JP3055746B2 - Non-diaphragm type electrolytic cell for ion-rich water generation - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[Object of the invention]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates generally to an apparatus for reforming tap water by electrolysis and adjusting the hydrogen ion concentration (pH) of the tap water. More specifically, the present invention relates to an electrolytic cell that produces hydrogen ion-rich acidic water and / or hydroxyl ion-rich alkaline water by electrolysis of tap water. The present invention particularly relates to an improvement in a non-diaphragm type electrolytic cell.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Alkaline water rich in hydroxyl ions (OH ⁻ ) is conventionally called “alkali ion water”,
It is considered that when used for drinking, it has an effect on promoting health, and when used for tea, coffee, etc., or for cooking, it has an effect of enhancing the taste. In addition, hydrogen ions (H ⁺ )
Rich acidic water is known as being suitable for boiling noodles, and strong acidic water with a high hydrogen ion concentration is attracting attention as being useful for sterilization and sterilization of kitchen cutting boards and cloths. I have.

[0003] For this reason, various types of ion-rich water generators (often referred to in the industry as ion water generators) are commercially available or proposed. The ion-rich water generator utilizes the electrolysis of water and has an electrolytic cell provided with an anode and a cathode. When a DC voltage is applied between the anode and the cathode, as schematically shown in FIG. 1, at the interface between the anode and the water, OH ⁻ present in the water due to ionization of the water gives electrons to the anode. Oxidized,
It becomes oxygen gas and is removed from the system. As a result, the H ⁺ concentration increases at the interface between the anode and water, and H ⁺ -rich acidic water is generated. On the other hand, at the interface between the cathode and water, H ⁺ receives electrons from the cathode plate and is reduced to hydrogen and is removed as hydrogen gas, so that the OH ⁻ concentration increases, and the OH ⁻ rich alkaline Water is produced.

[0004] In the early days, the electrolytic cell for producing ion-rich water was of a batch processing type, but today, a continuous flow type electrolytic cell is generally used, the latter being formed between an anode and a cathode. While passing through the water passage, the water is electrolyzed to generate ion-rich water. Continuous electrolytic cells can be broadly classified into two types: a diaphragm type and a non-diaphragm type.

In a diaphragm type electrolytic cell, as disclosed in, for example, Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-Open No. 56-80292, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 58-189090, and Japanese Utility Model Application No. The water passage formed and acting as an electrolytic chamber is separated by an ion-permeable and water-impermeable diaphragm, so that acidic water generated on the anode side by electrolysis and alkaline water generated on the cathode side do not mix. ing. As described above, the presence of the water-impermeable membrane prevents the mixing of the acidic water and the alkaline water, so that the membrane-type electrolytic cell can easily and easily generate the generated acidic water and the alkaline water at desired arbitrary flow rates. There is an advantage that it can be taken out.

However, the drawback of the diaphragm type electrolytic cell is that
(1) Bacteria and microorganisms can easily grow at the diaphragm.
It is not hygienic, and (2) the power consumption of the device increases because the electrode interval must be increased in order to arrange the diaphragm.

Therefore, in the prior art, there has been proposed a so-called "diaphragm type" electrolytic cell in which the diaphragm between the anode and the cathode is abolished (for example, Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 57-8957). A non-diaphragm type electrolytic cell utilizes the principle of laminar flow, in which an anode plate and a cathode plate are juxtaposed and juxtaposed to each other without an intervening diaphragm, and along the anode plate and the cathode plate. Water is passed while forming a laminar flow. When water is passed while applying a voltage between the anode plate and the cathode plate, a laminar flow is formed in the water passage acting as an electrolytic chamber between the anode plate and the cathode plate, and is schematically shown in FIG. As shown in the figure,
The H value is shown, and the electrode spacing is exaggerated for easy understanding of layers having different concentrations), and a layer is formed in which the hydrogen ion concentration gradually changes from strongly acidic to strongly alkaline. Such a non-diaphragm type electrolytic cell has an advantage that it is sanitary because there is no diaphragm, and power consumption can be reduced because the interval between electrodes can be reduced.

In the non-diaphragm type electrolytic cell disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 57-8957, two anode plates are arranged on both sides of a cathode plate, and two electrolytic chambers are formed by a total of three electrode plates. Is formed. Since this electrolytic cell has a double cell structure in which both sides of the cathode plate are effectively used, the processing flow rate can be doubled even though it is small. The acidic water generated along the anode plate and the alkaline water generated along the cathode plate are separated by a wedge-shaped separation plate, and are collected from respective outlets.

[0009]

[Problems to be solved by the invention] However, Kimiaki Jitsu
In the electrolytic cell structure of No. 57-8957, since the position of the separation plate is fixed, only strongly acidic water or strongly alkaline water cannot be taken out. Further, when the electrode spacing is reduced to, for example, 1 mm or less for the purpose of reducing power consumption,
As can be understood from FIG. 2, the layer of the strongly acidic water and the layer of the strongly alkaline water each become very thin, so that it is necessary to position the separation plate with high precision, and quality control becomes very difficult.

[0010] An object of the present invention is to provide a non-diaphragm type electrolytic cell capable of recovering strongly acidic and / or strongly alkaline ion-rich water and having a simple structure.

[0011]

Configuration of the Invention

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is directed to a non-diaphragm type electrolytic cell having a double cell structure in which two side electrode plates are disposed on both sides of a central electrode plate, and a downstream of a water passage. The side end is connected to a first ion-rich water recovery passage provided on an extension thereof and having a flow passage cross-sectional area larger than the flow passage cross-sectional area of the water passage, and a second opening that is perpendicular to the water passage.
A laminar flow guide plate connected to the ion-rich water recovery port and extending toward the first ion-rich water recovery passage is provided at the downstream end of the central electrode plate.

When water is electrolyzed while forming a laminar flow along the electrode plate, the first ion-rich water (alkaline water when the central electrode plate is a cathode, and the central electrode plate In this case, acidic water is generated, and second ion-rich water (acidic water when the central electrode plate is a cathode; alkaline water when the central electrode plate is an anode) is generated along the side electrode plate. Generated. Since the velocity of the acidic water flowing along the side electrode plate is slow, when the acidic water reaches the second ion-rich water recovery port, it splits from the main stream and flows into the second ion-rich water recovery port. The main flow accompanying the alkaline water flows along the laminar flow guide plate toward the first ion-rich water recovery passage,
It is collected in the first ion-rich water collection passage.

The above-mentioned features and effects, and other features and advantages of the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the following embodiments.

[0014]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, a diaphragmless electrolytic cell 10 of the present invention has a vertically long housing 12. As shown in FIG. The housing 12 is formed in a recess of a resin pressure-resistant case 14.
Three electrode plates of a first anode plate 16, a central cathode plate 18, and a second anode plate 20 are sequentially arranged while sandwiching a plurality of resin spacers 22, and a cover 24 is screwed to the case 14 in a liquid-tight manner. It consists of. By arranging the side anode plates 16 and 20 on both sides of the central cathode plate 18, respectively, the electrolytic cell 10 has a double cell structure, and the processing capacity is doubled by effectively using both surfaces of the central cathode plate 18. However, it can be stored in a small space. In the illustrated embodiment, the voltage is applied such that the side electrode plates 16 and 20 act as anode plates and the central electrode plate 18 acts as cathode plate, but needless to say, the polarity of the applied voltage is reversed. It is also possible.

The distance between the electrode plates is determined by, for example, five spacers 22. In this embodiment, the spacers 22 have a thickness of about 0.5 mm, so that the electrode spacing is about 0.5 mm. It has become. Preferably,
The electrode plates 16, 18, 20 are made by coating a titanium metal plate with platinum, each having a size of about 6 × 12 cm and a thickness of about 0.5 mm. Electrode plate 16, 1
Terminals 16A, 18A, and 20A are fixed to 8 and 20, respectively. The ends of these terminals 16A, 18A, and 20A all extend toward the front of the case 14, and can be connected to a DC power supply (not shown) of the electrolytic cell 10 only on the front side of the case. It has become.

As can be clearly understood from FIG. 3, the case 14 has a tap water inlet 26 and ion-rich water outlets 28 and 30.
Is formed. In the embodiment shown, the side electrode plate 16
And 20 act as an anode plate and the central electrode plate 18 acts as a cathode plate, so that the outlet 28 becomes an alkaline water outlet and the outlet 30 becomes an acidic water outlet. However, as described above, the polarity of the electrode plate can be reversed. In this case, the outlet 28 becomes an acidic water outlet, and the outlet 30 becomes an alkaline water outlet. The water inlet 26 communicates with a water distribution passage 32 having a substantially triangular cross section. The water distribution passage 32 is formed by the case 14 and the cover 24, as can be clearly understood from FIG. It extends over the entire length in the vertical direction. When using the electrolytic cell 10, the water inlet 26 can be connected to a water pipe by a hose or the like. Alternatively, the electrolytic cell 10 may be connected downstream of the water purifier, and the water purified by the water purifier may be introduced into the water inlet 26 of the electrolytic cell 10.

As can be clearly understood from the enlarged sectional views of FIGS. 8 and 9, a first water passage 34 is formed between the first anode plate 16 and the center cathode plate 18, and the center cathode plate 18 and the second anode A second water passage 36 is formed between the plate 20 and the plate 20. These water passages 34 and 36 cooperate with the electrode plates 16, 18 and 20 to function as an electrolytic chamber. Each of the water passages 34 and 36 is divided into four upper and lower sub-water passages by, for example, five spacers 22 extending in the horizontal direction.
As can be seen from FIG. 9, these waterways 34 and 36
Since the upstream end of is connected to the water distribution passage 32,
The clean water flowing down from the clean water inlet 26 along the distribution passage 32 is distributed to the four sub-water passages of the respective water passages 34 and 36, and horizontally distributed to the water passages 34 and 36 as shown in FIGS. Flows in the direction. Since the capacity of the distribution passage 32 is large, the electrode gap is 0.5 mm, which is sufficiently small.
The water flow flowing in the water passages 34 and 36 in the horizontal direction is laminar.

As shown in FIGS. 5 and 8, the downstream ends 34A of the water passages 34 and 36 which function as electrolysis chambers.
And 36A are water channel extensions 34B and 36B
Through an alkaline water recovery passage 38 having a substantially pentagonal cross section formed by the case 14 and the cover 24. The alkaline water recovery passage 38 communicates with the alkaline water outlet 28, and extends over the entire length of the electrode plate in the vertical direction, similarly to the clean water distribution passage 32. As can be clearly understood from FIGS. 5 and 8, the cross-sectional area of the flow path of the alkaline water recovery passage 38 is made sufficiently large with respect to the cross-sectional areas of the flow paths of the water passages 34 and 36 so that the flow can be performed without generating turbulence. Alkaline water recovery passage 3 from the ends of water passages 34 and 36
The alkaline water is allowed to flow smoothly toward 8.

As can be clearly understood from FIG. 5, the case 14 and the cover 24 are further formed with grooves 40 and 42 extending over the entire length of the anode plates 16 and 20 in the vertical direction, respectively, and cooperate with the anode plates. And acid water recovery passage 4
4 and 46 are formed. The lower ends of the acidic water recovery passages 44 and 46 join at a communication port 48 (FIGS. 6 and 7), and further communicate with the acidic water outlet 30 (FIG. 3).

As best seen in FIGS. 4 and 8, in the illustrated embodiment, the side anode plates 16 and 20 are provided with water passages 34 and 36 upstream of their downstream edges 16B and 20B. Vertically opening slits 16C and 20C are formed respectively. These slits 16C and 20C function as acid water recovery ports, and water that has passed through the slits 16C and 20C flows into the acid water recovery passages 44 and 46.

Since no slit is formed in the central cathode plate 18, in the illustrated embodiment, an extension 18A of the central cathode plate 18 downstream of the slits 16C and 20C is provided.
Acts as a laminar flow guide plate, as described later.

As can be clearly understood from FIGS. 5 and 8, the cross-sectional area of the acidic water recovery passages 44 and 46 is also reduced by the slit 1.
6C and 20C are made sufficiently large with respect to the cross-sectional area of the flow passage, so that the acidic water recovered from the slit flows smoothly into the acidic water recovery passages 44 and 46 without generating turbulence. . Slits 16C and 20
The acidic water flowing out of C is collected in the acidic water recovery passages 44 and 46 over substantially the entire length of the anode plate in the vertical direction, and is further sent to the acidic water outlet 30 therefrom.

When using the electrolytic cell 10, the supply of clean water to the clean water inlet 26 can be controlled by a conventional manual or electric control valve (not shown), and the alkaline water outlet 28 and the acidic water Conventional flow control valves 50 and 52 can be connected to the water outlet 30, respectively. As described above, the clean water introduced from the clean water inlet 26 is uniformly distributed to the inlets (upstream ends) of the water passages 34 and 36 over the entire length of the electrode plates 16, 18, and 20 in the vertical direction by the distribution passage 32. Then, it flows into the water passages 34 and 36 in the horizontal direction and becomes laminar.

When a DC voltage of, for example, about 12 V is applied between the cathode plate 18 and the anode plates 16 and 20, the electrolysis proceeds while water flows through the water passages 34 and 36, as shown in FIG. As described above, a flow in which the pH gradually changes in a direction perpendicular to the electric field between the anode plate and the cathode plate is generated.

When it is desired to obtain strongly acidic water having a pH of about 3 suitable for sterilization at the acidic water outlet 30, the flow rate of the alkaline water obtained at the alkaline water outlet 28 and the flow rate of the acidic water obtained at the acidic water outlet 30 It is preferable to control the flow control valves 50 and / or 52 such that the ratio is about 4: 1. Under such a flow rate condition, when the thin layer of the strong acidic water flowing at a low speed along the surfaces of the anode plates 16 and 20 reaches the acidic water recovery slits 16C and 20C, as shown by the arrow in FIG. 16C and 2
Since the water smoothly flows into the acidic water recovery passages 44 and 46 through the OC, strong acidic water is obtained at the acidic water outlet 30.

The alkaline water flowing in the form of laminar flow along the central cathode plate 18 is guided by the laminar flow guide plate portion 18A of the central cathode plate 18, and the main flow of laminar flow (flow having the maximum flow velocity) , Go straight toward the alkaline water recovery passage 38. Since the cross-sectional area of the flow path of the alkaline water recovery passage 38 is sufficiently large with respect to the cross-sectional areas of the flow paths 34 and 36, the alkaline water is recovered in the alkaline water recovery path 38 without generating turbulent flow. Is done.

When it is desired to obtain a strongly alkaline water having a pH of about 10 at the alkaline water outlet 28, the flow control valve 50 and / or the flow control valve 50 are controlled so that the flow ratio between the alkaline water outlet 28 and the acidic water outlet 30 is, for example, about 3: 2. 52 can be controlled.

FIG. 10 shows a variant of the electrolytic cell, in which in this embodiment the side electrode plates 16 and 20 end at the acid water recovery slits 16C and 20C, and only the central electrode plate 18 is a layer. It is extended to form a flow guide plate portion 18A. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 8, the water passage extension portion 34 downstream of the acid water recovery slit is provided.
B and 36B are formed by the side electrode plates 16 and 20, whereas in the embodiment of FIG. 10, the water passage extension portions 34B and 3B downstream of the acid water recovery slit are provided.
6B is formed by the case 14 and the cover 24.

In the variation shown in FIG. 11, the laminar flow guide plate portion 18A of the central electrode plate 18 is curved, and as shown by the flow velocity distribution curve, the alkaline water having a slow flow velocity is supplied to the laminar flow guide plate portion 18A. Is guided to the alkaline water recovery passage 38 along the curved surface of the.

In the variation shown in FIG. 12, the laminar flow guide plate portion 18A of the central electrode plate 18 is formed by a member separate from the central electrode plate 18, and is attached to the central electrode plate 18 by an adhesive 54. It is fixed.

When the present inventor electrolyzed raw water having a pH of 7.3 using the electrolytic cell shown in FIG. 12 while changing the applied voltage and current, the results shown in the graph of FIG. 13 were obtained. From this graph, it can be seen that strongly acidic water having a pH of 3.5 and usable for sterilization can be obtained with a power consumption of about 50 W. When the laminar flow guide plate 18A of FIG. 12 was abolished and tested, as shown by the hatched area 56 in the graph of FIG. I couldn't see it.

From this, when the electrode spacing is small,
It is inferred that the presence of the laminar flow guide plate 18A is effective for recovering the strongly acidic water.

Although a specific embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to this, and various design changes can be made within the scope of the present invention.
For example, the polarity of the electrode plate can be reversed, alkaline water can be taken out from the outlet 30, and acidic water can be taken out from the outlet 28.

[0034]

As described above, according to the present invention,
By opening the acidic water recovery ports 16C and 20C vertically to the water passage, acidic water having a low flow velocity in the laminar flow is effectively recovered, and the laminar flow guide plate 18A is provided at the downstream end of the central electrode plate. By providing a very simple means, it is possible to recover strong ion-rich water and to simplify the structure of the electrolytic cell while enjoying the advantages of a non-diaphragm type electrolytic cell that is hygienic and consumes low power. be able to.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating the principle of generating ion-rich water by electrolysis of water.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a hydrogen ion concentration distribution in an electrolysis chamber of a diaphragm-free electrolytic cell.

FIG. 3 is a partially cutaway front view of the electrolytic cell of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the electrolytic cell shown in FIG.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line VV of FIG. 3, in which an electrode plate and spacers are omitted for simplification of the drawing.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along the line VI-VI in FIG. 3;

FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along the line VII-VII of FIG. 3;

FIG. 8 is an enlarged sectional view of a portion inside a circle A in FIG. 5;

FIG. 9 is an enlarged sectional view of a portion inside a circle B in FIG. 5;

FIG. 10 shows a variation of the structure shown in FIG.

FIG. 11 shows another variation of the structure shown in FIG.

FIG. 12 shows yet another variation of the structure shown in FIG.

FIG. 13 is a graph showing test results of the electrolytic cell shown in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

10: Electrolysis tanks 16, 20: Side electrode plates 16C, 20C: Acid water recovery port (second ion-rich water recovery port) 18: Central electrode plate 18A: Laminar flow guide plate 34, 36: Water passage (electrolysis chamber) 38: Alkaline water recovery passage (first ion-rich water recovery passage)

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Shigeru Ando 2-1-1 Nakajima, Kokurakita-ku, Kitakyushu-shi, Fukuoka Prefecture Totoki Co., Ltd. (56) References JP-A-6-246272 (JP, A) JP-A-4-284889 (JP, A) JP-A-4-110189 (JP, U) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) C02F 1/46-1/46

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] The two water passages (2, 3) acting as electrolysis chambers are arranged by closely arranging side electrode plates (16, 20) on both sides of a central electrode plate (18) without intervening diaphragms. 34, 36) are formed on both sides of the central electrode plate, and by passing water through the water passage while applying a DC voltage between the central electrode plate and the side electrode plate, ion-rich by water electrolysis. In the non-diaphragm type electrolytic cell (10) adapted to generate water: the downstream end of the water passage (34, 36) is provided on an extension of the water passage and cut off the flow passage of the water passage. Connected to the first ion-rich water recovery passage (38) having a flow path cross-sectional area larger than the area, and connected to the second ion-rich water recovery ports (16C, 20C) opened vertically to the water passage; The downstream end of the central electrode plate is directed toward the first ion-rich water recovery passage (38). A non-diaphragm type electrolytic cell provided with an extending laminar flow guide plate (18A).