Patent Application
20190185389
The present invention relates generally to the reduction of hazardous gas emissions. More specifically, the present invention relates to the reduction of ammonia emissions from agricultural or industrial processes.
Currently, a limited amount of agricultural operations in the world use gas scrubbers to capture gaseous ammonia (NH3) and bind it in the form of ammonium ions (NH4+) using sulphuric acid H2SO4. This process is a non-organic chemical reaction that results in ammonium sulphate, a non-organic compound. Highly concentrated sulphuric acid is a serious chemical hazard in farming environments and is not sustainable for future agricultural technologies. As mentioned, a limited quantity of biologic gas scrubbers is currently in use on farms, primarily in Northern Europe. Processing the biological gas through a gas scrubber utilizes trickling filtration where nitrifying bacteria is grown to positively affect the nitrification of ammonia or ammonium ions within the biological gas into nitrate ions (NO3−) into a carrier medium for transport. Attempts to capture/bind ammonia or ammonium ions (NH3/NH4+) successfully at commercial scale have been done in the EU, primarily in geographies such as The Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and Denmark, using sulphuric acid to produce ammonium sulphate salt when reacted with the ammonia or ammonium ions. In the Netherlands the capture of gaseous ammonia is required by law to reduce environmental impact of farming operations. In agricultural processes, gaseous ammonia is mostly emitted to the atmosphere. Ammonia and ammonium ions are valuable compounds especially captured and stored and made available for further processing in various industries.
The present invention is a method for binding hazardous agricultural ammonia using organic carbon dioxide. An object of the present invention is the capture of gaseous ammonia from fluid and gaseous states using carbon dioxide as a capturing, binding medium (carrier) and particularly relates to the treatment of liquids solutions or gases mixtures containing dissolved ammonia and ammonium ions to bind the ammonia or ammonium ions to produce ammonium bicarbonate ((NH4)HCO3), ammonium carbonate ((NH4)2CO3) and ammonium carbamate (H2NCOONH4), or a combinations thereof. Excess ammonia is often created during the production of livestock, keeping livestock and other agricultural processes. In addition, ammonia is also a by-product for a plurality of industries including but not limited to petroleum refining or other specific chemical processes. Although the present invention focuses on capturing/binding ammonia or ammonium ions and forming ammonium carbonate, ammonium bicarbonate, and/or ammonium carbamate from livestock operations, the present invention can also be applied to alternative industrial settings with that produce an excess of ammonia or ammonium ions.
All illustrations of the drawings are for the purpose of describing selected versions of the present invention and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention.
The present invention is a method for binding hazardous agricultural ammonia using organic carbon dioxide. The formation of ammonia gas originates from farming operations producing livestock, such as cows, pigs, and poultry. The present invention removes agricultural ammonia from the atmosphere and allows for the storage and transport of ammonia for future applications. Implementation of the present invention allows a user to reduce emissions originating from said farming operations that focus on producing livestock, such as cows, pigs, or poultry. The present invention seeks to eliminate or reduce the environmental impact from these emissions.
In order to execute the present invention, an ammonia solution, a quantity of organic carbon dioxide, and a primary reaction vessel are required (Step A), shown in
Initially, the primary reaction vessel is pressurized with the quantity of organic carbon dioxide in order to provide an initial concentration of organic carbon dioxide within the primary reaction vessel (Step B), in accordance to
In some embodiments of the present invention, the temperature within the primary reaction vessel is reduced using a heat exchanger, during Step C, shown in
Further in accordance to the preferred embodiment, the aqueous ammonia, and the ammonium ions of the ammonia solution are obtained from a quantity of agricultural waste using a quantity of compressed air. Detailed in
Still in accordance to the preferred embodiment, a quantity of pH adjusting reagent is utilized to reduce potential corrosion of equipment and increase the ease which the ammonia evaporates during to the aeration of the quantity of agricultural waste. Detailed in
For a more specific embodiment of the present invention, the present invention utilizes a centrifuge to separate the quantity of agricultural waste, such that the extraction of the quantity of agricultural ammonia is more efficient, shown in
Once the quantity of agricultural ammonia is aerated into the gaseous phase or if the quantity of agricultural ammonia is already present in the gaseous phase, the quantity of agricultural ammonia is dissolved into the quantity of solvent. In accordance to
In some embodiments of the present invention the ammonia solution is diffused into the primary reaction vessel as a mist, during Step C, shown in
After the ammonia-bound solution is concentrated during Step D, the ammonia-bound solution is able to be stored or utilized in future chemical processes. For future chemical processes that require ammonia, the ammonia-bound solution is heated to separate the ammonia-bound solution into a quantity of ammonia product, a quantity of carbon dioxide product, and a quantity of water product, in accordance to
For an exemplary implementation of the present invention, a farm produces pigs and primarily utilizes a gas scrubber to capture the quantity of agricultural ammonia emissions. A quantity of compressed air is used to force evaporate the quantity of agricultural ammonia from a liquid waste fraction from the agricultural waste, pig manure, that was previously separated into a liquid waste fraction and a solid waste fraction with a centrifuge. The quantity of agricultural ammonia from the liquid waste fraction then is processed via the gas scrubber to dissolve the quantity of agricultural ammonia in the quantity of solvent, preferably water, to form the ammonia solution. The primary reaction vessel is charged with quantity of organic carbon dioxide. The quantity of agricultural ammonia is introduced into the primary reaction vessel via spraying the ammonia solution from the gas scrubber into the primary reaction vessel. The quantity of organic carbon dioxide reacts with the ammonia solution to form the ammonia-bound solution, where the ammonia-bound solution is a combination of ammonium bicarbonate, ammonium carbonate, and ammonium carbamate. The ammonia-bound solution is then concentrated and transported to a processing facility where the ammonia-bound solution can be further utilized in the creation of valuable compounds and products such as organic fertilizer.
In another exemplary implementation of the present invention, a farming operation produces poultry eggs and utilizes the present invention to obtain the ammonia-bound solution from chicken litter composting operations. The present invention can introduce and increase or optimize the farm's revenue, as well as reduce its environmental impact. The evaporation for the quantity of agricultural ammonia can be stimulated by introducing composting systems to compost chicken litter. Composting of chicken litter force evaporates and ferments chicken litter that results in useful organic chicken compost fertilizer and a gaseous quantity of agricultural ammonia. The evaporated quantity of agricultural ammonia can be controlled within an enclosed environment and captured by using gas scrubbers. The gaseous quantity of agricultural ammonia is dissolved in the quantity of solvent, water, due to its high solubility. The ammonia solution is transported into the primary reactor vessel where the ammonia solution is bound by the quantity of organic carbon dioxide forming the ammonia-bound solution, where the ammonia-bound solution is a combination of ammonium bicarbonate, ammonium carbonate, and ammonium carbamate. The ammonia-bound solution is comprised of valuable compounds which can be sold for further industrial processing.
In still another exemplary implementation of the present invention, a farming operation produces pigs, and subsequently large amounts of pig manure with the potential to add revenue by producing the ammonia-bound solution and reduce odor emissions simultaneously. The farming operation introduces separation of the pig manure in a liquid waste fraction and a solid waste fraction using reverse osmosis through the micro-sieve membrane. The quantity of compressed air aerates a liquid waste fraction and force evaporates the quantity of agricultural ammonia. The quantity of agricultural ammonia is transported through the quantity of solvent to for the ammonia solution. The ammonia solution is circulated into the primary reactor vessel to form ammonia-bound solution with the quantity of organic carbon dioxide, wherein the ammonia-bound solution is a combination of ammonium bicarbonate, ammonium carbonate, and ammonium carbamate.
Although the invention has been explained in relation to its preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that many other possible modifications and variations can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as hereinafter claimed.
The current application claims a priority to the U.S. Provisional Patent application Ser. No. 62/598,770 filed on Dec. 14, 2017.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62598770 | Dec 2017 | US |
