METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR NEUTRALIZING ELECTROCHEMICALLY ACTIVATED LIQUIDS

• US 20090095639A1
• Filed: 10/03/2008
• Published: 04/16/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 10/04/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Tennant Company
• Original Assignee: Tennant Company
• Inventors: Field, Bruce F.
• Granted Patent: US 8,337,690 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 205/742
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 11/30 by suction
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 11/4016 specially adapted for collecting fluids
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 11/4022 with means for recycling the dirty liquid treatment of waste water C02F
• CPC Class Codes: B08B 3/14 Removing waste, e.g. labels, from cleaning liquid; Regenerating cleaning liquidstreatment of water in general C02F
• CPC Class Codes: C02F 1/4618 for producing "ionised" acidic or basic water
• CPC Class Codes: C02F 1/4672 by electrooxydation
• CPC Class Codes: C02F 1/4676 by electroreduction
• CPC Class Codes: C02F 2201/008 Mobile apparatus and plants, e.g. mounted on a vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: C02F 2201/46115 Electrolytic cell with membranes or diaphragms
• CPC Class Codes: C02F 2201/46175 Electrical pulses
• CPC Class Codes: C02F 2209/04 Oxidation reduction potential [ORP]
• CPC Class Codes: C02F 2303/185 The treatment agent being halogen or a halogenated compound

Abstract

A method and apparatus are provided for reducing an oxidation-reduction potential (ORP) of an electrochemically activated liquid. The ORP is reduced by emitting ions from an ion generator into the electrochemically activated liquid, wherein the ions have a charge polarity that is opposite to the ORP of the liquid.

Claims

1. A method of reducing an oxidation-reduction potential of an acidic liquid or an alkaline liquid having a charge, the method comprising injecting the liquid with a charge emitted from an electrode having an opposite charge polarity.

2. A method comprising:

emitting ions into a liquid having an oxidation reduction potential (ORP), wherein the ions have a charge polarity that is opposite to the ORP of the liquid, whereby the magnitude of the ORP is reduced.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the liquid comprises at least one of an electrochemically activated acidic liquid or electrochemically activated alkaline liquid.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the step of emitting ions comprises:

applying a voltage to an electrode;

emitting the ions into the liquid from the electrode.

5. The method of claim 4 and further comprising:

physically contacting the electrode with the liquid during the steps of applying a voltage and emitting the ions.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the electrode extends through a wall of a container containing the liquid.

7. The method of claim 2 and further comprising:

producing an acidic liquid and an alkaline liquid with an electrolysis cell;

delivering the acidic liquid and the alkaline liquid to respective first and second outlets of a platform supporting the electrolysis cell; and

performing the step of emitting ions to at least one of the acidic liquid or the alkaline liquid on the platform, between the electrolysis cell and the respective first or second outlet.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the platform is selected from the group comprising a mobile surface cleaner, a wall-mount platform, a floor-mount platform, a table-top platform and a hand-held platform.

9. The method of claim 2 and further comprising:

placing the liquid in a tank carried by a mobile surface cleaner;

dispensing the liquid to a surface and recovering a portion of the liquid from the surface by a recovery device carried by the cleaner;

placing the recovered portion of the liquid in a recovery tank carried by the cleaner;

performing the step of emitting ions to the recovered liquid on the cleaner.

10. The method of claim 2 and further comprising:

producing an acidic liquid and an alkaline liquid with an electrolysis cell;

using one of the acidic liquid or the alkaline liquid as a working liquid in a process;

performing the step of emitting ions to the other of the acidic liquid or the alkaline liquid prior to disposing the liquid to a waste system.

11. The method of claim 2 and further comprising:

producing the liquid with an electrolysis cell;

using the liquid as a working liquid in a process;

recovering a portion of the liquid from the process;

performing the step of emitting ions to the recovered portion of the liquid prior to disposing the recovered portion to a waste system.

12. An apparatus comprising:

a liquid container, which is adapted to receive a liquid comprising at least one of an acidic or an alkaline having an electrical charge; and

an ion generator comprising an electrode positioned to emit ions into the liquid within the container when the electrode is energized by the ion generator, wherein the ions have an opposite charge polarity than the charge of the liquid.

13. The apparatus of claim 12 and further comprising:

an electrolysis cell having first and second liquid outputs, wherein the electrode is coupled in a flow path from one of the first and second outputs.

14. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the electrode is positioned to physically contact the liquid in the container.

15. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the electrode extends through a wall of the container.

16. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein container is selected from the group comprising a tank and a tube.

17. The apparatus of claim 12 and further comprising:

a platform having a liquid source and first and second outlets;

an electrolysis cell carried by the platform and having an acid output flow path coupled to the first platform outlet and an alkaline output flow path coupled to the second platform outlet;

wherein the container and the ion generator are carried by the platform and the ion generator emits ions into at least one of the acid output flow path or the alkaline output flow path, between the electrolysis cell and the first or second platform outlets.

18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the platform is selected from the group comprising a mobile surface cleaner, a wall-mount platform, a floor-mount platform, a table-top platform and a hand-held platform.

19. The apparatus of claim 12 and further comprising:

a mobile surface cleaner;

a tank for containing the liquid and carried by the cleaner;

a dispenser, which dispenses the liquid in the tank from the cleaner to a surface;

a recovery device, carried by the cleaner and which recovers a portion of the liquid from the surface;

a recovery tank for containing the portion of the liquid recovered from the surface;

liquid flow paths from the recovery device to the recovery tank and from the recovery tank to an outlet of the cleaner, wherein the ion generator is located to emit the ions into the recovered portion of the liquid onboard the cleaner.

20. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the ion generator is located to emit the ions into the recovered portion along at least one of the flow paths or within the tank.