JP2009006287A - Production apparatus of electrolytic water, production method of electrolytic water, and electrolytic water - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a production apparatus of electrolytic water and a production method of electrolytic water which can efficiently generate slightly acidic or slightly alkaline electrolytic water and enable mass-production of the electrolytic water, and electrolytic water. <P>SOLUTION: The production apparatus 10 of electrolytic water comprises an anode chamber 20 provided with an anode electrode 22, a cathode chamber 30 provided with a cathode electrode 32, an intermediate chamber 40 provided between the anode chamber 20 and the cathode chamber 30 and accommodating an electrolyte aqueous solution, an anion exchange membrane 24 separating the anode chamber 20 and the intermediate chamber 40, and a cation exchange membrane 34 separating the cathode chamber 30 and the intermediate chamber 40. The anode chamber 20 and the cathode chamber 30 communicate with each other through a communication hole 52 provided in a partition wall 50. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an electrolyzed water production apparatus for electrolyzing an electrolytic aqueous solution, an electrolyzed water production method using the electrolyzed water production apparatus, and electrolyzed water obtained by the electrolyzed water production method.

  As a general electrolyzed water generating device, there are a one-tank type and a two-tank (chamber) type generating device. For example, when a one-tank generator is used, an aqueous electrolyte solution such as saline is injected into a tank to dispose an anode plate and a cathode plate, and the anode plate and the cathode plate are energized to undergo an electrolysis process. Alkaline electrolyzed water containing sodium chloride is produced. Further, in the electrolysis process, harmful trihalomethane is generated and sodium chloride remains as it is.

  Moreover, as a 2 tank (chamber) type production | generation apparatus, the thing of the structure disclosed by Unexamined-Japanese-Patent No. 2005-329375 (document 1) is well-known, for example. This two-chamber generator forms two electrolysis chambers that are opposed to each other by partitioning an intermediate portion of one tank with an ion-permeable diaphragm, and provides raw water supply means and electrolyzed water extraction means in each electrolysis chamber, One electrolytic type is provided with an anode electrode and a chloride aqueous solution (brine) supply means, and the other electrolytic chamber is provided with a cathode electrode. Then, by applying a required voltage to each electrode and performing an electrolysis process, acidic electrolyzed water containing chlorine gas and sodium chloride is obtained in the electrolytic method on the anode side, and hydrogen gas and alkaline electrolysis are obtained in the electrolysis chamber on the cathode side. Water is obtained.

As an apparatus for producing electrolyzed water that does not contain sodium chloride, for example, a three-tank electrolyzer disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-246249 (Document 2) is known. This three-tank electrolysis apparatus has a structure in which an anode chamber and a cathode chamber are provided on both sides of the intermediate chamber via ion exchange membranes and electrode plates. The intermediate chamber is filled with a high concentration electrolyte aqueous solution, for example, 10% potassium chloride or sodium chloride aqueous solution. Further, for example, tap water is passed through the anode chamber and the cathode chamber, and both electrode plates are energized and subjected to an electrolysis step, so that electrolysis water containing no sodium chloride, that is, pH 2.0 to 3. in the anode chamber. About 0 acidic electrolyzed water is produced. On the other hand, alkaline electrolyzed water having a pH of about 10.0 to 12.0 is generated in the cathode chamber.
JP 2005-329375 A JP 2000-246249 A

  An object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus for producing electrolyzed water, a method for producing electrolyzed water, and electrolyzed water that can efficiently generate weakly acidic or weakly alkaline electrolyzed water.

1. Electrolyzed water production apparatus The electrolyzed water production apparatus according to the present invention comprises:
An anode chamber provided with an anode electrode;
A cathode chamber provided with a cathode electrode;
A partition partitioning the anode chamber and the cathode chamber,
The partition is configured to include an ion exchange membrane,
The anode chamber and the cathode chamber communicate with each other.

  The inventor of the present application has found that, in the production of electrolyzed water, acid water generated in the anode chamber is mixed into the cathode chamber, so that scale does not adhere to the cathode of the cathode chamber. Therefore, according to the present invention, since the anode chamber and the cathode chamber communicate with each other, the scale does not adhere to the cathode of the cathode chamber, and the process of cleaning the scale can be eliminated or the number of times can be reduced. Long continuous operation is possible.

  In the present invention, the partition may be provided with a communication hole that communicates the anode chamber and the cathode chamber. Thereby, since it is not necessary to separately form a communication path, a compact electrolyzed water production apparatus can be realized.

  In the present invention, a distribution ratio adjusting valve for determining a distribution ratio between the amount of water flowing in the anode chamber and the amount of water flowing in the cathode chamber can be provided. By having this distribution ratio adjusting valve, the ratio of the introduction amount of the anode chamber and the cathode chamber can be adjusted, and pH adjustment becomes easy.

  The present invention may include a first discharge valve that adjusts a discharge amount for discharging the liquid in the anode chamber and a second discharge valve that adjusts a discharge amount for discharging the liquid in the cathode chamber. Thereby, by adjusting the opening / closing amount of the first discharge valve and the second discharge valve, it is possible to adjust the amount of acid water generated in the anode chamber mixed into the cathode chamber.

  In the present invention, a first liquid supply port for supplying liquid to the anode chamber, a second liquid supply port for supplying liquid to the cathode chamber, and a first for discharging the liquid in the anode chamber. A discharge port and a second discharge port for discharging the liquid in the cathode chamber, wherein the first liquid supply port is provided in an upper portion of the anode chamber, and the second liquid supply port is The first discharge port may be provided in a lower portion of the anode chamber, and the second discharge port may be provided in a lower portion of the cathode chamber.

  According to this, the liquid introduced into the anode chamber is directed from top to bottom, the contact time between the gas generated in the anode chamber and the introduced liquid is increased, and a gas-liquid reaction can be surely caused.

  In the present invention, the height of the anode chamber may be larger than the width of the anode chamber in the direction orthogonal to the anode. The ratio of the height of the anode chamber to the width of the anode chamber (height / width) can be, for example, 1.5 or more, preferably 1.5 to 5.0. According to this, since the gas generated in the anode chamber moves upward as the height of the anode chamber increases, the time for the gas-liquid reaction with the liquid introduced into the anode chamber can be lengthened.

  In the present invention, the aqueous electrolyte solution contains chloride ions, and the electrolyzed water production apparatus is particularly useful for producing electrolyzed water containing hypochlorous acid.

  In the present invention, the anion exchange membrane may be provided with micropores for allowing the aqueous electrolyte solution to pass therethrough. According to this, the positive ions of the aqueous electrolyte solution also move through the micropores of the anion exchange membrane. In particular, it is useful for producing a mixed water of hypochlorous acid and sodium hypochlorite.

  The cathode may be covered with a sheet that is permeable to water. By covering the cathode with a sheet that is permeable to water, the electrolyzed water stays in the vicinity of the cathode. For this reason, the charge amount with respect to the water staying in the vicinity of the cathode 32 increases. As the amount of charge for water increases, the deposition of cation-based scales is further reduced.

2. Method for Producing Electrolyzed Water The method for producing electrolyzed water of the present invention is a method for producing electrolyzed water using the electrolyzed water producing apparatus of the present invention, wherein the water produced in the anode chamber and And electrolyzing the water generated in the cathode chamber through mixing with the communication port.

3. Electrolyzed water The electrolyzed water of the present invention is obtained by the method for producing electrolyzed water of the present invention.

1. Electrolytic Device In this embodiment, an example in which the electrolytic device according to the present invention is applied to the production of hypochlorous acid water is shown.

  FIG. 1 shows a schematic view of an apparatus for producing electrolyzed water (hereinafter referred to as “electrolyzer”). FIG. 2 is a diagram showing partition walls and electrodes between the anode chamber and the cathode chamber.

  The electrolysis device 10 includes an anode chamber 20 and a cathode chamber 30. The anode chamber 20 and the cathode chamber 30 are separated by a partition wall 50. The partition wall 50 includes an ion exchange membrane 54. The ion exchange membrane 54 may be either a cation exchange membrane or an anion exchange membrane, but is preferably a cation exchange membrane from the viewpoint of cost. Known cation exchange membranes and anion exchange membranes can be used. The partition wall 50 is provided with a communication hole 52. Thereby, the aqueous solution of the anode chamber 20 and the aqueous solution of the cathode chamber 30 can go back and forth.

  The anode chamber 20 and the cathode chamber 30 are supplied with water and an electrolyte aqueous solution from a supply source 80 of the electrolyte aqueous solution. The electrolyte aqueous solution that has passed through the anode 22 and the cathode 32 may be returned to the electrolyte aqueous solution supply source 80, and the electrolyte aqueous solution may be reused and circulated, or the consumed amount of electrolyte may be added to the intermediate chamber 40. Also good. Examples of the aqueous electrolyte solution include chloride salt aqueous solution (sodium chloride aqueous solution and potassium chloride aqueous solution). The concentration of the aqueous electrolyte solution can be, for example, the saturation concentration of the electrolyte. When the partition 50 is configured to include a cation exchange membrane, the cations in the anode chamber 20 move to the cathode chamber 30 through the cation exchange membrane. Moreover, when the partition 50 is comprised including an anion exchange membrane, the anion of the cathode chamber 30 moves to the anode chamber 20 through the anion exchange membrane.

  The cathode 32 is connected to the − side of the DC power supply 70, and the anode 22 is connected to the + side of the DC power supply 70. The DC power supply 70 is configured to be able to arbitrarily set its voltage and current. For example, the DC power source 70 can be arbitrarily selected in the range of 5 to 20 volts, and the current can be appropriately selected and set in the range of 3 to 26 amperes. The anode 22 and the cathode 32 can be made of a mesh-like electrode or an electrode punched with a hole of about 1.5 mm, for example. Note that the punched electrode can have an area removed by punching and an area used as an electrode of, for example, about 50%. A known material can be applied as the material of the electrode.

  The electrolyzer 10 is provided with a first water supply port 26 for supplying water to the anode chamber 20 and a second water supply port 36 for supplying water to the cathode chamber 30. The flow path connected to the first water supply port 26 and the second water supply port 36 is configured by branching one flow path. A distribution ratio adjusting valve 60 for adjusting the amount of water distributed to the anode chamber 20 and the cathode chamber 30 is provided at the branch of the flow path. The distribution ratio adjusting valve 60 may also have a supply amount adjusting function for adjusting the amount of water supplied to the electrolyzer 10.

  In addition, the electrolysis apparatus 10 is provided with a first discharge port 28 a that discharges the liquid in the anode chamber 20 and a second discharge port 38 a that discharges the liquid in the cathode chamber 30. Furthermore, the electrolysis apparatus 10 includes a first discharge valve 28b that adjusts the amount of liquid discharged from the first discharge port 28a, and a second that adjusts the amount of liquid discharged from the second discharge port 28a. And a discharge valve 28b.

  The first discharge port 28 a may be provided in the lower portion of the anode chamber 20, and the first water supply port 26 may be provided in the upper portion of the anode chamber 20. Thereby, the water supplied from the first water supply port 26 tends to flow from top to bottom. Therefore, bubbles made of a gas generated at the anode 22 (chlorine when the aqueous electrolyte solution is sodium chloride or potassium chloride) are pushed upward by the water, and it is difficult for the bubbles to rise upward. The time for gas-liquid contact becomes longer, and the reaction to hypochlorous acid can be performed more reliably.

  The anode chamber 20 may be vertically long. Specifically, the height of the anode chamber 20 is preferably larger than the width of the anode chamber 20 in the direction orthogonal to the anode 22. The ratio of the height of the anode chamber to the width of the anode chamber (height / width) can be, for example, 1.5 or more, preferably 1.5 to 5.0. With such a vertically long shape, the time during which the gas (chlorine) generated in the anode chamber 20 contacts with water can be lengthened, and the reaction between chlorine and water can be performed reliably. The cathode 30 may be the same.

2. Operation Next, the operation of the electrolysis apparatus 10 will be described.

  First, the distribution ratio adjusting valve 60 is adjusted, and water is supplied to the anode chamber 20 and the cathode chamber 30. The amount of water is, for example, 0.5 to 1.5 l / ml.

  Along with the supply of water, a potential is applied between the anode 22 and the cathode 32 to perform electrolysis. For example, the voltage during electrolysis is 5 to 10 V, and the current is 3 to 10 amperes. In particular, when it is set to 1500 coulombs per liter of the aqueous solution supplied to the cathode chamber 30, preferably 2000 coulombs, it becomes difficult to attach a scale. When a potential is applied between the anode 22 and the cathode 32, the cation in the intermediate chamber 40 (for example, sodium ion when the electrolyte is sodium chloride) passes through the second diaphragm 34 and moves to the cathode chamber 30. The anions in the intermediate chamber 40 (for example, chloride ions when the electrolyte is sodium chloride) pass through the first diaphragm 24 and move to the anode chamber 20.

In the anode chamber 20, chloride ions cause a reaction of the following formula at the anode 22 to generate chlorine.
2Cl ⁻ → Cl ₂ + 2e ⁻
This chlorine further reacts with water to produce hypochlorous acid.
Cl ₂ + H ₂ O → HClO + HCl
On the other hand, in the cathode chamber 30, the following reaction occurs at the cathode.
H ₂ O + 2e ⁻ → 1 / 2H ₂ + OH ⁻
During this electrolysis, acidic electrolyzed water generated in the anode chamber 20 moves from the communication hole 52 provided in the partition wall 50 separating the anode chamber 20 and the cathode chamber 30 to the cathode chamber 30 and is generated in the cathode chamber 30. The alkaline electrolyzed water thus moved moves to the anode chamber 20. Thereby, the acidic water generated in the anode chamber 20 and the alkaline electrolyzed water generated in the cathode chamber 30 are mixed. Further, the acidic water generated in the anode chamber 20 moves to the cathode chamber 30, so that the scale generated in the cathode 32 can be prevented from adhering.

  Further, during this electrolysis, the first discharge valve 28b and the second discharge valve 38b are adjusted to control the amount of electrolyzed water discharged from the anode chamber 20 and the cathode chamber 30.

  By mixing the electrolyzed water discharged from the first discharge port 28a and the electrolyzed water discharged from the second discharge port 38a, the weakly alkaline, neutral or weakly acidic sub-axis according to the present embodiment. Electrolyzed water containing chloric acid is generated.

  Note that one of the first discharge valve 28b and the second discharge valve 38b may be completely closed, and the discharge may be performed only from either the first discharge port 28a or the second discharge port 28b. In this case, mixed water is generated inside the anode chamber 20 or the cathode chamber 30.

3. Operation and Effect According to the present invention, the following operation and effect can be achieved.

  (1) In the cathode chamber 20, generally, cations contained in the aqueous solution adhere to the cathode 32 and are scaled. However, the inventor of the present application has found that the scale does not adhere to the cathode 32 by inductively mixing the acidic water produced in the anode chamber 20 into the cathode chamber 30 according to the electrolysis apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment. . Since the scale is not attached to the cathode 32 in this way, the step of removing the scale attached to the cathode 32 (back washing) can be eliminated or reduced, and continuous operation is possible.

  When only the second discharge valve 38b is opened and the electrolyzed water is discharged only from the second discharge port 38a of the cathode chamber 30, the acidic water generated in the anode chamber 20 flows toward the cathode chamber 30 and has a high concentration. It becomes possible to generate alkaline electrolyzed water containing hypochlorous acid, and no further scale adheres to the cathode 32.

  (2) Conventionally, there was no idea of mixing the electrolyzed water generated in the anode chamber 20 and the electrolyzed water generated in the cathode chamber 30. However, the inventors of the present application have found that by mixing the electrolyzed water generated in the anode chamber 20 and the electrolyzed water generated in the cathode chamber 30, the mixed water exhibits weak alkalinity, neutrality or weak acidity. . Also, by mixing these electrolyzed water, conventionally only one electrolyzed water was used and the other electrolyzed water was discarded, but since both electrolyzed water can be used, water resources are effective. Can be used for

  (3) By adjusting the distribution ratio adjusting valve 60, the amount of current flowing to the water per unit water amount flowing to the cathode 32 can be adjusted. That is, if the amount of current is the same, the amount of current flowing to the water per unit amount of water can be increased if the amount of water is small. The larger the amount of current per unit water flowing through the cathode 32, the more difficult the scale adheres to the cathode 32. Therefore, by reducing the amount of water supplied to the cathode chamber 30, it is possible to more reliably reduce the scale on the cathode 32.

  (4) The first and second water supply ports 26 and 36 are provided above the anode chamber 20 and the cathode chamber 30, and the first and second discharge ports 28a and 28b are provided below the anode chamber 20 and the cathode chamber 30. By flowing water from the top to the bottom, the chlorine generated at the anode 22 hardly rises upward, and the time for the chlorine to contact the water can be lengthened. Therefore, the reaction to hypochlorous acid can be realized more reliably.

  (5) Normally, when the amount of distribution to the anode chamber 20 is low, when the electrolyzed water generated in the anode chamber 20 and the electrolyzed water generated in the cathode chamber 30 are mixed, hypochlorous acid It appears that the concentration is greatly reduced. However, the present inventor has found that the concentration of hypochlorous acid (effective chlorine concentration) does not greatly decrease in the electrolyzed water obtained by the present embodiment. Therefore, according to this Embodiment, since the electrolyzed water obtained contains high concentration hypochlorous acid, bactericidal power does not fall.

  Hypochlorous acid is generally known to be contained in the acidic electrolyzed water produced on the anode side, but hypochlorous acid whose pH value is adjusted to slightly acidic, neutral or slightly alkaline is known. In the case of producing chloric acid water, hydrochloric acid is added to industrially produced sodium hypochlorite (soda) to adjust the pH value, or acidity including sodium chloride produced by the above-mentioned literature 1 is used. Although it is conceivable to manufacture by mixing an appropriate amount of electrolyzed water and alkaline electrolyzed water, in any case, the pH value is not adjusted independently without changing the effective chlorine concentration so much.

なお、第１の吐出バルブ２８ｂと第２の吐出バルブ３８ｂとを同じ程度開放することで、陽極室２０で生成された電解水と陰極室３０で生成された電解水との混合比率は下がることになるため、混合比率は特に第１および第２の吐き出しバルブ２８ｂ，３８ｂで調整することができる。 (6) In the present embodiment, the magnitude relationship between the amount of water supplied to the anode chamber 20 and the amount of water supplied to the cathode chamber 30, and the first discharge valve 28b and the second discharge valve 38b. As shown in Table 1, various pH adjustments can be made in the range from weak acidity to weak alkalinity. In an environment where hypochlorous acid and sodium ions coexist, the equilibrium relationship between hypochlorous acid and sodium hypochlorite is determined by pH. Therefore, since pH adjustment becomes possible in this way, while being able to produce | generate the mixed water of hypochlorous acid and sodium hypochlorite, the production | generation ratio can be adjusted.

In addition, the mixing ratio of the electrolyzed water produced | generated in the anode chamber 20 and the electrolyzed water produced | generated in the cathode chamber 30 falls by opening the 1st discharge valve 28b and the 2nd discharge valve 38b to the same extent. Therefore, the mixing ratio can be adjusted by the first and second discharge valves 28b and 38b.

  (7) Conventionally, when either one is used, one is discarded, but this method makes it possible to avoid wasting valuable water resources.

  In addition, a method of generating sodium hypochlorite by reacting chloride ions in an alkaline environment by electrolysis can be considered, but in this case, there is a problem that trihalomethane is generated. However, according to the present embodiment, hypochlorous acid is generated in the acidic anode chamber 20, and hypochlorous acid is generated by reacting the hypochlorous acid with sodium ions. Does not occur.

4). Modified Example (1) First Modified Example In the above embodiment, the anode chamber 20 and the cathode chamber 30 are communicated with each other through the communication hole 52 of the partition wall 50. Good.

(2) Second Modification As shown in FIGS. 4 to 8, the cathode 32 can be covered with a sheet 90 that is permeable to water. Examples of the sheet body 90 include a nonwoven fabric and a multi-layered net-like sheet. Thus, when the cathode 32 is covered with a sheet body, the following effects are exhibited.

  By covering the cathode 32 with the sheet member 90, water to be electrolyzed stays in the vicinity of the cathode 32. For this reason, the charge amount with respect to the water staying in the vicinity of the cathode 32 increases. As the amount of charge for water increases, the deposition of cation-based scales is further reduced. As a result, continuous operation is facilitated, and backwashing of the cathode 32 is not required or the frequency can be reduced, so that an electrolytic device more advantageous in industrial applications can be realized. In addition, since the scale can be prevented from growing on the cathode 32 and damaging the ion exchange membrane 54, it can also serve to protect the ion exchange membrane.

  The anode 22 may also be covered with a sheet similar to the cathode 32.

  Various modifications can be made to the above-described embodiment within the scope of the present invention.

It is a figure which shows typically the manufacturing apparatus of electrolyzed water. It is a figure for demonstrating a communicating hole. It is a figure which shows typically the manufacturing apparatus of the electrolyzed water which concerns on a 2nd modification. It is a figure which shows typically the side surface of the cathode and sheet body which concern on a 2nd modification. It is a figure which shows typically the plane of the cathode and sheet | seat body which concern on a 2nd modification. It is a figure showing typically a plane of a sheet object concerning the 2nd modification. It is a figure which shows typically the plane of the cathode which concerns on a 2nd modification.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Electrolyzer 20 Anode chamber 22 Anode 24 1st diaphragm 26 1st water supply port 28a 1st discharge port 28b 1st discharge valve 30 Cathode chamber 32 Cathode 34 2nd diaphragm 36 2nd water supply port 38a 2nd Discharge port 38b Second discharge valve 50 Partition wall 52 Communication hole 60 Distribution ratio adjusting valve 70 DC power source 80 Electrolyte aqueous solution supply source 90 Sheet body

Claims (10)

An anode chamber provided with an anode electrode;
A cathode chamber provided with a cathode electrode;
A partition partitioning the anode chamber and the cathode chamber,
The partition is configured to include an ion exchange membrane,
An apparatus for producing electrolyzed water, wherein the anode chamber and the cathode chamber communicate with each other. In claim 1,
An apparatus for producing electrolyzed water, wherein the partition wall is provided with a communication hole for communicating the anode chamber and the cathode chamber. In claim 1 or 2,
An apparatus for producing electrolyzed water, provided with a distribution ratio adjusting valve for determining a distribution ratio between the amount of water flowing in the anode chamber and the amount of water flowing in the cathode chamber. In any one of Claims 1-3,
A first discharge valve for adjusting a discharge amount for discharging the liquid in the anode chamber;
And a second discharge valve for adjusting a discharge amount for discharging the liquid in the cathode chamber. In any one of Claims 1-4,
A first liquid supply port for supplying liquid to the anode chamber;
A second liquid supply port for supplying liquid to the cathode chamber;
A first discharge port for discharging the liquid in the anode chamber;
A second discharge port for discharging the liquid in the cathode chamber,
The first liquid supply port is provided in an upper part of the anode chamber,
The second liquid supply port is provided in an upper part of the cathode chamber,
The first discharge port is provided in a lower portion of the anode chamber,
The apparatus for producing electrolyzed water, wherein the second discharge port is provided in a lower portion of the cathode chamber. In any one of Claims 1-5,
The apparatus for producing electrolyzed water, wherein the anode chamber has a height of the anode chamber larger than a width of the anode chamber in a direction orthogonal to the anode. In any one of Claims 1-6,
The electrolyzed water producing apparatus produces electrolyzed water containing hypochlorous acid. In any one of Claims 1-7,
The apparatus for producing electrolyzed water, wherein the cathode is covered with a sheet body permeable to water. An electrolyzed water production method for producing electrolyzed water using the electrolyzed water production apparatus according to claim 1,
A method for producing electrolyzed water, comprising the step of electrolyzing the water generated in the anode chamber and the water generated in the cathode chamber through mixing through the communication port. Electrolyzed water obtained by the method for producing electrolyzed water according to claim 8.

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