JP2008126107A - Purifier - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To efficiently purify a fluid to be purified by generating discharge plasma over the whole region into which the fluid to be purified is introduced. <P>SOLUTION: The purifier 1 is equipped with a purification treatment part 2 for purifying water by plasma, an introducing part 3 for introducing water to be treated into the purification treatment part 2 and a lead-out passage 4 for leading out the treated water. The purification treatment part 2 has at least one water flow channel 21 and a plurality of plasma generators 5, which is equipped with a discharge electrode 6 and an earth electrode 60 both of which are opposed to each other, are arranged to the water flow channel 21. A high voltage applying device for applying high voltage to the discharge electrode 6 intermittently applied to the discharge electrode 6 in determined timing is connected to the respective plasma generators 5. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a purification device used for purifying water such as lakes and ponds, water discharged from general households, various facilities, etc., and purifying gas discharged from factories and the like. Relates to a purification device for purifying a liquid or gas with plasma generated by discharge (hereinafter referred to as “discharge plasma”).

  Conventionally, gas is turned into plasma by generating a discharge by applying a high voltage to the electrode in the gas, and a gas containing a harmful substance such as an organic solvent is introduced into the discharge plasma to decompose and remove the organic solvent in the gas. A purification method is known. In addition, by applying a high voltage to the electrode in the liquid to generate a discharge, the liquid is turned into plasma, and by the action of the discharge plasma, a highly reactive radical is generated in the liquid, and this is dissolved in the liquid for chemical reaction. A purification method is also known in which a liquid is purified by inducing a reaction or sterilizing.

As this type of purification device, a device in which a discharge electrode and a ground electrode surrounding the discharge electrode are provided in a cylindrical case and a large number of metal pieces are enclosed has been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 1). .
When a fluid to be purified is introduced from one end of the cylindrical case and a high voltage is applied to the discharge electrode, a large number of metal pieces are interposed between the discharge electrode and the ground electrode. Discharge occurs between and between the metal pieces. Discharge plasma is generated everywhere in the cylindrical case as the metal piece spreads over the entire area of the cylindrical case. The fluid introduced into the cylindrical case by the action of the discharge plasma is purified.

JP 2005-305293 A

  In the purification apparatus having the above-described configuration, the fluid to be processed is introduced from one end of the cylindrical case and led out from the other end, and therefore moves in one direction in the cylindrical case. A part of the metal pieces is concentrated at the downstream end in the cylindrical case. When dense metal pieces come into contact with each electrode, the dense parts of the metal pieces have low electrical resistance and current flows in a concentrated manner, making it difficult for discharge to occur in other areas of the cylindrical case, and the efficiency of the purification process Problem arises.

  The present invention has been made paying attention to the above-described problems, and purifies the plasma by generating discharge plasma over the entire region where the fluid is introduced regardless of the flow or flow rate of the fluid such as gas or liquid. It is an object of the present invention to provide a purification device that can efficiently purify a fluid to be purified.

  The purification apparatus according to the present invention includes a purification processing unit that purifies a fluid with plasma generated by electric discharge, an introduction path that introduces a fluid to be processed into the purification processing unit, and a fluid that has been processed by the purification processing unit. A derivation path to be derived. The purification treatment section has at least one fluid passage, and a plurality of plasma generators each including a discharge electrode and a ground electrode facing each other are arranged in the fluid passage along the fluid flow path. Each of the plasma generators is connected to a high voltage application device for intermittently applying a high voltage to the discharge electrode at a predetermined timing.

  In the above-described configuration of the present invention, the “fluid” includes gas and liquid, and the plasma purification apparatus according to the present invention can be applied to liquid purification and gas purification.

  In the purification apparatus according to the present invention, the fluid to be processed is guided to the purification processing unit by the introduction path, and the fluid is purified by the plasma generated by the discharge in the purification processing unit. Since a plurality of plasma generators are arranged along the fluid flow path in the fluid passage of the purification processing section, when the fluid to be processed passes through the fluid passage, each plasma is generated by the high voltage application device. When a voltage necessary for discharge is intermittently applied to the generator, discharge is repeatedly generated between the discharge electrode and the ground electrode for each plasma generator. As a result, a uniform discharge plasma is generated over the entire region of the purification treatment unit regardless of the flow of the fluid. The fluid introduced into the purification processing unit by the action of the discharge plasma is purified, and the treated fluid is led out from the fluid outlet to the outlet path.

  In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the high voltage application device includes a power supply device, a primary coil connected to the power supply device, and a transformer coupled to the primary coil and connected to the discharge electrode of the plasma generator. It comprises a plurality of ignition coils including a secondary coil, and a switch for controlling on / off of the current flowing through each primary coil at a predetermined timing.

  According to this embodiment, when a current flows through the primary coil, the primary coil generates a magnetic flux, and this magnetic flux links the secondary coil to generate an induced electromotive force due to electromagnetic induction in the secondary coil. When the high voltage generated in the secondary coil reaches the discharge electrode of the plasma generator, a discharge is generated between the secondary electrode and the ground electrode, and the fluid introduced into the purification processing unit is purified by the action of the discharge plasma. .

  In a further preferred embodiment of the present invention, the apparatus further comprises a control device for controlling the timing of discharge generation by controlling the application of a high voltage from the high voltage application device to the discharge electrode of each plasma generator. is there.

  According to this embodiment, according to the flow rate of the fluid flowing through the fluid passage, for example, all plasma generators generate discharges all at once, or the plasma generator sequentially generates discharges along the fluid flow direction. By controlling the timing of discharge generation by each plasma generator, such as by allowing the fluid to be purified to be introduced into the purification processing unit, the purification process using the discharge plasma can be performed evenly.

  An air introduction path for introducing air into the fluid flowing through the fluid passage is connected to the purification processing section. According to this embodiment, when the introduced air becomes bubbles and flows through the fluid passage, reactive ozone or radicals are generated by the discharge, so that the purification processing function is improved.

  According to the present invention, since a plurality of plasma generators are arranged along the fluid flow path in the fluid passage of the purification processing unit, a uniform discharge is obtained over the entire region of the purification processing unit regardless of the flow of the fluid. Plasma can be generated.

1 and 2 show the configuration of a purification device 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention.
Although the purification device 1 of the illustrated example is used for purification of water, the present invention is not limited to this, and can also be applied to purification of liquids other than water, and further gas.
The purification apparatus 1 in the illustrated example includes a purification treatment unit 2 that purifies the water to be treated with discharge plasma, an introduction path 3 that introduces the water to be treated into the purification treatment unit 2, and water that has been treated by the purification treatment unit 2. And a plurality of (12 in the illustrated example) plasma generators 5 disposed in the purification processing unit 2, and each plasma generator 5 is supplied with a pulsed high voltage. A high voltage applying device 7 (shown in FIG. 6) for applying and a control device 10 (shown in FIG. 6) for controlling the application of the high voltage are connected.

  The introduction path 3 and the lead-out path 4 are composed of a synthetic resin pipe or a metal pipe. The introduction path 3 is connected to the pump P, and the pump P sends the water to be treated sucked from the pond to the introduction path 3. The lead-out path 4 guides the treated water to the pond.

  The said purification process part 2 is comprised by the box-shaped body 20 made from glass or a synthetic resin. The inside of the box-shaped body 20 is provided with two partition plates 27 and 28 in parallel in order to pass the water to be treated introduced from the introduction path 3 and lead it to the lead-out path 4, thereby providing three water flow paths 21A. To 21C are formed.

  On the upper surface of the box-shaped body 20, four fixing sockets 25 for fixing and arranging the plasma generator 5 in the purification processing unit 2 are arranged in a line at equal intervals, four for each of the water flow paths 21 </ b> A to 21 </ b> C. ing.

  The introduction path 3 is provided with an air introduction path 22 for sending air into the purification processing unit 2. As shown in FIG. 3, the air introduction path 22 includes an introduction pipe 23 connected to a blower mechanism (not shown), and three branch pipes 24 </ b> A to 24 </ b> C branched from one introduction pipe 23. The branch pipes 24A to 24C are respectively guided to the water flow paths 21A to 21C, and the air introduced from the introduction pipe 23 to the branch pipes 24A to 24C is converted into bubbles by a large number of air supply holes 26, respectively. 21A to 21C. When bubbles flow through the water flow paths 21A to 21C, reactive ozone and radicals are generated by the discharge, so that the purification treatment action is improved.

  Returning to FIGS. 1 and 2, plasma is generated by electric discharge at the position of each fixing socket 25 of the purification processing unit 2, and the purification process by the discharge plasma is performed on the water passing through the inside of the purification processing unit 2. A total of twelve plasma generators 5 are provided for application. Four plasma generators 5 are arranged for each of the water passages 21 </ b> A to 21 </ b> C by fitting the fixing socket 25 with a screw portion 55 of a mounting bracket 50 described later.

  In this embodiment, the plasma generator 5 uses a known spark plug attached to a vehicle engine or the like. As shown in FIG. 4, the mounting bracket 50 and the tip 51a are projected into the mounting bracket 50 so as to protrude. The insulator 51 to be held, the discharge electrode 6 fixed in the insulator 51 so that the tip end portion 6a protrudes from the one end 51a of the insulator 51, and the ground electrode 60 facing the discharge electrode 6 with a gap therebetween. And.

  The mounting bracket 50 is made of a cylindrical body made of a conductive steel material such as low carbon steel, and a mounting screw portion for fixing the mounting bracket 50 to the fixing socket 25 is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the mounting bracket 50. 55 is provided.

A cylindrical insulator 51 made of an electrical insulator such as alumina (Al ₂ O ₃ ) is fixed inside the mounting bracket 50. One end 51 a of the insulator 51 protrudes from the one end 50 a of the mounting bracket 50, and the other end 51 b protrudes from the other end 50 b of the mounting bracket 50. The discharge electrode 6 and a metal stem portion 53 are fixed to the shaft hole 52 of the insulator 51, and the discharge electrode 6 and the stem portion 53 are electrically connected, although details are omitted. . A terminal portion 54 is provided at one end of the stem portion 53, and a mounting portion 84 of the ignition coil 8 described later is attached to the terminal portion 54.

  The discharge electrode 6 is a cylindrical body, and the inner material of the cylindrical body is made of a metal material having excellent thermal conductivity such as Cu, and the outer material is made of a metal material having excellent heat resistance and corrosion resistance such as a Ni-based alloy. Has been. The discharge electrode 6 is insulated and held with respect to the mounting bracket 50 by an insulator 51, and a cylindrical tip 6b made of an iridium alloy is joined to the tip portion 6a of the discharge electrode 6 by laser welding or the like.

  A ground electrode 60 is joined to the tip 50 a of the mounting bracket 50. The ground electrode 60 is made of a Ni-based alloy containing Ni as a main component, one end 60b of which is welded to the mounting bracket 50, and the other end 60a has a predetermined gap from the tip 6a of the discharge electrode 6. Have opposites.

In this embodiment, the discharge electrode 6 and the ground electrode 60 are arranged so as to be positioned at the center position (h / 2) of the height h of the box-shaped body 20, as shown in FIG.
According to this embodiment, when the discharge is generated between the discharge electrode 6 and the ground electrode 60 by the plasma generator 5 having the above-described configuration, the plasma is uniformly generated in the height direction of the fluid passages 21A to 21C. The water to be treated flowing through the fluid passages 21A to 21C can be efficiently purified.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the high voltage applying device 7 includes a plurality of (12 in the illustrated example) ignition coils 8 connected to the plasma generators 5, a power supply device 70, a control device 10, and the like. Consists of. The power supply device 70 converts the AC voltage generated by the AC generator 71 into a DC voltage of 12 V, for example, by the rectifier 72 and the regulator 73 and then supplies the DC voltage to each ignition coil 8.

The ignition coil 8 is a known one used for a spark plug in an engine such as a vehicle, and as shown in FIG. 7, a cylindrical portion 80 having a primary coil 81 and a secondary coil 82 wound concentrically. And an igniter portion 83 disposed at the upper end portion of the cylindrical portion 80, and an attachment portion 84 for attaching the plasma generator 5 formed at the lower end portion of the cylindrical portion 80.
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a support substrate 100 for supporting all the ignition coils 8 is horizontally mounted above the purification processing unit 2, and corresponds to each socket 25 of the support substrate 100. Each ignition coil 8 is fixed by inserting the cylindrical portion 80 of the ignition coil 8 into the opened support hole 101 at the position.

As shown in FIG. 7, the cylindrical portion 80 is formed by arranging a primary coil 81, a secondary coil 82, and a central core 86 in a coil case 85. The primary coil 81 is formed by winding an insulating coated primary wire 81b around an outer peripheral surface of a primary spool 81a made of a cylindrical resin, and the secondary coil 82 is an outer periphery of a secondary spool 82a made of a cylindrical resin. A secondary wire 82b having an insulating coating on the surface is wound with a larger number of turns than the primary wire 81b.
The secondary coil 82 is inserted into the inner peripheral side of the primary coil 81, and a central core 86 made of a rod-shaped metal is disposed on the inner peripheral side of the secondary coil 82. The magnetic flux generated by passing a current through the primary coil 81 is increased by passing through the central core 86.

The primary coil 81 is inserted into a cylindrical outer peripheral spool 87, and the outer peripheral spool 87 is inserted into a coil case 85.
Further, an insulating resin such as an epoxy resin is provided in each gap between the central core 86 and the secondary coil 82, between the secondary coil 82 and the primary coil 81, and between the primary coil 81 and the outer peripheral spool 87. Is filled.

  A mounting portion 84 for connecting to the plasma generator 5 is formed at the lower end of the coil case 85 of the ignition coil 8, and the terminal portion 54 of the plasma generator 5 is fitted into the mounting portion 84. . A coil spring 88 that comes into contact with the plasma generator 5 and a high-voltage terminal 89 that is electrically connected to one end (the high-voltage side end) of the secondary coil 82 are disposed on the mounting portion 84. Is electrically connected to the high voltage side end of the secondary coil 82 via a high voltage terminal 89.

  An igniter portion 83 is provided at the upper end portion of the coil case 85 of the ignition coil 8. The igniter portion 83 is formed by disposing an igniter 91 for supplying power to the primary coil 81 in an igniter case 90 made of synthetic resin. The igniter case 90 is insulated in a state where the igniter 91 is disposed. Filled with resin. The igniter 91 includes a power control circuit (not shown) using a switching element or the like that operates according to a control signal from the control device 10 described later, and when the control signal is transmitted from the control device 10 to the igniter 91. The switching element in the igniter 91 is turned on and off to control the current flowing through the primary coil 81.

  When a current flows through the primary coil 81, the primary coil 81 generates a magnetic flux that passes through the central core 86, and the high voltage is induced in the secondary coil 82 by this magnetic flux interlinking the secondary coil 82. . The high voltage generated in the ignition coil 8 is applied to the discharge electrode 6 via the terminal portion 54 of the plasma generator 5 and the conductive portion provided inside the insulator 51, thereby the ground electrode 60 and Plasma discharge occurs during

  The igniter portion 83 has a connector portion 94 provided with three external terminals (not shown). The three external terminals are a control signal input terminal connected to the control device 10 through a signal line, a GND terminal connected to the external ground, and a power supply terminal connected to the power supply device 70. The igniter 91, the control device 10, and the power supply device 70 are electrically connected via the unit 94.

  The igniter portion 83 is formed with a flange portion 92 that protrudes, and the flange portion 92 has a bolt insertion hole 93 through which a tightening bolt that is screwed into a bolt hole 102 provided in the support substrate 100 is inserted. Is formed. With the plasma generator 5 connected, the ignition coil 8 is inserted into the support hole 101 of the support substrate 100, and the bolt is inserted into the bolt insertion hole 93 of the flange portion 92 and the bolt hole 102 of the support substrate 100, and tightened. Thus, the ignition coil 8 is fixed.

  Returning to FIG. 6, the control device 10 controls the energization of the primary coil 81 of each ignition coil 8, and includes an oscillation circuit 11 and a control signal generation circuit 12. The control signal generation circuit 12 receives the oscillation signal I from the oscillation circuit 11, generates two types of control signals s 1 and s 2 that are out of phase, and outputs these control signals s 1 and s 2 to the igniter of each ignition coil 8. 91 to output each.

  When a rectangular pulse oscillation signal I is supplied from the oscillation circuit 11 to the control signal generation circuit 12, the control signal generation circuit 12 outputs a first control signal s1 having a predetermined pulse width and a predetermined period (FIG. 8 (1)). And a second control signal s2 (shown in FIG. 8 (2)) that is out of phase with the first control signal s1, and generates the first control signal s1 as 12 ignitions. Output from the upstream side of the coil 8 to each ignition coil 8 in the first and third rows, and outputs a second control signal s2 to each ignition coil 8 in the second and fourth rows. . The first and second control signals s1 and s2 are 180 ° out of phase, and the first control signal s1 and the second control signal s2 rise alternately each time t seconds elapse.

  In response to these control signals s1 and s2, the igniter 91 of each ignition coil 8 is connected to each ignition coil 8 in the first and third rows by controlling the energization to the primary coil 81. The plasma generator 5 and the plasma generators 5 connected to the ignition coils 8 in the second and fourth rows alternately discharge repeatedly, and are uniformly applied to the water to be treated introduced into the purification treatment unit 2. A purification treatment with discharge plasma can be performed.

Note that the timing of generating the discharge by the plasma generator 5 is not limited to the above-described configuration, but for each row, such as the first column, the second column, the third column, and the fourth column when viewed from the direction in which the water to be treated flows. Alternatively, a discharge may be generated from the plasma generator 5 in order.
The control device 10 is not limited to a dedicated hardware circuit, but can be realized by a programmed computer.

In the purification device 1 having the above-described configuration, the water to be treated introduced into the purification treatment unit 2 from the introduction path 3 is purified by the discharge plasma generated by each plasma generator 5 in the purification treatment unit 2. Since a plurality of plasma generators 5 are arranged in alignment along the flow path of the water to be treated in the water flow paths 21A to 21C of the purification treatment unit 2, when the water to be treated passes through the water flow paths 21A to 21C. In addition, when a voltage is applied to each plasma generator 5 by the high voltage application device 7, a discharge is generated between each discharge electrode 6 and the ground electrode 60. Thereby, a uniform discharge plasma is generated over the entire region of the purification treatment unit 2 regardless of the flow of the water to be treated.
The treated water introduced into the purification treatment unit 2 by the action of the discharge plasma is subjected to purification treatment, and the treated water is derived from the purification treatment unit 2.

It is a side view of the purification apparatus which is one Example of this invention. It is a top view of the purification apparatus which is one Example of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the structure of an air introduction path. It is a half sectional view showing the configuration of the plasma generator. It is explanatory drawing which shows the attachment position of a discharge electrode and a ground electrode. It is a block diagram which shows the electric constitution of the purification apparatus which is one Example of this invention. It is sectional drawing which shows the structure of an ignition coil. It is a time chart which shows operation | movement of a control signal generation circuit.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Purification apparatus 2 Purification process part 3 Introductory path 4 Derived path 5 Plasma generator 6 Discharge electrode 7 High voltage application apparatus 8 Ignition coil 10 Control apparatus 21A-21C Water flow path 22 Air introduction path 60 Ground electrode 70 Power supply apparatus 81 Primary coil 82 Secondary coil

Claims (4)

  A purification processing unit that purifies a fluid with plasma generated by electric discharge, an introduction path for introducing a fluid to be processed into the purification processing unit, and a lead-out path for deriving a processed fluid from the purification processing unit. The purification treatment section has at least one fluid passage, and a plurality of plasma generators including discharge electrodes and ground electrodes facing each other are arranged in the fluid passage along the fluid flow path. A purification device in which each plasma generator is connected to a high voltage application device for intermittently applying a high voltage to the discharge electrode at a predetermined timing.   The high voltage application device includes a power supply device, a plurality of ignition coils including a primary coil connected to the power supply device, and a secondary coil connected to the primary coil and connected to the discharge electrode of the plasma generator. The purification apparatus according to claim 1, comprising a switch for controlling on and off of a current flowing through each primary coil at a predetermined timing. The purification device according to claim 1 or 2,
A purification device further comprising a control device for controlling the timing of discharge generation by controlling application of a high voltage from the high voltage application device to the discharge electrode of each plasma generator.   The purification apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an air introduction path for introducing air to the fluid flowing through the fluid passage is connected to the purification processing unit.

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