Patent Application
20160016145
The embodiments herein relate generally to agricultural equipment, and more particularly, to a portable, on-demand sulfurous acid (H2SO3) generator.
When irrigating agricultural resources with existing water sources, the optimum water pH level for optimum nutrient uptake and production of crops is not available. Thus, it is desired to add sulfurous acid to the water to lower its pH to the desired level for irrigation purposed. Conventionally, sulfurous acid generators are stationary and require large volumes of water to operate. Small farmers cannot utilize the conventional sulfurous acid generators because of portability issues and the large volume of water required to operate the conventional sulfurous acid generators.
Therefore, what is needed is a potable on-demand sulfurous acid generator that can be used for pH adjustment of irrigation water.
Some embodiments of the present disclosure include a portable sulfurous acid generator for producing sulfurous acid on-demand for, for example, a small-scale irrigation system. The sulfurous acid generator may include a hopper for storing an amount of elemental sulfur, a supply chute for transporting the sulfur from the hopper to a burn chamber, wherein the burn chamber is configured to burn the elemental sulfur, producing sulfur dioxide fumes, a Venturi system connected to the burn chamber, the Venturi system configured to transport the fumes from the burn chamber into a holding tank comprising a fluid, creating a sulfurous acid solution, and a pump configured to recirculate the fluid in the system.
The detailed description of some embodiments of the invention is made below with reference to the accompanying figures, wherein like numerals represent corresponding parts of the figures.
In the following detailed description of the invention, numerous details, examples, and embodiments of the invention are described. However, it will be clear and apparent to one skilled in the art that the invention is not limited to the embodiments set forth and that the invention can be adapted for any of several applications.
The device of the present disclosure may be used as a portable, on-demand sulfurous acid generator for lowering the pH in irrigation water and may comprise the following elements. This list of possible constituent elements is intended to be exemplary only, and it is not intended that this list be used to limit the device of the present application to just these elements. Persons having ordinary skill in the art relevant to the present disclosure may understand there to be equivalent elements that may be substituted within the present disclosure without changing the essential function or operation of the device.
The various elements of the portable, on-demand sulfurous acid generator for lowering the pH of irrigation water of the present disclosure may be related in the following exemplary fashion. It is not intended to limit the scope or nature of the relationships between the various elements and the following examples are presented as illustrative examples only.
By way of example, and referring to
The hopper 12 may comprise a structure with a hopper lid 14, wherein the hopper 12 may be configured to store a volume of fuel 88, such as elemental sulfur. The supply chute 16 may be attached to a bottom-most surface of the hopper 12 and may attach the hopper 12 to the interior of the burn chamber 18, as shown, for example in
The burn chamber 18 may comprise a burn chamber lid 20, which may be secured using a fastener, such as burn chamber lid screws 22, and an ignition port 70, wherein the burn chamber 18 may be operatively connected to the holding tank 24 by, for example, a Venturi system connection 38. The fuel 88 in the burn chamber 18 may be ignited through the ignition port 70. The burn chamber 18 may further comprise a safety overflow cup 36, which may prevent the system from malfunctioning if too much fuel 88 is fed into the burn chamber 18. The Venturi system connection 38 may draw the fumes from the burning fuel 88 through a burn chamber exhaust pipe 34 in the burn chamber 18 and continuously transport and mix the fumes with water in the holding tank 24. The Venturi system 38 may draw oxygen from the atmosphere through the ignition port 70 using a removable gas transfer tube 32 to keep the fuel 88 in the burn chamber 18 ignited.
The Venturi system connection 38 may attach to a pump outflow pipe 30 which transports water (initially) and sulfurous acid (after time) from the pump 26 to the holding tank 24, wherein positive pressure may be created and maintained in the holding tank 24 by the atmospheric air drawn in by the Venturi system, which may force excess unused SO2 gases out of the holding tank through an exhaust pipe 62. As shown in
The holding tank 24 may comprise a float 84 attached to a float valve 86, which in turn may be attached to a float valve connection 40 on the water supply hose 42, wherein the level of the fluid 90 may be maintained by way of the float 84 and float valve 86. Specifically, when the fluid 90 in the holding tank 24 is too low, the float 84 and float valve 86 may cause the water supply hose 42 to add water into the holding tank 24. Alternatively, if the level of the fluid 90 is too high, the float 84 and float valve 86 may prevent water from water from entering the system through the water supply hose 42. The fluid 90 generated by the system may be dispensed from the holding tank 18 through a dispensing valve 44, which may be attached to a dispensing hose 46, as needed. Shutdown of the system may be achieved by cutting power to the pump 26 by, for example, positioning the switch 50 in the “off” position.
As shown
The fuel 88 in the burn chamber 18 may be ignited by a user through the ignition port 70, wherein the ignited fuel 88 in the burn chamber 18 may be maintained burning as long as the pump 26 is supplied with power and the hopper 12 continues providing the burn chamber 18 with fuel 88. The Venturi system may draw the fumes from the burning fuel 88 into the holding tank 24, continuously mixing the fumes with (i) water to create an initial solution 90, or (ii) existing fluid 90, such as sulfurous acid, continuously enriching the solution. To keep the fuel 88 in the burn chamber 18 ignited, the Venturi system may draw oxygen from the atmosphere through the ignition port 70 using a removable gas transfer tube 32. Positive pressure in the holding tank 24 may be created and maintained by the atmospheric air drawn in by the Venturi system, which may force the excess unused sulfur dioxide (SO2) gases out of the holding tank 24 through the exhaust vent 62. The SO2 gases may then pass through a scrubbing system, where water may be sprayed from the recirculation system using a misting recovery system or misting tube 68. As a result, SO2 recovery may occur, and SO2 may be reintroduced into the fluid 90 stored in the holding tank 24. The resulting fluid, which may be, for example, sulfurous acid, may be dispensed through the dispensing valve 44, as needed. When a user is done using the portable sulfurous acid generator 10 of the present disclosure, the user may turn the power to the system off using, for example, the switch 50.
Persons of ordinary skill in the art may appreciate that numerous design configurations may be possible to enjoy the functional benefits of the inventive systems. Thus, given the wide variety of configurations and arrangements of embodiments of the present invention the scope of the invention is reflected by the breadth of the claims below rather than narrowed by the embodiments described above.
