JP2009125641A - Operation control system for water softening plant - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain an operation control system for a water softening plant which can cope with both mutual water-passing operation and simultaneous water-passing operation by a water softening plant with a plurality of serially connected water softeners. <P>SOLUTION: The operation control system of the water softening plant 1, where a plurality of the serially connected water softeners 3, 4 equipped with control valves 5, 6 for switching a passage are installed, is provided with a mutual water-passing operation mode where the control valves 5, 6 controls so that one of the water softeners is in water passing operation and the other water softener is insulated from a connecting line 2 to be in a water passing waiting state or in a regeneration operation state, and a simultaneous water-passing operation mode the control valves 5, 6 controls so that all the water softeners are usually in water-passing operation and when one of the water softeners requires regeneration, it is insulated from the connecting line to be in a regeneration operation state. The mutual water-passing operation mode and the simultaneous water-passing operation mode can be selected. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an operation control system for a water softener that supplies soft water by ion exchange of hardness components in water, and more particularly to an operation control system for a water softener in which a plurality of water softeners are connected in series.

  Conventionally, water supply to boilers is exchanged with sodium ions for hardness components of calcium and magnesium ions in raw water in order to prevent the scale from adhering to the inside of the can, which causes a decrease in thermal efficiency and expansion and rupture of water pipes. And supplied as soft water. Such a water softening treatment is usually performed by a water softener filled with an ion exchange resin. In this water softener, raw water containing a hardness component is passed through an ion exchange resin layer, the water supply operation in which the hardness component contained in the raw water is replaced with sodium ions to make soft water, and the regenerated liquid is passed through the ion exchange resin layer. The soft water is supplied by repeating the liquid supply operation and the regeneration operation for recovering the ability of the ion exchange resin that has been saturated by adsorbing the hardness component by the water supply operation.

  By the way, when a water-using device such as a boiler is operated for 24 hours, a water softener in which a plurality of water softeners are connected in series is used. Generally, in this water softener, regeneration operation of each water softener is performed. Since the other water softeners perform the water flow operation even if any of the water softeners is in the regeneration operation, the soft water is controlled to be continuously supplied.

  In such a water softener in which a plurality of water softeners are connected and connected in series, when any one of the water softeners is operated, the other water softeners are disconnected from the connection line and are in a water-waiting standby state or a regeneration operation state. The water softener (see, for example, Patent Document 1) that performs alternate water flow operation and a plurality of water softeners are operated simultaneously, and when any one of the water softeners is required to be regenerated, the water softener is connected from the connection line. There is known a soft water device (see, for example, Patent Document 2) that performs simultaneous water-flowing operation that is shut off and in a regenerating operation state.

  In the alternate water flow operation, since the raw water passes through the ion exchange resin of any one water softener, compared to the simultaneous water flow operation in which the raw water passes through the ion exchange resin of a plurality of water softeners. The pressure loss during water operation is small. Therefore, unlike the simultaneous water operation, there is no need to use a separate pressure pump, and there is an advantage that the running cost can be reduced, and it is generally adopted for water softeners with multiple water softeners installed in series. Driving. However, since the water flow operation is performed by any one of the water softeners, there is a disadvantage that hardness leakage may occur when the water softener during the water flow operation fails.

  On the other hand, in simultaneous water flow operation, raw water passes through multiple water softeners during water flow operation, so even if one of the water flow operations fails, the other water softeners will have a hardness component. Since it can be removed, there is an advantage that the probability of causing hardness leakage is extremely low. For this reason, simultaneous water flow operation is particularly useful when supplying soft water to equipment that has a significant risk of heating or having a risk of heating, even if a small amount of scale is attached, such as a small once-through boiler. This is used when softening raw water of water quality. However, since it passes through the ion exchange resin layers of a plurality of water softeners, the pressure loss during water flow increases. Therefore, in order to ensure a sufficient flow rate, it is indispensable to use a pressurizing pump, and there is a drawback that running cost is increased.

While users of water softeners with multiple water softeners connected in series have a need to prioritize the benefits of reducing running costs through alternate water flow operation, hardness due to simultaneous water flow operation is lower than running cost reduction. There is also a need to prioritize the benefits of reliably preventing leaks.
JP 2005-270813 A JP-A-3-202190

  However, for the conventional water softeners with multiple water softeners connected in series, the main idea is that they are different from the ones that perform alternate water flow operation and those that perform simultaneous water flow operation. Therefore, in order to meet each user's needs, manufacturers have prepared two types of water softeners: a water softener that performs alternate water flow operation and a water softener that performs simultaneous water flow operation. Further, when the user tries to use the priority of cost and the priority of water quality according to the water-using device, the two kinds of water softening devices have to be obtained.

  The present invention provides an operation control system for a water softener capable of supporting both an alternate water flow operation and a simultaneous water flow operation with a single water softener in a water softener having a plurality of water softeners connected in series. For the purpose.

   In order to achieve the above object, an invention according to claim 1 is an operation control system for a water softener in which a plurality of water softeners each having a control valve for switching a flow path are connected in series, and the control valve is controlled. When one of the water softeners is in operation, the other water softeners are disconnected from the connection line and the water supply standby state or the regenerative operation state is set. Is equipped with a simultaneous water operation mode in which all water softeners are operated to flow, and when any water softener is requested to be regenerated, the water softener is disconnected from the connection line and put into a regeneration operation state. And the simultaneous water operation mode can be selected.

  The invention described in claim 2 is the water supply line connecting the plurality of water softeners in series according to claim 1, and the bypass line bypassing each water softener connected to the treated water take-out line, and the control valve is The water supply line has a first valve provided between the bypass line connection part and each water softener, and the treated water take-off line is provided between the bypass line connection part and each water softener. A second valve provided in the bypass line and a third valve provided in the bypass line, and the controller opens and closes the first valve, the second valve, and the third valve according to an alternate water flow operation mode and a simultaneous water flow operation mode. It is characterized in that it is set in a state according to the above.

  According to the operation control system of the water softener according to claim 1, the alternate water operation mode and the simultaneous water operation mode are provided, and the alternate water operation mode and the simultaneous water operation mode can be selected. Since one water softener can perform alternate water flow operation and simultaneous water flow operation, it is not necessary to prepare two types of water softeners, and the equipment cost can be reduced.

  According to the operation control system for the water softener according to claim 2, the open / close state of the first valve, the second valve, and the third valve is controlled by the control unit according to the alternate water operation mode and the simultaneous water operation mode. By setting to the state, the operation mode of the water softener can be easily switched between the alternate water operation mode and the simultaneous water operation mode.

  Next, the best mode for carrying out an operation control system for a water softener according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic explanatory diagram showing an example of an embodiment of an operation control system for a water softener according to the present invention.

  In this example, the water softener 1 is composed of two water softeners 3 and 4 connected in series by a connection line 2, and the water softeners 3 and 4 have control valves 5 and 6 for switching the flow paths, respectively. It has.

  The connection line 2 connecting the two water softeners 3 and 4 includes a water supply line 7 for supplying water to the water softener 3, a treated water take-out line 8 for taking out treated water softened by the water softener 3, and this treatment Consists of a water supply line 9 that is connected to the water take-out line 8 and supplies treated water softened by the water softener 3 to the water softener 4 and a treated water take-out line 10 that takes out treated water softened by the water softener 4 Has been. Further, bypass lines 11 and 12 that bypass the water softeners 3 and 4 are connected to the water supply lines 7 and 9 and the treated water take-out lines 8 and 10 by bypass line connection portions 13 and 14, respectively.

  The control valves 5 and 6 provided in the water softeners 3 and 4 respectively switch the flow path according to the water flow operation state, the regeneration operation state, and the water flow standby state of the water softeners 2 and 3. 15, 16, second valves 17, 18, third valves 19, 20, fourth valves 21, 22 and fifth valves 23, 24.

  The first valves 15 and 16 are provided in the water supply lines 7 and 9 between the bypass line connecting portions 13 and 14 and the water softeners 3 and 4, and the second valves 17 and 18 are treated. The water discharge lines 8 and 9 are provided between the bypass line connecting portions 13 and 14 and the water softeners 3 and 4, and the third valves 19 and 20 are provided in the bypass lines 11 and 12. ing.

  The fourth valves 21 and 22 are provided in the regeneration liquid supply lines 25 and 26 for supplying a regeneration liquid (salt water) for regenerating the ion exchange resin to the water softeners 3 and 4, respectively. The lines 25 and 26 are connected to a regeneration liquid tank 27 that stores the regeneration liquid. The fifth valves 23 and 24 are provided in the discharge lines 28 and 29 for discharging the regenerated liquid that has passed through the ion exchange resin layers of the water softeners 3 and 4 to the outside of the system.

  Further, the water supply line 7 of the water softener 3 is provided with a hardness meter 30 for measuring the concentration of hardness components contained in the raw water, and the treated water take-out line 10 of the water softener 4 is provided with a flow meter for measuring the water flow rate. 31 is provided. Numerical values measured by the hardness meter 30 and the flow meter 31 are transmitted to a control unit described later.

  Further, the water softener 1 is connected to the control valves 5, 6, the hardness meter 30 and the flow meter 31 via signal lines indicated by broken lines, respectively, and controls the control valves 5, 6 to control the first valves 15, 16. , Second valve 17, 18, third valve 19, 20, fourth valve 21, 22, and fifth valve 23, 24 according to the alternating water operation mode and the simultaneous water operation mode described later The control unit 32 is set so that the alternate water operation mode and the simultaneous water operation mode can be selected.

  The control unit 32 stores a required regeneration hardness component level for causing the water softeners 3 and 4 to move to the regeneration operation during the water flow operation, and the concentration of the hardness component contained in the raw water measured by the hardness meter 30. When the hardness component amount removed by each water softener 3, 4 calculated by the integrated value obtained by integrating the product of the water flow rate measured by the flow meter 31 reaches the regeneration required hardness component level (regeneration request The water softeners 3 and 4 are programmed to move to the regenerating operation at the same time, and this regenerating operation is set so that the water softeners 3 and 4 do not perform at the same time.

  Next, the alternate water flow operation mode and the simultaneous water flow operation mode in the water softener 1 configured as described above will be described.

  First, when the alternate water flow operation mode is selected, the control unit 32 opens the first valve 15 and the second valve 17 of the water softener 3, and sets the third valve 19, the fourth valve 21, and the fifth valve 23. It will be in a closed state and the water softener 3 will be in a water flow operation state. On the other hand, the first valve 16 and the second valve 18 of the water softener 4 are closed, the third valve 20 is opened, the fourth valve 22 and the fifth valve 24 are closed, and the water softener 4 is in the water-waiting standby state. Become.

  In this state, the raw water supplied from the water supply line 7 flows into the water softener 3 and is softened. The treated water is taken out from the treated water take-out line 8 and sent to the feed water line 9. The treated water sent to the feed water line 9 passes through the bypass line 12 that bypasses the water softener 4 and the treated water take-out line 10. It will be supplied to water-using equipment (not shown).

  When the control unit 32 detects that the water softener 3 in the water flow operation state has reached the time of the regeneration request, first, in order to keep the soft water supply from being cut off, first the first valve 16 and the first water softener 4 The 2 valve 18 is in the open state, the third valve 20, the fourth valve 22 and the fifth valve 24 are in the closed state, and the water softener 4 is in the water flow operation state. Next, the first valve 15 and the second valve 17 of the water softener 3 are closed, the third valve 19, the fourth valve 21 and the fifth valve 23 are opened, and the water softener 3 is in the regeneration operation state (that is, the regeneration Liquid supply step).

  In this state, the raw water supplied from the water supply line 7 is sent to the water supply line 9 through the bypass line 11 bypassing the water softener 3 and the treated water take-out line 8, and the raw water sent to the water supply line 9 is sent to the water softener 4. It flows in and is softened, and this treated water is taken out from the treated water take-out line 10 and supplied to water-using equipment such as a boiler. On the other hand, the water softener 3 bypassed with the supply of raw water is supplied with the regenerated liquid from the regenerated liquid tank 27 through the regenerated liquid supply line 25 when the fourth valve 21 and the fifth valve 23 are opened. 3 ion exchange resin is regenerated. And if the ion exchange resin of the water softener 3 is reproduced | regenerated, the 4th valve | bulb 21 and the 5th valve | bulb 23 will be in a closed state, and the water softener 3 will be in a water flow waiting state.

  When the control unit 32 detects that the water softener 4 in the water supply operation state has reached the time of the regeneration request, this time, the water softener 4 enters the water supply standby state through the regeneration operation state, and the water supply standby state. The water softener 3 that has been in the state is in a water flow operation state.

  Thus, in the alternate water flow operation mode, each water softener 3, 4 repeats this operation alternately.

  In the above-described regeneration operation state, only the regeneration liquid supply process is performed. However, as in a known water softener, the backwash process, the regeneration liquid supply process, the extrusion process, the cleaning process, and the water replenishment process are performed. May be performed in this order. In this case, a valve or a flow path may be added to each of the control valves 5 and 6 so that a required process can be performed. The third valves 19 and 20 are fixed in a bypass state, but other valves Can be set to an open / closed state suitable for each process (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  Next, when the simultaneous water flow operation mode is selected, the control unit 32 causes the first valves 15 and 16 and the second valves 17 and 18 of the water softeners 3 and 4 to be opened, and the third valves 19 and 20 and The 4th valves 21 and 22 and the 5th valves 23 and 24 will be in a closed state, and all the water softeners 3 and 4 will be in a water flow operation state. Then, when one of the water softeners 3 and 4 in the water flow operation state is detected by the control unit 32, for example, when the water softener 3 is in a regeneration request, the first valve 15 of the water softener 3 is used. And the second valve 17 is closed, the third valve 19, the fourth valve 21, and the fifth valve 23 are opened, the water softener 3 is in a regeneration operation state, and when the regeneration of the water softener 3 is finished, the water softener 3 The first valve 15 and the second valve 17 are opened, the third valve 19, the fourth valve 21 and the fifth valve 23 are closed, and the water softener 3 returns to the water flow operation state. Further, even in the water softener 4, when the regeneration request is detected by the control unit 32, the operation becomes the regeneration operation state, and when the regeneration is completed, the operation returns to the water operation state.

  Even in the simultaneous water flow operation mode, the backwashing process, the regenerated liquid supply process, the extrusion process, the washing process, and the water replenishment process should be performed in this order, as is done in a known water softener in the regeneration operation state. May be. In this case, a valve or a flow path may be added to each of the control valves 5 and 6 so that a required process can be performed. The third valves 19 and 20 are fixed in a bypass state, but other valves Can be set to an open / closed state suitable for each process.

  According to the operation control system of the soft water device 1 of the present example configured as described above, the alternate water operation mode and the simultaneous water operation mode are provided, and the alternate water operation mode and the simultaneous water operation mode are selected. Since it was possible, since one water softener can perform alternate water operation and simultaneous water operation, two types of water softeners, a soft water device performing alternate water operation and a soft water device performing simultaneous water operation, are provided. It is no longer necessary to prepare the equipment, and the equipment cost can be reduced.

  Furthermore, according to the operation control system of the water softener 1 of this example, the control unit 32 causes the first valve 15, 16, the second valve 17, 18, the third valve 19, 20, the fourth valve 21, 22, Since the open / close state of the five valves 23 and 24 is set to a state corresponding to the alternate water flow operation mode and the simultaneous water flow operation mode, the operation mode of the water softener 1 is changed to the alternate water flow operation mode and the simultaneous water flow operation mode. Can be easily switched.

  In addition, although this embodiment demonstrated the case where the two water softeners 3 and 4 were installed in series, it is not limited to this, For example, three or more water softeners are installed in series In this case, the same can be carried out.

It is a schematic explanatory drawing which shows an example of embodiment of the operation control system of the soft water apparatus which concerns on this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Soft water apparatus 2 Connection line 3, 4 Water softener 5, 6 Control valve 7, 9 Water supply line 8, 10 Treated water taking-out line 11, 12 Bypass line 13, 14 Bypass line connection 15, 16 First valve 17, 18 1st 2 valve 19, 20 3rd valve 21, 22 4th valve 23, 24 5th valve 25, 26 Regeneration liquid supply line 27 Regeneration liquid tank 28, 29 Discharge line 30 Hardness meter 31 Flowmeter 32 Control unit

Claims (2)

  An operation control system for a water softener in which a plurality of water softeners each having a control valve for switching a flow path are connected in series, and the other soft water is controlled when one of the water softeners is operated by controlling the control valve. By controlling the control valve and the alternate water flow operation mode in which the water is cut off from the connection line and the water is on standby or in the regenerative operation state, all the water softeners are normally turned on. It is provided with a simultaneous water operation mode in which the water softener is disconnected from the connection line to be in a regeneration operation state at the time of regeneration request, and the alternate water operation mode and the simultaneous water operation mode can be selected. Operation control system for water softener.   Bypass lines that bypass each water softener are connected to the water supply line that connects multiple water softeners in series and the treated water take-out line, and the control valve is connected to the water supply line between the bypass line connection and each water softener. A first valve provided at the position, a second valve provided at the treated water take-off line between the bypass line connecting portion and each water softener, and a third valve provided at the bypass line The control unit sets the open / closed states of the first valve, the second valve, and the third valve to a state corresponding to the alternate water flow operation mode and the simultaneous water flow operation mode. The operation control system of the water softener described in 1.

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