JPH08192158A - Ion water generator - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To provide a maintenance free ion water generator making the pH of made alkaline ion water constant even when free carbonic acid is mixed with raw water and easily making weak alkaline ion water even when the concn. of free carbonic acid is high. CONSTITUTION: An ion water generator is constituted by demarcating a first electrolytic cell 12 into two chambers by a first diaphragm to provide first electrolyzing electrodes 15 to the respective chambers and demarcating a second electrolytic cell 17 into two chambers by a second diaphragm to provide second electrolyzing electrodes 20 to the respective chambers and providing a raw water passage 16 supplying raw water to the second electrolytic cell 12. Further, a communication passage 13 transferring treated water from the chamber provided with the electrode set to a cathode among the first electrodes 15 to the second electrolytic cell is provided and the emitting passages emitting treated waters respectively made in two chambers are provided to the second electrolytic cell 17.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention electrolyzes raw water such as tap water and well water to produce alkaline ionized water for drinking and medical use, and acidic ionized water for use as lotion, sterilizing and washing water, etc. The present invention relates to an ion water generator.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, ion water generators have become widespread, reflecting the "health boom". This ion water generator electrolyzes tap water or the like in an electrolytic cell to generate acidic water on the anode side and alkaline water on the cathode side.

A conventional continuous electrolysis type ionized water generator will be described. FIG. 3 is a partially enlarged view of a conventional ionized water generator. 1 is an electrolytic cell, 2 is a negative electrode, 3 is a positive electrode, 4 is a cathode chamber, 5 is an anode chamber, 6 and 7 are power lines, 8 is a diaphragm, 9 is a raw water channel, 10 is an alkaline water discharge channel, and 11 is acidic. It is a water discharge path.

The operation of the conventional ionized water generator constructed as above will be described below. The raw water passed through the raw water channel 9 is transferred to the electrolytic cell 1. On the other hand, the negative electrode 2 is controlled by a controller (not shown) to a predetermined DC voltage.
And the positive electrode 3 is powered. As a result, alkaline water is generated in the cathode chamber 4 and acidic water is generated in the anode chamber 5, and when a voltage is applied so that the negative electrode 2 has a negative voltage while passing water, the alkaline water is discharged from the alkaline water discharge passage 10. Acidic water is continuously obtained from the acidic water discharge passage 11.

By the way, when the raw water used is tap water taken from river water, alkaline ionized water can be obtained relatively easily and the pH can be adjusted accurately.
In the case of tap water such as ground water, the weak alkaline side (p
It was difficult to adjust H = 8 to 9), and ionized water with a stable pH could not be obtained. It is presumed that the cause is that free carbonic acid (CO ₂ ) contained in raw water consumes OH ^{− in} alkaline water by the reaction shown in Chemical formula 1.

[0006]

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That is, even if the raw water is electrolyzed to generate OH ⁻ ions to form alkaline water, the OH ⁻ ions are reduced by the reaction with free carbonic acid and the pH of the alkaline water is reduced.
Changes to become smaller. Moreover, the above reaction is slow and does not occur instantly, and therefore, the reaction continues even after the alkaline water generated in the ion water generator is discharged out of the system. This means that even if a pH sensor is installed in the ion water generator to adjust the pH, the actual pH when using alkaline water is low, which is a problem of conventional ion water generators. Met. Furthermore, in the strong alkaline region, the reaction of free carbonic acid rapidly progresses to carbonate ion (CO ₃ ^2- ), and O
Although it does not consume H ⁻ ions, bicarbonate ions (HCO ₃ ⁻ ) are present and strongly affected by weak alkali, weak acid and neutral regions. This means that the adjustment of the pH of alkaline water in the frequently used region is the most unstable. There is also a method of adding a chemical such as quick lime to raw water to absorb free carbonic acid in advance and then electrolyzing it, but it is difficult to determine the addition amount of the chemical in response to the fluctuation of the free carbonic acid concentration, and There was a problem that the addition was complicated.

In order to solve these problems, the following technique (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 6-134463) has been conventionally proposed. This technique measures the concentration of free carbon dioxide in raw water with a carbon dioxide sensor and attempts to electrolyze with an optimum current calculated from the value of the free carbon dioxide concentration.

[0009]

However, although the ion water generator and the method of operating the same described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 6-13446 can perform electrolysis at an optimum current value according to the concentration of free carbon dioxide, There is a problem that maintenance such as adjustment is always required to compensate the accuracy. Further, it is necessary to change the current value in advance to set the operating point and store the operating point in the control means, and there is a problem that preparation for it is required.

Therefore, the present invention solves the above-mentioned conventional problems. Even when free carbon dioxide is mixed into raw water, the pH of the alkaline water produced is kept constant without affecting the pH, and even when the free carbon dioxide has a high concentration. It is an object of the present invention to provide a maintenance-free ion water generator that can easily generate weakly alkaline ion water.

[0011]

In order to achieve the above object, the ion water generator of the present invention has a first electrolytic cell divided into two chambers by a first diaphragm, and each of the first electrolytic cell has a first electrolytic cell for electrolysis. And the second electrolytic cell is divided into two chambers by the second diaphragm, the second electrode for electrolysis is provided in each, and the raw water channel for supplying the raw water is provided in the first electrolytic cell. At the same time, a communication path for transferring the treated water from the chamber provided with the electrode on the cathode side of the first electrode to the second electrolytic cell is provided,
A discharge passage for discharging treated water is provided in the chamber provided with the electrode on the anode side, and a discharge passage for discharging the treated water generated in each of the two chambers is provided in the second electrolytic cell. Characterize.

Further, it is desirable that the discharge passage of the chamber in which the electrode on the side where the second electrode is the cathode is provided is connected to the first electrolytic cell.

[0013]

In the ion water generator of the present invention, the first electrolytic cell is the first
Partitioning into two chambers and providing a first electrode for electrolysis in each of them, and dividing the second electrolytic cell into two chambers by a second partition, each containing a second electrode for electrolysis. An electrode is provided, and a raw water channel for supplying raw water is provided in the first electrolytic cell, and the treated water is transferred between the chamber in which the electrode of the first electrode, which is the cathode, is provided and the second electrolytic cell. A discharge passage for draining the treated water is provided in the chamber provided with an electrode on the side to be the anode, and a discharge passage for discharging the treated water generated in each of the two chambers is provided in the second electrolytic cell. Since the passage is provided, highly alkaline ionized water is generated in the first electrolytic cell to change free carbonic acid to carbonate ions, and then the second electrolytic cell is used.
It can be changed to weakly alkaline ionized water in the electrolytic cell.

Further, since the discharge passage of the chamber provided with the electrode on the side where the second electrode is made the cathode of the discharge passage is connected to the first electrolytic cell, the treated water can be returned to the raw water.

[0015]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic overall view of an ionized water generator according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 (a) is a relationship diagram of the concentration of free carbonic acid and pH fluctuation in one embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 (b) is a relationship graph of pH fluctuation with time in one embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, 12 is a first electrolytic cell, 12a is a first cathode chamber, 12b is a first anode chamber, 13 is a connecting path,
Reference numeral 14 is an acidic water discharge channel, 15 is a first electrode, 16 is a raw water channel, 17 is a second electrolytic cell, 17a is a second anode chamber, and 17b.
Is a second cathode chamber, 18 is a discharge passage on the anode side, 19 is a discharge passage on the cathode side, 20 is a second electrode, 21 is a first pH sensor, 2
2 is a control unit, 23 is a second pH sensor, 24 is a one-way valve, 25 is a first diaphragm, and 26 is a second diaphragm. Here, power is supplied to the first electrode 15 such that 12a serves as the first cathode chamber and 12b serves as the first anode chamber. First electrolytic cell 1 provided with a raw water channel 16 for transferring tap water, etc.
2 is divided into a first cathode chamber 12a and a first anode chamber 12b by a first diaphragm 25, and a first electrode 15 for electrolyzing raw water to generate ionized water which is treated water is provided in each. Has been. Electric power controlled by the controller 22 is supplied to the first electrode 15 so that the first cathode chamber 12a side serves as a cathode and the first anode chamber 12b side serves as an anode. In the first cathode chamber 12a, the generated alkaline water contains the second electrolytic cell 17
The communication path 13 for discharging to is connected. A first pH sensor 21 is provided in the communication path 13 or the first cathode chamber 12b, and the pH of the alkaline water generated in the first electrolytic cell 12 is adjusted.
Is detected and a detection signal is transmitted to the control unit 22. Control unit 2
In 2, the electric power required to generate alkaline water having a predetermined pH is controlled by the signal transmitted from the first pH sensor 21 to supply electric power to the first electrode 15.

In the second electrolytic cell 17, as in the first electrolytic cell 12, a second anode chamber 17a provided with a second electrode 20 and a second cathode chamber 17b are partitioned by a second diaphragm 26, Electric power controlled by the controller 22 is supplied to the second electrode 20 so that the second anode chamber 17a side serves as an anode and the second cathode chamber 17b side serves as a cathode. Second anode chamber 17 of second electrolytic cell 17
The discharge path 18 on the anode side is connected to a, and the second anode chamber 17a is connected.
Ionized water, which is the treated water electrolyzed at, is discharged. A second pH sensor 23 is provided in the anode side discharge passage 18 or the second anode chamber 17a, detects the pH of the ionized water generated in the second electrolytic cell 17, and transmits a detection signal to the control unit 22. The control unit 22 controls the electric power required to generate ionized water having a predetermined pH based on the signal transmitted from the second pH sensor 23, and supplies electric power to the second electrode 20. Cathode side discharge passage 19 provided in the second cathode chamber 17b
Is connected to the raw water channel 16 and refluxes the ionized water, which is the treated water electrolyzed in the cathode chamber 17b, to the raw water. A one-way valve 24 is provided in the cathode side discharge passage 19 to prevent the raw water from being transferred from the raw water passage 16. By the way, the first electrode 15 and the second
The polarity of the electrode 20 of the
When discharging from the first cathode chamber 12a, the first electrode 15 of the first cathode chamber 12a is used as a cathode, and the first electrode 15 of the first anode chamber 12b is discharged.
As the anode, the second electrode 20 of the second anode chamber 17a as the anode, and the second electrode 20 of the second cathode chamber 17b as the cathode. However, when the electrodes need to be cleaned, the polarities are opposite to each other. It may be applied. Further, even when a strong acid is required, by setting the polarity opposite to the above, the second electrode 20 can discharge the strongly acidic water from the anode side.

The operation of the ionized water generator constructed as described above will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2A and 2.
A description will be given based on (b). Raw water such as tap water is transferred from the raw water channel 16 to the first electrolytic cell 12, and electric power is supplied to the first electrode 15 so as to have a polarity as shown in the figure, and electrolysis starts. Alkaline water is generated in the first cathode chamber 12a and discharged from the communication passage 13, so that the first anode chamber 1
Acidic water is generated in 2b and discharged from the acidic water discharge passage 14. The pH of the alkaline water discharged from the communication path 13 is detected by the first pH sensor 21, and the detection signal is sent to the control unit 2.
Since it is transmitted to the alkaline water 2, alkaline water having a predetermined pH is continuously and stably generated.

When the raw water used here contains free carbonic acid (CO ₂ ), the alkaline ions (OH ⁻ ) generated and discharged are consumed, and p
H decreases with the passage of time and alkaline water having a predetermined pH cannot be obtained. FIG. 2A shows how the pH in such a case decreases with time. FIG. 2 (a) shows that raw water containing about 30 ppm of free carbonic acid is electrolyzed in the first electrolytic cell 12 while being transferred at a flow rate of 3 L / min, and the pH of the resulting alkaline water decreases with time. There is. Levels 1, 2, and 3 are 5 V (0.5 A) and 20 V (2.6 A) for the voltage and current supplied to the first electrode 15, respectively.
A), about 38 V (5.0 A) and electrolyzed. The horizontal axis shows the elapsed time (seconds) after the alkaline water was generated.
And the vertical axis represents pH. In other words, the voltage and current to be supplied, in other words, when the magnitude of power is weak (level 1), the pH immediately after generation is as low as 7.3, and then drops sharply to 1
Within about 0 seconds, it changed to about 6.7 and changed from alkaline water to acidic water and is stable. This is (1) and (2) in (Chemical Formula 1)
This is because the OH ⁻ ions generated in the alkaline water by the reaction shown in the formula are consumed and the concentration of excess H ⁺ ions becomes high.

Next, when the amount of electric power to be supplied is medium (level 2), the pH immediately after generation is about 8.5, but the pH changes rapidly after that, and the pH drops to about 7 after about 60 seconds. And stable. This produces alkaline water OH ^-
This is because the ion concentration is high, but most of it is consumed by free carbonic acid as shown in equations (1) and (2). On the other hand, when the amount of power supplied is high (level 3), the pH immediately after generation is as high as about 9.5, and after that, it does not change significantly and stabilizes after a few seconds and stabilizes at about 9.4. This is because the generated alkaline water contains a large amount of OH ⁻ ions, and as shown in the formulas (3) and (4), the reaction of free carbonic acid rapidly proceeds to carbonate ions (CO ₃ ^{2 −} ). This is because the OH ⁻ ions are not consumed any more. Here, which of Levels 1, 2, and 3 is appropriate is determined by the pH of the required alkaline water. The magnitude of the current and voltage at each level is set in consideration of the pH value, the capacity of the first electrolytic cell 12, the effective area of the first electrode 15, and the like.

Therefore, in this embodiment, the pair of first electrodes 15
The electric power supplied to (1) was set to a high level (level 3), and the pH of the alkaline water discharged from the communication path 13 was adjusted and set to be 9.5 or higher. The alkaline water having a pH adjusted to 9.5 or higher is transferred to the second electrolytic cell 17 and the second
Electric power was supplied to the electrode 20 of No. 1 so as to have the polarity as shown in the figure, and electrolysis was performed. Therefore, FIG. 2B shows how the pH of the alkaline water generated in the second anode chamber 17a and discharged from the anode-side discharge passage 18 decreases with time. In Levels 4, 5, and 6, the magnitudes of the voltage and current supplied to the second electrode 20 are 12 V (2.0 A) and 20 V (2.
8A), 23V (3.4A) and electrolyzed. Thus, the pH can be adjusted within the range of 9 or less depending on the voltage and current supplied, that is, the magnitude of the power. That is, when the power to be supplied is made strong (level 6), alkaline water having a pH of about 9.5 is electrolyzed again into weak alkaline ionized water having a pH of about 8.0. When medium (level 5) electric power is supplied, the pH of the water can be made into alkaline water of about 8.5, and at weak (level 4), it is close to that discharged from the connecting passage 13.
An H value of about 9.0 is obtained. Moreover, it is clear that at any level, the pH does not decrease with the passage of time, and the pH can be adjusted stably. This is because alkaline water having a pH of about 9.5 in which the influence of free carbon dioxide has been reduced is electrolyzed again in the first electrolysis tank 12 to obtain alkaline water as treated water having a stable pH without the influence of free carbon dioxide. Is shown. Here, which of Levels 4, 5, and 6 is suitable is determined by the pH of the alkaline water required. On the other hand, generally, the ionic water generated in the anode chamber usually contains hypochlorous acid (HClO) and has a problem that it affects the human body at a high concentration. Since it is discharged from the system through the acidic water discharge passage 14 together with the acidic water generated in the anode chamber 12b, its concentration is very low and is 0.4 ppm or less, which is harmless to the human body, and there is no problem. The pH of the generated alkaline water is detected by the second pH sensor 23, and the detection signal is transmitted to the control unit 22 so that the second electrode 20
It is possible to generate a predetermined alkaline water by controlling the amount of electric power supplied to the.

On the other hand, the pH from the cathode side discharge passage 19 is 9.
Strongly alkaline ionized water of 5 or more is discharged. Since this strong alkaline ionized water contains almost no hypochlorous acid (HClO) and is less affected by free carbonic acid, the raw water is not wasted by being recycled to the raw water. If strong alkaline ionized water is required, it may be used without reflux. That is, weak alkaline water is discharged from the second anode chamber 17a, and strong alkaline water is discharged from the second cathode chamber 17b.

Thus, the raw water containing a high concentration of free carbonic acid is electrolyzed in the first electrolytic cell 12 to generate alkaline water having a pH of 9.5 or higher, and then electrolyzed in the second electrolytic cell 17. As a result, ionic water in a wide range from weakly alkaline to highly alkaline can be stably produced with little influence of free carbonic acid.

[0023]

As is apparent from the above, according to the present invention, the first electrolytic cell is divided into two chambers by the first diaphragm, and the first electrode for electrolysis is provided in each of the two chambers.
The electrolytic cell is divided into two chambers by the second diaphragm, each of which is provided with a second electrode for electrolysis, and the first electrolytic cell is provided with a raw water channel for supplying raw water. A communication path for transferring treated water is provided between the chamber in which the electrode on the side of the cathode is provided and the second electrolytic cell, and the second electrolytic vessel discharges the treated water generated in each of the two chambers. Since there is a passage, even if free carbon dioxide is mixed into the raw water, it will be kept constant without affecting the pH of the alkaline ionized water produced.
Even if the concentration of free carbonic acid is high, weakly alkaline ionized water can be easily generated, and alkaline ionized water substantially free of hypochlorous acid can be discharged.

Further, since the discharge passage of the chamber provided with the electrode on the side where the second electrode is the cathode of the discharge passage is connected to the first electrolytic cell, the treated water is not wasted.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic overall view of an ion water generator according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 (a) is a relationship diagram of concentration of free carbonic acid and pH fluctuation in one embodiment of the present invention. (B) is a relationship diagram of time fluctuation of pH in one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a partially enlarged view of a conventional ion water generator.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Electrolyzer 2 Negative Electrode 3 Positive Electrode 4 Cathode Chamber 5 Anode Chamber 6, 7 Power Line 8 Diaphragm 9 Raw Water Channel 10 Alkaline Water Discharge Channel 11 Acidic Water Discharge Channel 12 First Electrolytic Cell 12a First Cathode Chamber 12b First Anode Chamber 13 Communication channel 14 Acidic water discharge channel 15 First electrode 16 Raw water channel 17 Second electrolytic cell 17a Second anode chamber 17b Second cathode chamber 18 Anode side discharge channel 19 Cathode side discharge channel 20 Second electrode 21 1st pH sensor 22 Control part 23 2nd pH sensor 24 One-way valve 25 1st diaphragm 26 2nd diaphragm

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A first electrolytic cell is divided into two chambers by a first diaphragm, and a first electrode for electrolysis is provided in each chamber, and a second electrolytic cell is divided into two chambers by a second diaphragm. A second electrode for electrolysis is provided in each of the compartments, and a raw water channel for supplying raw water is provided in the first electrolysis tank.
Among the above electrodes, a communication path for transferring treated water from the chamber provided with the electrode on the cathode side is provided to the second electrolytic cell, and the treated water is drained to the chamber provided with the electrode on the anode side. And a discharge path for discharging the treated water generated in each of the two chambers in the second electrolytic cell. 2. The ionized water according to claim 1, wherein the discharge passage of a chamber provided with an electrode on the side where the second electrode is made the cathode of the discharge passage is connected to the first electrolytic cell. Generator.