JP2006122521A - Disinfection system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a disinfection system applicable to disinfection in the closed space of gas to be purified, low in manufacturing cost and having high disinfecting performance. <P>SOLUTION: This disinfection system 10 is provided with a discharge body 4 with a ceramics structure 3 having gas flow property disposed between an electrode 1 and an electrode 2 connected to a power source 5. Voltage is applied to a clearance between the electrode 1 and the electrode 2 by the power source 5, and the electric field is distorted by the ceramics structure 3 to generate plasma. Suspended bacteria contained in the gas X flowing through the ceramics structure 3 are thereby eliminated. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a sterilization system for decomposing and inactivating floating bacteria contained in a gas to be purified.

  Conventionally, an adsorbent typified by activated carbon is used to purify air in a closed space such as the inside of a house or warehouse, the interior of a vehicle such as an automobile, or the inside of a device such as a refrigerator. In particular, in recent years, the airtightness of living spaces has progressed, and along with this, gas purification systems are generally used in which indoor air is sucked and filtered with a filter, and pollutants are adsorbed with activated carbon.

  As a gas purification system using an adsorbent when purifying air in a closed space, for example, an adsorption filter having an adsorbent is provided in an air circulation duct, and the air that has passed through the duct is placed in the closed space. In general, the air is passed through the adsorption filter to adsorb substances such as odor components in the air with the adsorbent, and the deodorized air is introduced into the closed space by the action of the adsorbent. It is.

  On the other hand, as a gas purification system for purifying the air in a living space, for example, a system that generates air quality ions called positive ions, negative ions, etc. by using creeping discharge to obtain a sterilization effect has been put into practical use ( For example, see Patent Document 1).

Furthermore, a sterilization and deodorization technique using a photocatalyst is also disclosed (see, for example, Patent Document 2 and Patent Document 3).
Japanese Patent No. 3467586 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 8-103631 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2-107339

  However, according to the deodorizing technique using the adsorbent as described above, although airborne bacteria and the like contained in the air are adsorbed and removed, they do not have a function of decomposing them. Therefore, the floating bacteria that adhere to and are collected on the filter and activated carbon are merely captured on the surface of the filter and activated carbon, and various conditions that are collected together under moderate temperature and humidity conditions. In some cases, it grows in a place where it is collected by using dust as nutrients, and then re-scatters from there to become a source. Furthermore, since the adsorption function is reduced with continuous use, the adsorbent must be replaced.

  On the other hand, a sterilization method using air quality ions as in the prior art cannot expect a sterilization effect unless air quality ions and airborne bacteria collide in air. Therefore, it has been pointed out that it cannot be a reliable sterilization means for removing airborne bacteria.

  In the case of a sterilization system using a photocatalyst, an effective sterilization effect can be expected, but the material cost of the photocatalyst itself is high, and a manufacturing process for supporting the photocatalyst on a three-dimensional structure is necessary. . Therefore, in order to realize a sterilization system that is generally applicable in a wide range of fields, an inexpensive and high-performance sterilization system is required in terms of manufacturing and material costs.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problem, and can be applied to sterilization of a gas to be purified in a closed space. The sterilization system can be manufactured at low cost and has high sterilization performance. Is intended to provide.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, the sterilization system of the present invention includes a discharge body in which a ceramic structure having gas flowability is disposed in a gap between a positive electrode and a negative electrode connected to a power source, and the positive electrode A voltage is applied between the negative electrode and the negative electrode by the power source, an electric field is distorted by the ceramic structure to generate plasma, and floating bacteria contained in a gas flowing through the ceramic structure are allowed to pass through the plasma. This is characterized by sterilization.

  According to the sterilization system of the present invention, airborne bacteria in the air are circulated through the ceramic structure having a three-dimensional structure, and the plasma generated by applying a voltage to the electrodes is effectively sterilized. It is possible to have fungus.

  The sterilization system of the present invention utilizes the effect of generating plasma with a low applied voltage by distorting the electric field in the space with a porous ceramic structure installed between electrodes.

  Conventionally, in the case of a gas purification apparatus or a sterilization system using such a three-dimensional structure such as a ceramic structure, this three-dimensional structure is usually used as a support for a photocatalyst or the like. There was no technology that focused on the effects of the body itself.

  However, according to the study by the present inventors, the ceramic structure having a three-dimensional structure has an effect of distorting the electric field in the space, so that it is possible to generate plasma by applying a low voltage. The present invention has been completed based on the knowledge that sterilization can be performed at a lower running cost compared to a sterilization system.

  Further, in the sterilization system of the present invention, by forming at least one of the positive electrode and the negative electrode in a three-dimensional structure having gas flowability, discharge does not occur due to electrode deterioration, and abnormal discharge occurs. It is possible to prevent this from happening and to maintain a stable discharge for a long time.

  Embodiments of the sterilization system of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 shows a configuration diagram of the sterilization system of Example 1. In this sterilization system 10, a ceramic structure 3 is sandwiched in a gap between the electrode 1 and the electrode 2 to constitute a discharge body 4. A power source 5 is electrically connected to the electrode 1 and the electrode 2 by leads, and is configured to cause a discharge between the electrodes. On the other hand, the ceramic structure 3 is a porous ceramic substrate having a three-dimensional structure, and is a member excellent in the flowability of the gas X to be purified.

  Furthermore, in the sterilization system 10 of the present embodiment, the electrode 1 and the electrode 2 are also constituted by structural members having gas flowability. As a member constituting these electrodes 1 and 2, for example, a mesh-like metal member or a honeycomb structure is used. On the other hand, the material that can be used as the material of the electrode 1 and the electrode 2 is preferably a metal material such as iron, stainless steel, or aluminum, or a conductive material such as conductive plastic. The electrode 1 and the electrode 2 are either a positive electrode or a negative electrode, and no matter which of the electrode 1 and the electrode 2 is a positive electrode and which is a negative electrode, there is no problem in the configuration of the sterilization system 10. .

  In the sterilization system 10 configured as described above, the gas X flows from the electrode 1 side and permeates the ceramic structure 3. At that time, a voltage is applied between the electrode 1 and the electrode 2 by the power source 5 to cause discharge, but the electric field is distorted by the effect of the ceramic structure 3 which is a three-dimensional structure, and the generation of plasma is promoted. The generation of the plasma decomposes and removes the suspended bacteria in the gas X that are the objects of purification in the ceramic structure 3.

  The sterilization system configured as described above generates plasma when a low voltage is applied, so that it can be sterilized at a low power cost and is sterilized on the surface of a porous ceramic structure with a large surface area. Therefore, for example, it is possible to realize a very high sterilization performance as compared with a conventional sterilization system using air quality ions.

  Furthermore, the sterilization system having such a configuration has lower member costs and manufacturing costs for constituting the system as compared with, for example, a gas purification device in which a photocatalyst is supported on a ceramic structure, and the gas to be purified. It has sufficient performance for sterilization. Therefore, by installing the sterilization system of this embodiment, it is possible to improve the sterilization performance of the air conditioner at a low manufacturing cost.

  FIG. 2 shows a configuration diagram of the sterilization system of Example 2. The sterilization system 20 shown in FIG. 2 is arranged in the flow direction of the gas X of the discharge body 4 in order to prevent the ozone generated from the gas X by discharge between the electrodes 1 and 2 from being released into the closed space. The ozone decomposition catalyst 21 is provided on the downstream side.

Oxygen molecules O ₂ in the gas X are dissociated and reacted by the plasma accompanying the discharge between the electrode 1 and the electrode 2 to generate ozone O ₃ . At the same time, by absorbing a short wavelength component having a wavelength of 300 nm or less in the ultraviolet light generated by the discharge, the oxygen molecule O ₂ is excited and the oxygen molecule O ₂ reacts to generate ozone O ₃ . Since this ozone O ₃ has a strong oxidizing power, odor components and airborne bacteria in the gas X are further oxidatively decomposed.

  However, since this ozone is a gas having a specific odor, it may be necessary to decompose the ozone particularly in the case of a sterilization system intended for use in a closed space such as a room. In particular, if the discharge power in the discharge body 4 is increased in order to improve the sterilization performance, the generation of ozone increases, and therefore an appropriate ozone treatment means is necessary.

  In view of this, the sterilization system 20 according to the present embodiment provides the ozone decomposition catalyst 21 having a function of decomposing ozone on the downstream side of the discharge body 4 in the gas X flow direction. Thus, by providing the ozone decomposition catalyst 21, ozone generated when the gas X is processed is decomposed, and release of ozone into the closed space can be prevented. Therefore, there is no concern about the release of ozone into the closed space, and the discharge power between the electrode 1 and the electrode 2 can be further increased, so that a higher-performance sterilization system can be realized.

  FIG. 3 shows a configuration diagram of the sterilization system of Example 3. As in the sterilization system 30, the sterilization system 30 may be configured by accumulating a plurality of unit structures of the sterilization system 10 including the electrode 1, the electrode 2, and the ceramic structure 3. Thus, by disposing the sterilization system 30 in parallel by disposing the sterilization system 10 as a unitized unit structure, it becomes easy to manufacture a sterilization system having various areas and shapes. It is possible to realize a sterilization system with abundant variations in installation location and shape.

  FIG. 4 shows a configuration diagram of the sterilization system of Example 4. As shown in FIG. 4, the sterilization system 40 includes a fan 41 on the upstream side in the gas X flow direction of the discharge body 4 to improve the flowability of the gas X to the ceramic structure 3. On the other hand, it is good also as a structure provided with the fan 41 in the downstream of the gas X flow direction of the discharge body 4 like the sterilization system 50 shown in FIG. With such a configuration, the gas in the closed space can be effectively circulated and distributed to the sterilization system 40 and the sterilization system 50. Therefore, the sterilization performance of the sterilization system 40 and the sterilization system 50 is effectively improved.

The block diagram of Example 1 of the bacteria elimination system which concerns on this invention. The block diagram of Example 2 of the bacteria elimination system which concerns on this invention. The block diagram of Example 3 of the bacteria elimination system which concerns on this invention. The block diagram of Example 4 of the bacteria elimination system which concerns on this invention. The block diagram of the modification of Example 4 of the bacteria elimination system which concerns on this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Electrode 2 Electrode 3 Ceramic structure 4 Electric discharge body 5 Power supply 10 Sterilization system 20 Sterilization system 21 Ozone decomposition catalyst 30 Sterilization system 40 Sterilization system 41 Fan 50 Sterilization system

Claims (5)

A discharge body in which a ceramic structure having gas flowability is disposed in a gap between a positive electrode and a negative electrode connected to a power source, and a voltage is applied between the positive electrode and the negative electrode by the power source, A sterilization system characterized in that an electric field is distorted by a ceramic structure to generate plasma, and floating bacteria contained in a gas flowing through the ceramic structure are passed through the plasma for sterilization. The sterilization system according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the positive electrode and the negative electrode is a three-dimensional structure having gas flowability. The sterilization system according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of unit structures formed by laminating the positive electrode, the ceramic structure, and the negative electrode in this order are connected in series or in parallel. The sterilization system according to claim 1, further comprising an ozone decomposition catalyst on the downstream side of the discharge body in the gas flow direction. The sterilization system according to claim 1, further comprising a fan for blowing the gas on an upstream side or a downstream side in the gas flow direction of the discharge body.

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