JP2010247137A - Water cleaner and method of using the same - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a small-sized water cleaning and sterilizing device which can be installed between an apparatus for supplying or using water such as a sanitary apparatus like Washlet (R) and piping for supplying water to the apparatus. <P>SOLUTION: Granular activated carbon 4, hollow fiber membranes 5a, 5b, and the molding 6 of zeolite which has adsorbed a chlorine-based sterilant are filled inside a container to attain a clean water sterilizer. By the sterilization effect of the chlorine-based sterilant discharged from the molding 6 of the zeolite and turbidity and odor removal by the filtration and adsorption action of the granular activated carbon 4 and the hollow fiber membranes 5a, 5b, sanitary water is obtained. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a small water sterilizer that can be installed for each instrument that uses water. In particular, water that has not been treated in a water purification facility can be filtered and sterilized with a chlorine component. It relates to possible water purification sterilizers.

  In regions outside of the country, especially in developing countries such as China, where economic development is remarkable, the demand for sanitary equipment using water, such as Washlet (registered trademark), is growing significantly. However, in many regions, it is difficult to ensure sufficient water quality to cope with the above-mentioned trend, and it is therefore difficult to promote the sale of sanitary equipment having a structure in which the cleaning water directly touches the skin.

  On the other hand, in Japan, drinking water is virtually never causing health problems, except in the case of temporary deterioration of water quality due to accidents, etc. After removing water from the water, after removing the suspension through the precipitation and filtration processes, injecting chlorine compounds such as sodium hypochlorite to sterilize and supply to consumers It is. Chlorides exhibit strong sterilization power even at low concentrations, and the Japanese Waterworks Law stipulates that the residual chlorine concentration of water supplied from a faucet must be 0.1 ppm or more.

  However, in developing countries, infrastructure development is insufficient and the above facilities are not always complete. In order to cope with this, it is considered useful to install a device for adding a chlorine-based sterilizing agent to each sanitary device.

  However, while the chlorine-based sterilant exhibits an effect even at a very low concentration as described above, it acts as a poison for a living body unless the concentration is maintained below a certain level. Therefore, the above-described uses require a water sterilizer that is small and can stably add a chlorine-based sterilant to water at a low concentration.

  As an example of a technique for adding a chlorine-based sterilizing agent to water, Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for automatically controlling the injection amount of a chlorine-based agent such as sodium hypochlorite. However, this technique has a problem that the apparatus becomes expensive.

  Patent Document 2 discloses a technique for electrolyzing an aqueous solution of sodium chloride or potassium chloride to generate chlorinated ions. However, this technique also requires a separate device for electrolysis, and there is a problem that it is difficult to reduce costs.

  JP 2004-223448 A   JP 2007-209859 A

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a small water sterilizer that can be installed between a device for supplying or using water, such as a sanitary device such as a washlet, and a pipe for supplying water to the device. Is to provide.

  In order to solve the above problems, the present invention has found that zeolite is useful as a result of investigating elution of the adsorbed component only in a state where water flows using a material capable of adsorbing the component in the aqueous solution. The present invention has been made.

  That is, the present invention provides a metal exterior body having a water inlet and a water outlet, and a cartridge that can be inserted into the exterior body, has a water inlet and a water outlet, and is filled with a zeolite compact. It is a water-purifying sterilizer characterized by having.

  Further, the present invention is the above-mentioned water purification sterilizer, wherein the cartridge is filled with at least one of a hollow fiber membrane and activated carbon.

  Further, in the present invention, the space in the cartridge is divided into two spaces communicated by a through hole, the first space is filled with the activated carbon, and the second space is molded with the zeolite. The water purification sterilization characterized in that the hollow fiber membrane is filled in a portion provided with a through hole in a partition wall that is filled with a body and separates the first space and the second space. It is a vessel.

  Further, the present invention is characterized in that the zeolite compact is previously immersed in a chlorine compound solution to adsorb the chlorine component, and the chlorine component is eluted in water passing through the cartridge. This is how to use the water sterilizer.

  Zeolite is a general term for naturally occurring aluminosilicates, and has fine pores of 5 to 8 mm inside from the crystal structure. Utilizing these pores, they are used as molecular sieves, ion exchange materials, catalysts, and adsorbents. Currently, in addition to natural products, synthetic products with various properties are also produced according to the application. It is an important material.

  The component adsorbed in the pores is released from the pores depending on the conditions. Therefore, if a chlorinated sterilant is used as the adsorbed component, the adsorbent suitable for the purpose of the present invention is obtained. In view of ease of handling, the shape is preferably a product obtained by press-molding and sintering a zeolite powder. However, it is desirable that the degree of sintering is such that shape retention is imparted because an excessively dense sintered body will not allow the chlorine-based sterilant to be adsorbed and released smoothly.

  Further, activated carbon is also utilized as a functional material that has numerous fine pores inside and adsorbs various substances, as is well known. The adsorption function is mainly applied to deodorization and water purification, and can also be applied to the present invention. Further, like zeolite, the shape is preferably granular in consideration of ease of handling.

  The hollow fiber membrane is formed by drawing a hollow fiber from polyethylene or a fluorine-based polymer material to form fine pores, and is used for microfiltration and ultrafiltration. Also in the present invention, improvement in water quality can be expected by using this.

  In the present invention, the above materials are individually installed in the flow path of water to be purified and sterilized. This is because, after the zeolite has finished releasing the chlorine-based sterilant, the chlorine-based sterilant is adsorbed again so that it can be reused, and the activated carbon and the hollow fiber membrane can be similarly regenerated.

  Specifically, the space in the cartridge filled with these materials can be divided into a plurality of spaces communicated by through holes, and each space can be filled with individual materials. The cartridge can be made of plastic, but the exterior body needs to be joined to the water supply pipe with screws and must withstand the pressure of the supplied water. It is desirable to be made.

  In addition, as a chlorinated sterilant used in the present invention, commonly used sodium hypochlorite is used, and in order to adsorb it onto zeolite, the zeolite compact is immersed in an aqueous solution prepared at an appropriate concentration. Can be used.

  The figure which shows an example of the water sterilizer of this invention, FIG. 1 (a) is sectional drawing, FIG.1 (b) is AA sectional drawing.   The figure which shows an example of the molded object of the zeolite used for the water purifier of this invention, Fig.2 (a) is a top view, FIG.2 (b) is a front view.   The figure which showed the relationship between immersion time and free residual chlorine concentration.

  Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a view showing an example of the water purifier of the present invention, FIG. 1 (a) is a sectional view, and FIG. 1 (b) is an AA sectional view. In FIG. 1, 1 is an exterior body, 2 is an exterior cylinder, 3 is a cartridge, 4 is granular activated carbon, 5a and 5b are hollow fiber membranes, 6 is a zeolite molded body, 7 is an outer cylinder upper lid, and 8 is under the outer cylinder. The lid, 9 is the first space of the cartridge, 10 is the second space of the cartridge, 11a, 11b and 11c are through-holes, 12 is a connection pipe, and 13 is a pipe connection member. The arrows in the figure indicate the direction of water flow.

  Each of the exterior cylinder 2, the exterior cylinder upper lid 7, and the exterior cylinder lower lid 8 constituting the exterior body 1 used in the present embodiment is joined with screws (not shown), and the material is a chlorine-based sterilant. Considering the corrosiveness of the stainless steel, stainless steel may be used and chrome plating may be applied. The overall size is approximately 50 mm in outer diameter and 75 mm in height. In addition, since the cartridge is made of a general polyolefin and sufficiently made of chemical resistance, polyethylene or polypropylene can be used.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the cartridge of the present embodiment is divided into two spaces by concentric partition walls, and water to be treated is a through hole 11 a provided in the lower surface of the first space 9. After the first space 9 is filled, it flows into the second space 10 from the through hole 11b, and is further supplied to the equipment using water through the through hole 11c.

  The first space 9 is filled with granular activated carbon 4, hollow fiber membranes 5 a and 5 b are installed in the front and rear portions of the through hole 11 b, and the chlorine-based sterilant is adsorbed in the second space 10. The formed zeolite compact 6 is filled. For the purpose of sterilization, the chlorine-based sterilant released from the zeolite compact exhibits its function, but the use of the hollow fiber membranes 5a and 5b and the granular activated carbon 4 also removes water turbidity and odor. It becomes possible to do.

  FIG. 2 is a view showing an example of a zeolite molded body 6 used in the water purifier of the present invention, FIG. 2 (a) is a plan view, and FIG. 2 (b) is a front view. The shape of this molded body is the same as the Raschig ring used in a packed tower for gas absorption, etc., having the same diameter and height. According to this shape, a large specific surface area and packing density can be ensured, and a large amount of chlorinated sterilant can be adsorbed and released. In addition, what was used in this Embodiment is a dimension whose outer diameter and height are 7 mm.

  As the hollow fiber membranes 5a and 5b, various commercially available products made of polyethylene and polyvinylidene fluoride are on the market, and can be appropriately selected and used. Also, granular activated carbon is very similar to other types of products that are commercially available and can be selected and used as appropriate.

  FIG. 3 shows that the zeolite compact 6 is immersed in an aqueous solution of sodium hypochlorite, then immersed in 20 cc of water for 3 minutes, the free residual chlorine concentration of the water is measured, and further 20 cc of water is added. It is the figure which showed the relationship between immersion time and a free residual chlorine density | concentration as a result of having conducted the test of replacing with a new thing and immersing the molded object 6 of zeolite for 3 minutes, and repeating the same measurement.

  Here, the concentration of the sodium hypochlorite aqueous solution in which the zeolite compact 6 is immersed is 10% by weight. Based on the test results and numerical values such as the capacity of the equipment actually used and the amount of water used, the number of zeolite compacts 6 filled in the water purification sterilizer of the present invention can be calculated.

  As described above, according to the present invention, a small and simple water purifier can be provided. This makes it possible to purify the water used in various sanitary equipment in areas where the maintenance of water supply facilities is insufficient. In addition, even in regions where shallow wells and groundwater are used as beverages, it is possible to attach each corner faucet, so that safe and sanitary water supply can be achieved by filtration and sterilization.

  It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be conceived by those having ordinary knowledge in the field of the present invention. For example, as a chlorinated sterilant, other than sodium hypochlorite Needless to say, the present invention includes any design changes that do not depart from the gist of the present invention, including various modifications and corrections using such chemicals.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Outer body 2 Outer cylinder 3 Cartridge 4 Granular activated carbon 5a, 5b Hollow fiber membrane 6 Zeolite compact 7 Outer cylinder upper cover 8 Outer cylinder lower cover 9 Cartridge first space 10 Cartridge second space 11a, 11b, 11c Through-hole 12 Connection pipe 13 Pipe connection member

Claims (4)

  A metal exterior body having a water inlet and a water outlet, and a cartridge that can be inserted into the exterior body, has a water inlet and a water outlet, and is filled with a zeolite compact. Clean water sterilizer.   The purified water sterilizer according to claim 1, wherein the cartridge is filled with at least one of a hollow fiber membrane and activated carbon.   The space in the cartridge is divided into two spaces communicated by a through hole, the first space is filled with the activated carbon, the second space is filled with the zeolite compact, The water sterilizer according to claim 2, wherein the hollow fiber membrane is filled in a portion where the through hole is provided in a partition wall separating the first space and the second space.   4. The zeolite compact is immersed in a chlorine compound solution in advance to adsorb a chlorine component, and the chlorine component is eluted in water passing through the cartridge. The usage method of the water purifier sterilizer in any one of.

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