JP3314707B2 - Method and apparatus for recovering suspended solids from geothermal hot water and geothermal power generation equipment using the same - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to geothermal heat for preventing suspended solids (supersaturated silica, etc.) in geothermal hot water after separation, filtration, and recovery or production of spherical powder to prevent silica scale in geothermal power generation equipment. The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for recovering suspended solids from water and a geothermal power generation facility using the same. In addition, the present invention relates to a means for improving the energy recovery rate of unused low-temperature geothermal hot water to improve the power generation capacity, and for further effectively utilizing hot water from which arsenic has been removed.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In geothermal power generation, high-temperature geothermal fluid is ejected from the ground and power is generated using separated water vapor. In this case, silica is mixed with water vapor by several hundred ppm.
Super-saturated geothermal hydrothermal water containing at a concentration of 0.1 g The erupted geothermal hot water is returned to the ground through underground return wells,
It is considered that the temperature of the geothermal fluid under the ground is 250 ° C. to 350 ° C. and the silica is in a saturated state at a pressure of about 90 atm, whereas the temperature of the recirculated geothermal water is 97 ° C.
Since the temperature is as low as ~ 98 ° C, the solubility of silica and the like in geothermal hot water relatively decreases. In addition, silica and the like in the geothermal hot water are concentrated due to the separation from the water vapor, so that a part of the silica and the like contained in the geothermal hot water becomes supersaturated.

[0003] Since this supersaturated silica tends to adhere as silica scale, it is deposited on the hot water path of the geothermal power generation equipment or the underground inner wall of the reduction well, and causes a blockage of the hot water path and a decrease in flow of the reduction well. It has become. Moreover, since the silica scale is firmly adhered to the inner wall and the like, it is difficult to remove the silica scale. If the silica scale adheres, the use of the hot water path and the reduction well is interrupted to remove the silica scale. Must. As described above, the presence of silica or the like in geothermal hot water is a major obstacle in utilizing geothermal hot water.

Therefore, for the purpose of removing silica contained in geothermal hot water and preventing silica scale from adhering to the above-mentioned hot water path or underground reduction well, for example, conventionally, for example,
A method disclosed in JP-A-63-1496 is known. This means that, after a part of the geothermal hot water is retained to generate silica colloid, the retained geothermal hot water is brought into contact with the remaining geothermal hot water, so that the silica in the geothermal hot water is brought into contact with the silica colloid. The adsorbed and grown silica colloid is recovered by ultrafiltration or the like.

[0005] In addition, silica is aggregated by adding a polyvalent cation such as Al (aluminum) or Fe (iron) to geothermal hot water, and silica colloid is formed using the aggregated silica as a nucleus. May be collected by flotation or the like.

[0006]

However, among the above-mentioned conventional methods, the method disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 63-1496 has a small particle size of the obtained silica colloid. There is a possibility that the filtration membrane may be clogged by a colloid having a similar size. In addition, in the method of adding a polyvalent cation, since it is necessary to add the polyvalent cation to all the geothermal hot water to be used, there is a problem that a large amount of the polyvalent cation is required and the cost increases. . In addition, in any of the above methods, there is a problem in that a white suspended substance floats in the supernatant liquid after the recovery of silica, and the clarity is low.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and separates, filters and collects suspended solids in geothermal hot water or collects them after producing spherical fine powder to prevent silica scale in geothermal power generation equipment. A method and apparatus for recovering suspended solids from geothermal hot water, which improves the thermal energy recovery rate of unused low-temperature geothermal hot water, improves power generation capacity, and further provides hot water from which arsenic has been removed. An object is to provide a geothermal power generation facility using this.

[0008]

The present invention has the following features to attain the object mentioned above. That is, in the apparatus for recovering suspended solids from geothermal hot water according to the present invention, a closed cylindrical container having an inflow port connected to a hot water supply pipe for supplying geothermal hot water is provided, and the inside of the closed cylindrical container is provided. A substantially cylindrical fluid circulating container is disposed substantially concentrically with the closed cylindrical container, and a fluid circulating fluid collection line is disposed substantially concentrically with the fluid circulating container within the fluid circulating container. In the space outside the flow collecting pipe inside the fluid circulating vessel, suspended matter in geothermal hot water which is separated from steam after flowing in from the inflow port and flows in from the outer wall of the fluid circulating vessel. A filter medium for trapping and separating the water is accommodated in a flowable manner, and in the fluid collection line, the filtered geothermal hot water that has passed through the filter material is collected in the fluid collection line and discharged to the outside of the closed cylindrical container. A technology provided with hot water discharge means is employed.

Further, in the method for recovering suspended solids from geothermal hot water according to the present invention, a substantially cylindrical fluid flow passage disposed substantially concentrically in a closed cylindrical container having an inlet for hot geothermal hot water is provided. After flowing into the space between the container and the fluid-flow collecting fluid conduit arranged substantially concentrically in the fluid-flow container, the air-water is separated after flowing from the inflow port and flows from the outer wall of the fluid-flow container. A filter medium for trapping and separating suspended substances in the geothermal hot water to be flowed is accommodated in a flowable manner, and the geothermal hot water filtered through the filter medium is collected in the fluid collection pipe, and the outside of the closed cylindrical container is collected. The technique of ejecting the liquid to the outside is adopted.

[0010] In the above, in the fluid circulating container, a part or the whole of the outer wall surface of the container passes geothermal hot water as a fluid, and the geothermal hot water outside the container flows into the container or the geothermal hot water in the container flows therethrough. It is a container configured to be able to flow out of the container, and may have any structure as long as it can accommodate a filtering material inside.
Preferably, such a container has an outer wall formed of a material having a fluid flow gap smaller than the particle diameter of the filter medium. Alternatively, a metal, a polymer material, a cloth using a natural or artificial fiber, a nonwoven fabric, or the like can be appropriately selected according to the size.

Further, in the present invention, the fluid circulating container has a substantially cylindrical shape, the length of the cylinder is arbitrary, and the diameter may be shorter than the entire length. A disk-shaped thing smaller than the entire length may be used.

In the present invention, preferably, a fluid collection pipe, which is also fluid-permeable and has an outer diameter smaller than the outer diameter of the fluid-flowable container, is provided inside the fluid-flowable container. ,
The respective fluid circulating containers are disposed with their axes substantially aligned. Each of the fluid collection conduits may have any structure as long as a part or the whole of the outer wall allows geothermal hot water as a fluid to pass therethrough and does not allow a filtering material to pass therethrough, similarly to the case of the fluid circulating container. However, preferably, the outer peripheral wall can be constituted by a porous pipe or a breathable screen.

[0013] Thus, a filter material is accommodated in the space inside the fluid circulating vessel and outside the fluid collecting pipe, and geothermal hot water flows into the fluid circulating vessel and passes through the filter material. In such a case, a suspended substance (silica or the like) in the geothermal hot water is captured and separated by the filter medium. Here, the fluid circulating container is formed in a cylindrical shape as described above, but the geothermal hot water to be filtered flows in from the outer peripheral side of the cylindrical container, moves in the axial direction, and forms a filter medium. Through the layers. Suspended matter larger than the filter medium gap is trapped without being able to pass through the gap, and the solid particles that have passed through the gap differ in inertial force due to the mass difference between the solid particles and geothermal hot water. Is trapped due to a decrease in the flow velocity due to collision with the filter medium, or due to the surface tension of the liquid on the surface of the filter medium.

As described above, according to the present invention, the geothermal hot water to be filtered flows in from the outer peripheral side of the cylindrical fluid circulating vessel, moves in the axial direction, and is filled and accommodated in the annular accommodating space. Since it is designed to move in a radial direction and pass through the filtering material, the surface area in contact with geothermal hot water is much larger than that of a device that is one-way filtration, even if the volume is the same. And the efficiency of collecting suspended solids per filter medium volume is increased. Therefore, the required thickness of the filtration layer is
Depending on the filtration properties required of the geothermal hot water, the desired filtration performance can be achieved with a minimum filter material volume, and the solid content in the geothermal hot water over the entire thickness of the filter layer Can be uniformly suppressed and suppressed, so that a device having a very efficient filtration layer thickness can be manufactured even with a small diameter.

[0015] The filter material used here may be any filter material having a particle size or size that can be retained in the fluid-flow container and that can capture and separate pollutants in geothermal hot water. Any of those used in the filtration treatment may be used.

Examples of the filter media which can be suitably used in the present invention include hydrated silicate minerals (zeolites).
Soil component mainly composed of natural or artificial silicate minerals (such as lightweight foamed concrete (ALC))
Examples include porous and adsorbable carbide mass and granular material, high molecular material granular or three-dimensional network structured mass or brush-like aggregate material, and inorganic or organic material hollow cylindrical or hollow spherical material. These can be used alone or in a mixed state.

Further, in the present invention, it is preferable to select a light-weight filter medium having a specific gravity of 1 or less among the above-mentioned filter mediums. As described in detail later, the present invention provides:
When kinetic energy supply means for flowing the filter medium inside the fluid-flowable container is adopted, if such a lightweight filter medium is selected and stored in the fluid-flowable container, the self-levitation force of the filter medium itself is increased. In addition to the above, even if the kinetic energy applied to the filter medium by the kinetic energy supply means is small, the filter medium can be easily fluidized and stirred. In addition, there is an advantage that a lightweight filter material is easy to handle and transport.

In the present invention, the filter material is filled at least partially in a fluid-flowable container so as to be able to flow. That is, the filter medium is accommodated with a certain space volume with respect to the volume of the fluid circulating container, and, for example, due to the pressure energy of geothermal hot water and other actions, the filter medium is at least partially It is movable within the fluid flow container and is in contact with each other.

In the present invention, the hermetic cylindrical container is installed so as to have an axis in the vertical direction, and the geothermal hot water that has flowed into the hermetic cylindrical container is forced to rotate in one direction along the inner circumferential direction. Hot water rotating means is added, so much of the suspended matter in the rotating geothermal hot water moves to the outer peripheral side by centrifugation (this is called the cyclone separation effect), and more suspended matter is removed. In the separated state, the geothermal hot water flows in from the outer periphery of the fluid circulating vessel arranged on the center side, is filtered by the filtering material, and is discharged to the outside from the fluid collecting pipe.

That is, a relatively large suspended substance is removed from geothermal hot water in advance by the cyclone separation effect, and the remaining suspended substance is captured by a filter medium in a fluid-flowable container, whereby the suspended substance is removed. It can be efficiently separated from geothermal hot water in two stages.

Preferably, the hot water rotating means includes hot water inflow means for jetting geothermal hot water from the inflow port in a tangential direction of an inner peripheral wall of the closed cylindrical container. That is, the geothermal hot water rotates in one direction along the inner circumference of the closed cylindrical container by injecting and flowing the pressurized geothermal hot water from the inflow port in the tangential direction of the inner peripheral wall of the closed cylindrical container. Therefore, a cyclone separation effect can be easily obtained with a relatively simple configuration. In particular, by disposing the inflow port in the upper portion of the closed cylindrical container, the suspended matter in the geothermal hot water repeatedly rotates while falling from the upper portion to the lower portion, and thus is efficiently moved to the outer peripheral side and separated.

Further, there is provided a sediment discharging means provided at a lower portion of the closed cylindrical container for centrifuging by rotation of geothermal hot water and discharging a suspended substance in the geothermal hot water settled at a lower portion of the closed cylindrical container to the outside. Is preferred. That is, the sediment of suspended solids accumulates in the lower part due to centrifugation or the like, and when it reaches the fluid circulating vessel, the filtration capacity of geothermal hot water decreases. As a result, it is possible to discharge the sediment and maintain a sound filtration ability.

Further, according to the present invention, a kinetic energy supply means is provided for flowing the filter material inside the fluid-flowable container and discharging the suspended matter trapped and separated by the filter material to the outside of the fluid-flowable container. The filter medium in the container is stirred and fluidized by receiving kinetic energy.

In particular, the kinetic energy supply means is provided with a vibrating mechanism for applying a vibration to the elastically supported fluid circulating container to flow the filter medium, so that the fluid circulating mechanism elastically supported by the vibrating mechanism is provided. When vibration is applied to the container, the filter medium in the container receives the energy of the vibration and is caused to stir and flow. Further, as the kinetic energy supply means, by providing a hot water supply means for flowing the filter medium by supplying geothermal hot water having a pressure higher than the internal pressure of the fluid flow container from the lower part of the fluid flow container,
The geothermal hot water from the hot water supply means is supplied to the inside from the lower part of the fluid-flowable container, and the pressure of the geothermal hot water causes the filtering material in the container to be stirred and flow.

That is, the filter medium accommodated in the fluid-flowable container does not adhere or adhere to the container, and is entirely or partially movable. The kinetic energy and the moving vector direction are different between the respective filter media due to the potential energy due to the potential energy and / or the fluid energy due to the geothermal hot water flow, so that the filter media in the fluid circulating vessel move within the vessel, and the filter media mutually move. Contact.

As a result, suspended substances and the like adhering between the filter media and / or on the surface are released into the geothermal hot water,
A part of the filter material is also worn out and elutes and diffuses into geothermal hot water. In this way, when the filter medium is worn out, its physicochemical function is restored, and when the particle diameter is reduced, the fine suspended substance can be captured and separated by the filter medium, and the fluid flowability can be improved. If it becomes smaller than the gap of the outer wall of the container, it is discharged from the fluid-flowable container to the outside. When the amount of filter media in the fluid flow container decreases, the filter media is replenished.

By providing a filter medium supply means for supplying the filter medium into the fluid circulating vessel at a pressure higher than the internal pressure of the closed cylindrical container, for example, a filter medium supply port provided at the upper part of the fluid circulating vessel is provided. Therefore, the filter material that has been worn and reduced can be easily and appropriately supplied from the supply port by the filter material supply means. Further, by providing a filtering material discharging means provided at a lower portion of the fluid circulating container and discharging the filtering material at a lower portion of the closed cylindrical container, for example, an outlet is provided at a lower portion of the fluid circulating container, and the filtering material discharging means is provided. Thus, the abraded filter medium and the filter medium capturing the suspended matter can be easily and appropriately discharged from the outlet.

The vibration by the vibrating mechanism and the supply of geothermal hot water by the hot water supply means need not always be performed, and may be intermittent operation. In short,
It is only necessary that the trapped suspended matter is eliminated, the filter media come into contact with each other and wear out, and the filtering function is restored.

Further, in the present invention, when the kinetic energy supply means is provided with a vibrating mechanism or hot water supply means, there is no need to rotate the fluid circulating container for flowing the filter medium, and the rotation is not required. There is an advantage that a mechanism for performing the operation is not required, the structure is simplified, and the filter medium can be easily supplied because the container does not rotate.

In the case where the above-described vibration mechanism is provided, if the vibration is applied in a substantially tangential direction of the fluid circulating container and slightly upward, the flow of the filter medium can be given a direction, and the filter medium can be provided. It can be rotated in a fluid-flow container.
Further, when the above-mentioned hot water supply means is provided, instead of uniformly supplying geothermal hot water from the lower part of the fluid circulating container, for example, by supplying the geothermal hot water upward from one side of the lower part, Since the supplied portion of the filter medium flows upward by the pressure of the geothermal hot water, the filter medium can be rotated in the container.

In the above-described embodiment, even if a filter medium having an initial particle diameter and a reduced particle diameter is mixed, the filter medium is washed by the vibration of the fluid-flowable container or the supply of geothermal hot water, etc. Since the clogging of the flowable container does not occur, there is no influence on the filtering performance, but the washing of the filtering material is
An optimal state can be obtained by appropriately adjusting the vibration speed of the fluid-flowable container, the supply amount of geothermal hot water, and the like.
In this case, the suspended matter trapped and separated by the filter medium is crushed by mutual stirring and washing with the large and small filter medium, and physicochemical,
It also has the effect of promoting biochemical treatment.

Further, in the present invention, the hot water discharge means for collecting the filtered geothermal hot water which has passed through the filtering material in the above-mentioned fluid collection line, and discharging the collected geothermal hot water to the outside of the closed cylindrical container. Is attached. In this hot water discharge means, geothermal hot water to be filtered is guided into the fluid circulating vessel from the outer periphery thereof,
Any means may be used as long as it can discharge the filtered geothermal hot water guided to the fluid collection pipe after being filtered through the filter medium to the outside of the fluid circulating vessel.

As can be inferred from the expression of hot water discharge, means for discharging geothermal hot water to the outside of the container can be provided on the discharge side, but it is not necessarily limited to means provided on the discharge side. May be provided with a hot water inflow / supply means to allow the geothermal hot water to be discharged from the container. For example, if the structure is such that the water head pressure on the outer peripheral side of the fluid circulating container is higher than that on the fluid collection conduit side, such a structure constitutes the hot water inflow means. Further, a discharge pump and a suction blower can be provided on the discharge side of the fluid collection pipe.

Preferably, an inner surface cleaning means for removing an adhered substance by sliding an elastic member on the inner surface of the fluid collecting pipe is provided. That is, by providing the inner surface cleaning means, an elastic member such as a brush member abuts on the inner surface of the fluid collecting pipe and slides, so that the attached matter on the inner surface is scraped off by contact friction with the elastic member, and The road is cleaned.

Further, the fluid circulating container may be provided with a means for removing foreign matter adhering to the outer periphery of the container, such as an adhering substance removing plate sliding on the outer peripheral surface of the container, or It is conceivable to use a brush-like (including a rotary type) removing means or a fluid jet cleaning means alone or in combination.

Further, in the present invention, in the apparatus provided with the vibration mechanism, an elastic joint is provided in a member and a pipe connecting the closed cylindrical container accommodating the fluid circulating container and the fluid circulating container. Is preferred. That is, since the fluid circulating container is elastically connected to the closed cylindrical container by the elastic joint, it is difficult for the vibration by the vibrating mechanism to be transmitted to the closed cylindrical container side, and it is possible to effectively apply the vibration to the fluid circulating container.

In these inventions, one end is connected to the lower part of the closed cylindrical container and the other end is connected to the inlet, and a part of the precipitated suspended substance is again supplied from the inlet into the closed cylindrical container. It is preferable to provide a sediment circulation line serving as a nucleus for crystal precipitation of the suspended substance.

That is, a part of the suspended solid separated and settled in the closed cylindrical container is returned to the sediment circulation line and supplied again into the closed cylindrical container, whereby the suspended solid in the geothermal hot water is crystallized. Nucleus (seed), the growth of the crystal nucleus of the suspended substance is further promoted and the number of crystal grains can be increased.

Further, it is preferable that a drug injection means connected to the inflow port to supply the drug into the closed cylindrical container is provided.

That is, a drug, preferably at least a crystal nucleus growth promoting material which promotes the growth of crystal grains of a suspended substance or an agglomeration which promotes coagulation and precipitation of crystal grains of a suspended substance, together with geothermal hot water by the chemical injecting means. By supplying either one of the precipitants into the closed cylindrical container, the growth of crystal grains and the coagulation and sedimentation can be promoted.

Particularly, the crystal nucleus growth promoting material is preferably silicon dioxide or a silicate compound having a specific surface area of 1 m ² / g or more. That is, by adding the silicon dioxide or the silicate compound, the silicon dioxide or the silicate compound becomes a nucleus (seed) and the crystal nucleus growth of silica as a suspended substance is further promoted.

The coagulating sedimentation material is aluminum,
A metal compound containing magnesium, iron, calcium, copper or manganese, or a mixture of two or more kinds of nitrogen-containing cation compounds is preferable. That is, by adding the above-mentioned metal compound or nitrogen-containing cation compound, these compounds are dissolved in geothermal hot water, and a polyvalent cation or a substance that is a secondary substance is used as a suspended substance. Is more likely to aggregate. The circulating amount of the precipitate and the chemical are used alone or in combination, and the amount and concentration of the sediment may be determined according to the properties of the geothermal hot water.

Further, the geothermal power generation equipment according to the present invention is a geothermal power generation equipment for sending steam separated from the geothermal hot water by the steam separator to the generator to generate electricity, wherein the steam separator is A suspended solids recovery device from the geothermal hot water according to the present invention, wherein the suspended solids recovery device is configured to generate steam and water separated from the geothermal hot water inside the closed cylindrical container by the power generator. A technology in which a steam discharge pipe that feeds into the tank is connected is adopted.

The above-mentioned suspended solids recovery apparatus not only captures and separates suspended solids in the geothermal hot water but also recovers the same. In addition, the geothermal hot water flowing into the closed cylindrical vessel is separated into steam and water to generate steam. I do. Therefore, this geothermal power generation equipment uses the suspended solids recovery device described above as a steam separator for geothermal hot water, and feeds steam separated by steam and steam to a generator through a steam discharge line to convert the geothermal hot water from the geothermal hot water. Of steam is used for power generation.

Further, the generator is provided with a high-pressure turbine rotating by high-pressure steam and a low-pressure turbine rotating by low-pressure steam, and at least two or more suspended substance recovery devices are provided. A first suspended solids recovery device of the suspended solids recovery device has a hot water supply pipe connected to a production well of geothermal hot water, and a second suspended solids collection device of the two or more suspended solids recovery devices. In the recovery device, the hot water discharge means of the first suspended solids recovery device is connected to the hot water supply pipe, and is placed in series with the first suspended solids recovery device. Preferably, the steam discharge line is connected to the high-pressure turbine, and the steam discharge line of the second suspended solids recovery device is connected to the low-pressure turbine.

In this geothermal power generation facility, the steam discharge lines of the first suspended solids recovery device and the second suspended solids recovery device which are connected in series are connected to the high-pressure turbine and the low-pressure turbine, respectively. Therefore, high-pressure steam generated by separating water and water in the first suspended solids recovery device is sent to the high pressure turbine, and low-pressure steam generated by separating water and water in the second suspended solids recovery device is generated. Sent to low pressure turbine.

Further, the suspended solids in the geothermal hot water from the production well are continuously collected in at least two stages by the suspended solids recovery device arranged in series. That is, the suspended solids are efficiently removed from the geothermal hot water, and the steam in each suspended solids recovery device is sent to a turbine having a different working pressure in accordance with the pressure, so that each suspended solids recovery device Steam can be efficiently used for power generation without waste.

Further, at least two or more of the suspended solids recovery devices are provided, and each of the hot water supply pipes of the two or more suspended solids recovery devices is connected in parallel to the geothermal hot water production well. Connected to the hot water supply pipe or the production well, arbitrarily selecting a hot water supply pipe for flowing geothermal hot water from the hot water supply pipes of the two or more suspended solids recovery devices. It is preferable to provide an operation switching mechanism capable of switching the suspended solids recovery device to which the geothermal hot water is supplied.

That is, in this geothermal power generation facility,
An operation switching mechanism is provided which is capable of switching the suspended solids recovery device to which geothermal hot water is supplied by arbitrarily selecting from the hot water supply pipe of the above suspended solids recovery device. By arbitrarily selecting a suspended solids recovery apparatus to be used for operation, maintenance such as uniformization of the filtration flow rate with respect to fluctuations in the amount of steam production and all replacement of the filtration material becomes easy.

Of course, according to the scale, a large number of the above-mentioned suspended solids recovery devices, which are steam separators, are installed, and the above-described combination of the serial and parallel arrangements is performed. You may make it possible to respond sufficiently.

Further, a facility for using hot water using geothermal hot water discharged and filtered from the hot water discharging means of the suspended solid recovery apparatus may be provided. That is, since the geothermal hot water discharged from the hot water discharge means has a suspended substance containing a harmful substance such as arsenic removed by a filtration function of a suspended substance recovery device, this geothermal hot water is used as hot water. For example, by supplying the hot water to hot water utilization facilities such as a hot spring / hot water pool and a heating facility, effective utilization can be achieved.

[0052]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the apparatus for recovering suspended matter from geothermal hot water according to the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.

The apparatus A for collecting suspended solids according to the present embodiment is shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 1, a vertical closed cylindrical container 1 having an axis in the vertical direction, and a hollow substantially cylindrical filter tank body (fluid flowable container) disposed substantially concentrically in the vertical closed cylindrical container 1. 2 is provided.

The vertical sealed cylindrical container 1 is erected in a vertical state, and is fixed to a cylindrical central portion 3, an upper end plate 4 fixed to the upper portion of the cylindrical central portion 3, and fixed to a lower portion of the cylindrical central portion 3. And a conical main body lower part 5. The filtration tank main body 2 constitutes a fluid circulating container, and has an upper screen having a cylindrical central screen 6 and a portion provided on the cylindrical central screen 6 and having a smaller outer diameter than the cylindrical central screen 6. 7 and a lower screen 8 provided below the cylindrical central screen 6 and formed in an inverted conical shape.

The filtration tank main body 2 has an inner cylinder-side support portion 6a protruding from the lower periphery of the cylindrical central screen 6 and an outer cylinder-side support portion 5a protruding inward from the upper portion of the conical main body lower portion 5. Are elastically supported by the vertical closed cylindrical container 1 via an inner cylinder supporting elastic body 9 such as a spring or rubber disposed in a sandwiched state between the vertical closed cylindrical container 1.

The cylindrical central screen 6, the upper screen 7 and the lower screen allow the raw water of the external geothermal hot water to flow into the filter tank body 2, but the filter medium 10 filled in the filter tank body 2 is externally provided. It is formed of a wire mesh of a certain mesh so as not to flow out. Further, a water collection pipe (fluid collection pipe) 11 having a diameter sufficiently smaller than the outer diameter of the filtration tank main body 2 is fixedly disposed coaxially with the filtration tank main body 2 inside the filtration tank main body 2. Has been established. The water collection pipe 11
The lower end is closed, the outer wall is formed of a perforated plate, and the filtered hot water is allowed to flow, but the filtering material 10 is not allowed to pass.

The space outside the water collecting pipe 11 inside the filtering tank body 2 is filled with the filtering material 10 so as to be able to flow. That is, the filter medium 10 is filled in the filter tank main body 2 while leaving a certain space volume, and the filter medium 10 is configured to flow by vibration of the filter tank main body 2 or the like. Here, the filter material 10 may be any material as long as it has the particle size that does not pass through the outer wall of the filter tank body 2 using the above-described material.

The upper end plate 4 is fixed so as to cover an upper opening end of the cylindrical central portion 3 and is provided at an upper center and discharges steam contained in raw water of geothermal hot water or vaporized steam to the outside. An outlet 4a and a steam guide tube 4b provided with a lower opening end above the upper screen 7 for guiding the steam to the upper discharge port 4a as shown by an arrow in the figure. . In addition, the upper end plate 4 includes a filtering material 1.
A filter material feeding pipe 12 for feeding the filter material 0 into the filtration tank main body 2 is supported in an inserted state, and a tip of the filter material feeding pipe 12 is disposed at an upper opening end (supply port) 7 a of the upper screen 7. The filter medium 10 falling in the filter medium introduction pipe 12 is set so as to be introduced into the filtration tank main body 2.

An inlet 3a for raw water of geothermal hot water is formed in the inner peripheral wall of the central portion 3 as hot water inflow means.
An inflow pipe (hot water supply pipe) 13 is connected to the inflow port 3a in a direction tangential to the inner peripheral wall of the central portion 3 of the cylinder.
That is, the raw water of geothermal hot water sent in the inflow pipe 13 at a high pressure is ejected from the inflow port 3a toward the tangential direction of the inner peripheral wall of the central portion 3 of the cylinder.

A vibrator 15 is provided on the outer surface of the lower part of the cylindrical central portion 3 as a vibrating mechanism for applying vibration to the filtration tank main body 2.
Are elastically supported by a bellows-like cylindrical elastic joint 16, and the vibrator 15 and the filter tank main body 2 are connected to each other by a cylindrical elastic joint 16.
And a connecting member 17 inserted into the through hole 3b of the cylindrical central portion 3. That is, the vibration by the vibrator 15 is set to be transmitted to the filtration tank main body 2 via the connecting member 17, and the vibration is hardly applied to the vertical closed cylindrical container 1 by the cylindrical elastic joint 16. Have been.

The connecting member 17 is connected to the filtration tank main body 2 so as to extend in the tangential direction of the outer periphery of the filtration tank main body 2, and the vibration of the vibrator 15 is applied in the tangential direction of the filtration tank main body 2. With such a setting, the filtration tank main body 2 can be vibrated in the circumferential direction. Thereby, the filtration tank body 2
The filter medium 10 inside is vibrated and moved in the circumferential direction of the filter tank body 2.

The lower part 5 of the conical body is provided with an outer cylinder discharge valve 18 at a lower end as a sediment discharge means.
The outer cylinder discharge valve 18 is an on-off valve for discharging a precipitate H such as a suspended substance (silica or the like) precipitated and deposited on the lower part 5 of the conical body to the outside of the vertical closed cylindrical container 1.

One end of a discharge connecting pipe 19 is connected to a lower part of the water collecting pipe 11, and the discharge connecting pipe 19 extends in a radial direction and is formed at a lower discharge port formed at a lower part of the cylindrical central part 3. The other end is connected to 3c via a connecting elastic joint 3d. That is, the water collecting pipe 11 and the lower discharge port 3c are
It functions as hot water discharge means for discharging raw water of geothermal hot water to the outside.

The water collecting pipe 11 includes a brush driving motor 20 having a rotating shaft 20 a fixed to an upper part and coaxially inserted into the water collecting pipe 11 as an inner surface cleaning means for removing extraneous matter on the inner surface of the water collecting pipe 11. A brush member (elastic member) 21 made of a stainless steel wire brush helically attached along the rotation shaft 20a and slidable on the inner surface of the water collecting pipe 11 is provided.

The lower screen 8 is provided with an inner cylinder discharge valve (discharge port) 22 at the lower end. The inner cylinder discharge valve 22 is an open / close valve for discharging the filter medium 10 into the lower part 5 of the conical body when discharging the worn filter medium 10 in the lower screen 8 or replacing the filter medium 10. .

The lower screen 8 has a filtering material 10
An annular hot water discharge pipe 23 having a plurality of hot water jet holes is arranged as hot water supply means for flowing the hot water, and the hot water discharge pipe 23 is provided in the conical main body lower part 5. It is connected to a hot water pipe 24 inserted through the through hole 5a. The hot water pipe 24 sends out high pressure geothermal hot water to the hot water discharge pipe 23. The hot water discharge pipe 23
A protection plate 25 as a baffle protruding inward from the lower screen 8 to protect the hot water discharge pipe 23 is provided in the vicinity of the upper part of the lower part.

Further, in the lower part of the vertical closed cylindrical container 1,
Suspended substances and the like precipitated in the vertical closed cylindrical container
One end of a silica circulation line (precipitate circulation line) 30 returning to 3 is connected, and the other end of the silica circulation line 30 is connected to the inflow pipe 13 via the ejector 14.

The inflow pipe 13 is connected to a medicine injection means 31 for supplying a medicine to the vertical closed cylindrical container 1 via the ejector 14. The medicine injecting means 31 is shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 3, an auxiliary tank 32 in which a medicine is stored, and a line mixer 33 connected to a lower part of the auxiliary tank 32.
And an injection pump 34 connected to a line mixer 33
And the drug sent from the infusion pump 34
And an ejector 14 that connects the infusion pump 35 and the inflow pipe 13 for injecting the fluid into the fluid.

The agent is at least one of a crystal nucleus growth promoting material for promoting the growth of the crystal grains of the suspended substance and an agglomerated sedimentation material for promoting the cohesive precipitation of the crystal grains of the suspended substance. This crystal nucleus growth promoting material has a specific surface area of 1 m ² /
g or more of silicon dioxide or silicate compound, and the coagulating sedimentation material is aluminum, magnesium, iron,
One or a mixture of two or more of a metal compound containing calcium, copper, or manganese, or a nitrogen-containing cation compound is used.

Next, a method of recovering suspended substances (silica, etc.) from geothermal hot water by the suspended substance recovery apparatus A will be described.
This will be described below.

First, raw water of geothermal hot water in a high-pressure and high-temperature state is fed into the inflow pipe 13 from a production well of geothermal hot water and the like. Spouts tangentially to the peripheral wall. At this time, the raw water of the geothermal hot water falls in a vortex state while rotating in one direction along the inner circumferential direction of the vertical closed cylindrical container 1, and most of the suspended substances in the rotating raw water of the geothermal hot water are removed. It moves to the outer peripheral side by centrifugation. That is, the inflow pipe 13 functions as hot water rotating means for applying a force to rotate the raw water of the geothermal hot water in one direction along the inner circumferential direction of the vertical closed cylindrical container 1.

Further, raw water of geothermal hot water flows from the outer periphery of the filter tank main body 2 disposed on the center side in a state where a large amount of suspended substances are separated, and is filtered by the filter medium 10 before being collected. From the outlet 11, the water is discharged to the outside as filtered hot water through the discharge connection pipe 19. That is, a relatively large suspended substance is removed from raw water of geothermal hot water in advance by the cyclone separation effect, and the remaining suspended substance is captured by the filter medium 10 in the filtration tank main body 2 so that the suspended substance is removed. It is possible to efficiently separate the geothermal hot water from the raw water in two stages, greatly improve the throughput, and maintain the trapping capacity of the filter medium 10 for a longer time.

Further, a part of the suspended solid separated and settled in the vertical closed cylindrical container 1 is returned to the inflow pipe 13 again through the silica circulation line 30 and supplied again into the vertical closed cylindrical container 1 so that Since the nucleus (seed) of the crystal precipitation of the suspended substance in the hot water is used, the growth of the crystal nucleus of the suspended substance is further promoted and the number of crystal grains can be increased. At the same time, the chemical injection means 31 supplies the chemical such as the crystal nucleus growth promoting material and the coagulating sedimentation material together with the geothermal hot water into the closed cylindrical container, so that the growth of the crystal grains and the coagulation and sedimentation can be promoted.

In particular, by adding silicon dioxide or a silicate compound having a specific surface area of 1 m ² / g or more as the crystal nucleus growth promoting material, the nucleus (seed) can be obtained.
As a result, crystal nucleus growth of silica as a suspended substance is further promoted. Further, aluminum,
By adding one or more of a metal compound containing magnesium, iron, calcium, copper or manganese, or a nitrogen-containing cation compound, these compounds are dissolved in geothermal hot water. In addition, silica as a suspended substance is more easily aggregated by polyvalent cations and substances generated secondarily.

The vibration exciter 15 of the vibrating mechanism is periodically driven to apply vibration to the filtration tank main body 2. That is, the filter tank main body 2 is elastically supported by the cylindrical elastic joint 16 and the inner cylinder supporting elastic body 9, and gives kinetic energy to the internal filter medium 10 by vibration to flow the filter medium 10. In particular, since the connecting member 17 for connecting the vibrator 15 and the filtration tank main body 2 extends in the tangential direction of the filtration tank main body 2 and vibration is applied in the circumferential direction, the filter medium 10 is particularly formed in the circumferential direction of the filtration tank main body 2. Flows to

On the other hand, geothermal hot water in a high-pressure state is constantly or periodically jetted upward from the hot water discharge pipe 23 into the lower screen 8 through the hot water pipe 24 and supplied. At this time, the filter medium 10 in the filter tank main body 2 is stirred and caused to flow by the pressure of the geothermal hot water.

At this time, the filter medium 10 is worn and regenerated, and at the same time, the trapped suspended substance falls downward and precipitates on the lower part 5 of the conical body. The precipitate H is discharged to the outside from the outer cylinder discharge valve 18 together with the suspended matter containing a large amount of silica separated and precipitated by the cyclone separation effect, and is sent to a drying step and collected. In addition, as the filling amount of the filter medium 10 decreases, the filter medium 10 is appropriately replenished to the filter tank main body 2 from the upper opening end 7a of the upper screen 7 using the filter medium inlet pipe 12.

Further, when the brush member 21 is rotated by driving the brush driving motor 20 constantly or periodically, the brush member 21 slides on the inner surface of the water collecting pipe 11, so that the attached matter is scraped off. The inside of the tube is washed. In addition,
Since the brush member 21 is helically attached to the rotating shaft 20a in a state of being in contact with the inner surface of the water collecting tube 11, the brush member 21 is slidable on the entire inner surface of the water collecting tube 11 by rotating, and cleans the entire inner surface. be able to.

Next, an embodiment of the geothermal power generation equipment according to the present invention using the suspended solids recovery apparatus A will be described with reference to FIG.

As shown in FIG. 2, the geothermal power generation equipment according to the present embodiment is composed of three suspended substance recovery devices A1, A2, and A3, a suspended substance (silica or the like) recovery device, and a geothermal hot water gas / water separator. And A3, A2, A3
The steam separated from the geothermal hot water at the
To generate electricity.

The suspended substance recovery devices A1, A2, A3
Are composed of the same vertical closed cylindrical container 1 and the internal structure is the same as that of the above-mentioned suspended substance recovery apparatus A. However, the drug injection means 31 is attached only to the suspended substance recovery apparatus A1, It is not connected to the suspended matter recovery devices A2 and A3. In addition, the silica circulation line 30 and the ejector 14 are not provided in the suspended substance recovery device A3.

This geothermal power generation equipment is provided with a geothermal hot water production well 3
7 is provided with a hot water introduction line 38 for introducing high-temperature and high-pressure geothermal hot water of two-phase flow into the geothermal power generation equipment, and the other end of the hot water introduction line 38 is connected to the suspended matter recovery device A1. It is connected to the inflow pipe 13. The hot water introduction line 38 is provided with a main steam valve 39 for adjusting the amount of geothermal hot water from the production well 37.

Discharge connecting pipe 19 of suspended substance recovery device A1
Is connected to the inflow pipe 13 of the suspended substance recovery apparatus A2, and the discharge connection pipe 19 of the suspended substance recovery apparatus A2 is connected to the inflow pipe 13 of the suspended substance recovery apparatus A3 to recover the suspended substance. The devices A1, A2, and A3 are arranged in series as geothermal hot water channels.

Further, the discharge connection pipe 19 of the suspended solids recovery device A3 is connected to a tank connection line 40, and the tank connection line 40 is connected to a reservoir tank 41 for storing filtered geothermal hot water. I have. A connection line 42 for reduction is connected to the reservoir tank 41, and the connection line 42 for reduction is connected to a reduction well 43 of geothermal hot water. A hot water supply line 44 is connected to the reservoir tank 41, and the hot water supply line 44 is connected to a hot water utilization facility 45 that uses the filtered geothermal hot water as hot water for a heating facility or the like.

One end of a vapor discharge pipe 46 is connected to the upper discharge port 4a of each of the suspended substance recovery devices A1, A2, A3. The steam discharge pipes 46 of the suspended solids recovery devices A1 and A2 send steam separated from geothermal hot water into steam into the vertical closed cylindrical container 1 to the generator 36. In addition, the vapor discharge line 46 of the suspended solids recovery device A3
Is for sending steam separated from water and water to the reservoir tank 41.

The vapor discharge line 46 of the suspended matter recovery device A1
Is connected in the order of a high-pressure mist separator 47 and a high-pressure orifice 48 as a high-pressure steam pipe, and the other end is connected to a high-pressure turbine 49 of the generator 36.

On the other hand, the vapor discharge line 46 of the suspended solid recovery device A2 is connected as a low pressure side steam pipe in the order of the low pressure side mist separator 50 and the low pressure side orifice 51, and the other end is connected to the low pressure turbine 52 of the generator 36. It is connected to the. The high-pressure turbine 49 and the low-pressure turbine 52
The high-pressure turbine 49 is designed to cope with high-pressure steam, and the low-pressure turbine 52 is connected to the rotating shaft of the generator main body 53 so as to be rotatable. It is designed for steam and generates power by rotating the rotating shaft of the generator body 53 with the steam.

The high-pressure turbine 49 and the low-pressure turbine 52 are connected to a turbine steam discharge line 54 for rotating the two turbines and discharging the reduced-pressure steam, respectively. 55. The condenser 55 is connected to a drainage delivery line 56 that sends wastewater generated by cooling the steam to the reduction well 43, and the drainage delivery line 56 is connected to the reduction connection line 42.
And is connected to the reduction well 43 via.

A condenser 55 is provided at the lower part in the condenser 55.
One end of a first cooling water line 58 for sending the water inside to the cooling tower 57 is connected, and the other end of the first cooling water line 58 is connected to an upper part in the cooling tower 57 via a circulation pump 59. In addition, the cooling tower 5
7 is connected to one end of a second cooling water line 60 for sending water cooled by the cooling tower 57 to the condenser 55, and the other end of the second cooling water line 60 is connected to the upper part of the condenser 55. It is connected to the.

Outer cylinder discharge valve 18 of suspended solids recovery device A1
Is connected to a first sediment discharge line 61, and the first sediment discharge line 61 is connected to a sediment tank 62 that stores sediment H. In addition, a suspended substance recovery device A2,
The A3 outer cylinder discharge valve 18 is connected to a second sediment discharge line 63, and the second sediment discharge line 63 is connected to a sediment tank 62.

The sediment tank 62 is a pressure vessel provided with a stirring means (not shown) therein, for temporarily storing the sediment H to be sent and agitating the sediment H by the stirring means to make it uniform. . A pit-side discharge pipe 66 having a discharge valve 65 for discharging the sediment H to the pit 64 is connected to a lower part of the sediment tank 62,
An exhaust pipe 67 for discharging the gas in the sediment tank 62 to the outside is connected to the upper part thereof.

Further, inside the sediment tank 62, one end of a spray line 70 for feeding the sediment H to the spray dryer 69 via the line filter 68 is arranged, and the spray line 70 is provided at the other end. The nozzle 71 is arranged at the upper part in the spray dryer 69. The spray line 70 has one end serving as a suction port for the sediment H, and is disposed downward above the discharge valve 65 in the sediment tank 62. In addition, line filter 6
Reference numeral 8 functions as a filtration unit for filtering the precipitate H sent in the spray line 70.

The spray dryer 69 removes the precipitate H
Is pressurized and sprayed from a nozzle 71 into a hot air stream and dried,
It is a hot air flash dryer that creates spherical dry silica powder. The spray drier 69 is provided with a hot water flow path 69b that circulates high-temperature steam and geothermal hot water and heats the inside of the spray drier 69 around the peripheral wall of a drying tower 69a formed in a substantially cylindrical shape. Further, as shown in FIG. 3, an outlet 72a of a hot air blowing line 72 for supplying hot air obtained from geothermal hot water to the inside is arranged in an upper part in the spray dryer 69.

In this spray dryer 69, the outlet 72 a of the hot air blowing line 72 is supplied with the drying hot air by the drying tower 69.
The nozzle 71 is set so as to be ejected in the tangential direction of the inner surface of the peripheral wall portion a, and a nozzle 71 is arranged near the outlet 72 a so as to blow dry hot air to the nozzle 71. That is, the sediment H ejected from the nozzle 71 is swirled in the drying tower 69a together with the dry hot air, and is grown as spherical dry silica powder while rotating in the drying tower 69a.

Further, the heating jacket 100 is provided on the peripheral wall of the drying tower 69a so as to cover the same, and the hot water flow passage 69b is formed therein. The hot water flow path 69b is connected at an upper portion to a heating steam line 75 connected to the steam discharge pipe line 46 of the suspended solid recovery device A1, and is connected at a lower portion to the drain pipe 101.

[0096] The drain pipe 101 is provided with a distal end so as to discharge the waste water generated by the steam and the geothermal hot water used for heating to the drain 103 through the pressure regulating valve 102. Further, at the lower end of the spray dryer 69, a silica discharge valve 73 for discharging the obtained spherical dry fine powder of silica is provided. The silica discharge valve 73 is connected to a storage tank 74 for the spherical dry fine silica powder. Have been. A hot air exhaust port 69c is provided above the spray dryer 69, and a hot air discharge pipe 69d is connected to the discharge port 69c. Further, a discharge pump may be used instead of the silica discharge valve 73.

The heating steam line 75 branches in the middle and is introduced into a heat exchanger 76. A hot air blowing line 72 is connected to the upper part of the heat exchanger 76, and a blower 77 is connected to the lower part. That is,
The dry air sent into the heat exchanger 76 by the blower 77 is heated by the heating steam line 75 brought into a high temperature state by the flow of the high-temperature steam, becomes dry hot air, and is sent to the hot air blowing line 72.

The heating steam line 75 and the first sediment discharge line 61 are provided with a steam supply valve 7 for allowing the steam of the heating steam line 75 to be introduced into the first sediment discharge line 61.
8 connected by a steam connection line 79 having In addition, the filtration material introduction pipes 12 of the suspended substance recovery devices A1, A2, and A3 are connected to the filtration material 1 via a feed pump 80.
0 is connected to a filter medium supply tank 81 storing zero.
In addition, in FIG. 2, the symbol 90 is a valve.

Next, a power generation method using geothermal hot water and a method of recovering silica from geothermal hot water by the above-mentioned geothermal power generation equipment will be described below.

[Step of Separating Water and Filtration of Suspended Substance] First, the main steam valve 39 is opened, and raw water of geothermal hot water is supplied from the production well 37 to the hot water introduction line 38. The raw water of the geothermal hot water is introduced from the hot water introduction line 38 via the ejector 14 into the inflow pipe 13 of the suspended solids recovery device A1.

At this time, the injection pump 34 of the medicine injection means 31 is operated, and the medicine in the auxiliary tank 32 is introduced from the ejector 14 into the inflow pipe 13 via the line mixer 33, and is vertically inserted together with the raw water of geothermal hot water. Inject into the closed cylindrical container 1. The raw water of geothermal hot water introduced from the inflow pipe 13 is
It is supplied into the suspended solids recovery device A1 to perform air-water separation and separation of suspended solids.

The geothermal hot water filtered by the suspended solids recovery apparatus A1 is supplied as primary hot water to the inflow pipe 13 of the suspended solids recovery apparatus A2 via the discharge connecting pipe 19. The primary hot water is again subjected to steam-water separation and separation of the suspended solids in the suspended solid collection device A2, and is discharged as secondary hot water into the discharge connection pipe 19.
Is supplied to the inflow pipe 13 of the suspended solids recovery device A3.

The secondary hot water is subjected to the final steam-water separation and the separation of the suspended matter in the suspended matter recovery device A3, and is supplied to the tank connection line 40 through the discharge connection pipe 19 as warm water. And is stored in the reservoir tank 41.
The hot water stored in the reservoir tank 41 is returned to the reduction well 43 through the connection line 42 for reduction, or supplied to the hot water utilization facility 45 through the hot water supply line 44.

[Power Generation Step] The high-pressure steam separated from the water in the suspended matter recovery device A 1 is supplied to the high-pressure turbine 49 through the high-pressure mist separator 47 and the high-pressure orifice 48 in the steam discharge pipe 46. Then, the high-pressure turbine 49 is rotated. on the other hand. The low-pressure steam separated from the water in the suspended substance recovery device A2 is supplied to the low-pressure turbine 52 through the low-pressure mist separator 50 and the low-pressure orifice 51 in the steam discharge pipe 46, and is supplied to the low-pressure turbine 52. To rotate. That is, the rotating high-pressure turbine 49 and low-pressure turbine 52 rotate the rotating shaft of the generator body 53 to generate power.

The high-pressure turbine 49 and the low-pressure turbine 52 are rotated, and the reduced pressure steam is sent to a condenser 55 through a turbine steam discharge line 54, and is cooled to be drained. Then, this drainage is supplied to the drainage delivery line 56.
And it is returned to the reduction well 43 via the connection line 42 for reduction. A part of the drainage generated in the condenser 55 is
The water is sent from the first cooling water line 58 to the cooling tower 57 by the circulation pump 59, and after being cooled, is injected from the upper part of the condenser 55 through the second cooling water line 60, and is used for steam cooling processing.

[Silica recovery step] Suspended substance recovery apparatus A
Precipitate H, which is a suspended material separated in 1, A2 and A3
Is sent to the sediment tank 62 via the first sediment discharge line 61 and the second sediment discharge line 63, and is temporarily retained in the sediment tank 62. The sediment H stirred and homogenized in the sediment tank 62 is sent to a spray dryer 69 via a spray line 70 and a line filter 68.

The on-off valve 79a of the steam connection line 79
To open the first sediment discharge line 61 from the heating steam line 75 of the suspended solids recovery device A1.
To the sediment tank 62 via At this time, the sediment tank 62 is pressurized by the inflowing pressurized steam, so that the sediment H that has accumulated flows into the spray line 70 from the suction port.

The sediment H sent to the spray dryer 69 is sprayed from the nozzle 71 into the spray dryer 69. The sprayed precipitate H is formed into a spherical dry fine powder of silica by the dry hot air from the hot air blowing line 72 and then sent to the storage tank 74 to be stored.

[Silica Circulation Step] On the other hand, a part of the precipitate H which is a suspended substance (silica or the like) separated in the suspended substance recovery apparatus A 1 passes through the silica circulation line 30 from the ejector 14 to the inflow pipe 13. Then, it is again charged into the vertical closed cylindrical container 1 together with the raw water of geothermal hot water, and is used as a nucleus for crystal precipitation.

As described above, in this geothermal power generation facility,
The high-pressure turbine 49 is connected to the vapor discharge line 46 of the suspended substance recovery device A1 and the suspended substance recovery device A2 which are set in series.
And the low-pressure turbine 52 are connected to the high-pressure steam 49 generated by the water-water separation in the suspended matter recovery device A1 and sent to the high-pressure turbine 49, and the water-water separation in the suspended matter recovery device A2. The low-pressure steam generated is sent to the low-pressure turbine 52.

The suspended solids in the geothermal hot water from the production well 37 are continuously collected in at least two stages by the suspended solid collection devices A1 and A2 arranged in series. That is, the suspended solids are efficiently removed from the geothermal hot water, and the steam in the suspended solids recovery devices A1 and A2 is sent to turbines having different working pressures in accordance with the pressure, thereby recovering the suspended solids. The steam from the devices A1 and A2 can be efficiently used for power generation without waste.

Further, since the hot water utilization equipment 45 for using the geothermal hot water discharged and filtered from the discharge connecting pipe 19 of the suspended substance recovery device A3 as hot water is provided, the filtered geothermal hot water is Since the suspended substances containing harmful substances such as arsenic are removed by the filtration functions of the substance recovery devices A1, A2, and A3, this geothermal hot water is used as hot water, for example,
Hot water use facilities 45 such as hot springs, heated pools and heating facilities
By supplying them to the, effective utilization can be achieved.

The present invention also includes the following embodiments.

(1) As geothermal power generation equipment, at least two or more suspended solids recovery devices are provided, and each hot water supply line of the two or more suspended solids recovery devices is connected to a geothermal hot water production well. Those connected in parallel may be adopted. Then, an operation switching mechanism (for example, an operation switching mechanism for arbitrarily selecting a hot water supply line for flowing geothermal hot water to the hot water supply line or the production well from the hot water supply lines of the two or more suspended solids recovery devices. By providing an on-off valve such as a three-way valve, the suspended solids recovery device to which geothermal hot water is supplied may be made switchable.

That is, in this geothermal power generation facility, the hot water supply pipes which are the flow paths of the geothermal hot water from the production well are respectively arranged in parallel, and the hot water supply pipe for flowing the geothermal hot water is connected to the hot water supply pipe. An operation switching mechanism is provided which is capable of switching the suspended solids recovery device to which geothermal hot water is supplied by arbitrarily selecting from the hot water supply pipes of the two or more suspended solids recovery devices. By appropriately selecting a suspended solids recovery apparatus to be operated, maintenance such as uniformization of the filtration flow rate with respect to fluctuations in the steam production amount and total replacement of the filtration material becomes easy.

(2) A large amount of geothermal hot water is periodically jetted from the hot water discharge pipe 23, so that the filter medium 10 is not only flow-stirred, but also the trapped suspended matter is discharged and backwashed. May be set as follows.

(3) The hot water jetting holes formed in the hot water discharge pipe 23 may not be arranged uniformly over the entire circumference in the circumferential direction, but may be arranged partially biased. In this case, the geothermal hot water is supplied partially biased, and the filter medium 10 in the portion to which the geothermal hot water is supplied is selectively pushed up by the geothermal hot water and flows. 10 can be convected.

(4) As a hot water rotating means for rotating raw water in one direction along the inner circumferential direction of the vertical closed cylindrical container 1, for example, geothermal hot water flowing into the vertical closed cylindrical container 1 is used. It is also possible to use means for rotating and flowing by the rotating blades provided in the above and generating a vortex to obtain a cyclone separation effect.

[0119]

According to the present invention, the following effects can be obtained. (1) In the apparatus for recovering suspended matter from geothermal hot water according to the first aspect and the method for recovering suspended matter from geothermal hot water according to the nineteenth aspect, the filtered geothermal hot water that has passed through the filtering material is collected. Since it is collected in a pipeline and discharged to the outside of the closed cylindrical container, with a minimum amount of filtering material, suspended substances such as silica in geothermal hot water are separated by filtration to obtain high-clarity filtered hot water, The filter medium can be uniformly and uniformly washed with a minimum operation power, whereby the suspended substances trapped and separated can be recovered, and the operation can be performed at low equipment and operation costs.

(2) In the apparatus for recovering suspended matter from geothermal hot water according to the second aspect and the method for recovering suspended matter from geothermal hot water according to the twentieth aspect, the apparatus is installed so as to have a vertical axis. The suspended solids are centrifuged by applying a force that rotates in one direction along the inner circumferential direction to the geothermal hot water that has flowed into the closed cylindrical container, and the suspended solids are separated in two stages by the cyclone separation effect and the filter material. It is possible to efficiently separate from the geothermal hot water, to greatly improve the recovery efficiency and the throughput, and to maintain the filter material capturing ability for a longer time.

(3) In the apparatus for recovering suspended solids from geothermal hot water according to the third aspect and the method for recovering suspended solids from geothermal hot water according to the twenty-first aspect, geothermal hot water is supplied from an inlet to a closed cylindrical container. Since it is ejected in the tangential direction of the inner peripheral wall, geothermal hot water can be easily rotated in one direction along the inner periphery of the closed cylindrical container, and a cyclone separation effect can be obtained by a relatively simple configuration. .

(4) The apparatus for recovering suspended solids from geothermal hot water according to claim 4 is provided with a sediment discharging means for discharging the suspended solids in the geothermal hot water settled at the lower portion of the closed cylindrical container to the outside. As a result, the precipitate can be discharged, and a sound filtration ability can be maintained.

(5) In the apparatus for recovering suspended solids from geothermal hot water according to the fifth aspect, the filter medium inside the fluid-flowable container is caused to flow, and the suspended substances trapped and separated by the filter medium are passed through the fluid-flowable vessel. Since the kinetic energy supply means for discharging to the outside of the vessel is provided, kinetic energy is given to the filter medium in the vessel to stir and flow, and the filter medium can be worn out and regenerated, and the trapped suspended matter can be discharged. it can.

(6) In the apparatus for recovering suspended solids from geothermal hot water according to claim 6, the kinetic energy supply means includes a vibrating mechanism for applying vibration to the elastically supported fluid circulating vessel to flow the filter medium. Since it is provided, the energy of the vibration by the vibrating mechanism can be given to the filtering material in the container to be stirred and flown.

(7) In the apparatus for recovering suspended matter from geothermal hot water according to claim 7, the kinetic energy supply means supplies geothermal hot water having a pressure higher than the internal pressure of the fluid flowable container from a lower portion of the fluid flowable container. Since the hot water supply means for flowing the filter medium by supplying the hot water is provided, the filter medium in the container can be agitated and flown by the pressure of the geothermal hot water from the hot water supply means.

(8) The apparatus for recovering suspended solids from geothermal hot water according to claim 8 is provided with a filter material supply means for supplying a filter material into the fluid-flowable container at a pressure higher than the internal pressure of the closed cylindrical container. Therefore, the filter material that has been worn down and reduced can be appropriately supplied, and good filtration characteristics can be maintained.

(9) The apparatus for recovering suspended solids from geothermal hot water according to the ninth aspect is provided with a filter material discharging means provided below the fluid circulating container and discharging the filter material below the closed cylindrical container. As a result, the worn-out filter material and the filter material capturing the suspended substance can be appropriately discharged to the outside, which facilitates replacement of the filter material and the like.

(10) In the apparatus for recovering suspended matter from geothermal hot water according to the tenth aspect and the method for recovering suspended matter from geothermal hot water according to the twenty-second aspect, the suspended substance settled in a closed cylindrical container is taken out. Since the nucleus for crystal precipitation of the suspended substance is supplied again into the closed cylindrical container from the inlet, the growth of the crystal nucleus of the suspended substance is further promoted and the number of crystal grains can be increased.

(11) In the apparatus for recovering suspended solids from geothermal hot water according to the eleventh aspect, there is provided a drug injecting means connected to the inflow port and supplying the drug into the closed cylindrical container. Thus, a chemical having a specific effect is supplied together with the geothermal hot water, and the properties of the geothermal hot water in the closed cylindrical container are changed, so that the recovery of suspended solids can be improved.

(12) In the apparatus for recovering suspended matter from geothermal hot water according to the twelfth aspect, as the chemical injection means, at least a crystal nucleus growth promoting material for promoting the growth of crystal grains of the suspended substance or a suspended substance is used. Since one of the coagulating sedimentation materials for promoting coagulation and precipitation of crystal grains is supplied into the closed cylindrical container, the growth of crystal grains and the coagulation and precipitation can be promoted.

(13) In the apparatus for recovering suspended solids from geothermal hot water according to the thirteenth aspect, since the crystal nucleus growth promoting material is set to have a specific surface area of 1 m ² / g or more and is silicon dioxide or a silicate compound. These serve as nuclei (seed) to further promote the crystal nucleus growth of silica as a suspended substance.

(14) In the apparatus for recovering suspended solids from geothermal hot water according to claim 14, the coagulated sedimentation material is a metal compound containing aluminum, magnesium, iron, calcium, copper or manganese, or a nitrogen-containing cation compound. Is a mixture of one or more of these, so these compounds are dissolved in geothermal hot water and suspended as silica by polyvalent cations and secondary generated substances. Are more likely to aggregate.

(15) In the geothermal power generation equipment according to claim 15, the steam-water separator is the apparatus for recovering suspended matter from geothermal hot water according to any one of claims 1 to 14, and the suspended matter is recovered. The device is connected to a steam discharge pipe that feeds steam separated from the geothermal hot water into the generator by a closed cylindrical container.The suspended solids are collected from the geothermal hot water by the suspended solids recovery device. It is possible to satisfactorily generate power using the steam that has been removed and steam-water separated, and it is also possible to prevent the adhesion of silica scale.

(16) In the geothermal power generation equipment according to claim 16, the steam discharge line of the first suspended solids recovery device arranged in series is connected to the high pressure turbine and the second suspended solids recovery device is connected to the high pressure turbine. Since the steam discharge line is connected to the low-pressure turbine, the suspended solids recovery device arranged in series provides
Step-by-step water-separation (double flash) is performed to improve the recovery rate of thermal energy and improve power generation capacity.
Warm water from which arsenic or the like has been removed can be provided.

(17) In the geothermal power generation equipment according to the seventeenth aspect, the suspended solids recovery device to which the geothermal hot water is supplied is arbitrarily selected from the hot water supply pipes of the two or more suspended solids recovery devices. Since a possible operation switching mechanism is provided, it is possible to select a suspended solids recovery device to be used for operation as appropriate, and to facilitate maintenance such as equalizing the filtration flow rate against fluctuations in steam production volume and replacing all filtration media. Can be.

(18) In the geothermal power generation equipment according to the eighteenth aspect, since hot water utilization equipment is used which uses geothermal hot water discharged and filtered from the hot water discharge means of the suspended solids recovery apparatus as hot water, the suspension is provided. By the filtration function of the material recovery device, geothermal hot water from which suspended substances containing harmful substances such as arsenic have been removed is supplied as hot water to, for example, a hot water utilization facility such as a heating facility. Geothermal hot water can be used effectively.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing an embodiment of an apparatus for recovering suspended solids from geothermal hot water according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a piping diagram showing an embodiment of a geothermal power generation facility using the apparatus for recovering suspended solids from geothermal hot water according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a spray dryer in one embodiment of the geothermal power generation equipment using the apparatus for recovering suspended solids from geothermal hot water according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Vertical closed cylindrical container 2 Filtration tank main body (fluid flowable container) 3a Inflow port (hot water rotating means) 3d Connecting elastic joint 7a Upper open end (supply port) 9 Inner cylinder supporting elastic body 10 Filter material 11 Water collecting pipe ( 13) Inflow pipe (hot water supply pipe) 15 Vibrator 16 Cylindrical elastic joint 18 Outer cylinder discharge valve 19 Discharge connection pipe (hot water discharge means) 22 Inner cylinder discharge valve (discharge port) 23 Hot water discharge pipe 24 Hot water pipe 30 Silica circulation line (precipitate circulation pipe) 31 Chemical injection means 36 Generator 37 Production well 45 Hot water utilization equipment 46 Steam discharge pipe 49 High pressure turbine 52 Low pressure turbine A, A1, A2, A3 Suspended substance recovery device H sediment

────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification code FI C02F 1/60 E21B 43/00 B E21B 43/00 F03G 4/00 551 F03G 4/00 551 B01D 29/08 510A 540A (56) References JP-A-11-207106 (JP, A) JP-A-8-276191 (JP, A) JP-A-7-51681 (JP, A) JP-A-7-24475 (JP, A) JP-A-6 JP-A-320169 (JP, A) JP-A-62-152084 (JP, A) JP-A-61-209094 (JP, A) JP-A-60-40787 (JP, A) JP-A-60-35182 (JP, A) JP-A-54-107151 (JP, A) JP-A-54-29155 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) B01D 21/01 B01D 24/00 C01B 33 / 12 C02F 1/28 C02F 1/38 C02F 1/60 E21B 43/00 F03G 4/00

Claims (22)

(57) [Claims] 1. A closed cylindrical container having an inflow port connected to a hot water supply pipe for supplying geothermal hot water is provided, and a substantially cylindrical fluid circulating container is provided in the closed cylindrical container. A fluid-collecting conduit for fluid flow in the fluid-flow container is disposed substantially concentrically with the fluid-flow container; In the space outside the conduit, a filtering material that captures and separates suspended solids in geothermal hot water that is separated by steam after flowing in from the inflow port and flows in from the outer wall of the fluid-flowable container is movably accommodated. The fluid collection pipe is provided with hot water discharge means for collecting the filtered geothermal hot water that has passed through the filter medium into the fluid collection pipe and discharging the collected hot water to the outside of the closed cylindrical container. A suspended solids recovery device from geothermal hot water. 2. The closed cylindrical container is installed with an axis in a vertical direction, and is a hot water that applies a force rotating in one direction along an inner circumferential direction to the geothermal hot water flowing into the closed cylindrical container. The apparatus for recovering suspended solids from geothermal hot water according to claim 1, wherein a rotating means is provided. 3. The hot water rotating means includes hot water inflow means for jetting the geothermal hot water from the inflow port in a tangential direction of an inner peripheral wall of the closed cylindrical container. Item 3. An apparatus for recovering suspended solids from geothermal hot water according to Item 2. 4. A sediment discharging means provided at a lower portion of the closed cylindrical container, which is centrifuged by rotation of the geothermal hot water and discharges suspended matter in the geothermal hot water settled at a lower portion of the closed cylindrical container to the outside. The apparatus for recovering suspended solids from geothermal hot water according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the apparatus is provided. 5. A kinetic energy supply means for flowing a filter medium inside the fluid-flowable container and discharging a suspended substance captured and separated by the filter medium to the outside of the fluid-flowable container. The apparatus for recovering suspended solids from geothermal hot water according to any one of claims 1 to 4. 6. The geothermal heat according to claim 5, wherein said kinetic energy supply means includes a vibration mechanism for applying a vibration to said elastically supported fluid circulating container to flow said filter medium. A device for recovering suspended solids from water. 7. The hot water supply means for supplying the geothermal hot water having a pressure higher than the internal pressure of the fluid flowable container from a lower part of the fluid flowable container to flow the filter medium from the lower part of the fluid flowable container. The apparatus for recovering suspended solids from geothermal hot water according to claim 5, wherein the apparatus is provided. 8. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a filter material supply means for supplying the filter material into the fluid circulating container at a pressure higher than the internal pressure of the closed cylindrical container. An apparatus for recovering suspended solids from geothermal hot water as described in the above. 9. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: a filter material discharging means provided at a lower portion of the fluid circulating container and discharging a filter material at a lower portion of the closed cylindrical container. An apparatus for recovering suspended solids from geothermal hot water as described in the above. 10. One end is connected to a lower portion of the closed cylindrical container, and the other end is connected to the inlet, and a part of the precipitated suspended substance is again supplied from the inlet to the closed cylindrical container and suspended. The apparatus for recovering suspended solids from geothermal hot water according to any one of claims 1 to 9, further comprising a sediment circulation pipe serving as a nucleus for crystal deposition of the substance. 11. The suspension from geothermal hot water according to claim 1, further comprising a medicine injection means connected to the inflow port and supplying a medicine into the closed cylindrical container. Suspended matter recovery device. 12. The drug injection means may be any one of a crystal nucleus growth promoting material in which the drug promotes at least the growth of crystal grains of the suspended substance and an agglomerated sedimentation material that promotes coagulation and precipitation of suspended substance crystal grains. The apparatus for recovering suspended solids from geothermal hot water according to claim 11, wherein the apparatus is one of them. 13. The suspended substance from geothermal hot water according to claim 12, wherein the crystal nucleus growth promoting material has a specific surface area of 1 m ² / g or more and is silicon dioxide or a silicate compound. Collection device. 14. The coagulation sedimentation material is a metal compound containing aluminum, magnesium, iron, calcium, copper or manganese, or a mixture of one or more of nitrogen-containing cation compounds. The apparatus for recovering suspended solids from geothermal hot water according to claim 12. 15. A geothermal power generation system for generating steam by separating steam separated from geothermal hot water by a steam separator to a generator, wherein the steam separator separates the steam separator from the steam generator. A suspended solids recovery device from geothermal hot water according to the above, wherein the suspended solids recovery device sends steam separated from the geothermal hot water by steam into the generator inside the closed cylindrical container. Geothermal power generation equipment characterized by connecting pipelines. 16. The power generator is provided with a high-pressure turbine rotating with high-pressure steam and a low-pressure turbine rotating with low-pressure steam, and at least two or more of the suspended solids recovery devices are provided. A first suspended solids recovery device among the two suspended solids recovery devices, wherein the hot water supply pipe is connected to the geothermal hot water production well; The suspended solids recovery device is configured such that hot water discharge means of the first suspended solids recovery device is connected to the hot water supply pipe and is in series with the first suspended solids recovery device. The steam discharge line of the first suspended solids recovery device is connected to the high pressure turbine, and the steam discharge line of the second suspended solids recovery device is connected to the low pressure turbine. The geothermal power generation equipment according to claim 15, wherein 17. At least two or more of the suspended solids recovery devices are provided, and the hot water supply pipes of the two or more suspended solids recovery devices are arranged in parallel in the geothermal hot water production well. The hot water supply pipe or the production well is arbitrarily selected from among the hot water supply pipes of the two or more suspended solids recovery devices for the hot water supply pipe through which the geothermal hot water flows. The geothermal power generation equipment according to claim 15, further comprising an operation switching mechanism capable of switching the suspended solids recovery device to which the geothermal hot water is supplied. 18. A facility for utilizing hot water, wherein geothermal hot water discharged and filtered from hot water discharging means of the suspended solids recovery apparatus is used as hot water.
The geothermal power plant according to any one of 5 to 17. 19. A substantially cylindrical fluid circulating container disposed substantially concentrically in a closed cylindrical container having an inlet for high-temperature geothermal hot water, and substantially concentrically disposed in the fluid circulating container. In the space with the fluid-flow collecting fluid conduit, a filtering material that captures and separates suspended solids in geothermal hot water that is separated by steam after flowing in from the inlet and flows in from the outer wall of the fluid-flowing container. A suspended substance from geothermal hot water, which is housed in a flowable manner, and which collects geothermal hot water filtered through the filtering material in the fluid collection pipe and discharges the water to the outside of the closed cylindrical container. Collection method. 20. Centrifugal separation of suspended solids by applying a force rotating in one direction along an inner circumferential direction to geothermal hot water flowing into the closed cylindrical container installed with an axis in a vertical direction. The method for recovering suspended solids from geothermal hot water according to claim 19, characterized in that: 21. The method for recovering suspended solids from geothermal water according to claim 20, wherein the geothermal water is jetted from the inflow port in a tangential direction of an inner peripheral wall of the closed cylindrical container. 22. The method according to claim 19, wherein the suspended substance settled in the closed cylindrical container is taken out and supplied again from the inflow port into the closed cylindrical container to be a nucleus for crystal precipitation of the suspended substance. 22. The method for recovering suspended solids from geothermal hot water according to any of 21.