JP2011074827A - Metal ion removal device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To extend the service life of a metal ion removal device 1 removing metal ion contained in fuel. <P>SOLUTION: An inflow surface 13 of a metal ion removal layer 12 is covered with a mesh-like plate member 16, the distribution of the mesh-opening of the plate member 16 is small in a portion where fuel easily flows into on the inflow surface 13, and distribution of passing resistance in the surface direction of the metal ion removal layer 12 is set according to the distribution of the mesh-opening of the plate member 16. Since the passing resistance is increased as the mesh-opening of the plate member 16 is small, fuel introduced to the portion where the fuel easily flows into on the inflow surface 13 (the vicinity of the center of the inflow surface 13) flows through a portion with high passing resistance, thereby reducing a flow speed. Also, fuel introduced to a portion where the fuel is less likely to flow into (the vicinity of the peripheral edge of the inflow surface 13) flows through a portion with low passing resistance, thereby increasing the flow speed. Since the flow speed is uniformed in the surface direction, the service life of the metal ion removal device 1 is extended. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a metal ion removing apparatus that removes metal ions contained in a fuel.

  Conventionally, a fuel supplied to an internal combustion engine or the like contains a trace amount of metal ions as impurities, while a fatty acid such as oleic acid is added as a lubricant. For this reason, in the fuel, a salt reaction may occur between these metal ions and the fatty acid, and a fatty acid metal salt may be generated. Since the fatty acid metal salt is generally insoluble in fuel, for example, the fatty acid metal salt may deposit on the sliding portion of the injector and cause malfunction.

  Therefore, a technique for arranging a metal ion removing device for removing metal ions in a fuel supply path from a fuel tank to an injector is known (for example, see Patent Document 1). According to Patent Document 1, the metal ion removing device is, for example, a filter having a chelate resin layer, and the fuel is removed from the metal ions by passing through the chelate resin layer.

  By the way, the removal of metal ions is made possible by the presence of active groups capable of capturing metal ions, such as chelate forming groups in chelate resins and ion exchange groups in ion exchange resins. Then, once the active group captures the metal ion, it loses the function of capturing the metal ion, and the metal ion cannot be captured unless the metal ion is removed from the active group by regeneration. For this reason, when the target for removing metal ions is a huge amount of processing over a long period of time like the fuel supplied to the internal combustion engine, it is constantly required to extend the life of the metal ion removal device as much as possible. ing.

Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 3-59012

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and an object thereof is to extend the life of a metal ion removing apparatus that removes metal ions contained in fuel.

[Means of Claim 1]
The metal ion removal device according to claim 1 includes a metal ion removal layer formed of a metal ion scavenger capable of trapping metal ions, and allows the fuel to pass through the metal ion removal layer so that the metal contained in the fuel Remove the ions. The metal ion removal layer has an inflow surface for allowing fuel to flow into itself.

  Furthermore, assuming a macroscopic flow direction of the fuel from the upstream side to the downstream side in the metal ion removal layer, the fuel spreads on the inflow surface and flows into the metal ion removal layer, so that the macro flow direction is increased. In contrast, in the following description, the term “plane direction” refers to a direction extending perpendicular to the macroscopic flow direction of fuel in the metal ion removal layer. And "macroscopic flow direction" indicates the macroscopic flow direction of fuel in the metal ion removal layer.

  The metal ion removal layer is provided such that the macroscopic flow direction passage resistance has a distribution in the plane direction, and the passage resistance distribution is such that the passage resistance increases as the portion of the inflow surface where the fuel easily flows. Is set to

  As a result, the fuel guided to the portion where the fuel easily flows in on the inflow surface flows through the portion where the passage resistance is large in the metal ion removal layer, so the flow velocity is low, and the fuel guided to the portion where the fuel is difficult to flow in. Flows through a portion having a small passage resistance, so that the flow velocity becomes high. For this reason, since the flow velocity can be made uniform in the surface direction, the time of active groups effective for removing metal ions (that is, active groups not capturing metal ions: hereinafter referred to as “effective active groups”). Reduction can be made uniform in the surface direction.

  As a result, it is possible to delay the generation of a site where the effective active groups are reduced in the plane direction early, that is, the site where the fuel is allowed to pass through almost without removing the metal ions, so that the lifetime of the metal ion removing device can be delayed. Can be extended.

[Means of claim 2]
According to the metal ion removing device of the second aspect, the metal ion trapping material is active particles formed in the form of particles, and the metal ion removing layer is formed by filling a large number of active particles. The particle size of the filled active particles has a distribution in the plane direction, and the particle size distribution is set so that the part where the fuel easily flows into the inflow surface has a smaller particle size. The distribution of the passage resistance is set according to the distribution of.

  This means shows one form of setting the distribution of passage resistance in the metal ion removal layer. According to this embodiment, the smaller the particle size of the filled active particles, the larger the passage resistance. Therefore, the fuel guided to the portion where the fuel easily flows on the inflow surface is the portion where the passage resistance is large in the metal ion removal layer. The flow velocity will be low. In addition, the fuel guided to the portion where the fuel is difficult to flow flows through the portion having a low passage resistance, and the flow velocity becomes high. For this reason, since the flow velocity can be made uniform in the surface direction, the life of the metal ion removing device can be extended.

[Means of claim 3]
According to the metal ion removing device of claim 3, an active nonwoven fabric capable of capturing metal ions is used as one of the metal ion capturing materials constituting the metal ion removing layer. A distribution is provided for the filling rate. And distribution of passage resistance is set up according to distribution of the filling rate of an active nonwoven fabric.
Since the active nonwoven fabric filling region has a lower bulk density than the active particle filling region, the passage resistance is low. For this reason, the distribution of the passage resistance can be set by forming the distribution in the filling ratio of the active nonwoven fabric in the surface direction.

[Means of claim 4]
According to the metal ion removing apparatus of the fourth aspect, the active nonwoven fabric is alternately filled with other metal ion trapping materials in the macroscopic flow direction.
The total ion exchange capacity of the active nonwoven fabric is smaller than the total ion exchange capacity of other metal ion trapping materials such as active particles.

For this reason, when the specific portion in the plane direction is provided only with the active nonwoven fabric in the metal ion removal layer, the effective active groups are reduced earlier than when the active nonwoven fabric and the other metal ion scavenger are provided. There is a risk that the life of the metal ion removing device may be reduced.
Therefore, by alternately filling the active nonwoven fabric and the other metal ion trapping material in all the parts in the plane direction, it is possible to avoid the occurrence of parts where the effective active groups are reduced at an early stage.

[Means of claim 5]
According to the metal ion removing device of the fifth aspect, the inflow surface is covered with the net-like plate member. The opening of the plate-like member has a distribution such that the portion where the fuel tends to flow in the inflow surface becomes smaller, and the distribution of passage resistance is set according to the distribution of the opening of the plate-like member. .

  This means shows one form of setting the distribution of passage resistance in the metal ion removal layer. According to this embodiment, since the passage resistance increases as the mesh of the plate-shaped member decreases, the fuel guided to the portion where the fuel easily flows on the inflow surface flows through the portion where the passage resistance is large. The flow rate is low. In addition, the fuel guided to the portion where the fuel is difficult to flow flows through the portion having a low passage resistance, and the flow velocity becomes high. For this reason, since the flow velocity can be made uniform in the surface direction, the life of the metal ion removing device can be extended.

1 is a configuration diagram of a fuel injection device (Example 1). FIG. (A) is a principal part block diagram which shows the principal part of a metal ion removal apparatus, (b) is a distribution map which shows distribution in the surface direction of the opening of a plate-shaped member (Example 1). (A) is a principal part block diagram which shows the principal part of a metal ion removal apparatus, (b) is a distribution map which shows distribution in the surface direction of the particle size of the filled cation exchange resin (Example 2). . (A) is a principal part block diagram which shows the principal part of a metal ion removal apparatus, (b) is a distribution map which shows distribution in the surface direction of the filling ratio of a cation exchange nonwoven fabric (Example 3). (A) is a principal part block diagram which shows the principal part of a metal ion removal apparatus, (b) is a distribution map which shows distribution in the surface direction of the filling ratio of a cation exchange nonwoven fabric (Example 4). (Example 4) which is a virtual figure which shows a mode that the filling area | region of the cation exchange nonwoven fabric is virtually continuous in the radial direction. (A) is a principal part block diagram which shows the principal part of a metal ion removal apparatus, (b) is a distribution map which shows distribution in the surface direction of the opening of a plate-shaped member (Example 5). (A) is a principal part block diagram which shows the principal part of a metal ion removal apparatus, (b) is a distribution map which shows distribution in the surface direction of the particle size of the filled cation exchange resin (Example 6). .

  The metal ion removal apparatus of Embodiment 1 includes a metal ion removal layer formed of a metal ion trapping material capable of trapping metal ions, and allows the fuel to pass through the metal ion removal layer, thereby allowing the metal ions contained in the fuel to pass through. Remove. The metal ion removal layer has an inflow surface for allowing fuel to flow into itself.

Furthermore, assuming a macroscopic flow direction of the fuel from the upstream side to the downstream side in the metal ion removal layer, the fuel spreads on the inflow surface and flows into the metal ion removal layer, so that the macro flow direction is increased. On the other hand, it spreads in the direction perpendicular to the plane and passes through the metal ion removal layer.
The metal ion removal layer is provided such that the macroscopic flow direction passage resistance has a distribution in the plane direction, and the passage resistance distribution is such that the passage resistance increases as the portion of the inflow surface where the fuel easily flows. Is set to

  The inflow surface is covered with a mesh-like plate member. The opening of the plate-like member has a distribution such that the portion where the fuel tends to flow in the inflow surface becomes smaller, and the distribution of passage resistance is set according to the distribution of the opening of the plate-like member. .

  According to the metal ion removing apparatus of the second embodiment, the metal ion capturing material is active particles formed in a particle shape, and the metal ion removing layer is formed by being filled with a large number of active particles. The particle size of the filled active particles has a distribution in the plane direction, and the particle size distribution is set so that the part where the fuel easily flows into the inflow surface has a smaller particle size. The distribution of the passage resistance is set according to the distribution of.

According to the metal ion removing device of the third embodiment, an active nonwoven fabric capable of capturing metal ions is used as one of the metal ion capturing materials constituting the metal ion removing layer, and the filling ratio of the active nonwoven fabric with respect to the surface direction. Distribution is provided. And distribution of passage resistance is set up according to distribution of the filling rate of an active nonwoven fabric.
According to the metal ion removing apparatus of Embodiment 4, the active nonwoven fabric is alternately filled with other metal ion trapping materials in the macroscopic flow direction.

[Configuration of Example 1]
The structure of the metal ion removal apparatus 1 of Example 1 is demonstrated based on drawing.
The metal ion removing apparatus 1 removes metal ions from fuel injected and supplied to an internal combustion engine (not shown) of a vehicle. For example, as shown in FIG. A part of a pressure accumulating fuel injection device 3 for supplying the injected fuel to the internal combustion engine is constituted.

  The fuel injection device 3 includes, for example, a fuel supply pump 5 that pumps up fuel from the fuel tank 4 and discharges the fuel at a high pressure, and a common rail 2 as a pressure accumulation container that accumulates fuel discharged from the fuel supply pump 5 in a high pressure state. , Mounted in each cylinder of the internal combustion engine, disposed between the injector 6 for receiving fuel distribution from the common rail 2 and injecting the fuel into each cylinder, the fuel tank 4 and the fuel supply pump 5 and included in the fuel An electronic control device that receives input of detection signals indicating the operating state of the internal combustion engine from various sensors and a fuel filter 7 that removes foreign matter, and controls operations of the fuel supply pump 5 and the injector 6 based on these detection signals (Hereinafter referred to as an ECU) 8.

And the metal ion removal apparatus 1 is arrange | positioned downstream of the fuel filter 7 between the fuel tank 4 and the fuel supply pump 5, for example, and removes metal ions from the fuel after foreign material removal.
In the injector 6, various spaces into which high-pressure fuel accumulated in the common rail 2 is introduced are formed, and various members related to the start and stop of fuel injection, such as a valve body that opens and closes the injection hole, These spaces are displaced in the injector 6 while maintaining a high pressure state. For this reason, since these various members form a sliding portion or the like having a very narrow clearance, if the fatty acid metal salt is deposited on such a sliding portion or the like, the injector 6 may malfunction.

  That is, the fuel supplied to the internal combustion engine contains a trace amount of metal ions as impurities, and a fatty acid such as oleic acid as a lubricant. For this reason, in the fuel, a salt reaction may occur between these metal ions and the fatty acid, and a fatty acid metal salt may be generated. Since the fatty acid metal salt is generally insoluble in fuel, it may be deposited on the sliding portion of the injector 6 and cause malfunction.

  Therefore, according to the fuel injection device 3, for example, between the fuel tank 4 and the fuel supply pump 5, the metal ion removing device 1 is disposed on the downstream side of the fuel filter 7 so that metal ions are removed from the fuel after removing the foreign matter. Removed aggressively.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 2A, the metal ion removing apparatus 1 includes a metal ion removing layer 12 formed of a metal ion capturing material capable of capturing metal ions in a resin case 11, for example, The metal ions contained in the fuel are removed by allowing the fuel to pass through the metal ion removal layer 12 in the vertical direction from the lower side to the upper side. The metal ion removal layer 12 has an inflow surface 13 for allowing fuel to flow into the metal ion removal layer 12, and the inflow surface 13 extends perpendicularly to the vertical direction.

  That is, in the metal ion removal layer 12, the flow direction from the lower side to the upper side is a macroscopic flow direction of the fuel from the upstream side to the downstream side, and the inflow surface 13 is in the macroscopic flow direction (vertical direction). It spreads in a vertical plane direction (in the following description, “plane direction” refers to a direction spreading perpendicular to the vertical direction). The fuel that has flowed into the case 11 spreads on the inflow surface 13 and flows into the metal ion removal layer 12, thereby spreading in the surface direction and passing through the metal ion removal layer 12.

  Here, the metal ion trapping material filled in the metal ion removal layer 12 is, for example, a cation exchange resin formed in a particle shape. The metal ion removal layer 12 is provided by filling a large number of cation exchange resin particles in a cylindrical shape, and the inflow surface 13 forms a circle perpendicular to the vertical direction.

  The fuel introduction path 14 to the metal ion removal layer 12 is formed in the vertical direction, and the flow path axis of the introduction path 14 passes through the center of the inflow surface 13 and coincides with the axis of the metal ion removal layer 12. To do. For this reason, on the inflow surface 13, the fuel is less likely to flow into the metal ion removal layer 12 as it is farther from the center to the outer peripheral side, and the fuel is more likely to flow into the metal ion removal layer 12 as it is closer to the center.

Further, the inflow surface 13 is covered with a net-like plate-like member 16 such as a wire net, and the plate-like member 16 constitutes a part of the metal ion removing layer 12. Then, the fuel passes through the mesh of the plate-like member 16 and flows into a cation exchange resin filling region (hereinafter referred to as a resin filling region) 17.
The outflow surface 18 is also covered with a similar plate-like member 19, and the plate-like member 19 also constitutes a part of the metal ion removing layer 12, and the metal ion-trapping material is vertically moved by the plate-like members 16 and 19. Is retained.

  The metal ion removal layer 12 is provided so that the passage resistance of the fuel in the vertical direction has a distribution in the plane direction. The passage resistance is defined as, for example, a physical quantity corresponding to the ratio of the flow rate to the pressure drop (pressure drop / flow rate) when fuel flows in a predetermined direction from a predetermined initial position to a predetermined final position in the metal ion removal layer 12. It is an index that represents the difficulty of fluid flow. For this reason, in the surface direction of the metal ion removal layer 12, the fuel is less likely to flow as the passage resistance increases.

  The distribution of the passage resistance is based on the distribution of the openings of the plate-like member 16 so that the passage resistance increases as the portion of the inflow surface 13 where fuel easily flows (the portion closer to the center of the inflow surface 13). Is set. That is, the distribution of the openings of the plate-like member 16 is set so that the portion where the fuel easily flows in the inflow surface 13 (the portion closer to the center of the inflow surface 13) has a smaller opening. 16 openings are provided so as to form a linear function having a positive gradient with respect to the distance from the center, as shown in FIG.

[Effect of Example 1]
According to the metal ion removing apparatus 1 of the first embodiment, the passage resistance with respect to the vertical direction of the metal ion removal layer 12 has a distribution in the plane direction, and this passage resistance distribution is a portion where the fuel easily flows into the inflow surface 13. The passage resistance is set so as to increase.

  As a result, the fuel guided to a portion where the fuel easily flows into the inflow surface 13 (for example, the vicinity of the center of the inflow surface 13) flows through the portion where the passage resistance is large in the metal ion removal layer 12, so the flow velocity is lowered. The fuel guided to a portion where the fuel is difficult to flow (for example, the vicinity of the outer peripheral edge of the inflow surface 13) flows through the portion where the passage resistance is small, so that the flow velocity becomes high. For this reason, since the flow velocity can be made uniform in the surface direction, in the metal ion removal layer 12, an active group effective for removing metal ions (that is, an ion exchange group not capturing metal ions: hereinafter referred to as “effective activity”. The decrease over time in the surface direction can be made uniform in the surface direction.

  As a result, it is possible to delay the generation of a site where the active active groups are reduced early in the plane direction, that is, a site that allows fuel to pass from the inflow surface 13 to the outflow surface 18 with almost no removal of metal ions. Therefore, the lifetime of the metal ion removing apparatus 1 can be extended.

  The inflow surface 13 of the metal ion removal layer 12 is covered with a mesh-like plate member 16. The opening of the plate-like member 16 has a distribution such that the portion where the fuel easily flows into the inflow surface 13 becomes smaller, and according to the distribution of the opening of the plate-like member 16, The distribution of passage resistance in the surface direction is set.

  As a result, the smaller the opening of the plate-like member 16 is, the larger the passage resistance is. Therefore, the portion of the fuel led to the portion where the fuel easily flows into the inflow surface 13 (near the center of the inflow surface 13) has a large passage resistance. The flow velocity will be low. In addition, the fuel guided to the portion where the fuel is difficult to flow (near the outer peripheral edge of the inflow surface 13) flows through the portion where the passage resistance is small, and the flow velocity becomes high. For this reason, the flow velocity can be made uniform in the surface direction.

[Example 2]
According to the metal ion removing apparatus 1 of Example 2, the particle size of the cation exchange resin filled in the metal ion removing layer 12 has a distribution in the plane direction, and the distribution of the passage resistance according to the particle size distribution. Is set. The particle size distribution is set such that the portion of the inflow surface 13 where the fuel easily flows (the portion closer to the center of the inflow surface 13) has a smaller particle size. For example, the particle size is shown in FIG. As shown in b), the size increases in three steps according to the distance from the center. The opening of the plate-like member 16 is substantially constant regardless of the distance from the center.

  As a result, the smaller the particle size of the cation exchange resin, the greater the passage resistance. Therefore, the fuel guided to the portion where the fuel easily flows into the inflow surface 13 (near the center of the inflow surface 13) is removed from the metal ion removal layer 12. In this case, it flows through a portion having a large passage resistance, and the flow velocity is lowered. In addition, the fuel guided to the portion where the fuel is difficult to flow (near the outer peripheral edge of the inflow surface 13) flows through the portion where the passage resistance is small, and the flow velocity becomes high. For this reason, since the flow velocity can be made uniform in the surface direction, the life of the metal ion removing apparatus 1 can be extended as in the first embodiment.

Example 3
According to the metal ion removing device 1 of Example 3, the metal ion removing layer 12 is filled with a cation exchange nonwoven fabric together with a cation exchange resin as a metal ion trapping material, as shown in FIG. A filling region (hereinafter referred to as a nonwoven fabric filling region) 21 of the cation exchange nonwoven fabric constitutes a part of the metal ion removing layer 12. The non-woven fabric filling region 21 is provided in the vicinity of the outer peripheral edge where it is difficult for the fuel to flow into the inflow surface 13. The vicinity of the outer peripheral edge is not filled with the cation exchange resin at all in the vertical direction, and the cation exchange Only non-woven fabric is filled.

  That is, in the metal ion removal layer 12 of Example 3, as shown in FIG.4 (b), distribution is provided in the filling ratio of the cation exchange nonwoven fabric regarding the surface direction. That is, according to the distribution of the filling ratio in FIG. 4B, the filling ratio is 100% only in the portion in the vicinity of the outer peripheral edge of the inflow surface 13 (the portion far from the center of the inflow surface 13), and in the vicinity of the outer peripheral edge. In other parts, the filling rate is 0%.

  And distribution of passage resistance is set up according to distribution of the filling rate of a cation exchange nonwoven fabric. That is, the non-woven fabric filling region 21 has a low bulk density compared to the resin filling region 17 and thus has a low passage resistance. For this reason, the distribution of the passage resistance can be set by forming the distribution in the filling ratio of the cation exchange nonwoven fabric in the surface direction.

  As a result, the smaller the filling ratio of the cation exchange nonwoven fabric, the larger the passage resistance. Therefore, the fuel guided to the portion where the fuel easily flows into the inflow surface 13 (near the center of the inflow surface 13) is the metal ion removal layer 12. In this case, it flows through a portion having a large passage resistance, and the flow velocity is lowered. In addition, the fuel guided to the portion where the fuel is difficult to flow (near the outer peripheral edge of the inflow surface 13) flows through the portion where the passage resistance is small, and the flow velocity becomes high. For this reason, since the flow velocity can be made uniform in the surface direction, the life of the metal ion removing apparatus 1 can be extended as in the first and second embodiments.

Example 4
According to the metal ion removing device 1 of Example 4, the metal ion removing layer 12 has the cation exchange resin and the cation exchange nonwoven fabric vertically arranged at all the portions in the plane direction as shown in FIG. It is filled alternately in the direction. Thereby, distribution is formed in the filling ratio of the cation exchange nonwoven fabric in the surface direction, and the distribution of the passage resistance is set by the distribution of the filling ratio.

  And the filling ratio of a cation exchange nonwoven fabric is large in two steps according to the distance from a center, as shown in FIG.5 (b). That is, the filling ratio of the cation exchange nonwoven fabric is larger in the vicinity of the outer peripheral edge where the fuel hardly flows in the inflow surface 13 than in the part other than the vicinity of the outer peripheral edge.

  Here, the total ion exchange capacity of the cation exchange nonwoven fabric is smaller than the total ion exchange capacity of the particulate cation exchange resin. For this reason, when the specific part of the surface direction in the metal ion removal layer 12 is provided only by the cation exchange nonwoven fabric, the effective active groups are reduced early compared to the case of providing the cation exchange nonwoven fabric and the cation exchange resin. As a result, the life of the metal ion removing device 1 may be reduced. Thus, by alternately filling the cation exchange nonwoven fabric and the cation exchange resin in all the parts in the plane direction, it is possible to avoid the occurrence of parts where the effective active groups are reduced at an early stage.

  In addition, although the nonwoven fabric filling area | region 21 is divided and provided in multiple shapes, such as plate shape and cyclic | annular form, in the metal ion removal layer 12, each nonwoven fabric filling area | region 21 is provided so that it may not continue in radial direction. . That is, since the nonwoven fabric filling region 21 has a smaller passage resistance than the resin filling region 17, if the individual nonwoven fabric filling regions 21 are continuous in the radial direction (see FIG. 6), the fuel is filled with the nonwoven fabric having a small passage resistance. There is a risk of passing through only the region 21 while meandering.

  That is, with respect to the nonwoven fabric filling region 21, as shown in FIG. 6, there is a connection region 23 that connects two nonwoven fabric filling regions that are discontinuous in the radial direction, or the nonwoven fabric filling region 21 that is too large in the vertical direction (hereinafter, If there is a large non-woven fabric filling region 24), the individual non-woven fabric filling regions 21 are continuous in the radial direction. As a result, the fuel passes through only the nonwoven fabric filling region 21 while meandering, and does not travel straight in the vertical direction, and may not pass through the nonwoven fabric filling region 21 and the resin filling region 17 alternately.

  As a result, the region where the effective active groups are reduced at an early stage is formed in a zigzag shape, and the life of the metal ion removing apparatus 1 may be reduced. Therefore, by providing the non-woven fabric filling region 21 so as not to be continuous in the radial direction, it is possible to reliably avoid the generation of a region where the active active groups are reduced at an early stage.

Example 5
According to the metal ion removing device 1 of the fifth embodiment, the metal ion removing layer 12 is provided by filling the cation exchange resin in a cylindrical shape, and the fuel introduction path 14 to the metal ion removing layer 12 is shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 4, the metal ion removing layer 12 is provided coaxially with the central axis. The introduction path 14 is open at the central portion including the center on the inflow surface 13, and the fuel flows from the opening of the introduction path 14 so as to spread on the inflow surface 13 to the outer peripheral side and flows into the metal ion removal layer 12. Inflow. The fuel flowing in from the inflow surface 13 passes through the metal ion removal layer 12 in the vertical direction from the lower side to the upper side and reaches the outflow surface 18.

  For this reason, on the inflow surface 13, the fuel is less likely to flow into the metal ion removal layer 12 as it is farther from the opening portion of the introduction path 14 to the outer peripheral side, and the fuel closer to the metal ion removal layer 12 is closer to the opening portion of the introduction path 14. Becomes easier to flow in.

The mesh plate-like member 16 covering the inflow surface 13 has a distribution such that the portion of the inflow surface 13 where the fuel easily flows (the portion closer to the opening of the introduction path 14) becomes smaller. Depending on the distribution of the openings of the plate-like member 16, the distribution of the passage resistance in the surface direction of the metal ion removal layer 12 is set.
For this reason, the lifetime of the metal ion removal apparatus 1 can be extended by the same operation as that of the first embodiment.

Example 6
According to the metal ion removing apparatus 1 of the sixth embodiment, as shown in FIG. 8, the shape of the metal ion removing layer 12, the position of the introduction path 14 and the like are the same as those of the metal ion removing apparatus 1 of the fifth embodiment. .
The particle size of the cation exchange resin filled in the metal ion removing layer 12 is such that the portion where the fuel easily flows into the inflow surface 13 (the portion closer to the opening of the introduction path 14) has a smaller particle size. The distribution of the passage resistance in the surface direction of the metal ion removal layer 12 is set according to the distribution of the particle diameter.
For this reason, the lifetime of the metal ion removal apparatus 1 can be extended by the same effect | action as Example 2. FIG.

[Modification]
According to the metal ion removing apparatus 1 of the embodiment, the macroscopic flow direction of the fuel in the metal ion removing layer 12 is from the lower side to the upper side, but is not limited to such an aspect. It may be set so as to go from one side to the other side in the horizontal direction, or may be set so as to go radially outward from the center. Moreover, the aspect of the metal ion capture | acquisition material with which the metal ion removal layer 12 is filled is not limited to an Example, For example, you may employ | adopt a chelate resin, activated carbon, etc. as a metal ion capture | acquisition material. Furthermore, the mode for forming the distribution of the passage resistance is not limited to the embodiment.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Metal ion removal apparatus 12 Metal ion removal layer 13 Inflow surface 16 Plate-shaped member

Claims (5)

A metal ion removing layer formed of a metal ion scavenger capable of capturing metal ions;
In the metal ion removing apparatus for removing metal ions contained in the fuel by passing the fuel through the metal ion removing layer,
The metal ion removal layer has an inflow surface for allowing fuel to flow into itself,
Assuming a macroscopic flow direction of the fuel from the upstream side to the downstream side in the metal ion removal layer, the fuel spreads on the inflow surface and flows into the metal ion removal layer, so that the macro flow. Extending in a plane direction perpendicular to the direction and passing through the metal ion removal layer,
The metal ion removal layer is provided so that the passage resistance in the macroscopic flow direction has a distribution in the plane direction,
The distribution of the passage resistance is set so that the passage resistance becomes larger in a portion where the fuel easily flows in the inflow surface. The metal ion removing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein
The metal ion scavenger is active particles formed in the form of particles, and the metal ion removal layer is formed by filling a large number of active particles,
The particle size of the filled active particles has a distribution in the plane direction,
The particle size distribution is set so that the portion of the inflow surface where the fuel tends to flow is smaller in the particle size,
The metal ion removing device, wherein the distribution of the passage resistance is set according to the distribution of the particle diameter. In the metal ion removal apparatus according to claim 1 or 2,
As one of the metal ion scavengers constituting the metal ion removal layer, an active nonwoven fabric capable of capturing metal ions is used,
Distribution is provided in the filling ratio of the active nonwoven fabric with respect to the surface direction,
The metal ion removing apparatus, wherein the distribution of the passage resistance is set according to the distribution of the filling ratio of the active nonwoven fabric. In the metal ion removal apparatus according to claim 3,
The active nonwoven fabric is alternately filled with the other metal ion trapping material in the macroscopic flow direction. In the metal ion removal apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
The inflow surface is covered with a mesh-like plate member,
The opening of the plate-like member has a distribution such that the portion where the fuel easily flows in the inflow surface becomes smaller,
The metal ion removing apparatus, wherein the distribution of the passage resistance is set according to the distribution of the openings of the plate-like member.

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