Process and system for recycling and reusing gray water
US5868937A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Feb 13, 1996 |
| Grant date | Feb 9, 1999 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Feb 13, 2016 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
- CPC primaryY02B40/00
- WIPO fieldChemical engineering
- WIPO sectorChemistry
Abstract
A process and system recycles and reuses gray water generated by dishwashers, showers, carwashes, and clothes washers while maintaining the same cleaning performance as current systems. Hollow-fiber membrane ultrafiltration is used to reduce fresh water supply demands and gray water generation where voluminous quantities of the latter are generated. For a clothes washer, the gray water reuse or recycle system consists of a closed-loop water recycle which can be redirected to a storage tank for other applications, or directly used in situ with a clothes washer for subsequent rinse cycles. The process uses, at a minimum, 50% less water than conventional residential and commercial washers, and also decreases detergent requirements by 30% because a portion of the rinse water can be re-used for subsequent wash cycles.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.