JPH0815599B2 - Reverse pollution prevention system - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial field of application] The present invention completely prevents the invasion of microorganisms from the intake port of various aseptic water producing devices used in medical institutions such as hospitals, pharmaceutical manufacturers, food manufacturers, etc. Preventing reverse pollution prevention system.

[Conventional technology and its problems]

It is well known that aseptic water that does not contain impurities such as fine particles and microorganisms such as bacteria is essential for medical institutions such as hospitals and medical product manufacturers as well as food manufacturers.

In recent years, a filtration membrane capable of removing microorganisms such as bacteria has been developed, and a sterile water producing apparatus which can relatively easily produce sterile water and has high reliability has been put into practical use. However, the inside of the water conduit leading to the aseptic water producing device and the intake port may be contaminated by microorganisms such as bacteria suspended in the air, and it has been a long-standing problem to prevent contamination by such microorganisms.

Conventionally, the following four methods have been mainly proposed as a method for controlling the contamination of the inside of the sterile water producing device and the water conduit up to the water outlet with microorganisms.

(1) At the same time as the passage of sterile water from the sterile water production device is stopped, the heater provided in the water conduit is energized to heat the water inside the water conduit and release it as water vapor to the outside through the invasion route of bacteria. By drying the inside of a certain water pipe, the growth of bacteria is blocked, and the heater is turned off after a predetermined time has elapsed by a timer, and the inside of the water pipe becomes negative pressure as the temperature inside the water pipe decreases. A heat sterilization method that seals the check valve provided by itself with its own weight and pressure to prevent bacteria from entering.

(2) A valve in which a slanted elliptical rib is integrally formed inside a cylindrical silicone rubber tube, and the elastic pinch has a function of blocking the rib from outside by pressing the rib from one direction or both directions. Elastic pinch valve system that uses a valve.

(3) A silver deposit filling method in which a silver deposit is filled in a faucet and a germicidal effect of silver ions is utilized to prevent bacteria from entering through the faucet.

(4) Disinfection method using a disinfectant such as sodium hypochlorite water.

However, with these methods, it is difficult to avoid microbial contamination at the tip of the faucet even if it is possible to prevent the invasion of microorganisms from the water conduit into the aseptic water production system. Therefore, at least the water that first flows out of the faucet cannot be completely sterile water.

The present inventors consisted of an inorganic halide supply device, an electrolysis device, and a water shutoff valve provided in the intake port, and stopped the sterile water obtained by passing raw water through the sterile water production device. After closing the valve water and storing water in the electrolysis chamber of the electrolysis device, the inorganic halide is supplied from the inorganic halide supply device into the electrolysis chamber and electrolyzed to sterilize the inside of the electrolysis chamber and the water conduit. A new anti-contamination preventing device was newly developed and proposed as Japanese Patent Application No. 61-107340.

This device is capable of disinfecting from the water conduit to the water intake by generating hypohalite by electrolysis and further causing water containing the hypohalite to flow out from the faucet. However, even in this case, when the hypohalite-containing water flows out from the intake port, the tip of the intake port is contaminated with microorganisms after a long time. Therefore, as a result of further studies, the present inventors have found that by storing the disinfectant-containing water in both the water conduit and the intake port, it is possible to completely prevent contamination at the intake port tip and reach the present invention. did.

[Means for solving problems]

That is, the present invention provides a water stop valve between the sterile water production device and the water intake port, and a reverse pollution prevention device provided with a disinfectant generator or an injection device between the water stop valve and the sterile water production device,
The water outflow hole of the water intake port is composed of one or a plurality of pores having a diameter of 2.5 mm or less, and the disinfectant-containing water is opened and closed by opening and closing the water shutoff valve so that the disinfectant-containing water and the water introducing pipe between the water shutoff valve and the water shutoff valve. The present invention relates to a reverse pollution prevention system characterized by storing in both outlets.

[Action]

The reverse pollution prevention system of the present invention comprises a water conduit provided with a disinfectant generator or an injector, an intake port consisting of a single or a plurality of pores having a diameter of 2.5 mm or less, the intake port and the disinfectant generator or injector. It is composed of a water shutoff valve installed between.

Inside the water conduit filled with aseptic water, if left as it is, there is a possibility of secondary contamination by microorganisms that have entered through the water intake. In the anti-contamination prevention device of the present invention, in order to prevent this secondary contamination, the water shutoff valve is closed and sterile water is stored in the water conduit, and then a disinfectant is generated in the water conduit. inject. The disinfectant is generated, for example, by injecting the inorganic halide from the inorganic halide supply device into the water storage of the water conduit, then energizing the electrolysis device, and the water storage containing the aqueous halide solution is electrolyzed. When the stored water is electrolyzed, the halogen ions contained in the stored water become a halogen molecule by anodic oxidation, and this halogen molecule further reacts with the hydroxide to generate hypohalite.

When sodium chloride, for example, is used as the inorganic halide, this series of reactions is shown by the reaction formulas as follows.

Cl ₂ + 2NaOH → NaClO + NaCl + H ₂ O Hypochlorite produced in this way is effective against most microorganisms such as viruses, general asporeless bacteria, acid-fast bacteria, bacterial spores, filamentous fungi, algae, protozoa, etc. About 10
It has the ability to complete sterilization in a short time at a concentration of ppm.

When the sterile water is composed of an aqueous solution of an inorganic halide, it is not necessary to supply the inorganic halide and electrolysis can be performed as it is. Also, when injecting a disinfectant,
Sodium hypochlorite, dichloroisocyanurate aqueous solution, iodoform, formaldehyde aqueous solution and various other disinfectants can be used.

Next, when the water stop valve is opened, the disinfectant-containing water in the water conduit flows out of the water intake port, and when the water shutoff valve is subsequently closed, the disinfectant-containing water remains in the water conduit, and at the water intake port, Intake diameter is 2.
The water containing the disinfectant is stored in relation to the negative pressure in the water conduit only when it has pores of 5 mm or less. For this reason, not only is there a possibility that the inside of the water conduit will not be contaminated by microorganisms when the device is not used, such as at night, but also the intake can prevent secondary contamination of microorganisms by the action of the disinfectant-containing water stored in the intake. . If the pore size of the intake is larger than 2.5 mm, all or most of the disinfectant-containing water flows out from the intake,
Since it is not stored, the object of the present invention cannot be achieved.

The timing of opening and closing the water shutoff valve is adjusted so that the disinfectant-containing water is stored in both the water conduit and the intake port, and the disinfectant concentration is sufficient to prevent secondary microbial contamination.

〔Example〕

One embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. First
In the figure, (1) is a water intake consisting of a plurality of pores with a diameter of 2.5 mm or less, (3) and (9) are water shutoff valves, (4) is a disinfectant generator or injection device, and (5) is a water conduit. , (7) are aseptic water producing apparatuses.

Raw water is supplied from (8) into the sterile water manufacturing apparatus (7), where sterile water is manufactured.

Examples of the aseptic water production device (7) include a distilled water production device, a pure water production device, an ultraviolet sterilization device, an ultrafiltration device, a reverse osmosis device and a heat sterilization device which are usually used, but not limited to these. 1 μm on the surface of the hollow fiber,
A module composed of a polyethylene porous hollow fiber membrane having 0.1 μm slit-shaped ultrafine pores, for example, Stella Pore (registered trademark, manufactured by Mitsubishi Rayon Co., Ltd.) can be used.

The disinfectant generator or injection device (4) preferably uses an inorganic halide aqueous solution electrolyzer as the disinfectant generator. When the sterile water does not contain an inorganic halide, the inorganic halide is supplied to (4) with the water shutoff valve (3) closed. As the inorganic halide supply device, for example, a device shown in FIG. 2 can be used.

That is, the bellows type inorganic halide aqueous solution container (22) stably installed by the container stabilizing rod (21) is mounted in the main body of the inorganic halide aqueous solution,
The pressing plate (26) is moved by a certain distance by the feed screw (25) by turning the feed handle (23) for supplying the inorganic halide aqueous solution. By this operation, a fixed amount of the inorganic halide aqueous solution in the inorganic halide aqueous solution container (22) is injected into the electrolytic chamber (31) shown in FIG. 3 through the opening (36). In order to prevent the solution in the electrolysis chamber (31) from flowing back into the inorganic halide aqueous solution container (22) and changing the concentration of the inorganic halide aqueous solution in the inorganic halide aqueous solution container (22), A check valve (24) may be provided at the boundary between the chamber (31) and the inorganic halide aqueous solution container (22).

As the inorganic halide aqueous solution container (22), plastic containers having various shapes other than a bellows shape can be applied. Alternatively, a container having a mechanism such as a syringe may be used.

In the present invention, as the inorganic halide aqueous solution that can be used, NaCl, KCl, LiCl, AlCl ₃ , NH ₄ Cl, CaCl ₂ or the like, an aqueous solution of an inorganic chloride that produces chlorine ions by electrolysis, NaI, KI, etc. An aqueous solution of inorganic iodide, N
Examples thereof include aqueous solutions of inorganic bromides such as aBr and KBr. Among them, NaCl is preferably used from the viewpoint of easy availability.

Further, in the present invention, not only the method of injecting the inorganic halide aqueous solution into the electrolysis chamber (31) as described above,
For example, it is also possible to adopt a method of supplying a predetermined amount to the electrolytic chamber (31) using an inorganic halide exhibiting a sustained release property such as tablets or capsules formed into pellets.
As the tablet or the like, a sustained release tablet in which the component is coated with hydrogel or the like may be used so that the component is gradually eluted. A crosslinked 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate polymer or copolymer is preferably used as the hydrogel.

Further, a system may be used in which a sustained-release tablet is set in the vicinity of the electrode and is periodically replaced depending on the life of the tablet.

The inorganic halide supplied to the electrolysis chamber (31) mixes with sterile water in the electrolysis chamber (31) and is then electrolyzed by energizing the electrodes.

That is, in FIG. 3, an anode (32) and a cathode (33) are provided below the electrolysis chamber (31), and a power source (34)
DC electricity is supplied from the.

The electrodes used for the anode (32) and the cathode (33) are usually platinum electrodes that do not undergo changes such as corrosion even when immersed in water for a long period of time, metals such as copper and nickel, or synthetic resins, ceramics, etc. Also used are electrodes that have been plated or vapor-deposited with gold or platinum. Further, in order to facilitate the exchange of these electrodes, the cap (35) provided with the electrodes may be fixed by screws as shown in FIG.

As the power source (34), it is possible to use a household AC electricity (100V) transformed into a direct current by a transformer or a battery such as a dry battery. Further, a timer may be installed between the power source (34) and the electrode so as to energize at a predetermined time.

The voltage and current applied to the anode (32) and the cathode (33) and the energization time cannot be unconditionally determined because they vary depending on the type, concentration and amount of the inorganic halide aqueous solution in the electrolysis chamber (31). However, when the inorganic halide is NaCl, for example, the effective chlorine concentration in the electrolysis chamber (31) is usually adjusted to 0.5 to 500 ppm, especially about 10 ppm or more for sterilizing microorganisms such as mold. To be done. The electrolysis time with the aqueous sodium chloride solution varies depending on the concentration of the aqueous sodium chloride solution, the supply amount, the current amount, etc., but is preferably 10 to 120 minutes.

When the sterile water contains an inorganic halide, it may be electrolyzed as it is without supplying the inorganic halide.

When injecting the disinfectant instead of generating the disinfectant by electrolysis, for example, the disinfectant such as sodium hypochlorite, dichloroisocyanurate aqueous solution, iodoform, or formaldehyde compound is put in the container shown in FIG. Then, the disinfectant is injected into the water conduit (5) in the same manner as the inorganic halide aqueous solution. After injecting the disinfectant, generally leave for several minutes to several tens of minutes.

As the water shutoff valves (3) and (9), it is usually preferable to use electromagnetic valves, but if an elastic pinch valve as described in, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9936/1982 is used, it is possible to prevent microorganisms from the outside. It is advantageous and particularly desirable to prevent intrusion. The water shutoff valves (3) (9) are provided in the electrolysis chamber (31).
When injecting an aqueous solution of an inorganic halide from an inorganic halide supply device and when electrolyzing a mixed solution of the injected aqueous solution of an inorganic halide and sterile water, a disinfectant generator or an injection device is introduced into the water conduit (5). The device (4) is closed when injecting disinfectant and when sterile water is not used.

After completion of electrolysis or after injecting a disinfectant and leaving it as is, when the water shutoff valve (3) is opened without supplying sterile water from the sterile water producing device, the hypohalite stored in the electrolytic chamber (31) is stored. The contained sterile water is released. As a result, the inside of the water conduit and the water intake are cleaned, and the attached bacteria are sterilized. After releasing the water containing the appropriate amount of disinfectant, the water shutoff valve (3) is closed.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing the storage state of the disinfectant-containing water at this time. That is, part of the disinfectant-containing water does not flow out of the intake port (1), but in relation to the negative pressure in the water conduit, from the intake port (1) and the stop valve (3) to the sterile water production device (7). It is stored in the water conduit (5). Therefore, between the water intake and the sterile water production device, there are three water intakes (1) partial disinfectant-containing water (2), stop valve (9), water conduit (5) partial disinfectant-containing water (6). There will be a barrier to microorganisms and microbial secondary contamination will be completely prevented. Also, since the water intake (1) is protected from microbial contamination by the disinfectant-containing water (2), from the beginning of aseptic water supply,
Sterility can be maintained.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the water intake port (1), and the faucet nozzle (60) is provided with a plurality of pores (61).

The faucet nozzle (60) can be attached to and detached from the water conduit (5) by screws, fitting means, etc., so that the faucet nozzle can be easily washed or replaced.

The pores (61) have a diameter of 2.5 mm or less, and are provided in a single number or in a plurality. If the diameter is larger than 2.5 mm, the disinfectant-containing water completely flows out from the water intake port and is not stored at all, or only slightly stored, so that the object of the present invention cannot be sufficiently achieved.

FIG. 6 shows an embodiment of the system of the present invention by an aseptic water producing apparatus using the porous hollow fiber modules (48) (49). Tap water from (411) Solenoid valve (41
0) open and supply, porous hollow fiber module (48) (4
Filter by 9), open solenoid valve (42) and take in water intake (41)
Sterile water flows out from. At the end of use of sterile water, close solenoid valves (410) and (42) and. At this time, the water pipe (4
3), the electrolysis chamber (44) is filled with sterile water. Next, after turning the handle (47) to supply the inorganic halide-containing water (46) to the electrolysis chamber (44), the electrode (45) is energized to perform electrolysis for a certain period of time. As a result, the hypohalite is dissolved in the water conduit (43) in and around the electrolysis chamber. When the electromagnetic valve (42) is opened after completion of electrolysis, water in the electrolysis chamber (44) and the water conduit (43) flows out from the water intake port (41) due to the internal pressure applied there. If the air vent (413) provided in the aseptic water production system is closed here, the internal pressure is released and at the same time the outflow of water is automatically stopped. Also, if the air vent (413) is opened slightly, a small amount of air will be injected into the sterile water production system, so the water in the water conduit (43) and electrolysis chamber (44) will flow from the water intake (41). It is dripped little by little, but it stops by closing the solenoid valve (42). The water intake (41) consists of pores with a diameter of 2.5 mm or less, and the hypohalite-containing water is stored in both the water conduit (43) and the water intake (41) to completely prevent secondary contamination by microorganisms. Prevent.
When the solenoid valve (42) is opened, the hypohalite-containing water flows out from the water intake port (41) due to the internal pressure, but it almost stops when the internal pressure is released, and the disinfectant-containing water is taken in the water intake port (41). And the water conduit (43), the electromagnetic valve (42) may be closed thereafter. In this way, if the water conduit (43) is kept airtight or slightly invaded with air, the disinfectant-containing material may be contained even if the opening / closing time of the solenoid valve (42) is not strictly adjusted. Since water can be stored in the water inlet (41) and the water conduit (43), it is a preferred embodiment for the system of the present invention. In addition, (412) is a control unit for automatically performing the above operation, and (50) is a control unit (412), a solenoid valve (410) (42), a control unit (412) and an electrode (45). It is an electric cord that connects to.

FIG. 7 is another embodiment of the system of the present invention.
(51) is an intake port consisting of pores with a diameter of 2.5 mm or less, (54)
Is an aseptic water production system using a reverse osmosis membrane. The sterile water production system using a reverse osmosis membrane is provided with a small sterilization filter (52) because it is susceptible to secondary contamination by microorganisms. The operation and effect are almost the same as the system of FIG. After the electrolysis is completed, open the solenoid valve (42) and let the disinfectant-containing water flow out from the water inlet (51) by the internal pressure. The water conduit (43) will be kept airtight and the outflow will stop automatically. To do.
After that, the solenoid valve (42) may be closed.

[Example 1] In the apparatus shown in Fig. 6, the solenoid valve (410) was opened, and tap water was injected into the sterile water production equipment to produce sterile water.
After feeding into an electrolysis chamber having an internal volume of 30 ml, the electromagnetic valve (42) was closed and sterile water was stored in the electrolysis chamber.

Next, 1 ml of a 10% sodium chloride aqueous solution was injected into the electrolytic chamber, the two electrodes were energized, and the chlorine concentration in the electrolytic chamber after 60 minutes had elapsed was measured and the effective chlorine concentration was 180 ppm. Next, the solenoid valve (42) is opened, and the water pressure pipe (4
3) and the stored water in the electrolysis chamber (44) were allowed to flow out from the water inlet (41), and then the solenoid valve (42) was closed. Where the intake (4
When the effective chlorine concentration of the water stored in 1) was measured, it was 35p.
It was pm.

[Example 2] Escherichia coli IFO 3972 and Serratia as test bacteria
marcescens IFO 12648 was cultured at 35 ° C. for 24 hours, and the cells were subjected to 3 passages for 3 consecutive days. Then, it was washed with sterilized saline in a centrifuge at 3,000 ppm for 10 minutes three times, and then washed 10 ⁸ cells / m
Make l bacterial solution.

After preparing the test bacterial solution (10 ⁸ cells / ml), sterilize physiological saline 3
1 ml of the test bacterial solution was inoculated to 00 ml to make the viable cell count in physiological saline 10 ² cells / ml.

After using sterile water in the same device as in Example 1, the water intake (41)
The test bacterial solution prepared with 20 ml of sterile water stored in was placed in a beaker, and the water intake was immersed in the beaker to bring the test bacterial solution into contact. After standing for 5 days, electrolysis was performed for 60 minutes in the same manner as in Example 1, then the solenoid valve (42) was opened to let 15 ml of water flow out, and then the number of viable bacteria in 20 ml of water stored at the intake was measured. Then, both E. Coli and S. marcescens were 0. From this result, it is clear that microbial contamination from the intake can be completely prevented.

〔The invention's effect〕

As described above, according to the anti-contamination system of the present invention, it is possible to surely sterilize the inside of the water pipe from the aseptic water manufacturing device to the faucet to prevent the anti-contamination, and further the structure is simple and the handling is easy. It is extremely simple.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of a reverse pollution prevention system of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a schematic explanatory diagram of an inorganic halide or disinfectant supply device, FIG. 3 is a schematic explanatory diagram of an electrolysis device, and FIG. FIG. 5 is an explanatory view showing a water storage state, FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a water intake, and FIG. 6 shows an example in which the system of the present invention is applied to an aseptic water producing apparatus composed of a porous hollow fiber module,
FIG. 7 shows an example in which the system of the present invention is applied to a reverse osmosis membrane aseptic water producing apparatus.

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification number Internal reference number FI Technical display location C02F 1/50 560 AC E 1/76 A (72) Inventor Kazuo Shimizu Nishiku, Nagoya-shi, Aichi Prefecture Noritake Shin 2-11-3, Tome Sangyo Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Masahiro Morita 4-226-1, Higashi-Funaocho Hamadera, Sakai City, Osaka Prefecture Daiken Medical & Engineering Co., Ltd. (56) Reference Japanese Patent Publication No. 45-21792 (JP, B1)

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A reverse pollution prevention device comprising a water shutoff valve provided between a sterile water production device and a water intake port, and a disinfectant generator or an injection device provided between the water shutoff valve and the sterile water production device. The water outflow hole of the mouth is composed of one or more pores having a diameter of 2.5 mm or less, and the disinfectant-containing water is opened and closed by opening and closing the water shutoff valve. A reverse pollution prevention system characterized by being stored in both. 2. The reverse pollution prevention system according to claim 1, wherein the disinfectant generator is a chlorine generator by electrolysis.