JP7401122B2 - Hydrocarbon recovery equipment and cleaning equipment - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a hydrocarbon recovery device that recovers vaporized hydrocarbons, and a cleaning device that cleans a workpiece with a cleaning liquid containing hydrocarbons, which includes the hydrocarbon recovery device.

Conventionally, workpieces have been cleaned using a cleaning liquid containing hydrocarbons. For example, after cleaning a workpiece by immersing it in a cleaning solution stored in an immersion cleaning tank (immersion cleaning), the workpiece is placed in a vacuum tank, the inside of the vacuum tank is evacuated, and then the cleaning solution (normally, an immersion cleaning tank is not The workpiece is cleaned by introducing steam from a cleaning liquid stored in a separate storage tank and liquefying the steam on the low-temperature surface of the workpiece (steam cleaning). If the steam cleaning operation is repeated multiple times, the cleaning of the work progresses, but the temperature of the work gradually rises due to the heat of the steam, and the effect of steam cleaning can no longer be obtained. Therefore, when the temperature of the workpiece reaches a predetermined value or higher, the pressure inside the vacuum chamber is rapidly reduced, and the cleaning liquid adhering to the surface of the workpiece is bumped and vaporized, thereby drying the workpiece (vacuum drying).

In a vacuum chamber, during steam cleaning, part of the vapor of the cleaning liquid is discharged as a gas without being liquefied, and during vacuum drying, the gas that is the vaporized cleaning liquid attached to the surface of the workpiece is discharged. Ru. These gases contain hydrocarbons, and since hydrocarbons are subject to emission regulations, it is necessary to recover the hydrocarbons contained in the gases discharged from storage tanks and vacuum tanks.

Patent Document 1 describes a hydrocarbon recovery device that recovers solvent components from a gas containing hydrocarbon solvent components (hereinafter referred to as "to-be-treated gas"). In this device, an adsorbent whose main component is activated carbon is housed in an adsorption tower, and the gas to be treated is sent into the adsorption tower, and the hydrocarbons contained in the gas to be treated are removed by being adsorbed by the adsorbent ( gas handling operations). If this operation continues for a while, the ability of the adsorbent to adsorb solvent components decreases. Therefore, after a predetermined period of time has elapsed from the start of the gas treatment operation, the supply of the gas to be treated into the adsorption tower is stopped (therefore, the gas treatment operation is stopped) and the pressure inside the adsorption tower is reduced, so that the gas is adsorbed onto the adsorbent. The hydrocarbons that were present are desorbed (adsorbent regeneration operation). This adsorbent regeneration operation restores the ability of the adsorbent to adsorb hydrocarbons. The hydrocarbon gas desorbed from the adsorbent is discharged from the adsorption tower, cooled in a cooling condenser, liquefied, and recovered. These gas treatment operations and adsorbent regeneration operations are performed alternately. Note that in the cooling condenser, some of the introduced hydrocarbon gas may pass through as a gas without being liquefied, but the passed gas is reintroduced into the same cooling condenser and is not discharged to the outside. Further, the apparatus described in Patent Document 1 has two adsorption towers, and alternately switches between an adsorption tower that performs a gas treatment operation and a supply tower that performs an adsorbent regeneration operation. Thereby, hydrocarbons can be removed and recovered from the gas to be treated in either one of the adsorption towers at any time.

Similar to Patent Document 1, Patent Document 2 also describes a hydrocarbon recovery apparatus having a configuration including two adsorption towers. However, in the device of Patent Document 2, the gas that has passed through the cooling condenser without being liquefied during the adsorbent regeneration operation in one adsorption tower is transferred not to the cooling condenser but to the other adsorption tower where the gas processing operation is being performed. By introducing the gas into the adsorption tower, the gas is prevented from being discharged to the outside.

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 07-039717 Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 03-143520

In both of the hydrocarbon recovery apparatuses described in Patent Documents 1 and 2, even after the above adsorbent regeneration operation is performed, some of the adsorbed hydrocarbons still remain in the adsorbent. Therefore, as the gas treatment operation and adsorbent regeneration operation are repeated, the ability to remove hydrocarbons from the gas to be treated decreases.

Here, we have explained the case where the hydrocarbon solvent components contained in the vapor of the cleaning liquid used for cleaning the workpiece are removed as an example. A similar problem arises when removing the component from.

The problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a hydrocarbon recovery apparatus that can suppress a decrease in the ability to remove hydrocarbons from a gas to be treated containing hydrocarbons.

A hydrocarbon recovery device according to the present invention, which has been made to solve the above problems, is a device that removes and recovers hydrocarbons contained in a gas to be treated, and comprises:
a) a treatment tank having an adsorbent storage space that accommodates an adsorbent capable of adsorbing hydrocarbons;
b) a to-be-treated gas introduction valve that is a valve provided in a to-be-treated gas inlet pipe connected to the processing tank;
c) a post-processing gas discharge valve that is a valve provided in a post-processing gas discharge pipe connected to the processing tank;
d) a vacuum pump whose intake port is connected to the processing tank by a vacuum suction pipe;
e) a hydrocarbon liquefaction unit connected to the exhaust port of the vacuum pump;
f) a vacuum suction valve that is a valve provided in the vacuum suction pipe;
g) an atmospheric pressure release valve that opens the treatment tank to the atmosphere;
h) a gas processing operation of opening the treated gas introduction valve and the post-treatment gas discharge valve and closing the vacuum suction valve and the atmospheric pressure release valve; In the closed state, a suction sub-operation in which the atmospheric pressure release valve is closed and the vacuum suction valve is opened, and an atmospheric pressure release sub-operation in which the atmospheric pressure release valve is opened and the vacuum suction valve is closed are alternately performed multiple times. and a valve control unit that performs an adsorbent regeneration operation.

In the hydrocarbon recovery apparatus according to the present invention, during gas processing operations, the gas to be treated valve and the post-treatment gas discharge valve are opened, and the vacuum suction valve and the atmospheric pressure release valve are closed. Thereby, the gas to be treated is introduced into the adsorbent arrangement space from the gas to be processed introduction pipe, and the hydrocarbons contained in the gas to be processed are removed by being adsorbed by the adsorbent in the adsorbent arrangement space. The gas from which hydrocarbons have been removed from the gas to be treated (post-processing gas) is discharged to the outside of the hydrocarbon recovery device through the post-processing gas discharge pipe.

On the other hand, during the adsorbent regeneration operation, the to-be-treated gas introduction valve and the post-treatment gas discharge valve are closed. In this state, the suction sub-operation and the atmospheric pressure release sub-operation are alternately executed multiple times. In the suction sub-operation, the atmospheric pressure release valve is closed and the vacuum suction valve is opened to reduce the pressure in the adsorbent placement space. Then, the hydrocarbons adsorbed on the adsorbent vaporize and separate from the adsorbent, and are recovered by being liquefied in the hydrocarbon liquefaction section. However, as the hydrocarbons vaporize in the adsorbent, the temperature of the adsorbent decreases due to the heat of vaporization, and after a while, almost no hydrocarbons remaining in the adsorbent vaporize. Therefore, after a predetermined period of time has elapsed from the start of the suction sub-operation, an atmospheric release sub-operation is performed in which the vacuum suction valve is closed and the atmospheric pressure release valve is opened, thereby bringing the inside of the adsorbent placement space to atmospheric pressure. Thereafter, the suction sub-operation is performed by closing the atmospheric pressure release valve and opening the vacuum suction valve. As a result, hydrocarbons are once again released from the adsorbent.

In the hydrocarbon recovery apparatus according to the present invention, the suction sub-operation and the atmospheric pressure release sub-operation are alternately performed multiple times during the adsorbent regeneration operation to promote the separation of hydrocarbons from the adsorbent. . This can increase the ability to remove hydrocarbons from the gas to be treated during gas treatment operations.

Activated carbon or activated carbon fiber can be suitably used as the adsorbent.

Preferably, the hydrocarbon recovery apparatus according to the present invention further includes an adsorbent heating mechanism that heats the adsorbent in the adsorbent placement space while the valve control section executes the adsorbent regeneration operation. This can further promote the removal of hydrocarbons from the adsorbent during the adsorbent regeneration operation.

It is preferable that the hydrocarbon recovery apparatus according to the present invention further includes an adsorbent cooling mechanism that cools the adsorbent in the adsorbent arrangement space while the valve control section executes the gas treatment operation. Thereby, it is possible to further promote the removal of hydrocarbons contained in the gas to be treated during the gas treatment operation. In particular, when the adsorbent heating mechanism is provided, there is a risk that the efficiency of removing hydrocarbons will decrease when performing the gas treatment operation after heating the adsorbent in the adsorbent regeneration operation. It is desirable to have a material cooling mechanism.

It is preferable that the hydrocarbon recovery apparatus according to the present invention further includes an adsorbent stirring mechanism that stirs the adsorbent in the adsorbent arrangement space while the valve control section executes the adsorbent regeneration operation. This can further promote the removal of hydrocarbons from the adsorbent during the adsorbent regeneration operation.

The hydrocarbon recovery device according to the present invention includes:
Equipped with two of the processing tanks,
The two processing tanks each include the to-be-processed gas introduction valve, the post-processing gas discharge valve, the vacuum suction valve, and the atmospheric pressure release valve,
The valve control unit causes a gas introduction valve, a post-processing gas discharge valve, a vacuum suction valve, and an atmospheric pressure release valve of one of the two processing tanks to execute the gas processing operation. Sometimes, the adsorbent regeneration operation is performed on the gas inlet valve, post-processing gas discharge valve, vacuum suction valve, and atmospheric pressure release valve of the other processing tank, and the gas inlet valve, post-processing gas inlet valve of the other processing tank is When the gas exhaust valve, vacuum suction valve, and atmospheric pressure release valve are performing the adsorbent regeneration operation, the gas introduction valve to be treated, the post-processing gas exhaust valve, the vacuum suction valve, and the atmospheric pressure release valve of the other processing tank. It is preferable that the gas processing operation is performed by the controller. As a result, gas processing operations are always performed in one of the two processing tanks, so operations that generate gas to be processed (for example, steam cleaning and vacuum drying described below) can be performed without interruption. .

The hydrocarbon recovery device according to the present invention can be suitably used in a cleaning device that cleans a workpiece with a cleaning liquid containing hydrocarbons. As such a cleaning device,
a vacuum chamber in which a workpiece is housed;
a steam supply unit that supplies steam of a cleaning liquid containing hydrocarbons into the vacuum chamber;
a vacuum pump for steam cleaning and vacuum drying whose intake port is connected to the vacuum chamber;
The hydrocarbon recovery apparatus according to the present invention, in which the exhaust port of the steam cleaning/vacuum drying vacuum pump is directly or indirectly connected to the gas inlet pipe to be treated, can be used.

According to such a cleaning device, hydrocarbons can be efficiently recovered from the gas of the cleaning liquid containing hydrocarbons as a component generated during steam cleaning and vacuum drying using the adsorbent regenerated in the hydrocarbon recovery device. can do.

In the above cleaning device, it is preferable that the vacuum pump and the steam cleaning/vacuum drying vacuum pump are the same vacuum pump. In this way, by making the vacuum pump used for steam cleaning and vacuum drying (vacuum pump for steam cleaning/vacuum drying) and the vacuum pump used for the hydrocarbon recovery device double, the cost of the device due to the vacuum pump can be suppressed.

In the above cleaning device, it is preferable that the steam supply section generates the steam by vaporizing the cleaning liquid containing hydrocarbons that has been liquefied in the hydrocarbon liquefaction section. Thereby, the cleaning liquid containing hydrocarbons recovered by the hydrocarbon recovery device and liquefied in the hydrocarbon liquefaction section can be reused in steam cleaning, and the amount of cleaning liquid used can be suppressed.

According to the present invention, it is possible to suppress a decrease in the ability of a hydrocarbon recovery apparatus to remove hydrocarbons from a gas to be treated containing hydrocarbons.

1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an embodiment of a hydrocarbon recovery apparatus according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an activated carbon tray included in the hydrocarbon recovery device of the present embodiment. FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a heating jacket and a cooling jacket provided around an activated carbon tray in the hydrocarbon recovery apparatus of the present embodiment. The figure which shows the state which performs gas processing in a 1st processing tank, and performs suction sub-processing of adsorbent regeneration processing in a 2nd processing tank. The figure which shows the state which performs gas processing in a 1st processing tank, and performs atmospheric release sub-processing of adsorbent regeneration processing in a 2nd processing tank. The figure which shows the state where suction sub-processing of adsorbent regeneration processing is performed in a 1st processing tank, and gas processing is performed in a 2nd processing tank. The figure which shows the state where atmospheric release sub-processing of adsorbent regeneration processing is performed in a 1st processing tank, and gas processing is performed in a 2nd processing tank. FIG. 3 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a modification of the hydrocarbon recovery device of the present embodiment. FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a cleaning device having the hydrocarbon recovery device of the present embodiment as a component.

An embodiment of a hydrocarbon recovery device according to the present invention and an embodiment of a cleaning device having the hydrocarbon recovery device as a component will be described using FIGS. 1 to 9.

(1) Configuration of hydrocarbon recovery apparatus of this embodiment FIG. 1 schematically shows the configuration of a hydrocarbon recovery apparatus 10 of this embodiment. This hydrocarbon recovery apparatus 10 has two treatment tanks, a first treatment tank 11A and a second treatment tank 11B. The first processing tank 11A and the second processing tank 11B have the same configuration. Therefore, the detailed configuration will be explained below by taking the first processing tank 11A as an example, and the detailed description of the configuration of the second processing tank 11B will be omitted. In the explanation of the first processing tank 11A, the suffix "A" written at the end of each component is replaced with "B" and corresponds to the component of the second processing tank 11B (for example, the first A component in the second processing tank 11B that corresponds to a first processing gas introduction pipe 121A (described later) connected to the processing tank 11A is a second processing gas introduction pipe 121B).

A first treatment gas introduction pipe 121A is connected to the side surface near the lower end of the first treatment tank 11A, and a first treatment gas introduction valve 12A is provided on this first treatment gas introduction pipe 121A. . A source gas introduction tube 122 is provided on the upstream side of the first gas introduction tube 121A, and from this source tube 122, the first gas introduction tube 121A and the second gas introduction tube are introduced. The pipe 121B is branched. The source pipe 122 for introducing gas to be treated is provided with a fan 123 that feeds hydrocarbon gas from a generation source (not shown) toward the first treatment tank 11A and the second treatment tank 11B. At the same time, a flow rate adjustment damper 124 is provided downstream of the fan 123 to adjust (restrict) the flow rate of the gas flowing from the generation source into the gas introduction pipe 122 to be treated.

A first post-processing gas discharge pipe 131A is provided on the side surface near the upper end of the first processing tank 11A, and a first post-processing gas discharge valve 13A is provided on the first post-processing gas discharge pipe 131A. . The first post-processing gas discharge pipe 131A and the second post-processing gas discharge pipe 131B merge into a post-processing gas merging pipe 132. The processed gas, which is the gas from which hydrocarbons have been removed in the first processing tank 11A and the second processing tank 11B, is discharged to the outside of the hydrocarbon recovery apparatus 10 from the processed gas confluence pipe 132.

A first vacuum suction pipe 141A is provided on the side surface near the lower end of the first processing tank 11A, and a first vacuum suction valve 14A is provided on this first vacuum suction pipe 141A. The first vacuum suction tube 141A and the second vacuum suction tube 141B merge into a vacuum suction confluence tube 142, and the suction port of the vacuum pump 19 is connected to the vacuum suction confluence tube 142.

An exhaust port of the vacuum pump 19 is connected to a nozzle 202 provided in a hydrocarbon recovery tank 20 via a hydrocarbon recovery pipe 201 . The cleaning liquid L is stored in the hydrocarbon recovery tank 20 above the nozzle 202, so that the hydrocarbon gas supplied from the nozzle 202 is absorbed into the cleaning liquid L. These hydrocarbon recovery tank 20 and nozzles correspond to the above-mentioned hydrocarbon liquefaction section. A recovery tank discharge pipe 203 is connected to the upper surface of the hydrocarbon recovery tank 20, and this recovery tank discharge pipe 203 is connected to the source pipe 122 for introducing the gas to be treated. The recovery tank discharge pipe 203 is provided with a flow rate adjustment damper 204 that adjusts (restricts) the flow rate of gas flowing from the hydrocarbon recovery tank 20 into the gas introduction pipe 122 to be treated.

A first atmospheric release pipe 151A is provided on the upper surface of the first processing tank 11A, and a first atmospheric pressure release valve 15A is provided on this first atmospheric release pipe 151A.

In the first treatment tank 11A, three activated carbon trays (a first lower activated carbon tray 161A, a first middle activated carbon tray 162A, and a first upper activated carbon tray 163A) that accommodate activated carbon as an adsorbent are arranged in a line in the vertical direction. has been done. The bottom surface 166 of each of these activated carbon trays is provided with a gas passage hole 167 having a particle size that allows gas to pass through but does not allow activated carbon particles to pass through. ) is provided with a shaft passage hole 168 (see FIGS. 2 and 3).

A first activated carbon stirring unit 17A is provided in the first treatment tank 11A. The first activated carbon stirring unit 17A corresponds to the above-mentioned adsorbent stirring mechanism, and is provided in each of the first lower activated carbon tray 161A, the first middle activated carbon tray 162A, and the first upper activated carbon tray 163A. It has a first lower stirring blade 171A, a first middle stirring blade 172A, and a first upper stirring blade 173A. These three stirring blades are fixed to a common first shaft 174A. The first shaft 174A extends substantially vertically and is provided to pass through the shaft passage hole 168 of each activated carbon tray. The first activated carbon stirring unit 17A further includes a first motor 175A that rotates a first shaft 174A, which is provided on the top surface of the first processing tank 11A.

A first heating jacket 181A and a first cooling jacket 182A are arranged around the first lower activated carbon tray 161A, the first middle activated carbon tray 162A, and the first upper activated carbon tray 163A, respectively (see FIG. 3). The first heating jacket 181A corresponds to the above-mentioned adsorbent heating mechanism, and has a flow path through which oil heated to a predetermined temperature (for example, 130° C.) flows from below to above. The first cooling jacket 182A corresponds to the above-mentioned adsorbent cooling mechanism, and has a flow path through which cooling water flows from below to above.

The hydrocarbon recovery apparatus 10 of this embodiment further includes a control section 21. The control unit 21 includes a valve control unit 211 and a temperature control unit 212 as functional blocks. The valve control unit 211 includes a first treatment gas introduction valve 12A, a second treatment gas introduction valve 12B, a first treatment gas discharge valve 13A, a second treatment gas discharge valve 13B, a first vacuum suction valve 14A, and a first treatment gas discharge valve 13A. 2 vacuum suction valve 14B, first atmosphere release valve 15A, and second atmosphere release valve 15B. The temperature control unit 212 sets the timing for supplying heated oil to the first heating jacket 181A and the second heating jacket 181B, and the timing for supplying cooling water to the first cooling jacket 182A and the second cooling jacket 182B. This controls the temperature of the activated carbon in the first treatment tank 11A and the second treatment tank 11B. Details of these controls will be described in the explanation of the operation of the hydrocarbon recovery apparatus 10 below. The control unit 21 is realized by hardware such as a CPU and memory, and software that executes control of these hardware.

(2) Operation of the hydrocarbon recovery apparatus of this embodiment The operation of the hydrocarbon recovery apparatus 10 of this embodiment will be explained. This device performs gas treatment to remove hydrocarbons from a gas to be treated containing hydrocarbons generated from a source (typically, but not limited to, the cleaning device 1 described below), and also An activated carbon regeneration process is performed to regenerate the activated carbon by removing hydrocarbons that have adhered to the activated carbon in the activated carbon tray during the treatment. While gas treatment is being performed in the first treatment tank 11A, activated carbon regeneration treatment is performed in the second treatment tank 11B, and while gas treatment is being performed in the first treatment tank 11A, gas treatment is being performed in the second treatment tank 11B. Perform processing. The details of these processes will be explained below.

First, as described below, operations are performed in which gas treatment is performed in the first treatment tank 11A and activated carbon regeneration treatment is performed in the second treatment tank 11B. When starting this operation, the control unit 21 performs the gas treatment operation on the valves provided in each pipe connected to the first treatment tank 11A, including the first treatment gas introduction valve 12A and the first treatment gas introduction valve 12A. After the first treatment, the gas discharge valve 13A is opened, and the first vacuum suction valve 14A and the first atmospheric pressure release valve 15A are closed. On the other hand, the control unit 21 performs the adsorbent regeneration operation on the valves provided in each pipe connected to the second treatment tank 11B, such as the second gas introduction valve 12B and the post-treatment gas discharge valve. 13B is closed, and the second vacuum suction valve 14B and second atmospheric pressure release valve 15B are repeatedly opened and closed as described below.

Through the opening/closing operations of the respective valves described above, the gas to be treated generated from the generation source is taken into the gas to be treated source pipe 122 by the operation of the fan 123, and the gas to be treated is introduced into the first gas inlet pipe 122 with the first gas inlet valve 12A open. The gas to be treated passes through the gas introduction pipe 121A, is introduced near the bottom of the first treatment tank 11A, and moves upward within the first treatment tank 11A (see FIGS. 4 and 5. In these figures, Solid thick lines indicate pipes through which gas is flowing, and dashed thick lines indicate pipes through which gas is not flowing.In addition, some of the components of the hydrocarbon recovery apparatus 10 are omitted in these figures. (The same applies to FIGS. 6 and 7, which will be described later.) During this time, in the first treatment tank 11A, the gas to be treated passes through the gas passage holes 167 provided in each activated carbon tray in the order of the first lower activated carbon tray 161A, the first middle activated carbon tray 162A, and the first upper activated carbon tray 163A. As it passes through, the hydrocarbons contained in the gas to be treated are removed by being adsorbed onto the activated carbon C accommodated in each activated carbon tray. In this embodiment, by providing a plurality of activated carbon trays (three), hydrocarbons can be removed more reliably than when only one activated carbon tray is provided.

In addition, cooling water flows into the first cooling jacket 182A under the control of the temperature control unit 212, thereby flowing into the first lower activated carbon tray 161A, the first middle activated carbon tray 162A, the first upper activated carbon tray 163A, and each of these activated carbon trays. The contained activated carbon is cooled. By cooling the activated carbon in this manner, adsorption of hydrocarbons contained in the gas to be treated to the activated carbon is promoted.

The treated gas from which hydrocarbons have been removed from the gas to be treated in this manner is discharged into the atmosphere through the first treated gas discharge pipe 131A and the treated gas confluence pipe 132 (see FIGS. 4 and 5). ).

While the gas treatment is being performed in the first treatment tank 11A in this way, in the second treatment tank 11B, the gas stored in the second lower activated carbon tray 161B, the second middle activated carbon tray 162B, and the second upper activated carbon tray 163B is Activated carbon regeneration treatment for removing hydrocarbons adhering to activated carbon is performed as follows. Note that this activated carbon regeneration treatment is normally executed when gas treatment has been performed in the second treatment tank 11B before that, and activated carbon is stored in each tray in the second treatment tank 11B. If gas treatment has not yet been performed after this step, this step can be omitted. However, even if the gas treatment has not been performed yet, activated carbon regeneration treatment may be performed in order to use the activated carbon in a cleaner state (no adhesion of hydrocarbons).

In the activated carbon regeneration process, first, while the vacuum pump 19 is operating, the valve control unit 211 closes the second atmospheric pressure release valve 15B and opens the second vacuum suction valve 14B. As a result, the gas inside the second processing tank 11B is sucked by the vacuum pump 19, and the pressure inside the second processing tank 11B is reduced. Then, the hydrocarbons (HC) adsorbed on the activated carbon C separate from the activated carbon C, and the hydrocarbon gas passes through the second vacuum suction pipe 141B and the hydrocarbon recovery pipe 201, and enters the hydrocarbon recovery tank 20 from the nozzle 202. (suction sub-process, see Figure 4). As a result, most of the hydrocarbon gas is absorbed into the cleaning liquid L. Some of the hydrocarbon gases that were not absorbed by the cleaning liquid L pass through the recovery tank discharge pipe 203, the gas to be treated source pipe 122, and the first gas to be treated pipe 121A to the first treatment tank together with the gas to be treated. 11A and adsorbed on the activated carbon in the activated carbon tray.

During this suction sub-process, the oil heated under the control of the temperature control section 212 flows into the second heating jacket 181B, thereby causing the second lower activated carbon tray 161B, the second middle activated carbon tray 162B, the second upper activated carbon tray 163B, Furthermore, the activated carbon C accommodated in each of these activated carbon trays is heated. This promotes separation of hydrocarbons from activated carbon C. At the same time, the second motor 175B operates to rotate the second shaft 174B and the second lower stirring blades 171B, second middle stirring blades 172B, and second upper stirring blades 173B fixed thereto, thereby stirring the activated carbon C. , desorption of hydrocarbons from activated carbon C is further promoted.

When such suction sub-processing is carried out for a while, the temperature of the activated carbon decreases due to the heat of vaporization as the hydrocarbons vaporize, and eventually the hydrocarbons remaining in the activated carbon cease to vaporize. Therefore, after a predetermined period of time has passed from the start of the suction sub-process, the valve control unit 211 closes the second vacuum suction valve 14B and opens the second atmospheric pressure release valve 15B (atmosphere release sub-operation). Atmospheric air is introduced to bring the inside of the second processing tank 11B to atmospheric pressure (see FIG. 5. Atmospheric release sub-processing). After that, the valve control unit 211 further performs an operation of closing the second atmospheric pressure release valve 15B and opening the second vacuum suction valve 14B. As a result, the suction sub-process is executed again, and the hydrocarbons are separated from the activated carbon C.

In the hydrocarbon recovery apparatus 10 of this embodiment, the suction sub-process and the atmospheric release sub-process are alternately executed multiple times. This promotes the separation of hydrocarbons from the activated carbon, thereby increasing the ability to remove hydrocarbons from the gas to be treated during subsequent gas treatment.

After performing gas treatment in the first treatment tank 11A and performing activated carbon regeneration treatment in the second treatment tank 11B as described above, the valve control unit 211 controls the first treatment gas introduction valve 12A, the first treatment gas discharge Control is performed to close the valve 13A, second vacuum suction valve 14B, and second atmospheric pressure release valve 15B, and open the second treated gas introduction valve 12B and second post-treatment gas discharge valve 13B. Furthermore, regarding the first vacuum suction valve 14A and the first atmospheric pressure release valve 15A, the valve control unit 211 alternately executes the suction sub-operation and the atmospheric release sub-operation multiple times. Thereby, activated carbon regeneration processing is performed in the first processing tank 11A while gas processing is performed in the second processing tank 11B. The operation of the gas treatment in the second treatment tank 11B (FIGS. 6 and 7) is similar to the operation in the first treatment tank 11A described above, and the operation of the suction sub-process performed in the activated carbon regeneration process in the first treatment tank 11A ( 6) and the atmospheric pressure release sub-processing (FIG. 7) are similar to those in the second processing tank 11B, so detailed explanations will be omitted.

In this way, by performing gas treatment and activated carbon regeneration treatment at opposite timings in the first treatment tank 11A and second treatment tank 11B, carbonization can be achieved by regenerating activated carbon while constantly performing gas treatment on the gas to be treated. It is possible to suppress a decrease in the ability to remove hydrogen.

(3) Modifications of the hydrocarbon recovery device of the present invention The hydrocarbon recovery device of the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and various modifications are possible. For example, the activated carbon stirring unit, heating jacket, and cooling jacket are not essential, and some or all of them may be omitted. Moreover, a heater that heats using electric power may be used instead of the heating jacket.

In the above embodiment, three activated carbon trays were provided for one treatment tank, but the number of activated carbon trays may be two or less or four or more. Furthermore, the activated carbon may be held in a holder having a structure other than the activated carbon tray used in the above embodiment, such as a cage-shaped holder.

Although activated carbon was used as the adsorbent in the above embodiment, activated carbon fibers or other adsorbents may also be used.

In the above embodiment, the to-be-treated gas is introduced into the hydrocarbon recovery apparatus 10 from the to-be-treated gas introduction pipe 122 provided immediately before the first to-be-treated gas inlet pipe 121A and the second to-be-treated gas inlet pipe 121B. However, as shown in FIG. 8, instead, the source pipe 122A for introducing the gas to be treated is connected to the inlet port of the vacuum pump 19, and the discharge pipe 203 is connected to the first gas introducing pipe 121A and the second gas inlet pipe 122A. It may be directly connected to the processing gas introduction pipe 121B. By connecting the to-be-treated gas introduction pipe 122A to the intake port of the vacuum pump 19 in this way, the to-be-treated gas is introduced into the hydrocarbon recovery tank 20 before being introduced into the first treatment tank 11A or the second treatment tank 11B. is introduced into the cleaning liquid L, and a part of the hydrocarbons contained in the gas to be treated can be absorbed into the cleaning liquid L.

In addition, as shown by the thick broken line in FIG. 8, a second treated gas introduction pipe 122B branched from the recovery tank discharge pipe 203 is further provided so that the treated gas introduced from the treated gas introduction pipe 122A and Separately) the gas to be processed may also be introduced from the second gas to be processed introduction pipe 122B. In that case, for example, a vacuum tank for steam cleaning and vacuum drying in the cleaning device is connected to the source pipe 122A for introducing the gas to be treated, and gas around the cleaning device is introduced from the second source tube 122B for introducing the gas to be treated. You can do as you like. Thereby, the gas to be treated is introduced from the vacuum tank into the hydrocarbon recovery device 10, and even if gas containing hydrocarbons leaks from the cleaning device, the gas is transferred from the second gas to be treated source pipe 122B to the hydrocarbon recovery device. 10 can be introduced.

The hydrocarbon recovery device according to the present invention can be suitably used in the cleaning device described below to recover hydrocarbons from a gas containing hydrocarbons generated from a cleaning liquid containing hydrocarbons. However, the hydrocarbon recovery device according to the present invention can be used not only as a cleaning device but also when recovering hydrocarbons from gas containing hydrocarbons generated from other devices or containers (for example, containers for storing oil). be able to.

(4) Cleaning device having the hydrocarbon recovery device of this embodiment FIG. 9 schematically shows the configuration of a cleaning device 1 having the hydrocarbon recovery device 10 of this embodiment. This cleaning device 1 includes, in addition to the hydrocarbon recovery device 10, an immersion cleaning section 30, a steam cleaning/vacuum drying section 40, and a distillation regeneration section 50. In the example shown in FIG. 9, the hydrocarbon recovery apparatus 10 is one of the modified examples shown in FIG. 8, which includes the second gas introduction pipe 122B.

The immersion cleaning section 30 includes an immersion cleaning tank 31 in which a cleaning liquid is stored, an ultrasonic vibrator 32 that applies ultrasonic vibrations to the workpieces accommodated in the immersion cleaning tank 31 via the cleaning liquid, and an immersion cleaning tank 31 in which cleaning liquid is stored. It has a circulation filter 33 for filtering the cleaning liquid. The circulation filter 33 includes a circulation pipe 331 whose both ends are connected to the immersion cleaning tank 31, and a filter 332 and a liquid pump 333 provided in the circulation pipe 331.

In the immersion cleaning section 30 , the workpiece is immersed in a cleaning liquid stored in the immersion cleaning tank 31 and then the workpiece is cleaned by applying ultrasonic vibration to the workpiece using the ultrasonic vibrator 32 . Impurities dispersed in the cleaning liquid as the workpiece is cleaned are removed by a filter 332 in the circulation filter 33.

The immersion cleaning tank 31 is connected to a distilled liquid storage tank 54 of the distilled regeneration section 50 through a distilled regenerated cleaning liquid supply pipe 541. Thereby, the cleaning liquid containing hydrocarbons recovered in the hydrocarbon recovery tank 20 is regenerated in the distillation regeneration unit 50 and supplied to the immersion cleaning tank 31, so that it can be reused. Further, the immersion cleaning tank 31 is connected to the hydrocarbon recovery tank 20 of the hydrocarbon recovery apparatus 10 through a return pipe 35 at a position near the top of the space in which the cleaning liquid is stored. Thereby, when the cleaning liquid exceeding a predetermined amount is present in the immersion cleaning tank 31, the cleaning liquid is prevented from overflowing from the immersion cleaning tank 31 by flowing the cleaning liquid into the hydrocarbon recovery tank 20 through the return pipe 35.

The immersion cleaning tank 31 is connected to the vacuum pump 19 through a degassing recovery pipe 341. A degassing valve 34 is provided in the degassing recovery pipe 341 . While the degassing valve 34 is open, the gas evaporated from the cleaning liquid L in the immersion cleaning tank 31 is sucked by the vacuum pump 19 and recovered by the hydrocarbon recovery device 10.

The steam cleaning/vacuum drying section 40 includes a vacuum chamber 41 , a vacuum shutoff valve 42 , a steam shutoff valve 43 , and a cleaning liquid recovery tank 44 . The vacuum chamber 41 is connected to the vacuum pump 19 through a vacuum pump connection pipe 421. The vacuum pump connection pipe 421 corresponds to the to-be-treated gas introduction pipe 122 in the example hydrocarbon recovery apparatus 10 shown in FIG. Note that a vacuum pump other than the vacuum pump 19 included in the hydrocarbon recovery apparatus 10 may be provided in the steam cleaning/vacuum drying section 40, and the vacuum tank 41 may be connected to the vacuum pump. In that case, the exhaust port of the other vacuum pump is connected to the source pipe 122 for introducing the gas to be treated in the example hydrocarbon recovery apparatus 10 shown in FIG. The vacuum on-off valve 42 is provided in the vacuum pump connection pipe 421. The vacuum tank 41 is connected to the distillation tank 51 of the distillation regeneration unit 50 through a steam supply pipe 431, and when the steam on-off valve 43 provided in the steam supply pipe 431 is opened, the cleaning liquid vapor enters inside the vacuum tank 41. is supplied.

The cleaning liquid recovery tank 44 is connected to the bottom of the vacuum tank 41 through a cleaning liquid recovery pipe 441, and is a container for recovering the cleaning liquid liquefied in the vacuum tank 41. A cleaning liquid recovery valve 442 is provided in the cleaning liquid recovery pipe 441 . The cleaning liquid recovery tank 44 is also connected to the immersion cleaning tank 31 through a cleaning liquid supply pipe 443, so that the cleaning liquid liquefied in the vacuum tank 41 can be reused in the immersion cleaning section 30.

In the steam cleaning/vacuum drying section 40, steam cleaning and vacuum drying are performed as follows. First, a workpiece is placed in the vacuum chamber 41, the vacuum shut-off valve 42 is opened, and the inside of the vacuum chamber 41 is evacuated by the vacuum pump 19, thereby exhausting the air inside the vacuum chamber 41. Next, after closing the vacuum on-off valve 42, the steam on-off valve 43 is opened, and the vapor of the cleaning liquid is supplied from the distillation tank 51 into the vacuum tank 41. After continuing to supply the cleaning liquid vapor for a predetermined period of time, the steam opening/closing valve 43 is closed, the vacuum opening/closing valve 42 is opened, and the cleaning liquid vapor in the vacuum tank 41 is discharged by the vacuum pump 19. These steam supply and discharge operations are repeated multiple times. Finally, vacuum drying is performed by rapidly reducing the pressure in the vacuum chamber 41 using the vacuum pump 19 to cause the cleaning liquid adhering to the surface of the workpiece to boil.

The steam of the cleaning liquid discharged from the vacuum tank 41 during steam cleaning and vacuum drying is supplied to the hydrocarbon recovery tank 20, and the hydrocarbons contained in the steam are recovered by the hydrocarbon recovery device 10.

The distillation regeneration unit 50 includes a distillation tank 51, a steam guide valve 52, a distillation condenser 53, a distillate storage tank 54, an ejector 55, and a distillate circulation pump 56. The distillation tank 51 stores the cleaning liquid supplied from the hydrocarbon recovery tank 20 via the distillation target liquid supply pipe 511 connected to the hydrocarbon recovery tank 20, and heats it with a heater (not shown). This generates cleaning liquid vapor. The steam guide valve 52 directs the flow path of the steam of the cleaning liquid generated in the distillation tank 51 to either the steam supply pipe 431 of the steam cleaning/vacuum drying section 40 or the distiller condenser connecting pipe 531 connected to the distiller condenser 53. It is a three-way valve that switches between supplying The distiller condenser 53 cools and liquefies the vapor of the cleaning liquid supplied from the distillation tank 51. The distilled liquid storage tank 54 is a tank that stores the cleaning liquid liquefied in the distiller condenser 53. The distilled liquid storage tank 54 is connected to the immersion cleaning tank 31 via a distilled regenerated cleaning liquid supply pipe 541. The ejector 55 sucks the cleaning liquid liquefied in the distiller condenser 53 into the distilled liquid storage tank 54, and operates by circulating the cleaning liquid through the circulation channel 551 with the distilled liquid circulation pump 56.

In the distillation regeneration unit 50, the cleaning liquid supplied from the hydrocarbon recovery tank 20 is constantly heated in the distillation tank 51 to generate cleaning liquid vapor. When performing steam cleaning in the steam cleaning/vacuum drying section 40, the generated steam is supplied to the vacuum chamber 41 by setting the flow path to the steam supply pipe 431 side by the steam guide valve 52, and at other times, the steam guide valve 52 A flow path is set on the side of the distiller condenser connecting pipe 531 to supply the water to the distiller condenser 53. The steam supplied to the vacuum chamber 41 is used for steam cleaning. On the other hand, the vapor supplied to the distiller condenser 53 is cooled and liquefied to be distilled and regenerated, and is stored in the distillate storage tank 54. The distilled and regenerated cleaning liquid stored in the distilled liquid storage tank 54 is supplied to the immersion cleaning tank 31 via the distilled and regenerated cleaning liquid supply pipe 541.

According to the cleaning device of this embodiment, the gas evaporated from the cleaning liquid L in the immersion cleaning tank 31 and the vapor of the cleaning liquid discharged from the vacuum tank 41 during steam cleaning and vacuum drying are introduced into the hydrocarbon recovery device 10. By doing so, the hydrocarbons contained in these gases and vapors can be recovered without being discharged into the environment. Furthermore, even if gas containing hydrocarbons leaks from the immersion cleaning tank 31, vacuum tank 41, etc., the gas can be removed by introducing the gas into the hydrocarbon recovery device 10 from the second gas to be treated pipe 122B. It is possible to recover hydrocarbons contained in Furthermore, since the recovered hydrocarbons can be absorbed into the cleaning liquid in the hydrocarbon recovery tank 20 and the cleaning liquid can be reused, the amount of cleaning liquid used can be reduced. Furthermore, by recovering hydrocarbons using the hydrocarbon recovery apparatus 10 of this embodiment, it is possible to suppress a decrease in the ability to remove hydrocarbons from the steam.

In addition, if a common vacuum pump 19 is used to perform vacuuming during steam cleaning and vacuum drying and vacuuming during regeneration of the adsorbent (activated carbon) in the hydrocarbon recovery device 10, The equipment cost required for the pump can be reduced.

The cleaning device using the hydrocarbon recovery device according to the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications are possible.

10...Hydrocarbon recovery device 11A (11B)...First (second) treatment tank 12A (12B)...First (second) gas introduction valve 121A (121B)...First (second) gas introduction Pipe 122...To-be-treated gas introduction pipe 123...Fans 124, 204...Flow rate adjustment damper 13A (13B)...First (second) post-processing gas discharge valve 131A (131B)...First (second) post-processing gas discharge Pipe 132...Post-processing gas confluence tube 14A (14B)...First (second) vacuum suction valve 141A (141B)...First (second) vacuum suction tube 142...Vacuum suction confluence tube 15A (15B)...First ( 2nd) Atmospheric pressure release valve 151A (151B)...First (second) atmosphere release pipe 161A (161B)...First (second) lower stage activated carbon tray 162A (162B)...First (second) middle stage activated carbon tray 163A (163B)...First (second) upper activated carbon tray 166...Bottom surface of activated carbon tray 167...Gas passage hole 168...Shaft passage hole 17A (17B)...First (second) activated carbon stirring unit 171A (171B)...First (Second) lower stirring blade 172A (172B)...First (second) middle stirring blade 173A (173B)...First (second) upper stirring blade 174A (174B)...First (second) shaft 175A (175B) )...First (second) motor 181A (181B)...First (second) heating jacket 182A (182B)...First (second) cooling jacket 19...Vacuum pump 20...Hydrocarbon recovery tank 201...Hydrocarbon recovery Pipe 202...Nozzle 203...Collection tank discharge pipe 21...Control section 211...Valve control section 212...Temperature control section 30...Immersion cleaning section 31...Immersion cleaning tank 32...Ultrasonic vibrator 33...Circulation filter 331...Circulation pipe 332 ... Filter 333 ... Liquid pump 34 ... Deaeration valve 341 ... Deaeration recovery pipe 35 ... Return pipe 40 ... Steam cleaning/vacuum drying section 41 ... Vacuum tank 42 ... Vacuum on-off valve 421 ... Vacuum pump connection pipe 43 ... Steam on-off valve 431 ...Steam supply pipe 44...Cleaning liquid recovery tank 441...Cleaning liquid recovery pipe 442...Cleaning liquid recovery valve 443...Cleaning liquid supply pipe 50...Distillation regeneration section 51...Distillation tank 511...Distillation target liquid supply pipe 52...Steam guide valve 53...Distiller condenser 531... Distiller condenser connection pipe 54... Distilled liquid storage tank 541... Distilled regenerated cleaning liquid supply pipe 55... Ejector 551... Circulation channel 56... Distilled liquid circulation pump C... Activated carbon L... Cleaning liquid

Claims (8)

An apparatus for removing and recovering hydrocarbons contained in a gas to be treated, the apparatus comprising:
a) a treatment tank having an adsorbent storage space that accommodates an adsorbent capable of adsorbing hydrocarbons;
b) a to-be-treated gas introduction valve that is a valve provided in a to-be-treated gas inlet pipe connected to the processing tank;
c) a post-processing gas discharge valve that is a valve provided in a post-processing gas discharge pipe connected to the processing tank;
d) a vacuum pump whose intake port is connected to the processing tank by a vacuum suction pipe;
e) a hydrocarbon liquefaction unit connected to the exhaust port of the vacuum pump;
f) a vacuum suction valve that is a valve provided in the vacuum suction pipe;
g) an atmospheric pressure release valve that opens the treatment tank to the atmosphere;
h) a gas processing operation of opening the treated gas introduction valve and the post-treatment gas discharge valve and closing the vacuum suction valve and the atmospheric pressure release valve; In the closed state, a suction sub-operation in which the atmospheric pressure release valve is closed and the vacuum suction valve is opened, and an atmospheric pressure release sub-operation in which the atmospheric pressure release valve is opened and the vacuum suction valve is closed are alternately performed multiple times. A hydrocarbon recovery device comprising: an adsorbent regeneration operation that performs the following operations; and a valve control unit that performs the operations. The hydrocarbon recovery apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an adsorbent heating mechanism that heats the adsorbent in the adsorbent placement space while the valve control section executes the adsorbent regeneration operation. The hydrocarbon recovery apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising an adsorbent cooling mechanism that cools the adsorbent in the adsorbent arrangement space while the valve control section executes the gas processing operation. The carbonization according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising an adsorbent stirring mechanism that stirs the adsorbent in the adsorbent placement space while the valve control unit executes the adsorbent regeneration operation. Hydrogen recovery equipment. Equipped with two of the processing tanks,
The two processing tanks each include the to-be-processed gas introduction valve, the post-processing gas discharge valve, the vacuum suction valve, and the atmospheric pressure release valve,
The valve control unit causes a gas introduction valve, a post-processing gas discharge valve, a vacuum suction valve, and an atmospheric pressure release valve of one of the two processing tanks to execute the gas processing operation. Sometimes, the adsorbent regeneration operation is performed on the gas inlet valve, post-processing gas discharge valve, vacuum suction valve, and atmospheric pressure release valve of the other processing tank, and the gas inlet valve, post-processing gas inlet valve of the other processing tank is When the gas exhaust valve, vacuum suction valve, and atmospheric pressure release valve are performing the adsorbent regeneration operation, the gas introduction valve to be treated, the post-processing gas exhaust valve, the vacuum suction valve, and the atmospheric pressure release valve of the other processing tank. to perform the gas processing operation,
The hydrocarbon recovery device according to any one of claims 1 to 4. a vacuum chamber in which a workpiece is housed;
a steam supply unit that supplies steam of a cleaning liquid containing hydrocarbons into the vacuum chamber;
a vacuum pump for steam cleaning and vacuum drying whose intake port is connected to the vacuum chamber;
A cleaning device comprising: the hydrocarbon recovery device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the exhaust port of the steam cleaning/vacuum drying vacuum pump is directly or indirectly connected to the gas introduction pipe to be treated. Device. The cleaning device according to claim 6, wherein the vacuum pump and the steam cleaning/vacuum drying vacuum pump are the same vacuum pump. The cleaning device according to claim 6 or 7, wherein the steam supply section generates the steam by vaporizing a cleaning liquid containing hydrocarbons that has been liquefied in the hydrocarbon liquefaction section.

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