Patent Application
20210354105
The present invention relates generally to the field of non-thermal plasma (NTP) technology. More specifically, it relates to a device and process used for the generation of reactive nitrogen species (RNS) and reactive oxygen species (ROS) or together as RONS. The device and process disclosed herein provides significant improvements in the reactivity and transfer of gas phase RONS into solvate. The advantage of this invention has to do with efficiency improvements made at the gas-liquid interface. This has resulted in a novel, highly concentrated solvate having high volumes of RONS, especially oxides of nitrogen (NOx) such as nitrite (NO2) and nitrate (NO3) which are highly useful in a variety of commercial, agricultural, medical and industrial industries.
Historically, anhydrous ammonia (NH3) has been used in agriculture industry as a nitrogen carrier in commercially manufactured fertilizer. The process to manufacture NH3 involves steam reformation of natural gas into hydrogen (H2) and carbon dioxide (CO2). The H2 is then combined with nitrogen over an iron catalyst under great pressure and temperature. This process requires significant amounts of energy and results in the generation of gross amounts of CO2. On a global scale, it is estimated that more than two percent of the world's energy output is used in ammonia fertilizer production; and, eighty-one percent of greenhouse gas emissions in 2018 was carbon dioxide. The huge amounts of energy consumed and the resulting pollution from agricultural fertilizers are persistent problems.
Additionally, runoff from agricultural operations using ammonia and other fertilizers is contaminating our planet's crucial water sources. The present invention discloses a solution that generates large amounts of NOx without the corresponding impacts to our planet's energy and natural resources. When used as a fertilizer, anhydrous ammonia requires the process of nitrification to generate useful nitrogen for the plant. In this process, NH3 must be exposed, under appropriate conditions, to ammonia-oxidizing bacteria such as Nitrosomonas, to make it available for uptake by plants. Typical ammonia and ammonia-based fertilizers have a nitrogen uptake efficiency in the range of eighteen to twenty-five percent. Runoff, ground leaching, evaporation and other factors suppress efficiencies and result in waste. A solution is needed that eliminates these steps to render fertilizer effective for nitrogen uptake by plants and that is further capable of producing NO2 and high levels of NO3 without going through a mineralization or nitrification process.
In addition to agriculture, a number of other industries rely heavily on NH3 and related nitrogen compounds. By way of example, and specifically not limiting other application of the present invention in other industries, the brewing industry uses large volumes of urea and the CO2 products in their fermentation process. Urea is a nitrogen source for test; problematically, it is known to contribute to the product of ethyl carbamate, a recognized carcinogen. What is needed is a source of nitrogen for the brewing industry that does not produce unwanted and potentially dangerous by-products.
Traditional synthetic nitrogen fertilizers such as urea, ammonium-nitrate and sodium-nitrate are considered salt compounds. When dissolved into irrigation water these compounds increase the salinity content, electrical conductivity and oxidative potential. Salinity is measured in parts per million (PPM) of dissolved solids or by electrical conductivity (EC). Appropriate salinity levels are especially critical when growing in a hydroponic or aeroponic setting, where excessive salinity reduces water availability to the plant by hindering water absorption and inducing physiological drought in the plant. There may be plenty of water available, but the plant roots are unable to absorb the water due to unfavorable osmotic pressure. In a soil based growing environment, nitrate salts can be used in greater abundance because of the beneficial bacteria that lives in the soil which performs the process of nitrification wherein the nitrogen salts are ultimately converted to NO3.
In a hydroponic or aeroponic system, there is no soil or beneficial bacteria to perform the function of transforming nitrate salts into pure NO3; this is by far the most significant and limiting factor associated with growth rate efficiency in these farming applications. What is needed is a source of pure nitrate that is not part of a salt compound. This would enable farmers to provide crops with higher volumes of NO3 without the detrimental effects associated with salt toxicity and greatly improve growth rate and production efficiency for all hydroponic and aeroponic farming.
Since the 1900's, it has been well known that plasma, in the form of atmospheric lightning will fixate nitrogen (N2) molecules in the atmosphere. The atmospheric lightning breaks the N2 apart into N where it can quickly bond with oxygen (O2) or ozone (O3) forming NO2 and NO3 collectively referred to as NOx. These NOx compounds become solvate within the falling rain, upon hitting the ground the NOx infused water is much more rapidly absorbed by plants than that of man-made nitrogen fertilizers that require fixation by chemical reactions from soil biologicals. The present invention utilizes NTP to duplicate the NOx production process found in nature by exposing O2 & N2 to a plasma discharge while in the presence of micro-fine water droplets.
The invention disclosed herein addresses several issues that have restricted the ability of previous devices to produce water containing high concentrations of NOx compounds. Significant improvements in NOx production as well as gas to liquid transfer efficiency were required in order to advance the technology to a commercially viable status. Further, this new technology needed to be scalable well beyond the system capabilities available today. This invention addresses these issues and discloses the specific details regarding how these improvements are accomplished.
The problem with other NTP systems designed to produce NOx in solvate is mostly centered around the inefficiencies associated with the mass transfer of gas phase RONS into water. Generally speaking, this issue has to do with the lack of penetration of the plasma discharge into the water. With an effective reach of only 1 to 2, most plasma discharges lack the ability to effectively transfer gas phase NOx into solvate with much of the gas being lost to the atmosphere. Another issue with existing NTP systems has to do with electrode life, these electrodes experience a relatively short service life due to the decomposition of the discharge surface from repeated striking on the same spot as well as thermal decomposition from lack of cooling.
In some devices, NOx gas produced in the plasma discharge but not transferred into the water, can be recirculated back into the system in order to improve the transfer efficiency. The intention is to increase the absorption of NOx into the water by further exposing the already excited gas species to the water a 2nd, 3rd or more times; at best, this only provides marginally improved results. In other devices or systems the unabsorbed gas containing NOx is bubbled into water using specialized methods and equipment that would disperse the gas into the water in the form of micro-fine bubbles. The idea here is to make the bubbles as small as possible, bubble them into a body of water far enough below the surface so as to allow them expand, and dissolve into the water on the rise to the surface. Again, this provides only marginal improvements as the water quickly reaches a saturation point from the transfer of undesirable gasses into solvate.
The present invention addresses the efficiency loss issues stated above. The disclosures made hereinafter will demonstrate to one skilled in the art the improvements made that were incorporated into this invention. As stated, the object of the present invention is to maximize the efficiency related to the production and transfer of RONS into a solvate. Additional improvements are disclosed that address the issues of electrode cooling and decomposition and system scalability.
Therefore, a need exists for an improved NTP device that creates a higher concentration of NOx and addresses the issues of system scalability.
It is an object of this invention to provide a device and method for creating a highly concentrated NOx product that can be used in agricultural, medical, brewing, and multiple other industries.
It is a further object of this invention to generate reactive nitrogen and oxygen species in a form deliverable and readily useable by plants for optimized growth and agronomic productivity when needed. This invention enables growers to specifically alter the nutrient makeup, and therefore the nitrogen chemical efficacy of water supplied to plants, with watering.
It is another object of the invention to provide a device and process that allows for the on-site conversion of irrigation water into a carrier of highly valuable nitrogen oxides needed for healthy plant growth.
It is a separate object to provide a device and process that uses nitrogen and oxygen from atmospheric air to produce the nitrogen required by plants, including commercial crops.
It is also an object of the invention to provide a device and process that requires very little power to operate; and, based on testing may be capable of producing in excess of 2000 mg of nitrate per liter of water using less than 100 watts of electrical power.
It is another object of this invention to provide a device and process that is capable of producing water for plants containing metastable nitrogen and oxygen radicals in the desired concentration.
It is a different object to provide a source of pure nitrate that is not part of a salt compound that would enable farmers to provide crops with higher volumes of nitrogen and that can be used with other macro and micronutrients.
It is yet another object of this invention to provide a solution to the problems associated with using urea in the brewing industry by making a stable nitrogen source readily available to brewers without production of unhealthy or unstable by-products.
The term NPT is used throughout this disclosure to refer to the Non-Thermal Plasma that is generated within a device used to produce oxides of nitrogen (NOx). The term NOx is used throughout this disclosure to refer to oxides of nitrogen produced within the disclosed device and process.
The invention disclosed herein offers a solution to the persistent problem of agricultural pollution in runoff from farms using ammonia-based fertilizer to supply usable nitrogen to plants. The invention disclosed herein provides a clean, safe and non-polluting source of nitrogen that is not associated with a salt compound that is directly available to plants for uptake as they need it, in the form of metastable nitrogen and oxygen radicals. In this form, nitrogen is supplied without mineralization or nitrification, which can result in saving valuable time and money.
The invention disclosed herein maximizes the surface area of the water at the intersection of gas-water and plasma. This is accomplished using a specialized gas and water injector which delivers a combination of gas and micro-fine water droplets directly into the plasma reactor, the water droplets produced by the injector are very small with an average size of 8 to 12μ. Consider that an average size water droplet measures 1 mm in size, by converting that 1 mm size drop into 8-12μ size drops effectively increases the surface area by up to 125 times. The increase in surface area directly results in a significant increase in the transfer of RONS into the water in the plasma zone and minimizes the loss of gas phase RONS to atmosphere.
Another aspect of the invention addresses the issue of electrode deterioration associated sputtering, overheating and particle transfer. The system and electrodes disclosed in this patent effectively resolve the issues stated above in two ways. First, the electrodes disclosed in this patent are constructed using a larger discharge surface. The larger discharge surface greatly reduces premature electrode wear by distributing the arc discharge over a much greater area. The increased mass of the electrode and its wider arc discharge surface allows the electrode to run cooler through improved heat dissipation without any loss of performance. The electrodes are also cooled by the spray of gas and micro-fine water drops exiting the injector. Spraying water onto the surface of an electrode can quench the reaction or short out the plasma discharge completely. It is because of the small size of the micro-fine water drops that shorting and quenching are avoided while simultaneously providing enough water to reduce the electrode operating temperature and eliminate overheating issues.
The present invention fulfills the above and other objects by providing a device for NOx production using NTP to create a NOx product comprising of at least one plasma reactor assembly with at least one electrode, one feedthrough insulator, one plasma reactor vessel, one gas and water injector and a plasma zone that wherein the gas and micro-fine droplets of undergo a chemical transformation resulting in the creation of a highly concentrated NOx product.
The above and other objects, feature and advantages of the present invention should become even more readily apparent to those skilled in the art upon a reading of the following detailed description in conjunction with the drawings wherein there is shown and described illustrative embodiments of the invention.
In the following detailed description, reference will be made to the attached drawings in which:
For purposes of describing the preferred embodiment, the terminology used in reference to the numbered accessories in the drawings is as follows:
Referring to
The NOx production system 101 as shown in
In operation the NOx production system 101 is operated by inputting the type of operation that is desired into the touch screen control 135, either plasma seed treatment or product 107 production. Next the operator inputs the desired operating time in minutes and hours. If the water tank 134 is empty it is to be filled with water 103 (not shown) prior to operation of the NOx production system 101. Next, the product receiving apparatus 113 or collection jar 121 (not shown) should be placed under the plasma reactor vessel 125 depending on the mode of operation. The NOx production system 101 is then activated by touching the start indicator on the touch screen control 135, when this is done there is a simultaneous start-up of the compressor 111, cooling fan 137, water flow solenoid valve 112 (not shown) and the plasma ignition 110 (not shown). Once all of these components are energized, the compressor 111 will immediately deliver gas 102 (not shown) to the gas and water injector 104. At the same time, the water flow solenoid valve 112 (not shown) will allow water 103 (not shown) to travel from the water tank 134 to the gas and water injector 104. The gas and water injector 104 injects gas and micro-fine water droplets 106 (not shown) into the plasma reactor vessel 125 where they are converted into product 107. The product 107 exits the bottom of the plasma reactor vessel 125 directly into the product receiving apparatus 113 or collection jar 121 (not shown), depending on the mode of operation selected.
The components of the NOx production system 101 are all connected to a device framework 139 which allows secure mounting of the compressor 111, the water tank 134, the system control 109, and mounting brackets 136 which are used to support the plasma reactor assembly 105. Larger scale NOx production systems 101 not shown may include more or less components and would likely be configured differently, but functionally the same.
The
In operation, the plasma reactor assembly 105 produces product 107 in the following steps. When the NOx production system 101 (not shown) is turned on using the touch screen control 135 (not shown), electrical power 115 (not shown) is supplied to the plasma ignition 110 (not shown) and ultimately to the ignition electrode 128 by the high voltage ignition lead 133 (not shown). This immediately creates an arc between the ignition electrodes 128 and the ground electrodes 129. The gap or area between the ignition electrode 128 and ground electrode 129 is the plasma zone 126. Further, when the NOx production system 101 (not shown) is turned on using the touch screen control 135 (not shown) electrical power 115 (not shown) is supplied to the compressor 111 (not shown) which immediately supply's gas 102 to the to the “a” connection of the gas and water injector 104. Simultaneously, electrical power 115 (not shown) is supplied to the water flow solenoid valve 112 (not shown) which allows the flow of water 103 to flow into the “b” connection of the gas and water injector 104. With both gas 102 and water 103 supplied to the gas and water injector 104 a discharge of gas and micro-fine water droplets 106 exits from the “c” connection of the gas and water injector 104. The first thing the gas and micro-fine water droplets 106 contact upon exiting the “c” connection of the gas and water injector 104 is a high voltage arc generated between the ignition electrode 128 and the ground electrode 129; immediately, the arc is stretched forming a plasma within the plasma zone 126. In the plasma zone 126 the gas and micro-fine water droplets 106 undergo a chemical transformation resulting in the creation of the product 107. As the product 107 exits the plasma reactor vessel 125, it moves into a product receiving apparatus 113 where it can be stored, used or transferred to another location.
In
In operation, the on-board compressor system 140 receives electrical power 115 from the system control 109 (not shown) when the touch screen control 135 (not shown) is operated. Specifically, the compressor 111 receives the electrical power 115 and starts the operation of compressing gas 102 and sending it to the gas and water injector 104 (not shown) via an undisclosed hose or conduit.
Another embodiment of a gas compression and delivery system is the remote compression system 141. Unlike the on-board compressor system 140, the remote compressor system 141 is not mounted to the device framework 139 (not shown) but is rather located elsewhere. The remote compressor system 141 consists of a compressor 111, a gas flow solenoid valve 116 and a gas flow regulator 124 which reduces gas pressure in accordance with specified operating pressure requirements of the gas and water injector 104 (not shown). The compressor 111 may include a separate storage tank to store large volumes of compressed gas 102 not listed here; it could also have a dedicated power supply that is independent of the NOx production system 101 (not shown).
In operation, the gas flow solenoid valve 116 receives electrical power 115 from the system control 109 (not shown) when the touch screen control 135 (not shown) is operated. This allows the sending of gas 102 to the gas and water injector 104 (not shown) via an undisclosed hose or conduit.
In another embodiment of a gas delivery system is the compressed gas system 142, unlike the on-board compressor system 140 and the remote compressor system 141 the compressed gas system 142 does not include a compressor 111. The compressed gas system 142 includes a compressed oxygen tank 117, a compressed nitrogen tank 118, a gas flow control valve 144, and a gas mixer 120.
In operation, the compressed gas system 142 works as follows. Both the compressed oxygen tank 117 and compressed nitrogen tank 118 are connected to the gas flow control valve 144 via an undisclosed hose or conduit, the gas flow control valve 144 receives electrical power 115 from the system control 109 (not shown). When the touch screen control 135 (not shown) is operated, this allows the sending of precise volumes of each gas 102 to exit the gas flow control valve 144 and into the gas mixer 120 where they are mixed into a homogenous mixture of gas 102. From the gas mixer 120 the gas 102 travels to the gas and water injector 104 via an undisclosed hose or conduit.
Another embodiment of a gas delivery system is the oxygen concentrator system 143. The oxygen concentrator system 143 utilizes the oxygen concentrator 114 and is similar to the on-board compressor system 140 in that it mounts to the device framework 139 (not shown). A unique aspect of the oxygen concentrator 114 is that it incorporates a built-in compressor as well as a pressure swing absorption device which allows it to increase the percentage of oxygen in the gas 102.
In operation, the oxygen concentrator system 143 works as follows, the oxygen concentrator system 143 receives electrical power 115 from the system control 109 when the touch screen control 135 (not shown) is operated, this allows the transport of gas 102 to the gas and water injector 104 via an undisclosed hose or conduit.
The NOx production system 101 ultimately produces product 107 via the use of utility power 108, gas 102 and water 103. The utility power 108 is supplied to the NOx production system 101 by connecting the utility power cord 138 (not shown) into a standard 15 amp wall outlet; alternatively, the utility power cord 138 (not shown) may be hard wired directly to a power distribution box or other type of power supply not shown. The utility power cord 138 (not shown) delivers utility power 108 directly to the control system 109 which is made up of circuit breakers, relays, power converters, transformers and power distribution devices as well as the plasma ignition 110, all not shown in this illustration. A touch screen control 135 (not shown) is mounted into the control system 109. The touch screen control 135 (not shown) is an interface device that allows a user to operate the NOx production system 101 in the manner and timing desired. When the touch screen control 135 (not shown) and the system control 109 is used to activate the NOx production system 101 into operation, it does so by providing electrical power 115 to the plasma ignition 110, the water flow solenoid valve 112, the cooling fan 137 (not shown) and to one of the four gas 102 supply systems illustrated in
As mentioned above, the product 107 is created within the plasma zone 126 of the plasma reactor assembly 105. The product 107 then exits the plasma reactor vessel 125 directly into the product receiving apparatus 113. The product receiving apparatus 113 may be in the form of an open top tray with sides, a bucket, or a sealed and vented tank of various size or some other means of securely storing the product 107.
The NOx production system 101 ultimately produces product 107 via the use of utility power 108, gas 102 and water 103. The utility power 108 is supplied to the NOx production system 101 by connecting the utility power cord 138 (not shown) into a standard 15 amp wall outlet; alternatively, the utility power cord 138 (not shown) may be hard wired directly to a power distribution box or other type of power supply not shown. The utility power cord 138 (not shown) delivers utility power 108 directly to the control system 109 which is made up of circuit breakers, relays, power converters, transformers and power distribution devices all not shown in this illustration as well as the plasma ignition 110. A touch screen control 135 (not shown) is mounted into the control system 109. The touch screen control 135 (not shown) is an interface device that allows a user to operate the NOx production system 101 in the manner and timing desired. When the touch screen control 135 (not shown) and the system control 109 is used to activate the NOx production system 101 into operation, it does so by providing electrical power 115 to two or more plasma ignitions 110, the water flow solenoid valve 112, the cooling fan 137 (not shown) and to one of the four gas 102 supply systems illustrated in
The NOx production system 101 ultimately produces product 107 via the use of utility power 108, gas 102 and water 103. The utility power 108 is supplied to the NOx production system 101 by connecting the utility power cord 138 (not shown) into a standard 15 amp wall outlet, alternatively, the utility power cord 138 (not shown) may be hard wired directly to a power distribution box or other type of power supply not shown. The utility power cord 138 (not shown) delivers utility power 108 directly to the control system 109 which is made up of circuit breakers, relays, power converters, transformers and power distribution devices all not shown, as well as the plasma ignition 110. A touch screen control 135 (not shown) is mounted into the control system 109, the touch screen control 135 (not shown) is an interface device that allows a user to operate the NOx production system 101 in the manor and timing desired. When the touch screen control 135 (not shown) and the system control 109 is used to activate the NOx production system 101, it does so by providing electrical power 115 to the plasma ignition 110, the water flow solenoid valve 112, the cooling fan 137 (not shown) and to one of the four gas supply systems illustrated in
Within the plasma zone 126 the gas and micro-fine water droplets 106 undergo a chemical transformation where the gas is ionized, radicalized and becomes very unstable while in the presence of the micro-fine droplets of water. The micro-fine droplets of water are very small, typically between 8μ and 20μ in size, at this size, the micro-fine droplets of water are able to be evenly dispersed within the plasma zone 126 without quenching or shorting out the plasma discharge. Because of the small size of the gas and micro-fine droplets of water 106 they present a significant advantage in the efficiency of transfer of reactive nitrogen species (RNS) into the water. The gas and micro-fine droplets of water 106, when compared “volume for volume” dramatically increase the exposed surface area of the water by as much as 125 times when compared to a standard 1 mm size water 103 droplet. It is for these reasons that the NOx concentration of the product 107 is much higher than other types of plasma systems designed to produce Plasma Activated Water (PAW).
As mentioned above, the product 107 is created within the plasma zone 126 of the two or more plasma reactor assemblies 105, from the plasma reactor vessel 125. The product 107 then exits the plasma reactor vessel 125 directly into the product receiving apparatus 113. The product receiving apparatus 113 may be in the form of an open top tray with sides, a bucket, or a sealed and vented tank of various size or some other means of securely storing the product 107.
If the dry seed treatment mode is selected, the touch screen control 135 (not shown) and the system control 109 (not shown) is used to activate the NOx production system 101 (not shown) into operation. It does so by providing electrical power 115 to the plasma ignition 110, the cooling fan 137 (not shown) and to one of the four gas 102 (not shown) supply systems illustrated in
It is to be understood that while a preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated, it is not to be limited to the specific form or arrangement of parts herein described and shown. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes may be made without departing from the scope of the invention and the invention is not to be considered limited to what is shown and described in the specification and the drawings.
This application claims priority to the Utility Provisional Application No. 62/704,502 filed on May 13, 2020. It further relates to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/301,706 filed on Nov. 14, 2018 which is currently pending.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62704502 | May 2020 | US |
