WO2005108304A1

WO2005108304A1 - Method and apparatus for liquid treatment

Info

Publication number: WO2005108304A1
Application number: PCT/BY2004/000016
Authority: WO
Inventors: Vladimir V. Mikhnevich; Gennadiy A. Govor
Original assignee: Mikhnevich Vladimir V; Govor Gennadiy A
Priority date: 2004-05-12
Filing date: 2004-05-12
Publication date: 2005-11-17
Also published as: EA200602105A1; EA010012B1

Abstract

The invention relates to the technique of liquid treatment by means of chemical or physical processes or both using the energy of electric, magnetic and electromagnetic fields. It is intended for improving the liquid properties due to the joining of oxygen,. in particular, and of other gases as a result of the complex influence of various external factors. The invention includes the method of treatment and apparatus thereof. A method of liquid treatment in accordance with the present invention comprising the step of gas-and-liquid mixing and the step of processing the mixture thus received by electric and magnetic fields also comprises steps of transforming said liquid into a low-disperse pulverized state in a gaseous medium and further subjecting said liquid together with the flowing gas to the influence of an electric field by introducing said liquid dispersion into a high-voltage inter-electrode space. A liquid dispersion could additionally be treated by a pulsed magnetic field by means of introducing said liquid dispersion into the zone under the influence of a pulsed magnetic field.

Description

Method and Apparatus for Liquid Treatment

Field of the Invention

The invention relates to the technique of liquid treatment by means of chemical or physical processes or both using the energy of electric, magnetic and electromagnetic fields. It is intended for improving the liquid properties due to the addition of oxygen, in particular, and of other gases as a result of the complex influence of various external factors. The invention includes the method of treatment and apparatus thereof. Prior Art

The basic requirements to the liquid properties are discussed using water as an example.

The problem of most vital importance is how to make the raw water safe for usage. There are a number of such methods in modern technique for water treatment. All the methods in question may be classified according to the following basic features:

Most widely used and also most comprehensive ones are chemical methods of water treatment such as chlorination and ozonization as well as some others [US patent 5683576 Olsen "Water ozonation treatment apparatus", 651 1602 Mijashita "Apparatus and method for treating water", 6547947 Uno et al "Method and apparatus for water treating"].

Also in use are microbiological methods of water treatment [US patent 6565749 Hou et al. "Microorganism filter ..."].

Known are a number of electrophysical methods such as ultraviolet irradiation, treatment by high-voltage discharge and others [US patent 655835 Wydeven "Ultraviolet-ozone oxidation system and method", 6583422 Boehme "Ultraviolet water purifier", 5591317 Pitts "Electrostatic device for water treatment", 5575974 Wurzburger et al. "Apparatus and method for anodic oxidation biocidical treatment", 4024047 Clark "Electrostatic water treatment apparatus"].

Known from ancient times are methods of water disinfection by means of introducing the ions of metals such as silver and some others [US patent 6565893 Jones et al "Process for preparing disinfectant..", 6495052 Mijamoto "System and method for treatment of water"]. Magnetic water treatment is also in use [US 6491825 Kamibayashi et al. "Method for using a magnetic treatment apparatus", US 5304302 Bossert "Apparatus for treating liquids with alternating magnetic and electric fields"].

Nevertheless, none of the methods known either chlorination or ozonization or any of the other methods taken in separate provides a full guarantee that the raw water after treatment is safe for usage.

Hence, an important requirement to such water is the absence of microbes, viruses and other protozoa harmful for human health.

Natural water of the type available at such popular health resorts as Trouskavets, Morshen and other places is known for its medical treatment properties which are useful both for a healthy human and for treating the alimentary canal diseases, vascular system problems and a number of other diseases. A peculiar feature of this water is that in spite its low mineralization level being of about 30-40 mg per liter, the content of aeroions i.e. oxygen, nitrogen, carbonic acid gas and of other air components considerably surpasses their respective content in the ordinary water. It is a higher content of the above-mentioned aeroions that defines the positive influence of the natural water on the stable functioning of the alimentary canal, liver and kidneys promotes the purification of the human body on the whole. However, the low stability of aeroions in the natural water does not make it possible to use said water outside the boundaries of the popular health resorts.

Water aeration apparatus are basically built according to the concept of passing the air under pressure through the bulk of water [US patent 4936552 Rothrock "Aerating apparatus"]. The apparatus of the kind have relatively low efficiency.

It follows from the above that the other requirement to water which is of no less importance is the enhanced content of aeroions, i.e. air components, and of oxygen ions, in particular.

One of the basic requirements to any liquid including water is the stability of its composition during long storage time and also during heating.

It is a known fact that in the natural conditions the water made of melted ice is the most stable one and hence useful for usage. When being melted, this water appears to maintain the ice structure wherein the additive atoms are ordered. Each atom in said water is surrounded by a solvation hydrogen-oxygen sphere that prevents the precipitation of the salts dissolved in water. The stability of water is defined by the availability of macromolecules having the ice structure composed of about a thousand of water molecules. Known are the attempts to make a stable composition of water by means of passing it through the system of permanent magnets [US patents: 5716529 Mason "Magnetic fluid conditioner", 5656171 Strachwitz "Magnetic activating process", 5378362 Schoepe "Apparatus for magnetically treating water", 4407719 Van Gorp "Magnetic water treatment apparatus"].

However, this method of water treatment did not gain wide popularity due to its small efficiency as a result of the low magnetic induction value of the magnets used. Boiling or heating cause the destruction of the hydrogen- oxygen sphere and enhance the process of formation of non-soluble precipitates as a result aggravating the problem of water usage.

It follows from the above that alongside with the State Standard requirements concerning the chemical composition of water the following additional requirements should also be provided: the possibility of using the raw water on condition of its complete disinfection; maximum possible enrichment of water with aeroions and with oxygen, in particular, to improve its consumer properties; a stable mineral composition of water that is maintained even during boiling without their destruction. Unfortunately all these water treatment problems related to the design of the appropriate water treatment systems both for individual and popular use have not been solved so far concerning both the methods and apparatus thereof.

The problems of disinfection, enrichment with oxygen and with other gases and also of composition stability still exist in a number of modern processes for treatment of other liquids such as non-organic and synthetic oil, different kinds of liquid fuel, juice and liquid food products, liquid medications and many others. Summary of the Invention

It is the general aim of the present invention to design a method and an apparatus for liquid treatment which make it possible to provide a complex solution of all of the above- mentioned problems.

The present invention is aimed at providing the liquid disinfection and its enrichment with aeroions and with oxygen, in particular, and at maintaining the stability of the chemical composition, this making it possible to preserve for a long time the newly-acquired liquid properties resulting from treatment. To provide a complex solution of the above problems it is feasible to make use of practically all of the methods of liquid treatment known so far.

This aim in a method of liquid treatment in accordance with the present invention comprising the step of gas-and-liquid mixing and the step of processing the mixture thus received by electric and magnetic fields is achieved by means of said liquid being transformed into a low-disperse pulverized state in a gaseous medium and further subjecting said liquid together with the flowing gas to the influence of an electric field by introducing said liquid dispersion into a high-voltage inter-electrode space. A liquid dispersion after being treated in a gaseous medium by an electric field is additionally treated by a pulsed magnetic field by means of introducing said liquid dispersion into the zone under the influence of a pulsed magnetic field.

After treatment of a liquid dispersion by an electric field an excessive surface electric charge is removed therefrom by passing said liquid dispersion through an electrode (for example gauze electrode) having a zero potential.

Treatment of a liquid dispersion in a gaseous medium by a pulsed magnetic field is performed sequentially in several zones, while the direction of said magnetic field in each of said zones is reversed such that the direction of the pulsed magnetic field in the zone under the influence would be coinciding or opposing to the direction of the flow of the liquid dispersion in the gaseous medium.

Preferably treatment of a liquid dispersion in a gaseous medium is performed in the inter-electrode space by a constant electric field having the voltage within from 30 to 50 kV.

Treatment by a pulsed magnetic field is provided at the maximum induction value within from 0,5 to 1 ,5 Tesla and the magnetic induction rise rate of 10⁴ - 10³ T/sec with the pulse repetition rate from 300 to 500 Hz.

Water and air or oxygen are used respectively as a liquid and a gaseous medium, or it may be hydrocarbon fuel and air or oxygen used appropriately.

The above-described aim in an apparatus for liquid treatment comprising the inlets for supplying liquid and gas respectively, the electrodes coupled to a high-voltage source and also a magnetic field source, is achieved by providing said apparatus with a disperser means coupled to said inlets for supplying liquid and gas and being additionally supplied with a nozzle for the outflow of the gas-liquid dispersion in the direction of a ring-shaped anode coupled to the constant high-voltage source, while the nozzle of said disperser means is used as a cathode, and further along the dispersion flow there is positioned a collector for gathering and outflow of liquid after treatment.

A magnetic field source may be made in the form of at least one ring-shape electromagnet positioned between a ring-shaped anode and a collector with the core of said ring-shaped electromagnet encircling the flow of a gas-liquid dispersion and its winding being connected to a pulsed current source.

Number of ring-shaped electromagnet may be sequentially positioned between an anode and a collector with the cores of said magnets encircling a gas-liquid dispersion flow and the winding of each of the following magnets being coupled to a pulsed current source in the opposing phase with regard to the previous one. Number of said ring-shaped electromagnet is preferably not less than six.

At least a ring-shape anode is made of metal e.g. of silver intended to be consumable during treatment process. A method of producing the aerated liquid in accordance with the present invention is based on the electrochemical processes taking place during the ion plasma treatment of a pulverized liquid dispersion in an air medium with the subsequent stabilization and strengthening of its composition by an intense pulsed magnetic field. During these processes the liquid is subjected to UV-irradiation, ozonization and to a number of other processes similar to those observed in the natural conditions when a lightning is discharged in a thundercloud. Brief Description of the Drawings

Fig. l is a schematic representation of a liquid treatment apparatus in accordance with the present invention using water as an example.

Fig.2 shows respective IR- spectra of water before (1) and after (2) treatment.

Fig.3 shows a variation of the amount of oxygen dissolved in water before (1) and after (2) treatment.

Fig.4 is a schematic representation of a dipole water structure respectively: (a) a non-orderly structure after treatment by an electric field and (b) a stable orderly structure after treatment by a pulsed magnetic field. Detailed Description of the Invention and a Preferable Examples

Implementation of a method will be described using an apparatus for water treatment in accordance with the present invention as an example. A schematic representation of the apparatus is shown in Fig.1. Water and air after pre-cleaning by various filters (not shown) are supplied under the pressure of 2-3 atmospheres to a disperser means 1 via the appropriate inlets 2 and 3 to produce the low-dispersion state of water. The mixture of dispersed water with air from a nozzle 4 is passed through a constant electric field with a ring-shaped anode 5 of the latter being positioned in the flow of the water-air dispersion.

A ring-shaped anode 5 is supplied with a high positive potential of +30-50 kV. A casing of the disperser means 1 in the example described is used directly as a cathode. As a result between the anode and the cathode there is generated an A.C. current, which causes partial ionization of the water-air mixture with the resulting formation of the ozone. This ozone is directly used for the disinfection of the water it has been produced from, said water being in the state of the water-air dispersion. Besides ozonization there is also provided water disinfection due to the UV-glow as a result of an electric current flowing through the water-air pulverized dispersion (Fig.2).

An excessive spatial charge is removed by a grounded cathode 6, gauze cathode in this example, positioned in close proximity to an anode 5.

A water-air mixture is further subjected to the influence of strong pulsed magnetic fields with the induction value within from 0,5 to 1 ,5 Tesla and the magnetic induction rise rate of about 10 - 10^D T/sec. Said magnetic fields are generated by means of ring-shaped electric magnets 7 7n. The leads of the windings of said magnets are connected to AC source(s) (not shown). Said magnetic fields induce a pulsed inductive electric field having the potential of φ = l O^lO³ V. The duration of an electric field pulse makes up the value within t = 100 - 300 μsec with the pulse repetition rate within f = 300 - 500 Hz.

An intensive stirring provided due to the interaction of the induced pulsed electric fields with the dipole system of the water-air mixture results in the formation of a more complex orderly water structure wherein the amount of the dissolved oxygen has practically doubled.

Water having undergone the above-described process of treatment is condensed and stored in the collector 8.

The following analytical methods were used to examine the basic properties of the water produced in an apparatus in accordance with the present invention.

PH-metering

The acidity of water before and after treatment was measured with the standard type pH-meter having the precision up to 0,1. The acidity of the original water was of 6,5 - 6.8.

The acidity of the water after treatment was respectively of 7,3 - 7,5.

Thus, as a result of treatment in accordance with the present invention the original state of water is brought back to normal.

IR-spectrometry

IR water spectra were examined with the Fourier spectrometer in the wavelength range with the wave number from 80 to 4000 cm^{" 1}

The examination results are shown in Fig.3. It is obvious from the spectra shown that the treated water (curve 2) in comparison to the non-treated water (curve 1) features additional absorption maximums resulting from the complex structure of O-H-0 couplings.

Analysis of Dissolved Oxygen Measurements of the amount of the free dissolved oxygen in the original water and in the treated water were performed by the method of a polarimetric Clark cell. The original water contains the dissolved oxygen in the amount of 8-13 mg/liter. The water after treatment contains respectively 22 -25mg/Iiter.

Thus, treatment of the original water in accordance with the present invention results in the double content of oxygen being dissolved in water.

The variation of the content of oxygen dissolved in water versus time was also examined (Fig.3). It is obvious from the curves shown that during the first two hours of storage time the amount of dissolved oxygen is decreased from 22 mg/liter to 18 mg/liter. During subsequent storage of the treated water said amount, of dissolved oxygen remains practically unchanged.

The processes such as an A.C. current flow and the accompanying UV- irradiation resulting in the formation of the ozone in the water medium that take place during treatment of a water-air pulverized dispersion cause the formation of a non-orderly dipole water structure (Fig. 4a). Further during treatment of the resulting water dispersion by a pulsed magnetic field the dipole moments of water molecules are oriented in the direction of an induced electric field with the resulting formation of an orderly multi-atomic structure (Fig.4b). The composition of water multi-atomic molecules contains the admixture salt atoms dissolved in water, aeroions as well as other atoms and structural formations. As a result an orderly dipole water structure is characterized by a stable composition identical to the compositions that are formed in the natural conditions when a lightning is discharged in a thundercloud. As a result of the influence of the above-described processes: Harmful organic contamination is subjected to oxidizing destruction; Protozoa is eliminated; Water is enriched with active oxygen; - Water acquires properties that are preserved during heating, boiling and long storage without the formation of lime precipitates; The ions of calcium, magnesium, potassium, fluorine and iodine that are indispensable for a human body are stabilized and preserved in water; Water acquires anti-bacterial properties that are preserved for a long time due to the enrichment with a small number of silver ions from a consumable cathode electrode.

Aerated drinking water produced by a method and by means of an apparatus in accordance with the present invention promotes improvement of the human health just like its natural prototypes and can be used for treatment of: - different kinds of allergy, arthritis and arthrosis, alimentary canal diseases, insufficiency of liver and kidneys, urolithiasis, varicous diseases and tendency to oedema, - insufficiency of immunity.

Claims

1. A method of liquid treatment comprising the step of gas-and-liquid mixing and the step of processing the mixture thus received by an electric field and the step of processing by a magnetic field, wherein said liquid is transformed into a low-disperse pulverized state in a gaseous medium and further subjected together with the flowing gas to the influence of an electric field by inserting said liquid dispersion into a high-voltage inter-electrode space.

2. A method as in claim 1 , wherein a liquid dispersion after being treated in a gaseous medium by an electric field is additionally treated by a pulsed magnetic field by means of introducing said liquid dispersion into the zone under the influence of a pulsed magnetic field.

3. A method as in claim 1 , wherein the metal ions are additionally introduced from a consumable electrode due to the transfer of said metal ions during the current flow in an inter-electrode space in a liquid dispersion medium.

4. A method as in claim 3, wherein said consumable electrode is made of silver.

5. A method as in claim 1 , wherein after treatment of a liquid dispersion by an electric field an excessive surface electric charge is removed therefrom by passing said liquid dispersion through an electrode having a zero potential.

6. A method as in claim 2, wherein treatment of a liquid dispersion in a gaseous medium by a pulsed magnetic field is performed a number of times, while the direction of said magnetic field is reversed during each treatment cycle.

7. A method as in claim 6, wherein treatment of a liquid dispersion in a gaseous medium is performed by means of introducing said liquid dispersion in more than one zone under the influence of a pulsed magnetic field.

8. A method as in claim 7, wherein the direction of a pulsed magnetic field in the zone under the influence thereof coincides or opposes the direction of a liquid dispersion flow in a gaseous medium.

9. A method as in claim 8, wherein treatment of a liquid dispersion in a gaseous medium by a pulsed magnetic field is provided at the maximum induction value within from 0,5 to 1 ,5 Tesla and the magnetic induction rise rate of 10⁴ - 10⁵ T/sec with the pulse repetition rate from 300 to 500 Hz.

10. A method as in claim 1 , wherein treatment of a liquid dispersion in a gaseous medium is performed in an inter-electrode space by a constant electric field having the voltage within from 30 to 50 kV.

1 1 . A method as in claim 1 , wherein water and air or oxygen are used respectively as a liquid and a gaseous medium.

12. A method as in claim 1 , wherein hydrocarbon fuel and air or oxygen are used respectively as a liquid and a gaseous medium.

13. An apparatus for liquid treatment comprising the inlets for supplying liquid and gas respectively, the electrodes coupled to a high-voltage source and also a magnetic field source, wherein said apparatus is provided with a disperser means coupled to said inlets for supplying liquid and gas and is additionally supplied with a nozzle for the outflow of a gas-liquid dispersion in the direction of a ring-shaped anode coupled to a constant high-voltage source, while the nozzle of said disperser means is used as a cathode, and further along a gas-liquid dispersion flow there is positioned a collector for gathering and outflow of liquid after treatment.

14. An apparatus as in claim 13, wherein a magnetic field source is made in the form of at least one ring-shape electromagnet positioned between a ring- shaped anode and a collector, while the core of said ring-shaped electromagnet encircles the flow of a gas-liquid dispersion and its winding is connected to a pulsed current source.

15. An apparatus as in claim 14, wherein ring-shaped electromagnets are sequentially positioned between an anode and a collector with the cores of said magnets encircling a gas-liquid dispersion flow and the winding of each of the following magnets being coupled to a pulsed current source in the opposing phase with regard to the previous one.

16. An apparatus as in claim 15, wherein number of ring-shaped electromagnets is not less than six.

17. An apparatus as in claim 13, wherein at least one area of a ring-shape anode is made of metal e.g. of silver intended to be consumable during treatment process.

18. An apparatus as in claim 13, wherein at least one area of a ring-shape anode is made of silver.