JP6624481B2 - Ballast water treatment equipment - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a ballast water treatment apparatus that kills microorganisms present in seawater taken as ballast water from a sea area at a port of call by a ship.

  The ship sinks to the draft when the load is loaded and stabilizes. Propeller screws are also designed to sink in water. Therefore, in the state where no load is mounted, the buoyancy causes the boat to float too much, and the stability of the ship and the depth of submersion of the propeller screw cannot be secured. Therefore, a cargo ship or the like that unloads the seawater at the port of call and accumulates the seawater in the hull to bring the waterline closer to the state where the cargo is mounted. The seawater withdrawn at this time is called ballast water.

  The ballast water is carried as the ship's "weight" to the next port of call and released as the cargo is loaded. In other words, the marine life at the previous port is brought to the next port. Thus, moving an organism from one place to another is likely to lead to destruction or pollution of the local ecosystem bred by nature. Therefore, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) has adopted the Ballast Water Management Convention (International Convention for the Control and Management of Ballast Water and Sediment) that sets the standard for the amount of living organisms contained in the discharged ballast water.

According to this standard, the number of organisms (mainly zooplankton) of 50 μm or more contained in ballast water discharged from ships is less than 10 in 1 m ³ , The number of colonies of toxin-producing cholera is less than 1 cfu in 100 mL, the number of colonies of Escherichia coli is less than 250 cfu in 100 mL, and the number of enterococci is less than 100 cfu in 100 mL. “Cfu (colony forming unit)” is a colony forming unit.

  To meet these criteria, microorganisms in seawater taken as ballast water must be killed. Methods of killing microorganisms in seawater include physically and mechanically killing aquatic organisms, heat, killing aquatic organisms, injecting chemicals into ballast tanks, or generating chlorine-based substances. And killing aquatic organisms.

  Among the methods of killing aquatic organisms, the method of applying a voltage between the electrodes and generating hypochlorite with the electrodes has the advantage that there is no need to supply a germicide and the device itself can be miniaturized. . Patent Literature 1 discloses a structure in which seawater flowing in from one end is desalinated by a cylindrical electrode and discharged from the other end.

  In Patent Document 1, one electrode (cathode side) has a through hole, and the other electrode is formed of a cylindrical outer surface without a hole. The other electrode (anode side) facing the hole is provided with a point of occurrence of sodium hypochlorite.

  In other words, by electrolysis of the ballast water (seawater) taken in, sodium hypochlorite is generated and the microorganisms are killed.

  By the way, when ballast water is electrolyzed, a large amount of hydrogen is generated from the cathode side (cathode). Caution must be exercised in the treatment of hydrogen, as it is well known, as it easily ignites and explodes.

  Since the ballast water treatment device is arranged inside the ship, it is installed in a narrow place. Therefore, the distance between adjacent devices is very short. In particular, a rectifier is provided in a voltage source for applying a voltage to the electrodes in the electrolytic cell, and there is a sufficient risk of sparks. Then, if there is a flammable gas around it, an explosion easily occurs.

  An explosion accident in the hull of a ship while traveling is very likely to cause serious damage. Therefore, in the ballast water treatment device, a method for safely treating hydrogen gas is required.

  As the treatment of hydrogen, there is one disclosed in Patent Document 2. In Patent Literature 2, as a technology that enables safe and economical dilution of hydrogen gas generated during electrolysis, nitrogen, carbon dioxide, and a rare gas that are inert to hydrogen and do not contain oxygen are selected. The gas to be treated is mixed with the gas containing at least one as a main component to dilute the hydrogen concentration in the gas to be treated to a predetermined value or less (for example, below the explosion limit), and then to the diluted gas. A technique for further diluting a gas to be treated by mixing it with air is disclosed.

  The configuration of Patent Document 2 will be described with reference to FIG. A DC power supply 102 is connected to the electrolytic cell 101, and a current value from the DC power supply 102 is measured by an ammeter 103. An exhaust pipe 104 for discharging gas generated by the electrolysis is connected to the electrolytic cell 101, and a mixer 105 is interposed in the exhaust pipe 104, and a nitrogen supply pipe 106 is connected to the mixer 105. It is connected.

  A flow controller 107 is provided in the nitrogen supply pipe 106. The flow controller 107 can be controlled by a control unit 108. The control unit 108 controls the flow controller 107 based on the measurement result of the ammeter 103 to control the nitrogen in the nitrogen supply pipe 106. The flow rate can be adjusted.

  The exhaust pipe 104 is provided with a mixer 109 downstream of the mixer 105, and an air supply pipe 110 is connected to the mixer 109. The exhaust side of the mixer 109 is connected to an exhaust duct 111 for discharging the mixed gas.

  With such a configuration, it is possible to quickly reduce the amount of inert gas with respect to hydrogen such as nitrogen to a level lower than the explosion limit by using less gas, and then reduce the concentration to a lower concentration using inexpensive air. It is said that it can be safely diluted up to.

JP 2009-160557 A JP 2009-228044 A: Japanese Patent No. 5382288

  According to Patent Literature 2, it is not easy to dilute below the explosion limit by a single dilution, and therefore, two-stage dilution is performed by first diluting with nitrogen and then diluting with air.

  If this method is applied to the treatment of hydrogen generated in a ballast water treatment apparatus, an enormous amount of nitrogen is required. For example, a tanker has a payload of several thousand to several hundred thousand tons. This is because the ballast water treatment device needs to treat ballast water corresponding to the load capacity.

  Further, as described above, the ballast water treatment device is installed in a narrow place inside a ship. Therefore, the distance between adjacent devices is very short. In particular, a rectifier is provided in a voltage source for applying a voltage to the electrodes in the electrolytic cell, and there is a sufficient risk of sparks. Then, if there is a flammable gas around it, an explosion easily occurs.

  The present invention has been conceived in view of the above problems, and can safely dilute and exhaust hydrogen even in a ship in which an electrolytic cell and a voltage source are installed in a compact manner, and can reduce the surrounding flammability. An object of the present invention is to provide a ballast water treatment device capable of preventing explosion due to gas.

More specifically, the ballast water treatment device according to the present invention,
An electrolytic cell having a ballast water inlet, a ballast water outlet, and a hydrogen exhaust pipe, and having an electrode disposed therein;
A voltage source for applying a DC voltage to the electrode,
An internal pressure container containing the electrolytic cell and the voltage source,
A blower for sending air to the internal pressure container,
An exhaust pipe connected to the internal pressure vessel,
The internal pressure vessel is set to a positive pressure state,
The hydrogen exhaust pipe is communicated with the exhaust pipe above the internal pressure vessel,
In the exhaust pipe,
A hydrogen gas concentration meter is disposed downstream from a point where the hydrogen exhaust pipe is communicated,
The apparatus further includes a control unit that stops the operation of the voltage source based on an output of the hydrogen gas concentration meter.

  In the ballast water treatment apparatus according to the present invention, a large amount of air is blown into the internal pressure vessel by a blower (internal pressure explosion-proof), and the generated exhaust gas is mixed and diluted with the exhaust gas flowing through the exhaust pipe from the internal pressure vessel. Hydrogen gas can be diluted.

  In addition, when diluting the hydrogen gas, an inert gas such as nitrogen is not used, so that the cost can be reduced. Further, since the air blown into the internal pressure vessel and the air for diluting the hydrogen gas are air generated by one blower, the configuration of the apparatus is not expensive.

It is a figure showing composition of a ballast water treatment device concerning the present invention. FIG. 2 is an enlarged view near an electrolytic cell and a voltage source in FIG. 1. It is a figure showing composition of other ballast water treatment equipment concerning the present invention. FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of the vicinity of an electrolytic cell and a voltage source in FIG. 3. It is a piping sectional view (conceptual diagram) of a dilution point. It is a figure showing other forms of a ballast water treatment device. It is a figure showing an example of a hydrogen treatment device.

  Hereinafter, a ballast water treatment apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The following description describes some embodiments of the ballast water treatment apparatus according to the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to the following description. That is, the following embodiments can be modified without departing from the gist of the present invention. In the following description, the upstream side and the downstream side indicate a supply source side and a discharge side in the flow of air or ballast water.

  FIG. 1 shows a configuration of a ballast water treatment apparatus 1 according to the present invention. The ballast water treatment apparatus 1 includes an electrolytic cell 10, an electrode 12, a voltage source 14, an internal pressure vessel 16, a blower 18, an exhaust pipe 20, and a hydrogen exhaust pipe 22. Further, a control unit 30 and a hydrogen gas concentration meter 24 may be further included. In addition, since the electrode 12 is actually arranged in the electrolytic cell 10, it cannot be seen from the outside. It is shown in a conceptual diagram to explain the configuration.

  The electrolytic cell 10 is provided with a ballast water inlet 10i and a ballast water outlet 10o, and a certain amount of ballast water is supplied and discharged by a ballast water pipe 50 connected to each of them.

  Here, the ballast water pipe 50 on the side where the ballast water flows into the electrolytic cell 10 is referred to as an inflow side ballast water pipe 50i, and the ballast water pipe 50 on the side where the ballast water flows out of the electrolytic cell 10 is referred to as an outflow side ballast water pipe. Let it be 50o. A valve 52o may be arranged in the outflow side ballast water pipe 50o.

  The valve 52o adjusts the outflow amount of ballast water, and adjusts the amount of ballast water stored in the electrolytic cell 10. FIG. 2 shows an enlarged cross-sectional view of the electrolytic cell 10. When ballast water is flowed into the electrolytic cell 10, the ballast water is stored at a depth at which at least an electrode 12 described later is submerged. In the electrolytic cell 10, two regions of a ballast water portion Ba and a space portion BR on the water surface Bf are formed.

  The upper surface 10u of the electrolytic cell 10 is preferably formed in a conical shape. This is because hydrogen generated by electrolysis of seawater (ballast water) is lighter than air and can be recovered without loss if the upper surface 10u of the electrolytic cell 10 is formed in a conical shape. Note that the conical shape refers to a shape in which the cross-sectional area gradually decreases toward the vertex provided above the bottom surface. The shape of the conical side surface is not particularly limited.

  A hydrogen exhaust pipe 22 is provided on the upper surface 10u of the electrolytic cell 10. This is for discharging the generated hydrogen gas. When the upper surface 10u of the electrolytic cell 10 is formed in a conical shape, the hydrogen exhaust pipe 22 is preferably disposed at the conical top portion 10t. This is because hydrogen gas accumulates in this portion.

  In the electrolytic cell 10, a pair or a plurality of electrodes 12 are arranged. The electrodes 12 are arranged so as not to contact each other. This is for applying a voltage to the ballast water stored in the electrolytic cell 10. Chlorine is generated from the anode 12a (anode) to generate hypochlorous acid in ballast water. On the other hand, hydrogen gas is generated at the cathode 12c (cathode).

  A voltage source 14 that supplies a voltage to the electrode 12 is arranged near the electrolytic cell 10. Voltage source 14 includes at least a rectifier (not shown). In a ship, an alternating current is generated by a generator, but the ballast water treatment apparatus 1 requires a direct current voltage. The voltage source 14 is connected to an AC wiring 14s that supplies AC electricity from a generator 54 (see FIG. 1). Although the description will be made here as the voltage source 14, seawater is electrolyzed in the electrolytic cell 10, and a current also flows. In that sense, it may be called a power source. In addition, supply may also be said to supply DC power.

  Referring to FIG. 1 again, an internal pressure vessel 16 is formed so as to surround the electrolytic cell 10 and the voltage source 14. In other words, the internal pressure container 16 houses the electrolytic cell 10 and the voltage source 14. The internal pressure container 16 has airtightness and structural strength against internal pressure. This is because the inside of the internal pressure vessel 16 is used at a positive pressure (pressure higher than the atmospheric pressure). The pressure resistance to the internal pressure is not particularly limited, but it is sufficient that the internal pressure can withstand a pressure of about 1 to 1.5 atm. This is because if the pressure resistance is too high, the weight of the internal pressure container 16 itself becomes heavy.

  In the internal pressure vessel 16, a passage portion of the ballast water pipe 50 connected to the ballast water inlet 10i and the ballast water outlet 10o of the electrolytic cell 10 (the inflow side and the outflow side are referred to as a passage portion 60i and a passage portion 60o, respectively). ), A passage portion 62 of the hydrogen exhaust pipe 22, and a passage portion 64 of the AC wiring 14s. Therefore, the ballast water pipe 50, the hydrogen exhaust pipe 22, and the AC wiring 14s communicate from the inside to the outside of the internal pressure vessel 16. These passages are shielded.

  Further, the internal pressure container 16 is provided with an air inlet 16ai and an air outlet 16ao. An air pipe 56 is connected to each of them. The air pipe 56 connected to the air inlet 16ai is referred to as an inflow air pipe 56i, and the air pipe 56 connected to the air outlet 16ao is referred to as an outflow air pipe 56o. That is, the inflow air pipe 56i and the outflow air pipe 56o are connected to the air inlet 16ai and the air outlet 16ao.

  The outlet of the blower 18 is connected to the inflow-side air pipe 56i. As a result, the air from the blower 18 is blown into the internal pressure vessel 16 through the inflow-side air pipe 56i. On the other hand, the outflow side air pipe 56o is referred to as an exhaust pipe 20.

  The exhaust pipe 20 is installed so as to pass from the upper portion to the upper portion of the internal pressure container 16 from the air outlet 16ao. And it is installed above the internal pressure vessel 16 in a piping state having a vertical component. This is an area where the air flowing through the exhaust pipe 20 flows upward in the direction of gravity. This part is called a vertical installation area 20v.

  That is, the exhaust pipe 20 has a vertical installation area 20v above the internal pressure vessel 16. The vertical installation area 20v is a portion where the exhaust pipe 20 is installed so that air flowing through the exhaust pipe 20 preferably flows vertically from the bottom in the direction of gravity. However, even if it is not vertical, a portion where air flowing in the exhaust pipe 20 flows upward from below in the direction of gravity may be referred to as a vertical installation region 20v.

  The hydrogen exhaust pipe 22 taken out from the internal pressure vessel 16 via the passage portion 62 is connected to the vertical installation area 20v. Since hydrogen is lighter than air, it easily rises in the vertical installation area 20v. Thereby, the hydrogen in the hydrogen exhaust pipe 22 is mixed and diluted with the air in the exhaust pipe 20. The connection point between the hydrogen exhaust pipe 22 and the exhaust pipe 20 is called a dilution point 26. Further, a hydrogen gas concentration meter 24 is provided downstream of the dilution point 26.

  On the other hand, a branch point 10ad of the air outlet may be provided inside the internal pressure vessel 16 at the air inlet 16ai. A bypass pipe 56ib that feeds air from the branch point 10ad to a space BR above the water surface Bf (see FIG. 2) in the electrolytic cell 10 is provided. By providing this bypass pipe 56ib, hydrogen gas can be diluted from the generation source.

  Further, the ballast water treatment device 1 may be provided with a control unit 30 for controlling the whole. The control unit 30 is connected to at least the hydrogen gas concentration meter 24, the blower 18, and the voltage source 14. Of course, an input / output device 32 for giving an instruction to the control unit 30 and displaying the current state by the control unit 30 may be connected.

  Control unit 30 receives signal Shc from hydrogen gas concentration meter 24. The control unit 30 outputs an instruction signal Cb to the blower 18 for controlling the operation state. The control unit 30 also outputs an instruction signal Cp for controlling the operation state to the voltage source 14. Further, a valve 52i may be provided in the inflow side ballast water pipe 50i, and the control unit 30 may output an instruction signal Cv for controlling the opening and closing of the valve 52i.

  FIG. 3 shows the configuration of the ballast water treatment device 2. FIG. 4 shows an enlarged view near the electrolytic cell 11. The same elements as those in FIGS. 1 and 2 are denoted by the same reference numerals. In the ballast water treatment apparatus 1 described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, the case where the upper surface 10 u of the electrolytic cell 10 is formed in a conical shape, and the hydrogen exhaust pipe 22 is extended therefrom is shown. Such a type operates favorably when the ballast water flowing through the ballast water pipe 50 has a low flow velocity.

  However, when the flow velocity of the ballast water increases, the space BR of the electrolytic cell 10 is filled with the ballast water. When the flow velocity is further increased, ballast water may climb in the hydrogen exhaust pipe 22 and rise to the exhaust pipe 20. Therefore, when the flow velocity of the ballast water is high, it is necessary to configure so that the space BR is not formed in the electrolytic cell 10.

  Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, in ballast water treatment device 2, hydrogen exhaust pipe 22 is not connected to electrolytic tank 11, but is connected to enlarged pipe 11 e provided at ballast water outlet 11 o of electrolytic tank 11. .

  After exiting the internal pressure vessel 16, the exhaust pipe 20 is routed in a substantially parallel manner above the internal pressure vessel 16. The hydrogen exhaust pipe 22 is in communication with the exhaust pipe 20 which is disposed substantially horizontally.

  With such a configuration, the ballast water is discharged into the expansion pipe 11e at a portion exiting the electrolytic cell 11, so that the flow velocity decreases. Therefore, gas flowing out of the electrolytic cell 11 is stored in the upper part of the expansion tube 11e. This gas is hydrogen.

  Further, since the air passing through the exhaust pipe 20 has a flow velocity, at the dilution point 26, the exhaust pipe 20 has a negative pressure with respect to the hydrogen exhaust pipe 22 and can suck the hydrogen gas in the hydrogen exhaust pipe 22. .

  The operation of the ballast water treatment device 1 having the above configuration will be described. Referring to FIGS. 1 and 3, untreated ballast water (living microbes in a living state) is supplied to inner pressure vessel 16 by inflow side ballast water pipe 50i passing through passage portion 60i of internal pressure vessel 16. Into the electrolytic cell 10 (or electrolytic cell 11: the same applies hereinafter).

  Referring to FIG. 2 and FIG. 4, it is assumed that ballast water to the extent that electrode 12 is submerged is already stored in electrolytic cell 10. The ballast water in the electrolytic cell 10 is discharged from the ballast water outlet 10o (or the ballast water outlet 11o: the same applies hereinafter) in the same amount as the amount flowing from the ballast water inlet 10i (or the ballast water inlet 11i: the same applies hereinafter). When the ballast water is discharged from the electrolytic cell 10, the ballast water is already processed ballast water, and becomes ballast water containing hypochlorous acid.

  Referring again to FIGS. 1 and 3, the blower 18 continues to pump a predetermined amount of air into the pressure vessel 16. When the inflow from the blower 18 becomes equal to or more than a predetermined amount, the inside of the internal pressure vessel 16 is stabilized in a positive pressure state. Since the inside of the internal pressure vessel 16 is set to the positive pressure in this way, the flammable gas does not flow into the internal pressure vessel 16 from outside the internal pressure vessel 16 and there is a danger of ignition or explosion of the voltage source 14 causing ignition. Can be avoided.

  If the voltage source 14 is installed on the air inlet 16ai side from the hydrogen exhaust pipe 22, air flows from the air inlet 16ai to the air outlet 16ao in the internal pressure vessel 16, so that The voltage source 14 serving as an ignition source is always blown with fresh air, thereby enhancing safety.

  Here, “installing the voltage source 14 on the side of the air inlet 16ai” means that the connection point 14a between the AC wiring 14s and the voltage source 14 or the connection point 14b between the anode 12a of the electrode 12 and the voltage source 14 is a hydrogen exhaust pipe. 22 is installed on the side of the air inlet 16ai. This is because the connection points 14a and 14b are the parts where the sparks are most likely to fly. In other words, the voltage source 14 is arranged between the air inlet 16ai and the air outlet 16ao, and can be directly opposed to the air inlet 16ai.

  Referring to FIGS. 2 and 4, voltage source 14 converts an AC voltage supplied from generator 54 outside internal pressure vessel 16 to a DC voltage by a rectifier via AC wiring 14 s, and converts electrode 12 in electrolytic cell 10 into a DC voltage. Respectively. The ballast water is electrolyzed in the electrolytic cell 10 by the electrode 12, and becomes the already-treated ballast water. As a result, hydrogen gas is generated from the cathode 12c.

The generated hydrogen gas H ₂ accumulates in the upper BRu of the electrolytic cell 10. Since the upper part of the electrolytic cell 10 has a conical shape, the hydrogen gas rises toward the top 10t. Here, when air flows into the electrolytic cell 10 from the bypass pipe 56ib, the hydrogen H ₂ is diluted with the air Air even in the electrolytic cell 10.

  Then, the air is heavier than the hydrogen, so that the hydrogen can be pushed upward in the space BR and more reliably directed toward the conical apex 10t of the electrolytic cell 10. This is because the effect of increasing hydrogen by weight is reduced if only the hydrogen gas is above the water surface Bf in the electrolytic cell 10.

  Further, by mixing air into the electrolytic cell 10, the concentration of hydrogen gas in the hydrogen exhaust pipe 22 from the space BR is reduced, and safety can be further improved. In addition, in the part of the expansion pipe 11e of FIG. 4, since the flow velocity of ballast water decreases, hydrogen is stored on the upper surface of the expansion pipe 11e. The flow velocity in the expansion tube 11e is preferably 1.2 m / s or less. These gases rise toward the dilution point 26 and are mixed with the air flowing through the exhaust pipe 20 in the same manner as described above.

  Please refer to FIG. 1 and FIG. 3 again. The air that has flowed out from the air outlet 16ao of the internal pressure vessel 16 passes through the exhaust pipe 20, passes through the vertical installation area 20v, and further passes through the dilution point 26. Since the air passing through the dilution point 26 has a flow velocity, a negative pressure is applied to the hydrogen exhaust pipe 22 and the hydrogen gas in the hydrogen exhaust pipe 22 is sucked.

  At this time, if the cross-sectional area of the exhaust pipe 20 at the dilution point 26 is set smaller than the cross-sectional areas of the exhaust pipes 20 before and after the dilution point 26, the flow velocity of the air at the dilution point 26 becomes faster, and the suction at the dilution point 26 Power can be increased. Further, the pressure in the internal pressure container 16 can be increased.

  FIG. 5 shows a conceptual diagram of a cross section of the exhaust pipe 20 and the hydrogen exhaust pipe 22 near the dilution point 26. Although FIG. 5 shows a case where the exhaust pipe 20 is arranged vertically, even if the exhaust pipe 20 is arranged horizontally as shown in FIG. Therefore, a negative pressure is applied to the hydrogen exhaust pipe 22 and the hydrogen gas in the hydrogen exhaust pipe 22 is sucked. If the cross-sectional area becomes narrow at the dilution point 26, hydrogen in the hydrogen exhaust pipe 22 can be further sucked up.

  Please refer to FIG. 1 and FIG. 3 again. As described above, the hydrogen gas generated in the electrolytic cell 10 is sucked into the air flowing through the exhaust pipe 20 and diluted. Further, the degree of dilution of the hydrogen gas is measured by the hydrogen gas concentration meter 24.

  The control unit 30 knows the value of the hydrogen gas concentration meter 24 from the signal Shc. When this value becomes larger than the predetermined value, the instruction signal Cp is immediately output to the voltage source 14 and the supply of the voltage to the electrode 12 is stopped. In other words, the hydrogen gas concentration in the air in the exhaust pipe 20 is measured by the hydrogen gas concentration meter 24, and when the hydrogen gas concentration exceeds a predetermined value, the voltage source 14 is stopped. At this time, the valve 52i may be closed by the instruction signal Cv to stop the ballast water from flowing into the electrolytic cell 10. However, the blower 18 is continuously operated.

  If this predetermined value is set lower than the lower explosive lower limit concentration, the hydrogen concentration in the air downstream of the dilution point 26 can be maintained lower than the lower explosive lower limit concentration. In addition, by setting the predetermined value, if there is a margin with respect to the explosion lower limit concentration, the voltage source 14 may be controlled so as to lower the applied voltage instead of stopping the voltage source 14. This is because the amount of generated hydrogen is reduced. Further, an alarm may be displayed through the input / output device 32 when the value exceeds a predetermined value.

For example, the processing flow rate of the electrolytic cell 10 is set to 600 m ³ / h. The theoretical amount of hydrogen gas generated is 58.68 L / min. If the air volume of the blower 18 is 6 m ³ / min, the hydrogen gas concentration after dilution (after passing through the dilution point 26) can be 0.98 vol%. Since the lower explosive concentration of hydrogen is set to 4 vol% (volume concentration), it can be seen that the hydrogen can be diluted to a sufficiently low concentration.

  FIG. 6 shows another embodiment of the ballast water treatment apparatus according to the present invention. In the ballast water treatment device 3, a baffle plate 16 d is provided between the voltage source 14 and the electrolytic cell 10 in the internal pressure container 16, and the internal pressure container 16 accommodates a section 16 A for storing the voltage source 14 and an electrolytic cell 10. Is divided into two sections 16B. However, the two sections are communicated with each other by a gap 16dr between the baffle plates 16d.

  In such a configuration, the flow of air from the blower 18 flows from the section 16A in which the voltage source 14 is stored to the section 16B in which the electrolytic cell 10 is stored, and flows toward the exhaust pipe 20. Therefore, the hydrogen gas never flows from the electrolytic cell 10 as the hydrogen generation source to the voltage source 14 as the ignition source, and the safety is further improved.

  In the configuration of FIG. 6, the section 16A and the section 16B may be physically separated from each other, each section may be a separate internal pressure vessel, and the section may be connected by an air guide tube or the like. In this case, the air guide tube corresponds to the gap 16dr. Also, even if the electrolytic cell 10 is the electrolytic cell 11 of FIG. 3, the configuration of FIG. 6 can obtain the same effect.

  As described above, the ballast water treatment device according to the present invention kills microorganisms by electrolyzing ballast water. In addition, the hydrogen gas generated in the process can be exhausted while being diluted at a concentration lower than the explosion limit concentration, so that safe operation can be performed.

  INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The ballast water treatment device according to the present invention can be suitably used for ships and submarines that use ballast water.

1, 2, 3 Ballast water treatment apparatus 10, 11 Electrolyzer 10u Upper surface 10t Apex portion 10i, 11i Ballast water inlet 10o, 11o Ballast water outlet 10ad Branch point 11e Expanding tube 12 Electrode 12a Anode 12c Cathode 14 Voltage source 14a Connection point 14b Connection point 14s AC wiring 16 Internal pressure vessel 16ai Air inlet 16ao Air outlet 16A Section 16B Section 16d Baffle 16dr Gap 18 Blower 20 Exhaust pipe 20v Vertical installation area 22 Hydrogen exhaust pipe 24 Hydrogen gas concentration meter 26 Dilution point 30 Control unit 32 Input / output device 50 Ballast water pipe 50i Inflow side ballast water pipe 50o Outflow side ballast water pipe 52i Valve 52o Valve 54 Generator 56 Air pipe 56i Inflow side air pipe 56o Outflow side air pipe 56ib Bypass pipe 60i, 60o, 62, 64 Pass Part Ba Last water portion Bf water BR spatial portion BRu top 101 electrolytic cells 102 DC power supply 103 current meter 104 exhaust pipe 105 mixer 106 nitrogen supply pipe 107 flow adjustment meter 108 controller 109 mixer 110 the air supply pipe 111 exhaust duct

Claims (7)

An electrolytic cell having a ballast water inlet, a ballast water outlet, and a hydrogen exhaust pipe, and having an electrode disposed therein;
A voltage source for applying a DC voltage to the electrode,
An internal pressure container containing the electrolytic cell and the voltage source,
A blower for sending air to the internal pressure container,
An exhaust pipe connected to the internal pressure vessel,
The internal pressure vessel is set to a positive pressure state,
The hydrogen exhaust pipe is communicated with the exhaust pipe above the internal pressure vessel,
In the exhaust pipe,
A hydrogen gas concentration meter is disposed downstream from a point where the hydrogen exhaust pipe is communicated,
A ballast water treatment apparatus further comprising a control unit that stops operation of the voltage source based on an output of the hydrogen gas concentration meter. The exhaust pipe has a vertical installation area that is a portion where air flowing in the exhaust pipe above the internal pressure vessel flows upward from below in the direction of gravity .
The ballast water treatment apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the hydrogen exhaust pipe communicates with the exhaust pipe in the vertical installation area.   The ballast water treatment device according to claim 1, wherein the exhaust pipe at a point where the hydrogen exhaust pipe communicates is formed to have an inner diameter smaller than before and after the point.   The ballast water treatment device according to claim 1, further comprising a bypass pipe that sends air from the blower into the electrolytic cell.   The ballast water treatment apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the internal pressure container is divided into a section for storing the voltage source and a section for storing the electrolytic cell.   The ballast water treatment apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an upper portion of the electrolytic cell has a cone shape, and the hydrogen exhaust pipe communicates with an apex of the cone shape. The internal pressure vessel has an air inlet into which air from the blower is blown, and an air outlet connected to the exhaust pipe, and the voltage source is configured to flow air from the air inlet toward the air outlet. wherein disposed on the windward side of the hydrogen discharge pipe, ballast water treatment system according to claim 1 fresh that air is always blown from the air inlet with respect.

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