JP4069211B2 - Micro bubble production equipment - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
[Field of Invention]
The present invention relates to a microbubble manufacturing apparatus. More particularly, the present invention relates to an apparatus for generating microbubbles in water.
[0002]
[Prior art]
When a fish is kept in an aquarium, oxygen in the water is consumed and the amount of dissolved oxygen decreases. Therefore, in order to replenish the consumed oxygen, air is blown into the water as a bubble by a motor. In addition, air is also blown in the same manner in ginger at fresh fish restaurants and fish restaurants.
[0003]
In addition, the necessity and the effect of oxygen supply to the water have been confirmed in the cultivation of eels, turtles, and other river fish in ponds and pools, or in the oysters, pearls, and various sea fish in the bay seawater. .
[0004]
In addition to the above-described animals, the effects of using water with a large amount of dissolved oxygen have also been confirmed in hydroponics and Igusa cultivation.
[0005]
In such a method of blowing oxygen into water and supplying oxygen to water, the air may be blown as it is, but the bubbles of the blown air are fine, for example, bubbles having a diameter of about 1 mm or less (hereinafter referred to as “microbubbles”). When it is blown in, it floats in water unlike large-sized bubbles, and as a result, it has been confirmed that the dissolved rate of oxygen in water increases with the same amount of air blown.
[0006]
[Problems of the prior art]
As a microbubble generator proposed to date, Professor Hirofumi Taisei of Tokuyama National College of Technology, for example, proposed a method of self-priming air by using the centrifugal force due to the swirling flow to make the swirling center negative. Yes. Although this method is a preferable device in terms of manufacturing microbubbles, there are drawbacks in that a large amount of energy is used for generating swirling flow, the structure of the portion that generates swirling flow is complicated, and the manufacturing cost of the device increases.
[0007]
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-58142 has an introduction portion for pressurized liquid and gas and a cylindrical bubble generation space, and a pressure liquid introduction hole and a gas introduction hole that open to the bubble generation space are provided in the introduction portion. Forming the pressurized liquid introduction hole on the end surface of the introduction part, opening the gas introduction hole on the side surface of the introduction part, and adjusting the gas introduction amount to the gas introduction pipe communicating with the gas introduction hole A microbubble discharge nozzle provided with a regulating valve has been proposed.
[0008]
The microbubble manufacturing method proposed here has a drawback that it is difficult to process because it is a method of providing a reduced diameter portion at a lower position of the bubble generating space shape cylinder.
[0009]
In the microvalve manufacturing apparatus proposed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-236762, a funnel wall having a discharge port on the throttle side of a conical container having a substantially funnel shape and an air absorption port in the center on the opposite side is formed. It has the structure which becomes.
[0010]
There is a problem that the microbubbles manufactured by the apparatus of this structure can be supplied only near the water surface from the structure.
[0011]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
An object of the present invention is to provide a microbubble generator with reduced energy required for generating bubbles. Another object of the present invention is to provide a microbubble generator that can be easily manufactured at low cost. Still another object of the present invention is to provide a microbubble generator in which the bubble particle size can be easily adjusted.
[0012]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
That is, the present invention
A pipe (1) for supplying pressurized water and discharging it together with self-priming air, a spherical body (2) located at an intermediate part of the pipe and consisting of either a sphere inserted into the pipe or an elliptic sphere ), A small hole (3) drilled on the circumference of the pipe downstream from the center of the inserted spherical body, and an air chamber (5) communicating with the atmosphere provided outside the small hole It is a microbubble manufacturing apparatus.
[0013]
The pressurization is preferably performed by a pump or water pressure of the water.
[0014]
The air chamber is preferably in communication with the atmosphere by a small pipe.
[0015]
The small pipe is preferably provided with an adjusting valve capable of adjusting the amount of gas introduced.
[0016]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The present invention will be described in detail. FIG. 1 shows an example of a microbubble production apparatus according to the present invention. 1 will be used for explanation. Fig. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing the main part of one example of the microbubble generator of the present invention.
[0017]
Fig. In FIG. 1, 1 is a circular pipe, 2 is a spherical body, 3 is a small hole penetrating the pipe, 5 is an air chamber, 6 is an air supply port, and 13 is a generated microbubble.
[0018]
The pipe 1 can be formed by melting a plastic such as polyethylene, polypropylene, polyvinyl chloride, or polyamide and extruding it into a pipe shape and cutting it into an appropriate size, or by injection molding. A metal tube such as stainless steel can also be used.
[00192]
Inside the pipe 1 is a diagram. 1, tap water or water pressurized by a pump is supplied from the right side. Water flows in the pipe 1 from right to left. The water pressure is preferably in the range of 40 kPa to 200 kPa because microbubbles can be generated without damaging the apparatus. The left side of the pipe leads to a water / microbubble discharge nozzle (not shown). The cross section of the pipe is preferably circular.
[0020]
A spherical body 2 is inserted in an intermediate portion of the pipe 1. The spherical body 2 is provided to reduce the cross-sectional area of the water channel and accelerate and pressurize the water flow. The material of the spherical body is not specified, and may be plastic such as polyethylene, polypropylene, polyvinyl chloride, polyamide, ceramic, or metal.
[0021]
Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the spherical body 2 insertion portion of the pipe 1. Since the spherical body accelerates and depressurizes the water flow uniformly, the cross-sectional shape is preferably similar to the cross-sectional shape of the pipe. If the pipe cross section is circular, the spherical body preferably has a circular cross section.
[0022]
The shape of the upstream portion of the spherical body 2 needs to be a shape that does not disturb the water flow. Moreover, the downstream part of a spherical body needs to be a shape where the accelerated water flow decelerates smoothly without causing disturbance. Specifically, the shape satisfying such conditions may be either a sphere or an elliptical sphere (rugby ball shape).
[0023]
The spherical body 2 is fixed to the pipe 1 by the support 6. For fixing, any known method such as adhesion using an adhesive or screwing if a screw is used can be adopted.
[0024]
A small hole 3 penetrating the outer wall of the pipe is formed in a portion downstream from the center of the spherical object 2 inserted into the pipe 1. The position where the small hole 3 is formed is a portion where the spherical object 2 is inserted, and it is necessary to be provided at a position where the water flow accelerated by the spherical body downstream from the center is decelerated. At this position, the pressure is low to satisfy the law of conservation of energy (Bernoulli's equation). And the pressure will become below atmospheric pressure (negative pressure), if the flow volume of a water flow becomes large.
[0025]
The small hole 3 communicates with the atmosphere, and air is self-primed from the small hole 3 and introduced into the pipe from the above principle. Since the water flow between the spherical body and the pipe is a high-speed high shear flow, the sucked air is finely cut and dispersed as microbubbles in the water.
[0026]
The diameter of the hole is preferably in the range of 0.1 mm to 1 mm, particularly 0.2 mm to 0.8 mm for microvalve formation.
[0027]
An air chamber 4 communicating with the atmosphere is provided outside the small hole 3. The air chamber 4 functions to make air self-priming from the small hole 3 into the pipe 1 smooth. Although the material of the wall which comprises the air chamber 4 is not specifically limited, Since it is the same quality as a pipe, since processes, such as adhesion | attachment and welding, are easy, it is preferable.
[0028]
The air chamber 4 is preferably formed by a method in which a plastic is melted, a hollow bowl is formed by injection molding, and the pipe is bonded or welded.
[0029]
A self-priming air supply port 5 is opened in the air chamber 4. The self-priming air supply port 5 may be provided with an intake nozzle having a pressure loss so that the air chamber is likely to be in a decompressed state.
[0030]
Fig. 3 is a view showing a mode of use of the microbubble generator of the present invention. In the figure, 7 is a microbubble generator, which is installed in water. Pressurized water is supplied to the generator from a pump and water supply via a line 8. An adjusting valve 9 for adjusting the flow rate of water may be provided in the middle of the line 8.
[0031]
The air chamber of the microbubble generator 7 is connected to the atmosphere via a line 10. An adjustment valve 11 for adjusting the flow rate of air may be provided in the middle portion of the line 10. It is more preferable to throttle the air flow with the control valve 11 to increase the pressure loss because the degree of decompression in the air chamber is increased and finer microbubbles are formed.
[0032]
【Example】
EXAMPLES Next, although an Example is given and this invention is demonstrated in more detail, this invention is not limited to these Examples at all unless the summary is exceeded.
[0033]
[Example 1]
<< Manufacturing of apparatus >> All figures are shown using medium density polyethylene (density 0.940 g / cm ³ ). A device of shape 1 was produced. The dimensions of the apparatus were as follows. Pipe inner diameter: 11 mm Pipe thickness: 2.5 mm Spherical shape: Sphere diameter: 9.5 mm Small hole diameter: 0.5 mm Small hole position: Number of small holes 4 mm downstream from the central cross section of the sphere : 6 air chamber annular gap: 3mm inner diameter of self-priming air supply nozzle to air chamber: 2mm
[0034]
<< Microbubble Generation Experiment >> The test was performed under the following conditions. Valve opening at the air inlet: Pressurization method of about 1/2 water: A pressure of 47 kPa was generated in the water inside the pipe by forcibly feeding water with a pump. Water volume: 20 l / min Bubble generating container: 150 l water tank generator position: 20 cm depth from the water surface
<< Test Results >> The following results were obtained. Motor load: 400 W Microbubbles generated: 0.20 l / min Average diameter of microbubbles: 0.12 mm (mode is 0.02 to 0.03 mm) The amount of dissolved oxygen in water since the start of the system Figure changes over time. Fig. 4 shows the change in dissolved oxygen amount with respect to the cumulative air ejection amount. Shown in 5. Both figures also show the results of [Example 2]. The bubble diameter is smaller in [Example 1], but the inhaled air flow rate is about 1/5 of [Example 2], so the dissolved oxygen amount after a certain time is less than in [Example 2]. Somewhat small. However, when compared with the cumulative air ejection volume, it is a figure. As can be seen from FIG. 5, the amount of dissolved oxygen is larger in [Example 1].
[0036]
[Example 2]
The same operation as in Example 1 was performed except that the opening of the air intake valve was set to “fully open”.
<< Test Results >> The following results were obtained. Motor load: 400 W Microbubbles generated: 0.95 l / min Average diameter of microbubbles: 0.49 mm (mode is 0.05 to 0.15 mm)
[0037]
【The invention's effect】
The microbubble generator of the present invention can generate microbubbles with lower energy than a conventionally known microbubble generator. Further, the microbubble generator of the present invention is easy to manufacture because of its simple structure. In addition, the diameter of the microbubbles can be easily adjusted by using the air amount adjusting valve.
[0038]
The microbubble generator of the present invention is a fish tank for breeding goldfish, tropical fish, etc., and is used for fish farming of fish such as eels, turtles, and fish in ponds and swimming pools, or oysters in bay seawater. It can be used effectively for the purpose of supplying oxygen to the water and purifying water in the cultivation of pearls and various sea fish.
[0039]
In addition to the above-described animals, the microbubble generator of the present invention can be used effectively for the purpose of increasing yield and improving quality in the cultivation of agricultural products such as hydroponics and cultivation of grass.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view showing an embodiment of an apparatus of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing one embodiment of the inner surface of a pipe in the apparatus of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing how the apparatus of the present invention is used.
FIG. 4 is a graph showing the results of measuring changes in dissolved oxygen concentration in water when microbubbles are generated using the apparatus of the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a graph showing the results of measuring changes in dissolved oxygen concentration in water when microbubbles are generated using the apparatus of the present invention.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Circular pipe 2 Spherical body 3 Small hole which penetrated pipe 5 Air chamber 6 Air supply port 13 The generated micro bubble

Claims (4)

A pipe (1) for supplying pressurized water and discharging it together with self-priming air, a spherical body (2) located at an intermediate part of the pipe and consisting of either a sphere inserted into the pipe or an elliptic sphere ), A small hole (3) drilled on the circumference of the pipe downstream from the center of the inserted spherical body, and an air chamber (5) communicating with the atmosphere provided outside the small hole Micro bubble manufacturing equipment. 2. The microbubble manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the pressurization is performed by a pump or water pressure of tap water. The microbubble manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the air chamber communicates with the atmosphere through a small pipe. The microbubble manufacturing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein an adjustment valve capable of adjusting a gas introduction amount is provided in the small pipe.

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