GB2102299A

GB2102299A - A regeneration unit for waste water from industrial washing installations

Info

Publication number: GB2102299A
Application number: GB08219369A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Eugene Foessel
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1981-07-10
Filing date: 1982-07-05
Publication date: 1983-02-02
Also published as: FR2509283A1; BE893689A; IT8222094A0; GB2102299B; IT1151897B; FR2509283B1; CH644826A5; DE3224389A1

Abstract

A regeneration unit for waste water from industrial washing installations comprises a tank (2) for receiving the waste water, one or more filters (4), one or more ion exchangers (5) and a tank (3) for storing the regenerated water. The waste water arrives in the lower tank (2), passes through the filters (4) and then through the ion exchangers (5), and is pumped by the pumping station (18) into the upper tank (3) from which water is recycled to the washing installations. When this tank is full, the surplus overflows into the lower tank (2). <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION A regeneration unit for waste water from industrial washing installations The present invention relates to a regeneration unit for waste water from industrial washing installations, comprising a recovery tank for the waste water and at least one battery of filters and ion exchangers connected to the outlet from this tank.

Industrial water regeneration installations of this type are normally designed to supply the regenerated water directly at the outlet from the ion exchangers. This means that the pressure available is relatively low due to the considerable loss of pressure recorded in the ion exchangers.

The pressure available is too low to allow washing with a jet or the simultaneous supply of several processing machines mounted in parallel.

An object of the present invention is to remedy these disadvantages by providing an autonomous regeneration unit which enables regenerated water to be obtained at a high enough pressure to supply several processing machines simultaneously or to produce a washing jet.

According to the present invention a regeneration unit as described above is characterised in that it also comprises a storage tank for the regenerated water which is connected to the outlet of the battery of filters and ion exchangers.

According to a preferred embodiment the storage tank comprises an overflow outlet which communicates with the tank for recovering the waste water.

The regeneration unit is composed basically of a framework on which the tank for recovering the waste water, the battery of filters and ion exchangers, the storage tank for the regenerated water, the connecting pipework and the pumping devices are mounted, forming as a whole an autonomous module.

The tank for storing the regenerated water is preferably mounted on the tank for recovering the waste water, and the overflow outlet is provided near the upper edge of the storage tank for the regenerated water.

According to a first embodiment of the regeneration unit according to the invention, the pumping devices are designed so that the water in the tank for recovering the waste water passes through the battery of filters and ion exchangers and flows continuously into the storage tank for the regenerated water, the surplus being removed by a corresponding flow into the tank for recovering the waste water.

In a modified version there is a level-detecting device mounted in the storage tank for the regenerated water, and control devices co-act with the level detector to stop the pumping devices when the storage tank is full.

The present invention will be better understood with reference to the description of an embodiment example and the attached drawing.

Figure 1 shows a front view of the arrangement according to the invention.

Figure 2 shows a side view of the arrangement shown in Figure 1.

With reference to the Figures, the regeneration unit described comprises basically a base frame 1, on which there are mounted a lower tank 2 or tank for recovering the waste water, an upper tank 3 or storage tank for the regenerated water, and a battery composed or one or more filters 4 and ion exchangers 5 which are known per se. The waste water originating from a washing unit which may be used in various industries such as the electronics industry, the chemical industry, the pharmaceutical industry, for example, particularly for washing electrical or electronic components or for washing mechanical parts which have been subjected to a surface treatment, flows in the direction of the arrow 6 through a pipe 7 into the lower tank 2.This waste water is then raised (by means which are not shown) in the direction of the arrow 8, through a pipe 9 which conducts it into the filtering battery 4 through which it passes in the direction of the arrow 10, that is to say, from top to bottom, to be discharged in the direction of the arrow 11 through a discharge opening 12 formed near to the base of the filter battery 4. This opening is connected by a pipe 13 to the top of the battery 5 of ion exchangers. The filtered water delivered from the battery 4 flows in the direction of the arrows 14 and 1 5, through the pipe 13 and the battery 5 of ion exchangers respectively, from which it is delivered in the direction of the arrow 16 and is conducted via a pipe 17 to a pumping station 18 with manual automatic control.This pumping station 18 pumps the filtered and regenerated water in the direction of the arrow 19, through a pipe 20 into the upper tank 3. A discharge pipe 21 enables the surplus of regenerated water stored in the upper tank 3 to be discharged into the lower tank 2, as shown by arrows 22 and 23. A pipe 24 attached to the base of the upper tank 3 conducts the filtered and regenerated water from the storage tank 3 as shown by the arrow 25, to the location where it is to be used, that is to say, the various treatment machines mentioned above (not shown).

In the example shown the battery of filters comprises one or more filter columns 4 mounted in series, and the battery 5 of ion exchangers comprises one or more columns containing mixtures of suitable resins (known per se), also mounted in series. These units are adapted to the regeneration process required, which in turn depends on the industrial field in which the installation is being used. Figure 2 shows, by way of example, a regeneration and filtering battery comprising a first column 31 acting as a filter, and three columns 32, 33 and 34 containing various ion exchangers, these columns being seriesconnected by pipes 35, 36 and 37 respectively, and supplied with waste water via the pipe 9 described above, delivering the filtered and regenerated water to the pumping station 1 8 through the pipe 17.

According to a preferred operating method, the waste water is conducted into the lower tank 2, passes through the filtering and ion exchanger unit to be pumped into the upper tank 3 where the filtered and regenerated water is stored. This means that there is a constant reserve of "clean and pure" water available which can be delivered under pressure to a station where it is to be used, such as a jet-washing station, for example. The installations known from the prior art which collected the regenerated water directly from the outlet of the ion exchangers did not enable sufficient pressures to be obtained for supplying jet-washing stations, due to the considerable loss of pressure in the filtering columns and the ion exchangers. This circulation is carried on continuously so that if the regenerated water is being produced more rapidly than it is being used the surplus flows into the lower tank 2.

In a modified version the upper tank may include a level detector (not shown) which acts automatically on the pumping station 18, to stop it when the regenerated water reaches a predetermined level in the upper tank.

The installation according to the invention forms a compact block of modular design which may be complemented or expanded at will, according to the requirements of the user. In particular, this compact block may be set up on one side and connected to various individual processing units situated in different locations.

Naturally, different variants and modifications may be made by the expert in the field without these variations exceeding the general scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A regeneration unit for waste water from industrial washing installations, comprising a tank for recovering the waste water and at least one battery, comprising at least one filter and at least one ion exchanger, connected to the outlet from this tank, characterised in that it also comprises a storage tank for the regenerated water, connected to the outlet from the battery of filters and ion exchangers.

2. A unit according to Claim 1, characterised in that the storage tank comprises an overflow discharge pipe which is in communication with the tank for recovering the waste water.

3. A unit according to Claim 1, characterised in that it comprises a base frame on which the tank for recovering the waste water, the battery of filters and the ion exchangers, the storage tank for the regenerated water, together with the connecting pipework and the pumping devices are mounted, forming an autonomous module as a whole.

4. A unit according to Claim 3, characterised in that the storage tank for the regenerated water is mounted on the tank for recovering the waste water, and in that the overflow discharge pipe is provided near the upper edge of the storage tank for the regenerated water.

5. A unit according to Claim 4, characterised in that the pumping devices are designed so that the water in the tank for recovering the waste water passes through the battery of filters and ion exchangers, and flows continuously into the storage tank for the regenerated water, the surplus being delivered through the corresponding discharge pipe into the tank for recovering the waste water.

6. A unit according to Claim 4, characterised in that it comprises a level-detecting device mounted in the storage tank for the regenerated water, and control devices co-acting with the level detector to stop the pumping devices when the storage tank is full.

7. A regeneration unit for waste water substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to, and as shown in, the accompanying drawings.