JP2021023910A - Air bubble-containing liquid manufacturing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide an air bubble-containing liquid manufacturing apparatus which can manufacture a liquid containing high-density air bubbles with simple configuration.SOLUTION: An air bubble-containing liquid manufacturing apparatus comprises a pressurization dissolution tank, an air bubble generation part, and a shear mechanism part. The pressurization dissolution tank generates a pressurized liquid in which a gas is dissolved. The air bubble generation part has a decompression part which decompresses the pressurized liquid supplied from the pressurization dissolution tank, and re-bubbles the gas dissolved in the pressurized liquid. The shear mechanism part applies shear force to the liquid containing the re-bubbled gas.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

The present invention relates to a bubble-containing liquid manufacturing apparatus that generates minute bubbles such as ultrafine bubbles in a liquid.

In recent years, a bubble-containing liquid in which a liquid such as water contains minute bubbles has become widespread. Examples of the minute bubbles include ultra fine bubbles (UFB: ultra fine bubbles) having a diameter of 1 μm or less, micro bubbles having a diameter of 10 μm or less, and millibubbles having a diameter of 1 mm or less. In particular, UFB water containing UFB is being studied for use in fields such as maintaining the freshness of seafood, microbial culture, sterilization medicine, and various washings.

As an apparatus for producing this kind of bubble-containing liquid, for example, Patent Document 1 discloses a microbubble generator in which a gas is separated and precipitated from a liquid after the bubbles are dissolved in the liquid to generate fine bubbles. Further, in Patent Document 2, the pressurized water obtained by ejecting water and air pressurized by an air-fuel mixture pump into a gas-liquid pressurized dissolution mixer maintained in a pressurized state to dissolve the gas and liquid. Disclosed is a technique for generating bubble water in which fine bubbles are uniformly dispersed in water by reducing the pressure with a fixed throttle of a shower head.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2006-272906 JP-A-2009-72663

In recent years, this type of bubble-containing liquid is required to have a higher density of bubbles. Conventionally, in order to increase the density of bubbles, it is necessary to repeat a series of processes including pressure dissolution and depressurization by supplying the obtained bubble-containing liquid to the production line again, and the manufacturing equipment has to do so. There was a problem of complication.

In view of the above circumstances, an object of the present invention is to provide a bubble-containing liquid manufacturing apparatus capable of producing a liquid containing high-density bubbles with a simple structure.

In order to achieve the above object, the bubble-containing liquid manufacturing apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention includes a pressure melting tank, a bubble generating section, and a shearing mechanism section.
The pressurized dissolution tank produces a pressurized liquid in which a gas is dissolved.
The bubble generating section has a depressurizing section for reducing the pressure of the pressurized liquid supplied from the pressurized dissolution tank, and rebubbles the gas dissolved in the pressurized liquid.
The shearing mechanism applies a shearing force to a liquid containing a rebubbled gas.

The bubble-containing liquid manufacturing apparatus re-bubbles a pressurized liquid in which a gas is dissolved, and further subdivides the bubbles by applying a shearing force to increase the density of bubbles in the liquid. This makes it possible to produce a liquid containing high-density bubbles with a simple structure.

The depressurizing section may include a drawing passage arranged between the pressurized melting tank and the shearing mechanism section.

The bubble generating section may further have a heating section for heating the pressurized liquid decompressed by the depressurizing section.

The heating portion may be a band heater arranged between the throttle passage and the shearing mechanism portion.

The bubble generating portion may further have a flow rate adjusting valve for adjusting the flow rate of the pressurized liquid supplied from the pressurized dissolution tank to the shearing mechanism portion.

The pressurized dissolution tank has a tank body for storing liquid, a cooling unit for cooling the liquid stored in the tank body, and a gas feeding unit for pressurizing and feeding gas to the tank body. May be good.

According to the present invention, a liquid containing high-density bubbles can be produced with a simple structure.

It is a schematic block diagram which shows the bubble-containing liquid production apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is the schematic sectional drawing which shows one structural example of the shear mechanism part in the said bubble-containing liquid manufacturing apparatus. It is a perspective view of the main part of the said shearing mechanism part. It is the schematic which shows the other structural example of the pressure dissolution tank in the said bubble-containing liquid production apparatus. It is a schematic diagram which shows the further structural example of the pressure dissolution tank in the said bubble-containing liquid production apparatus. It is a schematic diagram which shows the further structural example of the pressure dissolution tank in the said bubble-containing liquid production apparatus.

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

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a bubble-containing liquid manufacturing apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The bubble-containing liquid manufacturing apparatus 100 of the present embodiment is an apparatus for producing a liquid containing minute bubbles (hereinafter, bubble-containing liquid). There are various types of bubbles, such as ultra fine bubbles (UFB) having a diameter of 1 μm or less, microbubbles having a diameter of 10 μm or less, and millibubbles having a diameter of 1 mm or less, depending on the size. The bubbles contained in the bubble-containing liquid may be of any size, but are typically UFB.

The gas forming the bubbles is not particularly limited, and may be, for example, air, nitrogen, oxygen, carbon dioxide, ozone, or the like. The liquid constituting the bubble-containing liquid is not particularly limited and can be appropriately selected depending on the intended use, and is water in the present embodiment.

[Bubble-containing liquid manufacturing equipment]
As shown in FIG. 1, the bubble-containing liquid manufacturing apparatus 100 includes a pressurized dissolution tank 10, a bubble generating section 20, and a shearing mechanism section 30.

(Pressurized dissolution tank)
The pressurized dissolution tank 10 is configured to be capable of generating a pressurized liquid (pressurized dissolved water) L in which a gas is dissolved. Specifically, the pressurized dissolution tank 10 pressurizes and sends gas to the tank body 11 that stores the pressurized liquid L, the cooling unit 12 that cools the pressurized liquid L stored in the tank body 11, and the tank body 11. It has a gas feeding unit 13 for entering.

The tank body 11 is, for example, a cylindrical high-pressure tank, typically made of a metal material. Liquid (water) is introduced into the tank body 11 via the liquid supply line 14. A supply port 11a for supplying the generated pressurized liquid L to the bubble generating portion 20 is provided near the bottom of the tank main body 11. The capacity of the tank body 11 is not particularly limited, and is, for example, 100L to 10000L.

The cooling unit 12 is installed on the outer peripheral surface of the tank body 11 and cools the pressurized liquid L to a predetermined temperature or lower through the tank body 11. The configuration of the cooling unit 12 is not particularly limited, and typically includes a cooling jacket having a refrigerant passage through which the cooling medium circulates, a chiller for supplying the cooling medium to the cooling jacket, and the like. The cooling temperature of the pressurized liquid L by the cooling unit 12 is not particularly limited, but the lower the temperature of the pressurized liquid L, the higher the solubility of the gas and the overdissolution of the gas can be promoted. Therefore, the freezing point of the pressurized liquid L As long as the temperature is higher, it is preferable that the temperature is as low as possible (for example, below room temperature).

The gas feeding unit 13 pressurizes and feeds a gas (oxygen or the like) dissolved in the pressurized liquid L into the tank body 11. The gas feeding unit 13 includes a gas source such as an oxygen cylinder, a pressurizing pump for pressurizing the gas, a nozzle head or a shower head for supplying the pressurized gas to the tank body 11.

As shown in FIG. 1, the gas feeding unit 13 is installed at the bottom of the tank body 11, and the gas is directly introduced into the pressurized liquid L. The gas that is not dissolved in the pressurized liquid L reaches the gas layer G through the liquid surface and raises the internal pressure of the tank body 11. The pressure in the tank body 11 is not particularly limited, and is, for example, 0.3 MPa or more and 1 MPa or less (3 atm to 10 atm). The gas feeding portion 13 is not limited to the example of being installed at the bottom of the tank body 11, and may be installed at the top of the tank body 11.

The gas feeding unit 13 may variably adjust the amount of gas introduced according to the amount of the pressurized liquid L stored in the tank body 11. For example, a pressure sensor that detects the internal pressure of the tank body 11 is installed in the tank body 11, and the amount of gas sent in is adjusted according to the output. Further, the discharge amount of the pressurized liquid L may be monitored so that the liquid can be replenished from the liquid supply line 14.

The solubility of the gas in the pressurized liquid L is not particularly limited, and any solubility may be used as long as it can generate microbubbles (MB) having a diameter of 1 μm to 10 μm in the bubble generating portion 20 described later.

(Bubble generator)
The bubble generating section 20 is for re-bubble-forming the gas dissolved in the pressurized liquid, and has a flow rate adjusting valve 21, a pressure reducing section 22, and a heating section 23.

The flow rate adjusting valve 21 adjusts the flow rate of the pressurized liquid L supplied from the pressure melting tank 10 to the shear mechanism portion 30. The flow rate adjusting valve 21 may have a fully closed function. In this case, the flow rate adjusting valve includes an on-off valve for adjusting the supply of the pressurized liquid from the pressurized dissolution tank 10 to the shearing mechanism portion 30 and its stop. Also serves as. The flow rate adjusting valve 21 may be a manual valve or an electric valve.

The pressure reducing unit 22 is for reducing the pressure of the pressurized liquid L supplied from the pressure melting tank 10 to the shear mechanism unit 30, and is composed of a drawing passage. The decompression unit 22 releases the pressurized liquid L to a pressure equal to or lower than the saturated vapor pressure (decompression) to generate (re-bubble) gas bubbles dissolved in the pressurized liquid L, and has a diameter of, for example, 1 μm to 10 μm. Generate microbubbles.

The decompression unit 22 may be a fixed diaphragm or a variable diaphragm. The pressure reducing unit 22 is installed on the downstream side of the flow rate adjusting valve 21, but may be installed on the upstream side of the flow rate adjusting valve 21. Since the flow rate adjusting valve 21 also has a throttle function, these flow rate adjusting valves 21 may be configured as the pressure reducing unit 22 or as a part of the pressure reducing unit 22. In the present embodiment, the flow rate adjusting valve 21 mainly adjusts the amount of the pressurized liquid L flowing out from the pressurized dissolution tank 10, and the depressurizing unit 22 mainly produces microbubbles regardless of the flow rate of the pressurized liquid L. The pressurized liquid L is depressurized to a pressure that is stably generated.

The heating unit 23 is for assisting or promoting the rebubble formation of the pressurized liquid L decompressed in the decompression unit 22, and is installed on the downstream side of the decompression unit 22. When the pressurized liquid L passes through the flow rate adjusting valve 21 and the pressure reducing unit 22, the temperature decreases with the pressure, and the higher the flow velocity, the larger the amount of the temperature decrease. Therefore, the heating unit 23 can assist or promote the rebubble formation of the gas in the pressurized liquid L by heating the pressurized liquid L to a temperature higher than the temperature that can compensate for the temperature decrease. The installation of the heating unit 23 is optional. For example, if the gas in the pressurized liquid L flowing out of the decompression unit 22 can be sufficiently rebubbled, the installation of the heating unit 23 may be omitted.

The configuration of the heating unit 23 is not particularly limited, and in the present embodiment, a band heater that heats the passage connecting the decompression unit 22 and the shear mechanism unit 30 is used. As a result, the pressurized liquid L can be easily heated to a predetermined temperature with a simple structure. The temperature of the heating unit 23 is not particularly limited, and is, for example, 30 ° C. or higher and 40 ° C. or lower.

The heating unit 23 may be arranged not only on the downstream side of the decompression unit 22 but also on the upstream side. Further, the heating unit 23 is not limited to the band heater, and may be composed of an infrared lamp, a heat exchanger, or the like.

(Shear mechanism)
The shearing mechanism unit 30 is for applying a shearing force to a liquid containing a rebubbled gas. The shearing mechanism portion 30 is composed of, for example, a shearing device 301 schematically shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the configuration of the shearing device 301, and FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a main part thereof.

The shearing device 301 has a casing 121, an opposing member 122 fixed to the casing 121, a rotating plate 123 arranged inside the casing 121, and a motor 124 for rotating the rotating plate 123. The rotating plate 123 has an uneven surface 126 facing the opposing member 122 through a predetermined clearance C', and applies a shearing force to the liquid between the uneven surface 126 and the opposing member 122.

The diameter of the rotating plate 123 is not particularly limited, and is, for example, 150 mm. The size of the clearance C'is, for example, 0.5 mm or more and 1.5 mm or less. The size (diameter) and depth of the recesses constituting the uneven surface 126 are not particularly limited, and are, for example, about 3 mm in size and about 1.7 mm in depth. The rotation speed of the rotating plate 123 is, for example, 1000 rpm or more and 8000 rpm or less. As a result, ultrafine bubbles (UFB) having a diameter of 1 μm or less can be generated.

As shown in FIG. 3, the uneven surface 126 of the rotating plate 123 is a honeycomb structure surface in which a plurality of hexagonal concave portions are formed, and the surface 122a of the facing member 122 facing the uneven surface 126 is a flat surface. A shear chamber F is formed between the uneven surface 126 and the facing member 122 to apply a shearing force to the liquid introduced from the inlet 122c formed at the center of the facing member 122. The bubble-containing liquid (UFB-containing liquid) in which the bubbles are refined in the shear chamber F is configured to be sent out from the outlet 121d formed on the side peripheral portion of the casing 121.

[Manufacturing method of bubble-containing liquid]
Subsequently, the operation of the bubble-containing liquid manufacturing apparatus 100 configured as described above will be described.

The method for producing a bubble-containing liquid according to the present embodiment includes a step of producing a pressurized liquid L in which a gas is dissolved, a step of rebubbled the pressurized liquid L, and a liquid containing the rebubbled gas. It has a step of applying a shearing force to make bubbles finer.

The pressurized liquid L is produced in the pressurized dissolution tank 10. The pressurized dissolution tank 10 is a pressurized liquid L in which the gas is dissolved in the liquid by pressurizing a liquid cooled to a predetermined temperature or lower with a gas pressurized and fed from the gas feeding unit 13 to a predetermined pressure or higher. To generate. In the present embodiment, since the pressurized dissolution tank 10 has a cooling unit 12 for cooling the pressurized liquid L, the pressurized liquid L in which the gas is dissolved with a desired solubility can be easily produced.

Subsequently, the pressurized liquid L in the pressurized dissolution tank 10 is supplied to the bubble generating portion 20 via the supply port 11a. The bubble generating unit 20 reduces the pressure of the pressurized liquid L whose flow rate is adjusted by the flow rate adjusting valve 21 to a pressure equal to or lower than the saturated vapor pressure by the pressure reducing unit 22. As a result, the gas dissolved in the pressurized liquid L is rebubbled, and microbubbles having a diameter of, for example, 1 μm to 10 μm are generated.

In the present embodiment, since the bubble generating section 20 has a heating section 23 that heats the liquid decompressed by the depressurizing section 22, it is possible to promote the rebubble formation of the gas in the liquid. As a result, a bubble-containing liquid having a high bubble density can be easily produced.

Subsequently, the bubble-containing liquid produced as described above is supplied to the shear mechanism unit 30. As shown in FIG. 2, the shearing mechanism portion 30 applies a shearing force to the bubble-containing liquid in the shearing chamber F formed between the uneven surface 126 of the rotating plate 123 and the facing member 122. As a result, the bubbles in the liquid are refined to produce a UFB-containing liquid containing ultrafine bubbles having a diameter of 1 μm or less.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the bubble-containing liquid obtained by depressurizing the pressurized liquid in which the gas is dissolved is subjected to a shearing force to reduce the size of the bubbles. It is possible to efficiently produce a liquid containing a high density of.

Further, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to produce a liquid containing bubbles having a desired size (at 1 Pass) by performing the above-mentioned series of treatments only once. As a result, it is not necessary to repeatedly perform a series of processes including pressure dissolution and depressurization, the manufacturing equipment can be simplified, and a liquid containing fine bubbles can be quickly supplied.

[Other configuration examples of pressurized dissolution tank]
4 to 6 are schematic views showing another configuration example of the pressurized dissolution tank.

(Configuration Example 1)
The pressure-dissolving tank 101 shown in FIG. 4 has a pressure bag 110 that pressurizes the liquid L stored in the tank body 11 inside the tank body 11. The pressurizing bag 110 is made of an elastic material and expands when a fluid (liquid or gas) introduced from the pressurizing unit 111 is introduced to reduce the volume of the tank body 11. Even with such a configuration, the liquid L inside the tank body 11 can be pressurized with a predetermined pressure.

(Configuration Example 2)
The pressurized dissolution tank 102 shown in FIG. 5 has a partition wall 120 that divides the inside of the tank body 11 into a chamber A and a chamber B. In each of the chambers A and B, a gas inlet 13, a liquid supply line 14, and a supply port for the pressurized liquid L are individually installed. The partition wall 120 is connected to the drive shaft 121 of the drive mechanism, and is configured to be liquid-tightly movable inside the tank body 11.

In the pressurized dissolution tank 102 having such a configuration, when the pressurized liquid L is generated in the chamber A, the partition wall 120 moves upward in the drawing to pressurize the liquid in the chamber A. On the other hand, gas and liquid are introduced into the chamber B from the gas feeding section 13 and the liquid supply line 14, respectively, by utilizing the decrease in pressure accompanying the movement of the partition wall 120. After the production and supply of the pressurized liquid L in the chamber A are completed, the partition wall 120 moves to the chamber B side. As a result, the liquid in the chamber B is pressurized to generate a pressurized liquid, and the liquid and the gas are supplied to the chamber A. By repeating the above operation, the pressurized liquid L is alternately generated in the chambers A and B. This makes it possible to continuously generate and supply the pressurized liquid L.

(Configuration Example 3)
The pressurized dissolution tank 103 shown in FIG. 6 is installed at a high place and stores the liquid pumped from the pump 40 installed on the ground. The suction port of the pump 40 is provided with a gas feeding mechanism such as a venturi that feeds the gas into the liquid, and the gas-containing liquid is discharged from the pump 40 toward the pressurized dissolution tank 103. The pressure of the liquid in the pressurized dissolution tank 103 depends on the height (lift) from the pump 40 to the liquid level in the pressurized dissolution tank 103, the volume of the pipe 41 connecting the pump 40 and the pressurized dissolution tank 103, and the like. It is decided.

The pressurized liquid in the pressurized dissolution tank 103 is supplied to the bubble generating section 20 installed on the ground via the pipe 42 and rebubbled. The liquid containing the rebubbled gas is subjected to a shearing force in the shearing mechanism portion 30, and the contained bubbles are refined.

[Application example of bubble-containing liquid manufacturing equipment]
The UFB-containing liquid produced by the bubble-containing liquid manufacturing apparatus 100 of the present embodiment can sufficiently exert a cleaning action, a clogging prevention action, and the like due to high-density fine bubbles. Therefore, by applying the bubble-containing liquid manufacturing apparatus 100 to the supply system of the grinding fluid (coolant fluid) used in the grinding apparatus, the frequency of replacement of the grinding fluid, tools, piping, etc. can be reduced, and the cost related to the grinding process can be reduced. Can be suppressed.

In addition to the above-mentioned cleaning action, UFB has various actions such as an oxidation inhibitory action and a gas supply action. Therefore, the bubble-containing liquid manufacturing apparatus 100 can also be used for the following applications.

For example, the bubble-containing liquid manufacturing apparatus 100 can be configured as a washing water supply system for washing foods, precision instruments, and the like by using, for example, purified water as a liquid and, for example, air or ozone as a gas.

Further, the bubble-containing liquid manufacturing apparatus 100 of the present embodiment can also be configured as an antioxidant water supply system that prevents oxidation of fish meat or the like by using, for example, purified water as the liquid and, for example, nitrogen as the gas.

Alternatively, the bubble-containing liquid manufacturing apparatus 100 of the present embodiment can be configured as a bubble-containing liquid supply system for a bathtub by using, for example, water as the liquid and, for example, oxygen dioxide or air as the gas. In this case, the bubble-containing liquid manufacturing apparatus 100 may be incorporated in the hot water supply system or may be connected to the hot water supply system.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and it goes without saying that various modifications can be made.

For example, in the above embodiment, as the shearing mechanism portion 30, a shearing device (see FIG. 2) in which a shear chamber is formed between an uneven surface formed on the surface of a rotating plate and an opposing member facing the uneven surface. As described by giving an example, the configuration of the shearing device is not limited to this. For example, an outer cylinder having an uneven surface formed on an inner peripheral surface and an inner cylinder having an uneven surface formed on an outer peripheral surface are provided, and by rotating the inner cylinder relative to the outer cylinder, these outer cylinders and the inner cylinder are provided. A shearing device that applies a shearing force to a liquid in a shearing chamber formed between the cylinder and the cylinder is also applicable.

In addition to the rotary shearing device that dynamically rotates the rotating plate and cylinder, the bubble-containing liquid is pressurized and fed into the passage composed of the uneven surface to miniaturize the contained bubbles. Mold shearing equipment is also applicable.

10, 101, 102, 103 ... Pressurized dissolution tank 11 ... Tank body 12 ... Cooling section 13 ... Gas feeding section 20 ... Bubble generating section 21 ... Flow rate adjusting valve 22 ... Decompression section (throttle passage)
23 ... Heating unit 30 ... Shear mechanism unit 100 ... Bubble-containing liquid manufacturing equipment

Claims (6)

A pressurized dissolution tank that produces a pressurized liquid in which gas is dissolved,
A bubble generating unit having a decompression unit for depressurizing the pressurized liquid supplied from the pressurized dissolution tank and rebubbled the gas dissolved in the pressurized liquid,
A bubble-containing liquid manufacturing apparatus including a shear mechanism that applies a shearing force to a liquid containing a rebubbled gas. The bubble-containing liquid manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1.
The decompression unit is a bubble-containing liquid manufacturing apparatus including a drawing passage arranged between the pressure-dissolving tank and the shear mechanism unit. The bubble-containing liquid manufacturing apparatus according to claim 2.
The bubble-containing liquid manufacturing apparatus further includes a heating unit for heating the pressurized liquid decompressed by the decompression unit. The bubble-containing liquid manufacturing apparatus according to claim 3.
The heating unit is a bubble-containing liquid manufacturing apparatus that is a band heater arranged between the drawing passage and the shearing mechanism unit. The bubble-containing liquid manufacturing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4.
The bubble-containing liquid manufacturing apparatus further includes a flow rate adjusting valve for adjusting the flow rate of the pressurized liquid supplied from the pressurized dissolution tank to the shearing mechanism section. The bubble-containing liquid manufacturing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5.
The pressure melting tank
The tank body that stores the liquid and
A cooling unit that cools the liquid stored in the tank body,
A bubble-containing liquid manufacturing apparatus having a gas feeding section for pressurizing and feeding gas to the tank body.

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