Treating liquids with electromagnetic fields

• US 9,670,078 B2
• Filed: 10/31/2016
• Issued: 06/06/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 01/31/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Reverse Ionizer Systems, LLC
• Original Assignee: Reverse Ionizer Systems, LLC
• Inventors: Nik, Hossein Ghaffari, McMurray, Richard B., Grandy, Shelley Marie, Hughes, Patrick J., Fraser, Desmond A., Aberra, Akrem Hassen Adem
• Primary Examiner(s): Ripa, Bryan D.
• Application Number:
  US15/339,578
• Publication Number:
  US 20170096352A1
• Time in Patent Office: 218 Days
• CPC Class Codes: C02F 1/008 Control or steering systems not provided for elsewhere in subclass C02F
• CPC Class Codes: C02F 1/484 using electromagnets
• CPC Class Codes: C02F 1/487 using high frequency electromagnetic fields, e.g. pulsed electromagnetic fields
• CPC Class Codes: C02F 2101/10 Inorganic compounds
• CPC Class Codes: C02F 2201/483 using coils
• CPC Class Codes: C02F 2307/14 Treatment of water in water supply networks, e.g. to prevent bacterial growth
• CPC Class Codes: G21F 9/10 by flocculation
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 6/62 Apparatus for specific applications

Abstract

Dual-field electric and magnetic probes create and apply electromagnetic fields to liquids, such as water, to treat unwanted material in the liquid.

Claims

1. A method for treating unwanted material in a liquid comprising:

passing a liquid through an immersible electric field section and an immersible magnetic field section of a dual-field probe, the magnetic field section comprising immersible coils configured as Helmholtz coils;

generating, by the electric field section, a time-varying electric field and an induced magnetic field;

generating, by the magnetic field section, a time-varying magnetic field and an induced electric field; and

wherein the passing of the liquid further comprises applying the generated time-varying electric field and an induced magnetic field and the generated time-varying magnetic field and an induced electric field to treat unwanted material in the liquid.

2. The method as in claim 1 further comprising applying, by the magnetic field section, the generated, time-varying magnetic field and an induced electric field to the unwanted material in the liquid substantially at the same time as the application of the time-varying electric field and an induced magnetic field.

3. The method as in claim 1 further comprising applying, by the magnetic field section, the generated, time-varying magnetic field and an induced electric field to the unwanted material in the liquid after the application of the time-varying electric field and an induced magnetic field.

4. The method as in claim 1 wherein the coils configured as Helmholtz coils comprise at least two immersible, radial coils.

5. The method as in claim 1 wherein the immersible electric field section comprises at least two immersible elements, wherein one of the elements is a positively charged element and the other element is a negatively charged element.

6. The method as in claim 5 wherein the at least two immersible elements of the electric field section are cylindrically shaped.

7. The method as in claim 1 further comprising generating, by the immersible magnetic field section, a time-varying magnetic field modulated at an ionic cyclotron frequency of the unwanted material in a liquid, and generating, by the immersible electric field section, a time-varying electric field modulated at the ionic cyclotron frequency.

8. The method as in claim 7 further comprising applying, by the immersible magnetic field section, the generated, time-varying magnetic field modulated at the ionic cyclotron frequency to the unwanted material in the liquid.

9. The method as in claim 1 wherein the unwanted material is one or more ions of calcium carbonate.

10. The method as in claim 1 further comprising:

maintaining, by impedance matching circuitry, an impedance of the dual-field probe, a signal generator and a transmission medium connecting the probe and generator at a matched impedance, and maintaining, a constant amplitude of the electric field generated by the electric field section and a constant amplitude of the magnetic field generated by the magnetic field section.

11. A method for treating unwanted material in a liquid comprising:

passing a liquid through an immersible electric field section and an immersible magnetic field section of a dual-field probe, the magnetic field section comprising immersible cons configured as Helmholtz coils;

generating, by the electric field section, a time-varying electric field modulated at the ionic cyclotron frequency of unwanted material in the liquid and an induced magnetic field;

generating, by the magnetic field section, a time-varying magnetic field modulated at the ionic cyclotron frequency and an induced electric field;

wherein the passing of the liquid further comprises applying the generated time-varying electric field and an induced magnetic field and the generated time-varying magnetic field and an induced electric field to treat the unwanted material in the liquid; and

outputting, from a signal generator, a time-varying signal modulated at the ionic cyclotron frequency to the immersible magnetic field section and the immersible electric field section.

12. The method as in claim 11 further comprising applying, by the magnetic field section, the generated, time-varying magnetic field and an induced electric field to the unwanted material in the liquid substantially at the same time as the application of the time-varying electric field and an induced magnetic field.

13. The method as in claim 11 further comprising applying, by the magnetic field section, the generated, time-varying magnetic field and an induced electric field to the unwanted material in the liquid after the application of the time-varying electric field and an induced magnetic field.

14. The method as in claim 11 wherein the unwanted material is one or more ions of calcium carbonate.

15. The method as in claim 11 further comprising outputting, by the signal generator, an oscillating or uniform time-varying signal modulated at the ionic cyclotron frequency to the immersible magnetic field section.

16. The method as in claim 15 wherein the signal generator is an integrated signal generator and the method further comprises generating or adjusting, by the signal generator, a carrier frequency, percentage of modulation, modulation frequency, modulation waveform, output gain or offset levels of the time-varying signal.

17. The method as in claim 11 further comprising determining, by a controller, a carrier frequency of the time-varying signal and a modulation signal corresponding to the ionic cyclotron frequency, and controlling the signal generator to output the time-varying signal at the determined carrier frequency and including the determined modulation signal.

18. The method as in claim 17 further comprising determining, by the controller, a percentage of modulation, a modulation frequency of the modulation signal, modulation waveform of the modulation signal, output gain or offset levels of the time-varying signal, and controlling the signal generator to output the time-varying signal and the modulation signal using the determined percentage of modulation, modulation frequency, modulation waveform, output gain and offset levels.

19. The method as in claim 11 further comprising displaying, by a graphical user interface (GUI), a combination of one or more of a fouling resistance, conductivity, power consumption, turbidity, corrosion, pH, temperatures of the liquid, pump speeds, fan speeds, flow rates, biofouling, saturation index, and hot/cold temperature differentials of components of the system used to treat the liquid.

20. The method as in claim 11 further comprising:

maintaining, by impedance matching circuitry, an impedance of the dual-field probe, the generator and a transmission medium connecting the probe and generator at a matched impedance, and maintaining a constant amplitude of the electric field and a constant amplitude of the magnetic field.