JP2777803B2 - Processing equipment for photographic processing waste liquid - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Technical Field to which the Invention Pertains] The present invention evaporates waste liquid (hereinafter abbreviated as photographic processing waste liquid or waste liquid) generated during the development processing of a photographic photosensitive material by an automatic photographic developing machine. Regarding the processing device, in particular,
The present invention relates to a photographic processing waste liquid processing apparatus suitable for processing in an automatic developing machine or in the vicinity of the automatic developing machine.

[Prior Art] Generally, photographic processing of a silver halide photographic light-sensitive material is performed by developing, fixing, and washing with a black-and-white light-sensitive material, and color developing and bleach-fixing (or bleaching and fixing) with a color light-sensitive material. , Water washing, stabilization, and other functions.

In photographic processing for processing a large amount of photosensitive material, components consumed by the processing are replenished, while components which elute or concentrate in the processing liquid by the processing (for example, bromide ions in the developer, A means is employed to maintain the processing solution performance by keeping the processing solution components constant by removing the silver complex salt) and replenishing the processing solution with a replenisher for replenishment. A part of the processing liquid has been discarded for the removal of the thickening component in the above.

In recent years, the replenisher has been changing to a system in which the amount of replenisher has been greatly reduced for pollution and economic reasons, including washing water, which is a replenisher for washing, but wastewater for photographic processing has been removed from the processing tanks of automatic developing machines. It is guided by a waste liquid pipe, diluted with waste water of washing water, cooling water of an automatic developing machine, and the like, and discarded in a sewer.

However, due to the recent tightening of pollution regulations, washing water and cooling water can be disposed of in sewers and rivers. However, other photographic processing solutions [eg, developing solutions, fixing solutions, color developing solutions, bleach-fixing solutions] (Or bleaching solution, fixing solution), stabilizing solution, etc.]
Has become virtually impossible to dispose of. For this reason, each photographic processing company asks a specialized waste liquid processing company to recover the waste liquid by paying a collection fee, or installs pollution treatment equipment.

However, the method outsourced to a wastewater treatment company requires a considerable amount of space to store the wastewater,
It is also very expensive in terms of cost. Furthermore, pollution treatment equipment has a very high initial investment (initial cost),
It has drawbacks such as requiring a fairly large area for maintenance. Therefore, it is generally collected by a waste liquid recovery company, and secondary and tertiary treatment is performed to make it harmless.However, the cost of collecting waste liquid is not only increasing year by year due to soaring recovery costs, but also the recovery efficiency is low in mini-labs. It is not possible to have them come to collection, and there is a problem that the store is filled with waste liquid.

In order to solve these problems, it has been studied to heat the photographic processing waste liquid to evaporate the water to dryness or solidify, for the purpose of easily processing the photographic processing waste liquid even in a mini-lab or the like. This is shown in, for example, Kaisho 60-70841.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] By the way, when the photographic processing waste liquid is evaporated, harmful or extremely odorous gases such as sulfurous acid gas, hydrogen sulfide, and ammonia gas are generated. This is due to the decomposition of a specific sulfur-based compound often used as a fixing solution or a bleach-fixing solution contained in a photographic processing waste solution, for example, a thiosulfate or a sulfite.

For this reason, various studies and experiments were conducted to remove the odorous components. As a result, the photographic processing waste liquid was evaporated and concentrated by heating the heating means, and the resulting concentrate was placed near the portion heated by the heating means. The concentrate continued to be heated, and the concentrate was thermally decomposed to generate hydrogen sulfide, ammonia gas, etc., and the concentrate could not be formed into sludge and discarded.

In addition, the concentrate adheres to the inner wall of the evaporating means and forms a large lump and falls off. The lump of the concentrate is clogged in a circulating pipe or the like, which is one of the causes of the malfunction of the apparatus.

The present invention has been made in view of the conventional problems, to improve the evaporation efficiency to prevent overheating of the concentrate,
An object of the present invention is to provide a processing apparatus for a photographic processing waste liquid which can reduce the generation of offensive odors, enable sludge-like disposal of concentrates, prevent clogging with the concentrates, and enable smooth operation of the apparatus. And

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to solve the problems and achieve the object, the invention according to claim 1 is directed to a method in which a photographic processing waste liquid stored in an evaporating means is heated by a heating means and evaporated. In the apparatus for treating a photographic processing waste liquid to be concentrated, 1c from the inner wall surface of the evaporating unit to the inside of the evaporating unit along at least a part of the inner wall.
m, and a stirrer that moves close to m or less, and a discharge pipe for taking out a vapor containing gas generated by heating of the photographic processing waste liquid is connected to the upper part of the evaporating means so as to be able to discharge to a water tank. A supply pipe communicating with a discharge pipe, and a supply pump for sending water from the water tank to the discharge pipe through the supply pipe to mix steam and water containing gas, and further providing a water flow pump in the water tank; A jet pipe is connected to the water jet pump, and the jet pipe is connected to a discharge port of the discharge pipe. The water jet pump drives the water tank to draw up water, spray the water into the water, and include a gas mixed with the water. While dissolving steam in water,
An apparatus for treating waste photographic processing liquid, wherein a reduced pressure state is set inside the evaporating means. ].

The agitator provided inside the evaporator is moved closer to 1 cm or less from the inner wall of the evaporator along at least a part of the inner wall, and heated by the heating means while stirring the concentrate, so that the evaporator is concentrated. Adherence to the inner wall surface is reduced, improving the evaporation efficiency of the concentrate, preventing overheating decomposition even when condensing to a sludge state, and significantly suppressing the generation of odors such as hydrogen sulfide and ammonia gas. Can be.

In addition, if a decompression means for reducing the pressure inside the evaporating means at the time of evaporating and concentrating is provided, it is possible to perform constant-temperature superheating for lowering the evaporating temperature, and it becomes easy to make the concentrate sludge-like.

Furthermore, even if the concentrate is fixed to the inner wall of the evaporating means, the concentrate can be scraped off by the stirring body and further finely stirred, so that the concentrate does not clog the pipes of the circulation system or the like. As a result, the device operates smoothly.

In addition, since water is sent to the discharge pipe and steam containing gas is mixed with water, the cooling capacity is high and the condensation efficiency is improved, so the proportion of steam that is not condensed and released to the outside of the device is reduced. In addition, it is possible to prevent odorous and harmful gas from being released to the outside of the apparatus.

Further, the pressure in the evaporating means is reduced by the operation of the water flow pump, and the vapor containing the gas mixed with the water is dissolved in the water, so that the odorous and harmful gas is released to the outside of the apparatus. It can be further prevented.

In the apparatus for treating a photographic processing waste liquid according to the present invention, the agitator disposed inside the evaporating means is moved from the inner wall surface of the evaporating means to 1 cm or less, particularly preferably to 0.5 cm or less, to form a concentrate. Adhesion can be effectively prevented.

Further, if the movement of the stirring body is performed by rotation of the motor, the structure is simplified.

This heating means may be a nichrome wire, a heater formed by processing such as a cartridge heater, a quartz heater, a Teflon heater, a bar heater or a panel heater, or heating by a microwave. Alternatively, a conductive material may be brought into direct contact with the photographic processing waste liquid, and an electric current may be passed through the photographic processing waste liquid and heated by the conductive material.

The material of the heating unit may be any material as long as it is a heat-resistant material such as heat-resistant glass, titanium, stainless steel, carbon steel, and heat-resistant plastic. SUS304 and SUS3
16, particularly preferably SUS316) and titanium. The installation position of the heating means may be any position as long as the waste liquid of the evaporation means can be heated.

As typical examples of the photographic processing waste liquid capable of performing the processing according to the present invention, those described in Japanese Patent Application No. 62-194615 filed by the present applicant are used.
In particular, the processing apparatus of the present invention is effective in the case of a photographic processing waste liquid containing a large amount of thiosulfate, sulfite, and ammonium salt, and particularly effective in the case of containing a ferric organic acid complex salt and a thiosulfate salt. Extremely effective.

As a preferred application example of the present invention, the present invention is suitable for processing a photographic processing waste liquid generated during development processing of a photographic light-sensitive material by an automatic developing machine in or near the automatic developing machine.

[Embodiment] FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an apparatus for treating a photographic processing waste liquid according to the present invention.

In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes an evaporating means for storing photographic processing waste liquid, and a lower part 1a and an upper part 1b of the evaporating means 1
And the photographic processing waste liquid can be circulated. A heating means 3 is provided on the outer periphery of the evaporating means 1 so as to heat the internal photographic processing waste liquid from outside. A means valve 4 is provided further below the heating means 3 to accumulate therein. The concentrate is taken out.

A liquid level detection sensor 5 is provided on the upper portion 1b of the evaporating means 1, and monitors the amount of the photographic processing waste liquid in the evaporating means 1. The circulation pipe 2 is connected to a waste liquid supply tank 7 via a pipe 6, and a bellows pump 8 provided on the pipe 6 is operated to supply the photographic processing waste liquid into the evaporating means 1. The bellows pump 8 is controlled by the liquid level information from the liquid level detecting sensor 5 to always keep the photographic processing waste liquid of the evaporating means 1 constant. The waste liquid supply tank 7 is provided with a liquid level detection sensor 9 for monitoring the remaining amount of the photographic processing waste liquid. When the remaining amount reaches a predetermined amount, for example, the waste liquid is automatically supplied or the operation is stopped. An upper portion 1b of the evaporating means 1 is provided with a discharge pipe 10 for taking out a vapor containing gas generated by heating the photographic processing waste liquid, and a baffle plate 11 is provided at an outlet of the discharging pipe 10 so that the photographic processing waste liquid is discharged. It prevents scattering and discharge.

A pressure reducing means 12 for reducing the pressure inside the evaporating means 1 is provided in the discharge pipe 10.
The water tank 13 constituting the decompression means 12 is provided with a supply pipe.
Water is fed into the discharge pipe 10 by the operation of a supply pump 15 composed of a bellows pump and is connected to the discharge pipe 10 via 14 to mix steam containing gas and water. The water tank 13 is provided with a water flow pump 16. The water flow pump 16 rotates a propeller 18 by rotation of a motor 17. The water is pumped up by an injection pipe 19 and injected into the water. This injection pipe 19
Is connected to a discharge pipe 10.
The pressure in the evaporating means 1 is reduced by the operation described above, and the steam containing the gas mixed with the water is dissolved in the water. As described above, since the cooling capacity is high and the condensing efficiency is improved, the ratio of the vapor that is not condensed and discharged to the outside of the device is reduced, and the odorous and harmful gas can be prevented from being discharged to the outside of the device.
Further, water is supplied from the water supply 21 to the water tank 13 by the operation of the solenoid valve 20, and overflowing wastewater is discarded from the drainage pipe 22.

A stirrer 23 is provided in the evaporator 1, and the stirrer 23 includes a lower blade 23a for stirring the lower portion 1a of the evaporator 1,
An upper blade 23b for stirring the upper portion 1b is provided, and these blades 23a and 23b are fixed to the rotating shaft 25 via connecting members 24a and 24b. The rotating shaft 25 is rotatable by a motor 26.

The lower blade portion 23a and the upper blade portion 23b of the stirring body 23 are moved close to the inner wall surface of the evaporating means 1 to effectively prevent the concentrate from adhering.

For this reason, the concentrate generated by the heating of the heating means 3 can be stirred, and the concentrated concentrate can be heated to the sludge state by the heating means 3, and even in this sludge state, the overheat decomposition of the concentrate can be prevented, Generation of odors such as hydrogen and ammonia gas can be significantly suppressed.

Further, even if the concentrate is fixed to the inner wall of the evaporating means 1, the concentrate is scraped off by the agitator 23 and becomes finer by stirring, so that the concentrate does not clog the circulation pipe 2 or the like. The device operates smoothly and the manual valve 4
When opening the concentrate to take out the concentrate, it is easy to take out because there is no clogging in the valve section or the like.

In this embodiment, the heating means 3 is disposed outside the evaporating means 1. However, the present invention can be similarly applied to a case where the heating means 3 is disposed inside the photographic waste liquid.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, the apparatus for treating a photographic processing waste liquid of the present invention moves inside the evaporating means, at least along a part of the inner wall, close to 1 cm or less from the inner wall surface of the evaporating means. Since the agitator is provided, the concentrate can be heated to a sludge state without overheating of the concentrate, and the generation of odors such as hydrogen sulfide and ammonia gas due to the overheating can be significantly suppressed.

Further, even when the concentrate is fixed to the inner wall of the evaporating means, the concentrate is finely stirred by the stirring body, so that the device operates smoothly without clogging of, for example, a circulation pipe,
Further, when the concentrate is taken out, it can be taken out smoothly.

In addition, since water is sent to the discharge pipe and steam containing gas is mixed with water, the cooling capacity is high and the condensation efficiency is improved, so the proportion of steam that is not condensed and released to the outside of the device is reduced. In addition, it is possible to prevent odorous and harmful gas from being released to the outside of the apparatus.

In addition, the inside of the evaporating means can be depressurized with a simple structure without using a special depressurizing means by operating the water flow pump,
Since the vapor containing the gas mixed with the water is dissolved in the water, it is possible to further prevent the odorous and toxic gas from being released to the outside of the apparatus.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an apparatus for treating a photographic processing waste liquid according to the present invention. In the drawings, reference numeral 1 denotes an evaporating means, 3 denotes a heating means, 12 denotes a decompression means, and 23 denotes a stirrer.

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A photographic processing waste liquid processing apparatus in which a photographic processing waste liquid stored in an evaporating means is heated and heated and concentrated by a heating means, wherein the evaporating means is provided inside the evaporating means along at least a part of its inner wall. A stirrer that moves close to 1 cm or less from the inner wall of the means is provided, and a discharge pipe for taking out a vapor containing gas generated by heating the photographic processing waste liquid is connected to the upper part of the evaporating means so that it can be discharged to a water tank. A supply pipe that communicates the water tank with the discharge pipe, and a supply pump that sends water from the water tank to the discharge pipe through the supply pipe and mixes steam and water containing gas, and further includes a water supply tank. A water flow pump is provided, an injection pipe is connected to the water flow pump, an outlet of the discharge pipe is connected to the injection pipe, and water in the water tank is sucked up by driving the water flow pump. Is injected into the water converting mechanism is dissolved vapor in the water containing mixed gas and water, photographic processing waste liquid of the processing apparatus, which comprises in a reduced pressure state inside the evaporation means.