DESC:SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR CLEANING EXHAUST GASES

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[001] The present invention relates generally to pollution control systems and methods, and, more particularly to, systems and methods for cleaning exhaust gases in automobiles, industries and other exhaust gas generating areas..

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[002] Exhaust gases are emitted as a result of combustion of fuels in automobiles, industrial combustion engines, and other industrial applications that result in emission of exhaust gases. Exhaust gases contain harmful gases (may be inform of smoke), and sometimes, even harmful liquid drops (for example, acids) and harmful solid particles. For all purposes, as used herein a combination of all such harmful substances emitted from combustion of fuels is referred to as “exhaust gases”. Presences of all such harmful substances contribute substantially towards air pollution. Some portion of such exhaust gases discharged into the atmosphere form "acid rain" which further creates water pollution and soil pollution.. Further, carbon dioxide contained in the exhaust gas is also one of the factors causing the global greenhouse effect. Accordingly, exhaust gases have major harmful effects on the environment and in turn affecting the human, animal and plant health and well being. Due to all these reasons, a lot of efforts have been carried worldwide to minimize the poluution and harmful effects caused due to emission of exhaust gases.

[003] In another type of conventional system for purifying exhaust gas, a catalytic converter is provided on an intermediate part of an exhaust system of the engine so that CO, HC, NOx and other harmful components contained in the exhaust gas can be reduced. However, the catalytic converter only reduces the amount of the nitrogen oxides, unburned hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide, it produces nitrous oxide or laughing gas believed to be 300% more harmful than carbon monoxide, and does not have the function for collecting carbon as a harmful component contained in the exhaust gas discharged from the motor vehicles.
[004] Accordingly, there exists a need for an exhaust gas cleaning system that significantly reduces the harmful substances (collectively known as “pollutants” present in the exhaust gases in a convenient, safe, cost efficient and environmental friendly manner..

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[005] In view of the foregoing shortcomings inherent in the exhaust gas cleaning systems and methods of today, the general purpose of the present invention is to provide an improved combination of convenience and utility, to include the advantages of the prior art, and to overcome the drawbacks inherent therein.

[006] It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide an improved exhaust gas cleaning system which can be used in any means of transport and small or large industries in a convenient, cost effective, secure, and environmental friendly manner.

[007] In one aspect, the present invention provides a system for cleaning exhaust gases. The system comprises: at least one enclosure, each enclosure comprising a plurality of sheets having filters; an exhaust gas inlet configured on the at least one enclosure for introducing a polluted exhaust gas into the enclosure; a chemical mixture inlet configured on the at least one enclosure for introducing a chemical mixture into the enclosure; an exhaust gas outlet configured on the at least one enclosure for exiting a cleaned exhaust gas out of the enclosure; and a chemical mixture outlet configured on the at least one enclosure for exiting a polluted chemical mixture out of the enclosure. The introduced polluted exhaust gas undergoes a first cleaning by passing through the plurality of filters. Further, the introduced polluted exhaust gas undergoes a second cleaning by reacting with the chemical mixture to form the cleaned exhaust gas and the polluted chemical mixture.

[008] In another aspect, the present invention provides a process for cleaning exhaust gases. The process comprises: introducing a polluted exhaust gas into an enclosure comprising sheets having filters; performing a first cleaning process on the polluted exhaust gas by passing the polluted exhaust gas through the filters; introducing a chemical mixture unto the enclosure; and performing a second cleaning process on the polluted exhaust gas by reacting the chemical mixture with polluted exhaust.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[009] The advantages and features of the present invention will become better understood with reference to the following more detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

[0010] FIG. 1 illustrates a schematic diagram of a system for cleaning exhaust gases, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

[0011] FIG. 2 illustrates a schematic view of a box of the system for cleaning exhaust gases, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention; and

[0012] FIG. 3 illustrates the system 100 with four boxes, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

[0013] Like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout the several views of the drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0014] The exemplary embodiments described herein detail for illustrative purposes are subject to many variations and structure and design. It should be emphasized, however that the present invention is not limited to particular system as shown and described. Rather, the principles of the present invention can be used with a variety of configurations and structural arrangements. It is understood that various omissions, substitutions of equivalents are contemplated as circumstances may suggest or render expedient, but the present invention is intended to cover the application or implementation without departing from the spirit or scope of the its claims.
[0015] In the following description, for purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention. It will be apparent, however, to one skilled in the art that the present invention may be practiced without these specific details.

[0016] As used herein, the term ‘plurality’ refers to the presence of more than one of the referenced item and the terms ‘a’, ‘an’, and ‘at least’ do not denote a limitation of quantity, but rather denote the presence of at least one of the referenced item. The term ‘device’ also includes ‘engine’ or ‘machine’ or ‘system’ or ‘apparatus’.

[0017] Referring to FIG. 1, illustrated a schematic diagram of a system 100 for cleaning exhaust gases, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. The system 100 employs a chemical mixture to absorb the pollutants present in the exhaust gas and the cleaned exhaust gas is released. As used herein, the term “pollutants” refers to all the harmful substances present in the exhaust gases, for example, harmful gases, harmful liquid drops and harmful solid particles.

[0018] In operation, a polluted exhaust gas is introduced into the system 100 through an exhaust gas inlet 102 (illustrated in FIG. 1 as “Exhaust Gas IN”); and the chemical mixture introduced into the system 100 through a chemical mixture inlet 104 (illustrated in FIG. 1 as “Chemical IN”). Inside the system 100, the polluted exhaust gas moves along a path passing through filters (not shown in FIG. 1), such that filters remove the suspended solid and liquid particles. Further, while moving through the path comprising the filters, the partially cleaned exhaust gas also reacts with the chemical mixture, wherein the chemical mixture absorbs other pollutants present in the exhaust gas. Accordingly, due to the dual cleaning action performed by the filters and the chemical mixture to produce a cleaned exhaust gas comprising a minimum amount of pollutants. Herein the dual cleaning action comprises a unique combination of mechanical cleaning by the filters and chemical cleaning by the chemical mixture. The cleaned exhaust gas exits the system 100 through an exhaust gas outlet 106(illustrated in FIG. 1 as “Exhaust gas OUT”); and the chemical mixture containing the pollutant exits the system 100 through a chemical mixture outlet 108(illustrated in FIG. 1 as “Chemical OUT”).
[0019] As used herein, the chemical mixture used is available abundantly in nature and has pollutant absorbing properties. The chemical mixture may include at least one of sodium hydroxide [Na(OH)2] (also known as ‘Caustic Soda’), calcium hydroxide [Ca(OH)2] (also known as ‘Chuna’), washing powder or any combination thereof in a suitable ratio in water. In an embodiment, the chemical mixture comprises 1 kg of sodium hydroxide,1 kg of calcium hydroxide, 1 kg of washing powder , and10 kgs of water. As used herein, "washing powder” refers to mixtures of chemical compounds including alkylbenzenesulfonates, which are similar to soap but are less affected by hard water. Also, the chemical mixture used herein may be freshly obtained. Alternatively, or in addition, the polluted chemical mixture may be recycled to be reused.

[0020] From the outside the system 100 appears as a closed box (i.e., a closed opaque enclosure) with inlet and outlet pipes 102, 104, 106 and 108 to allow the exhaust gases and the chemical mixture to enter and leave the system after cleaning. From inside, the system is divided into a plurality of boxes. In one exemplary embodiment, the system 100 may comprise of four boxes which are similar to each other. The polluted exhaust gases enters the system 100 from the exhaust gas inlet 102 and passes through these four boxes, where it gets cleaned and then leaves as cleaned exhaust gases from the exhaust gas outlet 104.

[0021] Referring to FIG. 2 which illustrates a schematic diagram of one of the box 120 of the system 100 for cleaning exhaust gases, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. The box 120 comprises of a number of components which assist in cleaning the exhaust gases. As illustrated in FIG. 2, in one embodiment, the box 120 comprises a big drum 12 and a chemical pipe 1. The chemical pipe 1 is used to supply fresh clean chemical mixture to an inside of the drum 12..

[0022] A lever 2 is provided, such that the lever 2 is opened when the chemical mixture is supplied to the drum and when the required amount of chemical mixture is filled in the drum 12, the lever 2 is closed. The drum 12 is closed on top with a cover by fitting plurality of nuts 3, so that there is no leakage of the chemical mixture or the exhaust gases from the drum 12.

[0023] A main pipe 4 (similar to or configured as a part of the gas exhaust inlet 102 of FIG.1) allows the polluted exhaust gases to enter the drum 12 for cleaning. The drum 12 is divided into a plurality of chambers separated by sheets (herein illustrated as sheets A, B and C). Thesheets are in the form of filters surrounded by thick metallic plates (herein steel plates). The polluted exhaust gases get cleaned while passing through the different filters. The main pipe 4 passes through these sheets from top to bottom and the polluted exhaust gases are released below the bottom most sheet (herein sheet C).

[0024] The top sheet A is made up of a filter 5 and thick steel plate 6 surrounding the filter 5 on both sides such that the sheet A will withstand the upward pressure built by the exhaust gases and the chemical mixture. The sheet A will divert the pressure in other direction and will only allow the clean exhaust gases to pass through the filter 5 and rise from bottom to top. The cleaned exhaust gases after rising to the top will enter another box for further cleaning by a pipe 21.

[0025] Below the sheet A there is one more sheet B which is made up of a filter 7 and thick steel plate 8. The filter 7 surrounds the steel plate 8 in this sheet such that sheet B withstands the upward pressure built by the exhaust gases and the chemical mixture. The filter 7 used here may be finer that the filter 5 to filter the impurities present in the polluted exhaust gases. The exhaust gases get cleaned at each step as they pass through the filters of the sheets A, B and C.

[0026] There is one more sheet C below the sheet B and is made of filter 10 and thick steel plate 9. Here the filter is coarser to clean bigger particles from the exhaust gases. The sheet C functions similar to sheet A. It is to be noted that the number of sheets mentioned here are three but it may be any number of sheets depending on the quantity of pollutants in the polluted exhaust gases. Although three sheets are mentioned herein, it will be evident to a person skilled in the art to use any number of sheets depending on the nature and quantity of pollutants in the exhaust gases and for other obvious variations.

[0027] The main pipe 4 passes through the center of the sheets A, B and C from top to bottom. The bottom end of the main pipe 4 has a filter 11 attached to it from which the polluted exhaust gases enters the drum 12 and fill the whole space. The polluted exhaust gases rise to the top getting cleaned while passing through filters 10, 8 and 5. The filters are of different refinements to allow cleaning of different type and size of pollutants while passing through each filter.

[0028] The drum is provided with a gauge 13 which shows the level of chemical mixture inside the drum 12. As the polluted exhaust gases rise to top and gets cleaned, the pollutants fall below in the chemical mixture and is deposited in the lower chamber of the drum 12. A small sieve 14 and pipe 15 provides an exit to the pollutants and the polluted chemical mixture out of the drum 12. The pipe 15 also includes a lever 16 to control the flow of polluted chemical mixture out of the drum. The pipe 15 is linked to a main discharge pipe 18 where the chemical mixture from other boxes is also discarded. A lever 17 is also provided on the main discharge pipe 18 to control the flow. A pipe 19 shown is similar to pipe 15 and is used for other boxes in the system 100. A base 20 holds the drum 12 and all the components inside it. The base 20 has to be strong enough to bear the weight of the drum, the interior components including the sheets, chemical mixture, and the pipes.. Pipe 22 allows supplying the chemical mixture to another box. The chemical mixture along with the filters reduces the amount of carbon dioxide, neutralize acids present and remove particulate matter from the polluted exhaust gasses.

[0029] FIG.3 illustrates the system 100 with multiple boxes such as the box 120, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. As in FIG.2, four boxes 120 are shown. The chemical mixture is supplied to all the four boxes through the common chemical pipe 1 and pipe 22 corresponding to each box 120. The polluted exhaust gases enters the box 1 through main pipe 4 into the drum 12 and it rises up passing through the filters 10, 8 and 5 of the box 120. The polluted exhaust gases get cleaned at every filter while rising up and then it enters to another box through pipe 21. The same steps occur in the other boxes and after coming out of each box the exhaust gases come out cleaner and cleaner. Depending upon the cleaning of the exhaust gases required the number of boxes may be increased. The system may be made in various types of model depending on the load capacity.
[0030] Although a particular exemplary embodiment of the invention has been disclosed in detail for illustrative purposes, it will be recognized to those skilled in the art that variations or modifications of the disclosed invention, including the rearrangement in the configurations of the parts, changes in sizes and dimensions, variances in terms of shape may be possible. Accordingly, the invention is intended to embrace all such alternatives, modifications and variations as may fall within the spirit and scope of the present invention.

[0031] The foregoing descriptions of specific embodiments of the present invention have been presented for purposes of illustration and description. They are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed, and obviously many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teaching. The embodiments were chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the invention and its practical application, to thereby enable others skilled in the art to best utilize the invention and various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. It is understood that various omissions, substitutions of equivalents are contemplated as circumstance may suggest or render expedient, but is intended to cover the application or implementation without departing from the spirit or scope of the claims of the present invention.
,CLAIMS:1. A system for cleaning exhaust gases, comprising:
at least one enclosure, each enclosure comprising a plurality of sheets having filters;
an exhaust gas inlet configured on the at least one enclosure for introducing a polluted exhaust gas into the enclosure;
a chemical mixture inlet configured on the at least one enclosure for introducing a chemical mixture into the enclosure;
an exhaust gas outlet configured on the at least one enclosure for exiting a cleaned exhaust gas out of the enclosure; and
a chemical mixture outlet configured on the at least one enclosure for exiting a polluted chemical mixture out of the enclosure;
wherein the introduced polluted exhaust gas undergoes a first cleaning by passing through the plurality of filters;
wherein the introduced polluted exhaust gas undergoes a second cleaning by reacting with the chemical mixture to form the cleaned exhaust gas and the polluted chemical mixture.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the filters are capable of removing the suspended solid and liquid particles in the polluted exhaust gas, and wherein the chemical mixture is capable of absorbing remaining pollutants present in the exhaust gas.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the chemical mixture comprises sodium hydroxide, calcium hydroxide, washing powder, and combinations comprising at least one of the foregoing.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the enclosure comprises:
a drum housing the plurality of filters and for accommodating the exhaust gas and the chemical mixture; and
a base on for mounting and supporting the drum.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the sheets further comprise metallic portion surrounding the filters.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the each of the plurality of filters have a different refinement for cleaning different type and size of pollutants in the polluted exhaust gas.

7. A process for cleaning exhaust gases, comprising:
introducing a polluted exhaust gas into an enclosure comprising sheets having filters;
performing a first cleaning process on the polluted exhaust gas by passing the polluted exhaust gas through the filters;
introducing a chemical mixture unto the enclosure; and
performing a second cleaning process on the polluted exhaust gas by reacting the chemical mixture with polluted exhaust gas to form a cleaned exhaust gas and polluted chemical mixture.

8. The process of claim 7, wherein the chemical mixture comprises sodium hydroxide, calcium hydroxide, washing powder, and combinations comprising at least one of the foregoing.
9. The process of claim 7, wherein the sheets further comprise metallic portion surrounding the filters.

10. The process of claim 7, further comprising exiting the cleaned exhaust gas from the enclosure.

11. The process of claim 7, further comprising exiting the polluted chemical mixture from the enclosure.