Nanobubble generation device
View Patent ↗A nanobubble generation device configured to receive an incoming fluid stream having an entrained gas and to discharge an outgoing fluid stream having entrained nanobubbles. The device has a housing enclosing an internal assembly with a leading plate assembly and a trailing plate assembly. Each plate assembly has at least one gasket and a plurality of perforated plates that optimize flow regimes to enhance the formation, mixing, and shearing of bubbles into nanobubbles in order to produce an outgoing fluid stream having entrained nanobubbles. The perforated plates are coaxially supported by the shaft with the perforations of adjacent plates being in offset relation to each other to restrict fluid flow and create a turbulent mixing zone in the housing. The internal assembly is held in place in the housing by the expansion of the gaskets due to a compression force applied to the plate assemblies.
1 . A nanobubble generation device, comprising:
a housing having an inlet at a first end, an outlet at a second end and a center housing section disposed between said inlet and said outlet, said center housing section having an inner sidewall and a center section diameter, a direction of fluid flow being from said first end to said second end;
an inlet pipe at said first end of said housing upstream of said center housing section, said inlet pipe having an inlet pipe diameter less than said center section diameter of said center section;
an outlet pipe at said second end of said housing downstream of said center housing section, said outlet pipe having an outlet pipe diameter less than said center section diameter of said center section; and
an internal assembly disposed in said center housing section, said internal assembly having a leading plate assembly positioned toward said inlet, a trailing plate assembly positioned toward said outlet and a shaft supporting said leading plate assembly and said trailing plate assembly in said center housing section, said leading plate assembly having a compressible inlet gasket positioned toward said inlet and a plurality of shear inducing plates positioned downstream of said inlet gasket, said inlet gasket having a plurality of inlet apertures disposed in an inlet aperture pattern, said trailing plate assembly having an outlet gasket positioned toward said outlet and a plurality of shear inducing plates positioned upstream of said outlet gasket, said outlet gasket having a plurality of outlet apertures disposed in an outlet pattern, each of said shear inducing plates of said leading plate assembly and said trailing plate assembly having a plurality of shearing apertures disposed in an aperture pattern, each of said shear inducing plates positioned on said shaft in spaced apart relation to an adjacent shear inducing plate with said aperture pattern of said adjacent shear inducing plate being offset so said shearing apertures of said adjacent shear inducing plates are not in alignment with each other,
wherein when an incoming fluid stream having an entrained gas flow through said center housing section in said direction of fluid flow, the incoming fluid stream will contact said leading plate assembly and said trailing plate assembly in a manner so as to flow through said inlet apertures, said shearing apertures and said outlet apertures to cavitate, mix and/or shear the entrained gas to form nanobubbles in the incoming fluid stream and produce an outgoing fluid stream having the nanobubbles entrained therein.
2 . The device of claim 1 , wherein each of said inlet gasket and said outlet gasket are sized and configured to abuttingly engage said inner sidewall of said center housing section to hold said internal assembly in position in said center housing section.
3 . The device of claim 2 further comprising connectors on said shaft toward said inlet and said outlet, wherein said inlet gasket and said outlet gasket expand upon compression thereof due to connectors toward said inlet and said outlet being tightened on said shaft.
4 . The device of claim 1 further comprising a spacer between each adjacent shear inducing plates to hold said adjacent shear inducing plates in spaced apart relation to each other.