Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a cleaning device for belt filters. In particular, the present invention relates to a low-energy consumption cleaning device for backwashing belt filters. Other aspects of the invention will become apparent to those of skill in the art upon reviewing the present specification.
Description of the Prior Art
Endless or continuous filter devices are subject to clogging by filtered material remaining on the surface of the belt and in holes of the filter material. Effective removal of the surface and embedded debris is required to maintain the filter throughput and reduce cleaning and maintenance requirements.
U.S. Pat. No 4,830,750 [Jandourek et al. (Jandourek)] discloses a device that uses air blow from the underside of the filtering band to lift water and particles from the band and direct the water back to the band. This device is not capable of giving any satisfactory operation in cleaning plants of interest herein—i.e., cleaning of municipal waste water.
International Publication Number WO 87/02595 [Ericksson] describes blowing pressurized air or water from above towards a filtering belt and collecting the residue in a collecting chute. This form of residue removal has not been effective. Air blowing in this way is at best suitable for removal of dry filtrate not containing fat or similar compounds.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,921,608 [Lee] purports to address this problem by spraying hot water vapour. This approach is costly from both equipment and energy consumption viewpoint.
International Publication Number WO 1994/26387[Fosseng] describes a cleaning device having an endless filtering belt carried through a waste water container for filtering of waste water, wherein the filtering band is carried over numerous rollers in such a way that it, in a certain area runs substantially horizontally with the residue turned downwards. Within this area there is a rod shaped exhaust or blowoff device to effect an air blow towards the filtering belt. A blowoff device is arranged in parallel with the blowoff device and downstream to spray water jets towards the filtering band. This cleaning device has several weaknesses with regard to the cooperation between its separate modules. An example of the latter is causing the blowoff device, which has a particularly high energy demands to achieve satisfactory tearing-off effect. Moreover, the device has been subject to clogging because of particles moved into the blowing aperture.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,942,786 [Fosseng] describes a blow-off device for the removal of debris. This design effectively removes debris and limits the addition of water to the waste stream, while not effecting wear on the filter material.
While the blow-off device described by Fosseng is an advance in the art, there is an ongoing need for improvements which are more effective and use the same or even less energy (the latter is especially important in light of rising energy costs).
It is an object of the present invention to obviate or mitigate at least one of the above-mentioned disadvantages of the prior art.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a novel fluid outlet nozzle configured to be connectable to a blow-off device.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a novel blow-off device.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a novel method of cleaning a belt using a blow-off device.
Accordingly, in one of its aspects, the present invention provides a fluid outlet nozzle configured to be connectable to a conduit of a blow-off device for cleaning a belt filter, the nozzle comprising a housing having an inner surface and outer surface, wherein the inner surface defines a fluid entry zone to receive fluid into the nozzle and an elongated gap for directing fluid towards the belt, and wherein the inner surface is streamlined to facilitate flow of the fluid into the gap.
In another of its aspects, the present invention provides a blow-off device for cleaning a belt filter, the device comprising a housing connectable to a fluid source and having an inner and outer surface, the housing defining a conduit for transporting the fluid within a channel, wherein the inner surface defines a surface of the channel and an elongated gap for directing the fluid towards the belt, and wherein the inner surface is streamlined to facilitate flow of the fluid into the gap.
In yet another of its aspects, the present invention provides a method of cleaning a belt using a blow-off device comprising a housing having an outer surface and a streamlined inner surface, the method comprising the steps of:
Thus, the present inventors have developed a blow-off device with a streamlined interior surface to address the issue of frictional and pressure losses in blow-off devices known in the art. The resulting design provides improved cleaning efficacy and efficiency. Reduced pressure drop over the length of the device, reduced frictional losses and increased outlet velocity are believed to result in increase efficiency by providing equal or improved performance at a lower inlet fluid pressure, which reduces the power requirement of the device used to deliver the fluid to the blow-off device.
The present inventors have further developed a blow-off device and fluid outlet nozzle for a blow-off device which improves the energy efficiency of a blow-off device by streamlining the inner surfaces of the device or nozzle. The inner surfaces of the device or nozzle are constructed of a continuously curving surface. Advantages associated with the streamlined internal design include reduced hydraulic resistance, increased flow rate through the fluid outlet with the same inlet pressure, increased effective length of the exit fluid jet, increased power of the exit fluid jet and a reduction of blower power required to achieve comparable or improved performance compared to the device taught by U.S. Pat. No. 6,942,786 [Fosseng] described above.
The present inventors have further developed, in a preferred embodiment, a device and method of adjusting the fluid outlet gap. Preferably, one or more adjustment screws along the sides of the fluid outlet nozzle allow the fluid outlet gap to be adjusted after manufacturing to ensure that the gap is consistent along the length of the device, or to control flow volume and pressure, contributing to efficiency and effectiveness of the device. The preferred design of the blow-off device including the fluid outlet nozzle and adjustable gap also allows for the removal of additional structural elements and obstacles to fluid flow compared to the device taught by U.S. Pat. No. 6,942,786 [Fosseng] described above.
As will be appreciated by those of skill in the art, it is an important feature of the present blow-off device that the fluid outlet nozzle comprises a cross-sectional shape that is “streamlined”. By this is meant that the cross-sectional shape of the fluid outlet nozzle is free of angles (particularly right angles). In a first preferred embodiment, the cross-sectional shape of the fluid outlet nozzle is substantially in the shape of a teardrop—see, for example,
Other advantages of the invention will become apparent to those of skill in the art upon reviewing the present specification.
Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals denote like parts, and in which:
In one of its aspects, the present invention relates to a fluid outlet nozzle connectable to a conduit of a blow-off device for cleaning a belt filter, the nozzle comprising a housing having an inner surface and outer surface, wherein the inner surface defines a fluid entry zone to receive fluid into the nozzle and an elongated gap for directing fluid towards the belt, and wherein the inner surface is streamlined to facilitate flow of the fluid into the gap. Preferred embodiments of this fluid outlet nozzle may include any one or a combination of any two or more of any of the following features:
In another of its aspects, the present invention relates to a blow-off device for cleaning a belt filter, the device comprising a housing connectable to a fluid source and having an inner and outer surface, the housing defining a conduit for transporting the fluid within a channel, wherein the inner surface defines a surface of the channel and an elongated gap for directing the fluid towards the belt, and wherein the inner surface is streamlined to facilitate flow of the fluid into the gap. Preferred embodiments of this blow-off device may include any one or a combination of any two or more of any of the following features:
In another of its aspects, the present invention relates to a method of cleaning a belt using a blow-off device comprising a housing having an outer surface and a streamlined inner surface, the method comprising: receiving pressurized fluid into a channel defined by a conduit of the blow-off device; moving the fluid past the streamlined inner surface; and ejecting the fluid towards the belt from an elongated gap defined by the streamlined inner surface. Preferred embodiments of this method may include any one or a combination of any two or more of any of the following features:
Referring to
Referring to
The blow-off device 102 can be constructed of metal, composite, plastic, or a combination thereof. The blow-off device 102 can utilize a fluid conduit known in the art such as rectangular fluid conduit 6. Although the drawings depict the fluid conduit as of a uniform cross-sectional area along its length, the cross-sectional area may vary. The channel 32 of the fluid conduit can be connected via a fluid inlet (e.g., fluid inlet 104—see
The fluid outlet nozzle 150 may be formed, injection moulded or machined. It can be coupled to the fluid conduit 6 by any of various means known to a person skilled in the art. For example,
As can be seen in
The fluid outlet gap 108 is defined distal to the fluid conduit (e.g., fluid conduit 6) by the convergence of the two halves of the inner surface 134. Pressurized fluid is ejected from the fluid outlet gap 108 and directed towards a belt filter. Adjustment screws 132 or bolts can be used to narrow or widen the fluid outlet gap 108 to calibrate it to a specified size. Such adjustment can be done for example following manufacturing to ensure that the fluid outlet gap 108 is consistent along the length of the blow-off device 102, or to control flow volume and pressure. In addition, it will be appreciated that the adjustment screws 132 eliminate the requirement of the structural ribs 30 in the prior art (see e.g.,
In one embodiment, the width of the fluid outlet gap 108 is in the range of 0.2 mm to 1.0 mm. In another embodiment the width of the fluid outlet gap 108 is in the range of 0.3 mm to 0.7 mm. In a preferred embodiment the width of the fluid outlet gap 108 is in the range of 0.4 mm to 0.5 mm. In an especially preferred embodiment the width of the fluid outlet gap 108 is 0.45 mm.
Calibration of adjustment screws 132 to widen or narrow the fluid outlet gap 108 can be by any means known in the art. For example, one type of adjustment screw 132 can be used to narrow the fluid outlet gap 108 while another type can be used to widen the fluid outlet gap 108.
Referring to
The housing 144 of the blow-off device 102 comprises a streamlined inner surface 148 which in cross-section is in the shape of a teardrop (see
Similar to the fluid outlet gap 108 of the previously described fluid outlet nozzle 150, the width of the fluid outlet gap 152 of a blow-off device 102 having a housing with a teardrop-shaped inner surface can be adjusted to be narrower or wider. In one embodiment, the width of the fluid outlet gap 152 is in the range of 0.2 mm to 1.0 mm. In another embodiment the width of the fluid outlet gap 152 is in the range of 0.3 mm to 0.7 mm. In a preferred embodiment the width of the fluid outlet gap 152 is in the range of 0.4 mm to 0.5 mm. In an especially preferred embodiment the width of the fluid outlet gap 152 is 0.45 mm.
Referring to
Embodiments of the present invention will be illustrated with reference to the following example, which should not be used to construe or limit the scope of the invention.
Experimental testing of the blow-off devices was performed with the device installed in a Salsnes SF6000 unit using a Kaiser blower equipped with a variable frequency drive (VFD):
Blow-Off Devices Tested:
Kaiser model BB 68C (OMEGA 22 PLUS)
Salsnes SF6000 Setup:
Instrumentation:
Analysis Methodology:
Tables 1 and 2 provide the experimental data (Table 1—measured results and Table 2—performance metrics) collected from testing the flow characteristics of the blow-off device 2 known in the art and the blow-off devices 102 with streamlined inner surfaces according to the invention. Measured temperature of the blow-off devices 2, 102 is shown in column 4 of Table 1 and pressure drop across the blow-off device 2, 102 is shown in columns 7 of Table 1. Both temperature and pressure drop are reduced in the streamlined designs indicating lower frictional losses. Column 13 of Table 1 is indicative of an increased exit velocity for the streamlined design, while column 15 shows a reduction in the hydraulic resistance co-efficient of 52% at the 60 Hz blower speed, indicating that the fluid is moving more freely through the device with a reduction in losses of momentum and mechanical energy as compared to the known device of the prior art.
While this invention has been described with reference to illustrative embodiments and examples, the description is not intended to be construed in a limiting sense. Thus, various modifications of the illustrative embodiments, as well as other embodiments of the invention, will be apparent to persons skilled in the art upon reference to this description. It is therefore contemplated that the appended claims will cover any such modifications or embodiments.
All publications, patents and patent applications referred to herein are incorporated by reference in their entirety to the same extent as if each individual publication, patent or patent application was specifically and individually indicated to be incorporated by reference in its entirety.
The present application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) of provisional patent application Ser. No. 62/036,995, filed Aug. 13, 2014, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
PCT/CA2015/050765 | 8/13/2015 | WO | 00 |
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
62036995 | Aug 2014 | US |