JPH0330888A - Apparatus for treating waste photographic processing solution - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To easily recover condensed water and a conc. waste solution by respectively independently receiving a waste solution, condensed water and the conc. waste solution in a plurality of the receiving parts of a container divided by a flexible partition wall and simultaneously performing the supply of the waste solution, the recovery of condensed water and the recovery of the conc. waste solution and replacing the container after the supply of the waste solution. CONSTITUTION:A container 33 is demarcated into three receiving parts 37a-37c by two flexible partition walls 36 and the waste solution to be supplied to a waste solution tank by piping 31 and a pump 32 is received in the second receiving part 37b and the conc. waste solution from a conc. waste solution tank is guided to the first receiving part 37a by piping 40 and a valve 41 to be received therein and the condensed water in a receiver is guided to the third receiving part 37c by piping 34 and a valve 35 to be received therein. By this constitution, one container 33 can be used in the supply of the waste solution, the recovery of condensed water and the recovery of the conc. waste solution and these operations can be simultaneously performed. Therefore, the mounting and detachment of the container 33 to a treatment apparatus main body case accompanied by the supply of the waste solution, the recovery of condensed water and the recovery of the conc. waste solution may be performed once and the recovery of condensed water and the conc. waste solution can be easily performed.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a photographic processing waste liquid processing apparatus used for concentrating photographic processing waste liquid.

[Conventional technology]

The waste liquid produced by photographic processing cannot be disposed of in rivers or the like to prevent pollution, so the actual situation is that the waste liquid produced by photographic processing must be disposed of by specialized companies. Most of the photographic processing waste liquid is water, so if the photographic processing waste liquid is concentrated or solidified, the storage amount can be kept in a very small amount, which simplifies storage space and subsequent processing, making it easier to outsource to specialized companies. Expenses will also be significantly reduced.

As an apparatus for this purpose, there is a photographic processing waste liquid processing apparatus that separates solid content contained in the photographic processing waste liquid from water.

The photographic processing waste liquid processing apparatus has a main body case equipped with an intake port and an exhaust port, and includes a storage means for storing the waste liquid, a heating evaporation means for the waste liquid, a means for supplying the waste liquid to the evaporation means, and a means for supplying the waste liquid to the evaporation means. It was an apparatus having a heat exchange means for condensing and/or a means for sending air through the heat exchange means to a heating evaporation means. (JP-A No. 63-19655, JP-A No. 63-10
(Refer to each publication No. 7795) However, in the conventional device, when heating and evaporating the waste liquid, the
By increasing the waste liquid temperature to 0 to 90°C to promote evaporation, ammonium thiosulfate and sulfite, which are commonly used as fixing solutions and bleach-fixing solutions for photographic processing solutions, decompose due to the high temperature, producing sulfur dioxide gas and hydrogen sulfide. , harmful or extremely foul-smelling gases such as ammonia gas are generated. and,
If these gases are released outside the device from the exhaust port on the main body case, they will contaminate the atmosphere around the device. It requires secondary processing equipment such as a mechanism, a deodorant supply means, a solidifying agent supply means, etc., and the entire apparatus becomes a very complicated and large apparatus, and its operation is also complicated.

Furthermore, in order to improve evaporation efficiency, a large evaporation means is provided, which increases the size of the device and increases power consumption.

Furthermore, there is a problem in that the temperature and humidity inside the main body change, and the processing quality and processing capacity of the collected water, such as pH and COD, change.

Solving the above problems, the waste liquid is attached to or impregnated into the evaporation medium that is partially immersed in the photographic processing waste liquid inside the main body case as a small and highly efficient photographic processing waste liquid treatment device that does not require a secondary processing device. However, a photographic processing waste liquid processing apparatus has been proposed that has an evaporation section that exposes the waste liquid to air and evaporates it, and a condensation section that cools and condenses the evaporated water.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

A photographic processing waste liquid processing apparatus that evaporates and condenses photographic processing waste liquid requires a waste liquid storage means for storing the waste liquid to be supplied to the evaporator, and a condensed water storage means for recovering and storing condensed water. Therefore, the operation of loading and unloading each storage means into the photographic processing waste liquid processing apparatus is complicated, and the above-mentioned configuration is also a factor in increasing the size of the photographic processing waste liquid processing apparatus.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems, and to provide a photographic processing waste liquid treatment apparatus that is easy to supply waste liquid, recover condensed water, and concentrated waste liquid, and has excellent operability.

[Means and effects for solving the problems] The above-mentioned object of the present invention is to provide a photographic processing waste liquid processing apparatus that evaporates water in photographic processing waste liquid and condenses and recovers the evaporated water. , a container having a plurality of storage sections divided by flexible partitions so as to be able to accommodate at least two types of waste liquids, respectively; and a waste liquid supply means for supplying the waste liquid contained in the first storage section to the evaporation section. This is achieved by a photographic processing waste liquid processing apparatus comprising: and a recovery means for recovering at least one of the moisture condensed by the condensation section and the concentrated waste liquid to the second storage section.

That is, by storing the waste liquid, condensed water, and concentrated waste liquid independently in a container having a plurality of storage parts divided by a flexible partition, all the liquids can be stored in one container. Therefore, the waste liquid supply to the evaporation section,
By performing the collection of type I water from the condensation section and the concentrated waste liquid at the same time, and replacing the container after the waste liquid is supplied, the condensed water and the concentrated waste liquid can be easily collected.

Moreover, since two types of liquids, such as a waste liquid and condensed water, or a waste liquid and a concentrated waste liquid, can be stored in one container, it becomes easy to supply the waste liquid and recover the condensed water or the concentrated waste liquid.

Note that the concentrated waste liquid in the present invention also includes residues in the waste liquid.

The container according to the present invention is internally divided into a plurality of parts by a flexible partition wall, and can contain the entire volume of waste liquid of the container. At this time, the capacity of the condensed water and concentrated waste liquid is approximately equal to zero. Then, as the waste liquid in the container is supplied to the evaporator, the waste liquid storage volume decreases, and conversely, the storage capacity of the condensed water and the a-condensed waste liquid increases.

Therefore, by guiding and collecting the condensed water and concentrated waste liquid into the container that contained the waste liquid, only one time is required to supply the waste liquid and to load and unload the container in conjunction with the collection of the condensed water and concentrated waste liquid.
Condensed water and concentrated waste liquid can be easily recovered.

Furthermore, since the condensed water and concentrated waste liquid are stored in the container that previously contained the waste liquid, one container can be used both for supplying the waste liquid and collecting the condensed water, and the container storage area within the photographic processing waste liquid processing apparatus can be reduced. Therefore, the photographic processing waste liquid treatment apparatus can be downsized.

Furthermore, since the photographic processing waste liquid treatment device can be configured in a small size,
It also becomes possible to integrate it with an automatic developing device or to incorporate it into the automatic developing device.

The main body case of the photographic processing waste liquid processing apparatus according to the present invention may be substantially sealed, or may be open to the outside. In this case, a substantially sealed main body case means that when photographic processing waste liquid is supplied to the main body case,
This means that the air inside the main case, and in some cases malodorous air, is separated from the outside world to the extent that it does not leak outside, except when removing condensed water from the main case.

By making the main body case substantially airtight, moisture or gas evaporated from the waste liquid will not be diffused to the outside, so that it will not have an adverse effect on the outside of the photographic processing waste liquid processing apparatus.

The condensed water obtained by this photographic processing waste liquid treatment apparatus can be subjected to simple treatment (for example, pH adjustment) if necessary, and then drained to the sewer.

Further, the concentrated photographic processing waste liquid obtained by the present photographic processing waste liquid processing apparatus can be recovered and heated and incinerated. When the concentrated waste liquid is removed from the waste liquid tank, it can be easily removed by opening a stopper provided at the bottom of the waste liquid tank. When extracting the concentrated waste liquid, an assimilating agent can be used to solidify the concentrated waste liquid in order to improve transportability and ease of handling after extraction. Those used as assimilating agents are described in detail in Japanese Patent Applications Hei 1-96435 and Hei 1-96436, and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 61-231548.

Further, the photographic processing waste liquid in the present invention may be any waste liquid after performing photographic processing such as development (color, black and white), bleaching, bleach-fixing, stabilization, etc.

〔Example〕

An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to this example.

FIG. 1 is a schematic side view of a first embodiment of the photographic processing waste liquid treatment apparatus of the present invention.

Inside the sealed body case 2 of the photographic processing waste liquid treatment device,
A waste liquid tank 3 containing photographic processing waste liquid is installed so as to be removable from the main body case. The waste liquid tank 3 can be replenished with waste liquid from a container 33 using a pipe 31 and a pump 32. The level of waste liquid in the waste liquid tank 3 can be controlled separately (not shown).

Although this embodiment has a structure in which the main body case 2 is substantially sealed, the present invention can also be applied to a photographic processing waste liquid processing apparatus in which the main body case is non-sealed. In that case, 2.
A subsequent treatment device is provided to prevent harmful or malodorous gases from being released outside the photographic processing waste liquid treatment device.

The endless belt 4 as an evaporation medium has a mesh structure made of glass fiber and rotates with its evaporation surface perpendicular to the circulating air.

The lower part of the endless belt 4 is immersed in the waste liquid in the waste liquid tank 3, and the waste liquid is pumped up by rotation.

In this embodiment, two endless belts 4 are provided and driven independently, but by driving a plurality of endless belts 4 in a superimposed manner via a spacer, the endless belts 4 can be driven without changing the evaporation efficiency. The installation area can be reduced.

The waste liquid pumped up by the endless belt 4 evaporates, and the evaporated moisture is contained in the air.

The refrigeration device included in this device includes a cooler 8, a first heat radiation section 11
, a second heat radiating section 72, a pressure unit 71, and an expansion valve 73, and is configured to circulate refrigerant through these.

The circulating air containing sufficient evaporated moisture is cooled to below the dew point by a cooler (condenser) 8 of the refrigeration system, and the condensed moisture falls into a receiver 9. The condensed water in the receiver 9 is collected into a container 33 by a pipe 34 and a valve 35. Container 33
is installed in the base case 10 below the main body case 2. The heat dissipation section of the refrigeration system is divided into two parts: a first heat dissipation section (air heater) 11 provided downstream of the cooler 8, and a second heat dissipation section provided outside the photographic processing waste liquid processing apparatus that dissipates heat to the outside air. (Air cooling section) 72.

The amount of heat radiated by the first heat radiator 11 is set to be less than the heat absorption capacity of the cooler 8, and excess heat is radiated by the second heat radiator 72.

A circulation fan 12 is provided next to the first heat radiating section 11, and cooperates with the evaporation fan 5 to circulate the air.

The condensed water collected in the container 33 is discarded or reused.

The cooled and moisture-removed circulating air is passed through an evaporation fan 5 to an auxiliary heater 6 that supplements the heating of the first heat radiating section 11.
After passing through the endless belt and before passing through the cooler, the temperature is adjusted to 15 to 30°C, preferably 20 to 25°C, and then the waste liquid that has passed through the endless belt 4 and adhered to the endless belt 4 is Evaporate moisture.

The auxiliary heater 6 serves to warm the air to a predetermined temperature and lower the relative humidity of the air, thereby ensuring stabilization of the reception of moisture evaporated from the waste liquid.

A temperature sensor 25 is provided above the waste liquid tank 3 to detect the temperature of the air in the evaporation section, and this temperature sensor 25 is connected to a controller . The temperature sensor 25 is preferably provided immediately before the cooler 8 on the downstream side of the evaporation section.

The temperature sensor 25 detects the temperature of the air after passing through the endless belt and before passing through the cooler, and the controller 28 detects the temperature of the air near the temperature sensor 25 of 15 to 30 degrees Celsius, preferably 20 to 2 degrees Celsius.
The operation of the auxiliary heater 6 is controlled so that the temperature is 5°C.

The temperature of the evaporator section is detected by the temperature sensor 25, and the controller 28 controls the operation of the auxiliary heater 6 to maintain the temperature of the air at a constant temperature after passing through the evaporating medium and before passing through the cooler. The evaporation and condensation capacity per unit can be kept constant, and the processing capacity can also be adjusted.

The compressor 71 and the second heat radiating section 72 of the refrigeration system are provided outside the main body case 2, and the heat radiated from the second heat radiating section 72 is radiated to the outside by the fan 75.

Therefore, when the device is operated in a state where outside air is not drawn into the sealed main body case 2, the residual heat of the motor and the second heat radiating section does not affect the heat balance of heating and cooling the air used for evaporation. do not have.

The temperature of the air in the evaporation section inside the main body case 2 after passing through the endless belt and before passing through the cooler is maintained at a low temperature of 15 to 30°C, preferably 20 to 25°C, so that ammonium thiosulfate and sulfite in the photographic processing waste liquid are Salt does not decompose at high temperatures, and no harmful or extremely malodorous gases such as sulfur dioxide gas, hydrogen sulfide, or ammonia gas are generated.

Therefore, the secondary processing device for processing gas is also simplified and can be downsized. Further, the photographic processing waste liquid does not corrode the apparatus due to high temperatures, and maintenance of the apparatus becomes easier.

Furthermore, by utilizing heat from the heat dissipation section of the refrigeration system, the operating cost of the system can be reduced.

The concentrated waste liquid in which the water in the waste liquid has evaporated is transferred to the pipe 40 and the valve 4.
1 into another container 42 as necessary.

A container 33 used for supplying waste liquid and collecting condensed water, and an aw
3. Containers 42 used for collecting waste liquid are both attached to the base case 1.
It can be easily attached and detached from within 0. Therefore, the container 33 that collects and stores the photographic processing waste liquid from the automatic developing apparatus is attached to the present photographic processing waste liquid processing apparatus, and is removed after the condensed water has accumulated inside. Further, the other container 42 is also removed after the concentrated waste liquid has accumulated therein.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a container 33 containing waste liquid and condensed water.

The container 33 has two storage portions 37a and 37b defined by a flexible partition wall 36 provided therein.

A first storage portion 37a in the container 33 stores waste liquid, and the waste liquid is pumped up by the piping 31 and the pump 32 and supplied to the waste liquid tank 3. In addition, the second storage section 37 inside the container 33
b, the condensed water collected in the receiver 9 is transferred to the pipe 3 as necessary.
4 and valve 35. The upper part of the partition wall 36 is fixed to a lid body 38.

As the moisture in the waste liquid in the waste liquid tank 3 evaporates, when it is necessary to replenish the waste liquid in the waste liquid tank 3, a container 33 containing the waste liquid is loaded into the main body case 2. Each pipe 31 , 34 is preferably detachably provided with a lid 38 provided on the container 33 , and each pipe 3 is provided inside the container 33 .
It is preferable to provide other piping 31a, 34a that can be connected to 1.34.

When the container 33 is loaded, the waste liquid stored in the first storage portion 37a occupies almost the entire volume of the container 33.

As the waste liquid in the first accommodating part 37a is supplied to the waste liquid tank 3, the partition wall 36 is deformed, the volume of the first accommodating part 37a decreases, and the volume of the second accommodating part 37b increases. Then, the condensed water accumulated in the receiver 9 is supplied to the second storage portion 37b whose volume has increased and is collected.

By wiping the container 33, supply of waste liquid and recovery of condensed water are performed simultaneously, and each time the supply of waste liquid is finished, the container 33 is removed, the condensed water is recovered, and it can be disposed of in a sewage system or the like.

The container 33 stores waste liquid in a first storage part 37a, and a second storage part 37a.
Although the configuration is such that the condensed water is stored in the storage section 37b, the photographic processing waste liquid processing apparatus may be configured to store the concentrated waste liquid in the second storage section 37b.

In this embodiment, the waste liquid concentrate or residue after the moisture in the waste liquid has evaporated is collected in another container 42, but the third
As shown in the figure, the container 33 can be divided into three parts by a partition wall 36, and the three storage parts can contain waste liquid, condensed water, and concentrated waste liquid, respectively.

For example, three storage parts 37a-c are defined in the container 33 by two flexible partition walls 36, waste liquid to be supplied to the waste liquid tank 3 is stored in the second storage part 37b, and waste liquid to be supplied from the waste liquid tank 3 is stored. The concentrated waste liquid is guided to the first storage part 37a by the pipe 40 and the valve 41 and collected, and the condensed water in the receiver 9 is transferred to the pipe 34 and the valve 3.
5 to guide it to the third storage section 37c and collect it. With this configuration, one container 33 can be used for supplying waste liquid and collecting condensed water and concentrated waste liquid.

Note that the container 33 is not limited to the above configuration, and may have a configuration in which a plurality of storage portions are defined by a flexible bag body instead of the partition wall 360.

Furthermore, although the container 33 is molded from a hard material such as cardboard, cardboard, or hard plastic resin, it may be molded from a flexible material such as plastic resin.

The container 33 is suitable for use, for example, in replenishing an automatic developing device with a photographic processing solution for developing, bleaching, bleach-fixing, fixing, etc., and for collecting waste liquid of this processing solution.

Therefore, by collecting the waste liquid from the automatic developing device into the container 33 and loading it as it is into the photographic processing waste liquid processing device, the work of supplying the waste liquid to the waste liquid tank 3 and the work of collecting condensed water from the receiver 9 are extremely facilitated. become.

The container 33 is located inside a photographic processing waste liquid processing device, an automatic developing device,
Alternatively, they may be provided anywhere within a device in which both are integrated. In addition, when the container 33 is provided in the photographic processing waste liquid processing apparatus, the container 33 may be provided either inside or outside the main body case, but it is preferable to provide the container 33 outside the main body case so that it can be detached from the apparatus. Process processing becomes easier.

When the photographic processing waste liquid processing apparatus is integrated with the automatic developing apparatus, it is preferable that the photographic processing waste liquid in the automatic developing apparatus is guided to the waste liquid storage part of the container 33.

FIG. 4 is a schematic side view of a second embodiment of the photographic processing waste liquid treatment apparatus of the present invention. This embodiment differs from the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 in the structure for concentrating the waste liquid, and the structure for supplying the waste liquid and collecting condensed water and concentrated waste liquid is the same as in the first embodiment. Therefore, only the different configurations will be described below.

Air within the main body case 2, which is configured to be substantially airtight, is circulated within the main body case 2 by an evaporation fan 5 and a circulation fan 12.

The waste liquid in the waste liquid tank 3 is pumped up by the endless belt 4, and the moisture in the waste liquid that has adhered to or impregnated the endless belt 4 evaporates. The evaporated air containing sufficient moisture is cooled by a cooler 8 of the refrigeration system, and the moisture is condensed, and the condensed moisture falls into a receiver 9. The cooled air from which water has been removed has a temperature of 15 to 30° C., preferably 20° C., after passing through the endless belt by the air heater 7 and before passing through the cooler.
After being heated to ~25°C, the circulation fan 12
and is sent to the endless belt 4 by the evaporation fan 5.

A temperature sensor 25 is provided above the waste liquid tank 3 to detect the temperature of the air in the evaporation section, and this temperature sensor 25 is connected to a controller . The temperature sensor 25 is preferably provided immediately before the cooler 8 on the downstream side of the evaporation section.

The temperature sensor 25 detects the temperature of the air after passing through the endless belt and before passing through the cooler, and the controller 28 detects the temperature of the air near the temperature sensor 25 of 15 to 30 degrees Celsius, preferably 20 to 2 degrees Celsius.
The operation of the air heater 6 is controlled so that the temperature is 5°C.

The temperature of the evaporator section is detected by the temperature sensor 25, and the controller 28 controls the operation of the air heater 6 to maintain the temperature of the air at a constant temperature after passing through the endless belt and before passing through the cooler. The evaporation and condensation capacity per unit can be kept constant, and the processing capacity can also be adjusted.

A compressor 71, a heat radiation part 72, and an expansion valve 73 of the refrigeration system are provided inside the base case 10 outside the main body case 2, and heat from the heat radiation part 72 is radiated to the outside by a fan 75. Therefore, when the device is operated in a state where outside air is not drawn into the closed main body case 2 as in the case of the present device, residual heat from the motor and the heat radiation section does not affect the heat balance for heating and cooling the air used for evaporation.

The temperature of the air in the evaporation section inside the main body case 2 after passing through the endless belt and before passing through the cooler is maintained at a low temperature of 15 to 30°C, preferably 20 to 25°C, so that ammonium thiosulfate and sulfite in the photographic processing waste liquid are Salt does not decompose at high temperatures, and no harmful or extremely malodorous gases such as sulfur dioxide gas, hydrogen sulfide, or ammonia gas are generated.

Therefore, the secondary processing device for processing gas is also simplified and can be downsized. Further, the photographic processing waste liquid does not corrode the apparatus due to high temperatures, and maintenance of the apparatus becomes easier.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of a modified example of the evaporator, and this modified example can be replaced with the evaporator of the above embodiment.

The evaporation section consists of a waste liquid tank 3, an endless belt 43 for waste liquid soil partially immersed in the waste liquid in the waste liquid tank 3, and an endless belt 44 for waste liquid evaporation that is in contact with this endless belt 43 for pumping up. Endless belt 43.44
are arranged substantially vertically. The endless belt 43 for pumping up is constructed integrally with the waste liquid tank 3, and the endless belt 44 for evaporation is fixed to the main body case 2 of the photographic processing waste liquid processing apparatus. The endless belt 43 for pumping is provided in the waste liquid tank 3 with its upper end surface exposed, and the endless belt 43 for pumping rotates while contacting the endless belt 44 for evaporation, thereby transferring the pumped waste liquid to the endless belt 44 for evaporation. let The water in the waste liquid transferred to the endless belt 44 for evaporation evaporates from the surface of the endless belt 40.

The waste liquid tank 3 equipped with the endless pumping belt 43 can be easily attached to and removed from the main body case 2, and by replacing the waste liquid tank 3, concentrated waste liquid and residue can be recovered.

As water evaporates from the waste liquid contained in the waste liquid tank 3, the waste liquid becomes concentrated and its viscosity increases.

In the case of a configuration in which the waste liquid tank 3 is equipped with pipes, valves, etc. to recover the concentrated waste liquid, if the concentrated waste liquid in the waste liquid tank 3 becomes highly viscous, the concentrated waste liquid does not flow well, making it difficult to collect the concentrated waste liquid. is difficult. Furthermore, if a large amount of precipitates from the waste liquid settles in the waste liquid tank 3, the water evaporation efficiency will decrease significantly.

According to this modification, when the waste liquid in the waste liquid tank 3 is concentrated or when a large amount of precipitate has settled in the waste liquid tank 3, the concentrated waste liquid and the residue can be easily removed by replacing the waste liquid tank 3. It can be recovered. In addition, the waste liquid tank 3 is connected to the main body case 2.
It is also easy to remove and clean.

Since the waste liquid tank 3 and the pumping endless belt 43 are integrally constructed, and the evaporating endless belt 44 is fixed inside the main body case 2, the waste liquid tank 3 can be attached and detached very easily.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view of another modified example of the evaporating section, and the evaporating section has a structure in which a plurality of endless evaporating belts 44 are in contact with one endless belt 43 for pumping. According to this modification, the evaporation efficiency can be improved, and the waste liquid tank 3 can be easily replaced and cleaned.

The structure of the evaporation section shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, which includes the endless belt 43 for soil extraction and the endless belt 44 for evaporation, is not limited to the above-mentioned sealed photographic processing waste liquid processing apparatus, but can also be used for non-sealed construction. The present invention can also be applied to the photographic processing waste liquid processing apparatus constructed above, and similar effects can be obtained. Furthermore, this configuration of the evaporator section can be applied to any photographic processing waste liquid processing equipment that evaporates and concentrates the photographic processing waste liquid, and improves the evaporation efficiency of the photographic processing waste liquid, and also improves the efficiency of the waste liquid tank. Replacement, cleaning, etc. become easier.

〔Effect of the invention〕

According to the present invention, by storing waste liquid, condensed water, and concentrated waste liquid independently in a container having a plurality of storage sections divided by a flexible partition, all liquids can be stored in one container. Therefore, by simultaneously supplying waste liquid to the evaporator, recovering condensed water from the condensing unit, and recovering concentrated waste liquid, and replacing the container after supplying the waste liquid, it becomes easy to recover the condensed water and concentrated waste liquid.

In other words, by guiding and collecting the condensed water and concentrated waste liquid into the container that had previously contained the waste liquid, it is only necessary to supply the waste liquid and to load and unload the container once in order to collect the condensed water and concentrated waste liquid. Waste liquid can be easily collected.

In addition, since the condensed water and concentrated waste liquid are stored in the container that previously contained the waste liquid, one container can be used for both the waste liquid supply, condensed water recovery, and concentrated waste liquid collection, and the container storage area in the photographic processing waste liquid processing equipment. can be reduced.

Therefore, the photographic processing waste liquid treatment apparatus can be downsized.

Furthermore, since the photographic processing waste liquid treatment device can be configured in a small size,
It also becomes possible to integrate it with an automatic developing device or to incorporate it into the automatic developing device.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a schematic side view of an embodiment of the photographic processing waste liquid processing apparatus of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a sectional view of a container, Fig. 3 is a sectional view of a modified example of the container, and Fig. 4 is a photographic processing waste liquid processing A schematic side view of the second embodiment of the apparatus, and FIGS. 5 and 6 are cross-sectional views of modified examples of the evaporation section. Symbols in the figure: 2 Main body case 3 Waste liquid tank 4 Endless belt 5 Evaporation fan 6 Auxiliary heater 8 Air cooler 9 Receiver 11 First heat radiation section 12 - Circulation fan 25 Temperature sensor 28 Controller 31.31a, 34.34a , 40 Piping 32 Pump 33 Container 35.41 - Valve 37a, 37b, 37c Storage part 38 Lid 43 Endless belt for pumping 44 Endless belt for evaporation 71 - Compressor 72 Second heat dissipation part Fig. 1 Fig. 3 Fig. Procedure Amended Horoscope 1.1 Timber Cattle 1999 Patent Application No. 163795 2 Name of the Invention Photographic Processing Waste Liquid Treatment Device 3-8-1 Kasumigaseki, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo Toranomon Mitsui Building 14th Floor Telephone (581) - 9601(
B. 5. Date of amendment order: (Voluntary) 8. Contents of amendment The "Detailed description of the invention" column is amended as follows. (1) On page 8, lines 9 to 12 of the specification, "The photographic processing waste liquid in the present invention may also be waste liquid." shall be amended as follows. [Also, the atmospheric pressure inside the main body case is lower than 760 mmHg, preferably 1 to 700 nnnHg, more preferably 5
~400 mmHg, more preferably lO~30 mml (
The water may be evaporated from the waste liquid by reducing the pressure to 100 g, and the evaporated water may be condensed. Further, the photographic processing waste liquid in the present invention may be any waste liquid after performing photographic processing such as development (color, black and white), bleaching, bleach-fixing, fixing, water washing, stabilization, etc. All of these treated waste liquids may be treated as a mixture, or may be treated individually. Furthermore, the waste liquids from the water washing process and the stabilizing process may be mixed, the waste liquids from the developing process, fixing process and bleaching process may be mixed and processed individually, or they may be mixed and processed in other combinations. The waste liquid may contain various processing liquids used in photographic processing of light-sensitive materials, and these processing liquids will be explained below. The color developing solution used for developing the photosensitive material is preferably an alkaline aqueous solution containing an aromatic primary amine color developing agent as a main component. Aminophenol compounds are also useful as color developing agents, but p-phenylenediamine compounds are preferably used, representative examples of which include 3-methyl-4-amino-N, N-diethylaniline, 3- Methyl-4-amino-N-ethyl-N-β-hydroxyethylaniline, 3-methyl-4-amino-N
-ethyl-N-β-methanesulfonamidoethylaniline, 3-methyl-4-amino-N-ethyl-N-β-methoxyethylaniline, and their sulfates, hydrochlorides, or p-toluenesulfonates. It will be done. Two or more of these compounds can be used in combination depending on the purpose. The color developer may contain p++ buffers such as alkali metal carbonates, borates or phosphates, development inhibitors or fogging agents such as bromide salts, iodide salts, benzimidazoles, benzothiazoles or mercapto compounds. It generally contains an inhibitor. In addition, as necessary, hydroxylamine, diethylhydroxylamine, sulfite hydrazines, phenyl semicarbazides, triethanolamine, catechol sulfonic acids, triethylenediamine (1,4-diazabicyclo[2,2,2]
Octane) various preservatives such as neck, ethylene glycol,
Organic solvents such as diethylene glycol, benzyl alcohol, polyethylene glycol, quaternary ammonium salts, development accelerators such as amines, dye-forming couplers, competitive couplers, fogging agents such as sodium boron hydride, 1-phenyl-3-pyrazolidone. Auxiliary developing agents, viscosity imparting agents, various chelating agents such as aminopolycarboxylic acids, aminopolyphosphonic acids, alkylphosphonic acids, phosphonocarboxylic acids, such as ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid, nitrilotriacetic acid, diethylenetriamine Pentaacetic acid, cyclohexanediaminetetraacetic acid, hydroxyethyliminodiacetic acid, 1-hydroxyethylidene-1,1-diphosphonic acid, nitrilo-N, N, N-
trimethylene phosphonic acid, ethylenediamine-N, N,
Representative examples include N',N'-tetramethylenephosphonic acid, ethylene glycol (0-hydroxyphenylacetic acid), and salts thereof. Further, when performing reversal processing, black and white development is usually performed and then color development is performed. In this black and white developer, known black and white developing agents such as dihydroxybenzenes such as hydroquinone, 3-pyrazolidones such as -phenyl-3-pyrazolidone, or aminophenols such as N-methyl-p-aminophenol are used alone or Can be used in combination. The pH of these color developing solutions and black and white developing solutions is generally 9 to 12. The amount of replenishment of these developing solutions depends on the color photographic light-sensitive material to be processed, but -i is 31 or less per 1 square meter of light-sensitive material, and by reducing the bromide ion concentration in the replenisher, 500 m
It can also be less than ji. When reducing the amount of replenishment, it is preferable to prevent evaporation of the liquid and air oxidation by reducing the contact area between the air and the processing tank. Furthermore, the amount of replenishment can be reduced by using means for suppressing the accumulation of bromide ions in the developer. After color development, the photographic emulsion layer is usually bleached. The bleaching process may be performed simultaneously with the fixing process (bleach-fixing process), or may be performed separately. Furthermore, in order to speed up the processing, a bleach-fixing treatment may be performed after the bleaching treatment. Furthermore, treatment with two consecutive bleach-fixing baths, fixing treatment before bleach-fixing treatment, or bleaching treatment after bleach-fixing treatment can be carried out as desired depending on the purpose. Examples of bleaching agents that can be used include compounds of polyvalent metals such as iron (■), cobalt (■), chromium (■), and copper (II), peracids, quinones, and nitro compounds. Typical bleaching agents include ferricyanide; dichromate; iron (1
) or organic complex salts of cobalt (1), such as ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid, diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid, cyclohexanediaminetetraacetic acid, methyliminodiacetic acid, 1,3
- Aminopolycarboxylic acids such as diaminopropanetetraacetic acid, glycol ether diamine tetraacetic acid, or complex salts of citric acid, tartaric acid, malic acid, etc.; persulfates; bromates; permanganates; nitrobenzenes, etc. may be used. can. Of these, iron ethylenediaminetetraacetate (
III) Aminopolycarboxylic acid iron(I) including complex salts
[[) Complex salts and persulfates are preferred from the viewpoint of rapid processing and prevention of environmental pollution. Additionally, aminopolycarboxylic acid iron(m)ti salts are particularly useful in both bleach and bleach-fix solutions. The pH of the bleach or bleach-fix solution using these aminopolycarboxylic acid iron (nnt = salts) is usually 5.5 to 8, but it can also be processed at an even lower pH to speed up the processing. Bleach accelerators can optionally be used in the bleach, bleach-fix and pre-baths thereof. Specific examples of useful bleach accelerators are described in the following specification: US Pat. Patent No. 3,893,858, West German Patent No. 1.290,812, Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 1983-95.630,
Research Disclosure No. 17,129 (197
Compounds having a mercapto group or disulfide bond as described in JP-A-50-140-129; U.S. Patent No. 3,706;
1,000 urea derivatives described in No. 561; JP-A-58-16.
Iodide salts described in No. 235; West German Patent No. 2,748,4
Polyoxyethylene compound neck described in No. 30;
Polyamine compounds described in No. 5-8836; bromide ions, etc. can be used. Among these, compounds having a mercapto group or a disulfide group are preferred from the viewpoint of a large promoting effect, and in particular, compounds described in U.S. Pat. Compounds are preferred. Additionally, U.S. Patent No. 4,552
, 834 are also preferred. These bleach accelerators may be added to the light-sensitive material. These bleach accelerators are particularly effective when bleach-fixing color light-sensitive materials for photography. Examples of fixing agents include thiosulfates, thiocyanates, thioether compounds, thioureas, and large amounts of iodide salts, but thiosulfates are commonly used, with ammonium thiosulfate being the most widely used. Can be used for Preservatives used after bleach-fixing are preferably sulfites, bisulfites, sulfinic acids, or carbonyl bisulfite adducts. Silver halide color photographic materials are generally subjected to water washing and/or stabilization steps after desilvering treatment. The amount of water used in the washing process depends on the characteristics of the photosensitive material (for example, depending on the materials used such as couplers), the application, the temperature of the washing water, the number of washing tanks (number of stages), the replenishment method such as countercurrent or forward flow, and various other conditions. Can be set over a wide range. Among these, the relationship between the number of flushing tanks and the amount of water in the multistage countercurrent method is described in the Journal of the Society of Motion Pictures.
and Television Engineers (Journa)
l of the 5ociety of Motio
n Picture and Television E
ngineers) Vol. 64, pp. 248-253 (1
It can be determined by the method described in May 955 issue). According to the multi-stage countercurrent method described in the above-mentioned literature, the amount of water used for washing can be significantly reduced, but due to the increase in the residence time of water in the tank, bacteria will breed, and the generated suspended matter will adhere to the photosensitive material. The problem arises. As a solution to such problems in the processing of color photosensitive materials, calcium ions, as described in JP-A No. 62-288.838,
A method of reducing magnesium ions can be used very effectively. In addition, isothiazolone compounds and thiabendazoles described in JP-A No. 57-8,542,
Chlorine-based disinfectants such as chlorinated sodium isocyanurate,
Others, such as benzotriazole, are described in Hiroshi Horiguchi's ``Chemistry of Antibacterial and Antifungal Agents'', Hygiene Technology Forum ``Sterilization of Microorganisms, Disinfection, and Antifungal Technology J'', and ``Encyclopedia of Antibacterial and Antifungal Agents'' edited by the Japan Antibacterial and Antifungal Society. Fungicides can also be used. The pH of the washing water in the processing of the photosensitive material is 4 to 9, preferably 5 to 8. The washing water temperature and washing time can be set variously depending on the characteristics of the photosensitive material, its use, etc., but for -a, it is 20 seconds to 10 minutes at 15 to 45°C, preferably 25 to 10 minutes.
A range of 30 seconds to 5 minutes at 40°C is selected. Furthermore, instead of washing with water, the photosensitive material can be directly processed with a stabilizing solution. In such stabilization treatment, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Nos. 57-8,543, 58-14,
All known methods described in No. 834 and No. 60-220.345 can be used. Further, following the water washing treatment, a further stabilization treatment may be carried out, such as a stabilizing bath containing formalin and a surfactant, which is used as a final bath for color photosensitive materials for photography. . Various chelating agents and antifungal agents can also be added to this stabilizing bath. The overflow liquid resulting from the water washing and/or replenishment of the stabilizing liquid can also be reused in other processes such as the grudge removal process. The silver halide color light-sensitive material may contain a color developing agent for the purpose of simplifying and speeding up processing. In order to incorporate the color developing agent, it is preferable to use various precursors of the color developing agent. For example, indoaniline compounds described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,342,597, U.S. Pat. No. 3,342.59
No. 9, Schiff base-type compounds described in Research Disclosure No. 14,850 and Research Disclosure No. 15.159, Research Disclosure No. 13
, 924, U.S. Patent No. 3.7
Metal salt complex described in No. 19.492, JP-A-53-135
．． Examples include urethane compounds described in No. 628. The above-mentioned silver halide color light-sensitive material may contain various 1-phenyl-3-birapritones, if necessary, for the purpose of promoting color development. Typical compounds are described in JP-A Nos. 56-64,339, 5714.4547, and 58-115,438. The compounds contained in the above-mentioned photosensitive materials are eluted from the photosensitive materials into the processing solution during processing of the photosensitive materials, and therefore these compounds are not included in the waste solution generated when such photosensitive materials are processed. ing. The above-mentioned various processing liquids are used at 10°C to 50°C. Normally, the standard temperature is 33°C to 38°C, but higher temperatures can be used to accelerate the processing and shorten the processing time.
Conversely, it is possible to improve the image quality and the stability of the processing solution by lowering the temperature. In addition, for saving silver in photosensitive materials, West German Patent No. 2,226,770 or U.S. Patent No. 3,6
A treatment using cobalt intensification or hydrogen peroxide intensification as described in No. 74,499 may be performed. (2) "15 to 30°C, preferably 20 to 25°C" on page 11, lines 10 to 11, page 12, lines 5 to 6, and page 13, lines 1 to 2 of the same book. to 40°C, preferably 15 to 30°C, more preferably 20 to 25°C. (3) In the same book, page 18, lines 16-17, page 19, lines 7-8, and page 20, lines 4-5, [15-30°C1 preferably 20-25°C] is replaced with "10-30°C, preferably 20-25°C". The temperature is corrected to 40°C, preferably 15 to 30°C, and more preferably 20 to 25°C.

Claims (1)

[Claims] In a photographic processing waste liquid processing device that evaporates water in photographic processing waste liquid and condenses and recovers the evaporated water, it is flexible and can accommodate at least two types of liquids: photographic processing waste liquid, condensed water, and concentrated waste liquid. a container having a plurality of storage sections divided by partition walls, a waste liquid supply means for supplying the waste liquid contained in the first storage section to the evaporation section, and a second storage section for storing at least one of the water condensed by the condensation section and the concentrated waste liquid. A photographic processing waste liquid processing device equipped with a collection means for recovering the waste liquid to the