JP2015196126A - Filter device with humidity conditioning function - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a contaminant removal filter with a humidity conditioning function capable of removing fine contaminant in gas passing through a filter, and simultaneously imparting or removing humidity without requiring in particular, hydration means and also heating means.SOLUTION: A filter 100 with a humidity conditioning function for removing contaminant in gas includes a filter medium for removing contaminant by allowing gas to pass therethrough, and a humidity conditioning material provided integrally with the filter medium or separately therefrom, for adding and/or reducing humidity simultaneously with contaminant removal from the gas.

Description

  The present invention relates to a filter device with a humidity control function suitable for forming, for example, a clean indoor space.

Conventionally, for example, when a clean space such as a clean room is formed, a dust removing filter is disposed in an air conditioner to remove contaminants such as dust and dust.
Not only in clean rooms, but also in air cleaners used in ordinary homes, recently they have not only a fairly high-performance filter, but also a dust collector that uses ions to provide a high air purification function. What has it is also put into practical use (see Patent Document 1).

JP2008-149243

  However, in such an air purifier, air in a predetermined space is collected by collecting the particulates such as dust, dust, pollen and cigarette smoke of the circulating air through the filter by circulating the indoor air. These fine dusts, which are aimed at purification and are not collected by the filter, remain harmful to humans.

Particularly in Japan, in the period from winter to early spring, a large amount of pollen is released into the atmosphere, or harmful fine particles called “PM2.5” come from the continental area, and countermeasures are also required.
However, in Japan, the atmosphere is particularly dry during this period, and such particles tend to float in the atmosphere.
In addition, the smaller the particle size of harmful particles, the higher the performance of the filter. Since such a filter has a very small filter medium, the pressure loss is large, and other methods can be used to improve the purification performance. Need to be considered.

Therefore, recently, a fine mesh filter is arranged in the air purifier, and tap water etc. charged in the appliance is sucked into the humidifying filter by the capillary phenomenon and diffused to give moisture to the air to be purified. Attempts have been made to use it with a removal filter.
However, such a structure has several problems.
First, tap water must always be replenished and always burdens the user during the trial period.
At this time, there is a risk of contamination of the water tank with bacteria, viruses, etc., which may result in the wind from the humidification filter and the cause of the disease being sprayed into the room to be cleaned.
In order to prevent this, for example, a method of always heating and evaporating the water in the tank is also conceivable, but such a method usually requires a large amount of power consumption and increases the burden of electricity bills. Another problem arises.

  The present invention is intended to solve the above-described problem, and while purifying the air in the target space, even if a person does not replenish moisture, the moderate air is used without using excess power for the purified air. It aims at providing the filter with a humidity control function which can be provided, and its manufacturing method.

The present invention is a filter that removes contaminants in a gas, and is a filter medium for removing contaminants by passing the gas, and is provided integrally or separately with the filter medium to remove contaminants from the gas. At the same time, it is provided with a humidity control material that adds humidity and / or reduces humidity.
According to the above configuration, fine contaminants can be removed at least by the filter medium that removes dust, and the humidity control effect, particularly by applying humidity, prevents dust and dust from rising and is suitable for a clean space. Humidity can contribute to health. In order to obtain these effects, energy such as a heat source such as a heater or a heat pump is not used, and these facilities are unnecessary. Therefore, a very compact filter with a humidity control function can be obtained.

Preferably, the humidity conditioner is fixed to the filter medium itself of the dust removal filter.
According to the above configuration, it is possible to simultaneously remove dust and control the humidity with a single filter using a single filter medium, and an extremely compact filter device can be obtained.

Preferably, a filter medium having at least a dust removing function is combined with a humidity control filter medium in which the humidity control material is adhered and fixed to a filter medium having a coarser mesh than the dust removal filter medium.
According to the above configuration, a filter device with a humidity control function can be obtained by combining a plurality of filter media.

Preferably, the humidity control material is fixed to a part of the main surface of the filter medium having a dust removing function.
According to the above configuration, if the filter medium is high-performance, that is, the filter medium is fine and the humidity control material is fixed to the filter medium, the dust removal function may be impaired. If the humidity control material is fixed to a part of the effective area of the surface, the dust removal function can be performed in areas other than the area where the humidity control material is fixed, even if the area where the humidity control material is fixed does not fully function. At the same time, the gas that touches the place where the humidity control material is fixed exerts the humidity control effect, so it is possible to obtain dust removal and humidity control functions at the same time. Can be obtained.

Preferably, the humidity control material is fixed in a vertical and horizontal grid pattern to the main surface of the filter medium having the dust removing function.
According to the above configuration, if the humidity control material is fixed in a grid shape in the vertical and horizontal directions with respect to the effective area of the main surface of the filter medium that exhibits the dust removing function, the humidity control material is uniformly arranged with respect to the effective area of the filter medium. Therefore, the humidity control effect can be exerted on the purified air in a well-balanced manner.

  Preferably, the humidity control material is fixed concentrically on the main surface of the filter medium having the dust removing function.

Preferably, the humidity control material is fixed so as to form a predetermined repeated isomorphic pattern so as to occupy a part of the main surface of the filter medium having the dust removing function.

  Preferably, the filter medium having the dust removing function is a filter medium for constituting a HEPA filter or a ULPA filter.

Preferably, the humidity control material is made of a dried material containing at least an inorganic porous material having an average particle diameter of 5.5 to 13 μm fixed to the filter medium.
More preferably, the inorganic porous body has a pore diameter of 2.7 to 6.4 nm and a pore volume of 0.28 to 0.96 cubic centimeters.
More preferably, the humidity conditioner further includes a suitable inorganic filler, and the inorganic filler is a whisker-like fiber material.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the filter apparatus which can provide moderate humidity, without using extra electric power for purified air, even if a person does not replenish moisture, purifying the air of the object space. can do.

The schematic block diagram of embodiment of this invention. Explanatory drawing which shows a part of manufacturing process of embodiment of this invention. Explanatory drawing which shows a part of manufacturing process of embodiment of this invention. Explanatory drawing which shows a part of manufacturing process of embodiment of this invention. 1 is a schematic perspective view of an embodiment of the present invention. The figure of a comparative example.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
The embodiments described below are preferred specific examples of the present invention, and thus various technically preferable limitations are given. However, the scope of the present invention is particularly limited in the following description. Unless otherwise stated, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments.

FIG. 1 is a side view showing a schematic configuration of a position embodiment according to the present invention.
In the figure, arrow A is a diagram showing the flow of air for purification by the filter device, and arrow B shows the air after purification.
The arrow A is normally blown to the filter (device) by a blower fan such as a sirocco fan or an axial fan (not shown).

The filter 100 with a humidity control function can be configured, for example, by arranging the chemical filter 10, the humidity control filter 20, and the dust removal filter 30 in order from the upstream, and collecting them together by a method not shown.
Basically, this filter device can take in outside air, take in air in a closed space as shown by an arrow A, purify it, and supply purified air as shown by an arrow B. In the present embodiment, it is preferable that the air passage shown by the arrow B can be switched and used in order to regenerate the humidity control material described later. This method will be described later.
In a somewhat special clean room or the like, one or a plurality of chemical filters including an organic gas removal filter, an alkaline gas removal filter, an acid gas removal filter and the like are used, but the chemical filter may be omitted if unnecessary. The structure of each filter is described in detail below.

  The humidity control material filter 20 is obtained by fixing a humidity control member, which will be described later, to a base material through which air in a sheet form is passed by means such as spraying or application, and gives a humidity of gas passing through the humidity control filter, or dehumidification. Is for doing. It is not necessary to prepare the humidity control material filter 20 independently if the humidity control material can be fixed to the dust removal filter 30 if possible.

Please refer to FIG.
In FIG. 2 (A), the code | symbol 31 has shown the material (henceforth a "sheet material") for forming a sheet-like filter medium.
This sheet body is, for example, a sheet body made of glass fiber, a sheet body made of synthetic fibers and having a function of filtering dust and dust, and is included in the air when air passes through eyes that are gaps between the fibers. Dust, dust, pollen and harmful fine substances can be filtered.
The finer the sheet with a filtering function, the smaller the dust that can be filtered. However, the finer the sheet, the greater the pressure loss of the air that passes through it, so it is suitable for the purpose of the filter device. A sheet body with a coarse grain is selected.

FIG. 2A shows an example in which a humidity control material is sprayed directly onto the above-described dust removal filter sheet body 31 with a spray gun, and the humidity control material is applied and fixed to the entire sheet body.
Moreover, the sheet | seat body shown with the code | symbol 21 has shown the example which sprays and apply | coats a humidity control material to the sheet body coarser than a dust removal filter, and has shown the case where the humidity control material filter of FIG. 1 is comprised. . In the humidity control filter 20, the sheet body 21 in FIG. 2A functions as a base material for fixing the humidity control material rather than exerting the function of removing dust, and the introduced air is used as the base of the sheet body 21. A humidity control function is realized by contacting a wide area.
As described above, the “filter” of the present embodiment is a filter that does not have a function of removing air contamination, that is, for fixing the humidity control material and bringing it into contact with the air passing therethrough to achieve the humidity control function exclusively. Is also included.
For example, as the humidity control filter, a base material obtained by applying and drying a humidity control material described later on the surface of a filter medium that has been subjected to film removal treatment of polyurethane foam to improve air permeability can be used.

The sheet body 31 in FIG. 2B shows an example of a technique for fixing a humidity control material to the sheet body 31 for forming a filter medium for a high-performance dust removal filter. Typical examples include HEPA filters and ULPA filters. Both of these are non-woven fabric filters and HEPA filters that form the filter medium are made of glass fibers having a diameter of 1 to 10 μm or less, with a fiber filling rate of about 10% and voids of about several tens of μm.
The HEPA filter has a particle collection rate of 99,97% or more with respect to particles having a particle size of 0.3 μm at a rated flow rate and an initial pressure loss of 245 Pa (Japanese Industrial Standard (JIS standard)). Pascal) is defined as "air filter with the following performance" and used to realize various highly clean environments such as clean rooms in semiconductor manufacturing plants, nuclear facilities, aseptic rooms in hospitals, food manufacturing plants, etc. Is a high performance filter. Further, a higher performance ULPA filter can be used. This filter has a particle collection rate of 99.9995% or more with respect to particles having a particle size of 0.15 μm at a rated flow rate and an initial pressure loss of 245 Pa (pascal) or less according to JIS standard (JIS Z8122). It is an air filter with performance. "

In the case of such a high-performance or ultra-high-performance filter, depending on the humidity conditioner used, there is a risk of clogging of the filter medium due to spraying and application.
That is, as in FIG. 2A, if a humidity control material is applied and fixed to the entire surface of the sheet body 31 in FIG. 2B, there is a possibility that clogging may occur and the filter does not function.

Therefore, a humidity control material is applied and fixed to a part of the main surface of the sheet body 31 having a dust removing function.
In this case, it is preferable that the main surface of the sheet body can be applied linearly and uniformly. As an example, a method of applying a humidity control material concentrically as shown by reference numeral 31a, a method of applying like a lattice 31b Alternatively, a method of applying so as to form a repeated pattern 31c can be considered. Since solid application increases the area through which air does not pass, it is preferable to apply the humidity control material in a linear form. In order to exert the humidity control effect over the entire area of the effective area of the filter and to make the entire pressure loss balance uniform, it is preferable to apply uniformly to the target area.
As a result, air passes through the area where there is no humidity control material so that the dust removal function works, and at locations where the humidity control material is fixed, the air escapes while contacting the boundary with the humidity control material. The effect that the humidity control function is exhibited can be obtained.

  That is, if the sheet body is fine and the humidity control material is fixed to the whole, the dust removal function may be impaired, the effective area of the main surface of the sheet body serving as a filter medium that exhibits the dust removal function If a humidity control material is fixed in part, even if the area where the humidity control material is fixed does not perform its dust removal function sufficiently, the dust is removed from the area other than the area where the humidity control material is fixed. The gas that touches the location where the material is fixed exerts a humidity control effect, so it is possible to obtain dust removal and humidity control functions at the same time, and a compact filter device that performs two functions with a single sheet. Can be obtained.

  What is important here is to perform experiments in advance to apply and fix the humidity control material to the sheet body within the range that achieves the target effect with respect to the humidity control effect while leaving sufficient filter medium area for the desired dust removal. Thus, the application / fixing operation of the humidity control material is performed by obtaining an appropriate area ratio.

Reference is made to FIG.
The sheet body that has finished the process of FIG. 2 is wound around a roll 41. In the manufacturing process, this roll 41 is rotated in the direction of arrow A, and the long sheet body (thickness-adjusting material applied / fixed) is pulled out. By alternately folding, it can be folded into a zigzag shape. The sheet bodies 21 and 31 are formed with a flat portion F and a bent portion O.
The separators 7 are inserted and arranged in the folding space between the adjacent flat portions O and O of the sheet bodies 21 and 31 along the Zet X direction perpendicular to the X direction. Is cut in place to produce a filter pack 33 of the form shown in FIG.
The separator 7 is for holding the mold so that the sheet body does not collapse by holding the zigzag shape. The sheet body is formed in a zigzag shape to form a filter medium, thereby increasing the contact area with the passing air and improving the dust removal efficiency.

A reference numeral 34 in FIG. 4 is a metal rectangular frame for forming a normal HEPA filter, and is called a filter frame. As illustrated, the filter pack 33 is accommodated in the upper frame and the left and right frames as illustrated. Usually, the filter frame 34 is filled with a sealing material made of silicone resin and sealed to form a unit filter as a whole.
FIG. 4 is a view for understanding the filter structure, and the separator is not shown.

FIG. 5 is a schematic configuration diagram of a filter with a humidity control function formed by the process described above.
As described with reference to FIG. 1, the dust removal filter 30 houses the filter pack 33 created with the above-described configuration. In particular, when the dust removing filter 30 is a HEPA or ULPA filter and the humidity control material is not fixed, the humidity control material filter 20 is held.
Thereby, the air sent from the arrow direction is humidity-controlled by the humidity control material filter 20 or the dust removing filter itself, and for example, humidity is effectively given to the dry air. At the same time, fine dust, dust, and harmful fine particles are removed and purified by the dust removing filter 30, and as a whole, air that has been provided with an appropriate humidity is supplied.
In this case, in addition to removing very fine dust, dust, etc., the air that has passed through the filter is moderately humidified, so even if a very small amount of very fine dust, dust, recently, viruses, etc. remain, they are purified. It is difficult to soar in the space that should be, and it is effectively prevented from floating, so that in the living space of the person to be cleaned, harmful fine particles do not easily enter the respiratory system, etc., and promote health maintenance become. In addition, if it is a semiconductor manufacturing facility, etc., in addition to removing very fine dust, dust, etc., the air that has passed through the filter is moderately humidified, so that the floating of extremely fine dust, dust is effectively prevented, The yield is improved by preventing the occurrence of defective products.

Next, referring to FIG. 1 again.
After using the filter 100 with a humidity control function as described above, for example, the delivery air is switched in the direction of the arrow C by a previously provided air passage so as to pass outside the facility. In this state, the rotational speed of a blower fan (not shown) that sends the introduction air A is increased to send a strong wind speed. Thereby, the moisture conditioner can be regenerated by forcibly scattering the moisture absorbed and retained by the dust conditioner filter 30 or the humidity conditioner fixed to the humidity conditioner filter.
In this case, the use of a warm air fan is more effective, but heating energy is required accordingly, so that it is preferable if the humidity control material can be regenerated by increasing the rotational speed of the blower fan.

(About humidity control materials)
In the present embodiment, the humidity control material described below is fixed to the filter medium constituting the filter at the stage of the sheet body, and at least the dust is removed from the input air at the same time, that is, the humidity is adjusted. It gives or removes humidity.
That is, you may implement the process demonstrated in FIG. 2 using diatomaceous earth, a zeolite, a water absorbing polymer, etc. which are used normally suitably.
However, more preferably, in this embodiment, a highly efficient humidity conditioning effect is obtained by using a novel humidity conditioning material.
That is, the humidity control material of the present embodiment uses a material having an extremely high moisture absorption capacity and a fast moisture absorption / release rate as compared with those using diatomaceous earth, zeolite, water-absorbing polymer, etc. described above. Can do.
This humidity conditioning material has, for example, a performance of about four times in terms of moisture absorption, about three times in terms of moisture absorption rate, and about twice in terms of moisture release rate.
That is, when humidity is given to the air to be purified, the filter initially has a high volume of moisture, and based on this, the filter has the capability of quickly humidifying.

Specifically, this humidity control material is as follows.
For example, it is a humidity control material made of a dried material that contains at least an inorganic porous material having an average particle size of 5.5 to 13 μm, which is fixed to the filter medium of the filter, and the inorganic porous material preferably has a pore diameter of 2 An inorganic porous material having a thickness of 0.7 to 6.4 nm and a pore volume of 0.28 to 0.96 cubic centimeters. The pore size distribution of the inorganic porous body is more preferably such that 95% or more of the pore volume has a narrow distribution region to a certain extent of 9 nm or less. The inorganic porous body is preferably made of silica and / or alumina.
More preferably, the humidity control material further includes a suitable inorganic filler, and specific examples of the inorganic filler include whisker-like or spindle-like calcium carbonate.

(Manufacturing method of humidity control material)
As a coating liquid for forming a humidity control material, a coating liquid containing at least an inorganic porous material having an average particle diameter of 5.5 to 13 μm is prepared. This coating solution may further contain an organic emulsion, a dispersant, a thickener and the like as other additives. Further, it may further contain a non-porous filler.

  Next, this coating solution is applied onto a filter medium to be described later and dried to form a humidity control material. Application of the coating solution to the substrate can be performed, for example, by dipping, spin coating, spraying, printing, flow coating, roll coating, or a combination thereof. The film thickness of the humidity control material can be controlled by changing the lifting speed in the dipping method, changing the substrate rotation speed in the spin coating method, or changing the solid content concentration or viscosity of the coating solution. .

  When the coating liquid for forming the humidity control material is mechanically coated with a spray coater or the like, the amount of water contained in the coating liquid is 50 to 200 parts by weight with respect to 100 parts by weight of the solid content, and the viscosity Is preferably set to 1000 to 5000 mPa · s.

  The drying and curing method of the coating liquid for forming the humidity conditioning material may be performed by either room temperature drying or forced heating. Forced heating can be performed by heat drying with far infrared rays, drying with warm air heating, or the like, and the drying temperature at that time is preferably 100 ° C. or more from the viewpoint of productivity.

(Concrete example)
For the base material , for example, a non-woven fabric made of glass fiber is prepared, and filter paper for a filter medium is prepared.
Alternatively, it is possible to prepare a filter medium dedicated to humidity adjustment using a cloth-like member made of an upper chemical fiber in a fine mesh shape with good air permeability, and use this as a base material for fixing the humidity control material .

The following coating solution is applied on the base material (filter material) prepared for the filter using a spray gun (W-77-3G, Anest Iwata) at a coating pressure of about 100 kPa and a coating height of 15 to 20 cm. And dried to form a moisture absorbing / releasing layer, and a filter was produced. In addition, the produced filter was cured for one week at the time of the test.

Composition of Coating Solution A coating solution having the composition shown in Table 1 below was prepared according to the following preparation method.

Preparation Method of Coating Solution Each component was blended according to the following procedure. The inorganic porous material was added in two portions to prevent gelation.
A wetting agent was added dropwise to ion-exchanged water, and then a dispersing agent was added dropwise. Then, it stirred for 5 minutes (10-40 Hz) using the medium size stirrer. Thereafter, calcium carbonate as a filler was added little by little and stirred for 5 minutes. Thereafter, activated alumina, which is an inorganic porous material, was added little by little in the desired amount (first time) and stirred for 10 minutes. Thereafter, an acrylic emulsion was added and stirred for 10 minutes. Thereafter, the remaining half of the inorganic porous material was carefully added little by little from the first time (second time), followed by adding an antifoaming agent and stirring for 20 minutes. Finally, a small amount of thickener was added to adjust the viscosity of the coating solution. As a thickener, Roleate 125 (made by Elementis) was used.

Reference is now made to FIG.
FIG. 6 is a comparative example of the present invention, and shows a method for performing negligence with an air purifier or the like using a conventional technique.
The dust removal filter 30-1 has an example in which a HEPA filter is used also in a recent high-performance air purifier for home use, and the dust removal made in the same process as described above except that a humidity control material is not used. Similar to the filter, fine dust and dust are removed.
And when it is going to humidify air in order to exhibit the effect similar to invention, in many cases, the humidification filter 20-1 is used. This humidifying filter 20-1 is obtained by always immersing a filter base K having a fine mesh that can suck up water in a water tank 21 previously incorporated in the apparatus or reciprocating in the direction of the arrow by capillary action. The base material K is always supplemented with water from the water tank 21.
Such a structure has the following drawbacks.
The user must always replenish the water tank with tap water, which is troublesome and unusable.
The water tank 21 or the filter base material K tends to become filthy, becomes a hotbed for bacterial growth, etc., and may cause health damage.
The entire apparatus provided with the water tank 21 is enlarged.

By the way, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications and changes can be made to the present invention, and various modifications can be made within the scope described in the claims.
About each embodiment mentioned above, it is also possible to abbreviate | omit this about one part structure, or to combine with each other, and to implement in combination with the other structure which is not touched in description of each embodiment, such a technique. Are also included within the scope of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 ... Filter with humidity control function 10. Chemical filter 20. Humidity control filter 30 Dust removal filter 31 Sheet body 33 Filter pack 34 Filter frame

Claims (11)

A filter that removes contaminants in the gas,
A filter medium for removing contaminants by passing the gas;
A filter with a humidity control function, which is provided integrally or separately with the filter medium, and further includes a humidity control material that adds and / or reduces humidity simultaneously with the removal of the gaseous contaminants. The contaminant removal filter with a humidity control function according to claim 1, wherein the humidity control material is fixed to the filter medium itself.   2. The control medium according to claim 1, wherein a filter medium having at least a dust removing function is combined with a humidity control filter medium in which the humidity control material is adhered and fixed to a filter medium having a coarser mesh than the dust removal filter medium. Filter with moisture function.   The filter with a humidity control function according to claim 1, wherein the humidity control material is fixed to a part of a main surface of a filter medium having a dust removal function.   5. The filter with a humidity control function according to claim 4, wherein the humidity control material is fixed to a main surface of the filter medium having the dust removing function in a vertical and horizontal grid pattern.   The filter with a humidity control function according to claim 4, wherein the humidity control material is fixed concentrically on a main surface of the filter medium having the dust removal function.   The filter with a humidity control function according to claim 4, wherein the humidity control material is fixed so as to form a predetermined repeated isomorphic pattern so as to occupy a part of a main surface of the filter medium having the dust removal function. .   The filter with a humidity control function according to any one of claims 4 to 8, wherein the filter medium having the dust removing function is a filter medium for constituting a HEPA filter or a ULPA filter.   9. The humidity control material according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the humidity control material is made of a dried material containing at least an inorganic porous material having an average particle size of 5.5 to 13 [mu] m fixed to the filter medium. The filter with humidity control function described.   10. The filter with a humidity control function according to claim 9, wherein the inorganic porous body has a pore diameter of 2.7 to 6.4 nm and a pore volume of 0.28 to 0.96 cubic centimeters.   The filter with a humidity control function according to claim 10, wherein the humidity control material further includes a suitable inorganic filler, and the inorganic filler is a whisker-like fiber material.

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