JPH04250231A - Fresh water generator - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide water easily and surely at a low cost at any place though the constitution is simple. CONSTITUTION:A fresh water generator is provided with an air suction device 2 and a mechanism 4 for decreasing the atmospheric pressure of air taken by the air suction device 2. An air humidity converter 1 incorporates a cooling portion 5 which takes out humidity by cooling the air taken. The water obtained by the air humidity converter 1 is taken out from an intake pipe 7.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a water generator, and more particularly to a water generator that extracts moisture from the atmosphere.

0002

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Due to the increased use of water in recent years, various water generating devices have been developed. For example, for purposes such as seawater desalination, more efficient devices using reverse osmosis membranes and ultrafiltration methods have been developed to replace the old distillation method. Among these, devices using reverse osmosis membranes have attracted attention because of their many energy advantages, and practical devices have been developed.

0003

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, in the above-mentioned conventional devices, such as devices using reverse osmosis membranes, the cost of the entire device is high due to the fact that the membrane itself is expensive and the lifespan of the membrane is not very long. The problem was that it was expensive. Moreover, there was no way to directly detect membrane deterioration, and the quality of the fresh water produced had to be constantly tested. Therefore, in order to solve the problems of the above-mentioned conventional technology, the present invention provides a water generation device that can easily produce water, especially fresh water, at low cost without using an expensive reverse osmosis membrane. The purpose is to provide.

0004

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve the above object, the characteristic configuration of the fresh water generation device of the present invention includes an atmospheric suction device and a mechanism for reducing the atmospheric pressure taken in by the atmospheric suction device. It consists of an atmospheric humidity converter that has a built-in cooling unit that cools the atmospheric air and extracts moisture, and a water intake that takes out the water obtained by the atmospheric humidity converter. In addition, it is preferable that the atmospheric pressure reduction mechanism is constituted by a porous vent provided in the atmospheric air intake. Furthermore, it is preferable to provide a sterilizer between the atmospheric humidity converter and the water intake, since it can be used for collecting drinking water.

[0005]

[Function] Next, the function and effect of the freshwater generating device according to the present invention will be explained. Since the water generating device of the present invention has the above configuration, by driving the atmospheric suction device, a large amount of atmospheric air is taken into the device, and an amount of water corresponding to the humidity of the atmospheric air at that time is condensed and taken out. be able to. Therefore, since there is no need to use an expensive reverse osmosis membrane, the equipment cost is low and there is no need to conduct a water quality test. Moreover, the obtained water has relatively high purity and is preferable for use, so the range of use is extremely wide.

[0006] Furthermore, it is more preferable that the atmospheric pressure reduction mechanism is constituted by a porous ventilation body provided at the air intake, since the purpose can be effectively achieved at low cost. In this case, since dust in the atmosphere can be removed, cleaner water can be obtained and the durability of the device itself can be improved. Note that it is preferable to reduce the atmospheric pressure to 6 kgf/cm2 or less, more preferably 3 kgf/cm2 or less, in order to increase water intake efficiency. In other words, in order to increase the amount of water obtained per unit time, it is preferable to take in as much air as possible, but as the amount of air taken in increases, the atmospheric pressure must also increase. This is because if the size increases, as shown in FIG. 2, the amount of remaining moisture will decrease, and the amount of moisture obtained will also decrease, making it less efficient. Incidentally, Figure 2 shows that 100 m3 of saturated air is
It is a figure showing the moisture remaining in the isothermally compressed saturated atmosphere when compressed from mmHg. Therefore, the inventors of the present invention have found that it is effective to adopt a configuration in which an atmospheric suction device takes in a large amount of atmospheric air, but also includes a device that reduces atmospheric pressure in order to efficiently produce water. ,
This completes the present invention. If a sterilizer is provided between the atmospheric humidity converter and the water intake, the obtained water can not only be used for drinking, but also for applications that require particularly clean water, such as water for washing precision parts.

[0007]

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, according to the present invention, there is provided a water generating device that can obtain water easily and reliably at a low cost, regardless of the location, despite its simple configuration. I was able to do that.

[0008]

[Embodiment] An embodiment of the freshwater generating apparatus according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Figure 1 shows the overall structure of a water production system for obtaining drinking water. The air humidity converter 1 consists of an atmospheric humidity converter 1 for extracting moisture, and a cooling mechanism 3 for feeding a refrigerant to cool the air taken into the atmospheric humidity converter 1. Among these, the atmospheric humidity converter 1 includes a porous ventilation body 4 which is an atmospheric pressure reduction mechanism for reducing atmospheric pressure in order to efficiently extract moisture from a large amount of atmospheric air taken in from a suction pump 2, and a cooling mechanism. 3, a sterilizer 6 for sterilizing the cooled and condensed water, a water intake 7 for collecting the sterilized water, and an air outlet 8 for discharging the taken air. ing. Also, the cooling mechanism 3
A commonly used cooling device can be used as is, for example, a compressor 9 that compresses the refrigerant, a condenser 10, a pressure reduction mechanism (not shown), and a heat storage tank (not shown) that stores cold heat.
(not shown), etc., and the refrigerant has cold energy.
It is conveyed to the cooling section 5 of the atmospheric humidity converter 1 via a pipe 11. This allows the large amount of air taken in to be effectively condensed to yield water. Note that various refrigerants such as freon and water can be used as the refrigerant. Since the obtained water is to be used for drinking, it is further sent to a sterilizer 6, where it is sterilized and taken. However, unless the obtained water is to be used for drinking, it is not necessarily necessary to provide the sterilizer 6. The key is to combine the necessary equipment according to the purpose.

Next, the results obtained using the apparatus of the present invention will be shown. (Experiment example) In an atmosphere with a room temperature of 30°C and a relative humidity of 90%, an atmospheric suction pump (suction capacity: 0.1 m3 per hour)
) was driven for a long time. In addition, the atmospheric compression ratio at this time is 2k
gf/cm2. As a result, the average was 9.5cc/m
3 of water was obtained. This value was almost close to the theoretical value. Incidentally, the theoretical value under the above conditions is, as shown in Figure 2, at 30°C and 100% relative humidity, the atmospheric compression ratio is 2k.
Since the moisture content in gf/cm2 is approximately 11cc/m3,
The amount of water vapor at the same temperature and relative humidity of 90% is 11 x 0.9 =
It becomes 9.9cc/m3. Although the above embodiment is configured to obtain drinking water, the obtained water can be freely used as industrial water such as various types of cooling water. Moreover, as the porous ventilation body 4 for reducing atmospheric pressure, various commercially available air filters and the like can be used. Instead of the porous ventilation body, a large number of baffle plates may be arranged in the air intake passage, or an orifice-like structure may be used. In short, any configuration that can increase pressure loss is sufficient in order to reduce the atmospheric pressure taken in. The porous ventilation body may be made of a porous sintered material or may be made of an aggregate of tightly entangled fibers. The atmospheric pressure reduction mechanism may reduce the atmospheric pressure by passing the taken-in atmospheric air through an elongated passage such as a spiral tube and then introducing it into a large-volume chamber. Also, in order to effectively condense the large amount of air that is taken in, a condensing agent with a catalytic action that facilitates dew condensation may be added. Further, in order to minimize the amount of moisture in the atmosphere that escapes to the outside after cooling the atmosphere and taking water, the size of the outlet may be reduced to increase the atmospheric pressure at the outlet.

[0010]Although reference numerals are written in the claims for convenience of comparison with the drawings, the present invention is not limited to the structure shown in the accompanying drawings.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

[Fig. 1] Overall conceptual diagram showing an embodiment of a fresh water generation device according to the present invention.

[Figure 2] Relationship diagram between moisture in free air and atmospheric pressure

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Atmospheric humidity converter 2 Atmospheric suction device 4 Atmospheric pressure reduction mechanism 5 Cooling section 6　Sterilizer 7 Water intake

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A cooling unit (1) comprising an atmospheric suction device (2) and a mechanism (4) for reducing the atmospheric pressure taken in by the atmospheric suction device (2), and a cooling unit (4) for cooling the taken atmospheric air and extracting moisture. Atmospheric humidity converter (1) with built-in
) and a water intake (7) for taking out the water obtained by the atmospheric humidity converter (1). 2. The fresh water generating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the atmospheric pressure reduction mechanism (4) is a porous ventilation body provided at an atmospheric intake port. [Claim 3] The atmospheric humidity converter (1) and the water intake (
7) Claim 1 or 2 further comprising a sterilizer (6) between the
The water production device described.