Substantially environmental-pollution-free cleaning method and device employing electric energy and surface physical properties

Abstract

A washing method and apparatus characterized by employment of the electric form of energy in addition to the traditional three forms of energy (kinetic energy, thermal energy, and chemical energy) to do the work of cleaning, thereby reducing the requirement for and dependency on the traditional three forms of energy. Electric charge is employed to do work of cleaning by various physical phenomena. The phenomena include, but are not limited to effecting the physical characteristics of surface chemistry, the physical characteristics of water, and the chemical characteristics of water, Such characteristics include but are not limited to surface tension, agitation, hydrolization, and adhesion. Such effects of the physical or chemical characteristics are temporary, and are not detectable after the washing water is discarded so as to have minimal polluting effect on the environment. After the cleaning work is done, this temporary energy effect of the physical or chemical characteristics is just as transient, undetectable and non-polluting as is the thermal energy of hot water that has been cooled or the kinetic energy of moving water that has been stopped. Previous to this invention, the work of cleaning was done by three forms of energy: Thermal energy, kinetic energy, and chemical energy. This invention adds electric energy to the forms of energy that do the work of cleaning. Of the four forms of energy, the only one that remains in the waste water is chemical energy. Adding this additional form of energy allows the reduction of requirement for work to be done by any or all of the other forms of energy. The net result is the transfer of the work load from chemical energy, thus resulting in less dependence on the one form of energy that pollutes the environment.