Apparatus for controlling odors

Claim 1

Apparatus for treating air comprising a first treatment chamber having air inlet means for permitting untreated air containing odoriferous substances of both small and large molecular weight to pass into said first treatment chamber, a second treatment chamber having air exit port means for permitting treated air substantially free of the odoriferous substances to be removed from said second treatment chamber, said first chamber being in air communication with said second chamber to allow air to flow from said inlet means to said exit port means, said second treatment chamber including means for providing a flow of air from said inlet means to said exit port means, said first treatment chamber including a supply of a concentrated solution of potassium permanganate to oxidize the odoriferous substances of the small molecular weight in the untreated air, spray nozzle means disposed in said first chamber for spraying a mist of said solution over the untreated air for both oxidization as well as washing of the untreated air with respect to the odoriferous substances, air guide means disposed in said first chamber and associated with said spray nozzle means for deflecting the flow of air to maintain the untreated air under said spray nozzle means for a prolonged period of time for any given flow rate, said air guide means including a plurality of guide members vertically disposed one above another and inclined upwardly at an angle with respect to a bottom portion of said first chamber, said nozzle means including a plurality of sets of spray nozzles with each set coacting with an associated guide member, said spray nozzles of each set being disposed above its associated guide member at said angle with respect to said bottom portion to allow said untreated air to flow therebetween to provide partially treated air exiting therefrom, reservoir means disposed at said bottom portion of said first chamber below said spray nozzles for receiving said solution containing washed out odoriferous substances after spraying thereof, said reservoir means including a solution purification chamber, said purification chamber including a vertical partition spaced from a bottom wall of said purification chamber to define first and second chamber sections in communication with each other along said bottom wall, said purification chamber including means for allowing said solution to enter said first chamber section to be purified within said purification chamber and second means for allowing a purified solution to exit from said second chamber section, said first chamber section including opening means for allowing floating odoriferous substances to spill therethrough for removal from said purification chamber, said bottom wall being inclined downwardly from said first chamber section to said second chamber section, said bottom wall being provided with drain means to remove heavy odoriferous substances which sink in said concentrated solution from said purification chamber, pump means for recirculating said purified solution from said second chamber section to said spray nozzles, replenish means disposed in said reservoir means for disposing potassium permanganate crystals into said reservoir means to maintain said concentrated solution at a substantially constant level, and said second treatment chamber including adsorbing means to adsorb and remove the odoriferous substances of the large molecular weight in the partially treated air received from said first treatment chamber to provide the treated air.