JPH06246266A - Device for producing electrolyte - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide an electrolyte producing device wherein the acid solution having a pH of at most 3 and therefore highly effective in sterilization can be obtained in a large amt. with a low electric power inexpensively and stably and alkali solution can also be produced. CONSTITUTION:The supply passage of raw water to an electrolytic bath 1 is provided with a brine supply means for adding the brine thereto consisting of a brine storing tank 5, a constant feed pump 6 and a pouring device 7 and with a three-way valve 9 and pipes 10 and 11 for directing the raw water after the passage through the supply means in two directions toward a cathode chamber 31 and an anode chamber 41 of the electrolytic bath 1 and the pipes 10 and 11 are provided with their respective flow amt. control valves 13 and 14, which are both actuated to regular and reverse conditions to regulate the flow rate ratio. The raw water supply passage is provided with an EC sensor 12 for measuring the electric conductivity of the raw water and the outlet passage 16 of acid solution is provided with an EC sensor 17 for measuring the electric conductivity of the acid solution being discharged and an ORP sensor 18 for measuring oxidation-reduction potential.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a device for producing acidic water useful as washing water, sterilizing water and the like and alkaline water serving as drinking water by electrolyzing water.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In the fields of food and medicine, it is not possible to use electrolyzed water as cleaning water or water for disinfection and sterilization.
Although generally known, it is not easy to stably obtain a large amount of water having a low PH value. The conventional electrolyzed water generator is
The inside of the electrolytic cell is divided into a cathode chamber and an anode chamber by a diaphragm, electrodes are inserted into each chamber, and the raw water supplied into the chamber is electrolyzed by the electric current flowing between the electrodes, so that alkaline water can be converted into alkaline water and anode chambers. Electrolyze acidic water.

[0003]

With such an electrolytic generator, water having a low PH value can be obtained by the acidic water discharged from the anode chamber, but it is difficult to continuously produce a large amount of water. Usually, the electric conductivity (EC) of tap water in the suburbs of Tokyo is around 100 to 200 μS / cm, and the PH is 6.
It is about 5 to 8 and a large current cannot be supplied to the electrolytic cell, and in order to increase the supplied current, the applied voltage must be increased, which causes a drawback that the wattage of the supplied power source increases. is there. Further, the pH of the acidic water discharged from the anode chamber electrolyzed in the electrolytic bath is about 4.0 to 5.0, and the desired cleaning / sterilizing effect cannot be obtained.

Therefore, according to the present invention, acidic water having a high sterilizing effect of pH 3 or less, preferably about 1.5 to 2.6, can be stably obtained in a large amount with low power, and at the same time, alkaline water can be produced. It is intended to provide a device for generating electrolyzed water.

[0005]

Means for Solving the Problems The inside of an electrolytic cell is divided into a cathode chamber and an anode chamber by a diaphragm, and negative and positive electrodes are provided in each.
In a device for continuously electrolytically generating alkaline water in a cathode chamber and acidic water in an anode chamber by energizing raw water supplied into the electrolytic cell between negative and positive electrodes, chlorine-based raw water is supplied to the electrolytic cell. A supply means for supplying and adding an aqueous electrolyte solution is provided, and a pipeline for supplying the raw water that has passed through the supply means to the cathode chamber and the anode chamber of the electrolytic cell is provided, and the distribution ratio of the raw water is controlled in the pipeline. A flow rate control means is further provided, and further a detection sensor for detecting the electrolysis state in the electrolysis tank or the degree of electrolysis of the electrolytic discharge water is provided, and the flow rate control means is controlled by the signal of the detection sensor. The prepared electrolytic water is obtained from the anode chamber or the cathode chamber of the electrolytic cell.

[0006]

According to the present invention, raw water such as tap water is supplied into the electrolytic cell and electrolyzed by energizing between the negative and positive electrodes, and alkaline water is continuously supplied to the cathode chamber in the electrolytic cell and acidic water is continuously supplied to the anode chamber. Generate and use discharge. To increase the electrical conductivity of the raw water by supplying and mixing the chlorine-based electrolyte aqueous solution into the raw water to be supplied to the electrolytic cell,
It enables energization of large current at low voltage and gives strong electrolysis to raw water. The PH value is lowered by strong electrolysis, and a large amount of chlorine, hypochlorous acid, and highly sterilizing oxygen are contained in the generated acidic water. Furthermore, by controlling the diversion ratio of the raw water that is split and supplied to the cathode chamber and the anode chamber of the electrolytic cell by sensor detection of the electrolysis state in the electrolytic cell or the degree of electrolysis of the electrolytic discharge water, the amount of electrolytic load electricity in the cathode chamber and the anode chamber can be controlled. Control and control the electrolytic strength.

[0007]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described below with reference to an embodiment of the drawings. In FIG. 1, the electrolytic cell 1 has a closed structure, and the inside of the chamber is divided by a diaphragm 2. A cathode chamber 31 having a cathode electrode 3 inserted into one side thereof and an anode electrode 4 inserted into the other side thereof are referred to as an anode chamber 41. An electrolytic current is supplied to the cathode electrode 3 and the anode electrode 4 from a power supply (not shown). Further, the electrolytic cell 1 is provided with a supply port 1a communicating with the bottom cathode chamber 31 and a supply port 1b communicating with the anode chamber 41, and raw water is supplied from each of these supply ports. In order to discharge the electrolyzed water, a discharge port 1c communicating with the cathode chamber 31 and a discharge port 1d communicating with the anode chamber 41 are formed above the electrolytic cell 1.

The raw water supplied to the electrolytic cell 1 is tap water or the like, and the raw water pressurized and supplied from the tap of the water supply is brought to a predetermined water pressure by a pressure reducing valve (not shown), and the flow rate is adjusted to a desired flow rate by a flow control valve. Control. The raw water whose water pressure and flow rate are adjusted in this way is supplied to the electrolytic cell 1, and the electric conductivity is adjusted in the middle of the process.

The electrical conductivity is adjusted by adding and mixing a chlorine-based electrolyte aqueous solution. For example, salt is used as the electrolyte, and the salt water is stored in the tank 5, which is then fed into the metering pump 6
To the saline injection device 7. The supplied saline is quantitatively injected into the raw water passing by the injection device 7. The injected saline solution is further stirred and mixed by the mixing device 8, and is supplied to the electrolytic cell 1 in a sufficiently mixed state. The electric conductivity of the raw water is detected by the EC sensor 12, and the pump 6 is controlled by the detection signal so that the EC value becomes a predetermined value.

The raw water to be supplied is diverted by the three-way valve 9, passes through the pipe 10 to the cathode chamber 31 from the supply port 1a, and the other pipe 11
And is supplied to the anode chamber 41 through the supply port 1b. Flow rate control valves 13 and 14 are provided in the pipes 10 and 11, respectively, so that the flow rate control valves are controlled in the forward and reverse directions so that the diversion ratio can be freely controlled. Alkaline water flows out through the pipe 15 into the cathode chamber discharge port 1c, and the pipe 1 flows into the anode chamber discharge port 1d.
Acidic water is discharged through 6. The electrical conductivity of the acidic water discharged from the discharge port 1d is measured by the EC sensor 17, and the redox potential is measured by the ORP sensor 18.
The valves 13 and 14 are controlled by the measurement signal.

To explain the operation of the above apparatus, the raw water supplied to the electrolytic cell 1 is controlled to have a predetermined water pressure and flow rate, and the saline injection device 7 controls the adjustment of the electric conductivity. Saline in tank 5 is about 10%
A certain amount of aqueous solution is stored, and this is supplied by the pump 6 in a fixed amount. The saline solution injecting device 7 performs pulsed drip injection of saline solution into the tap water that is quantitatively controlled, or forms a venturi portion in the tap water flow path and injects a predetermined amount of salt water by negative pressure. The injected saline solution is agitated and mixed by the mixing device 8 and adjusted by the EC sensor 12 to be raw water having a predetermined electric conductivity.

The raw water whose EC value is adjusted in this way is diverted by the three-way valve 9 and supplied into the electrolytic cell 1 from the supply ports 1a and 1b via the pipes 10 and 11, respectively, and between the electrodes 3 and 4. It is electrolyzed by energization. Electrolysis increases the electrical conductivity by adding saline,
It is easy to pass a large current at a low voltage, and the wattage of the power supply can be reduced to give a strong electrolytic action. The cations resulting from the electrolysis are collected in the cathode chamber 31 through the diaphragm 2 and the anions are collected in the anode chamber 41, and the anode chamber 41 is subjected to the electroosmotic action, so that the anode chamber 41 contains a large amount of anions such as Cl ⁻ and has a low PH value. Is obtained. The acidic water is electrolyzed with a large amount of electricity per flow rate to increase its electrical conductivity and
It becomes a strongly acidic water with a low H value. On the other hand, alkaline water is generated in the cathode chamber and is discharged to the outside from the discharge port 1b through the outlet passage 15.

The flow rate of the raw water flowing through the cathode chamber 31 and the anode chamber 41 is controlled by the flow control valves 13 and 14 in the forward and reverse directions. For example, if the flow rate on the cathode chamber 31 side is increased and the flow rate on the anode chamber 41 is decreased, The amount of electricity per flow rate of the water flowing through the anode chamber 41 can be increased, and the increase in the amount of electricity can enhance the strength of electrolysis, increase the electrical conductivity, and easily control the PH value to be reduced.

An EC sensor 17 is provided in the acid water outlet conduit 16.
And an ORP sensor 18 are provided, and the flow rate control valves 13 and 14 on the raw water supply side and the fixed amount supply pump 6 are controlled by these detection signals. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of a control circuit in the case of automatically controlling the control. A detection signal of each sensor is supplied to a signal arithmetic control circuit 19 for processing, and a control signal is generated to control each part.

The EC sensor 12 detects the electric conductivity of the raw water before electrolysis in the electrolytic bath 1, and the saline supply pump 6 is controlled by the detection signal to control the electric conductivity of the raw water to a predetermined level. The EC sensor 17 detects the electric conductivity of the acidic water that has passed through the electrolytic cell 1 and is electrolyzed. The difference between the EC value detected by the EC sensor 17 and the detected EC value of the sensor 12 is calculated by the comparison circuit 20. Is amplified by the amplifier 21 and the arithmetic control circuit 1
Enter in 9. The arithmetic control circuit 19 uses the sensors 1
A control signal is generated and a control signal is generated to determine whether or not the difference in electrical conductivity detected by Nos. 2 and 17 conforms to the set value. Combined control. Also, this E
The display circuit 23 displays the state of the difference in C value and the like.

On the other hand, the ORP sensor 18 detects the redox potential of electrolyzed acidic water. After the detection signal is amplified by the amplifier 22, it is input to the arithmetic control circuit 19 to be subjected to a determination process as to whether or not it conforms to a predetermined set value by comparison with a reference value, and a control signal corresponding to the difference is given. After the output, the saline supply pump 6, the flow control valves 13, 14 and the like are controlled individually or in combination. At the same time, it is displayed on the display circuit 23.

The arithmetic control circuit 19 selects one of the signals from the sensors 12 and 17 and the signal from another sensor 18 as described above, or arithmetically processes each signal separately and outputs a control signal. Alternatively, the sum of the signals from each sensor,
It is possible to control each part by performing arithmetic processing by a product or the like and outputting a control signal. For example, if the difference between the EC values of the sensors 12 and 17 is larger than the set value, the current state is maintained, and if the difference is smaller than the set value, the flow rate control valves 13 and 14 are controlled forward and reverse to control the raw water to the anode chamber 41. By reducing the inflow amount, the amount of electricity with respect to the flow rate of the electrolysis action in the anode chamber 41 is increased to perform strong electrolysis, thereby increasing the electrical conductivity of the acidic water produced in the anode chamber 41. Also, when the signal of the sensor 18 is larger than the set value, the flow rate ratio between the cathode chamber 31 and the anode chamber 41 is controlled by controlling the valves 13 and 14 to relatively reduce the raw water supply amount on the anode chamber 41 side, and The electrolytic action is enhanced by controlling the water supply pump 6 to increase the injection amount of saline solution. This also enhances the production of germicides such as hypochlorous acid.

When water is passed through the electrolytic cell for electrolysis as described above, by adding saline to the raw water for electrolysis, the electrolysis current easily flows, and a strong electrolysis action due to a large current can be exerted at a low voltage. Therefore, the electric conductivity of the electrolytically discharged water can be increased. Further, by controlling the flow rate ratio of the flow rate of the raw water to the cathode chamber 31 and the anode chamber 41 by the forward and reverse control of the flow rate control valves 13 and 14, the electrolysis of the acidic water can be enhanced and the electrical conductivity can be enhanced. This increase in electrical conductivity is P
The acidic water having the target PH value can be easily produced in correlation with the decrease in the H value. In addition, the strong electrolysis action increases the redox potential of water and imparts a strong bactericidal effect.

Explaining an experimental example, 100 liters of raw water was mixed at a mixing ratio of 1 liter of 10% saline, and the raw water of this salt mixture was supplied to an electrolytic cell for electrolysis. The conditions for energizing the electrolytic cell were 16 V and 30 A, and the flow rate ratio of the raw water flowing into the cathode chamber and the anode chamber was controlled to obtain about 3.6 l of acidic water having a pH of 2.6. For the purpose of comparison, when the acidic water was produced by controlling the voltage of the electrolytic cell, about 1 kW of electric power was consumed to produce 1 liter of acidic water.

As described above, according to the present invention, the required low PH can be obtained.
A large amount of acidic water can be easily produced continuously. Also,
When the pH value of the generated acidic water is increased to above pH 2.6 to about PH3, the mixed amount of saline solution may be smaller, and the generated amount of acidic water should be further increased with the same electric energy while controlling the flow rate. You can

Although the production of acidic water has been described above, when alkaline water is used, the pH of alkaline water can be controlled by controlling the flow rate on the alkaline side. Also in this case, a large amount of alkaline water can be easily obtained with a low electricity amount. Also, discharge flow rate of alkaline water and acidic water and PH
The control may be based on the flow rate of raw water, and the flow rate of raw water may be provided with a flow rate control means such as a control valve in one of the branch channels to the cathode chamber or the anode chamber. Further, control means for changing and controlling the diversion ratio may be provided in the diversion valve portion. Further, the sensor for detecting the degree of electrolysis of the electrolytic discharge water is another PH meter,
Any sensor for detecting ion concentration, gas concentration, etc. can be used. The degree of electrolysis can be detected by detecting the electrolysis voltage, electrolysis current, impedance, etc. during electrolysis in the electrolytic cell. In addition to NaCl, KCl, HCl, HClO, HClO ₃ , KClO ₃ , NaClO ₃ or the like can be used as the chlorine-based electrolyte added to the raw water.

[0022]

As described above, according to the present invention, the electrolysis of water is facilitated by mixing the electrolyte, the wattage of electricity is reduced, and a large amount of electrolyzed water can be continuously obtained at a low cost. Further, the electric conductivity and pH of the electrolyzed water can be easily adjusted by controlling the flow rate ratio, and acidic water of PH3 or less can be stably and easily produced. Further, by mixing chlorine, it is possible to easily generate acidic water for cleaning and having a high bactericidal effect, which contains a large amount of chlorine, hypochlorous acid, and highly bactericidal oxygen in water.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of the detection control circuit of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Electrolyzer 2 Diaphragm 3,4 Electrode 5 Salt water storage tank 6 Metering pump 7 Saline injection device 9 Three-way diversion valve 10,11 Divided flow channel 12,17 EC sensor 13,14 Forward / reverse flow control valve 15 16 Electrolyzed water outlet 18 ORP sensor

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Masakazu Arisaka 2779 Imafuku Nakadai, Kawagoe-shi, Saitama 1 Japan Intec Co., Ltd.

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. An electrolytic cell is divided into a cathode chamber and an anode chamber by a diaphragm, and a negative and positive electrode is provided in each, and the raw water supplied into the electrolytic cell is supplied to the negative and positive electrode chambers by passing electricity between them. In an apparatus for continuously electrolytically producing alkaline water and acidic water in an anode chamber, a supply means for supplying and adding a chlorine-based electrolyte aqueous solution to the raw water to be supplied to the electrolytic cell is provided, and the raw water passing through the supply means is A pipe for supplying a split flow to the cathode chamber and the anode chamber of the electrolytic cell is provided, and a flow rate control means for controlling the diversion ratio of the raw water is provided in the pipeline, and the electrolysis state in the electrolytic cell or the degree of electrolysis of the electrolytic discharge water is detected. An apparatus for producing electrolyzed water, comprising: a detection sensor for controlling the flow rate control means according to a signal from the detection sensor. 2. The generation of electrolyzed water according to claim 1, wherein the detection sensor is provided with an EC sensor for measuring the electric conductivity of the discharge water in an outlet for alkaline water or acid water discharged from the electrolytic cell. apparatus. 3. As a detection sensor, an EC sensor for measuring the electrical conductivity of raw water is provided in a raw water supply passage to an electrolytic cell, and the electrical conductivity of discharged water is provided in an alkaline water or acidic water outlet passage discharged from the electrolytic cell. The electrolyzed water generating device according to claim 1, further comprising an EC sensor for measuring the. 4. The ORP sensor for measuring the oxidation-reduction potential of the discharged water is provided in the outlet path of the alkaline water or the acidic water discharged from the electrolytic cell as the detection sensor. The electrolyzed water production apparatus according to claim 3.