 100 magnetizes and electromagnetically charges sorbents to an opposite charge to that of the particulate matter and then compresses, injects, and disperses the sorbent particles into an air/gas stream so that reaction processes take place. The particulate removal system 200 directs air/gases through an adjustable particulate removal system so that forces such as centrifugal forces, reverse air flow, reduction of velocity of air flow, gravitational forces, and impaction forces, can act on the particulate matter to cause them to drop out. The media filtration system 300 efficiently filters the air/gas by evenly distributing the air/gas to a larger media bed cross-sectional surface area and by discharging the media evenly from the media bed. A controller 500 exists to maintain and control the overall operation of the scrubber system. Fig. 2 is a perspective view showing the overall scrubber system 400 for cleaning gases which shows the modules for each of the three main sub-systems. As is shown in Fig. 2, the sorbent injection system 100, the particulate removal system 200, and the media filtration system 300 are all modular systems, and each of these modular systems can be used as standalone independent systems or alternatively, can be configured as a total amalgamated system. The modules can be arranged so that the order and manner in which the air/gas flows through the system can be varied depending on the application of the scrubber system. The modular aspect of these systems allows additional modular systems to be added especially when new EPA removal standards need to be met or when an industrial user expands their production.

Operation of the Sorbent Injection System Device Fig. 3 is a block diagram of the sorbent injection system 100. This system is comprised of four main modules: a sorbent feeder module 110 for feeding sorbent particles at a controlled variable rate through the sorbent injection system 100, a sorbent eductor module 120 for drawing the sorbent particles from the sorbent feeder module 110 and passing through the sorbent injection system 100, an electromagnetic /electrostatic charging module 130 for charging and magnetizing the sorbent particles, and an injection nozzle module 140 for injecting the compressed charged sorbent particles into the gas stream plenum.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view showing the sorbent injection system 100 with each of its main component parts. Fig. 4 shows that the sorbent injection system 100 is located and is attached to the outside of the plenum 150. The present invention discloses a sorbent injection system 100 which is novel in that the sorbent particles are pre-charged before being injected into the gas stream in plenum 150.

Fig. 5 is a side view showing each module of the sorbent injection system 100 with each of its component parts. The sorbent feeder module 110 comprises a sorbent feeder 111, which has a bin in which the sorbent material 112 is held. The sorbent material 112 is fed by a feed screw 113 at a rate which is determined by a calculated stoichiometric ratio. The rate will vary depending on the amount of particulate matter and noxious gases in the air/gas stream in the plenum 150, and also depending on the sorbent material 112 that is to be injected into the air/gas stream. An adapter 114 and connector 115 are then used to connect the output of the sorbent feeder 110 to the sorbent eductor module 120. The sorbent feeder module 110 can be adjusted to automatically feed sorbent material 112 into the sorbent eductor module 120 at inlet 121. The sorbent eductor module 120 comprises the inlet 121 where the sorbent material 112 is fed into an eductor 123. A high pressure blower 122 is used to blow the sorbent material 112 through an injection venturi eductor 123. The size of the high pressure blower 122 and eductor 123 is based on the amount per hour of sorbent material 112 that needs to be used, and this depends on the conditions and types/amounts of constituents of the gas stream. The sorbent material 112 gets entrained into a clean air stream so that the sorbent material 112 can be transported through the remainder of the sorbent injection system 100. An adapter 124 and a transport tubing 125 connects the output of the sorbent eductor module 120 to the input of the electromagnetic/electrostatic charging module 130. The entrained sorbent material 112 is then transported to this electromagnetic/ electrostatic charging module 130.

The electromagnetic/electrostatic charging module 130 comprises an inlet tube 131 coming from the sorbent eductor module 120. The air/gas entrained with the sorbent material 112 is then directed through a dielectric tubing 134, which is located within a packing of insulation 132. The insulation 132 has a shell 133 surrounding it. The insulation 132 is typically comprised of polyurethane packing, and the dielectric tubing 134 is typically comprised of polypropylene material.

The sorbent material 112 is then passed through a portion of the dielectric tubing 134 where an electromagnetic coil 135 and a magnet 137 are located. The electromagnetic coil 135 and the magnet 137 are driven by a power supply 136 which creates an electromagnetic field that electromagnetically /electrostatically charges and magnetizes the sorbent material 112. The magnetization that is created causes the sorbent material 112 to be compressed as the sorbent material 112 is passed through the electromagnetic field. The charging of the sorbent material 112 so that all of the sorbent particles 112 have the same charge, results in the greater expansion of the sorbent particles 112 because the particles will want to repel each other as they pass out of the electromagnetic field. The charged and magnetized sorbent particles 112a are then directed to an outlet tube 138 which connects to the injection nozzle module 140. The key feature of the sorbent injection system 100 is that the sorbent material 112 can be charged either positively or negatively depending on the position of the polarity of the magnet 137 within the electromagnetic coil 135. Therefore, switching from charging from one type of charge to the other type of charge can be simply achieved by reversing the polarity of the magnet 137.

The injection nozzle module 140 comprises inlet tube 141 where the sorbent material 112a comes from the electromagnetic/electrostatic charging module 130. The charged and magnetized sorbent particles 112a are passed through an injection nozzle 142. The injection nozzle 142 comprises a liner

143 which is inside the nozzle. The liner 143 is made of insulated material such as a ceramic material so that the charged sorbent particles 112a will retain their charge before being injected into the air/gas stream plenum 150. A connection flange

144 is then used to connect the injection nozzle module 140 to a plenum 150. The sorbent material 112a is then injected into the plenum 150. Since the sorbent particles 112a have been charged with the same charge, they will repel and push away from one another. This results in greater dispersion of the sorbent particles 112a after injection into the air/gas stream plenum 150. This will in effect result in more efficient removal of particulate matter and/or noxious gases in the gas stream when the processes such as absorption and adsorption occur, and it will also increase the efficiency of removing particulate matter through the magnetic attraction and agglomeration with the sorbent particles 112a.

Operation of the Particulate Removal System Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the particulate removal sub-system 200 which shows the main component parts of the system. Fig. 6 shows that the air/gas stream will enter the particulate removal system 200 through the bottom inlet 210. The bottom inlet 210 is located at a tangent to the cylindrical housing structure 290 so that the air/gas stream will enter the system 200 at a tangent. The air/gas stream enters in at a specific tangent that will cause the air/gas to flow in a circular movement against the bolted side of the diffuser cone flaps 224 within the cylindrical housing 290. The location of the inlet 210 as to where the air/gas flows in at a tangent is important because it will determine in which circular direction (i.e. clockwise or counter-clockwise) the air/gas will flow. This direction of flow must be opposite to the bolted side of the diffuser cone flaps 224. In Fig. 6, the inlet 210 of the system 200 as shown in that location will cause the air/gas to flow in a clockwise direction. The circular movement of the air/gas creates the centrifugal forces which cause coarser particulate matter in the air/gas stream to fall out. This particulate matter falls into a hopper structure 260 and then into an air lock valve 270.

The air/gas then flows upwardly to the diffuser cone 220. Fig. 7 shows a perspective view of the diffuser cone of the particulate removal system. The diffuser cone 220 is comprised of a cone shaped structural frame. This frame is made of a top circular metal loop 221, a bottom circular metal loop 223, and metal mounting bars 222. One end of each mounting bar 222 is attached to the top circular loop 221 , and the other end of each mounting bar 222 is attached to the bottom circular loop 223. The mounting bars 222 are attached to the circular loops 221 and 223 so that they form the structural frame of the cone. The mounting bars 222 are mounted and placed along the various sides of the cone. This results in an upside down umbrella shaped structural frame as shown in Fig. 7. The bottom circular loop 223 is attached to the transport tubing 250 so that particulate falls out of the second stage of system 200 (See Fig. 6a).

Flaps 224 are then mounted in between the mounting bars 222. Fig. 8 is a side view of a portion of the diffuser cone 220 showing the flap 224 mounted to the mounting bars 222. One side of each of the flaps 224 is entirely fixed to one side of a mounting bar 222 while a top portion of the other side of each of the flaps 224 is not fixed to the mounting bars 222. Fig. 8 shows that the one side of the flap 224 is entirely fixed to the mounting bar 222 by the use of bolts 225.

Fig. 9 is a top plan view of a portion of the diffuser cone 220 which shows the opening and closing of the flaps 224. The flaps 224 must be positioned to open in the opposite direction of the air/gas flow. Therefore, if the air/gas flow is in a clockwise direction, then the bolting of the flaps 224 is such that the flaps 224 must open in a counter-clockwise direction. The air/gas approaches and contacts the outside of the diffuser cone 220. Impaction forces occur at the outside of the cone 220 since the dirty entrained air/gas will be pressured against the flaps 224 of the diffuser cone 220. This impaction will also cause a reduction of velocity of the air/gas flow. The opening of the flaps 224 caused by the pressure of the air/gas stream which is being pulled through the system by fan 600 (Fig. 2), will cause the air/gas to reverse the direction of its flow when the air/gas moves to the inside of the diffuser cone 220. Therefore, the impaction, reduction of velocity, and reversal of the air/gas flow will all act on entrained particulate matter to cause them to fall out.

After the air/gas flow enters the inside (stage 2 of Fig. 6a) of the diffuser cone 220, a diffuser plate 230 is positioned above the diffuser cone 220 towards the top of the cylindrical housing 290. Fig. 10 shows a top view of the diffuser plate 230. The diffuser plate 230 comprises square holes 231. The diffuser plate 230 is positioned below the outlet 240 and towards the top of the cylindrical housing 290 so that it can function to further reduce the velocity of the air/gas flow. The amount of opening in the diffuser plate 230 will determine the reduction of velocity of the air/gas flow. If the percentage of openings in the diffuser plate is smaller, then this results in greater reduction of velocity of the air/gas flow. However, the ideal percentage for the amount of opening for the plate 230 in a cylindrical housing 290 is 44%. In other words, if the percentage opening in the diffuser plate 230 is 44%, then this would provide the ideal reduction of velocity of the air/gas flow to allow particulate matter to fall out.

The position of the diffuser cone 220 may be adjusted so that it is positioned further away or closer to the diffuser plate 230. The position would be determined by the selected application that would require a desired rate of reduction of velocity of air/gas flow. In the present system, if the diffuser cone 220 is positioned closer to the diffuser plate 230, then this would result in greater reduction of velocity of the air/gas flow since the volume (stage 2 of Fig. 6a) inside the diffuser cone 220 would be smaller and the pressure on the air/gas flow inside of the diffuser cone 220 would be greater.

Some particulate matter will fall out when they are outside of the diffuser cone 220 while others will fall out when they are inside the diffuser cone 220. The particulate matter that fall out outside the cone 220 will be the coarser, heavier particulate while the particulate that fall out inside the cone 220 will be the finer particles. In Fig. 6, the coarser particulate fall directly into the hopper structure 260 and then into an air lock valve 270. The finer particulate fall into the diffuser cone 220 which then get funnelled to a transport tubing 250. The finer particulate are then directed to fall to the air lock valve 270. Alternatively, as shown in Fig. 6a, outlet tubing 255 can be connected to transport tubing 250 in order to direct the finer particulate to fall outside the cylindrical housing 290 to a different airlock valve 270a and a different holding box 280a. This would then enable the finer particulate to be separated from the coarser particulate. Air lock valve 270 releases the coarser particulate into a holding bin 280 which can then be transported for reuse or disposal.

The cylindrical housing structure 290 houses the diffuser cone 220, the diffuser plate 230, and the transport tubing 250. The clean air/gas is then passed to the top outlet 240, which passes the air/gas to the environment or to the next system.

Operation of the Media Filtration System Fig. 11 is a perspective view of the media filtration system 300 which shows the main components of the system. Fig. 11 shows that the air/gas stream will enter the media filtration system at the bottom inlet 310. Inlet 310 is attached to the cylindrical housing 330 of the media filtration system 300 through the use of the flange attachment 320. The inlet 310 is located at the bottom of the cylindrical housing 330 so that the coarser, heavier particulate can first be collected when the air/gas flow first enters the media filtration system 300. Otherwise, if the inlet 310 were located at the top of the housing 330, the heavier particulate would have to be distributed down through the entire media bed 350 instead of being taken out at the bottom of the media bed. Each of the cylindrical housing units have flange openings 390 on two sides of the cylindrical housing side 330. The flange openings 390 exist so that the various modular system units such as modular unit 335 can be connected together. Fig. 11b shows a side view showing the attachments of flange attachment 320 connected to a flange opening 390. Fig. 11b also shows two flange openings mated together to connect two individual cylindrical housing 330. The modular feature exists so that modules can then be added to the system depending on the need or required application of the system. A number of media filtration systems could then be attached together in a series for removing various particulate matter/noxious gas.

In Fig. 11, the air/gas stream first passes through the inlet 310, flange attachment 320, and directional air vanes 321 (Fig. 11b) which direct the air upward, and the air is then directed to adjustable diffuser plates 340. Fig. 12 shows a side view of the adjustable diffuser plates 340 while Fig. 12a shows the 12a-12a cross-sectional view of Fig. 12. The adjustable diffuser plates 340 are of the same height as the media beds. The adjustable diffuser plates 340 comprise a sectional series of moving plates 341 with perforated square holes 343 and a stationary plate 342 with perforated square holes 344. The sectional moving plate 341 can be moved vertically and independently as required in sections along the surface of the stationary plate 342 in adjusting the amount of the openings in the diffuser plate 340. The openings in the diffuser plates 340 are adjusted and varied so that the air/gas flow coming in at the bottom of the media filtration system 300 is straightened out to evenly flow along the entire height of the surface of the media beds 350. For example, the diffuser plates 340 can be adjusted to have larger openings at the top while it has smaller ones towards the bottom. This will cause more air/gas to flow to the top to be more evenly distributed to the media beds 350. The air/gas flow is evenly distributed to the media beds 350 so that the entire media bed cross-sectional surface, instead of just a small portion of the media bed surface, is used and thereby resulting in more efficient use of all of the media 354 in the media beds 350.

The air/gas stream is then passed to the media beds 350. The media beds 350 are in a chevron shape configuration to maximize the cross-sectional surface area of two media beds given the constraints of a cylindrical housing 330. This then provides more overall media bed surface area in the media filtration system 300. In a cylindrical housing 330, the media beds 350 are placed at a chevron shaped angle of 20° from each other in order to provide the most effective layout of the media beds 350 and thereby the most efficient use of media 354 (Fig. 13). Fig. 11a shows a top plan view of the media filtration system 300 which shows the chevron configuration of the media beds 350. Fig. 13 is an end view of two identical media beds 350 with the media discharge system 360 underneath each bed, and it further shows the media 354a that has fallen through the perforations 355 (Fig. 13a) in the media bed sides 351. Fig. 14 is a perspective view of the media beds 350 with the media discharge system 360 underneath each bed, and it shows the framing structure of the media beds 350 as well as the perforated plates 351 of the media beds 350.

A media bed 350 is comprised of two perforated plate walls 351. As shown in Fig. 13a, which is a 13a-13a side view of Fig. 13, these plate walls 351 contain spaced and sized perforations to match the size of the media selected for use in a specific application. This spacing and sizing of the perforations to match the size of the selected media allows some of the media to fall or be pushed through the perforations which thereby keep the perforations clear of accumulated particulate matter. The perforated holes 355 are throughout the entire cross-sectional surface of the walls. The two perforated plate walls 351 are placed in parallel to each other 12" apart. The media bed 350 further comprises a framing structure for maintaining and reinforcement of its structure.

Fig. 14 shows that this framing structure comprises an outer perimeter frame 352 that is placed vertically on the outside surface of each plate wall 351. The vertical framing structure is then attached together and reinforced by the use of horizontally placed rectangular frames 353 at various locations along the height of the bed. The horizontal rectangular frames 353 surround the entire width and thickness of the media bed 350. These horizontal rectangular frames 353 are placed in such a way around the frames 352 that when media 354a fall or are pushed through the perforated holes 355 of the plate walls 351 , a space (instead of a ledge) exists for the media 354a to fall down to the hopper bin 361.

As shown in Fig. 13, clean media 354 is control fed as needed to fill the space in between the two plate walls 351 , which is the hollow of the media bed 350. The media 354 will typically be from ³/₈" to ³/₄" in diametric size, and as the media

354 is fed through the media bed 350, some of the media will fall straight through the bottom opening of the media bed 350 while other media 354 will push through the perforated holes 355 of the plate walls 351. These media 354a which are pushed through the plate walls 351 are to keep the perforated holes 355 clean. The type of media 354 that is selected depends on the application of the media filtration system 300 and what type of particulate matter or noxious gases are desired to be removed. Some examples of media types would be limestone, decomposed granite, charcoal, marbles, glass beads, crushed glass or slag.

A hopper bin 361 is placed underneath each of the media beds 350, and each hopper bin 361 is oversized by a certain width on each side so that it can catch the media 354a falling through the perforated holes 355. The hopper bin 361 holds the media 354 so that the media bed hollow formed by plates 351 can fill and create a column of media 354 from the bottom to the top of the media beds 350. The air/gas flows evenly from the diffuser plates 340 to the media beds 350. The air/gas is drawn through the media beds 350, and the particulate is removed by the filtering of the air/gas through the media 354. As the media 354 collects the particulate from the dirty air/gas, the pressure differential across the media bed 350 begins to build, and the air/gas through the media bed 350 will start decreasing. Above a predetermined pressure differential across the media bed 350, the media 354 will become saturated with particulate. As the pressure differential approaches this level, the now dirty media 354 will be automatically discharged for cleaning, sizing, and reuse in the media bed 350.

The bottom of Fig. 14 shows a perspective view of the media discharge system 360. The media discharge system 360 is located underneath the media beds 350, and it is comprised of a hopper bin 361, a screw auger 362, a hopper extension 363, a media outlet 364, a motor 365 (Fig. 16) which drives the screw auger 362, and a slide gate 361a. Fig. 15 shows a side view of the screw auger 362 for the media discharge system 360, and Fig. 16 is an end view of the media discharge system 360 where it shows that the motor 365 is attached to drive the screw auger 362.

In Fig. 14, the pressure changes across the media beds 350 are detected by the use of sensors 366. These sensors 366 are comprised of photohelic gauges that read pressure changes from three (T-type pitot tubes). When the sensors 366 detect certain levels of pressure across the beds, a signal is sent to the drive motor 365 which then turns the screw auger 362 at a set rate. The screw auger 362 rate of turn is variable.

Fig. 15 shows a side view of the screw auger 362 of the media discharge system 360. The screw auger 362 draws the media 354 and 354a horizontally across from the full bottom length of media beds 350 to the media outlet 364. The media outlet 364 is located at the driven end of screw auger 362. If a regular screw auger is used to discharge the media 354 and 354a, then the media 354 and 354a farthest from the media outlet 364 will be drawn from the bottom of the media bed 350 at a faster rate than the media 354 and 354a that are closest to the media outlet 364. Fig. 15, however, shows a tapered screw auger 362 which is specially designed to withdraw the media 354 and 354a evenly from the entire bottom length of the column of media in media beds 350. The screw auger 362 is tapered from the media outlet 364 end to the other side of the media bed. As shown in Fig. 15, the tapered screw auger 362 allows media 354 and 354a to be drawn at an even rate at both ends of the media bed 350. The even withdrawal of the media 354 and 354a from across the entire bottom area of the media beds 350 provides for even exposure of all media 354 in the media beds 350, and which prevents bridging, which is the hardening of the media 354 resulting from uneven downward flow of media.

After the media 354 and 354a are discharged from the media outlet 364, the discharged media 354 and 354a, is then sent to a media handling system 370 as shown at the bottom of Fig. 11 and in Figs. 17 and 18. The media handling system 370 will mechanically remove collected particulate matter and reacted sorbents 112a (Fig. 5) from dirty media 354 and 354a and recycle the cleaned and sized media 354 and 354a back to the media beds 350. Fig. 17 is an end view of the media handling system 370, and Fig. 18 is a perspective view of the same. The media handling system 370 comprises a top vibrating screen 371 , a bottom vibrating screen 372, an outlet 373 for oversized media, an outlet 374 for recycling media, and outlet 375 for undersized media, removed particulate matter, and reacted sorbent 112a, and a housing structure 376 that houses all of those components.

If the media is typically ³/₈" to /₄" in diameter, then the top vibrating screen 371 has a ³/₄" mesh screen as its surface and the bottom vibrating screen 372 has a ³/₈" mesh screen as its surface. As the dirty media 354 and 354a is discharged to the media handling system 370, the media is sized and the particulate and reacted sorbent 112a are screened off. If media, for example, is greater than ³/₄", then they would not fall through the /₄" screen mesh of vibrating screen 371 , but they would instead fall through the outlet 373 for oversized media. If, on the other hand, the media is smaller than ³/₈", then they would be sized and screened off since they would fall through both the ³/₄" screen mesh of vibrating screen 371 and the

/₈" screen mesh of vibrating screen 372. These media would then fall through the outlet 375 for undersized media. The oversized and undersized media is screened off and disposed.

The media which are left on the vibrating screen 372 that have been sized as /₈" to /₄" in diametric size are passed out media discharge outlet 374 as clean media, and they can be recycled back into the media beds 350.

The media from outlet 374 are then transported to a vertical conveyor 380. The vertical conveyor 380 as shown in Fig. 11 transports the clean media to the top of the media bed 350. The media is then fed back into the media bed 350, and the process then repeats itself. This process of recycling makes this media filtration system a closed loop self cleaning system.

After the air/gas stream is passed through the media beds 350, it is then exhausted from the media filtration system 300 through the outlet 395.

Operation of Overall Scrubber System As shown in Fig. 2, the overall scrubber system 400 for cleaning gases would comprise the following sub-systems: a sorbent injection system 100, a particulate removal system 200, and a media filtration system 300. The order and the number of sub-systems that exist would vary depending on the application and type of particulate matter and noxious gases which are desired to be removed. This overall system has the advantage of being modular and thereby allowing for different configurations and for the addition of more sub-systems as needed.

A typical overall scrubber system 400 is shown in Fig. 2. An induction fan 600 would be used to draw the air/gas through the entire system 400. The air/gas would flow through the plenum 150 and pass over and through the areas of the sorbent injection system 100. The air/gas would then react with the charged, injected sorbents through the processes of absorption, adsorption, agglomeration, and attraction through magnetization. The air/gas entrained with sorbents and particulate matter would then be directed to the particulate removal system 200. The air/gas then flows through this system so that forces such as centrifugal forces, impaction forces, reverse air flow, reduction of velocity of air flow, and gravitational forces can act on the particulate to cause them to drop out.

The air/gas is then directed into the media filtration system 300. The air/gas is efficiently filtered due to evenly distributing air/gas to a larger media bed cross-sectional surface area and due to the even discharge of the media 354 and 354a from the media bed 350.

The overall operation of the scrubber system 400 can be controlled by a controller 500 as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. This controller 500 would regulate and control each of the sub¬ systems and the way each sub-system operates to make up the function of the entire system 400. The controller 500 could be a programmable process logic controller. The foregoing description of a preferred embodiment and best mode of the invention known to applicant at the time of filing the application has been presented for the purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise form disclosed, and obviously many modifications and variations are possible in the light of the above teaching. The embodiment was chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the invention and its practical application to thereby enable others skilled in the art to best utilize the invention in various embodiments and with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A method of injecting sorbent particles into a gas stream so that particulate matter or noxious gases can be removed from the gas which comprises the steps of: feeding sorbent particles to a sorbent injection system apparatus, and dispersing the sorbent particles into a gas stream plenum so that they react with the particulate matter or noxious gases, characterized by: educing the sorbent particles through the sorbent injection system apparatus, and electrostatically charging the sorbent particles by passing them through a magnetizing field.

2. The method of injecting sorbent particles into a gas stream, as recited in claim 1 , wherein the step of feeding sorbent material to a sorbent injection system apparatus is further characterized by the step of injecting a quantity of sorbent material that is sufficient enough so that when the sorbent material enters the gas stream, the sorbent material stochiometrically combines with the particulate matter or noxious gases.

3. The method of injecting sorbents into a gas stream, as recited in claim 1 , wherein the step of educing the sorbent particles through the system module apparatus is further characterized by the steps of: feeding sorbent particles into an eductor; and blowing the sorbent particles at a pressure through the system apparatus.

4. The method of injecting sorbent particles into a gas stream, as recited in claim 3, further characterized by an amount of sorbent particles that is blown through the system apparatus which is determined by constituents in the gases to be treated.

5. The method of injecting sorbent particles into a gas stream, as recited in claim 1, wherein the step of electrostatically charging the sorbent particles by passing them through a magnetizing field is further characterized by the steps of: passing the sorbent particles through an electromagnetic field, and transporting the charged sorbent particles to an outlet.

6. The method of injecting sorbent particles into a gas stream, as recited in claim 5, further characterized by the sorbent particles being given a charge that is opposite to that of the particulate matter or noxious gases in the gases.

7. The method of injecting sorbent particles into a gas stream, as recited in claim 5, wherein the step of electrostatically charging the sorbent particles is further characterized by the compressing of the sorbent particles within an electromagnetic coil.

8. The method of injecting sorbent particles into a gas stream, as recited in claim 7, wherein the compressing of the similarly charged sorbent particles is further characterized by more effective dispersion of the sorbent particles into the gas stream.

9. The method of injecting sorbent particles into a gas stream, as recited in claim 1 , wherein the step of dispersing the sorbent particles into the gas stream is further characterized by the step of sorbent particles reacting with the particulate matter or noxious gases that need to be removed.

10. The method of injecting sorbent particles into a gas stream, as recited in claim 9, further characterized by reactions and processes between the sorbent particles and the particulate matter or noxious gases, which are the reactions and processes of adsorption, absorption, agglomeration, or attraction of the particulate matter or noxious gases to the sorbent particles through magnetization.

11. A sorbent injection system apparatus for carrying out the method in claim 1 which injects sorbent particles to enable the removal of particulate matter or noxious gases from gases comprising: a sorbent feeder module that feeds sorbent particles into the system apparatus, and an injection nozzle module, characterized by: a sorbent eductor module that educes the sorbent particles through the system apparatus, and an electrostatic charging module that charges the sorbent particles by passing them through a magnetizing field.

12. The sorbent injection system apparatus, as recited in claim 11 , wherein the sorbent feeder module is further characterized by: a dry chemical feeder; a variable feed rate adjuster; and an outlet for the flow of sorbent particles.

13. The sorbent injection system apparatus, as recited in claim 11 , wherein the sorbent eductor module is further characterized by: an inlet for sorbent particles to flow to the sorbent eductor module; an eductor; a pressure blower; and an outlet for transporting the sorbent particles out of the sorbent eductor module.

14. The sorbent injection system apparatus, as recited in claim 11, wherein the electrostatic charging module is further characterized by components that charge the sorbent particles through the use of an electromagnetic field.

15. The sorbent injection system apparatus, as recited in claim 14, wherein the components that charge the sorbent particles through the use of an electromagnetic field is further characterized by: an inlet for sorbent particles to flow into the electrostatic charging module; an electromagnetic coil; a power supply; dielectric insulation material which functions to surround the electromagnetic coil; a shell that surrounds the dielectric insulation; dielectric tubing which functions to allow sorbent particles to be transported through the electromagnetic field; and an outlet for sorbent particles to flow out of the electrostatic charging module.

16. The sorbent injection system apparatus, as recited in claim 15, wherein the dielectric insulation is further characterized as being polyurethane.

17. The sorbent injection system apparatus, as recited in claim 15, wherein the dielectric tubing is further characterized as being polypropylene.

18. The sorbent injection system apparatus, as recited in claim 15, wherein a type of charge that is given to the sorbent particles is further characterized as being able to be simply switched by reversing the polarity of the electromagnetic coil.

19. The sorbent injection system apparatus, as recited in claim 11 , further characterized by the electrostatic charging module charging the sorbent particles to an opposite charge to that of the particulate matter in the gas stream.

20. The sorbent injection system apparatus, as recited in claim 19, wherein the similarly charged sorbent particles are further characterized as being compressed by electromagnetic forces within the apparatus so that the later dispersion into a gas stream is optimized.

21. The sorbent injection system apparatus, as recited in claim 19, further characterized by the charged sorbent particles removing the oppositely charged particulate matter through the processes of adsorption and agglomeration.

22. The sorbent injection system apparatus, as recited in claim 11, wherein the injection nozzle module is further characterized by: an inlet for sorbent particles to flow into the injection nozzle module; an injection nozzle; and a liner located inside the injection nozzle.

23. The sorbent injection system apparatus, as recited in claim 22, wherein the liner is further characterized by dielectric insulating material so that the sorbent particles retain their charge before being injected and dispersed into the gas stream plenum.

24. The sorbent injection system apparatus, as recited in claim 11 , wherein the apparatus is further characterized as being located and attached to the outside of a plenum.

25. The sorbent injection system apparatus, as recited in claim 24, wherein the sorbent particles are further characterized as being dispersed from the output of the sorbent injection system apparatus into the plenum so that the particulate matter or noxious gases are removed from the gases in the plenum.

26. A particulate removal system apparatus which removes particulate matter from gases comprising: an inlet for the gases, a housing tank structure in which gas flows, an outlet where particulate matter are removed from the system apparatus, and an outlet where the cleaned gases is transported out of the system apparatus, characterized by: a diffuser cone, a diffuser plate used to reduce velocity of the gas flow, and an output tubing, which transports to an outlet, particulate matter that have fallen out of the gases.

27. The particulate removal system apparatus, as recited in claim 26, wherein the housing tank structure which allows for the flow of gases is further characterized as being cylindrical and having a cone shaped bottom for the area of where particulate matter drops out.

28. The particulate removal system apparatus, as recited in claim 27, wherein the inlet for gases is further characterized as being attached at a tangent to a cylindrical side of the housing tank structure.

29. The particulate removal system apparatus, as recited in claim 28, wherein the inlet of gases entering at a tangent to the housing tank structure is further characterized by the gases flowing in a certain circular direction depending on the location of the tangent where the inlet is placed.

30. The particulate removal system apparatus, as recited in claim 29, wherein the circular movement of the gases is further characterized as centrifugal forces that cause particulate matter to fall out of the gases.

31. The particulate removal system apparatus, as recited in claim 26, wherein the diffuser cone is further characterized by: a cone-shaped structural frame; flaps which are attached to the structural frame; and an adjustable structural support for mounting the diffuser cone inside the housing tank structure.

32. The particulate removal system apparatus, as recited in claim 31 , wherein the cone-shaped structural frame is further characterized by: a top circular loop; a bottom circular loop; and mounting bars connected to the top and bottom circular loops so that an upside down umbrella shaped structural frame is formed.

33. The particulate removal system apparatus, as recited in claim 32, wherein one vertical edge of each of the flaps is further characterized as being mounted and attached to a vertical edge of each mounting bar while a portion of the other vertical edge of the flaps rests on and remains detached from the vertical edge of the next adjacent mounting bar.

34. The particulate removal system apparatus, as recited in claim 33, wherein the flaps are further characterized as being mounted so that they open in the opposite direction of the gas flow.

35. The particulate removal system apparatus, as recited in claim 26, wherein the position of the diffuser cone mounted within the housing tank structure is further characterized as being able to vary according to the application of the particulate removal system.

36. The particulate removal system apparatus, as recited in claim 26, further characterized by an extension tubing being able to be attached to the output tubing for particulate matter that drop out inside the diffuser cone so that these finer particulate matter can be separated from the coarser particulate matter and can be transported to a separate outlet.

37. The particulate removal system apparatus, as recited in claim 26, further characterized by impaction, centrifugal force, force of gravity, or deceleration acting on the particulate matter of the gases on the outside of the diffuser cone in removing those particulate matter.

38. The particulate removal system apparatus, as recited in claim 26, further characterized by reverse direction of and reduction of velocity of the gas flow acting on removing the particulate matter of the gases inside of the diffuser cone.

39. The particulate removal system apparatus, as recited in claim 26, wherein the diffuser cone is further characterized as acting as a funnel to the output tubing in removing particulate matter which have fallen into the diffuser cone.

40. The particulate removal system apparatus, as recited in claim 26, wherein the diffuser plate is further characterized as being a certain fixed percentage of openings which affects the velocity of the gas flow.

41. The particulate removal system apparatus, as recited in claim 40, wherein the certain percentage of openings of the diffuser plate which results in optimal gas flow reduction of velocity in a cylindrical tank structure is further characterized as 44%.

42. The particulate removal system apparatus, as recited in claim 40, wherein the reduction of velocity of the gas flow is further characterized as affecting the amount of particulate matter that are removed.

43. The particulate removal system apparatus, as recited in claim 26, wherein the outlet where particulate is removed from the system apparatus is further characterized as being connected to an air lock valve which discharges the particulate matter to a holding bin for removal or disposal.

44. A method of using the apparatus of claim 26 to remove particulate matter from gases comprising the steps of: directing the gases into a particulate removal system, causing the gases to move in a circular motion when the gases enter the system, transporting the particulate matter to be removed from the system, and exhausting the gases from the system after the particulate matter have been removed, characterized by: directing the gases in the system so that impaction and reversal of direction of the gas flow occurs, reducing the velocity of the gas flow when the gases are in the system, and allowing the forces of gravity to cause the particulate matter to fall out from the gases.

45. The method for removing particulate matter, as recited in claim 44, wherein the step of causing gases to move in a circular motion is further characterized by intaking the gases at a tangent to a cylindrical housing tank system.

46. The method for removing particulate matter, as recited in claim 45, wherein the step of causing gases to move in a circular motion is further characterized by centrifugal forces which act on the particulate matter to remove them from the gases.

47. The method for removing particulate matters, as recited in claim 44, wherein the step of directing the gases in the system so that impaction and reversal of direction of the gas flow occurs is further characterized by directing the gases through a diffuser cone.

48. The method for removing particulate matter, as recited in claim 44, wherein the step of reducing the velocity of the gas flow is further characterized by directing the gases through a diffuser cone and towards a diffuser plate.

49. The method for removing particulate matter, as recited in claim 44, further characterized by the coarser particulate matter outside the diffuser cone being first transported out of the system by allowing them to fall to an air lock valve for discharge.

50. The method for removing particulate matter, as recited in claim 44, further characterized by the step of outputting the finer particulate matter inside the diffuser cone through funnelling the finer particulate matter down through a diffuser cone and transporting the particulate matter through an output tubing connected to the bottom of the diffuser cone.

51. The method for removing particulate matter, as recited in claim 50, wherein an extended tubing is further characterized as connected to the output tubing so that finer particulate matter can be separated from the coarser particulate matter and allowed to fall out to a separate outlet.

52. A method for filtering particulate matter or noxious gases from gases through the use of media comprising the steps of: directing the gases into a media filtration system, allowing the gases to pass through media that is contained in a media bed, removing the particulate matter by having them trapped in the media, exhausting the cleaned gases from the media filtration system, and feeding additional media into the media bed while the old media is being discharged, characterized by: evenly diffusing the flow of the gases so that it is evenly distributed along an entire cross-sectional surface of the media bed, detecting a pressure differential across the media bed as particulate matter are accumulated, discharging the media at a rate related to the detected pressure differential, and sorting the discharged media and particulate so that cleaned and sized media is recycled.

53. The method for filtering particulate matter or noxious gases from gases, as recited in claim 52, wherein the step of evenly diffusing the flow of the gases is further characterized by the step of adjusting the variable openings of diffuser plates.

54. The method for filtering particulate matter or noxious gases from gases, as recited in claim 52, wherein the step of discharging the media is further characterized by: detecting a threshold pressure change across the media bed; activating a media discharge system; and discharging the media from the media bed to maintain a pressure change across the media bed in a predetermined range.

55. A media filtration system apparatus for carrying out the method of claim 52 which removes particulate matter or noxious gases from gases comprising: an inlet through which the gases enter the media filtration system apparatus, a housing tank structure where the gases flow within the system apparatus, at least two media beds that contain media which function to filter particulate matter or noxious gases from the gases, a media discharge system, and an outlet where the cleaned gases are directed out of the system apparatus, characterized by: a hopper bin underneath each bed which catches and retains media as it is fed through the system, adjustable sectional diffuser plates which can vary in openings, an inlet for replenishing media so that the filtering function is continuously effective, and a media handling system for cleaning and sizing dirty media, and recycling clean media, and disposing oversized or undersized media.

56. The media filtration system apparatus, as recited in claim 55, wherein the housing tank structure is further characterized as housing the adjustable sectional diffuser plates and the media beds.

57. The media filtration system apparatus, as recited in claim 55, wherein the housing tank structure is further characterized by a cylindrical shape so that it has more structural integrity and support so that it can carry more weight.

58. The media filtration system apparatus, as recited in claim 55, wherein the variable openings of the adjustable diffuser plates are further characterized by adjustable holes.

59. The media filtration system apparatus, as recited in claim 58, wherein the adjustable diffuser plates with variable openings are further characterized by: a first perforated plate that remains stationary; and a second perforated plate that slides as an independent section on the surface of the first plate so that the openings of the adjustable diffuser plates vary.

60. The media filtration system apparatus, as recited in claim 58, wherein the adjustable diffuser plates are further characterized as being mounted and adjusted in the tank structure in such a way that they evenly diffuse the inlet gas flow before entering through the media beds.

61. The media filtration system apparatus, as recited in claim 60, wherein the evenly diffused gas flow is further characterized by the filtering of an even amount of gases along the total cross-sectional surfaces of the media beds.

62. The media filtration system apparatus, as recited in claim 55, wherein each media bed that contains media is further characterized by: a first plate wall with perforated holes; a second plate wall with perforated holes that is placed a certain distance apart in parallel with the first plate wall; and a structural frame that supports the two plate walls.

63. The media filtration system apparatus, as recited in claim 62, wherein each plate wall is further characterized by having perforated holes across the face of each plate that are of a size and spacing determined by the type of media to be used.

64. The media filtration system apparatus, as recited in claim 62, wherein the structural frame is further characterized by: a frame which is placed along the outer vertical surface perimeter of each of the plate walls; and rectangular frames that are placed horizontally around the outside edge of the vertical perimeter of the plate walls along the height of the media bed.

65. The media filtration system apparatus, as recited in claim 55, wherein the two beds are further characterized as being set in the housing tank structure such that they form a chevron shape when the system is viewed from the top so that they provide the system apparatus with more filtering cross-sectional surface area which results in better overall filtering efficiency of the system apparatus.

66. The media filtration system apparatus, as recited in claim 65, further characterized by the efficiency of the system apparatus being optimized when the media beds form a chevron shape that have a 20° angle.

67. The media filtration system apparatus, as recited in claim 55, wherein each side of the hopper bin is further characterized as being oversized by a certain distance so that it can catch and retain the media which has fallen or has been pushed through the perforated holes.

68. The media filtration system apparatus, as recited in claim 55, wherein the media discharge system is further characterized by: a tapered screw auger which draws the media evenly out of the hopper bin across the entire length of the bottom of the media bed.

69. The media filtration system apparatus, as recited in claim 68, further characterized by an outlet to where media is discharged.

70. The media filtration system apparatus, as reicted in claim 69, wherein the outlet is further characterized by: a hopper bin extension which attaches to a portion of the screw auger and encompasses a shut off gate.

71. The media filtration system apparatus, as recited in claim 68, further characterized by the rate at which the media discharge system operates to discharge dirty media being a function of the sensed pressure differential across the media bed.

72. The media filtration system apparatus, as recited in claim 71 , further characterized by sensor switches which measure the pressure changes across the media bed to activate the motors which turn the screw auger.

73. The media filtration system apparatus, as recited in claim 72, wherein the sensor switches which measure the pressure changes across the media beds each is further characterized by: a photohelic or magnetic gauge; and a T-type pitot tube.

74. The media filtration system apparatus, as recited in claim 55, wherein the media handling system is further characterized by: a first vibrating screen; a second vibrating screen; a bottom deck which is underneath the second vibrating screen; an outlet for screened oversized particles; an outlet for screened undersized particles; an outlet for media, screened of particulate and reacted sorbents, which can be recycled back into the media beds; and a structure that houses the screens and the outlets.

75. The media filtration system apparatus, as recited in claim 74, further characterized by outlets for oversized and undersized particles each being directed to a holding bin where the particles can then be removed or disposed.

76. The media filtration system apparatus, as recited in claim 74, wherein the outlet for screened media that do not fall through the second vibrating screen are further characterized as connected to an apparatus that will recycle the clean media back to the media beds.

77. The media filtration system apparatus, as recited in claim 76, further characterized by the recycling of the media making the system apparatus a closed loop self-cleaning system.

78. A method for scrubbing and cleaning gases comprising the steps of: inputting dirty gases into a scrubber system, drawing the gases through the entire scrubber system, injecting sorbent particles into a gas stream so that particulate matter or noxious gases can be removed from the gases, and filtering particulate matter or noxious gases from gases through the use of media in media beds, and exhausting cleaned gases from the scrubber system, characterized by: removing the particulate matter from the gases through the application of centrifugal force, impaction, reversal of the gas flow, reduction of velocity of the gas flow, or gravitational forces.

79. The method for scrubbing and cleaning gases, as recited in claim 78, wherein the step of injecting sorbent particles is further characterized by: educing the sorbent particles through a sorbent injection system apparatus.

80. The method for scrubbing and cleaning gases, as recited in claim 78, wherein the step of injecting sorbent particles is further characterized by: electrostatically charging the sorbent particles by passing them through a magnetizing field.

81. The method for scrubbing and cleaning gases, as recited in claim 78, wherein the step of filtering particulate matter or noxious gases is further characterized by: evenly diffusing a flow of gases so that it is evenly distributed along an entire cross-sectional surface of the media beds.

82. The method for scrubbing and cleaning gases, as recited in claim 78, wherein the step of filtering particulate matter or noxious gases is further characterized by: detecting a pressure differential across the media beds as particulate matter are accumulated, and discharging the media at a rate related to the detected pressure differential.

83. The method for scrubbing and cleaning gases, as recited in claim 78, wherein the cleaned gases that is exhausted is further characterized as being able to be used in the step of injecting sorbent particles into the gas stream.

84. The method for scrubbing and cleaning gases, as recited in claim 78, wherein the method for scrubbing and cleaning gases is further characterized as a dry scrubbing and cleaning method.

85. The method for scrubbing and cleaning gases, as recited in claim 78, wherein the step of controlling the overall scrubbing and cleaning of gases is further characterized by the use of a programmable process logic controller.

86. A scrubber system apparatus for carrying out the method of claim 78 for cleaning gases comprising: an inlet where dirty gases enter the scrubber system apparatus, a sorbent injection system apparatus for injecting sorbent particles into a gas stream so that particulate matter or noxious gases can be removed from the gases, and a media filtration system apparatus for filtering particulate matter or noxious gases from gases through the use of media in media beds, an outlet where cleaned gases exit the scrubber system apparatus, characterized by: a particulate removal system apparatus for removing the particulate matter from the gases through the application of centrifugal force, impaction, reversal of the gas flow, reduction of velocity of the gas flow, or gravitional forces, and a controller for the overall scrubber system apparatus in order to clean gases.

87. The scrubber system apparatus, as recited in claim 86, wherein the sorbent injection system is further characterized by: a sorbent eductor module that educes the sorbent particles through the sorbent injection system apparatus.

88. The scrubber system apparatus, as recited in claim 86, wherein the sorbent injection system is further characterized by: an electrostatic charging module that charges the sorbent particles by passing them through a magnetizing field.

89. The scrubber system apparatus, as recited in claim 86, wherein the media filtration system is further characterized by: a hopper bin underneath each bed which catches and retains media as it is fed through the media filtration system.

90. The scrubber system apparatus, as recited in claim 86, wherein the media filtration system is further characterized by: adjustable sectional diffuser plates which can vary in openings.

91. The scrubber system apparatus, as recited in claim 86, is further characterized by an induction fan which draws the gases through the scrubber system apparatus and which exhausts the clean gases.

92. The scrubber system apparatus, as recited in claim 91 , wherein the clean gases from the system outlet are further characterized as being fed to be used in the sorbent injection system apparatus.

93. The scrubber system apparatus, as recited in claim 86, wherein the scrubber system apparatus is further characterized as a dry scrubber system.

94. The scrubber system apparatus, as recited in claim 86, wherein the controller for the scrubber system apparatus is further characterized as a programmable process logic controller.