The field of the present invention relates generally to an energy efficient air purification system. More specifically, the present invention provides a system and method for purifying a complex polluted environmental air condition and releasing the clean air into the atmosphere.
Since last few decades, air pollution has been a major concern and has been a topic of serious discussion to the mankind. Whether it is the pollution on the roads caused by vehicles or pollution caused by the industrial exhaust gases, the overall air pollution is causing serious harm to human beings as well as animals. It is well known that various hazardous gaseous compounds are released from automobiles, fireplaces, industries, gas stoves, space heaters, chimneys, chemical industries and faulty furnaces. All these hazardous gaseous compounds are posing a significant air pollution problem in major cities.
Ambient or atmospheric air pollution is harmful for the flora and fauna. The major problem is difficulty of getting fresh and clean air for plants as well as for animals. It is known from WHO (World Health Organization) studies that for human beings, respiratory illnesses such as Bronchitis, Asthma, and lung cancer are caused if excessive pollutants are present in the atmosphere.
Of late, in both developed and developing countries sustainable development has emerged as a priority. One of the ways to sustain clean atmosphere for future generations is to treat air pollutants and industrial effluents before they are released into the atmosphere. Worldwide, various standards are being prescribed such as BS-IV (Bharat Stage emission standards), and Euro-VI (European Emission Standards) to limit the air pollutants being released into the atmosphere by the automobile vehicles.
However, there is a limit to which flue gases can be treated in the industrial context. Similarly, despite advancements in the catalytic converter technology for meeting various emission norms (Euro-VI, etc.), as the number of automobiles increases, the ‘remnant pollutants’ such as particulates are still released into the atmosphere. The catalytic converter principally targets NOx and SOx gases for emission control. Solid particulate matter such as PM2.5 and PM10 (particulate matter less than 2.5 and 10 microns respectively) are still released into the atmosphere even after emission treatment. The problem is particularly vexing in the case of diesel vehicles. As a result, several countries like Brazil, India, Italy, and UK are experimenting with limitations on vehicle population on the road.
In a recent report by WHO, of the top 20 most polluted cities in the world, 13 are in India. Hence, an invention which aims to reduce air pollution of the external atmosphere is the need of the hour. It is surmised that in the future, CNG vehicles may gradually replace the diesel vehicles in India (which are relatively more polluting). However, the timeline to achieve such a goal may be several years away. Moreover, dust is another pollutant in cities which contributes considerably as one of the factors to increase particulate matter in a given ecosystem of a city.
There are many devices available in the market for purification of internal polluted air and industrial gaseous effluents. However, purifying and cleaning atmospheric polluted air and releasing fresh and clean air into the atmosphere which is close to the general public is still a matter of concern. There is a need for such a system which not only purifies the air, but also releases the clean air into the atmosphere which is rich in oxygen and other essential components.
In view of the foregoing disadvantages inherent in the current generally known air purification systems and the needs as mentioned above, the general purpose of the present disclosure is to provide an energy efficient air purification system that is configured to include all advantages of the known air purification systems and to overcome the drawbacks inherent in the prior art, offering some added advantages.
To achieve the above objectives and to fulfill the identified needs, in one aspect, the present invention provides an energy efficient air purification system for purifying a complex polluted environmental air condition. The said air purification system comprises a plurality of air pollution monitoring units which are installed at distant locations. Each of the said plurality of air pollution monitoring units is adapted to monitor the air quality of its surrounding location. The said air purification system also includes a plurality of air purification units which are installed at distant locations such that each of the said plurality of air purification units are adapted to purify the polluted air of its surrounding location, with a split design of purification units and their suction and discharge air vents. Further, the air purification system also includes an automated control unit which is in communication with the said plurality of air pollution monitoring units and the said plurality of air purification units. The said automated control unit provides a means of remotely controlling the working of the said plurality of air purification units including instrumentation units and actuation systems.
In an aspect of the present invention, the air pollution monitoring unit comprises at least an air pollutant detector adapted to detect the level of various air pollutants, a processor adapted to process the data of the said air pollutant detector into a message format and a communication interface having a transceiver adapted to transmit the said message format to the said automated control unit.
In an aspect of the present invention, the air purification unit comprises at least an air cleaning component adapted to filter at least an air pollutant and a controller working in communication with the said automated control unit, wherein the said controller is adapted to control the functionality of each of the said plurality of air purification units.
In an aspect of the present invention, air cleaning component is selected from air filtration components such as wet scrubber, an electrostatic precipitator, a particulate filter, a catalytic filter, a cyclonic separator, a baghouse collector.
In an aspect of the present invention, the automated control unit comprises a receiver component, a memory component, a processor component, and a transmitter component.
In another aspect of the present invention, the receiver component is adapted to receive the said message format from the said communication interface.
In yet another aspect of the present invention, the memory component is adapted to store a preset clean air data of a specific location, and a historical air quality data of a specific location.
In yet another aspect of the present invention, processor component comprises a data decoder adapted to decode the said message format into a data format and an analyzer module adapted to analyze the said data format in relation with the said preset clean air data of the specific location, wherein the analyzer module generates a command as per the said data analysis. The said command is communicated to efficiently operate the said plurality of air purification units.
This together with the other aspects of the present invention along with the various features of novelty that characterized the present disclosure is pointed out with particularity in claims annexed hereto and forms a part of the present invention. For better understanding of the present disclosure, its operating advantages, and the specified objective attained by its uses, reference should be made to the accompanying descriptive matter in which there are illustrated exemplary embodiments of the present invention.
The advantages and features of the present disclosure will become better understood with reference to the following detailed description and claims taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:
Like numerals refer to like elements throughout the present disclosure.
The foregoing descriptions of specific embodiments of the present disclosure have been presented for purposes of illustration and description. They are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed, and obviously many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teaching. The exemplary embodiment was chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the invention and its practical application, to thereby enable others skilled in the art to best utilize the invention and various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated.
The terms “a” and “an” herein do not denote a limitation of quantity, but rather denote the presence of at least one of the referenced item.
The terms “having”, “comprising”, “including”, and variations thereof signify the presence of a component.
The present invention relates to an energy efficient air purification system for purifying a complex polluted environmental air condition. More specifically, the present air purification system is capable of being installed in an open area, at traffic junctions, at bus stops, or at places where there is more concentrated air pollution in the atmosphere. The present air purification system is capable of sucking in the polluted air, filtering, purifying and releasing clean air into the atmosphere. Such equipment of the air purification system capable of release of purified air is installed in areas where there is more concentration of general public, pedestrians etc. The said energy efficient air purification system shall now be explained in conjunction with all the
Referring to
In an embodiment, the air pollution monitoring units MU1, MU2, MU3, MU4 . . . MUN are adapted to monitor the air quality in their respective surrounding locations and communicate that information to an automated control unit 500. The automated control unit 500 is communicably coupled to the air pollution monitoring units MU1, MU2, MU3, MU4 . . . MUN and the air purification units PU1, PU2, PU3, PU4 . . . PUN. Moreover, the automated control unit 500 is adapted to control the functioning of the air purification units PU1, PU2, PU3, PU4 . . . PUN, by utilizing instrumentation and actuation mechanism within PU1, PU2, PU3, PU4 . . . PUN.
In an embodiment of the present invention, the automated control unit 500 is located centrally at a particular location and is configured to control a plurality of air purification units PU1, PU2, PU3, PU4 . . . PUN which are typically installed over a wide area.
In another embodiment of the present invention, the automated control unit 500 is installed with each of the air pollution monitoring units MU1, MU2, MU3, MU4 . . . MUN.
As shown in
In an embodiment, as shown in
In an embodiment, the processor component 530 comprises a data decoder which is adapted to decode the message format into a data format and an analyzer module adapted to analyze the said data format in relation with a preset clean air quality data of a specific location. The analyzer module comprises a set of instructions for generating a command on the basis of the data analysis when received data is compared with the preset clean air quality data of a specific location. Said generated command is then transmitted by the transmitter component 540 to the air purification units PU1, PU2, PU3, PU4 . . . PUN.
According to
It will be apparent to a person skilled in the art that the air pollutant detector 110 is an electronic device such as a gas analyzer/detector which is capable of sensing and detecting various pollutants in the surrounding atmosphere. The pollutants responsible for polluting the air may comprise particulate matter, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrous oxide and the like. The particulate matters may further vary in their sizes.
Once the air pollutant detector detects the levels of pollutants, this data is communicated to the processor 120 which is adapted to convert this data into a predefined message format 121.
Thereafter, the said data in the predefined message format 121 is forwarded to the communication interface 130 which has a transceiver 131 for transmitting the message format to the automated control unit 500. At the end of the automated control unit 500, the receiver component 510 is adapted to receive the message format 121 transmitted by the transceiver 131.
In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the air pollutant detector 110 is an air particulate matter detector which is capable of detection of PM2.5 and PM10 particulate matters. In this embodiment, the air purification units PU1, PU2, PU3, PU4 . . . PUN are only capable of purifying these particulate matter PM2.5 and PM10. In each of these air purification units PU1, PU2, PU3, PU4 . . . PUN, the air purification component is a set of bag filters (baghouses) or Fabric Filters, which are capable of removing the Particulate pollutants at nearly 99 percent particulate collection efficiency.
In another preferred embodiment of the present invention, the air pollutant detector 110 is a gaseous atmospheric pollutant detector which is capable of detection of particulate matter (PM2.5, PM10), NOx (Nitrogen Oxides), SOx (Sulfur Oxides), Hg (Mercury), Organic HAPs (Hazardous Air Pollutants), CO (Carbon Monoxide). A nano-catalytic filter is used in the air purification units PU1, PU2, PU3, PU4 . . . PUN to filter all the above pollutants with a high degree of efficiency and at a lower temperature compared to other conventional catalytic filtration processes.
Referring now to
In an embodiment, the air cleaning component 310 is adapted to filter an air pollutant from the polluted air. It will be obvious to a person skilled in the art that an air pollutant may be any kind of pollutant such as particulate matter, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrous oxide and the like. The air cleaning component 310 of the present invention is also capable of filtering particulate matters of size 2.5 microns and smaller PM2.5 and particulate matter of size 10 microns and smaller PM10.
In an embodiment of the present invention, the air cleaning component 310 is selected from air filtration components such as one of a wet scrubber, an electrostatic precipitator, a particulate filter, a catalytic filter, a cyclonic separator or a baghouse collector.
The air cleaning component 310 is capable of filtering out the air pollutants from the polluted air and thereby cleaning the air.
In an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the air cleaning component 310 is a baghouse collector. Baghouse collectors are air filtration devices which use fabric filter tubes, envelopes, or cartridges to capture or separate dust and other particulate matter (PM). These baghouse collectors include bags suspended inside a housing or casing. Once the polluted air is fed inside the housing, the suspended bags capture the particulate matter and allow formation of a layer of particulate matter on its surface. Once the particulate matter is layered on the outer surface of the suspended bags, the remaining air which is pure is sent out through the outlet vents.
The controller 320 is adapted to receive command from the transmitter component 540 of the automated control unit 500.
In an embodiment of the present invention, the controller 320 is adapted to activate the air purification unit PU1 when it receives command from the transmitter component 540 of the automated control unit 500. The said command is generated when the air pollutant detector 110 belonging to each of the air pollution monitoring units MU1, MU2, MU3, MU4 . . . MUN detect the level of air pollutants in their surrounding locations and then that data is further formatted and transmitted to the automated control unit 500. At the end of the automated control unit 500, the processor component 530 is adapted to check or compare the said data with the preset clean air quality data of that particular location.
In an embodiment, if the said comparison or analysis of data with the preset clean air data indicates poor quality of air, this is an indication that the air in the surrounding location with respect to one of the plurality of air pollution monitoring units MU1, MU2, MU3, MU4 . . . MUN is contaminated and requires immediate purification. The criteria for such analysis of data shall be explained in more detail with reference to
In scenarios such as above, the automated control unit 500 immediately notifies the respective air purification unit from among the plurality of air purification units PU1, PU2, PU3, PU4 . . . PUN to start the air purification procedure (defined in
Generally, the surrounding location in scope for purification is considered within a radius of 1 km from the physical installation of the one of the plurality of air purification units PU1, PU2, PU3, PU4 . . . PUN. This however, should not be construed as a limitation of the present invention, the radius of the surrounding location may vary and the air purification units may further be configured to cover a larger and bigger area for purification of air.
Referring now to
These air pollution monitoring units MU1, MU2, MU3, MU4 . . . MUN are physically installed at various locations at specific distance from each other so that each of these units can monitor air quality in their surrounding locations and thereby covering a larger area for air purification. The number of these units in some embodiments maybe larger than the number of Air Purification Units PU1, PU2, PU3, PU4 . . . PUN in order to fulfil operational requirements or increase efficiency.
While monitoring the air quality, the air pollutant detector 110 of the air pollution monitoring units MU1, MU2, MU3, MU4 . . . MUN detects the level of various air pollutants in the surrounding air, thereby generating an air pollutant data.
At step 204, the air pollutant data is further converted to a specific message format by a processor component 120 of each of the air pollution monitoring units MU1, MU2, MU3, MU4 . . . MUN. Once the air pollutant data is converted to a specific message format 121, it is ready for transmission to the automated control unit 500. The said message format 121 is transmitted via the communication interface 130 to the automated control unit 500.
On receipt of the message format 121 at the automated control unit 500, the message format 121 is decoded into a data format by a data decoder integrated within the processor component 530 of the automated control unit. In the said processor component 530, there is provided an analyzer module which is configured to analyze the said data format and compare it with the preset clean air data at step 206 of the method 200.
It will be obvious to a person skilled in the art that the preset clean air data is predetermined when the air contained far too less quantity of air pollutants and which was considered to be healthy and safe for breathing of the living beings.
The preset clean air data can comprise information such as permitted level of pollutants like PM2.5, PM10, Carbon Monoxide, Sulphur Oxides, Nitrogen Oxides, particulate matters etc. which implies that the air was supposedly considered to be clean and fit for human breathing.
Moving further to step 208, the analyzer module of the processor component 530 is adapted to compare/analyze the air quality data with the preset clean air quality data. The analyzer is adapted to check if the air quality data is worse than 2 times the preset clean air quality data. If the comparison confirms that the air quality data is worse than 2 times the preset clean air quality data, then the method moves to step 210. The analyzer module of the processor component 530 of the automated control unit 500 is adapted to generate command to start the air purification units PU1, PU2, PU3, PU4 . . . PUN in that specific locality.
The transmitter component 540 of processor component 500 is configured to transmit the said command to the controller 320 belonging to each of the air purification units PU1, PU2, PU3, PU4 . . . PUN respectively. On receipt of the said command, the controller 320 of the air purification units PU1, PU2, PU3, PU4 . . . PUN activates and runs the air purification units to give full throughput. By providing full throughput, it is meant that the air purification units are activated to their full capacity and multiple air purification units are activated so that the polluted air in a larger area can be cleaned and purified at a high speed so that less “operating time” is consumed in cleaning the air. Due to such less “operating time” of devices, the energy consumed is much lesser.
Each of the air purification units PU1, PU2, PU3, PU4 . . . PUN comprises an air cleaning component 310.
In an embodiment, the air cleaning component 310 is selected from air filtration components such as a wet scrubber, an electrostatic precipitator, a particulate filter, a catalytic filter, a cyclonic separator and a baghouse collector. The air cleaning component may also be some other air filtration component. The disclosed air filtration components should not be construed as limitation to the present invention.
The air cleaning component 310 is adapted to clean the polluted air and release the clean air into the atmosphere.
In an embodiment, the air purification system 100 comprises suction vents (as shown in
In the embodiment, the air purification system 100 comprises air vents (as shown in
Referring again to
At step 212, if the analyzer module analyzes that the air quality data is 1 times of the preset clean air data or worse, then the method moves to step 216. At step 216, the analyzer module is adapted to generate a command for partial throughput such that this command is transmitted over to the controller 320 of each of the air purification units PU1, PU2, PU3, PU4 . . . PUN. Once the controller 320 receives the command, it activates each of the air purification units PU1, PU2, PU3, PU4 . . . PUN for a specified and limited time period T1 which is based upon the air pollution trend data during the past in that location.
It will be obvious to a person skilled in the art that air pollution trend data relates to the historical data of air pollution at a specific location gathered for a longer period of time, for example, pollution trend for a year. The present system is adapted to analyze the period T1, for which the air purification unit is required to be activated so that the air gets purified for the specific location in minimal time period. By placing a limit on the time of operation, energy efficiency is realized for the operation of these air purifiers.
At step 218, the analyzer module is adapted to again check the current air quality data and compare it with the preset clean air data. If the current air quality data is better than 1 times the preset clean air data, then the method moves to step 220 and the analyzer module is adapted to generate a command to stop the corresponding air purification units.
If the analyzer module analyzes that the current air quality data is not better than 1 times of the preset clean air data, then the method 200 moves to step 222 where the analyzer module generates a command to run the air purification units in a particular location at full throughput at a limited time T2 on the basis of pollution trend data of that location. Thereafter the method 200 returns to the step 202 where the air quality of a particular location is monitored and the air pollutant data is generated via an air pollution monitoring unit. The method again follows the remaining steps in the flow chart as explained in the diagrams
Referring again to the step 214, if the analyzer module analyzes that the air quality data is not worse than 1 times the preset clean air data, and then the analyzer module generates a command for stopping the air purification process. This command is then transmitted over to the controller 320 of each of the air purification units PU1, PU2, PU3, PU4 . . . PUN. Once the controller 320 receives the command, it stops each of the air purification units PU1, PU2, PU3, PU4 . . . PUN.
Referring now to
In an embodiment, the suction vents 413 has an air flow control valve (not shown in the figure) which is capable of controlling the flow of air towards the air purification device so that the amount of polluted air being fed to the air purification device is in the appropriate quantity. This enhances the percentage of purification of the polluted air in an energy efficient manner.
The suction vents 413 are connected to the air purification units PU1, PU2, PU3, PU4 . . . PUN provided with a Protective Casing A (cross-sectional view as shown in
In an embodiment, as illustrated in
In this embodiment, as illustrated in
In this embodiment, as illustrated in
Referring now to
As shown in the
There are shown identical suction vents 413, 423, 424 which are adapted to take in the polluted air from the surrounding atmosphere. These suction vents are connected to the air purification units PU1, PU2, PU3, PU4 . . . PUN. The protective enclosures surrounding these vents are not depicted in the
There are shown identical air vents 412, 422, 425 which are adapted to release the fresh and clean air into the atmosphere. Note that the protective enclosures surrounding these vents are not shown in the
The structures 411, 421 represent the air purification units for taking in the polluted air which is inhaled through the suction units 413, 423, 424. Thereafter, the air purification units remove the pollutants and release the clean air via the air vents 412 and 422. Furthermore, these air purification units are controlled via the automated control unit 500 (not shown in
In an embodiment, the physical configuration and installation of the suction vents and the air vents are split type configuration. Each suction vent and each respective air vent are installed at specific distance from each other. Such split type configurations of the vents ensure that the suction vents do not suck in the clean air released by the air vents. In addition, the split design ensures that the air purification units PU1, PU2, PU3, PU4, . . . , PUN are distantly located and/or separated from suction vents and discharge air vents. The design ensures benefits such as decreased ambient noise during operation of the air purification units, safer operation and protection of assets.
The present invention finds wide industrial applicability and has been invented to benefit the mankind. The air purification system is suitable for installation in highly polluted cities so that people residing in such polluted cities are relieved from inhaling the polluted air.
The foregoing descriptions of specific embodiments of the present invention have been presented for purposes of illustration and description. They are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the present invention to the precise forms disclosed, and obviously many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teaching. The embodiments were chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the present invention and its practical application, and to thereby enable others skilled in the art to best utilize the present invention and various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. It is understood that various omissions and substitutions of equivalents are contemplated as circumstances may suggest or render expedient, but such omissions and substitutions are intended to cover the application or implementation without departing from the spirit or scope of the present invention.
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
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PCT/IB2016/057529 | 12/12/2016 | WO | 00 |
Publishing Document | Publishing Date | Country | Kind |
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WO2018/109522 | 6/21/2018 | WO | A |
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Number | Date | Country | |
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20190203959 A1 | Jul 2019 | US |