JP2010125397A - Method of regenerating adsorbent and device using this method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method of regenerating an adsorbent which can realize high cost performance as expected by making a larger regeneration throughput of the adsorbent than when using a conventional method and in pertinent and efficient fashion, as well as a device using this method. <P>SOLUTION: This method comprises a cylindrical regeneration column 10 which stores the used granular adsorbent for regeneration, an air compressor 21 which supplies compressed air to the regeneration column 10, an air supply passage 20 which is arranged between the air compressor 21 and the lower side of the regeneration column 10 and serves as a compressed air passage, an air supply heater 22 which is arranged in the air supply passage 20 and lowers a relative humidity by heating the compressed air up to a required temperature level, and an exhaust passage 30 which is arranged connecting with the upper side of the regeneration column 10 and exhausts the compressed air after drying the adsorbent. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for regenerating an adsorbent that is regenerated by heating and drying a used granular adsorbent.

For heatless air dryers and the like, porous bodies such as zeolite (aluminosilicate), silica gel, and activated alumina that can efficiently adsorb moisture in the air are used as adsorbents.
In such an adsorbent, the adsorption performance is lowered by long-term use. Therefore, for example, in a heatless air dryer in which an adsorbent cartridge is incorporated (see Patent Document 1), the adsorbent cartridge is periodically replaced to maintain appropriate performance. The used adsorbent cartridge is discarded.

  Further, most of the used adsorbent filled in the adsorbent cartridge is landfilled as industrial waste, except that part of it is used as roadbed material on the road. Thus, conventionally, the used adsorbent has not been regenerated and reused in large quantities in the recycling system.

  On the other hand, it is well known that used adsorbents as described above can be regenerated by drying by heating or the like. Therefore, if the adsorbent can be regenerated appropriately and efficiently, the resources can be effectively reused, and the amount of waste can be reduced, which contributes to environmental conservation.

  On the other hand, the present applicant of the present application first performs an adsorption process to obtain a regenerated adsorbent from which the adsorbed material has been almost completely removed by processing the used adsorbent by using microwave (high frequency) heating. A material recycling apparatus has been proposed (see Patent Documents 2 and 3).

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2000-350917 (Summary, FIG. 1) JP 2008-188490 A (Summary, FIG. 1) JP 2008-188491 (Abstract, FIG. 1)

The problem to be solved with respect to the adsorbent regeneration method and apparatus is that no method or apparatus has been studied which can be appropriately and efficiently regenerated in a larger amount and expected to have higher cost performance.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an adsorbent regeneration method and apparatus that can be appropriately and efficiently regenerated in a larger amount and can be expected to have higher cost performance.

The present invention has the following configuration in order to achieve the above object.
According to one aspect of the method for regenerating an adsorbent according to the present invention, the adsorbent is introduced by introducing heat-dried compressed air into a cylindrical regeneration tower containing a used granular adsorbent. A method for regenerating an adsorbent that regenerates, characterized in that the heated and dried compressed air is supplied so as to pass from the lower side to the upper side of the regeneration tower.
Further, according to one embodiment of the adsorbent regeneration method according to the present invention, the heated and dried compressed air is heated by an air supply heater so as to lower the relative humidity and / or a heatless air dryer. According to the present invention, it can be supplied by being dried so as to lower the dew point temperature.

  Moreover, according to one form of the adsorbent regeneration apparatus according to the present invention, a cylindrical regeneration tower that is used to regenerate the used granular adsorbent, and an air compressor that supplies compressed air to the regeneration tower. And an air supply path that is provided between the air compressor and the lower side of the regeneration tower and serves as a path for the compressed air, and is disposed in the air supply path to heat the compressed air to a required temperature. An air supply heater for reducing the relative humidity, and an exhaust passage connected to the upper side of the regeneration tower for discharging the compressed air after drying the adsorbent.

  Moreover, according to one form of the adsorbent regenerating apparatus according to the present invention, the compressed air is dried without heating to the upstream side of the air supply heater in the air supply path to lower the dew point temperature. A heatless air dryer may be provided.

Further, according to one embodiment of the adsorbent regeneration apparatus according to the present invention, the adsorbent regenerator is disposed in the exhaust passage and heated to a required temperature at which the volatile organic compound can be efficiently oxidized by the action of the catalyst. An exhaust heater for heating the exhaust of the compressed air, and an oxidation catalyst filter disposed downstream of the exhaust heater in the exhaust passage may be provided.
Moreover, according to one form of the adsorbent regeneration apparatus according to the present invention, a flow path on the downstream side of the oxidation catalyst filter in the exhaust path, and a flow path on the upstream side of the supply heater in the supply path. And a heat exchanger that is configured so as to be in contact with each other.

  Further, according to one embodiment of the adsorbent regeneration apparatus according to the present invention, an inlet of the adsorbent to the regeneration tower is provided at the upper end of the regeneration tower, and the adsorbent is recovered from the regeneration tower. A port is provided at the lower end of the regeneration tower, and a filling pump for transferring the adsorbent from the storage can to the input port by suction; and the adsorbent from the recovery port to the storage can by suction And a recovery pump.

  Further, according to one embodiment of the adsorbent regeneration apparatus according to the present invention, a pressure sensor, a dew point sensor, a flow sensor, and the air supply path provided on the upstream side of the air supply heater in the air supply path, An inlet valve provided in the air supply path and an outlet valve provided in the exhaust path based on a signal output by at least one of the temperature sensors provided in the regeneration tower and the exhaust path. And a control device that outputs a signal for performing at least one of an opening / closing operation and a switch operation of the air supply heater.

  According to the adsorbent regeneration method and apparatus according to the present invention, it is possible to regenerate a larger amount appropriately and efficiently, and to obtain a particularly advantageous effect that higher cost performance can be expected.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION The best mode of the adsorbent regeneration method and apparatus according to the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings (FIGS. 1 and 2). FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of an adsorbent regeneration apparatus according to the present invention.
This adsorbent regeneration apparatus is an adsorbent regeneration method for regenerating adsorbent by introducing heated and dried compressed air into a cylindrical regeneration tower containing used granular adsorbent. Used.

Reference numeral 10 denotes a regeneration tower, which is provided in a cylindrical hollow that is long in the vertical direction. The size corresponds to the capacity of the adsorbent cartridge of the heatless air dryer so that, for example, a granular adsorbent of 100 kg or more is accommodated at a time. Further, the adsorbent to be regenerated is, for example, zeolite (aluminosilicate), silica gel, activated alumina.
An air compressor 21 supplies compressed air to the regeneration tower 10. As this air compressor 21, you may use what is already installed in the factory so that it may be used also as a compressed air source of other devices.

An air supply path 20 is provided between the air compressor 21 and the lower air supply port 10a of the regeneration tower 10 and serves as a compressed air passage. Reference numeral 25 denotes an inlet valve, which is connected to a midway portion of an air supply pipe constituting the air supply path 20 and is opened to supply compressed air to the regeneration tower 10.
Reference numeral 22 denotes an air supply heater, which is disposed in the air supply path 20 and heats the compressed air to a required temperature to lower the relative humidity.

Reference numeral 30 denotes an exhaust passage, which is connected to the exhaust port 10b on the upper side of the regeneration tower 10 and serves as a passage for discharging compressed air after drying the adsorbent. Reference numeral 35 denotes an outlet valve, which is connected to an intermediate portion of the exhaust pipe constituting the exhaust passage 30 and is opened to exhaust the compressed air to the outside.
According to such a configuration, the heated and dried compressed air can be allowed to flow from the lower side to the upper side of the regeneration tower 10.
According to this, the passage direction of the compressed air can be matched with the flow direction of the updraft generated by heating, and it is possible to suppress an increase in the ventilation resistance of the supplied compressed air. Therefore, the adsorbent can be efficiently dried.

A heatless air dryer 24 is arranged upstream of the air supply heater 22 in the air supply path 20 so as to dry the compressed air without heating and to lower the dew point temperature.
According to the configuration including the air supply heater 22 and the heatless air dryer 24 described above, the heated and dried compressed air is heated by the air supply heater 22 so as to lower the relative humidity and / or heat. It is supplied by being dried by a less air dryer 24 so as to lower the dew point temperature.
Since the dew point temperature can be lowered by the heatless air dryer 24, the adsorbent can be efficiently dried even if the compressed air is deprived of heat by the latent heat of evaporation and cooled when passing through the regeneration tower 10. .

In general, as a performance of an adsorbent used for a heatless dryer or the like, whether or not a specified dew point is satisfied is regarded as most important. Therefore, when regenerating the adsorbent, it is first required that the residual water content after regeneration that affects the quality of the dew point be within a target value (for example, 1.5 wt%).
Further, it is generally known that the amount of residual water after regeneration changes with high temperature and low water pressure (low dew point). For this reason, in this embodiment, it is conceived that a high temperature and low dew point regeneration environment can be realized by combining the air supply heater 22 and the heatless dryer 24 to produce high temperature and low dew point compressed air.
Therefore, according to the arrangement of the air supply heater 22 and the heatless dryer 24, for example, the heated compressed air is suitable so that the temperature is 200 ° C. to 300 ° C. and the dew point is −30 ° C. or lower. Can be adjusted.
According to the compressed air thus heat-dried, the used adsorbent can be efficiently regenerated up to the required dryness, and the residual water content is set to a target value (for example, 1.5 wt%) as shown in FIG. %). Moreover, since a low dew point is needed when temperature becomes 200 degrees C or less, the load concerning the heatless dryer 24 becomes large too much. Further, when the temperature is 300 ° C. or higher, the required dew point temperature becomes high, but the load of the air supply heater 22 becomes too large. Therefore, by adjusting the compressed air temperature to be 200 ° C to 300 ° C and the dew point to be -30 ° C or less, energy consumption can be suppressed, and the remaining water content is within the target value in a balanced state without waste. Can fit in.

  In addition, as the heatless dryer 24, you may use what used a reverse osmosis membrane other than what uses an adsorbent. In addition, as a drying technique for reducing the dew point temperature, a dehumidifying device using a refrigeration technique for removing moisture by dew condensation may be used.

  An exhaust heater 32 is disposed in the exhaust passage 30 and is provided to heat the exhaust of compressed air so that the volatile organic compound is heated to a required temperature at which it can be efficiently oxidized by the action of the catalyst. ing. When the compressed air is heated to about 300 ° C. or higher, it is efficiently oxidized and easily decomposed by the action of the catalyst.

Reference numeral 34 denotes an oxidation catalyst filter, which is disposed downstream of the exhaust heater 32 in the exhaust passage 30.
Thus, by providing the exhaust heater 32 and the oxidation catalyst filter 34, the volatile organic compound can be efficiently oxidized and decomposed, and the exhaust gas can be purified. Therefore, it is possible to appropriately prevent the surrounding environment from being contaminated.
Moreover, according to this oxidation catalyst system, volatile organic compounds can be decomposed and cleaned with less energy than with an afterburner or an adsorption filter system.

Reference numeral 40 denotes a heat exchanger, which is arranged so that the flow path 42 on the downstream side of the oxidation catalyst filter 34 in the exhaust path 30 and the flow path 41 on the upstream side of the air supply heater 22 in the air supply path 20 are in contact with each other. It consists of A silencer 43 is provided at the end of the exhaust passage 30 in order to reduce exhaust noise.
According to the heat exchanger 40, the compressed air supplied to the regeneration tower 10 can be appropriately preheated using the heat energy of the exhaust, and the exhaust temperature can be reduced. Therefore, the compressed air can be efficiently heated, and energy consumed by the air supply heater 22 can be reduced.

In this embodiment, the heat exchanger 40 is configured by intersecting the two flow paths 41 and 42 so as to be substantially orthogonal. Further, the flow path 41 constituting the heat exchanger 40 of the air supply path 20 is located downstream of the heatless air dryer 24.
By arranging in this way, drying by reducing the dew point temperature and drying by heating can be efficiently performed on the compressed air to be supplied.

According to the regenerator having such a configuration, for example, the compressed air is heated to 400 ° C. by the air supply heater 22, and the hot air is supplied from the air supply port 10 a provided at the lower end of the regeneration tower 10 into the regeneration tower. By introducing, it can be made to flow in the used adsorbent and heat drying treatment can be suitably performed. Thereby, the water | moisture content adsorbed by adsorption agent and a volatile organic compound (VOC) can be vaporized suitably.
Further, the hot air is controlled by a control means as will be described later so as to obtain an optimum temperature, flow velocity, and dew point. For example, the dew point temperature can be appropriately adjusted to a required dew point temperature (for example, −30 ° C. or lower) by the heatless air dryer 24. For this reason, a used adsorbent can be efficiently dried.

Next, an apparatus configuration for supplying the adsorbent to the regeneration tower 10 and an apparatus configuration for discharging the adsorbent from the regeneration tower 10 will be described.
An inlet 11 for adsorbent to the regeneration tower 10 is provided at the upper end of the regeneration tower 10. The charging port 11 is provided with a charging hopper 11 b that receives the adsorbent and guides it to the charging port 11, and a charging port valve 11 a that opens and closes the charging port 11.
A filling pump 12 is connected to the middle portion of the filling tube 12a so that the adsorbent can be sucked from the storage can 15 to the inlet 11 by suction and filled into the regeneration tower 10.

A recovery port 13 for the adsorbent from the regeneration tower is provided at the lower end of the regeneration tower 10. The recovery port 13 is provided with a recovery port valve 13 a that opens and closes the recovery port 13.
Reference numeral 14 denotes a recovery pump, which is connected to the midway part of the recovery tube 14a so that the adsorbent can be transferred from the recovery port 13 to the storage can 15 by suction. Reference numeral 13b denotes a recovery hopper that receives the adsorbent transferred by the recovery pump 14 and guides it into the storage can 15 smoothly.

Next, a description will be given of measuring instruments and sensors arranged to monitor the operation status of the adsorbent regeneration apparatus of the present embodiment and operate it appropriately.
Reference numeral 23 denotes a flow meter, which is provided in the air supply path 20 between the heatless air dryer 24 and the inlet valve 25. Further, a dew point sensor 52, a flow rate sensor 53, and a pressure sensor 51 are provided between the heat exchanger 40 and the air supply heater 22 in that order. According to these measuring instruments and sensors, the state of the compressed air supplied to the regeneration tower 10 can be preferably monitored.

Further, temperature sensors 61 to 66 are arranged in the main part of the flow path through which the compressed air passes.
The first temperature sensor 61 is disposed in the air supply path 20 between the air supply heater 22 and the regeneration tower 10, and checks the temperature of the compressed air immediately after being heated by the air supply heater 22. Yes. The second temperature sensor 62 is disposed below the regeneration tower 10, the third temperature sensor 63 is disposed in the middle of the regeneration tower 10, and the fourth temperature sensor 64 is disposed above the regeneration tower 10. The temperature of the compressed air of each part in the tower 10 is checked. Further, the fifth temperature sensor 65 is disposed in the exhaust passage 30 between the regeneration tower 10 and the outlet valve 35 and checks the temperature of the compressed air immediately after being discharged from the regeneration tower 10. The sixth temperature sensor 66 is disposed in the exhaust passage 30 between the oxidation catalyst filter 34 and the heat exchanger 40, and checks the temperature of the compressed air immediately after being purified by the action of the oxidation catalyst. Yes.

Next, control of the adsorbent regeneration apparatus having the above configuration will be described.
Reference numeral 50 denotes a control device, which includes a pressure sensor 51, a dew point sensor 52, a flow rate sensor 53, and an air supply path 20, a regeneration tower 10, and an exhaust path 30 provided upstream of the air supply heater 22 in the air supply path 20. Opening / closing operation of the inlet valve 25 provided in the air supply passage 20 and the outlet valve 35 provided in the exhaust passage 30 based on a signal output by at least one of the temperature sensors 61 to 66 provided. And a signal for performing at least one of the switch operations of the air supply heater 22 is provided.

  According to the control device 50, for example, when the operation switch for starting the regeneration process is turned on, the pressure detected by the pressure sensor 51 is equal to or lower than the set value, and the first temperature sensor 61 and the sixth temperature sensor 66 are used. When the detected temperature is equal to or lower than the set value, the inlet valve 25 and the outlet valve 35 are opened so that the compressed air can be supplied into the regeneration tower 10. Subsequently, the air supply heater 22 and the exhaust heater 32 are turned on to start the heating and drying process. After the heating and drying process has progressed and the temperature detected by the fourth temperature sensor 64 has reached a set value (for example, 300 ° C.) or more, a certain time (for example, 10 minutes) has elapsed, and then the supply is performed. The air heater 22 and the exhaust heater 32 are turned off. Then, first, the inlet valve 25 is closed, and then when the values of the flow sensor 53 and the pressure sensor 51 become zero, the outlet valve 35 is closed to stop the movement. After that, the dried adsorbent is naturally cooled in a state where the inlet valve 25 and the outlet valve 35 are closed and no outside air enters.

  Further, the control device 50 of this embodiment is also connected to the inlet port valve 11a, the recovery port valve 13a, the filling pump 12 and the recovery pump 14, and each of the sensors 51 to 53 and 61 to 66 is connected. Based on at least one of the input information and the operation switch information, the switch operation for opening / closing and operation of them can be automatically performed.

  As described above, the present invention has been described in various ways with preferred embodiments. However, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments, and many modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. That is.

It is a block diagram which shows the form example of the reproducing | regenerating apparatus of the adsorbent concerning this invention. It is a graph which shows the relationship between the target value of the residual moisture content of the adsorbent to be dried and regenerated, and the temperature and moisture pressure over the regeneration condition range.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Regeneration tower 11 Input port 12 Filling pump 13 Recovery port 14 Recovery pump 15 Storage can 20 Air supply path 21 Air compressor 22 Air supply heater 24 Heatless air dryer 25 Inlet valve 30 Exhaust path 32 Exhaust heater 34 Oxidation catalyst Filter 35 Outlet valve 40 Heat exchanger 41 Flow path constituting the heat exchanger in the air supply path 42 Flow path constituting the heat exchanger in the exhaust path 50 Control device 51 Pressure sensor 52 Dew point sensor 53 Flow rate sensor 61 First temperature Sensor 62 second temperature sensor 63 third temperature sensor 64 fourth temperature sensor 65 fifth temperature sensor 66 sixth temperature sensor

Claims (8)

An adsorbent regeneration method for regenerating the adsorbent by introducing compressed air that has been heated and dried into a cylindrical regeneration tower in which used granular adsorbent is housed,
A method for regenerating an adsorbent, wherein the heated and dried compressed air is supplied so as to pass from the lower side to the upper side of the regeneration tower.   The heated and dried compressed air is supplied by being heated so as to lower the relative humidity by an air supply heater and / or dried by a heatless air dryer so as to lower the dew point temperature. The method for regenerating an adsorbent according to claim 1. A cylindrical regeneration tower for storing the used granular adsorbent, and
An air compressor for supplying compressed air to the regeneration tower;
An air supply path provided between the air compressor and the lower side of the regeneration tower and serving as a path for the compressed air;
An air supply heater that is arranged in the air supply path and that heats the compressed air to a required temperature to lower the relative humidity;
An adsorbent regeneration apparatus comprising: an exhaust passage provided to be connected to an upper side of the regeneration tower and for discharging the compressed air after drying the adsorbent.   The heatless air dryer which dries without heating the compressed air, and lowers dew point temperature in the upstream of the air supply heater in the air supply path is arranged. Adsorbent regenerator. An exhaust heater that is disposed in the exhaust path and heats the exhaust of the compressed air so that the volatile organic compound is heated to a required temperature that can be efficiently oxidized by the action of a catalyst;
The adsorbent regeneration device according to claim 3 or 4, further comprising an oxidation catalyst filter disposed downstream of the exhaust heater in the exhaust passage.   A heat exchanger configured by arranging a flow path on the downstream side of the oxidation catalyst filter in the exhaust path and a flow path on the upstream side of the air heater in the air supply path so as to be in contact with each other; The adsorbent regenerator according to claim 5.   An inlet for the adsorbent to the regeneration tower is provided at the upper end of the regeneration tower, a recovery port for the adsorbent from the regeneration tower is provided at the lower end of the regeneration tower, and the adsorbent 7. A filling pump for transferring the adsorbent from the storage can to the input port by suction, and a recovery pump for transferring the adsorbent from the recovery port to the storage can by suction. An adsorbent regeneration apparatus according to any one of the above.   Among the pressure sensor, the dew point sensor, the flow rate sensor provided on the upstream side of the air supply heater in the air supply path, and the temperature sensors provided in the air supply path, the regeneration tower, and the exhaust path, at least Based on a signal output by one sensor, at least one of an opening / closing operation of an inlet valve provided in the air supply passage and an outlet valve provided in the exhaust passage, and a switch operation of the air supply heater The adsorbent regeneration device according to claim 3, further comprising a control device that outputs a signal for performing an operation.

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