JP7188952B2 - Deterioration detector for water treatment equipment and UV lamps for water treatment equipment - Google Patents

Description

The present invention provides a water treatment apparatus and water treatment for reusably treating water to be treated, such as pure water used in semiconductor manufacturing processes and liquid crystal manufacturing processes, or nutrient solution used for agricultural cultivation. The present invention relates to a device for detecting deterioration of an ultraviolet lamp for equipment.

For example, in the manufacturing process of semiconductor devices and liquid crystal glass, a large amount of pure water is used to wash semiconductor wafer substrates, liquid crystal glass substrates, and glass substrates. A large amount of nutrient solution is required. Regarding the use of such a large amount of water, it is desired to recover and reuse pure water and nutrient solutions after use from the viewpoints of reducing the load on the environment and effectively utilizing water resources.

In the case of reusable treatment of pure water, nutrient solution, etc., a water treatment device is generally provided in a part of the flow path for circulating the water to be treated, and this water treatment device sterilizes the water to be treated. An ultraviolet lamp (ultraviolet light source) is often arranged for purification. When sterilizing and purifying water using an ultraviolet lamp, an ultraviolet ray sensor for measuring ultraviolet ray is sometimes provided in order to measure the illuminance of ultraviolet ray necessary for sterilizing and purifying water to be treated.

For example, in the ultraviolet irradiation apparatus of Patent Document 1, a reaction tank through which water to be treated flows is provided with an ultraviolet monitor window, and an ultraviolet monitor, which is an ultraviolet sensor, is installed in the ultraviolet monitor window. Then, the ultraviolet illuminance transmitted through the water to be treated is measured by an ultraviolet monitor, and the ultraviolet ray transmittance for the water to be treated is calculated based on this ultraviolet illuminance and the ultraviolet illuminance emitted from the irradiation unit, and irradiation is performed based on this ultraviolet transmittance. Deterioration of the part is detected.

On the other hand, in the ultraviolet water treatment system of Patent Document 2, the ultraviolet water treatment apparatus is provided with an ultraviolet illuminance meter for measuring ultraviolet rays, and the illuminance is measured by this illuminance meter. In this system, the measured illuminance is compared with a preset set value, and depending on the situation, a decrease in the illuminance of the ultraviolet lamp and a burnout of the lamp are predicted.

In addition to the above water treatment apparatus using an ultraviolet lamp, there has been disclosed a water treatment apparatus in which an ozone supply device is added in order to further enhance the sterilization and purification performance (see, for example, Patent Document 3). In this water treatment apparatus, an ozone supply device is arranged on the primary side of the ultraviolet irradiation device, and the water to be treated to which ozone is supplied passes through the ultraviolet lamp in the reaction vessel, and is sterilized and purified by the ultraviolet rays of the ultraviolet lamp. . In addition to this, a photocatalyst is provided in the reaction vessel, and this photocatalyst also sterilizes the water to be treated and decomposes organic matter.

In order to sterilize and purify a large amount of water to be treated by these water treatment devices and make it reusable, a large number of water treatment devices will be required, and the number of ultraviolet lamps to be used will also increase accordingly. . In this case, in order to maintain the sterilizing and purifying function using ultraviolet rays, it is necessary that each ultraviolet lamp is in a lighting state and that the ultraviolet illuminance reaches a predetermined level or more during operation. Therefore, in recent years, there has been a demand for a water treatment apparatus that can centrally monitor the on/off state of the ultraviolet lamp and the decrease in the ultraviolet illuminance.

Japanese Patent No. 5649703 JP 2009-82774 A Japanese Patent No. 4229363

In order to confirm the on/off state of the ultraviolet lamps, for example, it is conceivable to detect an on/off control signal to each ultraviolet lamp. Due to the life of the ultraviolet lamp, etc., the ultraviolet lamp may actually be turned off and accurate detection may not be possible.
On the other hand, it is conceivable to visually check the on/off status of the ultraviolet lamp at the site. It takes time and effort to visually check the lighting status of each of the ultraviolet lamps installed along the road.

On the other hand, Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2 attempt to collectively and intensively monitor the state of the ultraviolet lamps. The ultraviolet rays of the ultraviolet light tend to degrade the parts including the ultraviolet sensor. Therefore, it is necessary to take measures such as thickening the coating of the signal transmission wiring of the ultraviolet sensor. In addition, in order to prevent attenuation of ultraviolet rays, it is necessary to narrow the distance between the ultraviolet lamp and the channel, which makes it difficult to arrange the ultraviolet sensor in the channel.
For these reasons, it is difficult to configure a long water treatment channel in the semiconductor manufacturing field or agricultural field by using a large number of this type of UV irradiation device, and the UV lamp ON / OFF state and UV illuminance can be accurately measured. become difficult to do.

Furthermore, when an ozone supply device is provided in the ultraviolet irradiation device as in Patent Document 3, in order to effectively sterilize and purify the treated water supplied with ozone with an ultraviolet lamp, ultraviolet rays with a wavelength of around 254 nm are particularly required. It is necessary to irradiate to generate a radical reaction. In this case, since the illuminance of ultraviolet rays near a wavelength of 254 nm tends to be extremely attenuated as the distance from the light source of the ultraviolet lamp increases, the distance between the ultraviolet lamp and the channel must be further narrowed. It becomes more difficult to place the UV sensor inside.

For the above reasons, it may not be possible to accurately measure the decrease in the amount of ultraviolet irradiation due to deterioration of the ultraviolet lamp, etc. As a result, there is a possibility that the water to be treated cannot be sufficiently irradiated with ultraviolet rays.
Therefore, when this ultraviolet irradiation device is used in, for example, a semiconductor manufacturing process, the combined sterilization and purification by the ozone supply device and the photocatalyst cannot be effectively performed due to the insufficient amount of ultraviolet rays, and particularly high quality is required. Semiconductor products may be adversely affected.
On the other hand, when it is used for agricultural cultivation, the nutrient solution contains impurities, so there is also the problem that the adhesion of these impurities tends to stain the glass through which ultraviolet rays transmit. In this case, the amount of ultraviolet irradiation is reduced more sharply, and the sterilizing and purifying action of ultraviolet rays becomes insufficient.

If the UV sensor is installed inside the reaction tank, it becomes difficult to remove the UV sensor in the event of a failure, and especially when the water treatment equipment is downsized, it becomes even more difficult to attach and detach, making maintenance difficult. have.

The present invention was developed in order to solve the above problems, and the purpose thereof is to realize the lighting/extinguishing state of the ultraviolet lamp, In addition, we have developed water treatment equipment that can intensively monitor the state of deterioration, minimize the adverse effects of ultraviolet rays on parts, and efficiently treat water with high sterilization and purification functions, and a deterioration detection device for ultraviolet lamps for water treatment equipment. to provide.

In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 1 provides a reaction tank containing an ultraviolet lamp for irradiating ultraviolet rays to the water to be treated, a photocatalyst provided inside the reaction tank, and ozone for supplying ozone to the reaction tank. and a supply unit, and an ultraviolet sensor for measuring the ultraviolet illuminance of the ultraviolet lamp when the water to be treated passes through the reaction tank is arranged outside the reaction tank, and from the ultraviolet illuminance measured by this ultraviolet sensor, a specific The water treatment apparatus is provided with a memory/control device having a function of converting the ultraviolet illuminance of a wavelength, and the memory/control device has a function of detecting whether the ultraviolet lamp is turned off or deteriorated from the ultraviolet illuminance of a specific wavelength.

In the invention according to claim 2, the ultraviolet illuminance having a specific wavelength is an ultraviolet illuminance having a wavelength near approximately 254 nm that causes a radical reaction in the water to be treated, and the ultraviolet illuminance measured by the ultraviolet sensor has a wavelength greater than the wavelength near approximately 254 nm. is a water treatment device that is long UV illumination.

A water treatment apparatus according to claim 3 is provided with an outer glass tube having a characteristic of transmitting ultraviolet rays having a wavelength longer than at least about 254 nm, and an ultraviolet sensor is arranged in the vicinity of the outer glass tube outside the outer glass tube. is.

In the invention according to claim 4, the memory/control device has a function of detecting the extinguishing of the ultraviolet lamp when the ultraviolet illuminance is zero, or detecting the end of life when the ultraviolet illuminance drops below a predetermined value. water treatment equipment.

In the invention according to claim 5, the storage and control device stores illuminance attenuation characteristic data for conversion from the ultraviolet illuminance measured by the ultraviolet sensor to the ultraviolet illuminance of a specific wavelength for each type of water to be treated. water treatment equipment.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a water treatment apparatus, wherein the illuminance attenuation characteristic data are data corresponding to two types of water to be treated: pure water used in semiconductor manufacturing and nutrient solution used in agriculture.

In the invention according to claim 7, the storage/control device has a storage unit and a control unit, the storage unit stores the illuminance attenuation characteristic data, and the control unit measures the illuminance attenuation of the ultraviolet illuminance measured by the ultraviolet ray sensor. This water treatment apparatus has a function of converting the characteristic data into ultraviolet illuminance of a specific wavelength, and detecting whether the ultraviolet lamp is turned off or deteriorated from the converted value.

According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, the storage/control device stores, based on the ultraviolet illuminance of the specific wavelength, the state of the time to replace the ultraviolet lamp, the state of the time to clean the reaction vessel , or the The water treatment apparatus has a function of emitting a predetermined signal to notify the exhaustion state of the ultraviolet lamp or the turn-off state due to failure of the ultraviolet lamp .

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a deterioration detection device for an ultraviolet lamp for water treatment equipment, which is provided in the water treatment equipment and includes an ultraviolet sensor and a memory/control device.

According to the invention according to claim 1, an ultraviolet sensor for measuring the ultraviolet illuminance of the ultraviolet lamp is arranged outside the reaction tank, and the ultraviolet illuminance measured by this ultraviolet sensor is converted into the ultraviolet illuminance of a specific wavelength by the storage and control device. By detecting the extinguished or deteriorated state of the ultraviolet lamp from this ultraviolet illuminance, the state of the ultraviolet lamp can be confirmed without providing an ultraviolet sensor inside the reaction vessel. For this reason, it is possible to prevent leakage of ultraviolet rays with wavelengths that adversely affect parts to the outside, and by measuring ultraviolet rays with less adverse wavelengths outside the reaction tank, it is possible to prevent breakdowns of components such as ultraviolet sensors. , UV illuminance necessary for sterilization and purification can be secured. Even when a large number of ultraviolet lamps are used in a long flow path such as a semiconductor manufacturing process that requires a large amount of water treatment, it is possible to intensively monitor the on/off state and deterioration state of the ultraviolet lamps, which increases accordingly. As a result, the water to be treated, which has been supplied with ozone by the ozonizer, is subjected to a three-in-one sterilization and purification treatment by sufficiently acting on the ultraviolet treatment and photocatalyst. It is possible to efficiently treat water with a high sterilization and purification function that synergistically improves the sterilization and purification functions of ozone and ultraviolet rays. If a problem occurs in the ultraviolet sensor, maintenance can be easily performed by removing the ultraviolet sensor from the outside of the reaction tank.

According to the invention according to claim 2, the ultraviolet sensor measures the ultraviolet illuminance with a wavelength longer than about 254 nm, which has little adverse effect on the parts, and from the measurement result, the ultraviolet light with a wavelength of about 254 nm to the water to be treated flowing through the internal flow path. Illuminance can be detected. As a result, the ultraviolet illuminance of the water to be treated with a wavelength of approximately 254 nm is maintained, and the radical reaction of the water to be treated containing ozone is promoted to effectively generate hydroxyl radicals, thereby enhancing the sterilization and purification effect. can.

According to the third aspect of the invention, ultraviolet rays with a wavelength of approximately 254 nm are blocked to prevent leakage to the outside. As a result, it is possible to prevent deterioration by avoiding adverse effects of ultraviolet rays on external components while ensuring excellent sterilization and purification effects on the water to be treated flowing through the internal flow path. In this case, ultraviolet rays having a wavelength longer than 254 nm are transmitted through the outer glass tube, and the illuminance of the ultraviolet rays can be accurately measured by the ultraviolet sensor.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the ultraviolet lamp extinguished state or the life period when the ultraviolet illuminance is insufficient can be distinguished and accurately detected via the storage and control device. Alternatively, the UV lamp can be replaced, and appropriate maintenance work can be carried out according to the failure of the UV lamp, insufficient illuminance, and other conditions.

According to the fifth aspect of the invention, since the illumination attenuation characteristic data is stored for each type of water to be treated in the storage/control device, it is possible to accurately detect whether the ultraviolet lamp is turned off or deteriorated according to the water to be treated. can.

According to the sixth aspect of the invention, the storage unit stores the illuminance attenuation characteristics for two types of water to be treated, which are pure water used in semiconductor manufacturing and nutrient solution used in agriculture. It is possible to accurately detect the state of deterioration of the ultraviolet lamp according to the type of water to be treated and maintain the respective water treatment capacity.

According to the seventh aspect of the invention, by comparing the illuminance attenuation data stored in the storage unit with the ultraviolet data of the specific wavelength converted by the control unit, the extinguished state or deterioration state of the ultraviolet lamp is immediately detected. be able to. Therefore, it is possible to quickly respond to an abnormality of the ultraviolet lamp and exhibit a certain sterilizing and purifying function. Therefore, in a semiconductor manufacturing process that requires clean pure water, semiconductor products can be treated with stable, high-quality purified water by avoiding a light-off state and predicting the life of the product. On the other hand, in the case of a nutrient solution for agricultural cultivation, it is possible to quickly check whether the glass is dirty due to impurities contained in the nutrient solution, and perform maintenance and cleaning, so that good quality nutrient solution can be circulated.

According to the eighth aspect of the invention, a signal is emitted depending on when the ultraviolet lamp needs to be replaced, when the reaction vessel needs to be cleaned, and when the ultraviolet lamp is turned off due to exhaustion or failure. can be applied quickly.

According to the ninth aspect of the invention, the ultraviolet sensor and the unitized memory/control device can be configured, and the structure is not complicated even for a newly installed water treatment apparatus main body or an existing water treatment apparatus main body. It can be easily installed, and when used, the ultraviolet sensor measures the ultraviolet illuminance from the reaction tank, and based on the measured value, the deterioration of the ultraviolet lamp can be accurately detected via the storage and control device.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS It is a schematic diagram which shows one Embodiment of the water treatment apparatus of this invention. 2 is a block diagram of the water treatment apparatus of FIG. 1; FIG. FIG. 2 is a schematic longitudinal sectional view showing the reaction tank in FIG. 1; (a) is a partially enlarged schematic sectional view of a reaction vessel. (b) is a graph showing the relationship between the distance and the illuminance of ultraviolet rays. It is a graph showing the lifetime curve of the ultraviolet lamp according to to-be-processed water. It is a graph showing the illuminance attenuation characteristic of pure water. It is a graph showing the illuminance attenuation characteristic of a nutrient solution.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A water treatment apparatus and an apparatus for detecting deterioration of an ultraviolet lamp for a water treatment apparatus according to the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a schematic diagram of one embodiment of a water treatment device, and FIG. 2 shows a block diagram of the water treatment device.

In the figure, a water treatment apparatus (hereinafter referred to as apparatus main body 1) is incorporated as part of a circulation flow path for supplying pure water or nutrient solution to, for example, semiconductor manufacturing equipment or agricultural equipment. It is provided so as to sterilize and purify water or nutrient solution as water to be treated and return it to the channel.

The apparatus main body 1 has a reaction tank 2, an ultraviolet sensor 3, an ozone supply unit 4 for supplying ozone, a storage/control device 5, and a photocatalyst 7. Among them, the ultraviolet sensor 3 and the storage/control device 5 are used for water treatment. A device for detecting deterioration of an ultraviolet lamp for equipment (hereinafter referred to as a detection device main body 6) is configured.

In this apparatus main body 1 , the reaction tank 2 incorporates an ultraviolet lamp 10 serving as an ultraviolet irradiation unit for irradiating the water to be treated with ultraviolet light, and a photocatalyst 7 is provided inside the reaction tank 2 . An inlet-side connection port 11 is provided on the primary side of the reaction tank 2, and an outlet-side connection port 12 is provided on the secondary side, respectively. An inflow channel 15 is connected to the side, and an outflow channel 16 is connected to the outlet side connection port 12 of the reaction vessel 2, respectively, so that they are arranged in a part of the circulation channel. With this configuration, the device main body 1 has an ozone supply function by the ozone supply unit 4, an ultraviolet irradiation function by the ultraviolet lamp 10, and a photocatalytic function by the photocatalyst 7, and these functions are organically combined to form a trinity of functions. The water to be treated is effectively sterilized and purified.

In FIG. 3, the ultraviolet lamp 10 is arranged in the center of the reaction vessel 2, the inner glass tube 20 for protection is provided on the outer peripheral side of the ultraviolet lamp 10, and the outer glass tube 21 is provided on the outer peripheral side of the inner glass tube 20. is placed. Between the inner glass tube 20 and the outer glass tube 21, a substantially cylindrical channel 22 for the water to be treated is formed. A photocatalyst 7 is arranged. By arranging the ultraviolet lamp 10 in the central portion of the reaction tank 2 in this way, the reaction tank 2 as a whole can be made compact, and the water to be treated can be irradiated with ultraviolet rays radially from the ultraviolet lamp 10. to efficiently sterilize and purify the water to be treated.

Here, ultraviolet rays are electromagnetic waves of invisible light that are shorter than the wavelength of visible light and longer than the wavelength of X-rays, and generally represent light with a wavelength of approximately 100 to 400 nm. Of these, ultraviolet rays with a wavelength of 250 to 270 nm are said to have particularly strong bactericidal properties, and ultraviolet rays with a wavelength of about 254 nm have even higher bactericidal properties and are called germicidal rays (germicidal radiation).

As the ultraviolet lamp 10 in this embodiment, one that emits mainly ultraviolet light having a wavelength in the vicinity of approximately 254 nm is used. As a result, when the ozone-containing water to be treated is irradiated with ultraviolet light having a wavelength of approximately 254 nm from the ozone supply unit 4, which will be described later, the ozone is decomposed into active oxygen and oxygen by the accelerated oxidation action, and the active oxygen Various reactive oxygen species are produced. The hydroxyl radicals generated at this time have a stronger oxidizing power than ozone, and can more effectively kill microorganisms that are resistant to ozone.

Furthermore, the ultraviolet lamp 10 also contains light other than ultraviolet light having a wavelength of approximately 254 nm, specifically, ultraviolet light having a wavelength of approximately 400 nm or more. It is difficult for the ultraviolet sensor 3 to detect ultraviolet light with a wavelength of approximately 254 nm, but light with a wavelength of approximately 400 nm and above can be detected by the ultraviolet sensor 3 .
Nearly 400 nm here means 350 nm±50 nm. However, although this value varies depending on the spectral distribution of the ultraviolet lamp 10, ultraviolet rays having a wavelength longer than at least 254 nm are preferable.

The ultraviolet lamp 10 may be a fluorescent lamp that emits light with a wavelength of approximately 400 nm, or a lamp in which a plurality of LEDs are arranged. Further, the ultraviolet lamp 10 may be of various shapes such as linear, cylindrical, helical, and wavy according to the shape and internal structure of the reaction vessel 2 .

4(a) and 4(b), the inner glass tube 20 is made of, for example, quartz glass for reasons such as ultraviolet transmittance, heat resistance, strength, etc., and has a distance L of at least 4 to 5 mm from the ultraviolet lamp 10. It is formed with an inner diameter that is separated by a certain amount. When the inner glass tube 20 is made of quartz glass, it becomes possible to transmit light having a wavelength of about 254 nm to about 400 nm among ultraviolet rays. The reason why the inner glass tube 20 is formed with the above dimensions is that if the distance from the ultraviolet lamp 10 is less than 4 mm, the long end portion may be deformed when distortion occurs at the upper end side and the lower end side due to processing accuracy or the like. This is because there is a possibility that the strain between them will increase and that they will come into contact with the ultraviolet lamp 10 and will not be assembled properly. On the other hand, if the distance is greater than 5 mm, the water to be treated cannot be sufficiently irradiated with ultraviolet rays having a wavelength of approximately 254 nm, the attenuation rate of which increases as the distance increases.

The outer glass tube 21 on the outer surface side of the reaction vessel 2 is made of glass having a characteristic of being able to transmit ultraviolet rays having a wavelength longer than approximately 254 nm. For this reason, the outer glass tube 21 is made of, for example, borosilicate glass, and this borosilicate glass transmits only light with a wavelength of about 400 nm among ultraviolet rays, and transmits germicidal radiation with a wavelength of about 254 nm. can't.

Since the inner glass tube 20 and the outer glass tube 21 are made of the above materials, when the ultraviolet lamp 10 irradiates ultraviolet rays, light having a wavelength of about 254 nm is emitted inside, as shown in FIG. 4(b). When the light passes through the glass tube 20 and reaches the water to be treated, the illuminance is greatly reduced, and becomes zero at a position where the length X is several millimeters from the outer peripheral surface of the inner glass tube 20 . In this case, since the photocatalyst 7 on the inner peripheral side is contained within the length X, ultraviolet light with a wavelength of approximately 254 nm acts on the photocatalyst. On the other hand, light with a wavelength of about 370 to 400 nm, which is a long wavelength component in the ultraviolet band, passes through the inner glass tube 20, the flow path 22, and the outer glass tube 21 while the illuminance gradually decreases.

As shown in FIG. 4( a ), the ultraviolet sensor 3 is arranged in close proximity to the outside of the outer glass tube 21 . 20, the channel 22, and the illuminance of the ultraviolet rays of the ultraviolet lamp 10 passing through the outer glass tube 21 can be measured. The ultraviolet sensor 3 is a sensor capable of detecting ultraviolet illuminance having a wavelength longer than approximately 254 nm. is measured, and deterioration diagnosis of the ultraviolet lamp 10 can be made through a storage/control device 5 described later according to the magnitude of the illuminance.

A filter 25 for cutting visible light having a wavelength longer than approximately 400 nm is provided on the light receiving side of the ultraviolet sensor 3 . The filter 25 cuts visible light to suppress adverse effects on the ultraviolet sensor 3, and the ultraviolet sensor 3 is provided so as to be able to measure the illuminance only at wavelengths in the vicinity of approximately 400 nm. The filter 25 does not need to have the property of cutting ultraviolet rays of less than approximately 400 nm. This is because, as described above, ultraviolet rays of less than approximately 400 nm are attenuated to 0% illuminance before reaching the ultraviolet sensor 3 .

The photocatalyst 7 is provided in a structure that is difficult to peel off by oxidizing the surface of the metal titanium base material to generate titanium oxide. It is provided by coating titanium dioxide on the surface side of a material such as titanium or titanium alloy. When the metal titanium base material is formed into a thin shape, the reaction area is increased, and the reactivity with ozone is improved. The metal titanium base material may be a material other than titanium or a titanium alloy. For example, glass or silica gel may be used as a material and titanium oxide may be formed on the surface of this material. , preferably formed on a titanium substrate. The photocatalyst 7 is easily activated by ultraviolet light with a wavelength of approximately 250-350 nm.

In the apparatus main body of FIG. 1, the ozone supply unit 4 is connected to the primary side of the reaction tank 2 as described above, and is provided so as to be able to supply ozone to the water to be treated flowing to the reaction tank 2 side. The ozone supply unit 4 includes an ozonizer 30 , an ejector 31 , an ozone supply pipe 32 and a check valve 33 .

The ozonizer 30 has a structure having a discharge gap between a ground electrode 41 and a dielectric 42 to which a high-voltage electrode is attached, and applies a high voltage between the ground electrode 41 and the dielectric 42 to cause discharge, Ozone is generated using the air flowing through the discharge gap as a raw material. Air is continuously supplied to the discharge gap of the ozonizer 30 by a pump (not shown), and the generated ozone (and dissolved oxygen) is supplied to the ejector 31 through an ozone supply pipe 32 connected to the ozonizer 30. be done.

The ejector 31 is made of, for example, a resin such as fluororesin, or ceramic or metal, and is provided in the inflow passage 15 to eject ozone generated by the ozonizer 30 into the water to be treated flowing through the inflow passage 15 . can be mixed. A check valve 33 is provided between the ejector 31 and the ozonizer 30 to prevent backflow. As the flow rate increases, it melts into the water to be treated in the form of bubbles, producing a mixed liquid (ozone water) in the form of fine bubbles, which can be supplied to the reaction tank 2 side.

In FIG. 2, the storage/control device 5 is electrically connected to the reaction tank 2, the ultraviolet sensor 3, and the ozone supply unit 4, and from the ultraviolet illuminance with a wavelength of approximately 400 nm measured by the ultraviolet sensor 3, a specific wavelength It has a function to convert to the ultraviolet illuminance of . The apparatus main body 1 has a function of detecting whether the ultraviolet lamp 10 is turned off or deteriorated from the ultraviolet illuminance of this specific wavelength.

In this case, in the graph of FIG. 5 showing the change in the illuminance of the ultraviolet lamp 10 at a wavelength near 400 nm over time, the storage/control device 5 indicates that the ultraviolet lamp 10 is in the off state when the ultraviolet illuminance is zero. or, when the ultraviolet illuminance drops below a preset processing value, it detects that it is at the end of its life.

In the present embodiment, the ultraviolet illuminance of a specific wavelength is the above-described ultraviolet illuminance of about 254 nm wavelength that causes a radical reaction in the water to be treated, and the wavelength of about 400 nm described above that is low in sterilization and purification of the water to be treated. By measuring the ultraviolet illuminance of , it is possible to recognize the ultraviolet illuminance with a wavelength of approximately 254 nm, which is the most excellent in sterilization and purification.

The storage/control device 5 has a storage section 50 for storing various data and a control section 51 capable of detecting the operating state of the device body 1 .
The storage unit 50 stores illuminance attenuation characteristic data 55, measurement results of the ultraviolet illuminance by the ultraviolet sensor 3, and the like. The illuminance attenuation characteristic data 55 is stored in the storage unit 50 for each type of water to be treated for conversion from the ultraviolet illuminance of the ultraviolet lamp 10 measured by the ultraviolet sensor 3 to the ultraviolet illuminance of a specific wavelength.

The illuminance attenuation characteristic data 55 in this example is a graph corresponding to two types of water to be treated: pure water used for semiconductor manufacturing applications shown in FIG. 6 and (culture) nutrient solution used for agricultural applications shown in FIG. Prepare. In each graph, the solid curve indicates the characteristics of the ultraviolet light (light with a wavelength of 100 to 400 nm) emitted when irradiated with the ultraviolet lamp 10, and the units are indicated on the two vertical axes in the graph. The dashed curve shows the characteristics of visible light (light with a wavelength of approximately 400 to approximately 780 nm) emitted when irradiated with the ultraviolet lamp 10 for comparison with the characteristics of ultraviolet rays. indicates its unit.

From these illuminance attenuation characteristic data 55, the ultraviolet illuminance at a wavelength near approximately 400 nm (400 nm illuminance: unit mW/cm ² ) measured by the ultraviolet sensor 3 is changed to the ultraviolet illuminance at a wavelength near approximately 254 nm (254 nm illuminance : unit mW/cm ² ) is performed by the storage/control device 5 as follows.
It should be noted that the UV lamp 10 is generally considered to have reached the end of its service life when the UV illuminance at a wavelength near 254 nm is 70% or less of the illuminance when the lamp is new. However, since this life is just a general story, this life varies depending on the manufacturer of the ultraviolet lamp.

In the case of pure water in FIG. 6, from the graph, for example, when the 400 nm illuminance is the initial value B of 0.02 mW/cm ² , the 254 nm illuminance is approximately 8 mW/cm ² , and when the 400 nm illuminance is 0.018 mW/cm ² , 254 nm When the illuminance is approximately 5.75 mW/cm ² and the illuminance at 400 nm is 0.017 mW/cm ² , the illuminance at 254 nm is converted to approximately 4.5 mW/cm ² .

On the other hand, in the case of visible light in the graph, for example, when the illuminance of this visible light (visible light illuminance: unit LX) is 280 LX of the initial value B, the 254 nm illuminance is approximately 8 mW/cm ² , and this visible light illuminance is , remains almost unchanged when the 254 nm illuminance is reduced to approximately 4.5 W/cm ² . That is, even if the illuminance of visible light is measured, it does not change until the measured value becomes smaller than approximately 4.5 W/cm ² , so a decrease in 254 nm illuminance cannot be confirmed until that stage.

^The same applies to the case of the nutrient solution in ^FIG . ² , the 254 nm illuminance is converted to approximately 5.6 mW/cm ² respectively.

In the case of visible light in FIG. 7, for example, when the visible light illuminance is the initial value B of 270 LX, the 254 nm illuminance is approximately 8 mW/cm ² , and this visible light illuminance is reduced to approximately 5.6 W/cm ² at 254 nm illuminance. Sometimes it tends to go up. Therefore, even if the illuminance of visible light is measured, it is not possible to confirm a decrease in illuminance at 254 nm.
As described above, by measuring the 400 nm illuminance and converting the measurement result into the 254 nm illuminance, it is possible to finely measure the decrease in the illuminance of the ultraviolet lamp 10 .

In FIGS. 6 and 7, the dashed-dotted line represents the criteria for the lifetime of illuminance at 254 nm. As for the life of the ultraviolet lamp 10, it is preferable to replace it when the illumination intensity decreases from the initial value B to, for example, 70%. In this case, both the pure water in FIG. 6 and the nutrient solution in FIG. This is the case when it becomes 5.6 mW/cm ² . More preferably, the lifetime is defined as the time when the illuminance at 254 nm decreases from the illuminance of the initial value B to 90% of the illuminance.
In the case of pure water in FIG. 6, the illuminance of visible light does not change even when the illuminance drops to 55%, so it is difficult to determine the life of the ultraviolet lamp 10 by measuring the visible light sensor.
That is, since 70% of the initial value of the UV illuminance at 254 nm is 90% of the initial value of the UV illuminance near 400 nm, by measuring the UV illuminance near 400 nm with this UV sensor 3, the life of the UV lamp 3 can be extended. can be diagnosed.

On the other hand, the control unit 51 in the storage/control device 5 converts the ultraviolet illuminance measured by the ultraviolet sensor 3 into ultraviolet illuminance with a specific wavelength, that is, with a wavelength of approximately 254 nm, via the illuminance attenuation characteristic data 55. It has a function of detecting whether the ultraviolet lamp 10 is turned off or deteriorated from the converted value.

Based on the result of the ultraviolet illuminance with a wavelength of approximately 254 nm, the control unit 51 determines each state of when to replace the ultraviolet lamp 10, when to clean the reaction vessel 2, and when the ultraviolet lamp 10 is extinguished or turned off due to failure. It has a function of emitting a predetermined signal to inform the user, and by confirming this signal, it is possible to perform a predetermined treatment according to the situation of the ultraviolet lamp 10 .

In the present embodiment, the ultraviolet illuminance with a wavelength of approximately 254 nm is used as the ultraviolet illuminance with a specific wavelength converted from the ultraviolet illuminance when the water to be treated passes through the reaction tank 2, but this ultraviolet illuminance with a specific wavelength can also be an ultraviolet illuminance with a different wavelength depending on the type of fluid to be treated.

Although the ultraviolet sensor 3 measures the ultraviolet illuminance with a wavelength of approximately 400 nm from the ultraviolet lamp 10, the ultraviolet illuminance with a different wavelength may be measured. If the wavelengths are different, an appropriate ultraviolet sensor 3 corresponding to the ultraviolet lamp 10 can be used. A lamp such as a low-pressure or high-pressure mercury lamp can be used instead of the ultraviolet lamp 10 as long as it can irradiate ultraviolet rays.

Moreover, the water to be treated may be other than pure water or a culture solution, and for example, a culture solution for aquaculture may be used as the water to be treated. In this case, by storing the illumination attenuation characteristic data 55 corresponding to the water to be treated in the storage unit 50, it becomes possible to detect whether the ultraviolet lamp 10 is turned off or deteriorated according to the water to be treated.

Next, an operation of the water treatment apparatus described above and an example of control when detecting the extinguishing or deteriorated state of the ultraviolet lamp during this operation will be described.
In FIG. 1, when the water to be treated is fed to the apparatus main body 1 side by a pump (not shown), the water to be treated flows into the ozone supply section 4 through the inflow passage 15 .

At this time, the water to be treated is mixed with ozone (and dissolved oxygen) generated by the ozonizer 30 through the ejector 31 provided in the inflow passage 15, and fine bubble-like ozone is added to the water to be treated in a bubble state. A dissolved mixture (ozone water) is produced. If the concentration of ozone supplied in this case is low, it will not be possible to kill bacteria and decompose organic matter. Therefore, the total amount of water to be treated, the amount of water to be treated, the amount of water to be treated, and the lower and upper limits of ozone concentration for effective ozone treatment are comprehensively determined. 4, the amount of ozone supplied is adjusted to 0.05 to 2.0 (g/H).

Most of the bacteria in the water to be treated are sterilized by the sterilizing effect of the supplied ozone, and most of the organic matter including the dead sterilized bacteria is decomposed.

Subsequently, when the water to be treated containing ozone flows into the reaction tank 2 from the inlet side connection port 11, it passes through the ultraviolet lamp 10 and the photocatalyst 7 in the flow path 22, and the water to be treated in which ozone is dissolved is exposed to the ultraviolet lamp. By being irradiated with ultraviolet rays from , radicals called .OH (hydroxy radicals or OH radicals) (chemical species with unpaired electrons and strongly activated substances) are generated.

Since this .OH has a strong activation, it can kill most of the bacteria remaining in the water to be treated without being sterilized when the ozone supply unit 4 performs the ozone treatment. Almost all remaining organic matter can be decomposed.

As described above, in the reaction tank 2, the combination of the OH radicals generated by the ultraviolet lamp 10 and the photocatalyst 7 and the low-concentration ozone, that is, the organic bonding ensures the removal of residual bacteria and organic matter. Purify bacteria.
The water to be treated that has been sterilized and purified in the reaction tank 2 is returned to the circulation flow path from the outlet side connection port 12 through the outflow flow path 16 .

When checking the irradiation state of the ultraviolet lamp 10 during the operation of the apparatus main body 1, the ultraviolet illuminance of the ultraviolet lamp 10 with a wavelength of 400 nm is measured by the ultraviolet sensor 3 while the water to be treated is flowing in the reaction tank 2. Then, by converting this measurement result into an ultraviolet illuminance with a wavelength near approximately 254 nm via the illuminance attenuation characteristic data 55 of the storage/control device 5, it is possible to detect the extinguished or deteriorated state of the ultraviolet lamp 10 from this ultraviolet illuminance. It's becoming

Specifically, for example, the state of the ultraviolet lamp 10 is checked by the following procedure. Here, FIG. 5 shows a life curve of the ultraviolet lamp 10 according to the water to be treated, which is a reference curve for attenuation of illuminance of light with a wavelength of approximately 400 nm over time. The storage unit 50 also stores the data of the life curve of the ultraviolet lamp that serves as the reference.

When the operation of the water treatment equipment is started, in the graph of FIG. 5, whether or not the total time of operation after the start of water treatment (hereinafter referred to as total time) has reached a predetermined time A is stored and controlled. 5 is determined. This "predetermined time A" is set based on the time from when the new ultraviolet lamp 10 is turned on for the first time until the illuminance stabilizes. The reason why the predetermined time A elapses is that, as indicated by the chain double-dashed line in the figure, the illuminance is difficult to stabilize when the new ultraviolet lamp 10 is initially turned on, and the illuminance gradually increases with the lapse of time to reach a stable illuminance. It's for. The predetermined time A is preferably about 900 seconds, for example, and is appropriately set depending on the type of ultraviolet lamp 10 and individual differences.

When the total time reaches a predetermined time A (for example, 900 seconds), the ultraviolet illuminance (400 nm illuminance) near approximately 400 nm transmitted through the outer glass tube 21 at that stage is measured by the ultraviolet sensor 3 under the control of the control unit 51, The measurement result is stored in the storage unit 50 as an initial value B (hereinafter referred to as an initial value B) of the ultraviolet illuminance.

From this stage, since the water to be treated can be practically sterilized and purified by the device main body 1, the water to be treated is supplied to the ozone supply unit 4, the ozone supply unit 4, the ultraviolet lamp 10 of the reaction tank 2, and the photocatalyst. 7 to perform sterilization and purification.

In this water treatment process, the controller 51 compares the actually measured slope of the 400 nm illuminance at time ΔT, which is a fixed time in FIG. 5, with the slope of the life curve of the reference data. In this case, the slope in the decreasing direction is assumed to be a positive value.

At that time, when the slope of the 400 nm illuminance at time ΔT is larger than the slope of the life curve, the controller 51 determines whether the illuminance of the ultraviolet lamp 10 is less than 90% of the initial value B.

When the ultraviolet illuminance of the ultraviolet lamp 10 falls below a predetermined value, for example, when it is less than 90% of the initial value B, it is determined that the ultraviolet illuminance is insufficient, and the controller 51 determines that the ultraviolet lamp 10 is at the end of its life. to detect. After that, a lamp (not shown) or a warning sound informs that the ultraviolet lamp 10 needs to be replaced, and by this alarm, the life of the ultraviolet lamp 10 is quickly confirmed from the storage/control device 5 outside the main body of the apparatus. be able to. Based on this result, if the ultraviolet lamp 10 is replaced, the processing capacity of the apparatus body 1 can be maintained and stable operation can be continued.

On the other hand, when the illuminance of the ultraviolet lamp 10 is 90% or more of the initial value B, the controller 51 determines that the life has not been reached, and continues the illuminance detection process.

As shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 5, when the slope of the 400 nm illuminance at time ΔT becomes a value larger than the slope of the lifetime curve, at least (a) the water to be treated passes through the inside of the reaction tank 2 Presumably, the cause is that a deposit or the like is attached to the portion where the deterioration occurs, or (b) the ultraviolet lamp 10 has deteriorated earlier than expected for some reason. In this case, the necessity of cleaning the reaction vessel 2 is notified by a lamp or a warning sound.

After cleaning the reaction tank 2, a reset button (not shown) is pressed, and the controller 51 determines whether or not the reset button has been pressed. If the reset button has not been pushed, it is notified that the reaction vessel 2 needs to be cleaned again. Thus, the reset button is provided to confirm whether or not the reaction vessel has been cleaned.

After the reset button is pressed, the controller 51 determines whether the actually measured 400 nm illuminance value is greater than the ultraviolet illuminance value D for the elapsed time T of the life curve. Based on this determination result, when the measured numerical value of the 400 nm illuminance is equal to or greater than the ultraviolet illuminance D of the life curve, the determination of the ultraviolet illuminance is continued. On the other hand, when the numerical value of the 400 nm illuminance is less than the ultraviolet illuminance D, it is assumed that the ultraviolet lamp 10 deteriorates faster than expected due to some reason (b) described above, and the fact that the ultraviolet lamp 10 is abnormal is notified to the outside. do.

Interrupt control is performed by the control unit 51 during the operation of the device body 1 described above. In this interrupt control, it is determined whether or not the ultraviolet illuminance is zero, and when it is zero, it is detected that the ultraviolet lamp 10 is in an off state, and a warning is issued by means of a lamp or a warning sound. On the other hand, if these values are greater than zero, the detection process continues.

On the other hand, the determination as to whether or not the ultraviolet illuminance of the ultraviolet lamp 10 is zero may be performed by means other than interrupt control. In this case, it is determined whether or not the ultraviolet illuminance is zero after the procedure of comparing the slope of the 400 nm illuminance at the time ΔT and the reference lifetime curve. When this is zero, the ultraviolet illuminance of the ultraviolet lamp 10 is detected to be in the off state, and a procedure is performed to issue a warning by means of a lamp or a warning sound. The steps after the procedure for judging whether or not there has been a decrease are to be carried out.

In addition, the procedure of comparing the slope of the 400 nm illuminance at a certain time ΔT and the slope of the life curve may be omitted. In this case, the ultraviolet illuminance of the ultraviolet lamp 10 reaches less than 90% of the initial value B. The end of life of the ultraviolet lamp 10 is detected only by doing so. Therefore, the control procedure can be simplified.

Next, the operation of the above embodiment of the water treatment apparatus of the present invention and the apparatus for detecting deterioration of an ultraviolet lamp for a water treatment apparatus will be described.
The device main body 1 has a reaction tank 2 containing an ultraviolet lamp 10, a photocatalyst 7, and an ozone supply unit 4. An ultraviolet sensor 3 is arranged outside the reaction tank 2, and the ultraviolet ray measured by the ultraviolet sensor 3 is Since the storage and control device 5 detects the illuminance of a specific wavelength of the ultraviolet lamp 10 from the illuminance conversion result, even when a large amount of water treatment is required and the number of the apparatus main bodies 1 increases, the ultraviolet sensor can be used. Based on the measurement results of 3, the ON/OFF states and deterioration states of all the ultraviolet lamps 10 can be centrally monitored via the storage/control device 5. FIG.

In this case, the ultraviolet ray sensor 3 is arranged close to the outside of the outer glass tube 21, and this ultraviolet ray sensor 3 detects the illuminance of ultraviolet light with a wavelength of about 400 nm. It can be provided with borosilicate glass or the like that blocks ultraviolet rays. As a result, in the flow path 22 inside the outer glass tube 21, the water to be treated is subjected to an excellent sterilizing and purifying function by a radical reaction caused by ultraviolet rays with a wavelength of about 254 nm, and the wavelength of about 254 nm that adversely affects the parts. To prevent ultraviolet rays from leaking from the outer glass tube 21 to the outside, and to prevent the ultraviolet rays from adversely affecting the ultraviolet sensor 3 and other parts, thereby preventing deterioration.

Moreover, the ultraviolet illuminance with a wavelength of about 400 nm that passes through the borosilicate glass 21 is measured by the ultraviolet sensor 3, and the ultraviolet illuminance with a wavelength of about 254 nm is transmitted from the measurement result of the ultraviolet illuminance to the illuminance attenuation characteristic data 55 in the storage unit 50. Since the illuminance converted into illuminance can be confirmed, the illuminance of ultraviolet rays of approximately 254 nm, which is most effective for sterilizing and purifying water to be treated, can be accurately grasped. Therefore, even when the device main body 1 is used in a semiconductor manufacturing process or the like that requires a high water treatment system, the UV illuminance of each device main body 1 can be kept high to manufacture high-quality products.

The storage/control device 5 stores illuminance attenuation characteristic data 55 for each type of water to be treated, pure water used for semiconductor manufacturing and nutrient solution used for agriculture. Even when treating the water to be treated, even a slight attenuation of the ultraviolet illuminance can be measured to check the deterioration state in detail.

In addition, the detection device main body 6 for detecting deterioration of the ultraviolet lamp 10 can easily attach the ultraviolet sensor 3 and the storage/control device 5 to the water treatment device to accurately detect the extinguished state and deterioration state of the ultraviolet lamp 10, and react. The water treatment performance of the tank 2 and the ozone supply unit 4 is not adversely affected.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above, the present invention is not limited to the description of the above embodiments, and is within the spirit of the invention described in the claims of the present invention. and can be modified in various ways.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 device main body 2 reaction tank 3 ultraviolet sensor 4 ozone supply section 5 storage/control device 6 detection device main body 7 photocatalyst 10 ultraviolet lamp 21 outer glass tube 50 storage section 51 control section 55 illuminance attenuation characteristic data

Claims (9)

It has a reaction tank containing an ultraviolet lamp for irradiating the water to be treated with ultraviolet rays, a photocatalyst provided inside the reaction tank, and an ozone supply unit for supplying ozone to the reaction tank. An ultraviolet sensor is arranged to measure the ultraviolet illuminance of the ultraviolet lamp when the water to be treated passes through the reaction tank, and has a function of converting the ultraviolet illuminance measured by the ultraviolet sensor into an ultraviolet illuminance of a specific wavelength. A water treatment apparatus comprising a memory/control device, wherein the memory/control device has a function of detecting whether the ultraviolet lamp is extinguished or deteriorated from the ultraviolet illuminance of the specific wavelength. The ultraviolet illuminance of the specific wavelength is an ultraviolet illuminance of a wavelength near about 254 nm that causes a radical reaction in the water to be treated, and the ultraviolet illuminance measured by the ultraviolet sensor is an ultraviolet illuminance of a wavelength longer than about 254 nm. A water treatment system according to claim 1. An outer glass tube having a characteristic of transmitting ultraviolet rays having a wavelength longer than at least about 254 nm is provided on the outer surface side of the reaction vessel, and the ultraviolet sensor is arranged in the vicinity of the outer glass tube outside the outer glass tube. 3. The water treatment device according to Item 1 or 2. 4. The storage/control device has a function of detecting the extinguishment when the ultraviolet illuminance of the ultraviolet lamp is zero, or detecting the end of life when the ultraviolet illuminance drops below a predetermined value. The water treatment device according to any one of 1. 1. Illuminance attenuation characteristic data for conversion from the ultraviolet illuminance measured by the ultraviolet sensor to the ultraviolet illuminance of a specific wavelength is stored in the storage and control device for each type of the water to be treated. 5. The water treatment device according to any one of 4. 6. The water treatment apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the illumination attenuation characteristic data are data corresponding to the two waters to be treated, pure water used in semiconductor manufacturing and nutrient solution used in agriculture. The storage/control device has a storage section and a control section, the storage section stores the illumination attenuation characteristic data, and the control section stores the ultraviolet illumination measured by the ultraviolet sensor as the illumination attenuation characteristic data. 7. The water treatment apparatus according to claim 5 or 6, further comprising a function of converting the illuminance of ultraviolet light of a specific wavelength through the UV lamp and detecting whether the ultraviolet lamp is extinguished or deteriorated from the converted value. Based on the UV illuminance of the specific wavelength, the storage/control device stores the state of the time to replace the ultraviolet lamp, the state of the time to clean the reaction vessel , or the state of exhaustion of the ultraviolet lamp. Alternatively , the water treatment apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 7, which has a function of emitting a predetermined signal to notify the state of light-off due to failure of the ultraviolet lamp . 9. An apparatus for detecting deterioration of an ultraviolet lamp for a water treatment apparatus, provided in the water treatment apparatus according to claim 1, comprising the ultraviolet sensor and the storage/control device.

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