JP2014121691A - Water purification material, water purification cartridge, water purifier, and method of producing water purification material - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a water purification material, a water purification cartridge, and a water purifier which are easy to handle, and exhibit a high filtration flow rate from the early stages of water conduction.SOLUTION: With filter materials 71 that purify raw water, water repellent materials 72 that repel the raw water are mixed dispersedly.

Description

  The present invention relates to a water purification material provided with a filter medium for purifying raw water, a water purification cartridge provided with the same, a water purifier provided with a water purification cartridge, and a method for producing the water purification material.

Conventionally, as a pot-type water purifier, a raw water storage part for storing raw water before purification is provided, and a water purification part for purifying raw water stored in the raw water storage part is provided below the raw water storage part. The thing provided with the purified water storage part which stores the purified water purified in the purified water part below is known (refer patent document 1).
That is, in such a pot type water purifier, the raw water stored in the raw water storage unit is purified by passing through the water purification material provided in the water purification unit by the pressure due to its own weight, and stored in the purified water storage unit. It is configured.
Here, activated carbon is often used as the water purification material provided in the water purification unit of the pot type water purifier. When the activated carbon is not specially treated before being used as a water purification material, air exists in the gaps between the activated carbons and in the pores of the activated carbon itself. In the early stage of water flow, the air hinders the flow of raw water, so that there is a problem that the filtration flow rate becomes low. Moreover, in the water purifier test method (JIS S3201) prescribed | regulated by JIS, although it is supposed to show the value at the beginning of water flow, the filtration before an air pocket is completely removed in the said water flow initial stage. There was a big difference between the flow rate and the filtration flow rate after the removal, which was a problem in product design.
Therefore, in the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1, before use, a water purification unit including activated carbon (water purification material) is accommodated in a packaging material, and the interior of the packaging material is filled with water to prevent formation of an air pocket. In the initial stage of water flow, a predetermined filtration flow rate is secured.

JP 2010-162492 A

  However, the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1 has a problem that the water purification section must be packaged airtightly with a packaging material, and the interior of the packaging material must be filled with water, so that the manufacturing process is relatively complicated. there were.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and the object thereof is a water purification material that is easy to handle and can exhibit a high filtration flow rate from the beginning of water flow, a water purification cartridge including the water purification cartridge, and the water purification cartridge It is providing the manufacturing method of the water purifier provided with water purification material.

The water purification material of the present invention for achieving the above object is
It is characterized in that a water repellent material that repels raw water is dispersed and mixed with a filter medium that purifies the raw water.

  According to the above configuration, the water repellent material that repels raw water is dispersed and mixed in the filter medium that purifies the raw water, so that the raw water is repelled and air passes around the water repellent material. An air flow path is formed. As a result, particularly when the raw water flows through the water purification material, the air accumulated inside the water purification material is discharged to the outside of the water purification material through the periphery of the water-repellent material. Therefore, it is possible to prevent an air pool from being formed inside the water purification material. As a result, it is possible to suppress the passage of raw water from being blocked by the air pool, and it is possible to realize a water purification material that can ensure a relatively high filtration flow rate from the beginning of the water flow.

Further features of the water purification material of the present invention are as follows:
The filter medium is granular activated carbon,
The granular activated carbon is obtained by dispersing and mixing the granular water-repellent material.

  According to the above characteristic configuration, since the granular water repellent material is dispersed and mixed in the granular activated carbon, it becomes easy to disperse the water repellent material substantially uniformly throughout the water purification material inside the water purification material. Air pockets can be discharged to the outside from the entire area of the material.

Further features of the water purification material of the present invention are as follows:
The filter medium is granular activated carbon,
The water-repellent material is in the point of binding the plurality of granular activated carbons.

According to the above-described characteristic configuration, the water-repellent material repels raw water and discharges air pockets inside the water purification material to the outside, and also functions as a so-called binder that combines a plurality of granular activated carbons. To do. Thereby, while being able to discharge | emit an air pocket easily, the water purification material which consists of a shaping | molding activated carbon which couple | bonded granular activated carbon can be created easily.
Moreover, the shape retention property of the whole water purification material is securable.

Further features of the water purification material of the present invention are as follows:
The water repellent material is mixed at a ratio of 5.0 wt% or more and 20 wt% or less.

  According to the above-described characteristic configuration, by containing at least 5.0 wt% of the water-repellent material, it is possible to discharge the air pool inside the water purification material to the outside of the water purification material relatively quickly, particularly in the initial stage of water flow. . On the other hand, since the water-repellent material is a material that repels raw water, if the mixing ratio of the water-repellent material contained in the water purification material is too high, the maximum filtration flow rate when the air pool is completely discharged may decrease. . Therefore, in the present invention, the maximum filtration flow rate when the air pool is completely discharged is maintained by setting the content ratio of the water purification material to 20 wt% or less.

Further features of the water purification material of the present invention are as follows:
The water repellent material is a water repellent thermoplastic resin.

According to the above characteristic configuration, the water-repellent material is composed of a thermoplastic resin, and after the thermoplastic resin is dispersed and mixed in the filter medium, it is sintered and cooled, and the thermoplastic resin adheres to the surface of the activated carbon. Can be made. Thereby, the water repellent material can be dispersed and exist in a state along the surface of the filter medium, and the air inside the water purification material can be escaped to the outside even more in the initial stage of water flow.
In addition, by configuring the water-repellent material as a thermoplastic resin, it is also possible to exert a function as a so-called binder that connects filter media to each other. Can be molded.

Further features of the water purification material of the present invention are as follows:
The water repellent material is formed of a material whose surface is coated with one or more of the group of polyethylene, polypropylene, fluorine-based resin, silicon-based resin, polyacetal, and polystyrene, or any one or more of them.

In the present invention, the above-mentioned materials that do not affect the water quality even when water is passed can be suitably used. Here, examples of the fluorine resin include polytetrafluoroethylene, and examples of the silicon resin include silicon rubber.
Further, the object of the present application can be achieved even with a material whose surface is coated with one or more of the above-mentioned materials.

The water purification cartridge of the present invention for achieving the above object is
The point provided with the casing main body which has the filling space which can be filled with the above-mentioned water purification material is characterized.

The water purifier of the present invention for achieving the above object is
The above-described water purification cartridge is provided below the raw water storage unit capable of storing raw water, and includes a purified water storage unit that stores the purified water that has fallen by its own weight from the raw water storage unit and passes through the water purification material of the water purification cartridge. Features a point.

  The water purification cartridge containing the water purification material described so far and the water purifier equipped with the water purification material can exhibit a relatively high filtration flow rate from the beginning of the water flow. For example, the water purification material is allowed to pass through by its own weight. The so-called pot-type water purifier can also be suitably used.

The method for producing the water purification material of the present invention for achieving the above object is as follows.
A dispersion mixing step in which a water-repellent thermoplastic resin is dispersed and mixed around a filter medium that purifies raw water, and the surfaces of the filter medium are sintered by the thermoplastic resin after the dispersion mixing step. And a joining step for joining.

According to the manufacturing method of the water purification material, the dispersion and mixing step can disperse and mix the thermoplastic resin in the filter medium inside the water purification material. It can be discharged to the outside of the water purification material through the periphery of the water-repellent thermoplastic resin.
Furthermore, since the surfaces of the filter media can be bonded to each other by the thermoplastic resin by executing the bonding step after the dispersion mixing step, the water-repellent thermoplastic resin can also exhibit the function of a binder, Water purification material can be easily molded.

(A) Schematic diagram showing a conventional water purification material made of granular activated carbon, (b) Schematic diagram showing a water purification material in which granular water repellent material is dispersed and mixed in granular activated carbon, (c) Water repellency of a plurality of granular activated carbon Schematic showing water purification material combined with material The graph which shows the filtration flow rate change rate at the time of passing water to the water purification material of this invention The graph which shows the filtration flow volume at the time of passing water to the water purification material of this invention The graph which shows the filtration flow rate change rate at the time of passing the water purification material which disperse-mixed the water-repellent material of this invention in granular activated carbon, and the water purification material which disperse-mixed the material without water repellency in granular activated carbon Sectional drawing of the water purifier provided with the water purification cartridge of this invention, and the said water purification cartridge

The present invention relates to a water purification material 70 that can exhibit a relatively high filtration flow rate from the beginning of water flow, a water purification cartridge 100 that fills the water purification material 70 therein, and a pot-type water purifier 200 to which the water purification cartridge 100 is attached.
Hereinafter, after first describing the water purification material 70 of the present invention based on FIGS. 1 to 4, the water purification cartridge 100 and the pot-type water purifier 200 of the present invention will be described based on FIG. 5.

[First water purification material]
Usually, the conventional water purification material 70 is comprised only from the granular activated carbon 71, as shown to Fig.1 (a). When raw water is passed through the water purification material 70, as shown in FIG. 1A, air accumulates in the gaps of the granular activated carbon 71 and the pores of the granular activated carbon 71, and the air inhibits the flow of the raw water. There is a problem that the filtration flow rate is lowered.
Therefore, as shown in FIG. 1B, the water purification material 70 of the present invention is composed of a granular activated carbon 71, which is a filtering material for purifying raw water, in which a granular water repellent material 72 is dispersed and mixed. .
In this configuration, since the water-repellent material 72 that repels raw water is dispersed and mixed with the granular activated carbon 71, since there is no raw water around the water-repellent material 72, an air flow path through which air can pass is formed. Is done. Thereby, in particular, when the raw water flows through the water purification material 70 in the initial stage of the flow of the raw water, the air pool inside the water purification material 70 is transferred to the outside of the water purification material 70 through the periphery of the water repellent material 72. Since it can discharge | emit, it can prevent that an air pocket is formed in the inside of the water purification material 70. FIG.

Here, as the granular activated carbon 71, generally used granular activated carbon 71 having a particle size of about 100 μm to 1000 μm is used. Preferably, granular activated carbon 71 (for example, WHA60 / 140N manufactured by Nippon Environ Chemicals) having a particle size of about 106 μm to 250 μm is used. On the other hand, the granular water-repellent material 72 having a particle size of about 100 μm to 600 μm can be preferably used.
Here, if the particle size of the water repellent material 72 is less than 100 μm, it may not be sufficiently mixed with the granular activated carbon 71, and the resistance at the time of passing water may increase and the filtration flow rate may decrease. . On the other hand, when the particle diameter exceeds 600 μm, mixing with the granular activated carbon 71 becomes difficult.

  The granular water repellent material 72 is preferably mixed with the water purification material 70 including the granular activated carbon 71 and the water repellent material 72 at a ratio of about 5.0 wt% or more and 20 wt% or less. By including at least 5.0 wt% or more of the water repellent material 72, particularly in the initial stage of water flow, the air pool inside the water purification material 70 is relatively quickly passed through the periphery of the water repellent material 72. It can be discharged to the outside. On the other hand, the water-repellent material 72 is a material that repels raw water. Therefore, if the mixing ratio of the water-repellent material 72 contained in the water purification material 70 is too high, the filtration flow rate is reduced after the initial stage of water flow and after the air pool is completely removed. May decrease. Therefore, in the present invention, by setting the content ratio of the water purification material 70 to 20 wt% or less, a filtration flow rate of a predetermined value or more can be ensured even after the initial stage of water flow.

  As the water repellent material 72, one or more of the group of polyethylene, polypropylene, fluorine resin (polytetrafluoroethylene), silicon resin (silicon rubber), polyacetal, and polystyrene, or any one or more of them is used as a surface coating. It can be composed of the materials that are made. In the present invention, a resin having water repellency other than the above can be suitably used as long as the safety of the water purification material 70 can be ensured.

[Second water purification material]
As described so far, the first water purification material 70 is a mixture of the granular activated carbon 71 and the granular water-repellent material 72. It can be discharged to the outside.
On the other hand, in the 2nd water purification material 70, the water-repellent material 72 is comprised from a water-repellent thermoplastic resin, and the water-repellent material 72 is used also as a binder of the granular activated carbon 71 by employ | adopting the following manufacturing methods. be able to.

[Method for producing second water purification material]
In the manufacturing method of the 2nd water purification material 70, the dispersion | distribution mixing process of disperse | distributing and mixing the granular thermoplastic resin 72 which has water repellency around the granular activated carbon 71 which purifies raw | natural water, and baking after the said dispersion | distribution mixing process The dry-type molded water purification material 70 can be manufactured by performing the joining process in which the surfaces of the granular activated carbon 71 are joined together with the thermoplastic resin 72 in order.
In the said molded water purification material 70, as shown in FIG.1 (c), the thermoplastic resin 72 couple | bonds the surfaces of the some granular activated carbon 71 by sintering. Furthermore, since the thermoplastic resin 72 having water repellency exists along the surfaces of the plurality of granular activated carbons 71, particularly in the initial stage of water flow, an air pocket is generated from the inside of the water purification material 70. It is discharged outside.

  The thermoplastic resin having water repellency can be composed of a material whose surface is coated with any one or a combination of polyethylene, polypropylene, polyacetal, and polystyrene, or any one or more thereof. .

Next, the water flow test which measures the filtration flow volume of the 1st and 2nd water purification material 70 mentioned above was done. In addition, the water flow test was performed in a state where the water purification material 70 was filled in the filling portion of the water purification cartridge 100 as shown in FIG. 5 and the water purification cartridge 100 was attached to the pot type water purifier 200 shown in FIG. The measurement results are shown in the graphs of FIGS.
FIG. 2 shows a filtration flow rate change rate that is a change rate of the filtration flow rate with respect to the filtration flow rate (L / min) per unit time after sufficiently passing through the initial stage of water flow (for example, after passing water of 40 L or more). It is the graph which showed the relationship between (%) and the total water flow.
As the water purification material 70, (a) the granular activated carbon 71 alone, (b) the granular activated carbon 71 containing 5.0 wt% of polyethylene particles as the water repellent material 72, and (c) the granular activated carbon 71 and the water repellent material 72. As follows: (d) granular activated carbon 71 containing 20 wt% polyethylene particles as water repellent material 72, (e) granular activated carbon 71 mixed with 10 wt% polyethylene particles as water repellent material 72, sintered Was used.
Here, (b), (c), and (d) correspond to the first water purification material 70, and (e) corresponds to the second water purification material 70.
From the graph shown in FIG. 2, (b), (c), (d), and the second water purification material corresponding to the first water purification material 70 of the present invention with respect to (a) which is a conventional water purification material. In (e) corresponding to 70, the filtration flow rate change rate changes to the increasing side at the beginning of water flow (for example, when the water flow rate is less than 10 L). From this, it turns out that the 1st, 2nd water purification material 70 of this invention increases a filtration flow volume from the water flow initial stage compared with the conventional water purification material 70. FIG.
Note that (b), (c), and (d) corresponding to the first water purification material 70 correspond to the mixing ratio of polyethylene particles of 5.0 wt%, 10 wt%, and 20 wt% in the order of description. The change in the filtration flow rate change rate toward the increasing side in the initial stage of water flow increases as the mixing ratio of the polyethylene particles as the water repellent material 72 increases. For this reason, from the viewpoint of increasing the filtration flow rate at the initial stage of water flow, it is preferable to increase the mixing ratio of the polyethylene particles to about 20 wt%.

Here, the water passage performance of the first water purification material 70 and the second water purification material 70 will be compared.
When the filtration flow rate change rate (%) of the first water purification material 70 (b) and the second water purification material 70 (e) is compared as the water purification material 70 containing 10 wt% of polyethylene particles, the filtration flow rate change rate in the initial stage of water flow. As for the change to the increase side, the 2nd water purification material 70 (e) is higher than the 1st water purification material 70 (c). That is, when the ratio of the water-repellent material 72 to be mixed is the same, it can be said that it is preferable to sinter like the second water purification material 70 from the viewpoint of increasing the rate of change in the filtration flow rate in the initial stage of water flow.

Next, the result of the water flow test comparing the filtration flow rate (L / min) of the first water purification material 70 with the filtration flow rate of the conventional water purification material will be described based on FIG.
The measurement conditions for the filtration flow rate are the same as the measurement conditions according to the graph of FIG. 2 described above.
As the water purification material 70, (a) the granular activated carbon 71 alone, (b) the granular activated carbon 71 containing 5.0 wt% of polyethylene particles as the water repellent material 72, and (c) the granular activated carbon 71 and the water repellent material 72. As the water-repellent material 72, the granular activated carbon 71 containing 20 wt% polyethylene particles was used.
Here, in the initial stage of water flow (for example, the total water flow is less than 10 L), the filtration flow rates of (b), (c), and (d) corresponding to the first water purification material 70 correspond to the conventional water purification material 70 ( It turns out that it is higher than the filtration flow rate of a).
On the other hand, after the initial stage of water flow (for example, the total water flow amount is 10 L or more), the filtration flow rates of (b), (c), and (d) corresponding to the first water purification material 70 are both conventional. It turns out that it is lower than the filtration flow rate of (a) equivalent to the water purification material 70. In particular, after the initial stage of water flow (for example, after the total water flow exceeds 10 L), the filtration flow rates of (b), (c), and (d) corresponding to the first water purification material 70 are water repellent. As the material 72 contains more polyethylene particles, it is smaller, but even in the case of (d) containing the polyethylene particles in the largest proportion (20 wt%), the target minimum filtration flow rate is 0. It can be seen that a filtration flow rate of 2 L / min (broken line L1 in the figure) or more can be secured.
Therefore, it can be considered that it can be sufficiently put into practical use.

Next, the result of the water flow test in which the filtration flow rate change rate (%) of the first water purification material 70 in which different types of water repellent materials 72 are mixed will be described with reference to FIG. The test conditions are the same as the measurement conditions according to the graph of FIG.
In the test, as the first water purification material 70, (a) granular activated carbon 71 containing 20 wt% of polyethylene particles as water repellent material 72, (b) granular activated carbon 71 containing polytetrafluoroethylene particles as water repellent material 72. (C) a granular activated carbon 71 containing 20 wt% polypropylene particles as a water-repellent material 72, and a conventional water purification material 70 (d) comprising only the granular activated carbon 71, As the water purification material 70 to be compared, (e) a granular activated carbon 71 containing 20 wt% of zeolite particles as a material having no water repellency was prepared.
As can be seen from FIG. 4, as the water repellent material 72 in the water purification material 70, (a) one containing polyethylene particles, (b) one containing polytetrafluoroethylene particles, (c) one containing polypropylene particles, It can be seen that at the initial stage of water flow (for example, when the total water flow is less than 10 L), the rate of change in the filtration flow rate has changed to the increasing side as compared with (d) corresponding to the conventional water purification material 70.
As a control test, the rate of change in the filtration flow rate of a mixture of zeolite particles, which are non-water-repellent material, mixed with granular activated carbon 71 (e) was measured. As can be seen from FIG. 4, the non-water-repellent material was mixed. The filtration flow rate change rate of the product (e) is substantially the same as the filtration flow rate change rate of (d) corresponding to the conventional water purification material 70, and the filtration flow rate change rate is increased at the initial stage of water flow as in the present invention. It turns out that the effect to change to the side is not exhibited.

[Water purification cartridge, pot type water purifier]
As shown in FIG. 5, the water purification cartridge 100 of the present invention fills the filling portion 102 formed inside the lid body 104 and the casing body 101 with the first and second water purification materials 70 described so far. It is characterized by the point to do.
The water purification cartridge 100 is formed in the casing body 101 by purifying the raw water flowing from the water inflow portion 104 a formed in the lid body 104 with the first and second water purification materials 70 filled in the filling portion 102. The purified water flows out from the water outflow portion 101a.
About the other structure of the said water purification cartridge 100, since it is the same as that of the generally used water purification cartridge 100, the detailed description is omitted here.
Moreover, the water purifier 200 of this invention can mount | wear with the above-mentioned water purification cartridge 100 favorably, the raw | natural water storage part 61 which can store the raw | natural water received from the raw | natural water receiving part 61a is provided, The water purification cartridge 100 mentioned above is attached in the state which can receive the raw | natural water stored by the raw | natural water storage part 61 below. Below the purified water cartridge 100, a purified water storage section 62 capable of storing purified water purified by the purified water cartridge 100 is provided, and the purified water storage section 62 is provided with a purified water discharge section 62a for discharging the stored purified water. Yes.
Thus, the water purifier 200 of the present invention functions as a so-called pot type water purifier. Like the pot type water purifier, the raw water flows through the first and second water purification materials 70 of the water purification cartridge 100 due to its own weight falling, and the filling unit 102 that fills the first and second water purification materials 70. Even if an air reservoir is likely to be generated, the air reservoir can be appropriately discharged to the outside.

[Another embodiment]
(1) In the said embodiment, although the water purification material 70 shall disperse and mix the water-repellent material 72 in the granular activated carbon 71, activated carbon other than the granular activated carbon 71 is also employ | adopted suitably for the water purification material 70 of this application. For example, fibrous activated carbon can be used suitably.

(2) In the said embodiment, although activated carbon was shown as a filter medium, other filter media, such as an ion exchanger, may be used separately.

  The water purification material, the water purification cartridge, and the water purifier of the present invention are effective as a water purification material, a water purification cartridge, a water purifier, and a method for producing a water purification material that are easy to handle and can exhibit a high filtration flow rate from the beginning of water flow. Is available.

61: Raw water storage section 61a: Raw water receiving section 62: Purified water storage section 62a: Purified water discharge section 70: Purified water 71: Granular activated carbon 72: Water repellent material 100: Purified water cartridge 200: Purifier

Claims (9)

  A water purification material made by dispersing and mixing a water repellent material that repels raw water into a filter medium that purifies raw water. The filter medium is granular activated carbon,
The water purification material according to claim 1, wherein the granular activated carbon is dispersed and mixed with the granular water-repellent material. The filter medium is granular activated carbon,
The water purification material according to claim 1, wherein the water repellent material binds the plurality of granular activated carbons.   The water purification material according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the water repellent material is mixed at a ratio of 5.0 wt% to 20 wt%.   The water purification material according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the water repellent material is a water repellent thermoplastic resin.   The water-repellent material is made of a material whose surface is coated with one or more of polyethylene, polypropylene, fluorine-based resin, silicon-based resin, polyacetal, and polystyrene, or any one or more thereof. The water purification material as described in.   The water purification cartridge provided with the casing main body which has the filling space which can be filled with the water purification material as described in any one of Claims 1-6.   The water purification cartridge according to claim 7 is provided below a raw water storage unit capable of storing raw water, and falls under its own weight from the raw water storage unit and stores purified water that has been purified by passing through the water purification material of the water purification cartridge. A pot-type water purifier with a water purification storage.   A dispersion mixing step in which a water-repellent thermoplastic resin is dispersed and mixed around a filter medium that purifies raw water, and the surfaces of the filter medium are sintered by the thermoplastic resin after the dispersion mixing step. The manufacturing method of the water-purifying material including the coupling | bonding process to couple | bond together.

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