System and method for residential and industrial grey water recycling and filtration process and system

Abstract

A method and process for deploying a stand-alone system for recycling and processing residential and/or industrial grey water. System includes measuring and recording sensor data for indicating incoming grey water quality, deterministic conditional logic algorithm for recycling, processing and reintroducing grey water to drinking and non-drinking water systems in both residential and/or industrial platform. The process disclosed in this filing aims to describe a water recycling system that brings together several sub-systems in order to create a high level process for grey water recycling. The process presents a linear series design in which grey water will pass each sub-system in a linear fashion and will progressively become cleaner as it is pushed to the next sub-system.

Claims

1. A method for residential and industrial grey water recycling filtration process system, the method comprising: a junction water holding tank for system startup and initial water quality determination. a two stage carbon filtration system for large particulates; a reverse osmosis system, for bacterial and contaminant cleansing a reservoir tank for final processed water storage and analysis a containment housing for equipment mounting and system to platform integration, and deterministic conditional logic algorithm for determining overall system states and process.

2. The method in claim 1, will implement rerouted plumbing to only collect the platform's grey water supply. This modification to the platform's plumbing drain lines allows the grey water to be collected into the junction water holding tank to start the recycling process.

3. The method in claim 1, has the reservoir tank connected to the platform's main water supply line. Through this connection the system introduces the recycled grey water once water usage in the platform is detected.

4. The method in claim 1, connects to the platform's main drain line and introduces any processed grey water which is not satisfactory to drinking water standards from either the system's junction water holding tank and/or reservoir tank.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0016] FIG. 1 is a high level system diagram of an embodiment of the standalone grey water process and recycling system.

[0017] FIG. 2 is a drawing of the stand-alone grey water recycling system.

[0018] FIG. 3 (a) is a flowchart showing first stage of the logical methods used for the overall system up to the logical sequence of the system verifying water quality for determining whether to process the obtain grey water.

[0019] FIG. 3 (b) is a flowchart continuing the logical methods used in the overall system's algorithm. This flowchart sequence shows the second stage of the logical procedure used up to the system verifying grey water quality in the reservoir tank. The flowchart sequence shown in this figure is the continuation from FIG. 3(a).

[0020] FIG. 3 (c) is a flowchart continuing the logical methods used in the overall system algorithm. The flowchart sequence shows the logical procedure used in the last stage of the system's algorithm. This portion of the algorithm performs the final actions in order to re-introduce the recycled grey water back into the residential or industrial platform. The flowchart sequence shown in this figure is the continuation from FIG. 3(b).

[0021] While the disclosure is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments have been shown by way of example in the drawings and will be described in detail herein. However, it should be understood that the disclosure is not intended to be limited to the particular forms disclosed. Rather, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0022] As noted above, current water processing and treatment takes place in city waste and management facilities. These facilities treat and re-introduce the water into city supply lines which then distribute the water to the entire city. Some cities treat and process only a small fraction of the entire city's wastewater. In these specific cities the water is redirected to nearby oceans, lakes, or rivers. An application and method of being able to contain local grey water, treat/process, and reintroduce at a residential and commercial platform level has not previously been done or deployed before. More specifically, being able to monitor several variables to determine water quality prior to re-introducing it the subjected platform proves of some difficulty. Dealing with greywater, water treatment, re-introduction to water supply lines and the deterministic algorithm associated with such a system capable of handling such a task are also issues of concern.

[0023] Beneficially, a system and method have been developed for localizing wastewater, with the ability to treat, monitor, and re-supply residential or commercial platforms. Shown in FIG. 1 is a top level schematic diagram of such a system. As shown in FIG. 1, the system contains several discrete components such as a series of different types of sensors, valves, and pumps. All actions and logic are executed through the programmable logic controller. The PLC contains and executes the deterministic algorithm that controls the entire system. The PLC works in conjunction with several different types of sensors for determining what actions to execute.

[0024] Per FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the greywater enters the system and first resides in the Junction Holding Tank (Item 3). The holding tank (Item 3), temporary contains the incoming greywater until the system is ready for transfer. Fluid level sensors are located inside of the junction holding tank, once the greywater level hits an upper water capacity limit indicated by such a sensor the programmable logic controller is notified. The PLC will then initiate the process to transport the greywater out of the junction holding tank.

[0025] In addition to the level sensors, viscosity and pH sensors also reside inside of the junction holding tank. These sensors are in place in order to determine the water quality of the incoming greywater. The system will analyze the incoming greywater via these sensors in order to determine if the greywater contains the minimum characteristics to undergo the water treatment process of the system.

[0026] Once the process of transferring the greywater out of the holding tank is initiated both PMP 101 (Item 6) and PMP 102 (Item 17) are simultaneously enabled. PMP 101 (Item 6) relocates the greywater out of the holding tank to the next stage of the water treatment system, while PMP 102's (Item 17) vital role is that of inlet pump for the reverse osmosis subsystem. As the inlet pump for the RO system, it pushes the greywater through the several in series filters and into the reservoir tank.

[0027] However, if the greywater quality inside of the holding tank exceeds the capability of what the system can treat and process then electronic valve 1 is enabled and PMP 102 (Item 17) is disabled. Enabling electronic valve 1 flushes the highly contaminated greywater to the drain line of the residential or commercial platform. The flushing of the highly contaminated greywater prolongs the life of the system, eliminates the processing and treatment of untreatable water, and ensures the likelihood that the end result quality of the water that is re-introduce to the platform is of drinking quality.

[0028] Both PMP 101 (Item 6) and PMP 102 (Item 17) are commanded by the system's programmable logic controller, once both pumps are turned on the greywater is transported past the first check valve. Check valve 1 (Item 4) is in place in order to ensure that no water is feed back into the holding tank once the pumps are turned off. PMP 101 (Item 6) and PMP 102 (Item 17) continue to push the water out of the junction holding tank until the lower water capacity limit is reached. Flow and pressure sensors are both located pre and post PMP 101 in order to ensure that the appropriate flow rate and pressures are being reached. The sensors also indicate to the PLC if any water flow restriction or leaks are present since these will be seen as high pressure and/or low flow rate readings.

[0029] A two stage carbon filtration sub-system (Item 7) is placed between check valve 1 (Item 4) and the RO subsystem. The two stage carbon filters act as an initial filtration by removing larger debris and particulates that may be found within the water. While also serving as the initial filtration process. This two stage carbon filtration sub-system also acts as a protection barrier to the rest of the recycling/filtration system by impeding large containments from moving further downstream in the system.

[0030] The reverse osmosis system that has been designed as part of this water recycling system is comprised of a few individual parts that operate in series as the water flows through it. Water first flows through a large pore sediment filter (Item 8) in order to eliminate any large particulates that may damage other parts downstream. At the 2.sup.nd stage, the water will then pass through a second sediment filter (Item 9) that has a much smaller pore design in order to further capture particulates and other debris. The 3.sup.rd stage will run water through a standard carbon filter (Item 10) in what will make up the first cleaning process. The 4.sup.th stage will have water running through a thin film membrane filter (Item 11). This filter is designed with microscopic pores that rid the water of larger bacteria and other impurities. In order for the 4.sup.th stage to function properly, the flow rate must be accelerated by a water pump in order to get a desired high rate of flow through the membrane filter. The 5.sup.th stage is the second carbon filter (Item 10) of the system which will provide additional surface cleansing and generate a familiar taste in water. The 6.sup.th stage is an ultra violet light filtration system (Item 12). This stage will clean any remaining bacteria or toxins that remain in the water. The flow rates and pressure throughout the reverse osmosis system will be regulated by our control system that will utilize sensors and pumps to monitor the optimum parameters to ensure a proper cleansing process.

[0031] The reverse osmosis sub-system of the process is considered to be a core and essential step in our proposed design. Depending on application and water usage, maintenance schedules will be determined in order to ensure all filters remain in optimum performance. As will be stated later in this document, the system design has provisions in place to handle bacteria and toxins that remain in the water even after passing our rigorous cleansing process.

[0032] After the water undergoes the reverse osmosis process it is then store in the system's Reservoir Tank (Item 13). The reservoir tank (Item 13), was designed to not only be a temporary storing container for the processed water but also as a quality control apparatus where the overall quality of the processed water is analyzed and validated. The reservoir tank incorporates various sensors that read numerous characteristics and properties of the treated water. Some of these water characteristics are temperature, conductivity, dissolved oxygen, pH level, turbidity, and oxygen redox.

[0033] Using all the necessary and available data from the sensors the system's controller determines if the quality of the water is that of which satisfies drinking standards. If the processed water is deemed of drinking quality then the reservoir tank can be discharged into the main supply line when the water recipients in the residential or commercial platform are in used. The system detects when water is being used on the platform by measuring the flowrate of the main supply line. If flow is detect then the system enables PMP 103 (Item 16). PMP 103 (Item 16) in return drains the reservoir tank and pressurizes the water into the main supply line through check valve 2 (Item 4). However, if the water quality of the treated water is not up to drinking standards then the entire reservoir tank is emptied. The subpar water is discharged out of the reservoir tank and into the city's sewage system via the sewage line of the residential or commercial platform.

[0034] All the above mentioned sub-systems are housed within a containment (Item 1) that features a graphical user interface (Item 2) that will display data about the performance of the system as well as other pertinent data points. The containment will contain Ethernet connectivity in order for the system to be integrate, monitored, and if necessary controlled. The algorithm of the software will allow the logic controller to perform several automated functions without any intervention required from the user. This aims to provide the user a hands free approach to their water recycling needs.