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US 8,709,250 B2Granted
Tubular electro-acoustic aggregation device
AssigneeHeliae Development, LLC
InventorsJustin S. Kniep, Aniket Kale
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Described herein are systems, methods, and apparatuses for aggregating microorganism in an aqueous suspension. In particular, are systems, methods, and apparatuses that apply an electrical field and/or acoustic energy to an aqueous suspension comprising microorganisms as the aqueous suspension follows a flow path to cause aggregation of the microorganisms. The electrical field may be continuous or pulsed. In some embodiments, the flow path for the aqueous suspension may vary.
Claims5
An apparatus for aggregating microorganisms in an aqueous suspension, comprising:
- a. a tube configured to contain a flow of an aqueous suspension comprising microorganisms;
- b. an anode disposed within the tube and with a length parallel to a concentric longitudinal axis of the tube;
- c. a cathode disposed within the tube, and with a length parallel to the anode forming a gap between the anode and cathode comprising the concentric longitudinal axis of the tube;
- d. an electrical power source operably connected to the anode and the cathode for creating an electrical field by providing an electric current that is applied between the anode and cathode and the aqueous suspension;
- e. at least one transducer coupled to the tube;
- and
- f. a generator configured to produce and transmit radio frequency signals, wherein the generator transmits an electrical radio frequency signal to the transducer and the transducer converts the electrical signal into an acoustic signal which vibrates the tube and creates a standing wave with a pressure minima node at a location between the anode and cathode.
4 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.