Antimicrobial capture system with carbon container

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9708198-B2
Application number	US-201615174264-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 6, 2016
Priority date	Oct 24, 2014
Publication date	Jul 18, 2017
Grant date	Jul 18, 2017

Abstract

According to one embodiment, a container for removing antimicrobials from an antimicrobial composition includes a container body having an exterior and an interior. The interior is at least partially filled with carbon granules configured to remove a portion of the antimicrobials in the antimicrobial composition. The interior is further filled with a liquid to at least a level that completely submerges each of the carbon granules. The container further includes an agitator configured to agitate at least a portion of the carbon granules. The container further includes a drain and a drainage valve. The location of the drainage valve is configured to prevent the drainage valve from lowering a current level of the liquid below the level that completely submerges each of the carbon granules.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An antimicrobial capture system comprising:
a container to receive an antimicrobial composition, the container including a plurality of carbon granules for removing antimicrobials from the received antimicrobial composition, and the container further including a liquid for submerging the plurality of carbon granules within an interior of the container throughout operation of the antimicrobial capture system;
one or more sensors located within the interior of the container to monitor conditions in connection with the operation of the antimicrobial capture system;
a controller to receive signals from the one or more sensors that are indicative of the monitored conditions during the operation of the antimicrobial capture system, and to perform one or more functions for controlling the operation of the antimicrobial capture system based on the received signals; and
a drainage valve operatively coupled to the controller to control drainage of the liquid from the container.

2. The antimicrobial capture system of claim 1 , wherein the liquid is drained from the interior of the container via the drainage valve to an exterior waste disposal area.

3. The antimicrobial capture system of claim 1 , wherein the drainage valve is coupled to a stand pipe, the stand pipe including a sample valve to provide a sample of the liquid drained from the interior of the container for testing a concentration of antimicrobials in the liquid.

4. The antimicrobial capture system of claim 1 , wherein the one or more sensors include a sensor to monitor a concentration of antimicrobials in the liquid within the interior of the container and to transmit to the controller signals indicative of the concentration of antimicrobials, and the one or more functions performed by the controller include functions to operate the drainage valve in response to the signals received from the sensor such that the monitored concentration of the antimicrobials in the liquid remains at or below a predetermined amount.

5. The antimicrobial capture system of claim 1 , wherein the one or more sensors include a liquid level sensor to monitor a level of the liquid within the interior of the container and to transmit to the controller signals indicative of the level of the liquid, and the one or more functions performed by the controller include functions to operate the drainage valve in response to the signals received from the liquid level sensor such that the level of the liquid is sufficient to keep the plurality of carbon granules submerged.

6. The antimicrobial capture system of claim 5 , wherein the functions performed by the controller to operate the drainage valve include functions to close the drainage valve so as to prevent the liquid from being drained in response to a signal from the liquid level sensor indicating that the level of the liquid is below a fill height of the plurality of carbon granules within the container.

7. The antimicrobial capture system of claim 5 , wherein the functions performed by the controller to operate the drainage valve include functions to open the drainage valve so as to cause a portion of the liquid to be drained in response to a warning signal received from the liquid level sensor indicating that the level of the liquid exceeds a predetermined level.

8. The antimicrobial capture system of claim 7 , wherein the liquid level sensor is a float valve coupled to a lid of the container and positioned at least partially within the interior of the container to continuously transmit a warning signal to the controller when the level of the liquid exceeds the predetermined level, and the drainage valve is kept open until the controller stops receiving the warning signal.

9. The antimicrobial capture system of claim 1 , further comprising:
an agitator positioned at least partially within the interior of the container to agitate at least a portion of the plurality of carbon granules within the interior of the container throughout the operation of the antimicrobial capture system.

10. The antimicrobial capture system of claim 9 , wherein the agitator is at least one of an air agitation hose, a vibrating device, an impeller, or a propeller that agitates at least a portion of the plurality of carbon granules by producing air bubbles in the liquid.

11. The antimicrobial capture system of claim 9 , wherein the agitator is an air agitation hose arranged in a spiral pattern at a bottom portion of the interior of the container, and the air agitation hose has a plurality of holes for releasing compressed air that produces air bubbles in the liquid to agitate at least a portion of the plurality of carbon granules.

12. The antimicrobial capture system of claim 9 , wherein at least a portion of the plurality of carbon granules are agitated for a predetermined time period to reduce channeling of the plurality of carbon granules within the interior of the container during operation of the antimicrobial capture system.

13. The antimicrobial capture system of claim 9 , wherein the antimicrobial composition includes biological components, and at least a portion of the plurality of carbon granules are agitated for a predetermined time period to reduce binding of the biological components to the plurality of carbon granules.

14. The antimicrobial capture system of claim 13 , wherein the biological components include emulsified fat from one or more raw poultry carcasses.

15. The antimicrobial capture system of claim 1 , wherein the antimicrobial composition is received from one or more of an antimicrobial application system or an antimicrobial recycle system coupled to the antimicrobial capture system.

16. The antimicrobial capture system of claim 15 , wherein the antimicrobial application system is configured to apply the antimicrobial composition to one or more work pieces, and the antimicrobial recycle system is configured to:
receive unused portions of the antimicrobial composition;
recycle the unused portions of the antimicrobial composition; and
supply the recycled antimicrobial composition to the antimicrobial application system or to the antimicrobial capture system via an inlet in a lid of the container.

17. A method comprising:
providing a container to receive an antimicrobial composition, the container including a plurality of carbon granules for removing antimicrobials from the antimicrobial composition during an antimicrobial treatment;
monitoring a level of a liquid for submerging the plurality of carbon granules within the container during the antimicrobial treatment; and
controlling a drainage of the liquid from the container via a drainage valve of the container, based on the monitoring.

18. The method of claim 17 , wherein the monitoring further comprises:
monitoring a concentration of antimicrobials in the liquid during the antimicrobial treatment,
wherein the drainage of the liquid is controlled based on the monitoring of the level and the concentration of the liquid within the container.

19. The method of claim 18 , wherein the monitoring is performed using one or more sensors coupled to an interior of the container.

20. The method of claim 19 , wherein the one or more sensors include one or more of an infrared sensor, a visible light sensor, and an ultraviolet sensor.

Assignees

• Safe Foods Corp

Inventors

• Massey Justin
• Yeaman Tim

Classifications

• B01D15/20

  relating to the conditioning of the sorbent material · CPC title

• B01D15/203

  Equilibration or regeneration · CPC title

• C02F2209/42

  Liquid level · CPC title

• A23B4/20

  Organic compounds; Microorganisms; Enzymes · CPC title

• A23L3/3526

  Human Necessities · mapped topic