JP6377528B2 - Liquid processing apparatus and method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a liquid processing apparatus and method for performing liquid processing such as sterilization of a liquid to be processed and control of microorganisms and small animals in the liquid to be processed by irradiation with ultraviolet rays.

  Conventionally, a liquid processing apparatus and a liquid processing method for performing liquid processing such as sterilizing a liquid to be processed by irradiating ultraviolet rays or controlling microorganisms or small animals contained in the liquid to be processed have been known. It has been. In the liquid processing apparatus and the liquid processing method, it is important to avoid unnecessary ultraviolet irradiation, to save power and to optimize the amount of irradiated ultraviolet light.

  For example, in Patent Document 1 described below, a large number of ultraviolet discharge tubes are used, and a part of them is lit or thinly lit, or the discharge current of each discharge tube is changed to adjust the amount of irradiated ultraviolet rays, thereby saving power. And optimization of the amount of irradiated ultraviolet rays (see, for example, page 3 of Patent Document 1 and FIG. 1). In this document 1, when processing the flowing water whose flow rate is not constant, the amount of irradiated ultraviolet light is reduced by blinking the discharge tube or reducing the discharge current in accordance with the residence time of the liquid to be treated. Is reduced.

  Further, a liquid processing apparatus using a so-called electrodeless ultraviolet discharge tube that performs discharge excitation by a magnetic field as an ultraviolet discharge tube is known in Patent Documents 2 and 3 below (for example, Patent Document 2-5). (See page 6, FIG. 1, pages 5-6 of Patent Document 3, FIG. 1 and the like). In a liquid processing apparatus using these electrodeless ultraviolet discharge tubes, a high-frequency magnetic field of about 250 kHz or 2.6 MHz is continuously applied to excite the discharge gas to continuously emit ultraviolet rays, which is effective for sterilization. The liquid to be treated is continuously irradiated with ultraviolet rays from a mercury atom having a wavelength of 254 nm and ultraviolet rays having a wavelength of 185 nm effective for organic substance decomposition to obtain sterilization and decomposition effects.

JP 2003-24774 A JP 2012-40505 A JP 2012-61440 A

  However, in the liquid processing apparatus and the liquid processing method of Patent Document 1, since a so-called electroded ultraviolet discharge tube is used, there is a problem that the life of the ultraviolet discharge tube is short. The electroded ultraviolet discharge tube generates current by flowing an electric current through the filament to excite the discharge gas, but adjusting the amount of irradiated ultraviolet light by changing the filament current changes the electrode temperature and shortens the service life. End up. In order to avoid this, in order to maintain the electrode temperature, it is conceivable to adopt a configuration in which an electrode preheating current is passed. However, this preheating current must be changed in accordance with the discharge current, which complicates the configuration and reduces the manufacturing cost. It is inevitable to raise the price. Furthermore, if the electroded ultraviolet discharge tube is repeatedly blinked frequently, the electrode wears at the time of start-up, which also contributes to shortening the life.

  Moreover, in the liquid processing apparatus using the conventional electrodeless ultraviolet discharge tube, as seen in Patent Documents 2 and 3, since ultraviolet rays are continuously irradiated, for example, instead of treating running water, storage is performed. When a liquid is processed or a liquid with a very low flow rate is processed, the amount of irradiated ultraviolet rays becomes excessive, and discharge power for the irradiation is wasted.

  In view of the above, the present invention provides a liquid processing apparatus and a liquid processing method that are improved so as to achieve a long life while avoiding useless ultraviolet irradiation, reducing power consumption and optimizing the amount of irradiated ultraviolet rays. For the purpose.

The liquid processing apparatus according to the present invention is a liquid processing apparatus comprising: a container for storing a liquid to be processed; and an ultraviolet irradiation device attached to the container for irradiating the liquid to be processed in the container with ultraviolet rays. The ultraviolet irradiation device comprises an ultraviolet irradiation unit and a circuit unit, and the ultraviolet irradiation unit is a tubular body in which a discharge medium containing mercury or a mercury alloy and a rare gas is enclosed, and has a recess , An induction coil that generates a ultraviolet ray by causing a high frequency magnetic field to act on the discharge medium, and a ferrite core that is inserted into the concave portion of the tubular body and around which the induction coil is wound. and electrodeless ultraviolet discharge tube comprising, as the a lamp protective tube made of quartz glass for housing the electrodeless ultraviolet discharge tube, which is arranged so as to be in contact with the target liquid in the container, the Fe The said recess insertion side of the tube body in Itokoa and a heat radiation fin that is provided to release heat of the ferrite core to the base of the opposite side, the circuit portion, turned to high frequency current to the induction coil A circuit, a control circuit for controlling the lighting circuit so that the high-frequency current flows intermittently, a housing made of a material having good heat conductivity for housing the lighting circuit and the control circuit, and attached to the outer surface of the housing And an operation panel for setting the ON / OFF time and current value of the high-frequency current to be intermittently passed through the induction coil by a user operation, and the casing has good heat conduction to the ferrite core base. It is characterized by having connected to .

  According to the liquid processing apparatus according to the present invention, the lighting circuit is controlled by the control circuit, and the current flowing through the induction coil is intermittent. The amount of irradiation can be made appropriate according to the liquid to be treated, and excessive ultraviolet irradiation can be avoided, and wasteful power consumption can be eliminated. Since an electrodeless ultraviolet discharge tube is used, there is no reduction in life due to repeated ON / OFF of ultraviolet irradiation, and a longer life is achieved.

Moreover , since the electrodeless ultraviolet discharge tube is covered with a protective tube made of quartz glass, it does not come into direct contact with the liquid to be treated. Therefore, when the discharge tube is damaged due to an accident, it is possible to prevent mercury leaking from the discharge tube from being mixed into the liquid to be processed. In addition, by placing the discharge tube in the protective tube, the distance between the discharge tube and the liquid to be treated can be appropriately maintained. Therefore, the temperature of the discharge tube is properly maintained, and an appropriate ultraviolet irradiation amount is set. It becomes possible to maintain it stably. In addition, this protective tube is made of quartz glass, and when it is exposed to a certain amount of ultraviolet light, it deteriorates and breaks, but since ultraviolet light is irradiated intermittently, the amount of ultraviolet light irradiation is suppressed and the deterioration proceeds. Can be delayed.

Further, the magnetic field the tube of the electrodeless ultraviolet discharge tube has a recess, wherein the induction coil is so wound around the ferrite core with the ferrite core is inserted into the recess, the elevated flux density Can act on the discharge medium in the tube, and ultraviolet rays can be generated efficiently.

Further , since the heat dissipating fin for releasing the heat of the ferrite core is provided at the base of the ferrite core opposite to the tube recess insertion side, the temperature rise of the ferrite core can be suppressed. In addition , since the circuit unit is provided with an operation panel for setting a high-frequency current that flows intermittently through the induction coil, the ON time and OFF time of the intermittent high-frequency current are stored in the container of the liquid to be treated. It can be set freely according to time.

Further , in the circuit portion, the lighting circuit and the control circuit are housed in a casing made of a material having good heat conduction, and the operation panel is provided on the outer surface of the casing. The internal circuit can be thermally protected by suppressing the temperature rise, and the operation can be stabilized. In addition, since the operation panel is provided on the outer surface of the housing, the operation on the operation panel can be easily performed.

Further , since the case is connected to the ferrite core base with good heat conduction , the heat dissipation action of the ferrite core is performed on the case, which can contribute to the suppression of the temperature rise of the ferrite core.

The liquid processing method according to the present invention is a method of processing a liquid to be processed using the above-described liquid processing apparatus. The liquid processing is performed by changing the time and the OFF time according to the liquid to be processed.

  According to the liquid treatment method of the present invention, an electrodeless ultraviolet discharge tube is used, and the liquid to be treated is irradiated with ultraviolet light from the electrodeless ultraviolet discharge tube to treat the liquid. Since the high frequency current is allowed to flow intermittently through the coil and the liquid processing is performed by changing the ON time and OFF time of the intermittent high frequency current flowing through the induction coil according to the liquid to be processed, It can be made appropriate for the treatment liquid, and power consumption can be reduced by avoiding useless UV irradiation. Furthermore, according to this liquid processing method in which ultraviolet irradiation is performed intermittently using an electrodeless ultraviolet discharge tube, the life of the device is not shortened despite the repeated ON / OFF operation of the discharge tube. Effective life such as sterilization can be maintained while prolonging the life.

1 is a conceptual cross-sectional view of an embodiment of the present invention. It is sectional drawing which shows notionally only the part of the ultraviolet irradiation device of the embodiment.

  In FIG. 1, a container 1 is a container in which a liquid to be processed is stored or distributed, and includes a liquid inlet 11 and a liquid outlet 12. An ultraviolet irradiation device 2 is attached to the upper surface of the container 1. The ultraviolet irradiation device 2 includes an ultraviolet irradiation unit 3 and a circuit unit 4, and the ultraviolet irradiation unit 3 side mainly projects into the container 1.

  Further, referring also to FIG. 2, the ultraviolet irradiation unit 3 has an electrodeless ultraviolet discharge tube 31, and each part including the discharge tube 31 is covered and protected by a protective tube 39. The protective tube 39 is made of quartz glass.

  The electrodeless ultraviolet discharge tube 31 performs discharge excitation by a magnetic field and does not have a filament, an electrode, or the like. An induction coil 35 for applying a magnetic field is provided, and the induction coil 35 is wound around a cylindrical ferrite core 35 in order to strengthen the magnetic field.

  In the discharge tube 31, a discharge medium 33 containing mercury (liquid mercury) and a rare gas (in this case, a mixed rare gas of neon, argon, and xenon) is sealed at 3 Torr, for example, in a tube body 32 made of quartz glass. Consists of. Although the tubular body 32 has a cylindrical shape as a whole, a cylindrical concave portion 34 that is recessed from one end (upper end in the figure) toward the opposite end (lower in the figure) is formed. A ferrite core 36 around which an induction coil 35 is wound is inserted into the recess 34 from above to below. A heat radiating fin 37 is attached to the base (upper end side) of the ferrite core 36 so that heat conduction with the ferrite core 36 is good. The base portion of the ferrite core 36 and the heat radiating fins 37 are fixed to the base protective tube 38 with good heat conduction. The base protection tube 38 is made of quartz glass or an appropriate metal and is connected to the protection tube 39.

  The circuit unit 4 includes a lighting circuit 41 that causes a high-frequency current of 2.6 MHz (or about 250 kHz) to flow through the induction coil 35 and a control circuit 42 that controls the lighting circuit 41. Is formed. The casing 43 is formed of an appropriate metal (or other material) having good heat conduction, and an outer surface (lower surface) of one end thereof is tightly fixed to the upper surface of the base protection tube 38. The heat conduction between the casing 43 and the casing 43 is good.

  An operation panel 44 is disposed on the outer surface (upper surface) of the other end of the housing 43. Although not shown in the figure, the operation panel 44 has operation switch buttons, knobs, a liquid crystal display, and the like. Are arranged. By operating the buttons and knobs on the operation panel 44, the control circuit 42 is instructed to indicate the value of the current flowing through the induction coil 35, the ON time / OFF time of the current, etc. , You are able to make those settings.

  In the liquid processing apparatus configured as described above, when a high-frequency current is passed from the lighting circuit 41 to the induction coil 35, a magnetic field is formed in the discharge tube 31 and discharge starts. Since a discharge medium 33 made of mercury or a mercury alloy and a rare gas is sealed in the tube 32 of the discharge tube 31, the spectral emission of mercury due to discharge occurs. The ultraviolet light thus emitted passes through the tube 32 and the protective tube 39 of the discharge tube 31 and is irradiated into the container 1, and is introduced into the container 1 from the liquid inlet 11 to be stored or circulated (in the figure, the liquid to be treated). (Omission) is irradiated with ultraviolet rays to perform processing such as sterilization and sterilization, and the liquid to be processed is discharged from the liquid outlet 12.

  The lighting circuit 41 is controlled by the control circuit 42, and the current flowing from the lighting circuit 41 to the induction coil 35 is intermittent. The intermittent current value, ON / OFF time, and the like are set by operating buttons and knobs arranged on the operation panel 44. Therefore, the ON / OFF of the ultraviolet irradiation is repeated and the ON / OFF time can be appropriately determined, and the total ultraviolet irradiation amount can be made appropriate according to the liquid to be processed. As a result, it is possible to avoid excessive ultraviolet irradiation and eliminate wasteful power consumption.

  The discharge tube 31 repeats ON and OFF of UV irradiation. However, since the discharge tube 31 is an electrodeless discharge tube, there is no reduction in life due to repeated blinking seen in the electroded discharge tube. Life expectancy is achieved.

  Since the discharge tube 31 is housed in the protection tube 39 and covered with the protection tube 39, the discharge tube 31 does not directly contact the liquid to be processed. Therefore, when the discharge tube 31 is damaged due to an accident, it is possible to prevent mercury leaked from the discharge tube 31 from being mixed into the liquid to be processed. In addition, since the discharge tube 31 is accommodated in the protective tube 39, the distance between the discharge tube 31 and the liquid to be processed can be appropriately maintained. It is possible to maintain a stable amount of ultraviolet irradiation.

  This protective tube 39 is made of quartz glass having good ultraviolet transparency. However, when quartz glass receives and absorbs irradiation energy of ultraviolet rays (especially ultraviolet rays having a wavelength of 185 nm), the quartz molecular bonds are broken and deteriorated. It is known that it will progress and eventually break. With the irradiation energy of the ultraviolet ray having a wavelength of 185 nm, the breakage is caused by the irradiation energy of about 700 watts / hour per square centimeter. However, here, as described above, the irradiation of ultraviolet rays is intermittent, and since ON and OFF are repeated, the total irradiation watts / time can be reduced, and the life of the protective tube 39 can be extended. .

  Since the induction coil 35 is wound around the ferrite core 36, the magnetic flux density can be increased, and the induction coil 35 is inserted into the concave portion 34 of the tube body 32 while being wound around the ferrite core 36. Therefore, the discharge medium 33 in the tube body 32 can be excited efficiently, and the generation efficiency of ultraviolet rays can be increased.

  Further, a heat radiating fin 37 is attached to the base of the ferrite core 36 so as to dissipate the heat generated in the ferrite core 36, and the temperature rise of the ferrite core 36 can be suppressed. Since the base of the ferrite core 36 is also connected to the housing 43 of the circuit unit 4 through the base protection tube 38 with good heat conduction, the heat of the ferrite core 36 is transmitted to the housing 43 and dissipated, thereby Temperature rise is also suppressed.

  As described above, the setting of the discharge current (current flowing through the induction coil 35) is performed by the operation panel 44. The operation panel 44 is provided on the outer surface of the casing 43 in which the lighting circuit 41 and the control circuit 42 of the circuit unit 4 are accommodated. Since it is provided on the upper surface in the figure, the setting operation is easy. The housing 43 is for housing the lighting circuit 41 and the control circuit 42, but is formed of metal or another material having good heat conduction, so that the heat generated in these internal circuits is transferred to the outside. It also diffuses and protects the internal circuit thermally, and also stabilizes its operation.

  Next, an example of a liquid processing method will be described. For example, concentrated and concentrated fruit juice is often temporarily stored in a liquid sugar tank. As described above, when the concentrated reduced fruit juice is temporarily stored in the container 1, it is not necessary to continuously irradiate ultraviolet rays having a wavelength of 254 nm by mercury discharge, and the fruit juice liquid is introduced into the container 1 through the liquid inlet 11. If UV irradiation is performed twice at a predetermined interval during storage and during the storage in the meantime, it is sufficient for sterilization of fruit juice and suppression of microbial growth. It is.

  Therefore, at the time of temporary storage of such concentrated reduced fruit juice, for example, the ON / OFF time is set such that the ultraviolet irradiation is performed for 10 minutes during the storage and then the operation is stopped for 1 hour. When sugar solution such as concentrated reduced fruit juice is stored, mold or the like is likely to be generated on the inner wall above the liquid level of the container 1, but the inner wall can be sterilized by intermittently irradiating with ultraviolet rays. It is particularly effective in suppressing the occurrence of mold on the inner wall above.

  When the liquid to be processed always flows into the container 1 from the inlet 11 and always flows out from the outlet 12 and the liquid to be processed always flows into the container 1, for example, UV irradiation is turned on every 5 minutes. -It can be set to turn off. When the liquid to be processed always flows, if the residence time in the container 1 is as short as about 5 seconds, for example, it is set to repeat ON / OFF of ultraviolet irradiation at intervals of 0.5 seconds. Perform liquid treatment.

  As described above, according to the residence time of the liquid to be treated in the container 1, it is possible to determine the appropriate ON / OFF time of the ultraviolet irradiation and perform the intermittent ultraviolet irradiation treatment. It goes without saying that intermittent UV irradiation processing can be performed by determining the ON / OFF time of UV irradiation according to the content and temperature of the liquid to be processed, in addition to the residence time of the liquid to be processed.

  By appropriately setting the ON / OFF time of UV irradiation and performing intermittent UV irradiation processing, the amount of UV irradiation can be made appropriate according to the liquid to be processed, avoiding unnecessary UV irradiation. Power consumption can be reduced. Furthermore, according to this liquid processing method in which ultraviolet irradiation is performed intermittently using an electrodeless ultraviolet discharge tube, the life of the device is not shortened despite the repeated ON / OFF operation of the discharge tube. Effective life such as sterilization can be maintained while prolonging the life.

  In the above example, mercury (liquid mercury) is sealed in the tube body 32 of the electrodeless ultraviolet discharge tube 31. Alternatively, mercury alloys (so-called amalgam) such as bismuth and tin may be sealed. In that case, a mercury vapor pressure capable of stably emitting ultraviolet light having a wavelength of 254 nm is maintained even in an environment where the ambient temperature is high. In the above, 3 torr of mixed rare gas of neon, argon, and xenon is sealed as a rare gas, but this is not limited to this, and argon or neon alone is sealed at around several torr or less. You can also.

Claims (4)

In a liquid processing apparatus comprising a container for storing a liquid to be processed, and an ultraviolet irradiation device attached to the container and irradiating the liquid to be processed in the container with ultraviolet rays.
The ultraviolet irradiation device comprises an ultraviolet irradiation unit and a circuit unit,
The ultraviolet irradiation part is
A tubular-body discharge medium is sealed containing mercury or mercury alloy and a rare gas, which has a recess and the induction coil to cause discharge by applying a high-frequency magnetic field to said discharge medium Ru ultraviolet rays are generated And an electrodeless ultraviolet discharge tube comprising a ferrite core that is inserted into the concave portion of the tubular body and around which the induction coil is wound,
A lamp protection tube made of quartz glass for housing the electrodeless ultraviolet discharge tube, which is disposed in contact with the liquid to be treated in the container;
The said recess insertion side of said tube in said ferrite core and a radiator fins provided to release heat of the ferrite core to the base of the opposite side,
The circuit unit includes a lighting circuit for passing a high-frequency current through the induction coil, a control circuit for controlling the lighting circuit so as to flow the high-frequency current intermittently, and good heat conduction for housing the lighting circuit and the control circuit. A housing made of material, and an operation panel attached to the outer surface of the housing for setting ON and OFF times and current values of a high-frequency current to be intermittently passed through the induction coil by a user operation. And the housing is connected to the ferrite core base with good heat conduction,
A liquid processing apparatus. The ultraviolet irradiation section further includes a base protective tube that houses the base of the ferrite core and the heat dissipating fin and is connected to the base and the heat dissipating fin with good heat conduction,
The liquid processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the casing of the circuit unit is connected to the ferrite core base through the base protective tube with good heat conduction. The liquid processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the base protection tube is exposed to the outside of the container, and the base protection tube and the lamp protection tube are connected to each other and fixed to the wall surface of the container at the connection portion. In the liquid processing method which processes a to-be-processed liquid using the liquid processing apparatus in any one of Claims 1 thru | or 3, while passing a high frequency current through the said induction coil intermittently, the intermittent high frequency current sent through the said induction coil A liquid processing method, wherein liquid processing is performed by changing ON time and OFF time according to a liquid to be processed.

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