CN116801920A

CN116801920A - Photocatalyst air purification unit and device

Info

Publication number: CN116801920A
Application number: CN202280000778.5A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 生田博美; 因幡和晃
Original assignee: Toyo Xingshang Co ltd
Current assignee: Toyo Xingshang Co ltd
Priority date: 2022-01-21
Filing date: 2022-02-24
Publication date: 2023-09-22
Also published as: JP2024025800A; WO2023139800A1; JP7473227B2; JP2023107025A

Abstract

The shape and the structure of the photocatalyst air purifying filter are mainly optimized, and the space efficiency and the air purifying capacity can be improved. In the photocatalyst air purification unit (11), photocatalyst air purification filters (3 a-3 c) in which a photocatalyst (2) is supported by a metal porous body (12) are formed in a tubular shape. The cylindrical photocatalytic air purification filters (3 a-3 c) are arranged in a single or multiple state, and both ends thereof are blocked by end plates (13). The space (15) inside the innermost cylindrical photocatalytic air purification filter (3 a) is communicated with the outside by a first communication portion (16) formed in one end plate (13).

Description

Photocatalyst air purification unit and device

Technical Field

The invention relates to a photocatalyst air purifying unit and a device.

Background

An odor removal device using a photocatalyst has been put into practical use. The deodorizing device using photocatalyst has photocatalyst filter and light source, photocatalyst is carried on the photocatalyst filter, and the light source activates the photocatalyst. In a photocatalyst-based deodorizing device, a light source is turned on, a photocatalyst is activated by light from the light source, and a process gas is passed through a photocatalyst filter, whereby a photocatalyst carried on the photocatalyst filter can decompose a deodorizing component contained in the process gas (for example, refer to patent document 1).

In the conventional photocatalyst filter, a flat porous body (for example, a ceramic porous body) is used as a filter body.

Prior art literature

Patent literature

Patent document 1: japanese patent application laid-open No. 2012-050979

Disclosure of Invention

Problems to be solved by the application

Heretofore, in a deodorizing device using a photocatalyst, it is considered that the performance is basically dependent on the kind of photocatalyst and light source used. Therefore, the photocatalyst filter itself carrying the photocatalyst has not been paid attention, and for example, studies on how the shape or structure of the photocatalyst filter affects the performance of the deodorizing device have not been made. Therefore, there is room for research and improvement in the shape and structure of the photocatalytic filter.

Accordingly, the present application has been made in view of the above-described circumstances, and has been made to investigate the shape and structure of a photocatalytic filter. The deodorizing device using a photocatalyst is described as an example of a flat plate-like photocatalyst filter, and the air purifying device of the present application is not limited to the deodorizing device.

Means for solving the problems

In view of the above problems, the photocatalyst air cleaning unit according to the present application is characterized in that a photocatalyst air cleaning filter having a photocatalyst supported by a metal porous body is formed in a cylindrical shape, the photocatalyst air cleaning filter in the cylindrical shape is disposed in a heavy or multiple state, both ends are blocked by end plates, and a space inside the photocatalyst air cleaning filter in the cylindrical shape located at the innermost side is communicated with the outside by a first communicating portion formed in one of the end plates.

Effects of the application

According to the present application, by optimizing the shape and structure of the photocatalyst air cleaning filter, etc., the space efficiency and the air cleaning ability can be improved.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a diagram showing a state in which a photocatalyst air-purifying device having a photocatalyst air-purifying unit in the present embodiment is installed in a duct of a building.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view showing a basic structure or principle of air purification using a photocatalyst (in the case of using a flat plate-like photocatalyst air purification filter).

Fig. 3 is a perspective view showing a single body shape of a photocatalyst air-purifying unit used in the photocatalyst air-purifying device.

Fig. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view showing an internal structure of the photocatalytic air purification unit of fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view of an upper portion of the photocatalytic air purification unit as seen from the side, showing the flow of the process gas in the case where the first communicating portion is taken as an inlet portion of the process gas.

Fig. 6 is a longitudinal sectional view of an upper portion of the photocatalytic air purification unit as seen from the side, showing the flow of the process gas in the case where the first communicating portion is an outlet portion of the process gas.

Fig. 7A is a view showing an end surface shape of a cylindrical photocatalyst air-purifying unit cell.

Fig. 7B is a diagram showing the end surface shape of a triangle-shaped photocatalyst air-purifying unit monomer.

Fig. 7C is a view showing a state in which a plurality of hexagonal photocatalyst air-purifying units are bundled and inserted into a duct.

Fig. 8 (a) is a diagram showing the shape and structure of the light source, and fig. 8 (b) is a perspective view showing the state of the light source being installed in relation to the cylindrical photocatalytic air purification filter.

Fig. 9 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the horizontal photocatalyst air-purifying device as seen from the side.

Fig. 10 is a longitudinal sectional view of the longitudinally-arranged photocatalyst air-purifying device as seen from the side.

Fig. 11 is a longitudinal sectional view of the large-scale vertical photocatalyst air-purifying device as seen from the side.

Fig. 12 is an exploded perspective view of the photocatalyst air-purifying unit used in the vertical photocatalyst air-purifying device of fig. 11, in two.

Fig. 13 is a detail view of the end plate of fig. 12. Fig. 13 (a) is a bottom view, fig. 13 (b) is a top view, and fig. 13 (c) is a longitudinal sectional view.

Fig. 14 is a plan view of a light source used in the vertical photocatalyst air-purifying device of fig. 11.

Fig. 15A is a side view of the vertical photocatalyst air cleaning device in a modification of the vertical photocatalyst air cleaning device of fig. 11.

Fig. 15B is a top view of fig. 15A.

Fig. 16 is a longitudinal sectional view of the whole photocatalyst air-purifying unit provided in the inside of fig. 15A.

Fig. 17 is an upper end plate of the upper layer of fig. 16, fig. 17 (a) is a plan view, and fig. 17 (b) is a longitudinal sectional view.

Fig. 18 is an upper end plate of the lower layer of fig. 16, fig. 18 (a) is a plan view, and fig. 18 (b) is a longitudinal sectional view.

Fig. 19 is a separate filter holding member attached to the lower surface of the upper end plate, fig. 19 (a) is a plan view, and fig. 19 (b) is a longitudinal sectional view.

Fig. 20 is a bottom end plate commonly used for the upper and lower layers, fig. 20 (a) is a plan view, fig. 20 (B) is a half radial vertical cross-sectional view of a portion a in fig. 20 (a), fig. 20 (C) is a half radial vertical cross-sectional view of a portion B in fig. 20 (a), fig. 20 (D) is a half radial vertical cross-sectional view of a portion C in fig. 20 (a), and fig. 20 (e) is a half radial vertical cross-sectional view of a portion D in fig. 20 (a).

Detailed Description

Hereinafter, the present embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

Fig. 1 to 20 are diagrams for explaining this embodiment.

[ example 1 ]

Structure

The structure of this embodiment is explained below.

As shown in fig. 2, the photocatalyst air-purifying device 1 shown in fig. 1 has a filter (photocatalyst air-purifying filter 3) supporting a photocatalyst 2 and a light source 4 activating the photocatalyst 2.

The photocatalytic air purification device 1 is a device for purifying a gas (process gas 5) such as air or exhaust gas using a photocatalyst 2. The process gas 5 is exhaust gas purified by the photocatalytic air purification device 1. The process gas 5 may be any gas as long as it contains an odor component. The process gas 5 may contain components other than the odor component. The process gas 5 passes through the photocatalytic air purification device 1, is purified by a photocatalytic reaction in the photocatalytic air purification device 1, and is converted from an untreated gas to a treated gas. The photocatalyst air-purifying device 1 comprises an odor-removing device. However, the photocatalyst air-purifying device 1 is not limited to an odor-removing device.

The photocatalyst 2 absorbs light and activates the light, and performs a catalyst function of causing chemical reaction (photocatalytic reaction) of other substances. The photocatalytic reaction is a redox reaction using photocatalyst 2 and light. The odor component or other components are decomposed into water, carbon dioxide, etc. by the photocatalytic reaction.

The photocatalyst air cleaning filter 3 is a filter carrying the photocatalyst 2. The base material 6 of the photocatalytic air purification filter 3 is made of a gas permeable refractory material. The photocatalytic air cleaning filter 3 is configured to decompose the odor component or other components by a photocatalytic reaction by contacting the photocatalyst 2 when the gas is transmitted (or passed) inside or is moved along a surface, and to perform air cleaning, odor removal, and the like. In the photocatalytic air purification filter 3, the adhered oil or the like is decomposed by the photocatalytic reaction. Thus, the photocatalyst air purifying filter 3 also has a self-cleaning function. Compared with the air purifying device of the other mode, the photocatalyst air purifying device 1 has high purifying capacity, low running cost, easy maintenance and the like.

The light source 4 generates light for activating the photocatalyst 2. The light source 4 is an ultraviolet lamp generating UV-A (ultraviolet A wave having Sup>A wavelength of 300 to 400 nm). In addition, for example, an ultraviolet LED lamp generating UV-Sup>A is used for the light source 4. In addition, for example, sup>A visible light LED lamp that generates visible light including UV-Sup>A can be used as the light source 4. Any one of ultraviolet lamp, ultraviolet LED, and visible LED lamp can be selected for use. In addition, at least two or more of ultraviolet lamp, ultraviolet LED, and visible LED lamp may be used in combination. The bactericidal effect of these light sources 4 by UV-Sup>A can be expected. The light quantity of the light source 4 can be made constant. The light source 4 can be configured to adjust the amount of light. In this case, the photocatalyst 2 can be further activated by increasing the light amount. Conversely, by reducing the amount of light, activation of the photocatalyst 2 is suppressed. The amount of light is optimally adjusted according to the flow rate of the process gas 5, etc.

As for the basic structure described above, in this embodiment, the following structure can be provided.

(1) First, fig. 3 shows the photocatalyst air-purifying unit 11.

In the photocatalyst air-purifying unit 11, as shown in the sectional view of fig. 4,

the photocatalytic air purification filters 3a to 3c having the photocatalyst 2 supported on the metal porous body 12 are formed in a tubular shape.

The cylindrical photocatalytic air purification filters 3a to 3c are arranged in one or more (including two) stages, and both ends thereof are blocked by the end plates 13.

The space 15 inside the innermost cylindrical photocatalytic air purification filter 3a communicates with the outside via a first communication portion 16 formed in one end plate 13.

The cylindrical photocatalytic air purification filters 3a to 3c may be set in a heavy state. The cylindrical photocatalytic air purification filters 3a to 3c may be provided in multiple states of two or more. The photocatalyst air cleaning filters 3a to 3c are preferably provided in multiple of two or more. The cylindrical photocatalytic air purification filters 3a to 3c are arranged in double, and thereby the effect of purifying most of the odor components in the process gas 5 can be obtained. The cylindrical photocatalytic air purification filters 3a to 3c are arranged in a triple or more manner, whereby the process gas 5 can be purified at a higher level. In practical use, it is preferable to use the composition in a range of about two to five. In this embodiment, the cylindrical photocatalytic air purification filters 3a to 3c are provided in a triple manner. At this time, the photocatalyst air cleaning filters 3a to 3c provided in a one-heavy or multiple cylindrical shape can be kept in a bare state. However, it is preferable that the photocatalytic air purification filters 3a to 3c are accommodated inside the case 17. In the case where the housing 17 is provided, the housing 17 may have an outer peripheral surface 17a and a pair of end surfaces 17b, 17c, as described later. The outer peripheral surface 17a surrounds the outer peripheries of the cylindrical photocatalytic air purification filters 3a to 3c with a gap. The gap may be small. The end surfaces 17b and 17c close the end of the outer peripheral surface 17a, and close the housing 17. The end surfaces 17b and 17c can also block the ends of the cylindrical photocatalytic air purification filters 3a to 3 c. The housing 17 is formed with a second communication portion 19 for communicating the outside with the inside. The second communication portion 19 communicates with a space 18 outside the cylindrical photocatalytic air purification filter 3b located at the outermost position inside the case 17. The second communication portion 19 may be formed on the outer peripheral surface 17a of the housing 17. In this case, the second communication portion 19 can be formed in a part of the outer peripheral surface 17a of the housing 17. The second communication portion 19 can be formed on the entire outer peripheral surface 17a of the housing 17. Alternatively, the second communication portion 19 may be formed on the end face 17c of the housing 17 (on the opposite side of the first communication portion 16). Alternatively, the second communication portion 19 can be formed in the end plate 13. In addition, in the case where the case 17 is not provided, the cylindrical photocatalytic air purification filter 3b located at the outermost side performs the same function as the second communication portion 19.

The photocatalyst air-purifying unit 11 is a unit structure in which the minimum structures necessary for air purification are integrated. The photocatalytic air purification unit 11 has at least one photocatalytic air purification filter 3 and a light source 4. The light source 4 irradiates light to the photocatalytic air purification filter 3, and the case 17 may be included in the photocatalytic air purification unit 11. In this embodiment, the photocatalytic air purification filter 3 has three photocatalytic air purification filters 3a to 3c. The photocatalytic air purification device 1 can be constituted by one photocatalytic air purification unit 11. Alternatively, the photocatalytic air purification device 1 may be constituted by a plurality of photocatalytic air purification units 11.

The metal porous body 12 is a porous metal material used in various fields such as industrial filters and filters for food cooking, and in filters for filtration. The metal porous body 12 is a porous metal having innumerable fine pores inside. The metal porous body 12 has irregular and fine three-dimensional continuous pores in the whole of the front surface, the back surface and the inside. The metal porous body 12 has a three-dimensional mesh structure such as a sponge. Therefore, the material of the metal porous body 12 itself has air permeability. Thus, the metal porous body 12 is a material having a quality completely different from that of a porous plate in which regular holes are formed in a metal material having a dense structure by processing, such as a punched plate. The porous metal body 12 is preferably made of a material having a porosity of about 90% to 95%.

Further, no example has been found in which the metal porous body 12 is used as the base material 6 of the photocatalytic air purification filter 3 using the photocatalyst 2, not as a filter for filtration, and is put to practical use. However, the metal porous body 12 is a gas permeable material having a large surface area and allowing the process gas 5 to pass (permeate) therethrough because of fine three-dimensional continuous pores. Therefore, the photocatalyst 2 is supported on the continuous pores on the front surface, the back surface, and the inside of the metal porous body 12, and thus can be expected to be used as the photocatalyst air cleaning filter 3.

The metal porous body 12 has a very high porosity (porosity) and a different internal structure than, for example, a metal porous material (fired material, fired metal) formed by firing metal fibers or metal powder. Therefore, the metal porous body 12 to be treated in this embodiment is a material different from the firing material, and is expected to be a substrate 6 more suitable for the photocatalytic air purification filter 3 than the firing material. Further, the photocatalytic air purification filter 3 was produced by trial using the metal porous body 12, and various experiments and simulations were performed. As a result, it was actually confirmed that the metal porous body 12 can be used favorably as the base material 6 of the photocatalytic air purification filter 3.

The plate-shaped (thick plate-shaped) metal porous body 12 is commercially available and can be used. Preferably, the metal porous body 12 is formed of at least one material selected from nickel, silver, copper, aluminum, nickel-chromium, nickel-tin, and nickel-iron. In particular, the material of the metal porous body 12 preferably contains nickel.

The metal porous body 12 is different from the internal structure of the porous portion of the ceramic porous body used as a photocatalytic filter. Therefore, the performance of the metal porous body 12 may be different from that of the existing photocatalyst filter. Therefore, experiments were performed using the metal porous body 12. As a result, it is known that conditions exist for obtaining performances substantially equal to or higher than those of the ceramic porous body. This condition is that the metal porous body 12 is a metal porous body in which the product (t×c) of the thickness t and the average number of pores per inch C is 100 to 400. The thickness t of the metal porous body 12 is an index related to the pressure loss of the process gas 5. The average pore number C is an index related to the contact organic of the odor component and the photocatalyst 2. By satisfying the above conditions, the pressure loss and the contact opportunity in the case of using the metal porous body 12 are optimized. For example, it was confirmed that the thickness t and the average pore number C (ppi) were 15mm×9 ppi=135, 10mm×15 ppi=150, 10mm×25 ppi=250, 15mm×15 ppi=225, and 15mm×25 ppi=375. That is, it was confirmed that the metal porous body 12 having a thickness t of 10mm to 15mm and an average pore number C of 9ppi to 25ppi was used in combination so that the product (t×C) was 100 to 400. It was also confirmed that the use of a metal porous body having a transmittance of ultraviolet rays of 8% or less for the metal porous body 12 is preferable. The transmittance of ultraviolet light is an index related to the light use efficiency. When the transmittance is 8% or less and greater than 0%, the use efficiency of light in the case of using the metal porous body 12 is maximized, and the photocatalyst 2 on the front surface, the back surface, and the inside of the metal porous body 12 is activated to the maximum.

Titanium oxide is preferably used for the photocatalyst 2. Alternatively, a substance containing titanium oxide is preferably used for the photocatalyst 2. The photocatalyst 2 is preferably supported on the metal porous body 12 in a state of being uniformly dispersed throughout so as not to block the continuous pores.

The photocatalyst air cleaning filter 3 is formed in a cylindrical shape with respect to the cylindrical photocatalyst air cleaning filter 3 (cylindrical metal porous body filter). The photocatalyst air cleaning filter 3 is formed in a cylindrical shape, and directly serves as a passage for the process gas 5. The cylindrical photocatalytic air purification filter 3 can ensure a larger installation area than a flat plate-like filter for a space having the same size. The cylindrical photocatalytic air purification filter 3 can be formed by bending a flat plate-shaped metal porous body 12.

The cylindrical photocatalytic air purification filter 3 can be formed in various shapes such as a conical cylinder and a pyramid cylinder. The cylindrical photocatalytic air purification filter 3 preferably has a substantially uniform thickness and a substantially uniform cross-sectional shape, and is a cylindrical body having a substantially constant diameter over the entire length. The cylindrical photocatalytic air purification filter 3 can be formed in a cylindrical shape. The cylindrical photocatalytic air purification filter 3 may be formed in a prismatic shape. The cylindrical photocatalytic air purification filter 3 is preferably formed in a cylindrical shape. In this embodiment, as described above, the plurality of cylindrical photocatalytic air purification filters 3a to 3c having the same length and different diameters are concentrically arranged in multiple. Thus, the photocatalyst air-purifying unit 11 can simultaneously achieve simplification and centralization of the structure and increase the installation area of the photocatalyst air-purifying filters 3a to 3 c. In this embodiment, as shown in fig. 5 and 6, by arranging the photocatalyst air cleaning filters 3a to 3c in triplicate, the structure and scale of the photocatalyst air cleaning unit 11 are simplified and optimized. However, the number of the cylindrical photocatalytic air purification filters 3a to 3c is not necessarily limited to three. For example, the number of settings may be double, quadruple or quintuple or more.

The photocatalyst air cleaning filters 3a to 3c are preferably formed in a cylindrical shape having a plurality of sizes, and gaps extending over the entire length are provided between the photocatalyst air cleaning filters 3a to 3c, respectively, and are substantially uniform in the circumferential direction. When the cross section of the cylindrical photocatalytic air purification filters 3a to 3c is circular, the gap is uniform in the circumferential direction. When the cross section of the cylindrical photocatalytic air purification filters 3a to 3c is angular, the gaps at the side portions are uniform and the gaps at the corner portions are uneven. Furthermore, the size of the circumferential gap (radial dimension) may be different for each layer. However, it is preferable that the size of the circumferential gap be aligned identically in each layer.

In the cylindrical photocatalytic air purification filters 3a to 3c, two passages for the process gas 5 are formed inside and outside the cylinder by abutting the end plates 13 against the both end portions and closing the both end portions. In the cylindrical photocatalytic air purification filters 3a to 3c, the passages of the process gas 5 are formed in layers (number of pipes+1) at a time by arranging a plurality of the photocatalytic air purification filters and blocking both end portions with the same end plate 13.

Further, the cylindrical photocatalytic air purification filters 3a to 3c are sandwiched between the pair of end plates 13, whereby the gap between the cylinders is maintained, and the passage of the process gas 5 is defined. In the cylindrical photocatalytic air purification filters 3a to 3c, at least one end is attached to the end plate 13, whereby the position is fixed.

The housing 17 may not be provided. When the case 17 is provided, the cylindrical photocatalytic air purification filters 3a to 3c can be accommodated with a gap therebetween. The housing 17 may be of any size or shape. The case 17 is preferably a cylindrical shape similar to the cylindrical photocatalytic air purification filters 3a to 3c, and has a uniform cross section throughout its entire length.

Therefore, the cylindrical case 17 mainly has a cylindrical outer peripheral surface 17a (cylindrical portion) extending along the cylindrical photocatalytic air purification filters 3a to 3 c. The outer peripheral surface 17a has a larger cross section than the outermost cylindrical photocatalytic air purification filter 3b, and has a substantially same length or a slightly longer length. For example, the outer peripheral surface 17a may be longer than the photocatalytic air purification filter 3b by the thickness of the end plate 13 or the end surfaces 17b, 17 c. The cylindrical photocatalytic air purification filters 3a to 3c are preferably accommodated in the housing 17 such that the centers thereof are aligned with the center of the outer peripheral surface 17a or the vicinity thereof, and are spaced apart from the outer peripheral surface 17a at substantially uniform intervals (outer space 18) in the circumferential direction.

The pair of end surfaces 17b, 17c of the housing 17 are formed to block both ends of the outer peripheral surface 17 a. At least one of the end surfaces 17b, 17c may be formed to have substantially the same size and shape as the cross section of the outer peripheral surface 17a, and may be provided inside so as to fit inside both ends of the outer peripheral surface 17 a. Alternatively, at least one of the end surfaces 17b, 17c may be formed to have a size and shape required for contact with both ends of the outer peripheral surface 17a, and may be provided outside the outer peripheral surface 17 a. In this embodiment, both end surfaces 17b, 17c are provided inside the outer peripheral surface 17 a.

The cylindrical outer peripheral surface 17a may have any cross-sectional shape. For example, the outer peripheral surface 17a can be formed in a circular cross section. The circular cross section can be formed as a perfect circle (fig. 7A). The circular cross section may be any circular shape such as oblong, oval, etc. Further, for example, the outer peripheral surface 17a may be formed in an angular cross section. The angular section is preferably a polygonal section, particularly preferably a regular polygonal section. The angular cross section can be formed as a triangle (fig. 7B). The angular cross section can be formed as a quadrilateral. The angular cross section may be formed in any shape of pentagon or heptagon. In this embodiment, the housing 17 is formed in a (regular) hexagonal cross section (fig. 7C). Thus, the case 17 can easily accommodate the cylindrical photocatalytic air purification filters 3a to 3c therein, and when accommodated, a uniform and close circumferential gap can be easily formed between the case 17 and the cylindrical photocatalytic air purification filters 3a to 3 c. In addition, the (regular) hexagonal cross-section of the cases 17 can be formed so that the cases 17 are closely attached to each other, and a larger number of cases 17 can be combined, so that strength can be easily ensured. In addition, even when the housing 17 is formed to have an angular cross section such as a triangular cross section or a quadrangular cross section, the same advantages as those of the hexagonal cross section can be obtained. The housing 17 having an angular cross section may be provided so as to combine housings having different cross-sectional shapes. The cylindrical photocatalytic air purification filters 3a to 3c preferably accommodated in the case 17 are formed in a cylindrical shape. However, the photocatalytic air purification filters 3a to 3c may be formed in an angular cross section of a triangle or more. For example, the photocatalytic air purification filters 3a to 3c may be formed in a triangular cross section or the like. In this case, the cylindrical photocatalytic air purification filters 3a to 3c are preferably formed in a prismatic shape having the same cross-sectional shape as the case 17, and are disposed concentrically at the position of the circumferential alignment surface and the angular position. Thus, for example, the installation area of the photocatalytic air purification filters 3a to 3c having a triangular cross section (angular cross section) can be increased with respect to the case 17 having a triangular cross section (angular cross section).

The outer peripheral surface 17a of the housing 17 may be formed of any material. The outer peripheral surface 17a is preferably formed of metal. The outer peripheral surface 17a may be formed of resin or another material. Preferably, the case 17 is made of a thin-walled material having shape retention. For example, as shown in fig. 3, a flat plate material (non-porous material 21) of a general material having no air permeability can be used alone for the outer peripheral surface 17 a. For example, the porous material 22 can be used as a single body of the outer peripheral surface 17 a. Alternatively, the nonporous material 21 and the porous material 22 can be used in combination as appropriate. The nonporous material 21 is a material that itself has no pores. The porous material 22 includes a porous plate 22a obtained by sheet-metal working of a flat plate material. For example, the porous plate 22a includes a punched metal plate that is processed on a flat plate material to form a plurality of through holes. The porous plate 22a further includes a porous Metal mesh (Expanded Metal) which is formed by processing a plurality of through cuts in a flat plate material and stretching in the planar direction. In addition, the porous plate 22a further includes a punched material formed with a plurality of through holes by cutting up on a flat plate material. The porous plate 22a further includes a punched material or the like formed with a plurality of bridges by cutting and bending. The porous material 22 includes a porous material 22b made of a material other than a flat plate material, and the like. The porous material 22b is, for example, a metal mesh. The porous material 22b is a metal filter material or the like formed by integrating metal fibers such as aluminum into a plate shape having air permeability. In the case where the porous material 22b does not have shape retention or has weak shape retention, it may be provided so as to be mounted in a frame or the like. The metal porous body 12 can be used for the outer peripheral surface 17a of the case 17. In addition, in the case where the porous material 22 is used as the outer peripheral surface 17a of the housing 17, the outer space 18 of the photocatalytic air purification filter 3b can be substantially eliminated.

In the drawings, for the sake of illustration, a non-porous material 21 and a porous material 22 (porous plate 22a, porous material 22 b) are disposed on each surface of the outer peripheral surface 17a of the case 17. However, in reality, substantially the entire periphery of the outer peripheral surface 17a of the housing 17 is formed of the same material. Further, if necessary, a part of the outer peripheral surface 17a may be used in combination with other materials as appropriate.

At or near both ends of the outer peripheral surface 17a, a pair of end surfaces 17b, 17c of the housing 17 are provided substantially in parallel with each other with a space therebetween. The end faces 17b, 17c may be formed of any material. The end faces 17b, 17c are preferably formed of metal. The end surfaces 17b, 17c can also be formed of resin or other materials. The end faces 17b and 17c are made of a flat plate material (non-porous material 21) of a general material having no air permeability. By post-processing, the first communication portion 16 and the second communication portion 19 are formed to penetrate through such end surfaces 17b, 17c as appropriate. The end surfaces 17b, 17c can be integrally formed with the outer peripheral surface 17a of the housing 17. The end surfaces 17b, 17c may be formed of a member separate from the outer peripheral surface 17 a. The end surfaces 17b and 17c formed of separate members may be detachable (or detachable) from the outer peripheral surface 17 a. By this, the end surfaces 17b and 17c are removed from the outer peripheral surface 17a, whereby internal maintenance can be performed. The end surfaces 17b and 17c can be used as end plates 13 for blocking both ends of the cylindrical photocatalytic air purification filters 3a to 3 c. However, the end plate 13 may be formed of a member separate from the end surfaces 17b and 17 c.

The inner space 15 is a passage of the innermost process gas 5 of the photocatalytic air purification unit 11, and is an inner space (first space) of the photocatalytic air purification filter 3a formed in an innermost tubular shape.

The first communication portion 16 is an opening connecting the space 15 inside with the outside. When the end surface 17b and the end plate 13 are the same member, the first communication portion 16 is a through hole penetrating the end surface 17b (end plate 13) at a substantially central position. The substantially central position is a position corresponding to or matching with the space 15 inside. In this embodiment, the first communicating portion 16 is formed in a shape having a diameter substantially equal to or slightly smaller than the inner diameter of the innermost cylindrical photocatalytic air purification filter 3a and the same (cross-sectional) shape. Thereby, the first communicating portion 16 can secure a larger opening area. Alternatively, the first communication portion 16 is a communication port that directly communicates the outside of the housing 17 with the space 15 inside. For example, in the case where the end surface 17b and the end plate 13 are separate members, the first communication portion 16 is formed as a cylindrical member or the like penetrating the end surface 17b and the end plate 13 from the outside. As described later, when the photocatalytic air purification units 11 are connected in series, the first communication portion 16 can also be used to communicate the adjacent inner spaces 15 with each other.

The outer space 18 is a passage of the process gas 5 formed inside the outer peripheral surface 17a of the housing 17 and formed outermost. Alternatively, the outer space 18 is formed as an outer space (second space) of the outermost cylindrical photocatalytic air purification filter 3 b. The outer space 18 is formed as an annular passage extending in the circumferential direction and the longitudinal direction of the outermost cylindrical photocatalytic air purification filter 3 b.

In the case where the housing 17 is provided, the second communication portion 19 is provided as a hole that connects the outside space 18 to the outside, a communication hole that communicates the outside of the housing 17 with the outside space 18, or the like. The second communication portion 19 is formed as a through hole penetrating the outer peripheral portion of the end surface 17c (or the end plate 13) on the opposite side of the first communication portion 16. Alternatively, the second communication portion 19 is formed as a through hole penetrating the outer peripheral surface 17a of the housing 17.

The second communication portion 19 provided on the end surface 17c and the like is formed at a position on the outer peripheral side corresponding to (matching) the space 18 on the outer side. The second communication portion 19 provided on the outer peripheral surface 17a may be provided at any position of the outer peripheral surface 17 a. For example, in the case where the outer peripheral surface 17a is made of the nonporous material 21, the second communication portion 19 is preferably provided in the vicinity of the other end surface 17c farthest from the first communication portion 16, or the like. In this case, one or more second communication portions 19 can be provided in one of the end face 17c and the outer peripheral face 17 a. Alternatively, one or more second communication portions 19 may be provided on both the end face 17c and the outer peripheral face 17a, respectively. Further, the plurality of second communication portions 19 are preferably formed at equal intervals in the circumferential direction. The second communicating portions 19 can be adjusted in size and number so as to form the same opening area as the first communicating portions 16. However, the opening area of the second communication portion 19 may be larger than that of the first communication portion 16. Conversely, the opening area of the second communication portion 19 may be smaller than that of the first communication portion 16.

In addition, when the porous material 22 is used for all or a part of the outer peripheral surface 17a, a plurality of second communication portions 19 are formed at the portion of the porous material 22. In this case, the second communication portion 19 is preferably provided in the entire region of the outer peripheral surface 17 a. By using the porous material 22 for the outer peripheral surface 17a, the effect as a grease filter for trapping the oil contained in the process gas 5 by the porous material 22 can be obtained. The grease filter is provided on the upstream side of the flow of the process gas 5 than the photocatalytic air purification filter 3, as necessary, in order to collect the oil.

In addition, when the cylindrical photocatalytic air purification filters 3a to 3c are formed in a multiple structure, intermediate spaces 23 and 24 (fig. 4) (third space) are formed in the case 17 in addition to the inner space 15 and the outer space 18. The intermediate spaces 23, 24 are formed in one or more (number of sheets-1) in the gaps between the cylindrical photocatalyst air cleaning filters 3a to 3c of the size (or inside and outside). The intermediate spaces 23 and 24 are annular passages extending in the circumferential direction and the longitudinal direction of the cylindrical photocatalytic air purification filters 3a to 3 c. For example, when the cylindrical photocatalytic air purification filters 3a to 3c are formed in a triple structure, two intermediate spaces 23, 24 are formed between the three cylindrical photocatalytic air purification filters 3a to 3 c. The inner space 15, the intermediate spaces 23 and 24 (spaces), and the outer space 18 are formed as independent spaces, and are connected only by the continuous air holes of the photocatalytic air purification filters 3a to 3 c.

As shown in fig. 8, the light source 4 is preferably arranged in the intermediate spaces 23, 24 ((b) in fig. 8). The light source 4 is preferably provided so as to irradiate light substantially uniformly over the entire longitudinal and circumferential regions of the cylindrical photocatalytic air purification filters 3a to 3 c. A light source 4 can be arranged in the intermediate spaces 23, 24. A plurality of light sources 4 can be provided in the intermediate spaces 23, 24. The light source 4 is provided so as to irradiate light to both the inside and outside of the cylindrical photocatalytic air purification filters 3a to 3c forming the intermediate spaces 23 and 24.

In the case where there are a plurality of intermediate spaces 23, 24, the light source 4 is preferably provided in all of the intermediate spaces 23, 24, respectively. For example, the light source 4 may be formed such that a linear illumination in which a plurality of light emitting elements 4a such as LEDs are connected to each other and formed in a linear shape is integrally formed with the spaces 23 and 24 therebetween in substantially the same length and substantially the same width. The linear illumination is integrated by being attached back to back so that both sides can emit light. Alternatively, the light source 4 may be configured such that a plurality of light emitting elements 4a are attached to one surface of a long and thin support plate 4b having a width substantially equal to the width of the intermediate spaces 23 and 24, and the light emitting elements are attached or attached back to both surfaces, whereby both surfaces can emit light. The support plate 4b is integrally formed to have substantially the same length as the intermediate spaces 23, 24. One or more support plates 4b may be connected to form the above length. In the drawing, the support plate 4b is constituted by two connected. The support plate 4b may also be constituted by one. The support plate 4b may be configured to be connected to three or more. For example, it is preferable to process an antifouling coating on the surface of the light source 4. The antifouling coating layer may be formed using a coating agent such as silicon or fluorine. The elongated light source 4 is provided so as to be inserted into the intermediate spaces 23 and 24 so as to face the longitudinal direction and the radial direction of the cylindrical photocatalytic air purification filters 3a to 3 c. However, the structure of the light source 4 is not limited to the above-described structure.

In the intermediate spaces 23, 24, a plurality of such elongated light sources 4 extending in the longitudinal direction are provided in the circumferential direction at intervals required for substantially uniformly irradiating light. In this embodiment, the elongated light sources 4 are arranged six at equal intervals in the circumferential direction. However, the number of elongated light sources 4 is not limited to six. By installing the elongated light source 4 at a plurality of positions in the circumferential direction, the spaces 23, 24 in the middle of each layer are divided into a plurality of circular arc-shaped cross-sectional portions. In the intermediate spaces 23, 24, since the process gas 5 does not need to flow around such a circumference, it has no influence even if it is partitioned by the elongated light source 4. Further, by narrowing the width dimension of the linear illumination, the intermediate spaces 23, 24 can be kept undivided. When there are a plurality of intermediate spaces 23, 24, as shown in fig. 8 (b), the elongated light sources 4 may be provided at the same positions in the circumferential direction between the inner and outer layers. In the case where the intermediate spaces 23, 24 are divided into a plurality of portions in the circumferential direction by the elongated light source 4, it is preferable that the other end face 17c or the second communicating portion 19 formed by the nonporous material 21 on the outer peripheral face 17a be provided separately at the divided portions.

The elongated light source 4 is mounted with at least one end portion to one end plate 13 (or end faces 17b, 17 c) or the like, and the position is fixed. In this case, the cylindrical photocatalytic air purification filters 3a to 3c may hold the positions in the radial direction by using the elongated light sources 4 fixed to the end plate 13 as holders. The cylindrical photocatalytic air purification filters 3a to 3c may be held in radial positions by different holders for the light sources 4 fixed to the end plate 13.

By disposing the light source 4 in the intermediate spaces 23, 24, the untreated gas entering the housing 17 from the inlet portion 31 can be prevented from directly contacting the light source 4 even when either the first communication portion 16 or the second communication portion 19 is used as the inlet portion 31. Therefore, oil or the like contained in the untreated gas can be prevented from directly adhering to the light source 4. In addition, if the adhesion of oil or the like becomes a problem by providing the grease filter, the light source 4 may be provided in the inner space 15 or the outer space 18.

(2) As shown in fig. 5, the first communicating portion 16 may also serve as an inlet portion 31 for the process gas 5. Thereby, the second communicating portion 19 serves as an outlet portion 32 of the process gas 5.

In the photocatalytic air purification unit 11, the inlet portion 31 and the outlet portion 32 can be freely provided according to the installation direction of the air flow with respect to the process gas 5. The inlet 31 is an opening on the upstream side of the process gas 5 entering the housing 17. The first communication portion 16 is provided toward the upstream side of the flow of the process gas 5 as an inlet portion 31. The outlet portion 32 is an opening portion on the downstream side from the housing 17 to the outside of the process gas 5. The second communication portion 19 is oriented toward the downstream side of the flow of the process gas 5 as an outlet portion 32. Thus, for example, in the photocatalytic air purification unit 11, the process gas 5 enters from the center portion and flows out from the outer peripheral portion. In the case where the first communicating portion 16 is the inlet portion 31 of the process gas 5, the grease filter may be provided. In addition, a grease filter may not be provided. In the case of providing the grease filter, the grease filter is preferably provided around the first communication portion 16 in the end plate 13 so as to cover the first communication portion 16. The periphery of the first communication portion 16 may be an entrance side of the first communication portion 16. The periphery of the first communication portion 16 may also be the interior of the first communication portion 16. The periphery of the first communication portion 16 may also be the outflow side of the first communication portion 16. As the grease filter, a breathable member having a mesh size capable of trapping the oil contained in the untreated gas can be used. For example, the breathable member can be formed as a mesh. For example, the breathable member can be a nonwoven. In this case, by attaching the air-permeable member around the first communication portion 16, the photocatalytic air purification unit 11 becomes a unit having a grease filter (a grease filter built-in unit). The breathable member may be detachably mounted. Alternatively, the breathable member may be mounted in an undetachable manner.

(3) Alternatively, as shown in fig. 6, the first communicating portion 16 may serve as the outlet portion 32 of the process gas 5. Thereby, the second communicating portion 19 serves as the inlet portion 31 of the process gas 5.

The outlet portion 32 is an opening portion on the downstream side from the housing 17 to which the process gas 5 flows out. The first communication portion 16 is provided toward the downstream side of the flow of the process gas 5, and thus becomes an outlet portion 32. The inlet 31 is an upstream opening through which the process gas 5 flows into the housing 17. The second communication portion 19 is provided as an inlet portion 31 toward the upstream side of the flow of the process gas 5. Thus, for example, in the photocatalytic air purification unit 11, the process gas 5 enters from the outer peripheral portion and flows out from the center. In the case where the second communication portion 19 is used as the inlet portion 31 of the process gas 5, the above-described grease filter may be provided. In addition, a grease filter may not be provided. In the case of providing the grease filter, the grease filter is preferably provided around the second communication portion 19 so as to cover the second communication portion 19. The periphery of the second communication portion 19 may be an entrance side of the second communication portion 19. The periphery of the second communication portion 19 may also be the inside of the second communication portion 19. The periphery of the second communication portion 19 may also be the outflow side of the second communication portion 19. The grease filter uses the same breathable member as described above. In this case, by attaching the air-permeable member around the second communication portion 19, the photocatalytic air purification unit 11 becomes a unit having a grease filter (a grease filter built-in unit). The breathable member may be detachably mounted. Alternatively, the breathable member may be mounted in an undetachable manner. In particular, as described above, in the case where the porous material 22 is used as the second communication portion 19, the porous material 22 functions as a grease filter, and in this case, a breathable member may be provided separately from the porous material 22 as a grease filter.

Hereinafter, the photocatalytic air purification device 1 having the photocatalytic air purification unit 11 will be described.

(4) In the photocatalytic air purification device 1, one photocatalytic air purification unit 11 described above or a plurality of photocatalytic air purification units 11 described above as shown in fig. 7C may be combined and provided in the duct 41 (fig. 1) through which the process gas 5 passes so as to block the entire passage cross section of the duct 41.

The pipe 41 is a pipe through which the process gas 5 passes. For example, as shown in fig. 1, such a duct 41 is provided as an intake duct, an exhaust duct, or the like inside a building 42 such as a commercial facility. The photocatalytic air purification device 1 can be provided in an intake duct. The photocatalytic air purification device 1 can be provided in an exhaust duct. The photocatalytic air purification device 1 can be provided in another duct 41 through which the process gas 5 flows. Thus, the inner space of the duct 41 is the outside of the photocatalytic air purification unit 11. In the building 42, the duct 41 has at least an independent duct 43 (or a layer-by-layer duct) provided in a laterally extending manner at each layer. The duct 41 may have a merging duct 44, the merging duct 44 merging the individual ducts 43 and extending across and up and down between the layers. The individual ducts 43 are disposed laterally along the ceiling portion or the like of each floor of the building 42. The junction pipe 44 is provided substantially vertically in a pipe space penetrating up and down inside the building 42. Alternatively, the converging duct 44 may be disposed substantially vertically along the outer wall of the building 42. The converging duct 44 may extend to the roof of the building 42. The conduit 41 may be circular in cross-section. The conduit 41 may also be of angular cross section. The conduit 41 may also be of other cross-sectional shapes. A fan 45 (fig. 10) for flowing the process gas 5 to the duct 41 may be appropriately provided in at least one of the photocatalytic air purification device 1 and the duct 41 as needed. The fan 45 can flow the process gas 5 to the duct 41 at a predetermined flow rate (air volume). In addition, the fan 45 can adjust the flow rate of the process gas 5 flowing in the duct 41. In this case, by making the rotation of the fan 45 faster, the flow rate of the process gas 5 increases. Conversely, by slowing down the rotation of the fan 45, the flow rate of the process gas 5 is reduced. For example, the rotation speed of the fan 45 and the light amount of the light source 4 may be controlled in conjunction with each other. In the case where a grease filter (split type grease filter) is separately provided from the photocatalytic air purification unit 11, the grease filter is provided in the duct 41 so as to be located on the upstream side of the entire photocatalytic air purification device 1. Alternatively, a plurality of grease filters may be provided in the duct 41 so as to be located upstream of each photocatalytic air purification unit 11.

The photocatalytic air purification device 1 is mainly constituted by using a photocatalytic air purification unit 11, and the photocatalytic air purification unit 11 has a cylindrical photocatalytic air purification filter 3 having a metal porous body 12 as a base material 6. The photocatalyst air-purifying unit 11 is provided in the duct 41 in a state of blocking the entire passage cross section of the duct 41, whereby all the process gas 5 flowing in the duct 41 is passed through the inside of the photocatalyst air-purifying unit 11. The photocatalyst air-purifying unit 11 is provided in at least one of the independent duct 43 and the merging duct 44.

At this time, the photocatalytic air purification unit 11 is preferably provided in the duct 41 so that the longitudinal direction of the cylindrical photocatalytic air purification filter 3 is oriented in a direction parallel to the flow direction (particularly, the inflow direction) of the process gas 5. However, depending on the situation, the photocatalyst air-purifying unit 11 may be provided so as to intersect the flow direction of the process gas 5 in the longitudinal direction of the cylindrical photocatalyst air-purifying filters 3a to 3c, as will be described later. In particular, when the second communication portion 19 is formed on the outer peripheral surface 17a of the housing 17 or when the outer peripheral surface 17a is formed of the porous material 22, the inlet and outlet directions of the process gas 5 are different between the first communication portion 16 and the second communication portion 19. In this case, therefore, the photocatalytic air purification unit 11 is configured to be easily installed such that the longitudinal direction of the cylindrical photocatalytic air purification filters 3a to 3c is oriented in a direction orthogonal to the flow direction of the process gas 5.

For example, a partition member 46 (fig. 9) that blocks the entire passage cross section of the duct 41 is provided in the duct 41, and one photocatalytic air purification unit 11 can be attached to the partition member 46. Alternatively, a plurality of partition members 46 may be mounted in the photocatalytic air purification unit 11. Further, the photocatalyst air-purifying unit 11 may be mounted on the partition member 46 in a state (or a connected state) in which the inlet portion 31 or the outlet portion 32 is aligned with one or more penetrating portions provided on the partition member 46. In addition, in the case where the entire outer peripheral surface 17a is formed of the non-porous material 21, the photocatalyst air-purifying unit 11 may be configured to penetrate the penetrating portion of the partition member 46 in such a manner that the inlet portion 31 and the outlet portion 32 are separated on both sides of the partition member 46. In this case, the grease filter can be provided at a position on the upstream side of the partition member 46. Alternatively, the grease filter may be provided at a position upstream of the inlet portion 31 of each photocatalytic air purification unit 11.

Alternatively, as shown in fig. 7C, the photocatalyst air-purifying unit 11 is inserted and disposed (directly) into the duct 41 in a state where a plurality of photocatalyst air-purifying units are combined and bound in parallel, whereby the entire passage cross section of the duct 41 can be substantially blocked. At this time, a partition plate is provided as a partition member 46 so as to divide the gap formed between the photocatalyst air-purifying units 11 and between the outer shape of the photocatalyst air-purifying unit 11 being bundled and the duct 41 into the inlet portion 31 and the outlet portion 32. Further, the entire passage section is appropriately blocked by the partition member 46 (partition plate). In the photocatalytic air purification unit 11, the outer shape may be adjusted or changed in accordance with the cross-sectional shape of the duct 41, and the partition member 46 may not be required. The photocatalytic air purification unit 11 may be entirely adjusted and changed in shape according to the cross-sectional shape of the duct 41. The photocatalyst air-purifying unit 11 may be configured to adjust and deform a part of the outer shape, for example, the shape of the outer part, in accordance with the cross-sectional shape of the duct 41. In this case, the grease filter can be provided at a position upstream of the inlet portion 31 of the bundled photocatalytic air purification unit 11, or the like.

In addition, a cavity 47 (fig. 9) having a larger passage cross section than the duct 41 is provided in the middle of the duct 41, and the photocatalytic air purification unit 11 is provided in the cavity 47. A cavity 47 may be provided at the end of the conduit 41. The photocatalyst air cleaning unit 11 may be provided in the chamber 47 (indirectly provided in the duct 41) or the like in the same manner as in any of the above-described configurations. For example, a partition member 46 is provided in the cavity 47, and the photocatalytic air purification unit 11 is mounted on the partition member 46. The photocatalyst air-purifying unit 11 is bundled and disposed in the cavity 47. The partition member 46 and the photocatalyst air-purifying unit 11 are combined and disposed in the cavity 47. In this case, the partition member 46 is provided to partition the interior of the chamber 47 into an upstream-side space 47a and a downstream-side space 47b. The grease filter may be provided at the inlet of the chamber 47, in addition to the pipe 41, as described above. The grease filter may be provided in the chamber 47 at a position upstream of the partition member 46 or upstream of the photocatalytic air purification unit 11.

For maintenance, the photocatalytic air purification unit 11 is preferably detachably provided in the duct 41 or the chamber 47. Therefore, in the photocatalytic air purification device 1, the duct 41 or the chamber 47 has an opening for operation for allowing the photocatalytic air purification unit 11 to come in and go out. The work opening can be opened and closed.

In addition, a plurality of layers of the photocatalytic air purification device 1 may be disposed in series in the flow direction of the process gas 5 in the duct 41 or the chamber 47. The photocatalytic air purification device 1 of each layer may have one photocatalytic air purification unit 11. The photocatalyst air-purifying device 1 of each layer may be a member in which a plurality of photocatalyst air-purifying units 11 are bundled in parallel. The photocatalytic air purification device 1 of each layer may be configured such that the photocatalytic air purification unit 11 is mounted on a partition member 46 that blocks the passage section of the duct 41 or the chamber 47. The photocatalyst air-purifying device 1 may be different from layer to layer. This further improves the purifying ability of the process gas 5.

(5) As shown in fig. 1, the photocatalyst air-purifying unit 11 may be disposed at least any one of the inlet portion 51, the intermediate portion 52, and the outlet portion 53 of the duct 41.

The photocatalyst air-purifying unit 11 may be provided in at least one of the inlet portion 51, the intermediate portion 52, and the outlet portion 53 of the duct 41 in the duct 41. Alternatively, the photocatalyst air-purifying unit 11 may be provided at two or more or all of the positions thereof. For example, the photocatalyst air-purifying unit 11 may be disposed at the inlet portion 51 and the intermediate portion 52 of the duct 41. The photocatalyst air-purifying unit 11 may also be provided at the inlet portion 51 and the outlet portion 53 of the duct 41. The photocatalyst air-purifying unit 11 may also be provided at the intermediate portion 52 and the outlet portion 53 of the duct 41.

For example, the photocatalyst air-purifying unit 11 is provided at the inlet portion 51 of the duct 41 as the photocatalyst air-purifying device 1. In this case, the inlet portion 51 of the duct 41 is formed at or near the upstream end of the independent duct 43 (upstream side portion), or the like. The inlet portion 51 of the conduit 41 is formed with one or more. The pipe 41 is branched into a plurality, and a plurality of inlet portions 51 may be formed. For example, in the case of an exhaust duct for a commercial facility or the like, the inlet portion 51 of the individual duct 43 is mostly disposed at a position matching one or more kitchen facilities 54 disposed at each floor of the building 42. Each inlet portion 51 of the separate duct 43 in each kitchen appliance 54 is provided with a range hood 55. For example, the photocatalyst air cleaning device 1 (the individually dispersed photocatalyst air cleaning device 1 a) is provided (built-in) individually for all the kitchen facilities 54 of each floor, such as the hood 55. In this case, the process gas 5 is a cooking gas generated from the kitchen facilities 54. The cooking gas mainly contains the odor components such as toluene or acetaldehyde. In addition, the cooking gas contains oil, fine particles, polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAH), and the like. The photocatalytic air purification device 1 decomposes these substances by a photocatalytic reaction. However, the process gas 5 is not limited to the cooking gas. For example, the process gas 5 can be an exhaust gas from a factory or the like. In this case, the grease filter can be provided at an inlet portion of the hood 55.

For example, the photocatalyst air-purifying unit 11 is provided in the middle portion 52 of the duct 41 as the photocatalyst air-purifying device 1. In this case, the intermediate portion 52 of the duct 41 is an arbitrary position in a wide range between the inlet portion 51 and the outlet portion 53. For example, the intermediate portion 52 is preferably a joining portion with the joining pipe 44 or the vicinity thereof (a portion on the downstream side of the independent pipe 43) or the like in the independent pipe 43. In this case, the photocatalyst air-purifying device 1 (the medium-scale dispersion type photocatalyst air-purifying device 1 b) having the number of the individual pipes 43 is added up for each of at least the individual pipes 43. For example, it is preferable that the photocatalytic air purification device 1 is provided at a position upstream of the fire damper 56, and the fire damper 56 is provided in the independent duct 43 of each layer and cuts off the independent duct 43 and the merging duct 44. In this case, one or more grease filters may be provided between the inlet portion of the hood 55 and the inlet side of the medium-sized dispersion-type photocatalytic air purification device 1 b.

For example, the photocatalyst air-purifying unit 11 is provided at the outlet portion 53 of the duct 41 as the photocatalyst air-purifying device 1. In this case, the outlet portion 53 of the duct 41 is located at or near the downstream end of the converging duct 44. The downstream end of the merging pipe 44 becomes an upper end portion of the merging pipe 44 that is led to a roof or the like of the building 42 or the vicinity thereof. Thus, the photocatalytic air purification device 1 is concentrated on the roof of the building 42 and connected to the outlet portion 53 of the duct 41 (concentrated photocatalytic air purification device 1 c). The air or the process gas 5 (process-completed gas) purified by the photocatalytic air purification device 1 on the roof of the building 42 is directly discharged to the atmosphere. In this case, one or more grease filters may be provided between the inlet portion of the hood 55 and the inlet side of the concentrated photocatalyst air cleaning device 1 c.

Fig. 9 is an example showing the structure of the photocatalyst air-purifying device 1 more specifically. The photocatalyst air-purifying device 1 is a horizontal type (horizontal type photocatalyst air-purifying device). Hereinafter, an example of the concentrated photocatalyst air-cleaning device 1c will be described, but the horizontal photocatalyst air-cleaning device is not limited to this, and may be, for example, a medium-scale dispersed photocatalyst air-cleaning device 1 b.

In the photocatalytic air purification device 1, an air inlet portion 47c connected to the duct 41 is provided on one side (left side in the drawing) in the longitudinal direction, and a laterally long cavity 47 to which an air outlet portion 47d is attached is provided on the other side (right side in the drawing). An outlet portion 53 of the duct 41 is mounted to the air inlet portion 47 c. The exhaust portion 47d is provided with an exhaust louver 57. The interior of the chamber 47 is partitioned into an upstream side (left side in the drawing) space 47a and a downstream side (right side in the drawing) space 47b by a substantially vertical partition member 46. In the space 47a on the upstream side in the chamber 47, the photocatalyst air-purifying unit 11 is provided in a state separated with a desired interval with respect to the connection portion of the outlet portion 53 of the duct 41 and the inner surface of the chamber 47. In this case, the grease filter is provided at the periphery of the connection portion with the outlet portion 53 of the duct 41 on the side of the cavity 47.

The photocatalyst air cleaning unit 11 may be configured such that the second communication portion 19 is formed by forming the entire periphery of the outer peripheral surface 17a of the housing 17 from the porous material 22 in a state in which the longitudinal direction of the cylindrical photocatalyst air cleaning filters 3a to 3c is oriented in the lateral direction (substantially horizontal direction). In this embodiment, a plurality of photocatalytic air purification units 11 are connected in series in the longitudinal direction. This improves the purifying ability of the purifying treatment gas 5 of the photocatalytic air purifying device 1. The adjacent photocatalytic air purification units 11 are integrated by being continuously arranged in a continuous manner with one end plate 13 having the first communication portion 16 facing the exhaust louver 57 side. The end plate 13 interposed between adjacent photocatalyst air-purifying cells 11 can share one end plate 13 having the first communicating portion 16 as the intermediate plate 14. By using the common intermediate plate 14, the plurality of photocatalytic air purification units 11 can be compactly connected. The intermediate plate 14 is formed in a ring shape and has an inner diameter substantially equal to the inner diameter of the innermost cylindrical photocatalytic air purification filter 3a and an outer diameter substantially equal to the outer diameter of (the outer peripheral surface 17a of) the outermost cylindrical photocatalytic air purification filter 3b or the housing 17. The intermediate plate 14 also connects the adjacent inner spaces 15 to each other, and blocks the adjacent intermediate spaces 23 and 24 or the adjacent outer spaces 18 from each other. In the case where a plurality of photocatalytic air purification units 11 are connected in series in the longitudinal direction, one closed end plate 13 having no first communication portion 16 may be provided on the whole.

The photocatalytic air purification unit 11 is disposed in the chamber 47 (upstream space 47 a) in a state where the first communication portion 16 of the one end plate 13 (end surface 17 b) closest to the exhaust louver 57 is connected to the penetrating portion of the partition member 46. Thus, the other end plate 13 (end face 17 c) having no opening (hole-free) is directed toward the outlet portion 53 side (left side in the drawing) of the duct 41.

Thus, the second communication portion 19 of the outer peripheral surface 17a of the housing 17 becomes the inlet portion 31, and the inlet portion 31 receives the process gas 5, which has entered the upstream space 47a in the chamber 47 from the duct 41, into the photocatalyst air-purifying unit 11 from the entire periphery. The first communication portion 16 is an outlet portion 32 of the process gas 5, and the outlet portion 32 passes the purified process gas 5 through the center of the photocatalytic air purification unit 11, and is released to the atmosphere through the exhaust louver 57 into the downstream space 47b in the feed chamber 47. In addition, the cavity 47 may be made to support various parts of the photocatalyst air cleaning unit 11.

Fig. 10 shows a modification of the photocatalyst air-purifying device 1 of fig. 9 (a vertical photocatalyst air-purifying device) in which the installation area can be made small. In this vertical photocatalyst air cleaning device, the air cleaning unit 11 is disposed in a longitudinally long chamber 47 with the longitudinal direction of the cylindrical photocatalyst air cleaning filters 3a to 3c oriented in the longitudinal direction (substantially up-down direction), and the chamber 47 is disposed in the middle of the outlet portion 53 of the duct 41. In the photocatalyst air-purifying unit 11, the second communication portion 19 of the outer peripheral surface 17a of the housing 17 serves as the inlet portion 31. For example, the partition member 46 is formed in a cylindrical shape having substantially the same size and shape as the outer shape of the cylindrical photocatalytic air purification filters 3a to 3 c. The partition member 46 is provided so as to be supported on the lower side of the photocatalytic air purification filters 3a to 3c so as to separate the photocatalytic air purification filters 3a to 3c from the bottom surface of the cavity 47. Thereby, the partition member 46 makes the bottom surface of the cavity 47 support the lower portion of the photocatalyst air purification unit 11. A downstream side space 47b is formed inside the partition member 46. The structure is basically the same as that of the horizontal photocatalyst air-purifying device of fig. 9. The photocatalyst air-purifying unit 11 may be provided as an upper and lower single layer. The photocatalyst air-purifying unit 11 may be provided in multiple layers. In the drawings, the photocatalyst air-purifying unit 11 is formed in two layers up and down.

The cavity 47 is provided midway in the pipe 41. The upstream side portion of the duct 41 is connected from the lateral direction to an air inlet portion 47c provided at the side face of the chamber 47. A fan 45 is provided in a connection portion of the duct 41 to the air inlet portion 47c of the side surface of the chamber 47. The downstream side portion of the duct 41 is connected to an exhaust portion 47d inside the partition member 46 in the bottom surface of the chamber 47. Also, after the downstream side portion of the duct 41 protrudes downward from the exhaust portion 47d of the bottom surface of the cavity 47, it temporarily surrounds upward along the cavity 47 so as to be higher than the middle portion of the photocatalytic air purification device 1. The outlet portion 53 of the end of the duct 41 is located at the upper portion of the chamber 47, facing in the lateral direction (opposite side of the photocatalytic air purification device 1). In this case, it is preferable that the grease filter is provided at a connection portion with the pipe 41 in the side face of the cavity 47. For example, a grease filter may also be provided on the inlet side of the fan 45. The grease filter may also be provided on the outflow side of the fan 45.

Further, in the drawing, the photocatalyst air-purifying unit 11 is provided with the first communicating portion 16 facing downward. However, the first communicating portion 16 may be set to be in a state of being reversed vertically as a whole. In this case, the exhaust louver 57 may be directly provided on the upper surface of the chamber 47. In addition, the downstream portion of the duct 41 may be connected to the upper surface of the chamber 47 with the outlet portion 53 facing laterally. The other detailed structure can be substantially the same as that of fig. 9. The structure of this embodiment can be applied to the structure of fig. 9 in substantially the same manner.

Fig. 11 to 14 show a modification of the configuration of the photocatalytic air purification device 1 (vertical photocatalytic air purification device) of fig. 10, which is more easily scaled up. In the photocatalyst air cleaning device 1, the side surface of the large-sized cavity 47 in a building shape has an air inlet portion 47c connected to the outlet portion 53 of the duct 41 or a portion in the vicinity thereof. The lower portion of the side surface of the other side of the chamber 47 has an exhaust portion 47d. An exhaust louver 57 is attached to the exhaust portion 47d.

The untreated gas 5 enters the chamber 47 from the gas inlet 47c on one side surface of the untreated gas before treatment, and the purified treated gas is directly released to the atmosphere from the gas outlet 47d on the lower side surface of the other side surface. However, as shown in fig. 10, the chamber 47 may be provided midway in the pipe 41.

Inside the chamber 47, a partition member 46 that vertically separates the air inlet portion 47c and the air outlet portion 47d is provided at a position between the air inlet portion 47c and the air outlet portion 47d. The air inlet portion 47c and the air outlet portion 47d are provided so as to be displaced in the vertical direction. That is, the inside of the chamber 47 is partitioned into upper and lower spaces 47a, 47b by a substantially horizontal and flat plate-like partition member 46, and the partition member 46 is provided at the same or lower position as the lower portion of the air inlet portion 47c and at the same or higher position as the upper portion of the air outlet portion 47d. The photocatalytic air purification unit 11 is disposed in a vertical manner in the upper (upstream) space 47a. The planar arrangement of the photocatalyst air-purifying unit 11 with respect to the plate-like partition member 46 may be random. In this embodiment, a plurality of photocatalytic air purification units 11 are arranged in a vertically arranged state in a lateral direction with a space 47a on the upper side (upstream side) from the inlet portion 47c side toward the exhaust portion 47d side. Thus, the photocatalyst air-purifying device 1 can be provided with more photocatalyst air-purifying units 11 more efficiently, and the purifying ability of the process gas 5 can be improved. Each photocatalytic air purification unit 11 may be single-layered in the up-down direction. Alternatively, each photocatalytic air purification unit 11 may be connected in series in a plurality of layers. In this embodiment, the photocatalytic air purification units 11 are arranged in a row in three rows in the lateral direction in a state of being overlapped in two layers. For example, the photocatalyst air-purifying unit 11 may have a structure in which the upper and lower layers are stacked to have 2 or more layers, and four or more layers may be arranged in the lateral direction. According to the photocatalytic air purification device 1 of this modification, the partition member 46 is formed in a plate shape. Thus, the plurality of photocatalytic air purification units 11 can be provided in an array on the plate surface. Therefore, the photocatalyst air-purifying device 1 can be easily scaled up.

As described above, the upper and lower photocatalytic air purification units 11 may be integrally connected using a common intermediate plate 14. The connection may be performed without using the common intermediate plate 14. In this embodiment, the upper and lower photocatalytic air purification units 11 are arranged in a slightly separated state and are connected to each other via a short tubular member 63. In this case, one end plate 13 having an opening portion as the first communication portion 16 and the other end plate 13 having an opening portion communicating with the opening portion are provided between the adjacent photocatalyst air cleaning units 11, respectively. The openings of the adjacent end plates 13 are connected to each other by the short tubular member 63, so that the inner spaces 15 communicate with each other. In addition, the cavity 47 may be made to support various parts of the photocatalyst air cleaning unit 11.

In this case, the photocatalyst air-purifying unit 11 may have the same structure as that of the above-described embodiments, or may have a structure as shown in the modification of fig. 12. That is, in the photocatalyst air-purifying unit 11, a pair of filter holding portions 13a to 13c that face each other are formed on the facing surfaces of a pair of (upper and lower) end plates 13 (fig. 13). For example, the filter holding portions 13a to 13c may be formed as groove portions. Further, both ends of the cylindrical photocatalytic air purification filters 3a to 3c are respectively fitted between the pair of filter holding portions 13a to 13c, whereby the photocatalytic air purification filters 3a to 3c can be held by the end plates 13. The filter holders 13a to 13c are formed in the same shape and size as the end portions of the photocatalyst air cleaning filters 3a to 3c, and the filter holders 13a to 13c are concentrically provided in the same number as the photocatalyst air cleaning filters 3a to 3c. In this embodiment, the groove portions of the filter holding portions 13a to 13c are circumferential grooves that extend continuously in the circumferential direction. Since the circumferential groove is formed, the end plate 13 is formed as a plate-like body having a wall thickness larger than the depth of the circumferential groove.

Further, a chemisorption filter such as a grease filter 61 and an activated carbon filter 62 may be doubly provided outside the photocatalytic air purification unit 11. The oil contained in the process gas 5 is removed by the outermost oil filter 61, and the air pollutants and the like contained in the process gas 5 are adsorbed and removed by the inner activated carbon filter 62. The grease filter 61 and the activated carbon filter 62 can also function as the outer peripheral surface 17a of the housing 17 surrounding the outside of the photocatalytic air purification unit 11. The grease filter 61 and the activated carbon filter 62 may be interposed between the pair of upper and lower end plates 13, similarly to the photocatalytic air purification filters 3a to 3 c. However, as in this modification, the grease filter 61 and the activated carbon filter 62 may be provided so as to cover only the outside of the photocatalytic air purification unit 11, so that replacement can be easily carried out with respect to the photocatalytic air purification unit 11. In addition, a frame member holding the grease filter 61 and the activated carbon filter 62 may be provided. For example, the grease filter 61 and the activated carbon filter 62 may be made of a porous material having continuous pores therein. In addition, the grease filter 61 and the activated carbon filter 62 may be formed of other materials.

As shown in fig. 14, the elongated light source 4 in which the light emitting elements 4a such as LEDs are linearly connected as shown in fig. 8 (a) may be housed in a transparent tubular member 4c such as a glass tube or a heat-resistant glass tube, thereby forming a fluorescent lamp type (LED lamp). This makes it possible to unify the standard shape of the light source 4, and to use any one of ultraviolet lamps, ultraviolet LED lamps, and visible LED lamps. For this purpose, in the photocatalyst air cleaning unit 11, holding holes 13d, 13e for fitting and holding the fluorescent lamp type light source 4 are formed appropriately at the positions of the end plate 13 where the light source 4 is provided. According to circumstances, the holding holes 13d, 13e may be formed by forming at least one or both as through holes. At least one or both of the holding holes 13d, 13e may be formed as a bottomed hole or a concave hole. In the case where the holding holes 13d, 13e are formed as bottomed holes or concave holes, the depths of the holding holes 13d, 13e are formed within the range of the thickness of the end plate 13. For example, the above-mentioned anti-fouling coating may be processed on the outer peripheral surface of the transparent tubular member 4c in which the light source 4 is a fluorescent lamp type.

At this time, the support plates 4b to which the light emitting elements 4a are attached support both ends of the fixed support plates 4b by the lamp sockets 4d attached to both ends of the tubular member 4c, respectively. The light source 4, which is preferably a fluorescent lamp, has a rectifying substrate 4e at one end so that power can be supplied from one side. The pins of the lamp sockets 4d at one end of the tubular member 4c, the rectifying substrate 4e, and the light emitting elements 4a mounted on the support plate 4b are electrically connected to each other. For example, the power supply side pins are provided on the upper end side with respect to the photocatalyst air cleaning unit 11 disposed vertically. In contrast to the above, the light source 4 may be provided with the power supply side pins facing the lower end side. The other detailed configuration may be substantially the same as the configuration of fig. 9 and 10. The structure of this embodiment can be applied to the structures of fig. 9 and 10 in substantially the same manner.

Fig. 15A to 20 are modified examples of the photocatalyst air-purifying device 1 (vertical photocatalyst air-purifying device) of fig. 11 to 14 which is made larger in scale. In the photocatalyst air-purifying device 1, similarly to the above, a row of photocatalyst air-purifying units 11 arranged in the lateral direction from the air inlet portion 47c toward the air outlet portion 47d of the photocatalyst air-purifying unit 11 is provided in a large-sized cavity 47 in a building shape. The plurality of columns arranged in the lateral direction are arranged at intervals in the depth direction (or width direction) of the cavity 47. For example, the lateral rows of the photocatalyst air-purifying units 11 may be provided in 2 rows in the depth direction. For example, 3 or more rows of the photocatalytic air purification units 11 may be provided in the lateral direction. The number of columns is set according to the inflow amount or the throughput of the process gas 5. Thus, the photocatalytic air purification device 1 improves the purification performance of the process gas 5 by increasing the number of columns in the depth direction.

The lateral rows of the photocatalytic air purification units 11 located in the depth direction may be arranged parallel to each other as viewed from above. In this case, the intervals between the centers of the photocatalyst air-purifying units 11 adjacent in the depth direction are equal. The lateral rows of the photocatalytic air purification units 11 located in the depth direction may be arranged not parallel to each other when viewed from above. In this embodiment, as shown in fig. 15A and 15B, the photocatalyst air-cleaning units 11 arranged in two rows in the depth direction are arranged in a V shape with a narrow back side in a slant manner when viewed from above. In this case, the interval between centers of the photocatalyst air-purifying units 11 adjacent in the depth direction gradually becomes narrower from the air inlet portion 47c side toward the air outlet portion 47d side. This makes it possible to bring the process gas 5 entering the chamber 47 from the gas inlet portion 47c into direct contact with the photocatalyst air-cleaning unit 11 located on the rear side. Thus, the photocatalyst air-purifying unit 11 located on the rear side can be used more effectively.

The air inlet portion 47c and the air outlet portion 47d are provided in substantially the same position on both end surfaces of the building-shaped cavity 47 in a state of being substantially aligned in height and size. For this reason, the horizontal plate-like partition member 46 is provided with a large part of the photocatalytic air purification unit 11, which is still plate-like, and a part of the exhaust portion 47d side is formed as a vertical wall 46a standing vertically upward and reaching the upper surface of the cavity 47. Thereby, the downstream space 47b can be connected to the exhaust portion 47d in the chamber 47. The side surface of the chamber 47 has an opening for work. The operation opening is used for the entrance and maintenance of the photocatalyst air purification unit 11. An opening/closing door 47e is provided in the working opening. The opening/closing door 47e is closed to seal the chamber 47.

Also, in this embodiment, the end plate 13 of the photocatalyst air-purifying unit 11 is formed in the following structure. That is, the end plate 13 is made of a metal plate thinner than the end plates of fig. 12 and 13. The one (upper) end plate 13 (a) of the photocatalyst air-purifying unit 11 of the upper layer (H) shown in fig. 17 and the one (upper) end plate 13 (B) of the photocatalyst air-purifying unit 11 of the lower layer (L) shown in fig. 18 are formed in slightly different shapes. The other (lower) end plate 13 (C) of the photocatalytic air purification unit 11 shown in fig. 20 is shared by the upper layer (H) and the lower layer (L). That is, one end plate 13 (a) of the upper layer (H) is formed in a disk shape. One end plate 13 (B) of the lower layer (L) is formed in a ring-like plate shape. The other (lower side) end plate 13 (C) of the lower layer (L) is formed in a ring-like plate shape. When three or more photocatalyst air-purifying units 11 are provided up and down, the photocatalyst air-purifying unit 11 is added, which uses one end plate 13 (B) of the lower layer (L) and the other (lower side) end plate 13 (C) of the lower layer (L).

Further, the filter holding portions 13a to 13c may be formed as protrusions (locking protrusions) protruding from the facing surfaces of the pair of end plates 13, instead of the groove portions. The protrusions lock and hold the inner peripheral portions of the end portions of the photocatalytic air purification filters 3a to 3c from the inside. Alternatively, the protrusions lock and hold the outer peripheral portions of the end portions of the photocatalytic air purification filters 3a to 3c from the outside. The protruding portion may be formed as an annular convex portion extending continuously in the circumferential direction. In addition, the protruding portion may be formed as a discontinuous convex portion that is discontinuous in the circumferential direction. In this embodiment, the protrusions are discontinuous protrusions. The discontinuous convex portion is provided with at least three places in the circumferential direction. Preferably, three or more discontinuous protrusions are provided at substantially equal positions in the circumferential direction. The number of the discontinuous protrusions provided in the circumferential direction can be arbitrarily set according to the size of the photocatalytic air purification filters 3a to 3c. This enables the photocatalytic air purification filters 3a to 3c to be stably held in the circumferential direction and the radial direction.

At this time, the protruding portion of the one end plate 13 (a) located on the upper side of the photocatalyst air-purifying unit 11 of the upper layer (H) as the filter holding portions 13a to 13c is constituted by the filter holding member 71 (fig. 19) separate from the end plate 13. Similarly, the protrusions of the filter holding portions 13a to 13c of the one end plate 13 (B) located above the photocatalyst air-purifying unit 11 of the lower layer (L) are constituted by a filter holding member 71 (fig. 19) separate from the end plate 13. The filter holding member 71 is fixed to the lower surfaces of the end plates 13 (a) and 13 (B) by a fastener such as a bolt or a nut.

The filter holding member 71 is made of a thin metal plate similar to the end plate 13. The filter holding member 71 includes a ring portion 71a and a plurality of arm portions 71b, the ring portion 71a having an opening substantially conforming in shape and size to the opening portion serving as the first communication portion 16, and the plurality of arm portions 71b radially extending from the ring portion 71 a. The ring portion 71a has a notch portion 71c at a portion interfering with the light source 4 located on the inner peripheral side. The cutout portion 71c has a function of accommodating and locking the light source 4.

The number of the arm portions 71b may be any number, and is preferably the same as the number of the light sources 4 arranged in the circumferential direction. In this embodiment, the arm portions 71b have six portions. The filter holding portions 13a to 13c are formed in the arm portion 71b. The filter holding members 71 are bent in the surface side direction to form filter holding portions 13a to 13c. Alternatively, the filter holding portions 13a to 13c are formed by attaching L-shaped metal parts to the filter holding member 71.

In addition, when the filter holding member 71 is not provided, the protrusions as the filter holding portions 13a to 13c are directly attached to the lower surfaces of the end plates 13 (a) and 13 (B). The other end plate 13 (C) located on the lower side is directly attached to the upper surface as a projection of the filter holding portions 13a to 13C. However, the other end plate 13 (C) may be formed with separate filter holding members as the filter holding portions 13a to 13C, and the filter holding members may be fixed to the upper surface of the other end plate 13 (C) by fasteners such as bolts and nuts.

The holding holes 13d, 13e of the light source 4 of one end plate 13 (a), 13 (B) are through holes. The holding holes 13d and 13e of the light source 4 of the other end plate 13 (C) are bottomed holes or concave holes. The bottomed hole or concave hole may be a portion where a split cup-shaped member 72 is mounted in the through hole. The bottomed hole or concave hole may be formed by integrally recessing the other end plate 13 by press working or the like. Accordingly, by simply inserting the fluorescent lamp type light source 4 downward from the upper through hole and fitting the lower end portion of the light source 4 into the lower bottomed hole or concave hole, the light source 4 can be easily attached to and detached from the photocatalyst air cleaning unit 11. In addition, the photocatalyst air-purifying unit 11 does not need to be decomposed when the light source 4 is attached and detached.

In this embodiment, the distance between one end plate 13 (a) and 13 (B) and the other end plate 13 (C) is set to be shorter than that of the fluorescent lamp type light source 4. At least the lamp socket 4d of the light source 4 having the power supply side pin directed upward protrudes upward from the holding holes 13d, 13e as the through holes of the upper end plate 13. Thus, the wiring 73 can be easily connected to the power supply-side pin from outside the photocatalytic air purification unit 11.

In this case, the fluorescent lamp type or the elongated light source 4 may be provided in a plurality of intermediate spaces 23, 24 at circumferentially different positions between the inner and outer layers. In this case, for example, the circumferential phases may be shifted from each other so that the outer elongated light sources 4 are positioned at the circumferential intermediate portions between the inner elongated light sources 4. Accordingly, the light sources 4 are distributed and arranged at a plurality of positions in the circumferential direction, and therefore, the light amount can be expected to be equalized in the circumferential direction.

The tubular member 63 connecting the photocatalytic air purification units 11 of the upper layer (H) and the lower layer (L) may be separately provided in the following manner. In this embodiment, a cylindrical piece 63a constituting the cylindrical member 63 is attached to an opening of the other end plate 13 (C) located in the upper layer (H). The cylindrical piece 63B constituting the cylindrical member 63 is attached to a communication opening provided in one end plate 13 (B) located in the lower layer (L). The cylindrical piece 63a and the cylindrical piece 63b are fitted together with no gaps in the circumferential direction, thereby forming the cylindrical member 63. In this embodiment, the cylindrical piece 63a is fitted to the inner side of the cylindrical piece 63 b. Conversely, the cylindrical piece 63a may be fitted to the outer side of the cylindrical piece 63 b.

In addition, a space holding member 74 may be provided between the upper and lower pair of end plates 13. The interval maintaining members 74 are provided at a plurality of places in the circumferential direction. In this embodiment, the space holding members 74 are provided with three places in the circumferential direction. The space holding member 74 may be a coupling member composed of a long bolt, a nut, or the like. The length of the space holding member 74 is substantially the same as that of the cylindrical photocatalytic air purification filters 3a to 3 c. The end plate 13 is provided with bolt holes at positions penetrating the space holding members 74. Thereby, the interval between the pair of end plates 13 can be kept constant by the interval holding member 74. The pair of end plates 13 can be connected and fixed to each other by a connecting member. Therefore, it is not necessary to fasten the photocatalytic air purification filters 3a to 3c by the pair of upper and lower end plates 13, and it is possible to prevent an excessive load from being applied to the photocatalytic air purification filters 3a to 3 c.

Further, support fixing members 75 to 77 for supporting and fixing the photocatalyst air cleaning unit 11 may be provided at each portion of the photocatalyst air cleaning unit 11. The support fixing members 75 to 77 can be provided between the chamber 47 and the photocatalyst air cleaning unit 11, and the like. In addition, it can be provided between the photocatalyst air-purifying units 11, or the like. For example, the support fixing member 75 can be disposed between the photocatalyst air cleaning unit 11 of the upper layer (H) and the upper surface of the cavity 47. The support fixing member 75 may be integrally provided with one end plate 13 (a) of the upper layer (H). The support fixing member 75 may be provided separately from one end plate 13 (a). In this embodiment, the support fixing member 75 is mounted at the center portion of one end plate 13 (a). For example, the support fixing member 75 is a member having a substantially C-shape in side view. A plurality of support fixing members 75 can be installed according to the height of the upper surface of the cavity 47. Although not shown, the support and fixing member may be provided between the side surface of the photocatalytic air purification unit 11 and the side surface of the cavity 47.

The support fixing member 76 can be disposed between the photocatalyst air cleaning unit 11 of the upper layer (H) and the photocatalyst air cleaning unit 11 of the lower layer (L). The length of the support fixing member 76 is substantially equal to the vertical interval between one end plate 13 (B) of the lower layer (L) and the other end plate 13 (C) of the upper layer (H). The support fixing member 76 may be integrally provided with one end plate 13 (B) of the lower layer (L). The support fixing member 75 may be provided separately from one end plate 13 (B). The support fixing member 76 is mounted at a position of the outer peripheral portion of one end plate 13 (B). The support fixing members 76 are provided at a plurality of places substantially equally in the circumferential direction. In this embodiment, the support fixing member 76 is provided with three places. For example, the support fixing member 76 is a member having a substantially C-shape in side view.

The support fixing member 77 can be disposed between the photocatalyst air purifying unit 11 of the lower layer and the partition member 46 of the cavity 47. The length of the support fixing member 77 is substantially equal to the up-down interval between the other end plate 13 (C) of the lower layer (L) and the partition member 46. The support fixing member 77 can be provided integrally with the other end plate 13 (C) of the lower layer (L). The supporting and fixing member 77 may also be provided separately from the other end plate 13 (C) of the lower layer (L). The support fixing member 77 is mounted at a position of the outer peripheral portion of the other end plate 13 (C) of the lower layer (L). The support fixing members 77 are provided at a plurality of positions substantially equally in the circumferential direction. In this embodiment, the support fixing member 77 is provided with three places. For example, the support fixing member 77 is a member having a substantially L-shaped portion in side view. For example, the support fixing member 77 may be integrally formed with the filter holding portion 13 b.

In each of fig. 9 to 14, the same support fixing member may be provided. The other detailed structures can be substantially the same as those of fig. 9 to 14. The structure of this embodiment can be applied to the structures of fig. 9 to 14 in substantially the same manner. The various photocatalytic air purification devices 1 each have an air volume adjustment function capable of arbitrarily adjusting the air volume of the process gas 5. The various photocatalytic air purification devices 1 described above each have a light amount adjustment function capable of arbitrarily adjusting the light amount of the light source 4.

< action >

The function of this embodiment will be described below.

In the photocatalyst air-cleaning device 1 using the photocatalyst 2, the light source 4 is turned on, and the photocatalyst 2 is activated by the light from the light source 4, so that the process gas 5 passes through the photocatalyst air-cleaning filters 3a to 3c. Thus, the photocatalyst air-purifying device 1 decomposes the odor component and other components contained in the process gas 5 by the photocatalyst 2 carried and activated by the photocatalyst air-purifying filters 3a to 3c, and purifies the process gas 5 and air.

In the conventional deodorizing device using the photocatalyst 2, a flat plate-shaped photocatalyst filter using a ceramic porous body as a base material 6 is provided so as to block the flow of the process gas 5, and the process gas 5 that collides with the flat plate-shaped photocatalyst filter is allowed to pass through in the vertical surface direction.

However, in such a case, a dedicated passage or the like other than the photocatalyst filter is required in order to guide the process gas 5 to the flat photocatalyst filter. The process gas 5 can contact the photocatalyst 2 only when passing through the flat plate-shaped photocatalyst filter in the vertical surface direction. Therefore, the process gas 5 cannot be brought into contact with the photocatalyst 2 (i.e., there is less chance of coming into contact with the photocatalyst 2) during the passage from the process gas 5 to the photocatalyst filter.

Therefore, the photocatalytic air purification filters 3a to 3c used in the photocatalytic air purification device 1 of the embodiment are formed in a cylindrical shape. This makes it possible to, for example, make the cylindrical photocatalytic air purification filters 3a to 3c a passage for the process gas 5. In this way, since the photocatalyst 2 is present in the passage portion, the chance of the process gas 5 coming into contact with the photocatalyst 2 can be increased. The metal porous body 12 serves as the base material 6 of the photocatalytic air purification filters 3a to 3c. Thus, the photocatalytic air purification filters 3a to 3c using the metal porous body 12 can be formed in a tubular shape relatively easily.

< Effect >

According to this embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.

(Effect 1)

The photocatalyst air cleaning filters 3a to 3c having the photocatalyst 2 supported on the substrate 6 are formed in a cylindrical shape as a metal porous body 12 on the substrate 6. Thus, the metal porous body 1 is used as the base material 6, and the photocatalytic air purification filters 3a to 3c are less likely to be broken (as compared with the conventional photocatalytic filters using ceramic porous bodies as the base material 6), and are lightweight and easy to handle. In addition, the metal porous body 12 is relatively easy to start and process, and can reduce the cost.

By forming the photocatalytic air purification filters 3a to 3c in a tubular shape, it is possible to obtain photocatalytic air purification filters 3a to 3c having a new shape which has not been heretofore known. The cylindrical photocatalytic air purification filters 3a to 3c themselves have a plurality of functions such as a function as a passage through which the process gas 5 passes and a function as a passing wall through which the process gas 5 passes. The cylindrical photocatalytic air purification filters 3a to 3c can have a larger installation area in the same size space than the flat photocatalytic air purification filters. Further, the cylindrical photocatalytic air purification filters 3a to 3c can be easily and arbitrarily increased in installation area only by lengthening or connecting in series as necessary.

The cylindrical photocatalytic air purification filters 3a to 3c may be formed in one piece, and both ends thereof may be blocked by the end plates 13. Thus, by simply blocking both ends of the cylindrical photocatalytic air purification filters 3a to 3c, the passage of the two process gases 5 inside and outside and one passing wall can be formed at the same time. The cylindrical photocatalytic air purification filters 3a to 3c may be arranged in multiple. This can increase the number of gas passages and permeation walls, and can provide a plurality of cylindrical photocatalytic air purification filters 3a to 3c with good space efficiency, thereby doubling the installation area of the photocatalytic air purification filters 3a to 3 c. Accordingly, the opportunity of contact between the process gas 5 and the photocatalyst 2 can be increased, and the air purifying capability can be improved accordingly, and the small-sized photocatalyst air purifying unit 11 having high air purifying capability can be manufactured simply.

The space 15 inside the innermost cylindrical photocatalytic air purification filter 3a may be communicated with the outside by the first communicating portion 16 formed in one end plate 13. Thus, a path through which the process gas 5 having one or more photocatalyst air cleaning filters 3a to 3c is sequentially transmitted can be formed between the space 15 on the inner side and the space 18 on the outer side of the cylindrical photocatalyst air cleaning filter 3b on the outermost side.

At this time, the photocatalyst air cleaning filters 3a to 3c provided in a one-heavy or multiple cylindrical shape may be accommodated inside the case 17. The housing 17 preferably has a pair of end surfaces 17b, 17c at both ends of the outer peripheral surface 17 a. Further, one end surface 17b may have the first communication portion 16, and the other end surface 17c or the outer peripheral surface 17a may have the second communication portion 19. Thereby, the photocatalyst air-purifying unit 11 is compactly integrated, and is easy to handle.

The second communication portion 19 communicates the outside of the case 17 with the space 18 outside the cylindrical photocatalytic air purification filter 3b located at the outermost side. The second communication portion 19 is preferably formed on the outer peripheral surface 17a of the housing 17 or on the end surface 17b of the housing 17 on the opposite side of the first communication portion 16. This can form a path of the process gas 5 that passes through the outer peripheral surface 17a or the end surface 17b of the housing 17 and communicates the outside with the outside space 18.

(Effect 2)

The first communication portion 16 may serve as an inlet portion 31 for the process gas 5. The second communication portion 19 becomes an outlet portion 32 of the process gas 5. Thus, the external process gas 5 first enters the space 15 inside the innermost cylindrical photocatalytic air purification filter 3a from the first communicating portion 16 (inlet portion 31). The process gas 5 sequentially passes through the photocatalytic air purification filters 3a to 3c arranged in a single or multiple tubular shape from the inner peripheral side toward the outer peripheral side. Then, the process gas 5 reaches the outside (outside space 18) of the outermost cylindrical photocatalytic air purification filter 3 b. When the housing 17 is provided, the photocatalyst air-purifying filter reaches the space 18 outside between the outermost cylindrical photocatalyst air-purifying filter 3b and the housing 17, passes through the space 18 outside, and flows out of the housing 17 from the second communication portion 19 (outlet portion 32). In the case where the housing 17 is the porous material 22, the process gas 5 flows out in a state of being diffused from the entire periphery of the housing 17.

At this time, the process gas 5 flows rapidly and straightly from the one end face 17b side toward the opposite other end face 17c side in the space 15 on the inner side substantially without being diffused, collides against the other end face 17c, and thereby the flow velocity is reduced. At this time, the portion of the process gas 5 in contact with the innermost cylindrical photocatalyst air cleaning filter 3a contacts the photocatalyst 2 and is cleaned.

In the intermediate spaces 23 and 24, the process gas 5 sequentially passes through one or more cylindrical photocatalytic air purification filters 3a to 3c while being properly diffused (returned) toward the one end surface 17b side toward the outer peripheral side at a low flow rate. When the process gas 5 diffuses (returns) along the cylindrical photocatalytic air purification filters 3a to 3c, when the process gas 5 passes through the cylindrical photocatalytic air purification filters 3a to 3c, or the like, the process gas 5 contacts the photocatalyst 2 and is purified.

In the space 18 on the outside, the process gas 5 is guided to the second communicating portion 19 in a low flow rate state. At this time, the portion of the process gas 5 in contact with the outermost cylindrical photocatalyst air cleaning filter 3b contacts the photocatalyst 2 and is cleaned.

Thus, the treatment gas 5 as a whole is in contact with the photocatalyst 2 supported on the cylindrical photocatalyst air cleaning filters 3a to 3c in a relatively large area, and is efficiently cleaned.

In addition, since the flow passage cross-sectional areas of the inner space 15, the intermediate spaces 23 and 24, and the outer space 18 become larger in order with the flow of the process gas 5, the pressure loss of the process gas 5 can be suppressed to be small. The photocatalytic air purification unit 11 is configured to give priority to the processing speed.

(Effect 3)

The second communication portion 19 may serve as an inlet portion 31 of the process gas 5. The first communication portion 16 serves as an outlet portion 32 of the process gas 5. Thus, when the housing 17 is provided, the process gas 5 fed from the second communication portion 19 (inlet portion 31) to the outside of the housing 17 enters the space 18 between the outside of the outermost cylindrical photocatalytic air purification filter 3b and the outside of the housing 17. In the case where the housing 17 is a porous material 22, the process gas 5 enters from the entire periphery of the housing 17. The process gas 5 in the outer space 18 sequentially passes through the photocatalyst air cleaning filters 3a to 3c arranged in a single or multiple tubular shape from the outer periphery side toward the inner periphery side, and reaches the space 15 inside the innermost tubular photocatalyst air cleaning filter 3 a. The process gas 5 passes through the space 15 on the inner side in the longitudinal direction, and flows out (of the housing 17) in a concentrated state in the first communication portion 16 (outlet portion 32).

At this time, in the outer space 18, for example, in the case of fig. 6, the process gas 5 flows in a low flow velocity state from the other end face 17c side toward the opposite one end face 17b side while diffusing in the circumferential direction or in a state of diffusing in the circumferential direction. Then, most of the process gas 5 is transmitted through the portions of the outermost cylindrical photocatalytic air purification filter 3b substantially uniformly over the entire area from the beginning, and the remaining portion collides with the other end face 17c. Thus, the process gas 5 can be efficiently purified by contacting the photocatalyst 2 of the outermost cylindrical photocatalyst air purification filter 3b over a large area.

In the intermediate spaces 23 and 24, the process gas 5 sequentially passes through the respective portions of the one or more cylindrical photocatalytic air purification filters 3a to 3c toward the inner peripheral side in a state of being diffused over substantially the entire area and in a low flow rate state. Thus, the process gas 5 is efficiently purified by contacting the photocatalyst 2 of the cylindrical photocatalyst air purification filters 3a to 3c over a large area.

The process gas 5 is guided to the first communicating portion 16 in the space 15 on the inner side in a state where the flow rate is low, and the flow rate is slightly high in the vicinity of the first communicating portion 16. At this time, the portion of the process gas 5 in contact with the innermost cylindrical photocatalytic air purification filter 3a is in contact with the photocatalyst 2 and purified.

Thus, the process gas 5 is substantially uniformly brought into contact with the photocatalyst 2 supported by the cylindrical photocatalyst air cleaning filters 3a to 3c in a low flow rate state over substantially the entire region. Therefore, the effective use area of each of the photocatalytic air purification filters 3a to 3c becomes larger, and the process gas 5 is purified more efficiently. The photocatalyst air-purifying unit 11 is configured to give priority to treatment efficiency.

(Effect 4)

The photocatalytic air purification unit 11 is configured such that one or a plurality of photocatalytic air purification units are combined to block the entire passage cross section of the duct 41 through which the process gas 5 passes.

In this case, for example, the photocatalytic air purification device 1 may be configured such that one or a plurality of photocatalytic air purification units 11 are mounted on a partition member 46, and the partition member 46 (directly) blocks the entire passage cross section of the duct 41. The photocatalytic air purification device 1 may be configured such that the photocatalytic air purification units 11 are (directly) inserted into the duct 41 and disposed so as to block the entire passage cross section in a state where one or a plurality of photocatalytic air purification units are disposed in parallel and bound. In addition, the photocatalyst air-purifying device 1 can be provided in the cavity 47 in the middle of the duct 41 in the same manner as any one of the above. This can easily block the entire passage cross section of the duct 41, and can guide the entire process gas 5 to the photocatalytic air purification device 1. In particular, by binding the photocatalyst air-purifying units 11, more photocatalyst air-purifying units 11 can be efficiently provided in the duct 41.

Thus, even one type of photocatalyst air-purifying unit 11 can be used for various sizes of the duct 41. The duct 41 may be closed in a passage cross section, and a plurality of types of photocatalyst air-purifying units 11 having different sizes and shapes may be appropriately combined and arranged in parallel.

In addition, a plurality of parallel and bundled photocatalyst air-purifying units 11 may be provided in series in a plurality of layers. Thus, the air purifying ability can be improved by increasing the number of layers.

(Effect 5)

The photocatalyst air-purifying unit 11 may be provided at least any one of the inlet portion 51, the intermediate portion 52, and the outlet portion 53 of the duct 41. Thus, in the case where the photocatalyst air-purifying unit 11 is provided at the inlet portion 51 of the duct 41 (the individually dispersed photocatalyst air-purifying device 1 a), the photocatalyst air-purifying device 1 can be miniaturized, and the photocatalyst air-purifying device 1 can be individually provided while being dispersed in plural numbers at each inlet portion 51 of the duct 41. Therefore, the cost of each photocatalytic air purification unit 11 is suppressed, and maintenance and the like are also facilitated.

In the case where the photocatalyst air-purifying unit 11 is provided in the middle portion 52 of the duct 41 (the medium-scale dispersion type photocatalyst air-purifying device 1 b), the photocatalyst air-purifying device 1 can be made medium-sized, for example, separately provided for each system (or each layer) of the duct 41. Therefore, maintenance and the like can be performed on the photocatalyst air-purifying unit 11 of each system of the duct 41.

When the photocatalytic air purification unit 11 is provided at the outlet portion 53 of the duct 41 (concentrated photocatalytic air purification device 1 c), the photocatalytic air purification device 1 can be enlarged and arranged at the outlet portion 53 of the duct 41 in a concentrated manner. Therefore, the photocatalyst air-purifying unit 11 can be maintained and serviced at one time.

Description of the reference numerals

1: photocatalyst air purification device, 2: photocatalyst, 3: photocatalyst air purification filter, 3a: photocatalyst air purification filter, 3b: photocatalyst air purification filter, 3c: photocatalyst air purification filter, 5: process gas, 11: photocatalyst air purification unit, 12: metal porous body, 13: end plate, 15: space inside, 16: first communication section, 17: housing, 17a: outer peripheral surface, 17b: end face, 17c: end face, 18: outside space, 19: second communication portion, 31: inlet portion, 32: outlet portion, 41: pipeline, 51: inlet portion, 52: middle part, 53: an outlet portion.

Cross-reference to related applications

The present application claims priority from japanese patent application No. 2022-008107, month 21 of 2022, to the japanese franchise, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

Claims

1. A photocatalyst air purifying unit is characterized in that,

the photocatalyst air purifying filter with photocatalyst carried by the metal porous body is formed into a cylinder,

the photocatalyst air purifying filter is configured in a one-heavy or multiple state, two ends of the photocatalyst air purifying filter are blocked by end plates,

the space inside the innermost cylindrical photocatalytic air purification filter is communicated with the outside by a first communicating portion formed in one of the end plates.

2. The photocatalytic air purification unit according to claim 1, wherein the first communication portion is an inlet portion for a process gas.

3. The photocatalytic air purification unit according to claim 1, wherein the first communication portion is an outlet portion of a process gas.

4. A photocatalyst air-purifying device, characterized in that the photocatalyst air-purifying unit according to claim 1 or a plurality of photocatalyst air-purifying units according to claim 1 are combined, and are provided in a pipe through which a process gas flows so as to block the entire passage cross section of the pipe.

5. The photocatalytic air purification device according to claim 4, wherein the photocatalytic air purification unit is provided at least any one of an inlet portion, a middle portion, and an outlet portion of the duct.