JP2007209900A - Apparatus and method for concentrating and separating component - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an apparatus and a method for concentrating an intended component (oxygen, for example) in a raw material gas fluid (air, for example) comprising a plurality of components using a reduced amount of an adsorbent. <P>SOLUTION: In case of concentrating oxygen in raw material air, oxygen is first concentrated by introducing and causing raw material air pressurized in a concentration chamber 202 to contact an adsorbent 201 so that nitrogen is adsorbed by the adsorbent 201. Subsequently, the adsorbent 201 is transferred from the concentration chamber 202 to a regeneration chamber 203 of a reduced pressure by a transfer means 208 wherein the adsorbent 201 is caused to desorb adsorbed nitrogen and is regenerated. Subsequently, the regenerated adsorbent 201 is transferred to the concentration chamber 202 and is caused to adsorb nitrogen remaining in the gas phase thereof. Consequently, oxygen can be concentrated using a reduced amount of the adsorbent. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a gas concentration / concentration separation apparatus for concentrating or separating at least one gas from a gas fluid containing a plurality of gases and a control method thereof, and more particularly to a gas concentration apparatus for concentrating oxygen from air and a control method thereof.

  The concentration / separation technique for concentrating or separating at least one component from a gas fluid containing a plurality of gas components may be concentrated or purified and separated, for example, oxygen from air. It is widely used in various industrial fields, such as concentration of water or removal of various harmful components contained in factory exhaust gas, concentration and separation of target components from various gas fluids, and the method is also by adsorption separation, separation There are various types such as those using a film and those using a magnetic field or an electric field.

  For example, as an example of the concentration and separation of a single component gas from a gas fluid, a high-concentration oxygen can be used to inhale the amount of oxygen necessary for breathing in patients with respiratory diseases such as chronic bronchitis. And an oxygen concentrator for supplying water. This oxygen concentrator concentrates oxygen from air using zeolite or the like that can preferentially adsorb nitrogen contained in the air as an adsorbent. In the concentration and separation of oxygen gas from the atmosphere with such an adsorbent, the raw material air is supplied at a high pressure from the first end of a cylindrical adsorption chamber filled with an adsorbent, called an adsorption cylinder, Because it is possible to obtain high-concentration oxygen gas inexpensively and efficiently by taking out the remaining high-concentration oxygen gas as a product from the second end of the adsorption cylinder while adsorbing mainly nitrogen gas to the adsorbent Widely used in industrial applications.

  However, since the adsorbent that has been in an equilibrium state due to gas adsorption (in the above example, nitrogen gas, etc.) does not perform any further adsorption reaction, the adsorbed component (nitrogen gas, etc.) is recovered by a process called regeneration. ) Must be desorbed and re-adsorbable.

  As a means for this regeneration, a large amount of adsorbent is adsorbed in an environment such as high pressure, high concentration, or low temperature, and conversely, the amount adsorbed in an environment such as low pressure, low concentration, or high temperature. Since it has a small characteristic, the characteristic of this adsorbent is used. For example, lower the pressure of the gas fluid than at the time of adsorption, or wash the adsorbent that has adsorbed gas with a gas fluid containing the same gas component at a concentration lower than the concentration of the adsorbed gas component, or temperature For example, a method in which a part of the component adsorbed from the adsorbent is desorbed by raising the value is used.

  As a method for repeating gas adsorption to the adsorbent and regeneration of the adsorbent (desorption of adsorbed gas from the adsorbent) in this way, a method called pressure swing adsorption (PSA) is often used (for example, Patent Document 1). The oxygen concentration from the air by the PSA method is a method of obtaining a product gas having a high oxygen concentration by applying a difference in the amount of adsorption of nitrogen and oxygen due to pressure during gas adsorption. In other words, under high pressure conditions where the pressure of air is high, this is a method utilizing the selective or preferential adsorption of nitrogen gas to the adsorbent over oxygen gas.

  The outline of the gas adsorption and adsorbent regeneration method in the oxygen concentrator is as follows. First, in the first process, pressurized air, which is a raw material pressurized by the pressurizing means, is supplied from the first end of the adsorption cylinder, and is easily adsorbed by the adsorbent in the pressurized air in the adsorption cylinder. Nitrogen is selectively or preferentially adsorbed. As a result, oxygen remains without being adsorbed in the gas phase, and the gas containing the remaining high-concentration oxygen is taken out from the second end of the adsorption cylinder as a product gas.

  Next, in the second process, the nitrogen adsorbed by the adsorbent in the first process is desorbed from the adsorbent by lowering the pressure in the adsorption cylinder by the decompression means. Then, the desorbed gas containing high-concentration nitrogen gas is exhausted from the first end of the adsorption cylinder.

  By repeating the first process and the second process alternately at intervals of several seconds to several minutes, a product gas having a high oxygen concentration is taken out at a flow rate of, for example, about 0.01 liter / minute to 1000 liter / minute. be able to. In particular, in the case of a medical oxygen concentrator, a product gas containing high-concentration oxygen gas can be taken out and supplied to a patient who needs it at a flow rate of about 0.1 liter / minute to 10 liter / minute. .

  Here, a compressor is generally used as a pressurizing means for supplying pressurized air to the oxygen concentrator. Moreover, as a decompression means for exhausting nitrogen gas from the oxygen concentrator, for example, a vacuum pump is used. The switching between the first and second processes is generally performed by opening and closing a plurality of valves provided in the piping of the oxygen concentrator. This switching is automatically performed according to, for example, a preset time for each process preset in the oxygen concentrator, a simulation condition based on a physical quantity such as pressure at a predetermined observation point, and the like.

  As an adsorbent that selectively adsorbs a desired gas component in a gas fluid used in the PSA method, for example, zeolite, activated carbon, activated alumina, silica gel, or the like is used. These adsorbents are selectively used according to the target gas component to be separated or concentrated from the gas fluid. For example, if the gas fluid is air and you want to concentrate or separate oxygen in the air, Na-A type, Ca-A type, Na-X type, Ca-X that preferentially or selectively adsorb nitrogen. Type or synthetic zeolite such as Li-X type is preferably used. Further, the adsorbent need not be limited to a single type, and may be used in combination with adsorbents having different characteristics.

  An example of the oxygen concentrator is shown in FIG. 9 (for example, Patent Document 2). In this oxygen concentrator, the air taken into the apparatus is first removed of dust by the dust filter 101 and the intake filter 102 and compressed by the compressor 105 via the silencer 103, and then the cooling fan 104, heat exchange. Cooled by the vessel 106. Next, the cooled air is sent to an adsorption cylinder 108 filled with an adsorbent via a switching valve 107 that switches a pipe flow path. In the adsorption cylinder 108, a gas containing oxygen concentrated to a high concentration obtained by gas separation (preferential adsorption of nitrogen to the adsorbent) is temporarily sent to the product tank 111. Thereafter, the pressure and the gas flow rate are controlled via the pressure regulator 112 and the flow rate regulator 115 (the gas flow rate is detected by the flow rate sensor 113 and the oxygen concentration is detected by the oxygen concentration sensor 114), and the humidifier 116 is passed. After being appropriately humidified, it is configured to be supplied to the patient via a conduit such as a flexible extension tube 117 and a cannula 118. 109 is a pressure equalizing valve, 110 is a check valve, 120 is a pressure sensor, and 119 is an exhaust silencer for reducing exhaust noise caused by nitrogen and moisture.

  In the case of the oxygen concentrating apparatus constituted by the two adsorption cylinders 108 shown in FIG. 9, one switching cylinder is used for oxygen concentration, and the other adsorption cylinder uses a switching valve to regenerate the adsorbent. The two suction cylinders 108 are switched and used by 107. For example, pressurized air is introduced into one of the adsorption cylinders 108 and nitrogen in the air is adsorbed by an adsorbent, and used to take out a gas containing high concentration oxygen remaining without being adsorbed as a product gas (concentration). Step) At this time, in the other adsorption cylinder 108, the inside of the adsorption cylinder 108 is depressurized to desorb nitrogen from the adsorbent that has adsorbed nitrogen, and regenerated so that the adsorbent can adsorb nitrogen again (regeneration process). . At this time, by continuously performing switching to the other adsorption cylinder 108 using the switching valve 107 before adsorption breakthrough of the adsorbent occurs in the adsorption cylinder 108 used in the concentration step, it is continuously concentrated to a high concentration. The adsorbent can be recycled while supplying the supplied oxygen to the patient.

As another example of a method for repeating such adsorption and regeneration, there is an apparatus called a desiccant rotor that uses a hygroscopic agent (desiccant) for air conditioning such as dehumidification of air (Patent Document 3). In the desiccant rotor, the temperature difference is used instead of the pressure difference as in the pressure swing adsorption method (PSA) described above for the adsorption of the water vapor contained in the air and the regeneration of the moisture absorbent that has absorbed the water vapor. . That is, in the desiccant rotor, for example, two areas of a dehumidifying area and a regeneration area are formed in the desiccant rotor, and the rotor is rotated to alternately move the hygroscopic agent to the two areas. The regeneration of the moisture absorbent that absorbed moisture is continuously performed. That is, in this apparatus, for example, a reaction chamber that absorbs moisture by rotating water vapor and regenerates the absorbed moisture absorbent is used, and a moisture absorbent (desiccant) that adsorbs moisture such as silica gel is disposed on the entire surface of the disk. Then, moisture is removed from the introduced air by moving the moisture absorbent to the dehumidifying area maintained at a low temperature on the circumference, and then the moisture absorbent is moved to the regeneration area to obtain a high temperature (for example, 100 The moisture absorbent is regenerated by desorbing moisture from the moisture absorbent by bringing the moisture absorbent into contact with a gas having a low humidity of ˜150 ° C. In this way, moisture absorption in the air by the hygroscopic agent and moisture regeneration in the air can be continuously performed, so that dehumidification of the water vapor in the air can be continuously performed.
Japanese Patent Application No. 2002-319231 Japanese Patent Application No. 2003-142151 Japanese Patent Application No. 2004-177074

  However, in the oxygen concentrator using the pressure swing adsorption method described above, the target is to adsorb enough nitrogen to the adsorbent while the air moves from the bottom of the adsorption chamber filled with the adsorbent to the top of the cylinder. Since it was necessary to obtain a high concentration of oxygen, the adsorption chamber had to be filled with a large amount of adsorbent.

  On the other hand, when water vapor in the air is dehumidified using a desiccant rotor, the moisture absorbent that has absorbed moisture can be used while being regenerated, so the amount of moisture absorbent used can be reduced. However, in the desiccant rotor, it is necessary to lower the temperature of the hygroscopic agent in the dehumidifying area where the moisture in the air is absorbed using the hygroscopic agent, whereas in the regeneration area where the hygroscopic agent containing moisture is regenerated, the hygroscopic agent is required. The desiccant rotor requires a heating and cooling mechanism because the temperature of the desiccant rotor needs to be high (for example, 100 to 150 ° C.), and the desiccant rotor is used to reduce heat loss between the dehumidifying area and the regeneration area. A mechanism to increase the thermal efficiency of the entire rotor was required. Therefore, there has been a problem that the apparatus becomes complicated.

  The present invention has been made starting from solving the above-described problems of the prior art, and the purpose of the present invention is to increase the concentration of a desired component from a raw material gas fluid containing a plurality of components. To provide a component concentration separation apparatus and a component concentration separation method that do not use an adsorbent and do not use a temperature difference for regeneration of the adsorbent.

  In order to achieve the above object, a component concentration / separation apparatus according to the present invention has the following configuration. That is, a component concentration separation device that concentrates the first component from a source gas fluid containing at least a first component and a second component, wherein the source gas fluid is brought into contact with an adsorbent that adsorbs the second component. A concentration chamber for adsorbing the second component to the adsorbent and concentrating the first component; and desorbing the second component from the adsorbent adsorbing the second component to regenerate the adsorbent. A regeneration chamber maintained at a pressure lower than the pressure in the concentration chamber, and an adsorbent that adsorbs the second component at a predetermined timing is transferred from the concentration chamber to the regeneration chamber, and the regenerated adsorbent Transporting means for transporting the liquid from the regeneration chamber to the concentration chamber.

  Here, for example, a transfer cycle when the adsorbent by the transfer means is transferred from the concentration chamber to the regeneration chamber and the regenerated adsorbent is transferred from the regeneration chamber to the concentration chamber is determined in advance. It is preferable to carry out it repeatedly with a different period.

  Here, for example, it is preferable that the introduction of the raw material gas fluid into the concentration chamber and the extraction of the gas containing the concentrated first component from the concentration chamber are performed once in a plurality of cycles.

Here, for example, the transfer means is a substantially cylindrical rotating member, the adsorbent is disposed on at least a part of the surface of the rotating member, and the concentrating chamber includes the rotating member and the rotating member. The regeneration chamber is surrounded by the rotating member and a second outer wall member that forms a sealed space between the rotating member and the first outer wall member that forms a sealed space therebetween. It is preferable that the rotating member is formed of a space and rotates between the concentrating chamber and the regeneration chamber about the substantially cylindrical shaft.
The adsorbent is disposed at two locations on the surface of the rotating member, and when one of the two locations is transferred to the concentration chamber by the rotational movement of the rotating member, the other of the two locations is It is preferable to arrange in the regeneration chamber.

  Here, for example, the surface of the rotating member is preferably divided into four or more sections with respect to the rotation direction, and an adsorbent is preferably disposed in each section.

  Here, for example, when at least one of the four or more compartments is transferred to the concentration chamber by the rotational movement of the rotating member, at least one of the four or more compartments becomes the regeneration chamber. It is preferable to arrange | position so that it may be arrange | positioned.

Here, for example, the transfer means is a piston member, the adsorbent is disposed on at least a part of the surface of the piston member, and the concentration chamber is sealed between the piston member and the piston member. A space surrounded by a first outer wall member that forms a space, and the regeneration chamber is a space surrounded by a second outer wall member that forms a sealed space between the piston member and the piston member; The piston member preferably reciprocates between the concentration chamber and the regeneration chamber.
Here, for example, the piston member has a substantially cylindrical shape, and the adsorbent disposed on at least a part of the surface of the piston member along the longitudinal direction of the substantially cylindrical shape includes the concentration chamber and the regeneration chamber. It is preferable to reciprocate between the two.

  Here, for example, it is preferable that the source gas fluid is pressurized to a pressure higher than atmospheric pressure and introduced into the concentration chamber, and the pressure in the regeneration chamber is maintained below atmospheric pressure.

  Here, for example, it is preferable that the first gas is oxygen, the second gas is nitrogen, and the component concentration separator is an oxygen concentrator that concentrates oxygen from air.

  Moreover, the component concentration separation method which concerns on this invention has the following structures. That is, a component concentration separation method for concentrating the first component from a raw material gas fluid containing at least a first component and a second component, wherein the raw material is disposed in a concentration chamber in which an adsorbent that adsorbs the second component is disposed. Introducing a gas fluid and bringing the raw material gas fluid into contact with the adsorbent to adsorb the second component onto the adsorbent and concentrating the first component; and the second component at a predetermined timing A step of transferring the adsorbent adsorbing the adsorbent from the concentration chamber to the regeneration chamber, and the second component adsorbed from the transferred adsorbent in a regeneration chamber maintained at a pressure lower than the pressure of the concentration chamber. And regenerating the adsorbent, and transferring the regenerated adsorbent from the regeneration chamber to the concentration chamber at a predetermined timing.

  Here, for example, the transfer period when the adsorbent in the transfer step is transferred from the concentration chamber to the regeneration chamber and the regenerated adsorbent is transferred from the regeneration chamber to the concentration chamber is determined in advance. It is preferable to be repeated at a predetermined cycle.

  Here, for example, it is preferable that the introduction of the raw material gas fluid into the concentration chamber and the extraction of the gas containing the concentrated first component from the concentration chamber are performed once in a plurality of cycles.

  Here, for example, it is preferable that the source gas fluid, for example, air, is pressurized to a pressure higher than atmospheric pressure and introduced into the concentration chamber, and the pressure in the regeneration chamber is maintained below atmospheric pressure.

  Here, for example, it is preferable that the first gas is oxygen, the second gas is nitrogen, and the component concentration separation method is an oxygen concentration method in which oxygen is concentrated from air.

  According to the present invention, when a desired component is concentrated from a raw material gas fluid containing a plurality of components, the amount of adsorbent used can be reduced because the adsorbent is regenerated, and the adsorbent is regenerated. Therefore, it is possible to provide a component concentration separation device and a component concentration separation that do not use a temperature difference.

<First Embodiment>
DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, a component concentration / separation apparatus according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following description, as an example of concentrating and separating a target gas component from a gas fluid containing a plurality of gas components, an oxygen concentrator that concentrates and uses oxygen contained in air at a high concentration is taken as an example. Although described, the present invention is not limited to this, and the types of gas fluid and gas components to be concentrated and separated can be changed as appropriate. For example, when a toxic gas component is concentrated and separated from an industrial exhaust gas containing a toxic gas component and a harmless gas component using an adsorbent, or a useful component is removed from a mixed gas containing a useful component and an unnecessary gas component. For example, it may be possible to concentrate and separate using. Moreover, the structure shown below is an example, and if the technical idea of this invention is satisfied, the structure and arrangement | positioning can be changed timely.

  In the following description, first, the features of the present invention common to the oxygen concentrator of each embodiment will be described in comparison with a conventional oxygen concentrator.

[Conventional equipment]
In a conventional oxygen concentrator, (1) raw air (for example, about several atmospheres) pressurized to a pressure higher than atmospheric pressure by a compressor is introduced into an adsorption chamber filled with an adsorbent, and nitrogen is adsorbed by the adsorbent. Thereafter, oxygen remaining after being concentrated to a high concentration without being adsorbed is taken out and used (concentration step). At this time, the adsorbing chamber has sufficient adsorbent in order to adsorb nitrogen in the air to the adsorbent to obtain the desired concentration of oxygen while the introduced raw material air moves from the cylinder bottom to the top of the cylinder. Need to be filled. (2) However, since the adsorbent that has adsorbed nitrogen cannot be used continuously unless it is regenerated, once the predetermined amount of oxygen has been extracted, the oxygen extraction is temporarily suspended and the adsorption chamber is depressurized with a vacuum pump or the like. The adsorbent is regenerated by desorbing nitrogen from the adsorbent that has adsorbed nitrogen and exhausting it into the atmosphere (regeneration step). During the period of regenerating the adsorbent, oxygen concentrated using the adsorbent cannot be taken out. Therefore, in order to continuously extract the concentrated oxygen, the two adsorption cylinders are controlled so that one is used in the concentration step and the other is used in the regeneration step. As a result, concentrated oxygen can be alternately taken out from the two adsorption cylinders, but it was necessary to fill the adsorption chamber with a sufficient adsorbent in order to obtain a desired concentration of oxygen in one concentration step. .

[Features of the present invention]
On the other hand, in the oxygen concentrator of the present invention, the adsorbent is transferred between the concentration chamber and the regeneration chamber at a predetermined timing (for example, the adsorbent that has adsorbed nitrogen is transferred from the concentration chamber to the regeneration chamber, and the regenerated adsorption is performed. The transfer of the agent from the regeneration chamber to the concentrating chamber is performed in a predetermined cycle), and the introduction of source air into the concentrating chamber and the removal of concentrated oxygen from the concentrating chamber are repeated. Used to obtain the desired concentration of oxygen by performing adsorption operation multiple times while regenerating the adsorbent by performing it once every cycle (for example, once every two cycles, once every three cycles, etc.) It is characterized in that the amount of adsorbent to be used is smaller than that of a conventional oxygen concentrator. The cycle of introducing the raw air and extracting the concentrated oxygen from the concentration chamber can be changed as appropriate depending on the amount of adsorbent used and the oxygen concentration to be extracted. For example, when taking out high concentration oxygen or reducing the amount of adsorbent used, the adsorbent may be regenerated and used many times, so once every three cycles rather than once every two cycles. What is necessary is just to change the taking-out cycle such as once every four cycles.

  That is, in the oxygen concentrator of the present invention, (1) in the first concentration step, raw material air (for example, several atmospheres) pressurized to a pressure higher than atmospheric pressure is introduced into the concentration chamber in which the adsorbent is disposed. Nitrogen is preferentially adsorbed on the adsorbent, but the adsorbent necessary and sufficient to obtain a desired oxygen concentration in one concentration operation is not arranged in the concentration chamber. (2) Therefore, in the next regeneration step, the adsorbent that has adsorbed nitrogen is moved from the concentration chamber to the regeneration chamber, and the pressure in the regeneration chamber is lower than the pressure in the concentration chamber (for example, the regeneration chamber is at atmospheric pressure by a vacuum pump or the like). The pressure is reduced to less than or equal to atmospheric pressure) to desorb the nitrogen from the adsorbent that has adsorbed nitrogen to regenerate the adsorbent. (3) Thereafter, in the next second concentration step, the regenerated adsorbent is moved again from the regenerating chamber to the concentrating chamber, and the nitrogen remaining in the concentrating chamber is adsorbed to the regenerated adsorbent to obtain a desired concentration. Concentrate oxygen until Then, the gas containing oxygen concentrated to the desired concentration is taken out from the concentration chamber as a product gas. (4) In the second concentration step, if a gas containing a desired concentration of oxygen cannot be obtained, the regeneration step and the second concentration step described above are alternately repeated to reduce the oxygen in the concentration chamber to the desired concentration. After concentration, remove from the concentration chamber. (5) Then, by repeatedly performing the above-described steps (1) to (3) or (1) to (4), the oxygen which has been concentrated by using the adsorbent once or several times is regenerated. It can be taken out continuously. Thus, the oxygen concentrator of the present invention does not use two adsorption cylinders as in the prior art, and each adsorption cylinder also has a large amount of adsorbent to concentrate to a desired concentration of oxygen by one adsorption. There is no need to fill. Therefore, the amount of adsorbent can be reduced. Also, since the regeneration of the adsorbent uses the pressure difference between the concentration chamber and the regeneration chamber, the problem of heat loss when using the temperature difference for the regeneration of the adsorbent and the complex to solve it There is no need to add a mechanism.

  As described above, the oxygen concentrator of the present invention is characterized in that fewer adsorbents are used while being regenerated than before. Therefore, in the following description, the overall configuration of the oxygen concentrator will be described first, and then the structure of the oxygen concentrator and a method for concentrating high concentration oxygen from air using the oxygen concentrator will be described.

[Overall configuration of oxygen concentrator: Fig. 1]
The overall configuration of the oxygen concentrator of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

  In this oxygen concentrator, first, air as a raw material gas is debris removed by a dust filter 101 and an intake filter / silence buffer 102, and compressed by a compressor 105 to a desired pressure (for example, 1.5 to several atmospheres). After being pressurized, it is cooled by the cooling fan 104 and the heat exchanger 106. Next, the pressurized air is introduced into the concentration chamber 202 in which the adsorbent 201 of the oxygen concentrating unit 200 is disposed. In the concentrating chamber 202, when pressurized air is introduced, preferential adsorption of nitrogen on the adsorbent 201 proceeds (first concentrating step). Subsequently, the adsorbent 201 that has adsorbed nitrogen is transferred from the concentrating chamber 202 to the regeneration chamber 203 by a rotating body 208 which is a transfer means in which the adsorbent 201 is arranged on a part of the surface thereof, and the concentrating chamber 202 by a vacuum pump 210 or the like. In the regeneration chamber 203 maintained at a lower pressure (below atmospheric pressure or atmospheric pressure), nitrogen adsorbed on the adsorbent 201 is desorbed and discharged from the regeneration chamber 203 to regenerate the adsorbent (regeneration process). . Subsequently, the regenerated adsorbent 201 is transferred again from the regenerating chamber 203 to the concentrating chamber 202 by the rotator 208, and adsorption of nitrogen remaining in the pressurized air is performed using the regenerated adsorbent (second). Concentration step). As a result, a gas containing oxygen concentrated to a desired concentration is taken out from the concentration chamber 202 and temporarily stored in the product tank 111. If a gas containing a desired concentration of oxygen cannot be obtained in the operation of the second concentration step, the regeneration step and the second concentration step described above are alternately repeated to concentrate the oxygen in the concentration chamber to the desired concentration. And then remove from the concentration chamber. The gas containing high-concentration oxygen stored in the product tank 111 is then controlled to have a desired pressure and gas flow rate by using the pressure regulator 112 and the flow rate regulator 115, and further, if necessary. After being appropriately humidified via the humidifier 116, it is supplied to the patient via a conduit such as the flexible extension tube 117 and the cannula 118. The adsorbent used in this oxygen concentrator is Na-A type, Ca-A type, Na-X type, Ca-X type, or Li-type in order to preferentially or selectively adsorb nitrogen. Synthetic zeolites such as type X are used alone or in combination.

[Structure of oxygen concentrator: FIG. 2A]
Next, the structure of the oxygen concentrator 200 used in the oxygen concentrator of this embodiment and a method for producing high-concentration oxygen using the oxygen concentrator 200 will be described in detail with reference to FIG. explain.

  In the oxygen concentrating unit 200, the adsorption of nitrogen to the adsorbent 201 is performed while the adsorbent 201 disposed on a part of the surface of the rotatable rotating body 208 is moved between the concentrating chamber 202 and the regeneration chamber 203. And desorption of adsorbed nitrogen from the adsorbent 201 can be performed alternately. That is, in the concentrating chamber 202, nitrogen is preferentially adsorbed to the adsorbent 201 from the pressurized raw material air (for example, 1.5 to several atmospheres) (first concentrating step), and the regeneration chamber 203 is set to the vacuum pump 105 or the like. By maintaining the pressure lower than the concentration chamber 202 (below atmospheric pressure or atmospheric pressure), the adsorbent 201 can be regenerated by desorbing nitrogen adsorbed on the adsorbent 201 (regeneration step). Therefore, the regenerated adsorbent 201 is moved again from the regenerating chamber 203 to the concentrating chamber 202 and adsorbs nitrogen remaining in the raw material air to the adsorbent 201 (second concentrating step), so that a small amount of adsorbent 201 is absorbed. Oxygen can be concentrated and extracted while regenerating.

  As shown in FIG. 2A, the oxygen concentrating unit 200 of this embodiment includes a rotating body 208, a concentrating chamber 202, a regeneration chamber 203, and the like. The adsorbent 201 is embedded in the rotator 208, and the adsorbent 201 is installed such that the surface of the adsorbent 201 forms part of the outer surface of the rotator 208. The concentrating chamber 202 is a space surrounded by the rotating member 208 and an outer wall member 204 that forms a sealed space between the rotating member 208, and an on-off valve for introducing pressurized air into the concentrating chamber 202. S1, an on-off valve S2 for transferring a gas containing high-concentration oxygen to the product tank 111 is disposed. On the other hand, the regeneration chamber 203 is a space surrounded by the rotating member 208 and the outer wall member 205 that forms a sealed space between the rotating member 208, and the regeneration chamber 203 exhausts nitrogen desorbed from the adsorbent 201. An on-off valve S3 is arranged, and a vacuum pump 210 for reducing the pressure in the regeneration chamber 203 is connected to the on-off valve S3. Instead of connecting the on-off valve S3 to the vacuum pump 210, the on-off valve S3 may be discharged into the atmosphere. As shown in the drawing, the outer wall member 204 and the outer wall member 205 have a predetermined inner diameter and are respectively formed on outer walls 206a and 206b, which are hollow cylindrical outer wall members that form a hollow cylindrical sealed space with the rotating member 208, respectively. Connected.

  Although not shown in the figure, this oxygen concentrator controls the motor control unit for rotating the rotator 208 and each part of the device (motor control unit, valves, cooling fan, various sensors, etc.). The control unit performs various controls described below using a RAM (not shown) as a work area based on a control program stored in a ROM (not shown).

[Method for Concentrating High Concentration Oxygen from Air: FIGS. 2A to 2D]
2A to 2D show changes in the positional relationship of the adsorbent 201 disposed on the concentration chamber 202, the regeneration chamber 203, and the rotator 208 and the on-off valve in each of the first concentration step, the regeneration step, and the second concentration step. It is a figure explaining the opening-and-closing state of S1-S3. Here, (1) the first concentration step is a step in which pressurized air is introduced into the concentration chamber 202 of the oxygen concentration unit 200 and nitrogen is adsorbed and removed by the adsorbent 201. (2) The regeneration step Is a step of moving the adsorbent 201 that has adsorbed nitrogen to the regeneration chamber 203 at a low pressure for regeneration, and (3) the second concentration step is to move the regenerated adsorbent 201 to the concentration chamber 202 again. In this process, the remaining nitrogen is adsorbed and removed by the adsorbent 201 to extract high-concentration oxygen as a product gas. (4) In the second concentration step, if a gas containing a desired concentration of oxygen cannot be obtained, the regeneration step and the second concentration step described above are alternately repeated to reduce the oxygen in the concentration chamber to the desired concentration. After concentration, remove from the concentration chamber. At this time, the adsorbent is transferred between the concentration chamber and the regeneration chamber at a predetermined timing by the rotating body 208 (for example, the adsorbent that has adsorbed nitrogen is transferred from the concentration chamber to the regeneration chamber, and the regenerated adsorbent is regenerated. The transfer cycle when transferring from the chamber to the concentrating chamber is repeated at a predetermined cycle), and the introduction of the source air into the concentrating chamber and the extraction of the concentrated oxygen from the concentrating chamber are performed multiple times. It is performed once every cycle (for example, once every two cycles, once every three cycles, etc.). The cycle of introducing the raw air and extracting the concentrated oxygen from the concentration chamber can be changed as appropriate depending on the amount of adsorbent used and the oxygen concentration to be extracted. For example, when taking out high concentration oxygen or reducing the amount of adsorbent used, the adsorbent may be regenerated and used many times, so once every three cycles rather than once every two cycles. What is necessary is just to change the taking-out cycle such as once every four cycles.

  First, the first concentration step will be described. In FIG. 2A, the rotating body 208 is rotated and the adsorbent 201 is disposed in the concentration chamber 202. Next, the on-off valve S1 is opened, and the air pressurized by the compressor 105 is introduced into the concentrating chamber 202 (the on-off valve S2 is closed). After introducing air into the concentration chamber 202, the on-off valve S1 is closed. In the concentration chamber 202, preferential adsorption of nitrogen in the pressurized air by the adsorbent 201 occurs. However, since a sufficient amount of the adsorbent 201 is not disposed in the concentration chamber 202, oxygen remaining in the gas phase of the concentration chamber 202 is not concentrated to a desired concentration.

  Therefore, as shown in FIG. 2B, the rotary body 208 is rotated from the state of FIG. 2A in the direction of the arrow in the figure, and further rotated from the state of FIG. 2B to the state of FIG. The adsorbent 201 adsorbing the water is rotated from the concentration chamber 202 to the regeneration chamber 203.

  Next, the regeneration process will be described. FIG. 2C shows a state in which the rotator 208 is rotated from FIG. 2A to FIG. 2B and from FIG. 2B to FIG. 2C to transfer the adsorbent 201 from the concentration chamber 202 to the regeneration chamber 203. At this time, the on-off valve 3 connected to the regeneration chamber 203 is open, and the on-off valve 3 is connected to the vacuum pump 210. For this reason, the pressure in the regeneration chamber 203 is maintained at a pressure lower than the pressure in the concentrating chamber 202 (reduced pressure below atmospheric pressure). As a result, since the pressure in the regeneration chamber 203 is maintained at a lower pressure than the pressure in the concentration chamber 202 (pressure of pressurized air), the adsorbent 201 that has adsorbed nitrogen in the concentration chamber 202 absorbs nitrogen in the regeneration chamber 203. Since it can be desorbed, the adsorbent 201 can be regenerated. The opening / closing valve S3 may be opened to the atmosphere (atmospheric pressure) without using the vacuum pump 210, and the regeneration chamber 203 may be maintained at atmospheric pressure when the opening / closing valve S3 is opened.

  Next, the second concentration step will be described. 2D shows a state where the adsorbent 201 regenerated in the regeneration chamber 203 is transferred from the regeneration chamber 203 to the concentration chamber 202 by rotating the rotating body 208 in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 2C. At this time, the on-off valves S1 and S2 connected to the concentration chamber 202 are closed. Here, the regenerated adsorbent 201 adsorbs nitrogen remaining in the concentration chamber 202, and the oxygen remaining in the concentration chamber 202 is concentrated to a desired concentration. Therefore, the on-off valve S2 is opened, oxygen concentrated at a high concentration is taken out from the concentration chamber 202 via the product gas outlet 108, and stored in the product tank 111.

  In addition, when the gas containing oxygen with a desired concentration cannot be obtained by the second concentration step described above, the oxygen in the concentration chamber 202 is changed to the desired concentration by repeating the regeneration step and the second concentration step described above again. Then, the gas containing oxygen concentrated to a desired concentration may be controlled to be taken out from the concentration chamber 202.

  Here, the operation of the first concentration step, the regeneration step, and the second concentration step described above can be continuously repeated by continuously rotating and moving the rotator 208 in the direction of the arrow in the figure. As a result, the oxygen concentrator of the present invention can continuously extract oxygen concentrated to a desired concentration from the raw material air while regenerating the adsorbent. Therefore, the amount of adsorbent can be reduced as compared with the conventional oxygen concentrator. Moreover, since the pressure difference is utilized for the regeneration of the adsorbent, the problem of heat loss when using the temperature difference can be avoided. In addition, since the pressure difference that makes the pressure in the concentrating chamber lower than the pressure in the regeneration chamber is used for the regeneration of the adsorbent, when using the temperature difference for the regeneration of the adsorbent It is possible to avoid the problem of heat loss (returning the adsorbent to a low temperature after heating and desorbing the adsorbed gas), and there is no need to add a complicated mechanism for solving the problem of heat loss to the apparatus.

  In addition, the radius of the outer wall 206 that seals the rotating body 208 of the oxygen concentrating portion is, for example, 10 mm to 1000 mm, and preferably 20 mm to 200 mm, and the axial length of the rotating body 208 is, for example, 10 mm to 1000 mm, preferably 20 mm to 300 mm. Moreover, the rotation speed of a rotary body is about 0.01-100 Hz, for example, Preferably it is about 0.1-50 Hz. The supply flow rate of the product gas (gas containing oxygen concentrated to a desired concentration) is, for example, 0.01 liter / minute to 100 liter / minute, preferably 0.1 liter / minute to 10 liter / minute. is there. In addition, the pressure of the raw material air introduced into the concentrating chamber of the oxygen concentrating section must be pressurized to a pressure higher than atmospheric pressure, facilitating adsorption to the adsorbent in the concentrating chamber and adsorbing in the regeneration chamber. In order to facilitate the desorption of nitrogen from the agent, it is desirable that the pressure of the introduced raw material air is higher. If an example is shown, the pressure of the raw material air introduce | transduced is several to several dozen atmospheres (1 atm is 0.1 MPa). However, in order to introduce higher-pressure raw material air, the oxygen concentrator must have a pressure-resistant structure, and the oxygen concentration in the product gas ranges from 30 to 80% or more depending on the intended use and the oxygen concentration. There is. In addition, if the pressure in the regeneration chamber is reduced using a decompression means such as a vacuum pump, a pressure difference between the concentration chamber and the regeneration chamber can be created without increasing the pressure of the raw material air introduced into the concentration chamber. Can do. Therefore, the pressure of the raw material air is any raw material air that easily causes adsorption of nitrogen in the concentrating chamber to obtain oxygen concentrated to a desired concentration and facilitates desorption of nitrogen in the regeneration chamber. The pressure may be For example, the pressure of the raw material air is 0.15 to 0.3 MPa (1.5 to 3 atm), and the pressure difference between the concentration chamber and the regeneration chamber is 0.01 MPa or more (0.1 atm). Above, preferably 0.05 MPa or more (0.5 atm or more).

  The configuration used in the above description is an example, and the configuration and arrangement can be changed as appropriate as long as the technical idea of the present invention is satisfied. For example, a check valve or a throttle mechanism such as an orifice may be used alone or in combination instead of the on-off valve. Further, the shape of the adsorbent can be changed as appropriate.

Second Embodiment
Hereinafter, the oxygen concentrator of the second embodiment will be described. The overall configuration of the oxygen concentrator is similar to the oxygen concentrator of the first embodiment described with reference to FIG. 1, and each of the first concentrating step, the regeneration step, and the second concentrating step of the oxygen concentrating unit 250 is performed. The function of the process is also the same as the function of the oxygen enrichment unit 200 of the first embodiment. However, the oxygen concentrating unit 250 of the present embodiment is different in structure from the oxygen concentrating unit 200 of the first embodiment. Therefore, in the following description, the description of the parts common to the oxygen concentrator of the first embodiment will be omitted because it overlaps, and only different points will be described.

[Structure of oxygen concentrator: Fig. 3]
The difference between the oxygen concentrating unit 250 of this embodiment and the oxygen concentrating unit 200 of the first embodiment is that the direction of the flow of pressurized air introduced into the concentrating chamber 202 is controlled to reduce the amount of nitrogen to the adsorbent 201. A baffle plate 211 for facilitating the adsorption is disposed, and only the on-off valve S1 and the on-off valve S2 are controlled to be kept open. At this time, the on-off valve S1 is continuously supplied with a predetermined flow rate of pressurized air from the compressor 105 to the concentration chamber 202, and the on-off valve S2 is continuously supplied with a gas containing a predetermined flow rate of oxygen from the concentration chamber 202 to the product tank 111. It is controlled to be supplied automatically. Also in the present oxygen concentrator 250, the adsorbent 201 disposed on a part of the surface of the rotator 208 that can rotate and move in the same manner as the oxygen concentrator 200 of the first embodiment is replaced with the concentrating chamber 202 and the regeneration chamber 203. , The adsorption of nitrogen to the adsorbent 201 and the desorption of the adsorbed nitrogen from the adsorbent 201 can be performed alternately. As a result, in the oxygen concentrating unit 250 of this embodiment, the gas containing oxygen concentrated in the concentrating chamber 202 is continuously concentrated by controlling the on-off valve S1 and the on-off valve S2 to be always open. And stored in the product tank 111.

<Third Embodiment>
Hereinafter, the oxygen concentrator of the third embodiment will be described. The overall configuration of this oxygen concentrator is similar to the oxygen concentrator of the first embodiment described in FIG. 1, and each of the first concentrating step, the regeneration step, and the second concentrating step of the oxygen concentrating unit 300 is performed. The function of the process is basically the same as the function of each process of the first concentration process, the regeneration process, and the second concentration process corresponding to the oxygen concentration unit 200 of the first embodiment. However, although the oxygen concentrating unit 200 of the first embodiment has a structure in which one adsorbent 201 is arranged on a part of the surface of the rotating body 208, the oxygen concentrating unit 300 of the present embodiment has a structure shown in FIG. As shown, the two adsorbents 301a and 301b are arranged on the surface of the rotating body 308, and the two adsorbents 301a and 301b are rotationally moved between the concentrating chamber 302 and the regeneration chamber 303. The difference is that the structure is such that adsorption of nitrogen to 301b and desorption of adsorbed nitrogen from the adsorbents 301a and 301b can be performed alternately. Therefore, in the following description, the description of the parts common to the oxygen concentrator of the first embodiment will be omitted because it overlaps, and only different points will be described.

[Method for concentrating high-concentration oxygen from air: FIG. 4]
A method for producing high-concentration oxygen using the oxygen concentrator 300 used in the oxygen concentrator of this embodiment will be described in detail with reference to FIG.

  In the oxygen concentrating unit 300 of this embodiment, two adsorbents 301 a and 301 b are arranged on the surface of the rotating body 308 so as to be 180 ° apart from the central axis of the rotating body 308 as shown in FIG. Therefore, by rotating the rotating body 308 in the direction of the arrow in the figure, one of the two adsorbents 301 a and 301 b can be moved alternately while being placed in the concentration chamber 302 and the other in the regeneration chamber 303. Therefore, adsorption of nitrogen on the adsorbent 301a and desorption of nitrogen adsorbed from the adsorbent 301b, or adsorption of nitrogen on the adsorbent 301b and desorption of adsorbed nitrogen from the adsorbent 301a can be performed alternately. it can. Therefore, the regenerated adsorbent 301a is moved again from the regenerating chamber 303 to the concentrating chamber 302 and adsorbs nitrogen remaining in the gas phase to the adsorbent 301a (second concentrating step), or the adsorbent 301b. Is moved again from the regeneration chamber 303 to the concentrating chamber 302 to adsorb the nitrogen remaining in the gas phase to the adsorbent 301b (second concentrating step), compared with the oxygen concentrating unit 200 of the first embodiment. A larger amount of oxygen can be concentrated and extracted.

  Here, the concentrating chamber 302 of the oxygen concentrating unit 300 is a space surrounded by a rotating member 308 and an outer wall member 304 that forms a sealed space between the rotating member 308, and pressurized air is supplied to the concentrating chamber 302. An on-off valve S1 for introduction and an on-off valve S2 for transferring a gas containing high-concentration oxygen to the product tank 111 are arranged. On the other hand, the regeneration chamber 303 is a space surrounded by the rotation member 308 and the outer wall member 305 that forms a sealed space between the rotation member 308 and the regeneration chamber 303 is filled with nitrogen desorbed from the adsorbent 301a or 301b. An on-off valve S3 for exhausting is disposed, and a vacuum pump 210 for reducing the pressure in the regeneration chamber 303 is connected to the on-off valve S3. Instead of connecting the on-off valve S3 to the vacuum pump 210, the on-off valve S3 may be discharged into the atmosphere. The outer wall member 304 and the outer wall member 305 have outer diameters 306a and 306b, respectively, which are hollow cylindrical outer wall members having a predetermined inner diameter and forming a hollow cylindrical sealed space with the rotating member 308 as shown in the figure. Connected. Although not shown in the figure, this oxygen concentrator controls the motor control unit for rotating the rotator 308 and each part of the device (motor control unit, valves, cooling fan, various sensors, etc.). The control unit performs various controls described below using a RAM (not shown) as a work area based on a control program stored in a ROM (not shown).

  Next, a 1st concentration process, a reproduction | regeneration process, and a 2nd concentration process are demonstrated using FIG. Here, (1) in the first concentration step, after the adsorbent 301a or 301b is placed in the concentration chamber 302, pressurized air is introduced into the concentration chamber 302, and nitrogen is adsorbed and removed by the adsorbent 301a or 301b. (2) The regeneration step is a step of moving and regenerating the adsorbent 301a or 301b having adsorbed nitrogen to the regeneration chamber 303 having a low pressure, and (3) the second concentration step is In this step, the regenerated adsorbent 301a or 301b is moved again to the concentrating chamber 302, and the remaining nitrogen is adsorbed and removed by the adsorbent 301a or 301b to extract high-concentration oxygen as a product gas. (4) In the second concentration step, if a gas containing a desired concentration of oxygen cannot be obtained, the regeneration step and the second concentration step described above are alternately repeated to reduce the oxygen in the concentration chamber to the desired concentration. After concentration, remove from the concentration chamber.

  First, the first concentration step will be described. As shown in the state of the adsorbent 301 a in FIG. 4 (1), the rotating body 308 is rotated so that the adsorbent 301 a (or 301 b) is arranged in the concentration chamber 302. Next, the on-off valve S1 is opened, and control is performed so that the air pressurized by the compressor 105 is introduced into the concentration chamber 302 (the on-off valve S2 is closed). After introducing air into the concentration chamber 302, the on-off valve S1 is closed. In the concentration chamber 302, preferential adsorption of nitrogen in the pressurized air by the adsorbent 301a (or 301b) occurs. However, since a sufficient amount of the adsorbent 201 is not arranged in the concentration chamber 302, oxygen remaining in the gas phase of the concentration chamber 302 is not concentrated to a desired concentration.

  Therefore, as shown in FIG. 4B, the adsorbent 301a (or 301b) having adsorbed nitrogen is moved from the concentration chamber 302 to the regeneration chamber 303 by rotating the rotating body 308 in the direction of the arrow in the figure.

  Next, the regeneration process will be described. The state of (3) in FIG. 4 shows a state in which the rotating body 308 is rotated from (1) of FIG. 4 to transfer the adsorbent 301a (or 301b) from the concentration chamber 302 to the regeneration chamber 303. At this time, the on-off valve 3 connected to the regeneration chamber 303 is open, and the on-off valve 3 is connected to the vacuum pump 210. For this reason, the pressure in the regeneration chamber 303 is maintained lower than the pressure in the concentration chamber 302 (reduced pressure below atmospheric pressure). The opening / closing valve S3 may be opened to the atmosphere without using the vacuum pump 210, and the regeneration chamber 303 may be maintained at atmospheric pressure when the opening / closing valve S3 is opened. As a result, since the pressure in the regeneration chamber 303 is maintained at a lower pressure than the pressure in the concentration chamber 302 (pressure of pressurized air), the adsorbent 301 that has adsorbed nitrogen in the concentration chamber 302 absorbs nitrogen in the regeneration chamber 303. Since it can be desorbed, the adsorbent 301a (or 301b) can be regenerated.

  Next, the second concentration step will be described. 4 (4) shows that the adsorbent 301a (or 301b) regenerated in the regeneration chamber 303 by rotating the rotating body 308 in the direction of the arrow from the state of (3) in FIG. The state transferred to 302 is shown. At this time, the on-off valves S1 and S2 connected to the concentration chamber 302 are closed. Here, the regenerated adsorbent 301a (or 301b) adsorbs nitrogen remaining in the concentration chamber 302, and the oxygen remaining in the concentration chamber 302 is concentrated to a desired concentration. Therefore, the on-off valve S2 is opened, oxygen concentrated at a high concentration is taken out from the concentration chamber 302 via the product gas outlet 108, and stored in the product tank 111.

  If a gas containing oxygen having a desired concentration cannot be obtained by the second concentration process described above, the regeneration process and the second concentration process described above are repeated again to change the oxygen in the concentration chamber 302 to the desired concentration. Then, the gas containing oxygen concentrated to a desired concentration may be controlled to be taken out from the concentration chamber 302.

  Here, by rotating the rotator 308 continuously in the direction of the arrow in the figure, the operations of the first concentration step, the regeneration step, and the second concentration step described above are performed alternately using two adsorbents 301a or 301b. It can be performed continuously while performing. As a result, the oxygen concentrator of the present invention can continuously extract a larger amount of concentrated oxygen than the oxygen concentrator of the first embodiment.

<Fourth embodiment>
Hereinafter, the oxygen concentrator of the fourth embodiment will be described. The overall configuration of the oxygen concentrator is similar to the oxygen concentrator of the first embodiment described in FIG. 1, and each of the first concentrating step, the regeneration step, and the second concentrating step of the oxygen concentrating unit 350 is performed. The function of the process is the same as the function of the oxygen concentrating unit 300 of the third embodiment. However, the oxygen enrichment unit 350 of the present embodiment is different in structure from the oxygen enrichment unit 300 of the third embodiment. Therefore, in the following description, the description of the parts common to the oxygen concentrator of the first embodiment will be omitted because it overlaps, and only different points will be described.

[Structure of oxygen concentrator: Fig. 5]
The oxygen concentrating unit 350 of the present embodiment is different from the oxygen concentrating unit 300 of the third embodiment in that the oxygen concentrating unit 300 of the present embodiment divides the entire surface of the rotating body 308 into eight sections as shown in FIG. The eight adsorbents 301a to 301h are arranged respectively. Therefore, three of the eight adsorbents 301a to 301h (310a to 310c in FIG. 5) are condensed into the concentrating chamber 302 and the regeneration chamber 303 (310e in FIG. 5) by rotating the rotating body 308 in the direction of the arrow in the figure. ˜310 g), each can be sequentially moved continuously. Therefore, adsorption of nitrogen on three adsorbents out of the eight adsorbents and desorption of adsorbed nitrogen from the three adsorbents can be sequentially performed. Accordingly, the regenerated adsorbent is moved again from the regenerating chamber 303 to the concentrating chamber 302, and the nitrogen remaining in the gas phase is adsorbed by the adsorbent (second concentrating step), whereby the oxygen concentration of the first embodiment is performed. Compared with the part 200, a larger amount of oxygen can be concentrated and extracted.

<Fifth Embodiment>
Hereinafter, the oxygen concentrator of the fifth embodiment will be described. The overall configuration of this oxygen concentrator is similar to the oxygen concentrator of the first embodiment described with reference to FIG. 1 as shown in FIG. The function of each process of the second concentration process is the same as the function of the oxygen concentration unit 200 of the first embodiment. However, the oxygen concentrating unit 400 of this embodiment is different in structure from the oxygen concentrating unit 200 of the first embodiment that rotates the rotating body to transfer the adsorbent, and moves the piston member back and forth to transfer the adsorbent. To do. Therefore, in the following description, the structure of the oxygen concentrator and the oxygen concentrator 400 will be described, and a method for concentrating high-concentration oxygen from the raw air using the oxygen concentrator 400 will be described.

[Overall configuration of oxygen concentrator: Fig. 6]
The overall configuration of the oxygen concentrator of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

  In this oxygen concentrator, first, air as a raw material gas is debris removed by a dust filter 101 and an intake filter / silence buffer 102, and compressed by a compressor 105 to a desired pressure (for example, 1.5 to several atmospheres). After being pressurized, it is cooled by the cooling fan 104 and the heat exchanger 106. Next, the pressurized air is introduced into the concentrating chamber 402 of the oxygen concentrating unit 400 where the adsorbent 401 is disposed. In the concentration chamber 402, when pressurized air is introduced, preferential adsorption of nitrogen on the adsorbent 401 proceeds (first concentration step). Subsequently, the adsorbent 401 that has adsorbed nitrogen is transferred from the concentrating chamber 402 to the regeneration chamber 403 by a piston member 408 that is a transfer means in which the adsorbent 401 is arranged on a part of the surface thereof, and the concentrating chamber 402 by the vacuum pump 210 or the like. In the regeneration chamber 403 maintained at a lower pressure (below atmospheric pressure or atmospheric pressure), the nitrogen adsorbed on the adsorbent 401 is desorbed and discharged from the regeneration chamber 203 to regenerate the adsorbent (regeneration step). . Subsequently, the regenerated adsorbent 401 is transferred again from the regenerating chamber 403 to the concentrating chamber 402 by the piston member 408, and the regenerated adsorbent 401 is used to adsorb nitrogen remaining in the pressurized air (first). 2 concentration step). As a result, a gas containing oxygen concentrated to a desired concentration is taken out from the concentration chamber 202 and temporarily stored in the product tank 111. If a gas containing a desired concentration of oxygen cannot be obtained in the operation of the second concentration step, the regeneration step and the second concentration step described above are alternately repeated to concentrate the oxygen in the concentration chamber to the desired concentration. And then remove from the concentration chamber. The gas containing high-concentration oxygen stored in the product tank 111 is then controlled to have a desired pressure and gas flow rate using the pressure regulator 112 and the flow rate regulator 115, and further the humidifier 116 is turned on. After being moderately humidified, it is supplied to the patient via a conduit such as the flexible extension tube 117 and the cannula 118. The adsorbent used in this oxygen concentrator is Na-A type, Ca-A type, Na-X type, Ca-X type, or Li-type in order to preferentially or selectively adsorb nitrogen. Synthetic zeolites such as type X are used alone or in combination.

[Structure of oxygen concentrator: FIG. 7A]
The structure of the oxygen concentrator 400 used in the oxygen concentrator of this embodiment and the method for producing high-concentration oxygen using the same will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 7A to 7C showing the cross-sectional configuration of the oxygen concentrator. To do.

  In the present oxygen concentrating unit 400, the adsorbent 401 disposed on a part of the surface of the piston member 408 that can reciprocate is moved between the concentrating chamber 402 and the regeneration chamber 403, while nitrogen is adsorbed to the adsorbent 401. Adsorption and desorption of adsorbed nitrogen from the adsorbent 401 can be performed alternately. That is, in the concentrating chamber 402, nitrogen is preferentially adsorbed to the adsorbent 401 from the pressurized raw material air (for example, 1.5 to several atmospheres) (first concentrating step), and the regeneration chamber 403 is set to the vacuum pump 105 or the like. By maintaining the pressure lower than the concentration chamber 402 (less than atmospheric pressure or atmospheric pressure), the adsorbent 401 can be regenerated by desorbing nitrogen adsorbed on the adsorbent 201 (regeneration step). Therefore, the regenerated adsorbent 401 is moved again from the regenerating chamber 403 to the concentrating chamber 402 and the adsorbent 401 is adsorbed with nitrogen remaining in the raw material air (second concentrating step), whereby a small amount of adsorbent 201 is removed. Oxygen can be concentrated and extracted while regenerating.

  As shown in FIG. 7A, the oxygen concentrating unit 400 of this embodiment includes a piston member 408, a concentrating chamber 402, a regeneration chamber 403, and the like. Adsorbent 401 is embedded in piston member 408, and the surface of adsorbent 401 is installed so as to form part of the outer surface of piston member 408. The concentrating chamber 402 is a space surrounded by a piston member 408 and an outer wall member 404 that forms a sealed space between the piston member 408, and an open / close valve for introducing pressurized air into the concentrating chamber 402. S1, an on-off valve S2 for transferring a gas containing high-concentration oxygen to the product tank 111 is disposed. On the other hand, the regeneration chamber 403 is a space surrounded by a piston member 408 and an outer wall member 405 that forms a sealed space between the piston member 408, and the regeneration chamber 403 exhausts nitrogen desorbed from the adsorbent 401. An on-off valve S3 is arranged, and a vacuum pump 210 for reducing the pressure in the regeneration chamber 403 is connected to the on-off valve S3. Instead of connecting the on-off valve S3 to the vacuum pump 210, the on-off valve S3 may be discharged into the atmosphere. The outer wall member 404 and the outer wall member 405 have a predetermined inner diameter as shown in the figure, and are respectively formed at both ends of the outer wall 406 which is a hollow cylindrical outer wall member that forms a hollow cylindrical sealed space with the piston member 408. Connected.

  Although not shown in the drawing, the oxygen concentrator includes a motor control unit for reciprocating the piston member 408 and each unit of the device (motor control unit, valves, cooling fan, various sensors, etc.). A control unit for controlling is installed, and the control unit executes various controls described below using a RAM (not shown) as a work area based on a control program stored in a ROM (not shown).

[Method for Concentrating High Concentration Oxygen from Air: FIGS. 7A to 7C]
7A to 7C show changes in the positional relationship of the adsorbent 401 disposed on the concentration chamber 402, the regeneration chamber 403, and the piston member 408 and the on-off valve in each of the first concentration step, the regeneration step, and the second concentration step. It is a figure explaining the opening-and-closing state of S1-S3. Here, (1) the first concentration step is a step in which pressurized air is introduced into the concentration chamber 402 of the oxygen concentrator 400 and nitrogen is adsorbed and removed by the adsorbent 401. (2) Is a step of moving the adsorbent 401 that has adsorbed nitrogen to the regeneration chamber 403 at a low pressure for regeneration, and (3) the second concentration step is to move the regenerated adsorbent 401 to the concentration chamber 402 again. In this process, the remaining nitrogen is adsorbed and removed by the adsorbent 401 to extract high-concentration oxygen as a product gas. (4) In the second concentration step, if a gas containing a desired concentration of oxygen cannot be obtained, the regeneration step and the second concentration step described above are alternately repeated to reduce the oxygen in the concentration chamber to the desired concentration. After concentration, remove from the concentration chamber. At this time, the adsorbent is transferred between the concentration chamber and the regeneration chamber at a predetermined timing by the piston member 408 (for example, the adsorbent that has adsorbed nitrogen is transferred from the concentration chamber to the regeneration chamber, and the regenerated adsorbent is regenerated. The transfer cycle when transferring from the chamber to the concentrating chamber is repeated at a predetermined cycle), and the introduction of the source air into the concentrating chamber and the extraction of the concentrated oxygen from the concentrating chamber are performed multiple times. It is performed once every cycle (for example, once every two cycles, once every three cycles, etc.).

  First, the first concentration step will be described. In FIG. 7A, the piston member 408 is moved to the position shown in the figure, and the adsorbent 401 is disposed in the concentration chamber 402. Next, the on-off valve S1 is opened, and the air pressurized by the compressor 105 is introduced into the concentrating chamber 202 (the on-off valve S2 is closed). After introducing air into the concentration chamber 402, the on-off valve S1 is closed. In the concentration chamber 402, preferential adsorption of nitrogen in the pressurized air by the adsorbent 401 occurs. However, since a sufficient amount of the adsorbent 401 is not disposed in the concentration chamber 402, oxygen remaining in the gas phase of the concentration chamber 402 is not concentrated to a desired concentration.

  7B, the piston member 408 is moved from the state of FIG. 7A to the state of FIG. 7B in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 7A, that is, the adsorbent 401 that has adsorbed nitrogen is moved from the concentration chamber 402 to the regeneration chamber 403. .

  Next, the regeneration process will be described. FIG. 7B shows a state where the adsorbent 401 is transferred from the concentration chamber 402 to the regeneration chamber 403. At this time, the on-off valve 3 connected to the regeneration chamber 403 is open, and the on-off valve 3 is connected to the vacuum pump 210. For this reason, the pressure in the regeneration chamber 403 is maintained lower than the pressure in the concentration chamber 402 (reduced pressure below atmospheric pressure). As a result, since the pressure in the regeneration chamber 403 is maintained at a lower pressure than the pressure in the concentration chamber 402 (pressure of pressurized air), the adsorbent 401 that has adsorbed nitrogen in the concentration chamber 402 absorbs nitrogen in the regeneration chamber 403. Since it can be desorbed, the adsorbent 401 can be regenerated. The opening / closing valve S3 may be opened to the atmosphere without using the vacuum pump 210, and the regeneration chamber 203 may be maintained at atmospheric pressure when the opening / closing valve S3 is opened.

  Next, the second concentration step will be described. FIG. 7C shows a state where the adsorbent 401 regenerated in the regeneration chamber 203 is transferred from the regeneration chamber 403 to the concentration chamber 402 by moving the piston member 408 in the arrow direction of FIG. 7B from the state of FIG. 7B. At this time, the on-off valves S1 and S2 connected to the concentration chamber 402 are closed. Here, the regenerated adsorbent 401 adsorbs nitrogen remaining in the concentration chamber 402, and the oxygen remaining in the concentration chamber 402 is concentrated to a desired concentration. Therefore, the on-off valve S2 is opened, oxygen concentrated to a high concentration is taken out from the concentrating chamber 402 via the product gas outlet 108, and stored in the product tank 111.

  If a gas containing oxygen having a desired concentration cannot be obtained by the second concentration process described above, the regeneration process and the second concentration process described above are repeated again to change the oxygen in the concentration chamber 402 to the desired concentration. Then, the gas containing oxygen concentrated to a desired concentration may be controlled to be taken out from the concentration chamber 402.

  Here, the operations of the first concentration step, the regeneration step, and the second concentration step described above can be continuously repeated by continuously reciprocating the piston member 408 in the arrow direction of FIGS. 7A and 7B. As a result, the oxygen concentrator of the present invention can continuously extract oxygen concentrated to a desired concentration from the raw material air while regenerating the adsorbent. Therefore, the amount of adsorbent can be reduced as compared with the conventional oxygen concentrator. Moreover, since the pressure difference is utilized for the regeneration of the adsorbent, the problem of heat loss when using the temperature difference can be avoided. Also, since the regeneration of the adsorbent uses the pressure difference between the concentration chamber and the regeneration chamber, the problem of heat loss when using the temperature difference for the regeneration of the adsorbent and the complex to solve it There is no need to add a mechanism.

  In addition, the radius of a piston member is 10 mm-1000 mm, for example, Preferably, it is 20 mm-200 mm. Moreover, the period of the reciprocating movement of the piston member is, for example, about 0.01 to 100 Hz, and preferably about 0.1 to 50 Hz. The supply flow rate of the product gas is, for example, 0.01 liter / minute to 100 liter / minute, preferably 0.1 liter / minute to 10 liter / minute. In addition, the pressure difference formed inside the oxygen concentrating part is preferably 0.001 MPa or more, and more preferably 0.01 MPa or more.

  The configuration used in the above description is an example, and the configuration and arrangement can be changed as appropriate as long as the technical idea of the present invention is satisfied. For example, a check valve or the like may be used instead of the on-off valve. Further, the shape of the adsorbent can be changed as appropriate.

<Sixth Embodiment>
Hereinafter, the oxygen concentrator of the sixth embodiment will be described. The overall configuration of this oxygen concentrator is similar to the oxygen concentrator of the fifth embodiment described in FIG. 6, and each of the first concentrating step, the regeneration step, and the second concentrating step of the oxygen concentrating unit 450 is performed. The function of the process is the same as the function of the oxygen concentrating unit 400 of the third embodiment. However, the oxygen concentrating unit 450 of this embodiment is different in structure from the oxygen concentrating unit 400 of the fifth embodiment. Therefore, in the following description, the description of the parts common to the oxygen concentrator of the fifth embodiment is omitted because it overlaps, and only different points will be described.

[Structure of oxygen concentrator: Fig. 8]
The difference between the oxygen concentrating unit 450 of the present embodiment and the oxygen concentrating unit 400 of the fifth embodiment is that the direction of the flow of pressurized air introduced into the concentrating chamber 402 is controlled to allow nitrogen to enter the adsorbent 401. A baffle plate 411 for facilitating the adsorption is disposed, and only the on-off valve S1 and the on-off valve S2 are controlled to be always open. At this time, the on-off valve S2 is continuously supplied with a gas containing a predetermined flow rate of oxygen from the concentration chamber 202 to the product tank 111, and the on-off valve S1 is continuously supplied with a predetermined flow rate of pressurized air from the compressor 105 to the concentration chamber 202. It is controlled to be supplied automatically. Further, in the present oxygen concentrating unit 450 as well, as in the oxygen concentrating unit 400 of the fifth embodiment, the adsorbent 401 disposed on a part of the surface of the piston member 408 is reciprocated between the concentrating chamber 402 and the regeneration chamber 403. While moving, adsorption of nitrogen to the adsorbent 401 and desorption of adsorbed nitrogen from the adsorbent 201 can be performed alternately. As a result, in the oxygen concentrating unit 450 of the present embodiment, by continuously controlling the on-off valve S1 and the on-off valve S2, a gas containing oxygen having a predetermined flow rate concentrated in the concentrating chamber 202 is continuously supplied. The product can be taken out from the concentration chamber 202 and stored in the product tank 111.

  In the description of each embodiment described above, oxygen concentration from air by the PSA method is described as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a gas fluid including a plurality of gas components If there is an adsorbent that adsorbs a specific gas in the gas fluid, the remaining gas that is not adsorbed by the adsorbent can be concentrated. Therefore, it can be used for concentration, separation and purification of a target gas from a gas fluid containing various gas components, or removal of harmful components contained in the gas fluid.

It is a figure which shows the whole structure of the oxygen concentration apparatus of the 1st Embodiment of this invention. , , , It is a figure explaining the method of concentrating high concentration oxygen from air using the oxygen concentration part of the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the oxygen concentration part of the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the oxygen concentration part of the 3rd Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the oxygen concentration part of the 4th Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the whole structure of the oxygen concentrator of the 5th Embodiment of this invention. , , It is a figure explaining the method of concentrating high concentration oxygen from air using the oxygen concentration part of the 5th Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the oxygen concentration part of the 6th Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the whole structure of the conventional oxygen concentration apparatus.

Explanation of symbols

200, 250, 300, 350, 400, 450 Oxygen concentrator 201, 301, 401 Adsorbent 202, 302, 402 Concentration chamber 203, 303, 403 Regeneration chamber 204, 304, 404 Outer wall member (concentration chamber)
205, 305, 405 Outer wall member (regeneration chamber)
206, 306, 406 Outer wall member 208, 308 Transfer means (rotating body)
408 Transfer means (piston member)

Claims (16)

A component concentrating / separating device for concentrating the first component from a source gas fluid containing at least a first component and a second component,
A concentration chamber in which the raw material gas fluid is brought into contact with an adsorbent that adsorbs the second component, the second component is adsorbed on the adsorbent, and the first component is concentrated;
A regeneration chamber maintained at a pressure lower than the pressure of the concentrating chamber, regenerating the adsorbent by desorbing the second component from the adsorbent that has adsorbed the second component;
Transfer means for transferring the adsorbent adsorbing the second component at a predetermined timing from the concentration chamber to the regeneration chamber, and transferring the regenerated adsorbent from the regeneration chamber to the concentration chamber;
A device for concentrating and separating components.   A transfer cycle when the adsorbent by the transfer means is transferred from the concentration chamber to the regeneration chamber and the regenerated adsorbent is transferred from the regeneration chamber to the concentration chamber is repeated at a predetermined cycle. The component concentrating / separating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the apparatus is performed.   The introduction of the raw material gas fluid into the concentration chamber and the extraction of the gas containing the concentrated first component from the concentration chamber are performed once in a plurality of cycles. Ingredient concentration separator. The transfer means is a substantially cylindrical rotating member, and the adsorbent is disposed on at least a part of the surface of the rotating member,
The concentrating chamber comprises a space surrounded by the rotating member and a first outer wall member that forms a sealed space between the rotating member,
The regeneration chamber comprises a space surrounded by the rotating member and a second outer wall member that forms a sealed space between the rotating member,
The component concentrating / separating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the rotating member rotates and moves between the concentrating chamber and the regeneration chamber about the substantially cylindrical shaft.   The adsorbent is disposed at two locations on the surface of the rotating member, and when one of the two locations is transferred to the concentration chamber by the rotational movement of the rotating member, the other of the two locations is The component concentrating / separating device according to claim 4, wherein the component concentrating / separating device is disposed in a regeneration chamber.   The component concentrating / separating apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the surface of the rotating member is divided into four or more sections in the rotation direction, and an adsorbent is disposed in each section.   When at least one of the four or more compartments is transferred to the concentration chamber by the rotational movement of the rotating member, at least one of the four or more compartments is disposed in the regeneration chamber. The component concentrating / separating apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the component concentrating / separating apparatus is arranged. The transfer means is a piston member, and the adsorbent is disposed on at least a part of the surface of the piston member,
The concentrating chamber comprises a space surrounded by the piston member and a first outer wall member that forms a sealed space between the piston member,
The regeneration chamber is composed of a space surrounded by a second outer wall member that forms a sealed space between the piston member and the piston member;
The component concentration separation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the piston member reciprocates between the concentration chamber and the regeneration chamber.   The piston member has a substantially cylindrical shape, and the adsorbent disposed on at least a part of the surface of the piston member reciprocates between the concentration chamber and the regeneration chamber along the longitudinal direction of the substantially cylindrical shape. The apparatus for concentrating and separating components according to claim 8.   10. The raw material gas fluid is pressurized to a pressure higher than atmospheric pressure and introduced into the concentration chamber, and the pressure in the regeneration chamber is maintained at atmospheric pressure or lower. The component concentration separation apparatus of any one.   The said 1st gas is oxygen, the said 2nd gas is nitrogen, and the said component concentration separation apparatus is an oxygen concentrator which concentrates oxygen from air, The any one of Claim 1 thru | or 10 characterized by the above-mentioned. 2. The component concentration separation apparatus according to item 1. A component concentration separation method for concentrating the first component from a source gas fluid containing at least a first component and a second component,
The raw material gas fluid is introduced into a concentrating chamber in which an adsorbent that adsorbs the second component is disposed, the raw material gas fluid is brought into contact with the adsorbent, and the second component is adsorbed by the adsorbent. Concentrating one component;
Transferring the adsorbent adsorbing the second component at a predetermined timing from the concentration chamber to the regeneration chamber;
Regenerating the adsorbent by desorbing the second component adsorbed from the adsorbent transferred in the regeneration chamber maintained at a pressure lower than the pressure of the concentration chamber;
Transferring the regenerated adsorbent from the regeneration chamber to the concentration chamber at a predetermined timing;
The component concentration separation method characterized by having.    The adsorbent in the transferring step is transferred from the concentration chamber to the regeneration chamber, and the transfer cycle when the regenerated adsorbent is transferred from the regeneration chamber to the concentration chamber is a predetermined cycle. The method for concentrating and separating components according to claim 12, wherein the method is repeatedly performed.   The introduction of the source gas fluid into the concentrating chamber and the extraction of the gas containing the concentrated first component from the concentrating chamber are performed once in a plurality of cycles. Method for concentrating and separating the components.   15. The raw material gas fluid is pressurized to a pressure higher than atmospheric pressure and introduced into the concentration chamber, and the pressure in the regeneration chamber is maintained at atmospheric pressure or lower. The component concentration separation method of any one of Claims 1.   16. The method according to claim 12, wherein the first gas is oxygen, the second gas is nitrogen, and the component concentration separation method is an oxygen concentration method for concentrating oxygen from air. 2. The method for concentrating and separating components according to item 1.

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