WO2020157649A1

WO2020157649A1 - A device and method for using pollutants and source of pollution as pollution abatement agents

Info

Publication number: WO2020157649A1
Application number: PCT/IB2020/050648
Authority: WO
Inventors: Shashi Ranjan; Debayan SAHA; Yogesh Agarwal
Original assignee: Persapien Innovations Private Limited
Priority date: 2019-01-29
Filing date: 2020-01-28
Publication date: 2020-08-06

Abstract

The present invention relates to a device and methods for abatement of pollution by transforming or modifying pollutant in such a way that these pollutants are used itself as agents for pollution abatement. The modified pollutants interact with each other in such a way that facilitate removal of pollutants in a desired way from the given resource, such as air or water, to reduce pollution in that resource. The pollutants include particulate matters in air, dissolved solids in water, other types of pollutants mixed with mist, unwanted gases in air and unwanted materials in water etc.

Description

A DEVICE AND METHOD FOR USING POLLUTANTS AND SOURCE OF

POLLUTION AS POLLUTION ABATEMENT AGENTS

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[001] The present invention generally relates to a device and methods for abatement of pollution, more specifically air pollution and water pollution. The present invention involves the removal of pollutants such as suspended particulate matter (SPM) from ambient air or dissolved solids from available water sources by modifying pollutants which are being added to these natural resources, wherein added pollutants are modified to act as an agent for pollution abatement.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[002] The problem of air pollution and water pollution does not need an introduction. According to the reports of World Health Organization, 92% of the world’s population is breathing bad air. The polluted air is adversely affecting the health of people worldwide by causing various respiratory as well as non-respiratory diseases such as cardiac ailments. Similarly, the water pollution is causing huge health hazards in the world.

[003] As the pollution is increasing and causing damage to the health of living beings in various parts of world, it is becoming more important to invent new technologies to efficiently remove pollution, especially from air and water as these are the most important components to sustain life and everyone has the right to consume clean air and water.

[004] US7610752B2 relates to devices and methods for reduction of NOx emissions from lean burn engines. The method includes incorporation and reaction of ¾ and CO into the exhaust stream and converts the NOx catalyst to N2, thereby providing an efficient means of NOx emission control.

[005] US3900554Arelates to a method for reducing the concentration of NO from combustion effluents using ammonia. The said method comprising the step of contacting an effluent stream containing NO contamination with a sufficient amount of ammonia in the presence of a sufficient amount of O₂ and at a sufficient temperature to selectively reduce the NO from said combustion effluent.

[006] Thus, the prior art pollution abatement devices and methods focus only on reduction of emission of NOxfrom combustion effluents to reduce air pollution. In light of the above described state of the art, there is a need of a device and method to reduce all kind of pollutants present in both air and water.

[007] The present invention provides one such solution to the prior art problems by providing a device and methods for abatement of pollution by using the pollutants or the source of pollution to remove pollution.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[008] The main aspect of the present invention is a method for abatement of pollution in ambient air/water resources by using the pollutants that get added to these natural resources through human activities. These pollutants are modified, physically or chemically, in such a way that they act as an agent for removal of existing pollutants in the ambient air/water resources. This is achieved by a pollution abatement device.

[009] Another aspect of the invention is a device can be attached to the source of pollution like exhaust pipe of vehicles which adds pollutants to the ambient air to modify the physical and/or chemical nature of pollutants with the purpose of pollution abatement using these modified particles. For example, the suspended particulate pollutants coming out of exhaust of vehicles can be modified electrically using the attached device which may contain high voltage source, wave energy source etc. The device attached to tail pipe ionizes/polarizes the exhaust mixture. The ionized exhaust mixture from the device is dispersed in ambient air where it interacts with pollutants in the ambient air to agglomerate these pollutants. This will cause settlement of pollutants in the ambient air and can be used for abatement of the air pollution. The device may contain other features such as acoustic agglomeration. [0010] Another aspect of the present invention is to use any of the methods in the device for converting pollutants and source of pollution as pollution abatement agents by addition or removal of charge/electron or ionization, addition or removal of chemical species/groups, addition or removal of magnetic properties, addition or removal of micro/nano particles, modification of physical structures, modification of chemical composition and/or structure etc. and there combination thereof.

OBJECTIVE OF THE INVENTION

[0011] The primary objective of the present invention is to provide a device to be attached to the pollution source such as exhaust systems for abatement of pollution by transforming or modifying the pollutants.

[0012] Another objective of the present invention is to provide various methods used separately or in combination to reduce the pollution by transforming or modifying the pollutants.

[0013] Yet another objective of the present invention is to provide method for abatement of pollution in ambient air/water resources by using the pollutants that gets added to these resources through human activities.

[0014] Still another objective of the present invention is to modify the pollutants by various methods so that they act as an agent for removal of existing pollutants in the ambient air/water resources.

[0015] Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein, by way of illustration and example, the aspects of the present invention are disclosed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0016] The present invention will be better understood after reading the following detailed description of the presently preferred aspects thereof with reference to the appended drawings, in which the features, other aspects and advantages of certain exemplary embodiments of the invention will be more apparent from the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 illustrates the working of the device of the present invention for abatement of air pollution; and

Figure 2 illustrates the various components of the device of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0017] The following description describes various features and functions of the disclosed device and methods with reference to the accompanying figures. In the figures, similar symbols identify similar components, unless context dictates otherwise. The illustrative aspects described herein are not meant to be limiting. It may be readily understood that certain aspects of the disclosed system, method and apparatus can be arranged and combined in a wide variety of different configurations, all of which are contemplated herein.

[0018] These and other features and advantages of the present invention may be incorporated into certain embodiments of the invention and will become more fully apparent from the following description and claims or may be learned by the practice of the invention as set forth hereinafter.

[0019] Accordingly, those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that various changes and modifications of the embodiments described herein can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. In addition, descriptions of well-known functions and constructions are omitted for clarity and conciseness.

[0020] The terms and words used in the following description and claims are not limited to the bibliographical meanings, but, are merely used to enable a clear and consistent understanding of the invention. Accordingly, it should be apparent to those skilled in the art that the following description of exemplary embodiments of the present invention are provided for illustration purpose only and not for the purpose of limiting the invention. [0021] It is to be understood that the singular forms“a,”“an,” and“the” include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.

[0022] It should be emphasized that the term “comprises/comprising” when used in this specification is taken to specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps or components but does not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, components or groups thereof.

[0023] The term“Ambient” herein refers to natural surrounding which are generally present around us.

[0024] The main embodiment of the present invention is to provide a device for abatement of pollution in ambient air/water resources by using the pollutants itself or the source of pollution to reduce the pollution. The device is attached to the source of pollution such as exhaust pipe of vehicles, chimney of factories etc. and reduces pollution by electrically modifying combined with acoustic agglomeration of exhaust mixture (particles, vapor and other gases).

[0025] The device (4), as shown in Figures 1 and 2, consists of a high voltage negative and/or positive source, high voltage convertor (9), charge dissipating or accepting arrangement such as brushes, conducting brushes (5), stripes, and plates made up of conducting material.

[0026] The device (4) transforms or modifies the exhaust mixture (pollutants), exhaust mixture including particles (3), by adding or removing electrical charge by ionizing the exhaust mixture (6). The device (4) is attached to the exhaust system (1) which comprises exhaust pipe, tailpipe (2) of vehicles, to ionize the exhaust mixture, exhaust mixture including particles (3).As the engine of vehicle starts, the exhaust mixture is generated which is modified/ionized by the device before dispersing into the air. Further, a vibrator ( 11 ) is incorporated to avoid settling of pollutants on the device (4). The ionized pollutants are allowed to mix with polluted air where abatement of pollution is desired.

[0027] The device (4), as shown in Figure 2, produces electrically modified exhaust mixture (particles, vapor and other gases) using high voltage ionization. It contains input power source (7), wires (8) for transferring electrical power from source to high voltage convertor (9). The high voltage power is delivered from high voltage convertor (9) to conducting brushes (5) through conducting wires (10).

[0028] Another embodiment of the present invention is to propose the design of device which maximizes the ionization of pollutants such as particulate matters, gases, water vapor etc. emitted from the exhaust system. The device uses pins, stripes or plates at high voltage for introduction or removal of electrons to pollutants (ionization of pollutants), wherein the said components may be arranged in/as, but not limited to, tunnel design, curved or twisted tunnels.

[0029] Yet another embodiment of the present invention is to propose the device which also ionizes the polluted air with opposite charge as compared to the charge of the exhaust mixture emitted from the vehicle.

[0030] Yet another embodiment of the present invention is to ionize the mist by exposing it to high voltage through ionization device. The ionized mist and pollutants in the mist are allowed to disperse in air to interact with air pollutants and reduce the pollution. This embodiment helps in reducing the pollution in water bodies or waste water. The waste water is converted to mist using any of the mist generating machine which then later cleared through ionization device.

[0031] The present invention is useful in industrial exhaust, exhaust from airplane, household exhaust etc. The sources of pollution includes, but not limited to, exhaust of vehicles, exhaust of industries, household burning of fuels, waste water from water treatment, industrial waste water etc.

[0032] Yet another embodiment of the present invention is to vary the input and/or output electrical power to control/optimize ionization of pollutants. The power variation is used for selective modification of the exhaust mixture to promote or prohibit generation of any specific molecule as per the specific requirement. [0033] Further, the plasma or photons may also be used for ionization of pollutants. Plasma state of gases is known for ionization of surfaces through bombardment of high energy ions. Photons are also know for ionization as per photo-electric effect. In addition, chemical modification of pollutant is achieved by using chemical baths, sputtering etc., wherein pollutants are allowed to interact with particular chemical groups and develop chemical bonding.

[0034] Another embodiment of the present invention is to provide methods for transforming or modifying pollutants for said pollution abatement. Such methods includes addition or removal of charge/electron or ionization, addition or removal of chemical species/groups, addition or removal of magnetic properties, trapping of pollutants in water vapour using low temperature vaporization, oxidation or reduction, addition or removal of micro/nano particles, modification of physical structures, modification of chemical composition and/or structure etc. and there combination thereof.

[0035] The present invention also provide methods for pollution abatement in one type of resource, such as air, by using pollutants in other type of resource, such as water. Another such method is to modify dissolved solids in water and dispersing it in air in form of mist in order to reduce air pollution.

[0036] In addition, the polluted or waste water containing minerals and dissolved solids etc. is treated by converting the water into mist, such that the mist contains, partially or fully, the said pollutants. The said mist having pollutants is transformed or modified using methods such as ionization before released in the air for abatement of air pollution. The pollutant in water is modified in such a way that it aids in agglomeration of pollutants in air while water is converted into mist or is sprinkled to interact with air.

[0037] The air pollutants trapped or dispersed in water vapor, such as smog, mist etc., are also used as an agent for pollution abatement. Water molecule also aids in modification of pollutants through different mechanisms. [0038] The method may also use the wave energy such as electromagnetic waves to disperse the transformed/modified pollutants to enhance the abatement process. For example- radio waves or physical waves like sound wave which enables dispersion of the modified/transformed pollutants for action in wider space. The wave energy can also be used for agglomeration of pollutants to enhance their interaction with the transformed/modified pollutants by the process of acoustic agglomeration.

[0039] Further, the flying objects such as drones, kites etc. may also be used for modification of pollutants in polluted environment, whereby modified pollutant enhance the reduction of air pollution. In addition, devices of appropriate sizes are placed over specified locations, buildings, electric poles etc. which automatically start functioning to reduce air pollution based on certain concentration of pollution in their vicinity. In the device, the air quality sensors, data analyzer and control devices are used as appropriate. [0040] The present invention discloses device and methods of pollution abatement by transforming or modifying pollutant in such a way that these pollutants are used as agents for pollution abatement. Such abatement are achieved by introducing transformations or modifications that allow pollutants to interact with other pollutants in such a way that facilitate removal of pollutants in a desired way from the given resource, such as air or water, to reduce pollution in that resource. Such pollutants include particulate matters in air, dissolved solids in water, other types of pollutants mixed with mist, unwanted gases in air and unwanted materials in water etc.

[0041] While the present invention has been described with reference to one or more preferred aspects, which have been set forth in considerable details for the purpose of making a complete disclosure of the invention, such aspects are merely exemplary and are not intended to be limiting or represent an exhaustive enumeration of all aspects of the invention. Further, it will be apparent to those skill in the art that numerous changes may be made in such details without departing from the spirit and the principles of the invention.

Claims

Claims:

1. A method for pollution abatement comprising: addition or removal of charge;

addition or removal of chemical species/groups;

addition or removal of magnetic properties;

trapping of pollutants in water vapour;

oxidation or reduction of pollutants;

addition or removal of micro/nano particles;

modification of physical structures;

modification of chemical composition wherein the method utilize either of the above abatement steps or combination thereof to modify the pollutants for pollution abatement.

2. The method as claimed in claim 1, where in the abatement of pollution is achieved by ionizing/polarizing the polluted resource and the emitted exhaust mixture with the opposite charges.

3. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the ionization/polarization of pollution is achieved using plasma state or photons through photo-ionization methods.

4. The method as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the abatement in one type of natural resource such as suspended particles in air is achieved using pollutant in another type of natural resource such as dissolved minerals in water.

5. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the abatement of pollution in polluted water resources is achieved by partially or fully modifying the pollutant in water to aid in their agglomeration and settlement.

6. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the abatement of pollution is achieved after dispersion of modified pollutant using acoustic wave energy for aiding acoustic agglomeration and settlement of pollutants.

7. A pollution abatement device (4) comprising: a high voltage negative and/or positive source(7);

a high voltage convertor (9);

a charge dissipating or accepting arrangement(5);

a power source(7);

plurality of connecting wires(lO); and

a vibrating unit/acoustic frequency generator(l 1) wherein the pollution abatement device modifies exhaust mixture by ionizing/polarizing the pollutants by addition or removal of charges;

the said pollutants are ionized after getting in contact with the charge dissipating or accepting arrangement;

the charge dissipating or accepting arrangement is connected to the high voltage negative and/or positive source;

the high voltage negative and/or positive source is supplied with high voltage through the high voltage convertor (9) using the plurality of connecting wires(8) and the power source(7); the pollution abatement device is incorporated with the vibrating unit(l l) to achieve acoustic agglomeration to enhance the particle agglomeration and settling of agglomerated pollutants.

8. The device as claimed in claim 7, wherein the charge dissipating or accepting arrangement (5) is a conducting surface which includes but not limited to conducting brushes, conducting stripes or conducting plates.

9. The device as claimed in claim 7, wherein the device ionizes/polarizes the polluted resource and the emitted exhaust mixture with the opposite charges.

10. The device as claimed in claim 7, wherein the abatement of pollution in air may be achieved by placing the devices over specified locations or objects or pollution source which includes but not limited to buildings, electric poles, drones or kites.

11. The device as claimed in claim 10, wherein water or water vapor with or without modification agents can be dispersed through the said devices fitted on the said locations or objects to enhance agglomeration and settlement of pollutants in air.