FR2550263A1 - DEVICE FOR TREATING WITH BROMINE MASSES OF WATER SUCH AS SWIMMING POOLS - Google Patents

Abstract

DEVICE OF THE KIND CONCERNED FOR THE TREATMENT OF A MASS OF WATER BY LIQUID BROMINE, INCLUDING A SOURCE OF WATER, A DEVICE FOR MEASURING 101 THE BROMINE CONCENTRATION, SUCH DEVICE BEING LOCATED IN THE MASS OF WATER TO BE TREATED, A SOLENOID VALVE 103 OPERATIVELY CONTROLLED BY THIS DEVICE, A MAIN WATER DUCT 105 CONNECTED TO THE SOURCE AND SERVING TO SUPPLY THE MASS OF WATER, AND AT LEAST ONE LIQUID BROMINE CONTAINER 111. IT IS CHARACTERIZED AS IT INCLUDES IN ADDITION A VENTURI 107 TUBE INJECTOR INSERTED IN THE MAIN DUCT, A 120 INLET AIR DUCT, A PLUNGER TUBE 112 LEADING TO THE LOWER PART OF CONTAINER 111 OF LIQUID BROMINE AND AN OUTLET TUBE 114 PROVIDING A BROMINE MIXTURE- AIR FROM THE UPPER PART OF THE CONTAINER AND TO THE LOW PRESSURE PART OF THE INJECTOR 107.

Description

DEVICE FOR TREATING WITH BROMINE MASSES OF WATER SUCH

ONLY SWIMMING POOLS

  The present invention relates to an improved device for treating bromine (bromination) with a view to disinfecting the water in swimming pools and water tanks of all types which will be referred to below as water bodies.

  The main agents now used for the disinfection of water in water tanks are chlorine and bromine or some of their derivatives which release these halogens when they are introduced into water as is known in oneself.

  The use of bromine as a disinfectant or antiseptic requires a strictly determined and controlled dosage of bromine introduced into the water because liquid bromine is a dangerous and highly corrosive material which can only be handled with difficulty and observing precautions

well known.

  Several types of bromination devices for

  disinfection of water bodies are known in the art.

  In a model of such devices, an excess of a solid bromine compound, preferably sodium bromide, is introduced into the body of water to be treated. The bromine compound is active, that is to say that elementary or active bromine is released by means of a controlled addition of an aqueous solution of a hy Pochlorite The concentration of "active bromine" in the body of water is constantly measured by an electrical measuring element, usually a p H -meter which is connected in operation to a solenoid valve or similar which is opened each time the concentration of bromine in the body of water drops to

  below a predetermined threshold and is closed automatically-

-2

  when the required bromine concentration is reached.

  Water treatment devices of this type have been described in DE-A-1 951 802, in the

  DE-A-2 143 396 and in DE-A 2 449 951.

  In a second type of device of the type concerned from

  elemental bromine is added to the water, said bromine coming from a commercially available liquid bromine reserve.

  Again the addition of bromine in the form of aqueous bromine is controlled by an apparatus of the p H-meter type immersed in the body of water to be treated or housed in a measuring cell connected by a conduit to said body of water in such a way that the water in the body of water constantly flows through the cell in which the bromine concentration is constantly monitored The water to be added to the liquid bromine to prepare the above-mentioned aqueous bromine solution may come from a connection to a main water recycling pipe comprising pumps and filters for purifying the water to be treated or else from a connection to a main pipe connected to the water inlet by which water is introduced into the body of water, for example water from a swimming pool, water for industrial use or any kind of body of water which must

  be maintained at a certain level of sterility and purity.

  The water which must pass into the bromine container flows through a branch pipe containing intakes or valves to regulate the water flow rate. It is introduced into the bromine container through a dip tube and then removed, mixed with bromine through the top of the container, then it passes, through a non-return valve in the main duct or in the main recycling duct,

  as will be described in detail later.

  A device of this type is described in DE-A-2 711 249.

  In this device a conduit is connected to the main water recycling circuit -3 A solenoid valve, electrically controlled by a suitable bromine concentration measuring device, is inserted into this conduit which ends in a dip tube in a commercially available liquid bromine container Another conduit runs from the top of the container through a check valve into a conduit through which the aqueous bromine solution is returned to the main water recycling line, which brings this aqueous bromine solution at the same time as the water recycled in the tank containing the water to be treated A flowmeter or any other device for measuring the bromine concentration is also inserted in the circuit

of connection mentioned above.

  Practical tests implemented with this device 15 have shown that under certain circumstances a certain amount of concentrated bromine can escape from the container and that as a result certain parts of the branch circuit can be damaged by corrosion or that steam from highly toxic bromine can escape into the ambient atmosphere = 20 In addition the arrival of water in the bromine container and thus the supply of aqueous bromine solution to the swimming pool water is not always insured; the result is that the purity and sterility of the water

from the pool are compromised.

  In order to avoid these drawbacks, the applicant has developed simple and safe devices belonging to the second class of brominating devices for the above-mentioned application which are less expensive as regards their purchase price and their maintenance and more compact than the bromination plants referred to above and which are used in practice The apparatuses of the invention will be designated in the following psr "devices for treatment

  of a body of water of the type concerned ".

  In a first embodiment of the invention, all the constituent parts of the device are made of teflon (registered trademark) or another plastic material resistant to bromine. In addition, the water which is to be mixed with bromine to form the aqueous bromine solution. passes through a pipe going from the main water supply circuit to a float or flush tank with water fall by which water is supplied to the bromine container by an outlet pipe comprising a valve and a flow meter, which pipe ends in a dip tube immersed in the bromine Thanks to this construction, the concentrated bromine is effectively pocketed to enter the main water circuit A device for measuring the concentration of bromine (hereinafter referred to as "p H meter" is preferably immersed in the body of water to be treated and is connected to a solenoid valve. This solenoid valve controls the flow of water from the arrival of the water distribution in the cond main uite which leads through a tube to

  Venturi suction and an outlet pipe to the tank containing the mass of water to be treated.

  The tube bringing the aqueous bromine solution goes from the top of the bromine container to the low pressure part of the aforementioned Venturi tube, from which it follows that this solution is sucked out of the bromine container and injected into the main pipe of water supply There are commercially available standard glass bromine containers,

that we can use.

  A second bottle of bromine of this type can be connected as described above to the niagara type water tank controlled by float at its inlet side and to the Venturi injector at its outlet side to supply continues in bromine towards the tank Naturally the water tank controlled by float as described above can be used in connection with a main recycling water pipe and the p H-meter for measuring the bromine concentration can be accommodated in a measuring cell suitably placed through which the water in the body of water circulates constantly Water can also be evacuated in a sewer line or it can be recycled by a recycling line to the

body of water.

  In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the somewhat modified and simplified lo device, the aqueous bromine solution used as a disinfecting agent is replaced by a bromine-air mixture and consequently the Niagara type tank supplying the water to the bromine container becomes redundant.

  while the safety and efficiency factor of the first 15 miter is fully preserved.

  In accordance with this modified embodiment, the ambient air is sucked, by means which will be described later, into a bromine container via a dip tube. As bromine is highly volatile, a bromine-air mixture is formed in the container and this mixture is transferred by a supply pipe from the top of the container, through a needle valve, a flow meter and a non-return valve to the low pressure part of the Venturi tube inserted in the main water distribution circuit of the mass of water The low pressure created when the water passes through the Venturi tube causes the bromine-air mixture to be drawn into the water exactly as if the mixture were actually mixed

bromine air and water.

  This embodiment of the invention therefore relates to a positive dis30 for treating a body of water with liquid bromine

  which comprises a water source, a solenoid valve controlled in operation by a device for measuring the bromine concentration which is immersed in the water to be treated, a

  main water line connected to said source and used for supplying water to the body of water via a pressure adjustment valve and a Venturi tube injector inserted into said conduit, an air inlet pipe comprising an air filter and a non-return valve and a dip tube leading to a conventional liquid bromine container, a tube delivering a bromine air mixture which leads from the top of the container to the low pressure part of the injector via a needle valve, flow meter and non-return valve, all of these components of the device except the container (s) of bromine and electrical devices being made of Teflon or other resistant plastic

with bromine.

  As in the first embodiment, two containers of liquid bromine can be used, the dip tubes of these two containers being interconnected by a suitable pipe connected to the air inlet pipe, a closing valve being inserted in the pipe on each side. from the point from which the air inlet pipe is connected to the piping In this embodiment the bromine-air mixture can pass uninterruptedly in the water supply circuit through a second piping connected between the outlet pipe of the bromeair mixture by opening and closing appropriate shut-off valves in the air inlet piping when one of the bromine containers is empty The empty container is then replaced by a full container while the bromine mixture air is supplied by the second container. In addition, the main water conduit may alternatively be included in a water recycling conduit for purifying water from the body of water, said recycling conduit comprising a pump and filters as is known and the solenoid valve being inserted at the upstream end of the main conduit In this embodiment the p H-meter for measuring the bromine concentration is housed in a measurement cell through which the water of the body of water to be treated circulates

uninterruptedly.

  Two embodiments according to the invention will now be described in relation to the appended drawing in which: FIG. 1 represents a preferred embodiment of the first type of bromination installation; and FIG. 2 is a schematic representation of the second type of bromination installation in which the various constituents have been designated by three-digit reference numbers. As represented in FIG. 1, a device 1 for measuring the bromine concentration having the shape of a p H-meter is housed in the body of water to be treated (not shown = represented) or in a bromine concentration measuring cell suitably placed in a bypass (not shown) and is connected to operatively by a connection 2 to a conventional solenoid valve 3 in a supply conduit 4 going from the arrival of the water supply a main conduit 5 which comprises a pressure adjustment valve 6 and a tube injector of Venturi 7, said main conduit supplying the mass of water to be treated, for example a swimming pool (not shown) A pump 8 can also be included in the water supply conduit 4 to maintain sufficient pressure therein for r operate the injector 7 A connection pipe 9 goes from the conduit 5 to the inlet of a Niagara-type water tank 10 controlled by float An outlet tube 11 of the tank 10 30 passes the water through a outlet 12 operated manually, a flow meter 13 and a dip tube 14 to the bottom of a container 15 of liquid bromine, made of glass and available

in trade.

  In a preferred embodiment of the invention, a discharge pipe 11 can be connected at 16 and also supply water, via the outlet 12 ', the flow meter 13' and the dip tube 14 ', to a second bromine container 15 'A sampling hose 17 or 17' fitted with 12 "and 12" valves' leads to the low pressure part of the Venturi tube injector 7 via the non-return valves 18 and

18 'respectively.

  The device according to the invention operates in the following way: When the bromine concentration of the water pass to be treated falls below a predetermined threshold, the p H-meter activates the solenoid valve 3 and de-l water is admitted from the distribution in the main pipe 5. 15 The injector 7 draws the aqueous bromine solution from the bromine container 15 through the discharge tube 17, which solution is then injected and mixed with the water flowing through line 5 into the swimming pool

  or the analogous water tank (not shown).

  Additional water now flows from the reservoir 10 through the tap or the open valve 12, towards the bromine container 15 while the tap 12 'is closed When the supply of liquid bromine to the container is exhausted the tap 12 is closed and the tap 12 ′ is opened after which the aqueous bromine solution is supplied by the container 15 ′ The container 15 is replaced by a full container In this way the aqueous bromine solution can be supplied without interruption to the body of water to be treated The quantity of water taken from the tank 30 10 is supplied by the connection pipe 9 The system

  as a whole therefore works automatically, with the sole exception of valves 12, 12 ', 12 "and 12" which are operated manually as indicated above.

  FIG. 2 shows a device for measuring the bromine concentration in the form of a conventional p H-meter, housed in the body of water to be treated (not shown) or in a cell for measuring the concentration. tration in bromine itself housed in a bypass (not shown) This device is operatively connected by the con, nexion 102 to a conventional solenoid valve 103 located in the supply line 104 going from the water distribution to the main pipe 105 which comprises a pressure adjustment valve 106 and a Venturi tube injector 107 which pipe supplies the body of water to be treated, for example a swimming pool (not shown) A pump 108 can also be included in the

  supply line 104 to maintain a pressure 15 sufficient for the injector 107 to operate.

  An air inlet pipe comprising a conventional air filter 109, a non-return valve 110 leads to a container of liquid bromine 111 via a dip tube 112 o A liquid level gauge 113 is provided in the bottle 20 of bromine.

  The bromine air mixture is withdrawn from the bottle through an outlet tube 114 which ends at the top of the bottle and this mixture passes through a needle valve 115, a flow meter 116 and a non-return valve 117 25 to the low pressure part of the tube injector

Venturi 107.

  This water purification device can also be adapted by a person skilled in the art to the use of two bottles of liquid bromine, each of these bottles being able alternately to be connected by suitable valves 118, 118 'to the tubes. air inlet 109, 110 and 112 described above, thus a continuous supply by the bromine-air mixture

  of the pipe leading to the injector is ensured.

  The device according to the invention operates in the following manner: When the bromine concentration in the body of water to be treated falls below a predetermined threshold, the p H-meter activates the pipes 104, 105 and the injector to Venturi tube 107 The injector draws the bromine-air mixture from the bottle 111 through the open valves 118, 119

  manually while the valves 118 ', 119' remain closed.

  When the liquid bromine in the bottle 111 is exhausted the valves 118, 119 are closed and the valves 118 ', 119' are open, which means that the bromine-air mixture now comes from the second bottle The empty bromine bottles

  can then be replaced by full bottles.

  When the water in the body of water is recycled and the bromine-air mixture is injected into the recycling stream, the pump 108 is activated to put the water under sufficient pressure.

and activate the injector 107.

  Although only preferred embodiments of the invention have been described above, certain auxiliary components such as electrical devices, closing devices and the valves themselves can be replaced by components making it possible to obtain the same result which is within the reach of those skilled in the art All

  these substitute components are intended to be included in the following claims:

Resell i c a t i o N s.

  1 A device of the type concerned for the treatment of a body of water with liquid bromine comprising a source of water, a device (1) for measuring the bromine concentration of a known type, said device being located in the 5 body of water to be treated, a solenoid valve (3) operatively controlled by said device, a main water conduit (5), connected to said source and serving to supply water to the body of water via a pressure adjustment valve (6), and at least one bromine container (15), characterized in that it l.0 further comprises a venturi tube injector (7) inserted in said main duct (5 ), a tube (9) connected to the main conduit upstream of the injector and leading to a flush (10) of the Niagara type controlled by float, a discharge pipe (11) of said water tank leading, via a tap (12), a flow meter (13) and a dip tube (14) n to the flowable part of the container (15) ebrome liquid, and an outlet tube (17) supplied sant an aqueous solution of bromine, starting from the upper part of said container and going, by a valve

  non-return valve (18), to the low pressure part of the injector (7).

  2 A device according to claim 1, characterized in that all the components of said device with the exception of the container (s) of bromine and the electrical devices are made of Teflon or a similar plastic material resistant to bromine.

  3 A modification of the device defined in claim 1 characterized in that the discharge tube (11) from the flush is connected so as to alternately supply water to two bromine containers (15, 15 ') 30 each container being provided with an outlet tube (17, 17 ') leading to the injector as defined in claim 1, closing valves (18, 18') being provided for

  disconnect either of the bromine containers.

  4 A device according to claim 1, characterized in that the main water pipe (5) is part of a set of recycling pipes for purifying water from the body of water, said recycling pipes comprising a pump (8) and filters as is known, said solenoid valve being inserted at the upstream end

from the main duct (5).

  5 A device according to claim 1, characterized in that the bromine concentration measuring device (1) is housed in a measuring cell suitably located through which the water of the body of water to be treated circulates uninterrupted way.

  6 A device of the type concerned for the treatment of a body of water with liquid bromine comprising a water source, a device (101) for measuring the bromine concentration of a known type, said device being located in the body of water to be treated, a solenoid valve (103) operatively controlled by said device, a main water conduit (105) connected to said source and serving to supply water to said body of water, a pressure adjustment valve (106) and at least one container of liquid bromine (111) characterized in that it further comprises a venturi tube injector (107) inserted into said main duct (105), a duct of air inlet (120) comprising an air filter (109) and a non-return valve (110), a dip tube (112) leading to the lower part of the container (111) of liquid bromine and a tube outlet (114) providing a bromine-air mixture starting from the upper part of said container and going, by a needle valve (11 5), a flow meter (116) and a non-return valve

  (117) to the low pressure part of the injector (107).

  7 A device according to claim 6, characterized in that all the components of said device with the exception of the container (s) of bromine and of the electrical devices are made of Teflon or a similar plastic material resistant to bromine. 8 A modification of the device defined in claim 6, characterized in that the air inlet tube (120) is connected so as to supply air alternately to two bromine containers (111, 111 '), each bromine container being provided with an outlet tube (114, 114 ') leading to the injector (107), closing devices (119, 119') being provided for disconnecting one or the other of the

bromine containers.

  9 A device according to claim 6, charac15 terized in that the main water conduit (105) is part of a set of recycling conduits for purifying water from the body of water, said recycling conduits comprising a pump (108) and filters as is known

  said solenoid valve (103) being inserted at the upstream end of the main conduit.

  A device according to claim 6, characterized in that the device for measuring the bromine concentration is housed in a measuring cell suitably located through which the water of the body of water

  to be treated circulates continuously.

  to be treated circulates continuously.