JP5223731B2 - Water heater - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a water heater provided with a water treatment device that adsorbs and desorbs ions dissolved in water.

  Conventionally, this type of water heater has a configuration as shown in FIG. 2 (see, for example, Patent Document 1). Hereinafter, the configuration will be described.

A pair of electrodes 23 and 24 for performing electrodialysis, a cation exchange membrane 25, and an anion exchange membrane 26 are provided, and a voltage is applied so that the electrode 23 serves as a cathode and the electrode 24 serves as an anode. It is not adsorbed by the anion exchange resin 27 that exchanges Cl ⁻ , NO ₃ ⁻ ions with OH ⁻ ions, the cation exchange resin 28 that exchanges Mg ²⁺ and Ca ²⁺ ions with H ⁺ ions, and the cation exchange resin 28. In addition, a discharge port 29 through which water enriched with Mg ²⁺ and Ca ²⁺ can be discharged, and a diaphragm 30 through which ions dividing the inside of the cell can pass are arranged.

  The operation of the above configuration will be described. When water softening is performed, ion exchange by the ion exchange resins 27 and 28 and electrodialysis by electrodialysis means are performed simultaneously. The bathtub water w is sucked by the circulation pump 32 from the water inlet 31 and is divided into the flow paths 33, 34, and 35.

First, softening by ion exchange will be described. The bathtub water w divided into the flow path 34 is divided into dilution chambers 36 and 37 partitioned by the diaphragm 30 in the cell. The dilution chamber 37 is filled with a cation exchange resin 28, and Ca ²⁺ and Mg ²⁺ which are hardness components in the bath water w are ion-exchanged to H ⁺ by the cation exchange resin 28.

The dilution chamber 36 is filled with an anion exchange resin 27, and Cl ⁻ and NO ₃ ⁻ ions, which are anions in the bath water w, are ion-exchanged to OH ⁻ and pass through a net 38 that does not allow the resin to flow out. The bathtub water w that merges through the switching valve 39 and the switching valve 40 and is ion-exchanged is returned to the bathtub 41 from the discharge port 42.

Next, softening by electrodialysis will be described. Ca ²⁺ and Mg ^2+, which are hardness components in the bath water w, move to the concentrating chamber 43 by the electrodialysis force through the cation exchange membrane 25, and are discharged from the discharge port 29 through the switching valve 44. Further, anions such as Cl ⁻ , HClO ₃ ⁻ , SO ₄ ^2−, etc. in the bath water w move to the concentration chamber 45 through the anion exchange membrane 26 and pass through the switching valve 46. It is discharged from the discharge port 29.

A regeneration mode using electrodialysis will be described. In the regeneration mode, after the water softening is performed in the normal operation mode, the switching valves 44 and 46 are switched to form a regeneration water channel, and the regeneration water containing H ⁺ generated at the electrode 24 (anode) passes through the switching valve 46. By flowing in the reverse direction in the dilution chamber 37, the hardness components Ca ²⁺ and Mg ²⁺ substituting the exchange groups of the cation exchange resin 28 are replaced with H ⁺ to separate and remove them.

The OH ⁻ generated at the electrode 23 (cathode) flows through the switching valve 44 in the reverse direction toward the dilution chamber 36 and is supplied to the anion exchange resin 27. The ions such as Cl ⁻ , HCO ₃ ⁻ , SO ₄ ^{2−, and the} like substituted with OH ⁻ undergo ion exchange. At this time, the switching valves 39 and 40 are closed.

The anode regenerated water and cathode regenerated water ion-exchanged in this way are discharged from the discharge port 29 through the switching valve 47.
JP 2001-340863 A

However, in the conventional configuration, when the ion exchange resin is regenerated, water is electrolyzed by applying a voltage between the electrodes to generate H ⁺ and OH ^−. Some hydrogen gas and oxygen gas are generated. The gas contained in the reclaimed water may accumulate when discharged from the discharge port, and the decomposition gas of water may accumulate, for example, the drain port is directly connected to the drain pipe (sewer).

  The present invention solves the above-mentioned conventional problems, and provides a hot water heater provided with a highly usable water treatment device that does not accumulate because the gas contained in the drainage flow path can be released into the atmosphere and sufficiently diluted and diffused. The purpose is to do.

In order to solve the conventional problem, the water heater is an ion exchanger that adsorbs ions dissolved in water, and the ion exchangers having different polarities are arranged on the front and back sides to dissociate the water into the ion exchanger. ion exchange membranes for desorbing adsorbed ions, wherein said at least two power poles for applying a voltage to the ion-exchange membrane, a water treatment apparatus having a drain passage for draining the water treated by the water treatment system, the air comprising a stirring means, a, characterized in that Rutotomoni provided opening port open to the atmosphere in the drainage channel, the air of the open opening neighborhood was configured to stir at the air stirring means, water discharge flow path Since the gas contained in is released to the atmosphere at the opening, there is no possibility of accumulation.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, since the gas contained in a drainage channel is open | released to air | atmosphere and it can fully dilute and diffuse, it can provide the hot water heater provided with the water treatment apparatus with high usability which does not accumulate.

A first aspect of the present invention is water heater, ion exchangers for adsorbing ions dissolved in water, placing the ion exchangers of different polarities on the front and rear dissociated water ions adsorbed on the ion exchanger ion-exchange membrane capable of leaving a water treatment apparatus having at least two power poles, and applies a voltage to the ion-exchange membrane, a drain passage for draining the water treated by the water treatment system, and the atmosphere stirring means, the provided, characterized in that Rutotomoni provided opening port open to the atmosphere in the drainage channel, the air of the open opening neighborhood was configured to stir at the air stirring means, gas contained in the drain passage Is released to the atmosphere and sufficiently diluted and diffused, there is no possibility of gas accumulation.

Moreover, since the gas contained in the drainage discharged from the opening can be rapidly stirred, the gas can be more reliably diluted and diffused.

A second invention is, in particular, in the first invention, the open mouth characterized in that disposed downstream of the air flow generated by the air stirring means, gas discharged from the open port machinery It can be diluted and diffused without touching the parts.

A third invention is, in particular, in the invention of the first or 2, comprising the outdoor unit having a blowing means, said air stirring means characterized in that the said blowing means, simplify the configuration of the water heater It is possible to provide a low-cost and space-saving product.

A fourth invention is, in particular, in the first to third any one of the, the outdoor unit has a water passage for discharging the generated water to the outside, the treated water in the water treatment system, after draining at the open mouth, characterized in that it has a structure for guiding the water flow path of the outdoor unit, it is possible to simplify the outdoor unit configured to provide a space-saving products at low cost be able to.

  Moreover, since the drainage of the outdoor unit is integrated, the installation work of the outdoor unit can be simplified, so that the installation time can be shortened.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the present invention is not limited to the present embodiment.

(Embodiment 1)
FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

  In FIG. 1, a hot water storage tank unit 1 has a hot water storage tank 2 for storing water and manufactured hot water inside, and is connected to a raw water line supplied from a water source such as tap water, industrial water, and groundwater by a raw water flow path 3. Yes.

  The raw water flow path 3 is branched into a tank flow path 4 that leads to a hot water storage tank and a water supply flow path 5. In the water treatment device 6, the water in the hot water storage tank 2 is pumped by the pump 8 through the treated water flow path 7. The outdoor unit 9 includes a compressor (not shown), a refrigerant-water heat exchanger 10 that heats water, a decompression unit (not shown), an air-refrigerant heat exchanger 11 that absorbs heat from the atmosphere, and an air-refrigerant. The heat exchanger 11 has a heat pump cycle composed of a blowing means (atmospheric stirring means) 12 for blowing air to absorb heat from the atmosphere.

  In addition, a drain water flow path 13 is provided in the lower part for draining the water that has been frozen and melted in the air-refrigerant heat exchanger 11 to the outside of the outdoor unit 9. The flow of the atmosphere when the atmosphere is stirred by the blowing means 12 is indicated by a broken line arrow A.

  The switching valve 14 branches the water treated by the water treatment device 6 into a thermal AC path 15 that leads to the refrigerant-water heat exchanger 10 and a drainage flow path 16 that discharges the water. The drainage channel 16 is led to the outdoor unit 9 and has an open port 17 on the downstream side of the air flow generated by the blowing means 12. Hot water generated by the refrigerant-water heat exchanger 10 is sent to the hot water storage tank 2 through the hot water storage passage 18. Hot water in the hot water storage tank 2 is sent through the hot water supply channel 19, mixed with the water in the water supply channel 5, and discharged.

  The configuration of the water treatment device 6 will be described in more detail. The water treatment device 6 includes opposing electrodes 20a and 20b, a cation exchanger 21 that adsorbs cations dissolved in water, and an anion exchanger 22 that adsorbs anions dissolved in water. It consists of an ion exchange membrane that is bonded to the front and back so that the polarities are different.

  A plurality of ion exchange membranes are laminated between the electrodes 20, ion exchange membranes are laminated on a flat surface between the flat opposing electrodes 20, and concentric circular shapes are formed between the concentric cylindrical opposing electrodes 20 having different radii. Alternatively, an ion exchange membrane may be laminated spirally. The ion exchanger has a polymer or copolymer polymer of styrene or divinylbenzene as a basic skeleton, and the cation exchanger 16 has a sulfo group or a carboxyl group such as acrylic acid or methacrylic acid introduced therein. Has introduced a quaternary ammonium group or a primary to tertiary amino group.

When the ion exchanger is formed into an ion exchange membrane, the formability of the membrane can be improved by kneading and dispersing the ion exchanger in a thermoplastic resin such as polyethylene or polypropylene. An ion exchange membrane in which ion exchangers are bonded to each other so that the polarities are different from each other is called a bipolar membrane. Dissipation of water is promoted at the interface of the ion exchanger by applying a voltage. The ions adsorbed on the ion exchanger can be efficiently ion-exchanged with H ⁺ and OH ⁻ generated by dissociating water.

  The operation and action of the water heater configured as described above will be described below.

Usually, the hot water storage tank 2 is filled with hot water and water, and the water pressure of the raw water line is applied. When the hot water is discharged from the water heater, the water in the water supply flow path 5 and the hot water in the hot water supply path 19 pushed out from the hot water storage tank 1 by flowing water through the tank flow path 4 into the hot water storage tank reach an arbitrary temperature. Mix and pour out.

  The operation of the water treatment device 6 differs between when the ions dissolved in the water are adsorbed by the ion exchanger and when the ions adsorbed on the ion exchanger are desorbed. First, the case where the water treatment apparatus 6 adsorbs ions in water with an ion exchanger will be described.

  When the water treatment device 6 adsorbs ions dissolved in water, the pump 8 is driven to suck the water in the hot water storage tank 2 through the treated water flow path 7 and pump it to the water treatment device 6. The water treated by the water treatment device 6 is switched to the heat exchange path 15 by the switching valve 14 and sent to the refrigerant-water heat exchanger 10. In the water treatment device 6, ions such as cations Ca, Mg, Na, Mn, and Fe dissolved in water are converted into hydrogen ions by the cation exchanger 21, and anions Cl, carbonic acid, SOx, NOx, etc. dissolved in water. These ions are ion-exchanged to hydroxide ions by the anion exchanger 22 to adsorb various ions dissolved in water to the ion exchanger.

  When the ion exchanger adsorbs ions, a voltage is applied so that the electrode 20a on the cation exchanger 21 side of the ion exchange membrane serves as an anode and the electrode 20b on the anion exchanger 22 side serves as a cathode. Since the ions in 6 move to the ion exchanger, the ion adsorption rate of the ion exchanger can be increased and the amount of ion exchange can be increased.

  By adsorbing ions dissolved in water by the water treatment device 6, when the heating means 10 raises the temperature, the heating means is blocked due to precipitation of hardness components of Ca and Mg, the heating efficiency is lowered, and anions It is possible to prevent the corrosion caused by the corrosion. Also, when water with a non-uniform pH is treated, it can be brought close to neutral water by exchanging the anion species with hydroxide ions when acidic and the cation species with hydrogen ions when basic. Therefore, the water treated by the water treatment device 6 can prevent corrosion due to pH.

  Note that when the water treatment device 6 adsorbs ions dissolved in water with an ion exchanger, the water is electrolyzed to generate hydrogen molecules and oxygen molecules. (Including 0 V), the ions dissolved in water can be adsorbed by the ion exchanger without electrolysis of water and generation of hydrogen gas and oxygen gas. Since treated water does not contain water decomposition gas, even if it is heated from the refrigerant-water heat exchanger 10 and the solubility of the gas is lowered, it does not generate water decomposition gas and accumulates in the hot water storage tank. Absent.

  Next, the operation and action when the water treatment device 6 desorbs ions adsorbed on the ion exchanger will be described.

  When the ion exchanger desorbs ions, the water guided to the water treatment device 6 by the treated water channel 7 is treated by the water treatment device 6 and then switched by the switching valve 14 and passes through the drain channel 16. Sent to the outdoor unit 9. In the water treatment device 6, a voltage is applied so that the electrode 20a on the cation exchanger 21 side of the ion exchange membrane serves as a cathode and the electrode 20b on the anion exchanger 22 side serves as an anode.

  Since the theoretical dissociation voltage of water at which water molecules dissociate into hydrogen ions and hydroxide ions is 0.828 V, the cation exchanger 21 and the anion of the ion exchange membrane are applied by applying a voltage higher than the water dissociation voltage. Water is dissociated at the interface of the exchanger 22, exchanged with ions adsorbed on the ion exchanger, and desorbed to regenerate the ion exchanger. The drainage channel 16 is opened to the atmosphere through an opening 17 on the downstream side of the atmospheric flow generated by the blowing means 12 and is discharged.

Theoretical decomposition voltage of water in order to regenerate the ion exchanger of the water treatment device 6 efficiently in a short time.
When a sufficient voltage of 226 or more is applied between the electrodes 20, an electrolysis gas of water is generated, but the waste water containing the decomposition gas of water is immediately stirred with the atmosphere when it is opened to the atmosphere through the opening 17; Fully diluted and diffused.

  Since the opening 17 is arranged on the downstream side of the air flow generated by the blower 12, the water decomposition gas discharged from the opening 17 is sent to mechanical parts such as a motor and a control board of the blower 12. Without being touched, it is quickly stirred with the atmosphere and fully diluted and diffused. The drainage discharged from the open port 17 is safely discharged through the drain water flow path of the outdoor unit 9 after the electrolyzed water contained therein is sufficiently diluted and diffused.

  In some cases, the hot water storage unit 1 is provided with a drain flow path for discharging the expanded water of the hot water storage tank 2, but the drainage flow path 16 containing the water electrolysis gas of the water treatment device 6 is connected to the hot water storage unit 1. It is not preferable to connect to the drain water channel 13 of the machine 9.

  When the drain flow path of the hot water storage unit 1 and the drain water flow path 13 of the outdoor unit 9 are directly connected to a drain pipe (sewer) when installing a water heater, water decomposition gas can accumulate in the drain pipe. There is sex. In addition, when the drainage channel 16 containing the water electrolysis gas of the water treatment device 7 is connected to the drain channel of the hot water storage unit 1, the water heater is installed in a condominium or the like even if the drainage channel is opened to the atmosphere. As described above, since the hot water storage unit 2 may be installed in a narrow space such as a meter box or a storage compartment, there is a possibility that the electrolytic gas of water contained in the water of the drainage flow path 16 of the water treatment device 7 is not sufficiently diffused and diluted. There is.

  Since the outdoor unit 9 is always installed in a place where it is exposed to the outside air in order to collect the heat of the atmosphere, the environment where the air is stirred by the air blowing means 12 of the outdoor unit 9 contains the electrolytic gas of water of the water treatment device 7. By guiding the drainage flow path 16, diffusion dilution can be surely performed.

  In the present embodiment, the configuration has been described based on the form of a heat pump type hot water heater, but the main configuration is also a hot water heater such as a fuel cell having an air blowing unit installed in an open atmosphere. The same effect can be obtained without change.

  In addition, you may install a coarse filtration means in any of the raw | natural water flow path 3, the tank flow path 4, and the treated water flow path 7 so that the water treatment apparatus 6 may not be obstruct | occluded with the insoluble matter of a raw | natural water line. The water treatment device 6 desirably adsorbs ions dissolved in water with an ion exchanger, so that the ion exchange membranes are desirably stacked in close proximity, but there is little space between the ion exchange membranes. Insoluble materials may accumulate. As for the removal performance of the coarse filtration means, it is desirable to set the fineness of the eyes so that insoluble matters can be removed in the same manner or finer than the interval of the ion exchange membrane.

  The coarse filtration means is formed by microfiltration (MF) such as a thread wound filter, a pleated filter, and a hollow fiber filter, and removes insoluble substances such as sand and iron rust contained in the raw water by filtration. The location is most preferably installed in the raw water flow path 3 which can process all of the water led to the hot water storage tank 2 of the water heater and the hot water discharged from the water heater.

  Insoluble matter is not mixed or clogged in the flow path and hot water outlet from which the hot water is discharged from the water heater, and the hot water storage tank 2 can be kept clean. If the raw water contains a lot of insoluble matter, the rough filtration means will be clogged in a short time, and maintenance such as cleaning and replacement will occur frequently. May be. By treating only the water guided to the water treatment device 6 in the treated water flow path 7, the maintenance frequency of the water heater as a whole can be reduced.

In addition, in order to switch the heat exchange path 15 and the drainage flow path 16, the switching valve 1 which can be switched in three directions
4 (3-way valve) is used, however, the switching of the flow path is not limited to the three-way valve, and the flow path can be switched even if a plurality of electromagnetic valves for opening and closing the flow path are combined. It doesn't matter if you can.

  As described above, the water heater equipped with the water treatment apparatus according to the present invention can adsorb and remove dissolved ions of raw water, and can rapidly diffuse and dilute when water decomposition gas is generated. Without being restricted to household use and industrial use, the present invention can be applied to a hot water supply apparatus that treats harsh raw water to devices such as high hardness areas and well water.

Configuration diagram of a water heater in Embodiment 1 of the present invention Configuration of a conventional water heater

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Hot water storage unit 6 Water treatment apparatus 9 Outdoor unit 15 Thermal alternating current path 16 Drainage flow path 17 Opening port 20 Electrode 21 Cation exchanger 22 Anion exchanger

Claims (4)

Ion exchangers for adsorbing ions dissolved in water, the ion-exchange membrane capable of leaving the adsorbed ions in the ion exchanger to dissociate arranged differently the ion exchanger polar water on both sides, the ion-exchange a water treatment apparatus having at least two power poles, the applied voltage to the film,
A drainage channel for draining water treated by the water treatment device ;
Atmospheric stirring means ,
Water heater, characterized in that the drainage channel open port open to the atmosphere provided Rutotomoni, air of the open opening neighborhood was configured to stir at the air stirring means. Water heater according to claim 1, characterized in that arranged the opening port on the downstream side of the air flow generated by the air agitation means. The water heater according to claim 1 or 2 , further comprising an outdoor unit having a blowing unit, wherein the air stirring unit is the blowing unit. The outdoor unit has a water passage for discharging the generated water to the outside, to the treated water in the water treatment device, after draining in the open mouth, and a structure for guiding the water flow path of the outdoor unit The water heater according to any one of claims 1 to 3 .