JP2014004500A - Decontamination method of fluorescent lamp stabilizer - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To remove and decontaminate an asphalt filler strongly fastened to the inside of a vessel of a stabilizer and a surface of an inside electronic part by a simple method.SOLUTION: An asphalt filler is removed from a vessel and an inside electronic part by processing by a processing process of including: a disassembling process of separating into the vessel, the asphalt filler and the inside electronic part by taking out the inside electronic part after roughly removing the asphalt filler 5 from the vessel 4 of the stabilizer; a folding process of forming the vessel into a plate shape by folding a wall surface of the vessel firmly fixed with the asphalt filler; an immersion process of swelling the asphalt filler by transferring PCB into a hydrocarbon solvent while immersing and agitating the vessel formed in the plate shape and the inside electronic part in the hydrocarbon solvent; and a separation process of separating the swollen asphalt filler from the vessel and the inside electronic part by taking out the vessel formed in the plate shape and the inside electronic part from of the hydrocarbon solvent.

Description

The present invention relates to a method for decontaminating a fluorescent light ballast filled with an asphalt-based filler. More specifically, the present invention relates to a method of removing polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) contained in an asphalt-based filler fixed inside a fluorescent lamp ballast container.

PCBs have been used as insulating oils for electronic components such as capacitors because they are stable against heat and have excellent electrical insulation and chemical resistance. However, when PCBs are heated, they turn into dioxins, and if they are ingested accidentally, it has been shown that they can cause serious health damage. In 1975, PCB production and import were banned in Japan.

Although the manufacture of the PCB itself is prohibited, at present, the disposal of the equipment using the PCB manufactured before the prohibition has not been completed. For example, fluorescent lamps manufactured before the ban are still in use, and there is an accident where PCBs leak into the environment from aging fluorescent lamp ballasts. Is required.

For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a method for decomposing PCB contained in an asphalt-based filler filled in a fluorescent lamp ballast. The method of Patent Document 1 is a method in which an asphalt filler and a wound capacitor are pulverized, mixed and heated with a hydrocarbon solvent, and then sodium is added to decompose PCB.

The method of Patent Document 1 involves a process of pulverizing an asphalt filler or a wound capacitor, adding a hydrocarbon solvent thereto, and heating the resultant at 100 to 170 ° C. in an atmosphere of nitrogen gas ( Paragraph 0040 etc.). This method pulverizes asphalt-based fillers contaminated with PCB, which causes health problems such as accidental suction of dust contaminated with PCB, and in a reducing atmosphere using nitrogen. There was a problem that special equipment was required with the heating of the.

Patent Document 1 does not mention how to remove and decontaminate PCB contained in the asphalt-based filler firmly fixed to the container of the ballast. It has been desired to develop a method for efficiently decontaminating PCBs contained in asphalt fillers that are firmly fixed to the surface of a component.

JP 2003-126809 A ([0040] to [0045])

To provide a decontamination method that can easily remove and decontaminate an asphalt filler firmly fixed to the inside of a ballast container or the surface of an internal electronic component without crushing the ballast. Objective.

A decontamination method that swells and removes asphalt fillers fixed to a fluorescent ballast container and internal electronic components, the decontamination method comprising opening the ballast container and removing the asphalt filler from the container. Roughing, taking out the internal electronic components and separating them into containers, asphalt fillers and internal electronic components, and bending the wall surface of the container to which the asphalt fillers are fixed into a plate shape Step, soak the plate-like container and the internal electronic components in a hydrocarbon solvent, move the PCB to the hydrocarbon solvent while stirring so that the solution is in uniform contact, and swell the asphalt filler A soaking step, a plate-like container and internal electronic components are taken out of the hydrocarbon solvent, and the separated asphalt filler is separated from the container and internal electronic components. By decontamination method of a fluorescent lamp ballast, characterized in that the treatment process to the container and the internal electronic components in the step for removing asphalt based fillers contaminated with PCB containing, to solve the above problem.

The fluorescent lamp ballast decontamination method of the present invention swells and separates the fluorescent lamp ballast container and the asphalt-based filler that is firmly fixed to the internal electronic components such as the iron core coil. This is a method for decontaminating electronic components. Ballast containers, iron core coils, and the like decontaminated by the method of the present invention can be reused as metal resources such as iron and copper. On the other hand, asphalt fillers separated from containers and internal electronic components are disposed of as general industrial waste because the contained PCBs are transferred to hydrocarbon solvents and made harmless in the immersion process. Is possible.

The asphalt-based filler roughened in the dismantling process and the insulating oil of the capacitor may be treated by a known method to decompose the PCB and render it harmless.

After the dipping process, a hydrocarbon-based solvent containing solids such as fragments of asphalt filler, resin pieces, and metal pieces, and partially dissolved asphalt filler is by-produced. In this hydrocarbon solvent, PCB derived from the asphalt filler fixed to the container and the internal electronic component is dissolved in a high concentration. Therefore, the hydrocarbon solvent produced as a by-product may be filtered using a PCB adsorbent such as an adsorption mat to filter solids and PCB, or by using a distillation apparatus to distill the hydrocarbon solvent and PCB. The hydrocarbon solvent may be separated from the solvent and reused. In this way, the PCB is concentrated on the PCB adsorbent or in the distillation residue, which is convenient when the PCB is transported, stored or decomposed.

In the bending step, it is preferable that the center punch is driven between the container and the asphalt filler to fold the wall surface and push it into a plate shape, and to punch a through hole in the container. That is, the operation process can be simplified by integrating the operation of expanding the wall surface and the operation of drilling the through hole in the container. It is preferable to provide a through-hole in the container because the solution flow due to stirring is less likely to be inhibited when the container is immersed in a hydrocarbon solution. This is particularly effective when simultaneously immersing a large number of containers and internal electronic components.

Since the asphalt filler of the container after the separation step and the internal electronic component is swollen with the hydrocarbon solvent, the asphalt filler can be easily removed by blowing compressed air. Use of compressed air is preferable because the operator's hand is not contaminated.

As the hydrocarbon-based solvent, it is preferable to use one or more mixed solutions selected from the group consisting of benzene, toluene, xylene, hexane, decane, undecane, dodecane, kerosene, light oil, and heavy oil. In particular, if a mixed solution containing a toluene solution as a main component and xylene added thereto is used, it is possible to reduce the risk of ignition and efficiently swell the asphalt filler and extract PCB.

When using a highly flammable solvent as the hydrocarbon solvent, it is preferable to replace the hydrocarbon solvent contained in the asphalt filler with a chlorine-based flame retardant solvent. Replacing with a chlorine-based flame retardant solvent reduces the risk of ignition and allows easy handling.

An internal electronic component refers to a component to which an asphalt filler included in a fluorescent light ballast is fixed or a component contaminated with PCB. For example, a capacitor container, a wound capacitor (capacitor foil), a transformer (iron Core, coil wound around iron core), lead wire, terminal and the like. By immersing these parts in a hydrocarbon solvent together with a ballast container to which the asphalt filler is fixed, it is possible to efficiently remove the asphalt filler containing PCB and PCB.

According to the decontamination method of the present invention, it is possible to easily separate and decontaminate an asphalt filler firmly fixed to internal electronic components such as a ballast container and an iron core. Since the decontaminated container and the internal electronic parts such as the transformer are processed without being crushed, there is no possibility that the operator accidentally sucks the dust contaminated with the PCB. The internal electronic components treated by the decontamination method of the present invention can be reused as metal resources.

In the present invention, since the immersion step in the hydrocarbon solvent is performed at a low temperature, it is not necessary to perform the immersion step in a nitrogen atmosphere, and the burden on the operator can be reduced.

It is the perspective view which showed typically an example of the fluorescent lamp ballast. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of the decontamination method of the fluorescent ball stabilizer of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows another procedure of the decontamination method of a fluorescent lamp stabilizer. It is the perspective view which showed a mode that the center punch was inserted between an asphalt type filler and the wall surface of a container, and a bending process was performed. It is the perspective view which showed the ballast after the bending process of FIG. It is the photograph of the transformer taken out from the container of the fluorescent light ballast.

The decontamination method of the fluorescent light ballast of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings of the fluorescent light ballast and the flowchart of the decontamination method.

Fluorescent lamp ballast 1 (hereinafter referred to as a ballast) has different components depending on the year of manufacture and manufacturer. Basically, as shown in FIG. The capacitor 31 and the transformer 32 are provided, and the asphalt filler 5 is filled in the container 4 so that these internal electronic components 3 do not move. Capacitor 31 is configured by storing a wound capacitor in which metal foils of iron or aluminum are arranged in a spiral shape and insulating oil containing PCB in a capacitor container. As shown in the photograph of FIG. 6, the transformer 32 includes an iron core 321 and a coil 322 wound around the iron core 321. In addition, a lead wire 33 for connecting the capacitor 31 and the fluorescent lamp and a terminal 34 are also included. The ballast 1 shown in FIG. 2 is only an example, and the present invention can be applied to components such as a heat shield and an insulating plate.

In the decontamination method of the present invention, the disassembly step 21 is performed by opening the ballast container 4. As shown in the flowcharts of FIGS. 2 and 3, the disassembling step 21 may be performed before or after the folding step 22. As shown in FIG. 3, it is preferable that the bending step 22 be performed prior to the dismantling step 21 because the container 4 has a flat plate shape so that the disassembling operation can be easily performed. The ballast 1 in FIG. 1 is in a state where the lid has already been removed, and the asphalt filler 5 filled in the container 4 is exposed. In FIG. 1, for convenience of explanation, a part of the asphalt filler 5 and a part of the container 4 are notched. In the disassembling step 21, the asphalt filler 5 exposed from the opening of the container 4 is roughly removed using a scraper or the like, and the condenser 31 and the transformer 32 are taken out from the container 4 and separated. At this time, the asphalt filler 5 firmly fixed to the internal electronic components 3 such as the container 4 and the capacitor 31 may be left as it is without being forcibly removed.

After performing the dismantling process 21 or before performing the disassembling process 21, a bending process 22 is performed in which the wall surface 41 of the container 4 is bent to make the container into a plate shape. When the folding step 22 is performed after the dismantling step 21 (FIG. 2), after roughening the asphalt filler 5, the wall surface 41 of the container 4 is bent into a plate shape by hand or using a tool such as a hammer. do it. When the bending step 22 is performed prior to the dismantling step 21 (FIG. 3), a scraper, a flat-blade screwdriver, and the center punch 9 having the arrow-shaped tip shown in FIG. The wall surface 41 can be easily bent into a plate shape by being inserted in between.

When the center punch 9 is used in the bending step 22, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the wall surface 41 is bent between the wall surface 41 and the asphalt filler 5 to be bent into a plate shape. While pushing and spreading, it is good to pierce the through-hole 42 by making the front-end | tip of the center punch 9 penetrate the wall surface 41 of the container 4. FIG. If the wall surface 41 is provided with a through hole 42, the asphalt filler fixed to the container 4 by circulating the hydrocarbon solvent 6 evenly in the through hole 42 through which the hydrocarbon solvent 6 passes in the dipping step 23 described later. 5 can be efficiently swollen.

In the dipping process 23, the plate-like container 4 obtained through the disassembling process 21 and the bending process 22 and the internal electronic component 3 are dipped in the hydrocarbon solvent 6, and the PCB is stirred while stirring so that the solution is evenly contacted. Is transferred to the hydrocarbon solvent 6 to swell the asphalt filler 5 fixed to the container 4 and the internal electronic component 3. 1 includes a capacitor 31, a transformer 32 (iron core 321 and coil 322), a lead wire 33, and a terminal 34. The internal electronic component 3 of the fluorescent lamp ballast 1 shown in FIG. The transformer 32, the lead wire 33, and the terminal 34 may be put into an immersion tank filled with the hydrocarbon solvent 6 with the asphalt filler 5 fixed, and stirred. The capacitor 31 may be disassembled into an insulating oil, a capacitor wound product, and a capacitor container, and the capacitor wound product and the capacitor container may be immersed in the immersion tank. The insulating oil may be separately treated by a known method. As shown in FIG. 6, the surface of the internal electronic component 3 such as a transformer is rich in unevenness, and it is difficult to separate the fixed asphalt filler 5, but according to the decontamination method of the present invention, It is possible to separate the asphalt-based filler 5 adhered to the surface.

As the hydrocarbon solvent 6 used in the dipping process 83, a solvent that can extract PCB and swell the asphalt filler 5 is used. Such solvents include the group consisting of cyclic hydrocarbon solvents such as benzene, toluene, xylene and hexane, saturated hydrocarbon solvents such as decane, undecane and dodecane, and kerosene, light oil and heavy oil petroleum distillates. One or more mixed solutions selected from the group can be mentioned. Among them, toluene is preferable because of its high effect of swelling the asphalt filler 5, but its flash point is as low as 5 ° C., so xylene (flash point 27 ° C.), decane (flash point 46 ° C.), undecane (flash point 65 ° C.). , Dodecane (flash point 74 ° C.), kerosene (flash point 40 to 60 ° C.), light oil (flash point 50 to 70 ° C.) and heavy oil (flash point 60 to 100 ° C.) are preferably mixed. In this case, in consideration of the swelling efficiency of the asphalt filler 5, it is preferable that the amount of toluene added is not less than 50% by volume.

When the immersion temperature of the hydrocarbon solvent 6 is increased, a part of the solvent is vaporized and the risk of ignition or ignition increases, so the immersion temperature is preferably room temperature and the immersion time is preferably 18 to 30 hours. If it is immersed at room temperature, it can be decontaminated without dissolving resin materials such as resin clothing bodies of the lead wires 33 and resin capacitor containers.

After the immersion step 23, the internal electronic component 3 and the container 4 are taken out from the hydrocarbon solvent 6 and the separation step 24 is performed. Since the container after the dipping step 23 and the asphalt filler 5 of the internal electronic component 3 are swollen with the hydrocarbon solvent 6, they can be easily peeled off using a scraper or the like. The separation method is not limited to a method using a separating tool such as a scraper, and the asphalt filler can be easily removed by blowing compressed air. Use of compressed air is preferable because the operator's hand is not soiled. Further, by using a centrifuge, it is possible to remove the asphalt filler 5 without touching it by hand. Asphalt fillers swollen by irradiation with ultrasonic waves in the hydrocarbon solution 6 may be removed.

In the separation step 24, since the asphalt filler 5 separated from the container 4 contains a large amount of hydrocarbon solvent 6, it is ignited when transporting the asphalt filler when replaced with a chlorine flame retardant solvent. This is preferable because there is no risk of this. Examples of the chlorine-based flame retardant solvent include perchlorethylene, trichloroethylene, and methylene chloride.

The decontaminated ballast container and the internal electronic component 7 after the separation step 24 can be recycled as a metal material or a resin material. The decontaminated asphalt filler 8 after the separation step 24 can also be reused. The hydrocarbon solvent 61 containing PCB by-produced in the separation step 24 may be decomposed by a known method, or the hydrocarbon solvent 6 is subjected to distillation cooling or PCB using a PCB adsorbent. May be removed and used again in the dipping process 23.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described more specifically by way of examples of the present invention.

The center punch 9 shown in FIG. 4 was driven between the asphalt filler 5 and the wall surface 41 of the container 4, and the container 4 was extended in a flat plate shape while piercing the through hole 42. Thereafter, the asphalt filler 5 fixing the capacitor 31 and the transformer 32 was roughly removed using a scraper, and the capacitor 31, the transformer 32, the lead wire 33, and the terminal 34 were taken out from the container 4. The capacitor 31 was disassembled into insulating oil, a rolled aluminum capacitor, and a capacitor container.

The asphalt filler 5 is fixed to the internal electronic components 3 such as the flat container 4, the transformer 32, the wound capacitor, and the capacitor container, but the internal electronic components 3 are not removed without completely removing them. (About 10 kg) was put into a dipping tank filled with 50 liters of a mixed solution of 6: 4 = toluene: xylene by volume ratio, and dipped for 24 hours while stirring with a stirrer. Immersion was performed at room temperature (about 22 ° C.).

After a lapse of 24 hours, the flat container 4, the transformer 32, the wound coil and the condenser container were taken out from the mixed solution of toluene and xylene, and the state of the attached asphalt filler 5 was confirmed. And swollen. The swollen asphalt filler 5 could be easily removed by blowing pressurized air of 0.2 to 1.0 MPa onto the surface of the internal electronic component 3 such as a transformer.

Decontaminated containers such as transformer 32 and internal electronic parts after the separation process in accordance with the wiping test method according to the “Certification Method for Specially Controlled General Waste and Specially Controlled Industrial Waste Standards” (Ministry of Health and Welfare Notification No. 192) 7 was checked whether PCB remained or not, PCB was not detected. Is there any PCB remaining in the asphalt-based filler 8 after the separation process according to the “Testing method for standards concerning specially managed municipal waste and specially managed industrial waste” (Ministry of Health and Welfare Notification No. 192) When checked, no PCB was detected.

Since the decontaminated asphalt-based filler 8 contains a large amount of a mixed solution of toluene and xylene, it is dangerous when transported as it is. Therefore, the asphalt filler was washed by dipping in a 100% trichlorethylene solution for 1 hour. The solvent in the asphalt-based filler 8 was replaced with trichlorethylene, and could be safely stored and transported. By washing with lichlorethylene, the effect of further reducing the concentration of residual PCB is also exhibited.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Fluorescent lamp ballast 3 Internal electronic component 31 Capacitor 32 Transformer 321 Iron core 322 Coil 33 Lead wire 34 Terminal 4 Ballast container 41 Wall surface 42 Through-hole 5 Asphalt type filler 6 Hydrocarbon solvent 61 Hydrocarbon solvent including PCB 7 Decontaminated ballast container and internal electronic component 8 Decontaminated asphalt filler 9 Center punch 21 Disassembly process 22 Bending process 23 Immersion process 24 Separation process

Claims (6)

A decontamination method that swells and removes asphalt filler fixed to a fluorescent light ballast container and internal electronic components,
The decontamination method is
Dismantling step of opening the container of the ballast, roughly removing the asphalt filler from the container, taking out the internal electronic component and separating it into the container, the asphalt filler and the internal electronic component;
A bending step of bending the wall surface of the container to which the asphalt-based filler is fixed to make the container into a plate shape;
Immersion step of immersing plate-like container and internal electronic component in hydrocarbon solvent, transferring PCB to hydrocarbon solvent while stirring so that solution is uniformly contacted, and swelling asphalt filler When,
Removing the plate-like container and internal electronic components from the hydrocarbon solvent and separating the swollen asphalt filler from the container and internal electronic components;
A decontamination method for a fluorescent lamp stabilizer, characterized in that the asphalt filler contaminated with PCB is removed from the container and internal electronic components by a treatment process including: The fluorescence process according to claim 1, wherein the bending step is a step of punching a through hole in the container while bending the wall surface by pushing a center punch between the container and the asphalt-based filler to push it into a plate shape. Decontamination method for light ballast. 2. The fluorescent lamp ballast decontamination method according to claim 1, wherein the separation step is a step of removing the swollen asphalt filler by blowing compressed air on the plate-like container and the internal electronic component. 2. The fluorescent lamp stabilizer according to claim 1, wherein the hydrocarbon solvent is one or more mixed solutions selected from the group consisting of benzene, toluene, xylene, hexane, decane, undecane, dodecane, kerosene, light oil, and heavy oil. Decontamination method. The decontamination method for a fluorescent lamp stabilizer according to claim 1 or 4, wherein the hydrocarbon solvent contained in the asphalt filler separated from the container in the separation step is replaced with a chlorine flame retardant solvent. 2. The fluorescent lamp ballast decontamination method according to claim 1, wherein the internal electronic components are a capacitor container, a wound capacitor, a transformer, a lead wire, and a terminal.