PURE-SIP POINT-OF-USE WATER TREATMENT SYSTEM

Abstract

Endocrine disrupting compounds are routinely detected in the treated water leaving our municipal drinking water plants; however, until relatively recent advances in laboratory analysis capabilities, the trace amounts of these chemicals was not measurable. At an enormous cost we can remove these compounds using centralized municipal water treatment, but does it make sense to do so when less than 1% of our municipal water supply is ingested? Furthermore, of waterborne disease outbreaks can be traced to contamination entering our water distribution systems after centralized treatment. The regulatory community and municipal water industry are truly at a crossroads; even if a staggering investment is made to remove endocrine disrupting compounds using centralized treatment, our treated water distribution systems will always be subject to contamination (and although bottled water is generally free of endocrine disrupting compounds and of high microbial purity, it may be unavailable during civil emergencies when it is most needed). The countertop (portable) Pure Sip low voltage Point-of-Use water treatment system uses 4 stages of filtration, and/or adsorption, and/or ion exchange, coupled with 2 stages of UV disinfection, to reliably and economically address these exposures.

Claims

1. The invention claimed is a countertop point of use water treatment system which will fit in the typical 18 space found between overhead and base cabinets in a kitchen, and is powered by 12 volt DC (other safe low voltages are included), it incorporates the following devices within the system housing/case, such that operation/flow progresses through the system in the following manner: a. Operation of the system is initiated by removing the lid of the system housing/case, and filling the open topped influent tank measuring 13W5D7H; i. Water is added to the influent tank until the water reaches an indicated mark on the interior of the influent tank; ii. At the bottom right corner of the influent tank, there will be a generic quick disconnect fitting, so as to allow an individual to attach the claimed device to an ordinary faucet or standard piping for drinking water; b. A system momentary power switch is turned on to begin the function of the system via the electrical connection/logic board/system controller, a time delay relay is included in the system controller which delays the pump start until the UV power source is at 40,000 microwatt-sec/sq. cm., the system controller includes a timer which shuts off the system after X (variable) seconds (guidance will be included that those who choose to install the system under the counter {or teed from the sink faucet} and pipe it to a dedicated faucet such that, to extend the life of the UV supply, that 1-2 gallons be collected from the dedicated faucet each time the momentary switch is activated); c. Water flows from the influent tank through the influent quick disconnect fitting and then through piping to the pump; d. The pump forces water through an orifice plate or section of small diameter piping, engineered to inhibit the flow of water to ensure adequate contact time with UV to comply with EPA and/or state standards; e. Flow then passes through a filter housing containing a <50 micron pore size particle/sediment filter; f. Flow then passes through an ultraviolet contact chamber where it comes in contact with an ultraviolet source at 40,000 microwatt-sec/sq. cm. for disinfection; i. The UV Source includes an LED which is located adjacent to the power switch; ii. As long as the LED is illuminated the user can be confident that the ultraviolet disinfection process is performing properly; iii. Depending on the UV configuration, either 1 or 2 UV bulbs will be included, for systems with 2 UV bulbs, a LED for each bulb will be included; g. After passing through UV Chamber #1, the flow passes through a filter cartridge/housing containing a 3.0 micron pore size filter (the particle/sediment filter {at 1.e. above} is the first of four cartridge/filter housings), which is mounted onto a chassis that provides for flow from the particle/sediment filter to UV chamber #1 and then to next 3 filter housings; i. The three filter housings each contain one cartridge, depending on the source water, the three cartridges will be used for particle removal, and/or activated carbon adsorption, and/or ion exchange; ii. As long as at least one of the three cartridges is rated at <0.45 microns pore size (typically the last cartridge), bacteria will be physically filtered out; h. After passing through the three filter housings, the water is subjected to UV disinfection at 40,000 microwatt-sec/sq. cm. a second time to inactivate opportunistic or frank pathogens which survive treatment in the first stage of UV disinfection; i. After the second stage of UV disinfection the water is piped to the treated water tank; i. At the top right side of the treated water tank, there will be a quick disconnect fitting to allow an individual to attach the claimed device to a dedicated faucet at the sink; ii. There is a NPT female socket on the left side of the treated water tank into which a faucet is threaded to draw off treated water (depending on faucet style, a short nipple may be installed between the female socket on the treated water tank and a faucet); iii. An overflow pipe ensures that if the effluent tank is overfilled that the excess spills outside the system case to avoid damaging any components.

2. A system according to claim 1 which is portable so that it may be used anywhere a 12 Volt DC (or other safe low voltage source) is available, the low voltage powers the UV source, the LED which indicates the UV is operating, the pump, and the system controller.

3. A system according to claim 1 which includes a syringe which will allow water to be manually forced through the influent quick disconnect fitting at 1.a.ii. in the event of pump failure, unavailability of a low voltage power source, or civil emergency, the influent quick disconnect fitting allows those wishing to connect the system to the regular faucet on the sink or to the supply line under the counter to do so, the same applies to the effluent quick disconnect fitting which would be upstream of a sink faucet dedicated to providing water treated by the system.

4. A system according to claim 1 which includes a generic chlorine disinfectant residual test kit (for example, a kit using commonly available chlorine test strips for a swimming pool), absence of chlorine in the unit's treated water provides a method by which a user may verify the efficacy of the carbon block filter's adsorption of organic contaminants;

5. A system according to claim 1 which includes instructions on substituting chlorine disinfection for UV disinfection in the event of UV system failure, or during a civil emergency in which the UV system is working yet the homeowner wants additional assurance that the water will be safe to drink, the homeowner needs to; a. Draw off filtered water from the treated water tank and use the generic chlorine test kit to check the chlorine level, if the adsorption process is working properly, there should be no chlorine residual, if there is chlorine, the adsorptive capacity of the granular activated carbon has been exhausted and the system can't be relied upon for removal of organics until a new adsorption cartridge is installed; b. With the failure of the UV system, even if chlorine is detected, additional chlorine must be added to ensure adequate disinfection by adding 1 ml (about 10 drops from a typical household eyedropper) of household bleach (typically 5.25% available chlorine), to 2 gallons of water from the treated water tank, robustly stirring it, and letting the bleach react with the water for 15 minutes, the generic chorine disinfectant residual test kit can then be used to test the chlorine residual and a residual of 1-3 mg/l should be indicated, if it is below 0.5 mg/l, another 1 ml of bleach should be added, and the process repeated, as many times as it takes, until a residual of 1-3 mg/l is measured.

6. A system according to claim 1 which includes instructions for those who need to rely upon the Pure-Sip system to produce potable water on a long term basis from a raw water source (such as a well, stream, or lake), that they need to have an analysis done on their raw water to ensure that they (or a consultant) select filtration, and/or adsorption, and/or ion exchange, cartridges for the Pure-Sip system which will remove said contaminants to meet EPA standards for potable water.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

[0016] Two views of the system are provided; Drawing/Sheet 1/2 is a Bird's eye view, and Drawing/Sheet 2/2 is a Frontal elevation. The system is enclosed in a case measuring 22 wide12 deep<18 high, and is designed to fit in the space typically found in a kitchen between the base and wall cabinets. The frontal elevation shows #1, the influent tank, placed above #20, the effluent/treated water tank, to provide positive suction to #4, the system pump. All components of the system are designed to facilitate easy maintenance/replacement, for example: Drawing/Sheet 1/2 shows #14, the chassis (which holds the filter cartridges #7, 11, 12, & 13) as being mounted to #15, a bracket, from which it can easily be removed for routine replacement of the filter cartridges, and Drawing/Sheet 2/2 shows #1, the influent tank, resting on #23, support legs and a frame above #20, the effluent tank, to facilitate easy removal of either tank.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0017] The system is designed to produce potable water wherever there is a 12 volt power source, or other safe low voltage, and highly filtered water through the use of a syringe as a power source even in the event of the failure of the system's 12 volt pump and UV portions. As long as one of the 4 available filter cartridge slots employs a <0.45 m filter (typically the last stage of filtration), pathogenic bacteria (along with the viruses typically attached to each bacteria) will be physically excluded, The syringe connection/quick disconnect at the discharge from the influent tank is followed by a 12V DC centrifugal pump upstream of a flow inhibition device, i.e., an orifice plate or short length of small diameter tubing, engineered to ensure adequate contact time for UV disinfection, as well as adequate contact time for effective GAC adsorption and/or ion exchange. A detailed description of the Pure-Sip process is listed below (graphically displayed in drawings 1/2 and 2/2):

[0018] Sheet 1/2 is a Bird's Eye View of the System/Process: [0019] 1Influent Tank at atmospheric pressure 13W5D7H, containing 2 gallons [0020] 2Influent Tank discharge/Quick Disconnect Fitting (to allow direct connection to the municipal water supply or for use as a Syringe connection when #4 {the pump} fails, or in emergency situations) [0021] 3Piping between #2 and #4 [0022] 4Pump (located below #27the electrical connection/logic board/system controller), although the pump is also located below #9 and #17 (the UV components), they are not shown on drawing 1/2 to facilitate the description of process flow [0023] 5Flow Control Device (may be an orifice plate or short length of small diameter tubing) [0024] 6Piping between #5 and #7 [0025] 7First stage cartridge filtration at <50 m to remove relatively large particles which can shield pathogens from ultraviolet disinfection supplied by #9 [0026] 8piping between #7 and #9 [0027] 9First stage UV disinfection (shown numerically on Sheet 1/2 for process convenience of flow description, but not in its actual location {actual location is shown on Drawing 2/2}). This system employs existing technologies and as such, any UV system which can meet EPA standards for microbial inactivation and subsequent use as potable water is acceptable, (for example: Technologies which provide a contact chamber on either side of a single lamp, a reflective surface {ref. 7252763 Keunnen}, 2 side by side contact tubes wrapped around a single lamp, or those that employ separate UV lamps and contact chambers for pre-disinfection and post disinfection), and that depending on the existing technologies employed, #9 and #17 (2.sup.nd stage UV disinfection) may use the same UV source. Please note that to gain EPA acceptance, the system includes filtration which will provide adequate particle removal to ensure that pathogens cannot be occluded and thereby avoid adequate contact with the UV energy [0028] 10Piping from #9 to #11 [0029] 11, 12, & 132.sup.nd, 3.sup.rd, and 4.sup.th stage cartridge filtration, and/or adsorption, and/or ion exchange, respectively; all three are at 3.0 micron and may be in descending sizes. At least one of #11, 12, or 13 filter cartridges employs activated carbon adsorption. #7, 11, 12, & 13 (filter cartridges) are replaceable as needed and screw on to #14 (the Chassis). [0030] 14Chassis that holds #7, 11, 12, & 13 (filter cartridges); the chassis provides: Fittings to connect #6 (piping) to #7's supply port, #7's exit port to #8 (piping), #10 (piping) to #11's supply port, hydraulic connection ports/piping to supply #11, 12, and 13, and an exit port from the chassis from #13 to #16 (piping). For clarification's sake, the filter cartridges screw into the chassis, and the chassis provides the fittings/piping needed to transfer water between the cartridges [0031] 15Mounting bracket for #14 (the chassis) is attached to #25 (the system housing/case, which is shown on Sheet 2/2) [0032] 16Piping from #13 (4.sup.th stage filtration) to #17 (second stage UV disinfection {shown on drawing 2/2}) [0033] 17-20 are shown on drawing 1/2 for clarification of flow only (17 is second stage UV disinfection, 18 is the piping between 17 and 19 {the quick disconnect fitting on the treated water/effluent tank}, and 20 is the treated water/effluent tank); their actual locations are shown on Sheet 2/2 [0034] 21-26 are not shown on Sheet 1/2, and are shown on Sheet 2/2 [0035] 27Electrical connection/logic board/system controller (attached to right side of #25, the system housing/case {shown on Sheet 2/2}; grommets are provided to allow 12 VDC supply from the right side of #25, the system housing/case) [0036] 28System on/off switch [0037] 29LED to indicate UV lamp is on (depending on the UV technology employed at 9 above, there may be 2 LEDs at 29) [0038] 30Removable lid to allow filling of Influent Tank, replacement of filter cartridges, and system maintenance

[0039] Sheet 2/2 is a Frontal Elevation of the System/Process: [0040] 1Influent Tank [0041] 2Influent Tank discharge/Quick Disconnect Fitting (to allow direct connection to the municipal water supply or for use as a Syringe connection when #4 {the pump} fails, or in situations in which potable municipal water is unavailable) [0042] 3Piping between #2 and #4 [0043] 4A 12 VDC (or other safe low voltage supply) powered centrifugal Pump (mounted to #25, the system housing/case base) [0044] 5Flow Control Device [0045] 6Piping between #5 and #7 [0046] 7first stage cartridge filtrationshown to facilitate the description of the path of flow, but not in its actual location (it is shown graphically on Sheet 1/2) [0047] 8Piping between #7 and #9 [0048] 91.sup.st stage UV disinfection [0049] 10-16Not shown on Sheet 2/2 as they are essentially occluded from view, and are shown on Sheet 1/2 (for clarification's sake, #10 is the piping from #9 to #11; #11, #12, & #13 are the 2.sup.nd, 3.sup.rd, and 4.sup.th stage filtration, and/or adsorption, and/or ion exchange cartridges, #14 is the Chassis that holds cartridges #7, #11, #12, & #13. #15 is the Mounting Bracket for #14 (the Chassis), and #16 is the Piping from #13 to #17 {second stage UV disinfection}) [0050] 17Second stage UV disinfection [0051] 18piping between #17 and #19 [0052] 19Quick disconnect fitting for those wishing to connect the system to a dedicated faucet at the sink); it is attached to the upper right side of #20 (Treated Water/Effluent Tank). [0053] 20The treated water/effluent tank, at 13W5D7H, contains 2 gallons and is slightly bigger than #1 (the influent tank) to avoid accidental spills [0054] 21Treated water discharge piping and faucet/drain penetrates through #25 (the system housing/case) [0055] 22Overflow piping threaded into 20 [0056] 23Support legs and frame for influent Tank A1 [0057] 24Removable front cover [0058] 25System housing/case (outside dimensions of 22W12D<18H) [0059] 264 support legs for #25 (the system housing/case), located at each corner