JP2008238046A - Distillation regenerating apparatus for cleaning agent - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a distillation regenerating apparatus which regenerates a cleaning agent to a clean state having a prescribed cleaning effect and enables the continuous stable cleaning by separating high-boiling point stain components, low-boiling stain components, and their composite stain components mixed into the cleaning agent by requiring no special complex structure. <P>SOLUTION: The distillation regenerating apparatus has an evaporator for evaporating the cleaning agent to separate the high-boiling point stain components, and a condenser for condensing cleaning agent components contained in vapor generated in the evaporator, and comprises a mechanism for controlling the temperature of a cooling medium used in the condenser, a mechanism for reducing pressure of the evaporator and condenser, and a mechanism for controlling the temperature of the cooling medium to separate the low-boiling point stain components in the condenser. A separation recovery line for the low-boiling point stain components is installed between the condenser and a cleaning agent regeneration recovery tank. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&amp;INPIT

Description

  The present invention provides a clean cleaning by separating dirt components mixed in the cleaning agent from the cleaning agent in the cleaning of parts in various industrial fields such as automobiles, machines, precision equipment, electricity, electronics, etc. The present invention relates to a distillation regenerator for recovering and reusing the agent.

  Parts processed in various industrial fields such as automobiles, machinery, precision equipment, electricity, electronics, etc. are processed by adding a surfactant to oil-based processing oils, mineral oils, etc. mainly composed of mineral oils. Emulsified water-soluble processing oil, oil-based and water-soluble heat-treated oil, wax, grease, flux and the like are used, and after processing, it is necessary to wash them in order to remove them.

  Conventionally, these stains have been removed by washing with a chlorinated solvent, washing with isopropanol (IPA), washing with an aqueous detergent containing alkali, acid, surfactant and water, and washing with a hydrocarbon detergent. I have been. However, chlorinated solvents are difficult to use due to environmental protection and toxicity problems, and IPA is difficult to use because of its low flash point and high fire risk and insufficient cleanability. Although water-based cleaning agents do not pose a fire hazard, they contain components that do not volatilize, so it is necessary to rinse them with pure water after cleaning, so stains and rust are likely to occur after cleaning, and pure water production facilities and wastewater treatment facilities There are many problems such as the necessity of incidental facilities such as. Hydrocarbon-based cleaning agents are generally flammable and require careful handling, but they are better used than other cleaning agents because they have better soil solubility and fewer problems such as environmental problems and toxicity. ing.

  In cleaning methods using hydrocarbon-based cleaning agents, the concentration of dirt components in the cleaning agent increases as cleaning continues and the cleaning effect decreases, so by distilling the cleaning agent, oily processing oil, wax, and flux (Hereinafter referred to as “high boiling point stain”), a high boiling point stain component is separated, and the cleaning agent is regenerated and used repeatedly (for example, see Patent Document 1).

  In addition, as a cleaning agent for removing high-boiling soils, low-boiling soils such as water (hereinafter referred to as low-boiling soils), and these composite soils, hydrocarbons that can dissolve these composite soils simultaneously. System cleaning agent and cleaning system (for example, see Patent Document 2), distillation regenerator (for example, see Patent Document 3) for separating them from cleaning agents mixed with mixed dirt, vacuum distillation recovery without containing water An apparatus (see, for example, Patent Document 4) has been proposed.

JP-A-6-170102 (Claims 1, 2) JP 2006-22167 A (Claims 1, 2) JP-A-7-308501 (Claims 1, 2, and 3) JP-A-7-213802 (Claim 1)

  However, in hydrocarbon-based cleaning agents that dissolve and remove high-boiling soils and low-boiling soils as described above, low-boiling soils such as aqueous soils are simultaneously washed in addition to high-boiling soils such as oily soils. It dissolves and mixes in the agent. In addition, in hydrocarbon-based detergents containing polar solvents such as glycol ethers, not only the concentration of high-boiling soil components increases with cleaning, but also the moisture concentration increases due to absorption of moisture in the atmosphere. Adversely affects cleanability. Furthermore, two or more kinds of cleaning agents are used, for example, when cleaning is performed using a hydrocarbon-based cleaning agent, and then drying is performed using a fluorine-based cleaning agent such as HFE having a low boiling point and quick drying. When cleaning, a high-boiling soil and a low-boiling cleaning agent are mixed in the hydrocarbon-based cleaning agent. It is not always easy to separate these combined soil components at once.

  Using a conventional distillation apparatus equipped with a distiller, a cooler, and a vacuum generator as in Patent Document 1, a high-boiling soil component and a cleaning agent component can be separated, but a low-boiling soil component and a cleaning agent component are separated. There is a problem that it is not possible.

  Also proposed is a distillation device equipped with a mechanism that provides a flash can at the front stage of a distiller as in Patent Document 3 and exposes the cleaning agent heated to a predetermined temperature to a vacuum to flush and evaporate low-boiling contaminants to separate them. However, the apparatus is large in size and complicated in operation, and maintenance labor and costs are inevitably increased.

  In the vacuum distillation apparatus in which the flow control valve is provided in the cooling coil in the condenser as in Patent Document 4 and the temperature of the condenser is controlled to the condensation temperature of the recovered solvent, the temperature of the condenser is controlled slowly, so that the solvent is recovered. There is a problem that the rate decreases and the separation of dirt becomes insufficient. In addition, a vacuum line is provided at the top of the recovery tank and connected to a vacuum generator, and the cleaning agent and low-boiling components are separated in the recovery tank, so that the recovered cleaning agent can be extracted from the recovery tank and reused. However, a process of returning the pressure of the vacuum distillation apparatus to atmospheric pressure or cooling it to a temperature at which the extraction pump does not cause cavitation is necessary, and the vacuum generator must be temporarily stopped.

  The present invention solves the above-mentioned problems, and does not require a particularly complicated structure. The high-boiling soil component, the low-boiling soil component mixed with the hydrocarbon-based detergent dissolved therein, and a composite thereof. An object of the present invention is to provide a distillation regenerator and a cleaning system capable of returning the cleaning agent to a clean state having a predetermined cleaning effect and performing continuous and stable cleaning while efficiently separating the soiled components. And

  In view of such circumstances, the present inventors have made various studies to solve the above-mentioned problems, and as a result, have found the target distillation regeneration apparatus and have completed the present invention.

  That is, the present invention provides a distillation regenerator for distilling and reusing a cleaning agent used for cleaning an object to be cleaned and reusing it, evaporating the cleaning agent and separating a high-boiling soil component, A condenser that condenses the cleaning agent component contained in the vapor generated in the evaporator, a mechanism that adjusts the temperature of the cooling medium used in the condenser, and a mechanism that depressurizes the evaporator and the condenser; Including a mechanism for adjusting the temperature of the cooling medium to separate low boiling point soil components from the cleaning agent in the condenser, and installing a low boiling point soil component separation and recovery line between the condenser and the cleaning agent regeneration recovery unit. A cleaning system comprising a cleaning tank distillation regenerator, a cleaning tank, and the above-described distillation regenerating apparatus, wherein the cleaning agent temperature-controlled in the cleaning tank is used as a cooling medium for the condenser. About.

  Hereinafter, it demonstrates still in detail using the schematic block diagram of the distillation reproduction apparatus concerning the Example of this invention.

  The distillation regenerator shown in FIG. 1 receives a liquid to be treated such as a cleaning agent used in a washing machine, is heated to evaporate, and is connected to the upper part of the evaporator 2 so as to communicate from the evaporator 2. The first condenser 3 for condensing the processing liquid vapor, the temperature regulator 8 for storing the refrigerant and adjusting the temperature, the circulation pump 9 for sending the circulating liquid from the temperature regulator 8 to the first condenser 3, the first condensation A regenerator tank 5 that receives the liquid condensed in the condenser 3, a second condenser 4 that is connected to the first condenser 3 and condenses the liquid to be treated that has not been condensed in the first condenser 3; 4 includes a recovery liquid tank 6 that receives the liquid condensed in 4 and a vacuum pump 7 that is connected to the second condenser 4 and maintains the inside of the distillation regenerator at a predetermined degree of vacuum.

  The liquid to be treated supplied to the evaporator 2 contains a high-boiling soil component and a low-boiling soil component in addition to the cleaning agent component. The liquid to be treated is heated by the heat exchanger 10 provided in the evaporator 2 to evaporate the cleaning agent component and the low-boiling soil component, and concentrate the high-boiling soil component. The concentrated liquid is periodically extracted from the evaporator 2 to separate the cleaning agent and the high-boiling soil components. As the evaporator 2, for example, a conventional evaporator such as a jacket type, a coil type, a reboiler type, or a thin film type can be used. The evaporator 2 can be provided with a droplet collector such as a wire mesh type, a baffle plate type, or a cyclone type in order to separate the droplets accompanying the evaporated cleaning agent vapor as necessary.

  The vapor | steam containing the cleaning agent component and low boiling-point soil component which were heated and evaporated by the evaporator 2 is a temperature lower than the exit vapor | steam temperature of the evaporator 2 in the 1st condenser 3, and higher than the cooling temperature of the 2nd condenser 4. Cooled to temperature. As a result, the cleaning component is preferentially condensed and supplied to the cleaning machine through the regenerated liquid tank 5 for reuse. The temperature of the refrigerant in the first condenser 3 is adjusted by the temperature adjuster 8 and supplied to the first condenser 3 by the circulation pump 9. The cooling temperature in the first condenser 3 is preferably 5 ° C. or more lower than the outlet steam temperature of the evaporator 2, more preferably 10 ° C. or more. When the temperature is lower than 5 ° C., the condensation of the cleaning agent component does not proceed and the recovery rate of the cleaning agent deteriorates. On the other hand, if the cooling temperature is too low, it becomes difficult to separate the cleaning agent from the low-boiling soil component. When the low-boiling soil component is water and the operating vacuum is 7 kPa, it is usually preferably 30 ° C. or higher. The cooling temperature of the first condenser 3 can be set to an optimum temperature in consideration of the recovery rate of the cleaning agent and the degree of separation from the low boiling point soil component depending on the boiling point of the cleaning agent and the boiling point of the low boiling point soil component. .

  The steam that is not condensed in the first condenser 3 is a steam that contains a large amount of low-boiling soil components, and passes through the separation / recovery line installed between the first condenser 3 and the regenerated liquid tank 5. , Cooled to a lower temperature, condensed, and recovered in the recovery liquid tank 6. Since the regenerative cleaning agent in the regenerated liquid tank 5 is extracted and sent to a washing machine for reuse, the reclaimed liquid tank 5 has a built-in cooler or the like, and conditions for reuse (for example, below the flash point) The temperature can be adjusted to a desired temperature in consideration of conditions (for example, a temperature at which the liquid feeding pump does not cause cavitation).

  The cooling temperature in the second condenser 4 is preferably a temperature that can sufficiently condense the low-boiling soil components, and is usually 30 ° C. or lower, preferably 20 ° C. or lower. As the condenser, for example, a conventional heat exchanger such as a coil type, a shell and tube structure, a double pipe type, or a plate type heat exchanger can be used.

  As the vacuum generator, a conventional vacuum generator such as a diaphragm vacuum pump, a dry vacuum pump, a liquid ring vacuum pump, or an ejector can be used.

  The distillation regenerator shown in FIG. 2 is a configuration example using an ejector as a vacuum generation mechanism. An evaporator 2 that receives a liquid to be processed such as a cleaning agent used in the cleaning machine, heats and evaporates, and a first condensing unit that is connected to the upper part of the evaporator 2 to condense the liquid to be processed from the evaporator 2. 3, a temperature regulator 8 that stores refrigerant and adjusts the temperature, a circulation pump 9 that sends the circulating fluid from the temperature regulator 8 to the first condenser 3, and a regeneration that accepts the liquid condensed in the first condenser 3 The liquid tank 5, an ejector 11 that sucks the liquid to be treated that has not been condensed in the first condenser 3 and keeps the inside of the distillation regenerator at a predetermined vacuum level, a circulating liquid pump 12 that drives the ejector 11, and a circulating liquid tank 13.

  The to-be-processed liquid vapor | steam which evaporated with the evaporator 2 and was not condensed with the 1st condenser 3 was attracted | sucked by the ejector 11, and is mixed with a circulating liquid. The circulating liquid circulates through the circulation tank 13 and the ejector 11 through the circulation pump 12. However, the liquid temperature rises due to mixing of the liquid to be treated and the pressure reducing capacity fluctuates. Cooling to a predetermined temperature by the exchanger 14. When the circulating fluid increases, the increased amount of circulating fluid is removed from the circulating fluid tank 13 or the like. The heat exchanger that cools the circulating fluid is not particularly limited in its form and installation location as long as it has an effect of suppressing the temperature rise of the circulating fluid.

  FIG. 3 shows an example of a cleaning system in which the distillation regenerator of FIG. 2 is combined with a two-tank cleaning machine and a dryer 17. The cleaning machine has a rough cleaning tank 15 and a rinse cleaning tank 16 provided with heat exchangers 19 and 20, and stores a cleaning agent to maintain a constant temperature. The crude cleaning liquid is circulated through the coarse cleaning tank 15 and the condenser 3 of the distillation regenerator by the cleaning agent circulation pump 18, and the cleaning agent vapor evaporated by the evaporator 2 is cooled to a certain temperature. The coarse cleaning liquid is introduced into the distillation regenerator, and after the dirt components are separated, it is returned to the rinsing tank 16 by the liquid feeding pump 21.

  In the above cleaning system example, the cleaning agent maintained at a constant temperature is used as a cooling medium for condensing the vapor evaporated in the distillation regenerator, so that the cleaning machine is simply combined with the distillation regenerator of the present invention. Compared to the cleaning system, the apparatus can be made simpler and the thermal efficiency can be improved.

  The distillation regenerator of the present invention is composed of alcohols, glycol ethers, ketones, esters, saturated hydrocarbons, cyclic hydrocarbons, aromatic hydrocarbons, etc., and has a boiling point of about 130 to 220 ° C. Can be preferably used.

  In addition, low-boiling soils and high-boiling soils are usually regenerated by distillation in a state of being dissolved in a cleaning agent. However, even if they are not dissolved, they can be regenerated by distillation to separate various types of soils.

  The low-boiling soil component is usually water contained in water-soluble processing oils, but other halogen solvents such as methylene chloride, HFE and HFC, alcohols such as methanol, ethanol and IPA, and ketones such as acetone. Any component having a boiling point of about 110 ° C. or lower, such as hydrocarbons such as toluene, hexane, cyclohexane and thinner, organic acids such as formic acid and acetic acid can be separated from the cleaning agent.

  High-boiling soil components include mineral oil components in oily and water-soluble processing oils, waxes and greases, additives such as higher fatty acids, chlorinated paraffins, antioxidants, various surfactants, and rosin containing flux. Examples of the resin component are as follows. Moreover, even if it is solid, such as an abrasive | polishing agent and a chip, isolation | separation from a washing | cleaning agent is possible.

  The distillation regenerator of the present invention is incorporated into a co-solvent cleaning device combined with a low boiling point cleaning agent such as an atmospheric pressure cleaning device, a vacuum cleaning device, a vapor cleaning device, HFE, etc. Continuous and stable washing can be performed while repeating distillation regeneration.

  In addition, this invention is not limited to an Example, Specific structures, such as an evaporator and the heat exchanger which comprises an evaporator, a splash separator, and a condenser which isolate | separates a water-soluble soil component In the scope of the invention, the present invention relates to a specific structure, a specific structure of a temperature controller for adjusting the condensation temperature of the condenser, a specific structure of a pressure reducing mechanism, or a structure of a cleaning device constituting the cleaning system of the present invention. Various applications and modifications can be added. Further, the present invention is not limited to the cleaning agent, and can be applied to various solvents within the scope of the gist of the invention.

  The distillation regenerator of the present invention separates a high-boiling soil component from a low-boiling soil component in a detergent mixed with a high-boiling soil component such as oily processing oil, a low-boiling soil component such as water, and a composite soil thereof. The cleaning agent can be regenerated and used repeatedly.

Examples 1-8, Comparative Examples 1-2
About the following detergent and solvent, the to-be-processed liquid which mixed the stain | pollution | contamination shown below was prepared, and the distillation test was done using the distillation regenerator shown in FIG. The distillation test was completed with about 5% by weight of the liquid to be treated left in the evaporator. The regenerated solution after the test was measured for nonvolatile content and water concentration. The nonvolatile content was determined by a gravimetric method, and the moisture concentration was determined using a Karl Fischer moisture measuring device (Mitsubishi Chemical). The recovery rate of the regenerated liquid was determined as the weight ratio of the regenerated liquid to the total amount of the liquid to be treated.

Cleaning agents and solvents:
HC-AD50 (manufactured by Tosoh Corporation)
3-Methyl-3-methoxy-1-butanol Dipropylene glycol monomethyl ether Propylene glycol-n-propyl ether High-boiling soil: Sandroe D-235B (manufactured by Sugimura Chemical Co., Ltd.)
Low boiling point soil: water Evaporator heating temperature: 100 ° C
First condenser cooling water temperature: 35 ° C, 40 ° C, 45 ° C
Second condenser cooling water temperature: 25 ° C
Degree of vacuum: 4-6kPa
These test results are shown in Table 1.

本発明による蒸留再生装置は、汚染された洗浄剤または溶剤の不揮発分及び水分濃度を大幅に減少させることができ、高い回収率で再生できることを確認した。また、第一凝縮器の冷却水温度を調整するだけで、再生液の水分濃度を調整することが可能であった。

It was confirmed that the distillation regenerator according to the present invention can greatly reduce the non-volatile content and moisture concentration of the contaminated cleaning agent or solvent and can be regenerated with a high recovery rate. Moreover, it was possible to adjust the water concentration of the regenerated liquid only by adjusting the cooling water temperature of the first condenser.

  Further, when the cooling water temperature of the first condenser is adjusted to 70 ° C. with respect to the vapor temperature of 70 to 73 ° C. (Examples 1 to 5 and Comparative Examples 1 and 2) at the outlet of the evaporator, the recovery rate is deteriorated. In addition, when the cooling water temperature of the first condenser was adjusted to 25 ° C., the water content of the regenerated liquid could not be reduced.

The block diagram of the distillation reproduction apparatus of this invention is shown. The block diagram of the distillation reproduction apparatus of this invention is shown. The block diagram of the washing | cleaning system of this invention is shown.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 2 Evaporator 3 1st condenser 4 2nd condenser 5 Reclaimed liquid tank 6 Recovery liquid tank 7 Vacuum pump 8 1st condenser refrigerant temperature regulator 9 1st condenser refrigerant circulation pump 10 Heat exchanger for to-be-processed liquid heating DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 Ejector 12 Ejector circulating fluid pump 13 Ejector circulating fluid tank 14 Heat exchanger for circulating fluid cooling 15 Washing machine Coarse washing tank 16 Washing machine Rinse washing tank 17 Dryer 18 Cleaning agent circulation pump 19 Coarse washing tank heat exchanger 20 Rinse washing Tank heat exchanger 21 Liquid feed pump

Claims (2)

In a distillation regeneration apparatus for regenerating and reusing a cleaning agent used for cleaning an object to be cleaned, an evaporator for evaporating the cleaning agent to separate high boiling point contaminant components, and a vapor generated by the evaporator Having a condenser for condensing the cleaning agent component contained therein, a mechanism for adjusting the temperature of the cooling medium used in the condenser, a mechanism for depressurizing the evaporator and the condenser, and a temperature of the cooling medium. A cleaning agent comprising a mechanism for adjusting and separating the low-boiling soil components from the cleaning agent in the condenser, and a separation and recovery line for the low-boiling soil components is installed between the condenser and the cleaning agent recovery collector. Distillation regeneration equipment. A cleaning system comprising a cleaning tank and the distillation regeneration apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a cleaning agent whose temperature is adjusted in the cleaning tank is used as a cooling medium for the condenser.

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