Method and apparatus for anesthetic gas reclamation with compression stage
First Claim
1. A method of removing and separating gaseous anesthetics from a waste anesthetic gas stream to prevent atmospheric venting of gaseous anesthetics from a healthcare facility, said method comprising the steps of:
- receiving said waste anesthetic gas stream from an anesthetizing machine (12A, 12B, 12C) into a chamber (32A, 32B, 32C),detecting a presence of said waste anesthetic gas stream received in said chamber,periodically fluidly coupling said chamber to a collection manifold (16) via a selectively isolable flow path (34A, 34B, 34C) in response to said presence of said waste anesthetic gas stream received in said chamber when detected,transferring said waste anesthetic gas stream received in said chamber to said collection manifold via said selectively isolable flow path, whereby said chamber and said selectively isolable flow path cooperate to minimize ingress of atmospheric gas into said collection manifold when no said waste anesthetic gas stream is exiting said anesthetizing machine,compressing said waste anesthetic gas stream transferred to said collection manifold to a pressure above atmospheric pressure using a compressor (42) with at least one compression stage,cooling said waste anesthetic gas stream by passing said waste anesthetic gas stream over a cooling surface (136, 236A, 236B) characterized by a surface temperature gradient such that said waste anesthetic gas stream passes thereover in a direction from a warmer to a colder temperature,condensing said gaseous anesthetics from said waste anesthetic gas stream,separating said condensed anesthetics from said waste anesthetic gas stream, andventing to atmosphere said waste anesthetic gas stream absent said condensed anesthetics.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method and apparatus are disclosed for recovering and separating anesthetic gas components from waste anesthetic gases to be purged from a healthcare facility. Prior to a condensation step, a compressor is used to increase the waste anesthetic gas pressure in order to facilitate condensation of anesthetic gas components at higher temperatures and in greater amounts than through condensation at lower pressures. Condensing the anesthetic gas components from the compressed waste anesthetic gas stream is then achieved using conventional condensation systems, which remove anesthetic gases as either liquid condensates or solid frosts. A preferred embodiment of the invention may be used with existing high-flow scavenging or reclamation systems but is more preferably used with low-flow scavenging or reclamation systems, which employ intelligent waste anesthetic gas collection units to minimize the ingress of atmospheric gas when no waste anesthetic gas is to be purged from the healthcare facility.
100 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method of removing and separating gaseous anesthetics from a waste anesthetic gas stream to prevent atmospheric venting of gaseous anesthetics from a healthcare facility, said method comprising the steps of:
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receiving said waste anesthetic gas stream from an anesthetizing machine (12A, 12B, 12C) into a chamber (32A, 32B, 32C), detecting a presence of said waste anesthetic gas stream received in said chamber, periodically fluidly coupling said chamber to a collection manifold (16) via a selectively isolable flow path (34A, 34B, 34C) in response to said presence of said waste anesthetic gas stream received in said chamber when detected, transferring said waste anesthetic gas stream received in said chamber to said collection manifold via said selectively isolable flow path, whereby said chamber and said selectively isolable flow path cooperate to minimize ingress of atmospheric gas into said collection manifold when no said waste anesthetic gas stream is exiting said anesthetizing machine, compressing said waste anesthetic gas stream transferred to said collection manifold to a pressure above atmospheric pressure using a compressor (42) with at least one compression stage, cooling said waste anesthetic gas stream by passing said waste anesthetic gas stream over a cooling surface (136, 236A, 236B) characterized by a surface temperature gradient such that said waste anesthetic gas stream passes thereover in a direction from a warmer to a colder temperature, condensing said gaseous anesthetics from said waste anesthetic gas stream, separating said condensed anesthetics from said waste anesthetic gas stream, and venting to atmosphere said waste anesthetic gas stream absent said condensed anesthetics. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 13, 20)
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8. A system for preventing atmospheric venting of anesthetic gas components of waste anesthetic gas from a healthcare facility, said system comprising:
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a chamber (32A, 32B, 32C) for receiving said waste anesthetic gas from an anesthetizing machine (12A, 12B, 12C), a detector (40A, 40B, 40C) coupled to said chamber for detecting a presence of said waste anesthetic gas received in said chamber, a selectively isolable flow path (34A, 34B, 34C) arranged and designed to periodically fluidly couple said chamber to a collection manifold (16) in response to said presence of said waste anesthetic gas received in said chamber when detected by said detector, whereby said chamber and said selectively isolable flow path cooperate to minimize ingress of atmospheric gas into said collection manifold when no said waste anesthetic gas is exiting said anesthetizing machine, said collection manifold (16) arranged and designed to draw said waste anesthetic gas from said chamber via said selectively isolable flow path into a compressor inlet, a compressor (42) fluidly coupled to said compressor inlet and having at least one compression stage for elevating said waste anesthetic gas drawn into said compressor inlet to a pressure higher than atmospheric pressure, a first heat exchanger/condenser (222A) having an inlet fluidly coupled to a flow line (239) from said compressor (42) and an outlet, said first heat exchanger/condenser also having a first cooling coil (236A) positioned therein with an outlet of said first cooling coil fluidly coupled to a refrigerant flow line (227) to a refrigerant sink, said first cooling coil having an inlet, and a second heat exchanger/condenser (222B) having an inlet fluidly coupled to said outlet of said first heat exchanger/condenser (222A) and an outlet fluidly coupled to an atmospheric vent line (46), said second heat exchanger/condenser having a second cooling coil (236B) positioned therein with an outlet of said second cooling coil fluidly coupled to said inlet of said first cooling coil (236A) and an inlet of said second cooling coil fluidly coupled to another refrigerant flow line (221) from a refrigerant source (220), said first and second cooling coils providing a cooling surface characterized by a surface temperature gradient, said first heat exchanger/condenser (222A) having a first vessel (23) in fluid communication therewith for collecting water liquefied from said waste anesthetic gas within said first heat exchanger/condenser, and said second heat exchanger/condenser (222B) having a second vessel (24) in fluid communication therewith for collecting anesthetic components liquefied from said waste anesthetic gas within said second heat exchanger/condenser. - View Dependent Claims (9, 14, 15, 17)
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10. A system for preventing atmospheric venting of anesthetic gas components of waste anesthetic gas from a healthcare facility comprising:
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a chamber (32A, 32B, 32C) for receiving said waste anesthetic gas from an anesthetizing machine (12A, 12B, 12C), a detector (40A, 40B, 40C) coupled to said chamber for detecting a presence of said waste anesthetic gas received in said chamber, a selectively isolable flow path (34A, 34B, 34C) arranged and designed to periodically fluidly couple said chamber to a collection manifold (16) in response to said presence of said waste anesthetic gas received in said chamber when detected by said detector, whereby said chamber and said selectively isolable flow path cooperate to minimize ingress of atmospheric gas into said collection manifold when no said waste anesthetic gas is exiting said anesthetizing machine, said collection manifold (16) arranged and designed to draw said waste anesthetic gas from said chamber via said selectively isolable flow path into a compressor inlet, a compressor (42) fluidly coupled to said compressor inlet and having at least one compression stage for elevating said waste anesthetic gas drawn into said compressor inlet to a pressure higher than atmospheric pressure, and a heat exchanger/condenser (22) arranged and designed to remove said anesthetic gas components from said waste anesthetic gas, said heat exchanger/condenser having an inlet fluidly coupled to a flow line (139, 239) from said compressor (42) and an outlet fluidly coupled to an atmospheric vent line (46), said heat exchanger/condenser also having a cooling coil (136, 236A, 236B) positioned therein with an outlet of said cooling coil fluidly coupled to a refrigerant flow line (127, 227) to a refrigerant sink, said cooling coil having an inlet fluidly connected to another refrigerant flow line (121, 221) from a refrigerant source (120, 220), said cooling coil providing a cooling surface characterized by a surface temperature gradient, said heat exchanger/condenser (22) having at least one vessel (24A, 24B) in fluid communication therewith for collecting liquefied anesthetic components removed from said waste anesthetic gas within said heat exchanger/condenser (22). - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 16, 18, 19)
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Specification