JP2007098198A - Water treatment apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a water treatment apparatus capable of obtaining ion exchange capacity corresponding to a vessel package quantity of ion exchange resin by preventing a channeling or a wall-flow of vessel influence water from occurring and by efficiently and effectively utilizing the ion exchange capacity of the ion exchange resin in the vessel with respect to the water treatment apparatus having the ion exchange resin packed in the vessel. <P>SOLUTION: Flow path plates 12 for water shortcut-flow prevention are disposed in the vessel 11. In the cylindrical vessel 1 which has an inflow port 11a on one end side thereof and an outflow port 11b on the other side, the flow path plates 12 are disposed so that the cross-sectional area of flow path in the vessel 1 becomes 1/2 to 1/100 of cross-sectional area in the flowing direction of the vessel 1. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a water treatment apparatus in which an ion exchange resin is filled in a container, and more particularly to a water treatment apparatus suitable for treatment of recovered water from a fuel cell.

  Conventionally, a water treatment apparatus using an ion exchange resin generally has a cylindrical container having an inlet for raw water or an outlet for treated water at the upper part and an outlet for treated water or an inlet for raw water at the lower part. In general, an ion exchange resin is filled inside, and water is circulated in the direction from the upper end to the lower end (or from the lower end to the upper end) of the container, thereby removing ions dissolved in water.

  Such a water treatment apparatus is widely used in various fields as a means for supplying high-purity water. In particular, in a fuel cell system, water such as condensed water discharged from a fuel cell is recovered. It is effectively used as a water treatment device for treating and using as a water source for a fuel reformer (steam reformer).

  In the water treatment apparatus in which the container is filled with the ion exchange resin as described above, the water flowing into the container may be unevenly distributed in the ion exchange resin layer (uneven flow). It is easy to flow (wall flow) between walls. As a result, since the entire amount of the ion exchange resin filled in the container is not used effectively, there is a problem that only a smaller amount of ions can be exchanged than the ion exchange capacity expected from the filling amount of the ion exchange resin.

  That is, for example, as shown in FIG. 2 (a), there is a path in which water easily flows in the ion exchange resin layer 2 in the container 1 (part 3 in FIG. 2), thereby causing a bias in the water flow and ion exchange. In the resin layer 2, the ion exchange resin in the portion where water does not flow (portion 4 in FIG. 2) is not used for ion exchange. Further, as shown in FIG. 2B, when the water flows only between the inner wall of the container 1 and the ion exchange resin layer 2 or in the vicinity thereof (wall flow 5), the central portion 6 of the ion exchange resin layer 2 is obtained. This ion exchange resin is no longer used for ion exchange. In such a case, the water flowing into the container 1 is treated with the ion exchange resin in the vicinity of the water flow, and an ion exchange capacity corresponding to the amount of ion exchange resin filled in the container 1 is obtained. It becomes impossible.

  Such a drift or wall flow of water is likely to occur particularly when the amount of water to be treated is small, and in this case, the ion exchange capacity corresponding to the amount of ion exchange resin in the container cannot be used up, which is not economical. Moreover, it is necessary to replace the ion exchange resin while leaving the ion exchange capacity, and there is a drawback in that the replacement frequency of the ion exchange resin is increased. In order to reduce the exchange frequency of the ion exchange resin, it is conceivable to increase the filling amount of the ion exchange resin. However, in this case, the amount of the ion exchange resin increases and the apparatus becomes large, which is not practical. In addition, the maintenance management of the equipment is complicated because the life (time required to replace the ion exchange resin) differs for each equipment (each ion exchange resin filling lot) due to the inflow of inflow water and wall flow. There is also a drawback of becoming.

In response to such a problem, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-151591 discloses that, among the ion exchange resins in the container, the ion exchange resin on the inlet side of the upper part of the container is positioned above the water surface, so Although what was made to contact ion exchange resin directly is proposed, sufficient effect is not acquired. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-361242 proposes an apparatus in which the inside of a container is partitioned by a partition and the flow path is meandered to increase the contact time between water and the ion exchange resin. Because of the large number of parts, it was not necessarily effective in terms of cost.
JP 2003-151591 A JP 2002-361242 A

  The present invention solves the above-described problems, prevents the occurrence of drift and wall flow of the inflow water in the container, uses the ion exchange capacity of the ion exchange resin in the container without waste, and uses the water treatment apparatus for a long time It aims to make possible.

  The water treatment apparatus of the present invention (Claim 1) is a water treatment apparatus having a container having an inlet and an outlet through which water flows, and an ion exchange resin filled in the container. A flow path plate for preventing short circuit flow is provided.

  A water treatment device according to a second aspect is the water treatment device according to the first aspect, wherein the container is cylindrical, the inlet is provided on one end side, and the outlet is provided on the other end side. The flow path plate is provided so that the average value of the cross-sectional area of the path is 1/2 to 1/100 of the cross-sectional area in the flow direction of the container.

  A water treatment apparatus according to a third aspect is the water treatment apparatus according to the second aspect, wherein the flow path plate is provided in the container so that water flows spirally from the inlet to the outlet.

A water treatment apparatus according to a fourth aspect is characterized in that, in any one of the first to third aspects, the water treatment apparatus is operated at a flow rate of SV20 hr ⁻¹ or less.

  In the water treatment apparatus of the present invention, since a flow path plate for preventing a short-circuit flow of water is provided inside the container, uneven flow and wall flow of water flowing into the container are prevented, and water is ionized in the container. It comes to distribute | circulate so that the whole exchange resin layer may be contacted. For this reason, the ion exchange capacity of the ion exchange resin can be effectively used without waste, the ion exchange capacity corresponding to the filling amount of the container can be obtained, and the exchange frequency of the ion exchange resin can be reduced. Moreover, the water treatment apparatus can be reduced in size by efficiently using the entire ion exchange resin. Furthermore, it is possible to suppress variations in the life of each water treatment device (each ion-exchange resin filling lot), and the maintenance of the device is facilitated.

  In particular, the water treatment apparatus of the present invention has a cylindrical container in which an inlet is provided at one end and an outlet is provided at the other end. It is preferable that the flow path plate is provided so as to be ½ to 1/100 of the directional cross-sectional area (Claim 2). In particular, in the container, water spirals from the inlet to the outlet. It is preferable that the flow path plate is provided so as to flow in the flow path (Claim 3).

Such a water treatment device of the present invention has a small amount of treated water (inflow water amount) and is prone to drift and wall flow, specifically, as a water treatment device operated at a flow rate of SV20 hr ⁻¹ or less. It is valid.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of a water treatment apparatus of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a view showing an embodiment of the water treatment apparatus of the present invention, wherein FIG. 1 (a) is an internal perspective view showing a spiral flow path plate provided in the container, and FIG. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the water treatment device (a cross-sectional view taken along line bb in FIG. 1A). In addition, in (a) figure, the container is shown with the dashed-dotted line.

  The water treatment apparatus 10 of FIG. 1 has a container 11 and a flow path plate 12 for preventing a short-circuit flow of water provided in the container 11, and an ion exchange resin (not shown) is interposed between the flow path plates 12. The gap is filled.

  The container 11 is a rectangular tube type container having end face plates 11A and 11B at both ends, and the upper end face plate 11A is provided with an inlet 11a for raw water. On the other hand, the lower end face plate 11B is provided with an outlet 11b for treated water.

  The flow path plate 12 provided in the container 11 includes a spiral plate 12A provided so as to spiral around the container 11 and a partition plate 12B that partitions between the folded portions of the spiral plate 12A. The The partition plate 12B extends through the central portion of the spiral plate 12A in the direction of the spiral axis. Thereby, the water in the container 11 is configured to flow in the container 11 spirally along the spiral plate 12A.

  Therefore, the raw water that has flowed into the container 11 from the inlet 11a at the top of the container 11 flows down spirally in the container 11 along the spiral plate 12A, and during this time, it uniformly contacts with an ion exchange resin (not shown). Is discharged from the outlet 11b at the bottom of the container 11.

  The flow path plate in the container is not limited to the illustrated spiral flow path plate as long as it is provided so that the water flowing into the container can sufficiently come into contact with the entire ion exchange resin in the container. However, such a spiral flow path plate is preferable because it can form a flow path advantageous for effective use of the ion exchange resin with a small number of parts.

  There is no particular limitation on the size of the flow path formed in the container by such a flow path, so that an excessively large differential pressure does not occur between the inlet and the outlet of the container, and the container Although the inflow water is designed to be sufficiently in contact with the ion exchange resin inside, the average value of the flow path cross-sectional area B inside the container is the cross-sectional area in the direction parallel to the end face plates 11A and 11B of the rectangular tube container 11 It is preferably formed so as to be 1/2 to 1/100, particularly 1/4 to 1/20, of A (FIG. 3A). If the cross-sectional area in the flow direction of the container is larger than this range, the effect obtained by providing the flow path plate in the container according to the present invention cannot be sufficiently obtained, and conversely, if it is small, the differential pressure becomes too large. And stable processing becomes difficult.

  Here, the channel cross-sectional area B inside the container is the cross-sectional area of the cross section perpendicular to the water flow direction in the channel formed by the channel plate inside the container, as shown in FIG. Yes, for example, in the case of the water treatment apparatus of FIG. 1, this corresponds to the cross-sectional area of the cross section orthogonal to the water flow direction of the portion surrounded by the upper and lower spiral plates 12A, 12A, the partition plate 12B, and the inner wall of the container 11. .

Since this cross-sectional area gradually decreases at the inlet 11a and the inlet 11b, the average value is used in the present invention.
The average value of the channel cross-sectional area B is
It is a value calculated by channel volume / channel length, where the channel volume is approximately equal to the container volume, and the channel length is the length connecting the center lines of the channels.

  For the constituent materials of the container and the flow path plate (spiral plate, partition plate), particularly in applications such as a fuel cell system, high purity is required as the quality of the treated water. Various materials can be applied in consideration of availability, processability, and cost. In some cases, heat-resistant engineering plastics are preferable because they may be used under high temperature conditions, but the invention is not limited thereto.

  The channel plate may be provided integrally with the container, or may be provided by being inserted into the container as a separate member. However, when the flow path plate is provided separately from the container, if the differential pressure in the flow path in the container is large, water flows preferentially between the flow path and the inner wall of the container (shortcut). The contact efficiency between water and the ion exchange resin may deteriorate. For this reason, when these are not integrated, it is necessary to devise a method that does not cause a shortcut, such as increasing the flow path cross-sectional area inside the container to reduce the differential pressure.

  The water treatment apparatus shown in FIG. 1 is an example of an embodiment of the water treatment apparatus of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to the illustrated one as long as the gist thereof is not exceeded.

  For example, FIG. 1 shows a water treatment apparatus in which a rectangular tube-shaped container is filled with an ion exchange resin, but the container shape may be a cylindrical shape.

  In addition, in FIG. 1, the raw water inlet is provided in the upper part of the container and the outlet of the treated water is provided in the lower part of the container. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and the outlet of the treated water is provided in the upper part of the container. A raw water inlet may be provided at the bottom. However, when a mixed ion exchange resin of a cation exchange resin and an anion exchange resin is used as the ion exchange resin to be filled in the container, an inlet for raw water is provided at the upper part of the container, and an outlet for treated water is provided at the lower part of the container. It is common to use counter-current water.

  Further, the inlet and the outlet may be located at any position on the upper end surface and the lower end surface of the container, and may be provided at the upper part and the lower part of the side surface of the container depending on the case.

Such water treatment apparatus of the present invention, the process water (inflow water amount) is small, it occurs drift and wall flow tends water treatment apparatus, for example, SV20hr ^-1 or less, specifically at a flow rate of SV1～12hr ^-1 It is effective as a water treatment device to be operated.

  As such an application, there is a water treatment apparatus for recovering and treating the condensed water discharged from the fuel cell and reusing it in the fuel reformer, but what is the use of the water treatment apparatus of the present invention? The present invention is not limited to the fuel cell system, and can be applied to various uses such as a pure water production process with a small flow rate.

  4 (a) and 4 (b) are system diagrams showing an embodiment in which the water treatment apparatus of the present invention is applied to the treatment of condensed water in a fuel cell. In FIG. 4 (a), the fuel cell condensed water is shown. The water is taken out by the pump P through the water storage tank 21 and, if necessary, external makeup water such as tap water is replenished by adjusting the opening of the valve V, and these are introduced into the water treatment apparatus 10 of the present invention for treatment. Then, treated water (pure water) is supplied to the fuel cell through the treated water tank 22. The treatment water tank 22 has a level switch LS, and information on the amount of water from the level switch LS is input to the control unit 23. Based on this water amount information, the operation control signal of the pump P and the valve V are sent from the control unit 23. Is configured so that a required amount of water is treated by the water treatment device 10.

  (B) The figure is an example in which the water treatment device 10 of the present invention is used as a pretreatment device of the electrodeionization device 24, and the fuel cell condensate is taken out by the pump P through the water storage tank 21 and the water treatment of the present invention. Introduced into the apparatus 10 for treatment, the treated water of the water treatment apparatus 10 is further treated by the electrodeionization device 24, and the treated water (pure water) of the electrodeionization device 24 is supplied to the fuel cell through the treatment water tank 22. To do. The treatment water tank 22 has a level switch LS, and information on the amount of water from the level switch LS is input to the control unit 23. Based on this water amount information, an operation control signal for the pump P is output from the control unit 23. The required amount of water is treated by the water treatment device 10 and the electrodeionization device 24. Also in the case of FIG. (B), external makeup water such as tap water may be replenished and treated together with the fuel cell condensate as in FIG.

  In any case, according to the water treatment device of the present invention, the water that has flowed into the container is guided to the flow path plate in the container and contacts the entire ion exchange resin layer in the container. Since the inside is circulated, the ion exchange capacity of the ion exchange resin can be effectively used without waste, the ion exchange capacity corresponding to the filling amount of the container can be obtained, and the exchange frequency of the ion exchange resin can be reduced. Moreover, size reduction of a water treatment apparatus can be achieved by using ion-exchange resin efficiently. Furthermore, it is possible to suppress variations in the life of each water treatment device (each ion-exchange resin filling lot), and the maintenance of the device is facilitated.

It is a figure which shows embodiment of the water treatment apparatus of this invention, Comprising: (a) A figure is an internal see-through | perspective perspective view which shows the helical flow-path board provided in the container, (b) A figure is water treatment It is sectional drawing (sectional drawing which follows the bb line of (a) figure) of an apparatus. (A) A figure is explanatory drawing which shows the drift of the container inflow water in the conventional water treatment apparatus, (b) A figure is explanatory drawing which shows the wall flow of the container inflow water in the conventional water treatment apparatus. (A) The figure is explanatory drawing which shows the flow direction cross-sectional area A of the container in the water treatment apparatus of this invention, (b) Figure is explanatory drawing which shows the flow-path cross-sectional area a inside the container in the water treatment apparatus of this invention. It is. It is a systematic diagram which shows the example which applied the water treatment apparatus of this invention to the treatment process of the condensed water discharged | emitted from a fuel cell.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Water treatment apparatus 11 Container 12 Flow path plate 12A Spiral plate 12B Partition plate 21 Water tank 22 Treated water tank 23 Control part 24 Electrodeionization apparatus

Claims (4)

In a water treatment apparatus having a container having an inlet and an outlet through which water flows, and an ion exchange resin filled in the container,
A water treatment apparatus, wherein a flow path plate for preventing a short circuit flow of water is provided inside the container. In claim 1, the container is cylindrical, the inlet is provided on one end side, the outlet is provided on the other end side,
The water treatment apparatus, wherein the flow path plate is provided so that an average value of a flow path cross-sectional area inside the container is 1/2 to 1/100 of a cross-sectional area in the flow direction of the container.   3. The water treatment apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the flow path plate is provided so that water flows spirally from the inflow port toward the outflow port in the container. The water treatment apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the water treatment apparatus is operated at a flow rate of SV20hr ^-1 or less.

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