JPH09122418A - Drain discharge device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent the adhesion of particles to and the accumulation of particles on a porous body or the clogging of pores making the cause of lowering discharge capability by a drain device utilizing the bubbling point pressure of the porous body. SOLUTION: A fine particle adsorbing porous body 21 in which drain is permeated and passed and fine particles with a number of fine open-pores of mesh shape or tree branch shape for adsorbing particles such as iron rust contained in drain are adsorbed is provided in a manner of covering almost the whole of the surface of a drain discharge porous body 9 between an introduction opening 5 and the drain discharge porous body 9. As the drain in a main body 1 is infiltrated into the open-pores of the fine particle adsorbing porous body 21, convection cannot be formed freely. Even when the drain is flowed in from the introduction opening 5 in the above-said state, the flotation or dispersion of fine particles can be prevented. The fine particles infiltrated together with the drain are adsorbed into the open-pores in the drain discharge process and not made to adhere to the drain discharge porous body.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a drain discharge device suitable for the food industry, the chemical industry, the pharmaceutical industry and the like.
For details, for example, in the process of supplying compressed air from an air compressor (compressor) to an air tool or a terminal device through a predetermined pipe, in order to remove drainage such as water and oil contained in the air The present invention relates to a device for discharging drainage generated by condensation and separation in an air dryer used.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a typical drain discharge device of this type (hereinafter, also simply referred to as "device"), there is a float type device. On the other hand, the applicant of the present application stated that “when liquid such as water enters the pores (pores) of the porous body due to the action of the capillary action, the air contacting the porous body has a pressure Pa of bubbles of the porous body. As long as it does not exceed the point pressure Pb, that is, if Pb> Pa, air will not leak through the pores ”(for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open Nos. 3-140699 and 4-187201). I am proposing. These are constructed by providing a porous body having a bubble point pressure higher than the pressure of the compressed gas received by the introduction port in a form of partitioning between the drain introduction port and the discharge port.

That is, according to this apparatus, when the drain enters from the inlet port receiving the gas pressure, the gas pressure received at the inlet port is the bubble point pressure of the porous body (absorption of the drain due to the capillary phenomenon). As long as the pressure is less than the force), the drain will continue to permeate into the pores of the porous body without causing gas leakage, and will be extruded due to the pressure difference between the inlet side and the outlet side. After passing through the pores, it is continuously and automatically discharged from the discharge port.
Therefore, this device is different from the float type
Despite its simple structure with no mechanical moving parts, it has the excellent features that it can discharge drainage automatically and continuously, and that there is no scattering or noise during discharge.

[0004]

However, the device described in the above publication has the following problems. That is, in the drain, dust sucked in from the air, fine particles of various compositions generated from equipment (compressor etc.) to which the device is connected and pipes for piping (for example, foreign matter such as iron rust and dust) Or oil (hereinafter, also simply referred to as fine particles or particles) are mixed, and therefore, during the drain discharge process, these particles adhere to or are deposited on the surface of the porous body on the inlet side, and the pores are not visible. The discharge capacity may be reduced due to clogging. On the other hand, in order to prevent such a decrease in the discharge capacity, it is necessary for the user to appropriately disassemble the device to remove the clogged porous body and wash it.

Under these circumstances, the applicant of the present application has found that
A drain discharge device described in Japanese Patent No. 8499 is also proposed.
This one is provided with a particle collecting electrode for collecting (capturing) particles by an electrostatic force or the like between the inlet and the porous body. By generating an electric field and collecting the positively charged particles to the negative electrode and the negatively charged particles to the positive electrode among the particles mixed in the drain during the process of introducing and discharging the drain, the porosity of the particles can be obtained. It prevents adhesion to the body and prevents clogging of pores.

By the way, in the device described in the above publication, the drain entering the device drops from the inlet in the form of droplets or the like, but convection (movement) is caused to the drain accumulated inside due to the impact at that time. Give rise to. The behavior of such convection varies, but in general, a large amount of drain enters, and when it is continuous, it occurs remarkably, and particles such as iron rust accumulated at the bottom are floated or dispersed. (Diffuse) and stir these. In addition,
Even if the particles are collected by electrostatic force as in the device described in Japanese Patent No. 28499, the collected particles may be dispersed (or redispersed) in the drain due to such convection. Then, since such particles flow down together with the drain, they adhere and accumulate on the surface of the porous body on the inlet side, and further cause a clogging state, which causes a decrease in discharge capacity.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object thereof is to convection the drain in the apparatus by the drain entering from the inlet and particles such as iron rust caused by the convection. The present invention aims to prevent the particles from floating and dispersing, and prevent particles from adhering to and depositing on the drain discharge porous body, and further preventing clogging of the pores.

[0008]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides a drain discharge porous material having a bubble point pressure between the drain inlet and the outlet that is higher than the pressure of the gas received by the inlet. In a drain discharge device for discharging drain contained in compressed gas such as compressed air, which is partitioned by a particulate body, the drain penetrates and passes between the inlet and the porous body for drain drain. The surface of the drain discharge porous body is a porous body for adsorbing fine particles, which is capable of adsorbing fine particles such as iron rust contained in the drain and has a network or dendritic countless minute continuous pores. It is in the form of covering almost the whole of.

By such means, when there is a drain inside the device, the drain is in a state of being permeated into the continuous pores of the porous body for adsorbing fine particles (skeleton) by a capillary phenomenon and sucked in, and freely. It cannot be convected and is in a solid-liquid two-phase state with the porous body. Further, such a fine particle adsorption porous body covers substantially the entire surface of the drain discharge porous body. Therefore, under this condition, even if the drain drops from the inlet and enters the device and causes convection to the drain inside, the porous body for adsorbing fine particles acts as a buffer and the convection Does not reach near the surface of the drain discharge porous body. Therefore, the fine particles floated, dispersed, or stirred by the convection do not adhere to the surface of the drain discharge porous body.

Further, since the drain entering the apparatus touches the (skeleton) surface of the fine particle adsorbing porous body and moves (flows down) in the continuous pores thereof, the fine particles such as iron rust mixed in the drain are the drain. It is adsorbed on the surface inside the continuous pores during the transfer process. In the present invention, the floating and dispersion of fine particles in the vicinity of the surface of the drain discharge porous body are suppressed in this way, and the surface (continuous pore inner surface) of the fine particle adsorption porous body in the process of passing therethrough. Is adsorbed on. As a result, it is possible to prevent the fine particles from adhering or accumulating on the drain discharge porous body or from clogging of the pores.

The porous body for adsorbing fine particles is provided with innumerable minute network-like or dendritic continuous pores through which the drain can permeate and adsorb fine particles such as iron rust contained in the drain. The diameter of the continuous pores is preferably larger than that of the drain discharge porous body. The pore size of the drain discharge porous body is generally as small as about 3.5 μm, but 30 μm <2 for the fine particle adsorption porous body.
The range of mm is preferable. If the pore diameter is less than the pore diameter of the drain discharge porous body used, the drain passage resistance becomes large and the drainage capacity is affected, and conversely, if it becomes 2 mm or more, the ability to suppress convection decreases. is there.

It is preferable that the fine particle adsorbing porous body described above is in close contact (adhesion) with substantially the entire surface of the drain discharging porous body. In such a case, since there is no gap between the porous body for adsorbing fine particles and the porous body for drain discharge, it is possible to more effectively prevent convection of drain near the surface of the porous body for drain discharge. Because.

Further, in the present invention, the particulate adsorbing porous body may be provided so as to cover substantially the entire surface of the drain discharging porous body, and therefore, the inlet and the drain discharging porous body are provided. It is not always necessary to provide the entire internal space between the porous body and the porous body. This is because convection occurs in the drain in the area where there is no porous body for adsorbing fine particles, but the convection is also suppressed by the porous body for adsorbing fine particles, and as a result, the fine particles that float or are dispersed are eventually absorbed by the fine particles. This is because they are adsorbed in the process of passing through the porous body for use. When the fine particle adsorption porous body is provided so as to cover only the surface of the drain discharge porous body, it is particularly preferable that the fine particle adsorption porous body is brought into close contact with substantially the entire surface of the drain discharge porous body. .

The porous body for adsorbing fine particles is preferably made of a sponge-like material having soft elasticity. This is because it is difficult to damage the thin film on the surface of the drain discharge porous body, and it is easy to set (detach) the apparatus.

Further, the porous body for adsorbing fine particles may be hydrophilic, but may be hydrophobic or lipophilic. If such a material is used, the oil component contained in the drain is easily adsorbed, and therefore it is effective in preventing the oil component from adhering to the drain discharge porous body. In addition,
An example of the material is polyurethane foam.
Even when using such a hydrophobic material,
For the above reason, a sponge-like material having soft elasticity is preferably used. Other than polyurethane foam, polyvinyl chloride, polystyrene, polyvinyl alcohol, etc. may be mentioned. Further, if it can be set, it may have a shape-retaining property to keep the shape as it is.

In addition, the material of the porous body for adsorbing fine particles in the present invention is a myriad of network-like or dendritic materials that allow the drain to permeate and pass therethrough and adsorb the fine particles such as iron rust contained in the drain. The material is not limited to a polymer material as long as it can form minute continuous pores. It may be formed of a corrosion-resistant metal such as stainless steel or a titanium alloy, alumina, a clay material, or a ceramic such as silica, as long as it has appropriate water resistance and, if necessary, oil resistance.

[0017]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Embodiment 1 An embodiment in which the first means of the drain discharge device according to the present invention is embodied will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3. In the present example, the apparatus main body (hereinafter, also simply referred to as the main body) 1 is formed in a cylindrical shape with a bottom, and a lid 2 is attached to an upper part of the apparatus in a gas-tight manner via a ring packing 3 on a lower peripheral edge thereof. I have. However, in this example, the cap nut 4 is attached to a screw formed on the outer periphery of the lower portion of the lid 2 via a flange provided around the outer periphery of the upper end of the main body 1. One side (left side in FIG. 1) of the lid 2 is provided with an inlet 5 for receiving a drain, and is opened to the lower surface of the lid 2 through a conduit 6. Further, on the other side (right side in FIG. 1) of the lid 2, there is provided a discharge port 7 for discharging the drain to the outside. The introduction port 5 and the discharge port 7 are tapered by pipe threads for connecting pipes, and are configured to be connected to predetermined pipes.

Further, on the lower surface of the center of the lid 2, a cylindrical drain discharge porous body 9 which will be described later is disposed on the upper and lower end surface portions via ring packings 10 and 10 in a hanging shape. The side is held in a form of being lifted by its upper surface via a disc-shaped flange 11, a bolt 12 is passed through the center thereof, and screwed into a screw hole in the lower center of the lid 2, and the lid 2 and the porous body 9 are made porous. The space between the body 9 and the flange 11 is kept airtight.

Next, the porous body 21 for adsorbing fine particles, which is a characteristic part of this apparatus, will be explained. In this example, it is a sponge made of polyurethane foam having a predetermined porosity and a predetermined number of cells. As shown in FIG. 3, it is formed into a substantially cup shape, and by being slightly compressed and deformed, it is formed so as to occupy substantially the entire space between the outside of the drain discharge porous body 9 and the inside of the main body 1. ing. Then, as shown in FIG. 1, it is set in a filling state so as to be detachably set so as to be pushed between the inlet 5 and the drain discharge porous body 9 in the main body 1. It is in close contact with the inner surface and the surface of the drain discharge porous body 9. However, in the fine particle adsorbing porous body 21 in this example, the molded body is immersed in a NaOH aqueous solution heated to 60 ° C. for about 5 minutes, and then washed with water to remove the alkali content and perform a hydrophilic treatment. After that, it is submerged in water, compressed and restored a proper number of times to sufficiently contain water, and then set in the main body 1.

In this example, the baffle plate 25 having an umbrella shape.
Is adhered to the lower surface of the lid 2 by adhesion or the like on the upper end surface near the center thereof to the outer circumference near the upper end of the drain discharge porous body 9 and the upper tapered surface 22 of the set fine particle adsorption porous body 21. Is arranged so as to cover and hold down. The drain that has entered through the inlet port 5 is formed so as to once fall on the baffle plate 25, flow down along the upper surface thereof, come into contact with the fine particle adsorption porous body 21, and permeate into the continuous pores.

Further, in this example, a drain drain 30 is provided at the center of the bottom portion 1a of the main body 1. Drain drain 30
Is a bush 31 screwed through the bottom 1a of the main body 1.
And a plug 32 screwed into the inside thereof, having a flange portion 32a at an upper portion and having an orifice passage 32c at a shaft portion 32b. As shown in FIG. 1, when the plug 32 is at the lower position, the watertightness is maintained and the drain is prevented from flowing out. On the other hand, when the plug 32 moves upward, the gap between the flange portion 32 a and the bush 31 is increased. The drain is discharged through the orifice passage 32c.

Incidentally, the drain discharge porous body 9 is an alumina porous tube (outer diameter φ20 mm, inner diameter φ16 mm, length 100 mm, porosity 40%, continuous (penetrating) pores on the inner and outer surfaces, and an average pore diameter of 3). 0.5 μm) was coated with a slurry containing alumina as a main component and calcined, and the bubble point pressure was 10 kgf / cm ² with respect to water, and the ability to pass water was obtained. That is, the water permeability (water permeability) is 1.5 when pure water is used.
m ³ / m ² · hr (differential pressure 1 kgf / cm ² ). The outer surface of the alumina porous membrane had a maximum pore diameter:
0.2 μm, average pore diameter: 0.15 μm, film thickness: 30 μ
m.

Next, the operation and effect of the apparatus of this example will be described. A drain inlet 5 of the present apparatus is connected to, for example, a drain outlet of an air dryer (not shown) by a pipe, and when it is operated (operated), the drain generated by condensation and separation flows into the main body 1 from the inlet 5. Inflow. The drain that has flowed in is baffle plate 2 as described above.
5 penetrates into the surface of the skeleton of the particulate adsorbing porous body 21 (inside the continuous pores), and passes through this to penetrate into the pores (pores) of the drain discharging porous body 9. The pressure difference between the inlet port 5 side and the outlet port 7 side causes the inside of the pores to be extruded so as to be extruded so as to raise the liquid level inside the drain discharge porous body 9 to cause overflow. It is discharged from the discharge port 7. The arrow in the figure indicates the flow of drain.

The drain D accumulated in the main body 1 during this discharging process has penetrated into the continuous pores of the fine particle adsorbing porous body 21 by the capillary phenomenon, and therefore cannot freely freely convect. That is, even if a drain enters from the inlet port 5 in such a solid-liquid two-phase state in which the drain D and the porous body 21 for adsorbing fine particles are mixed, the continuous pores of the porous body 21 for adsorbing fine particles are formed. The permeated drain is not directly impacted and convection does not occur. Further, since the drain D flows down to the downstream (drain discharge porous body 9) side while touching the surface (inner surface) of the continuous pores of the fine particle adsorption porous body 21, the fine particles such as iron rust contained therein are continuous. Adsorbed in the pores.

As described above, in this example, the drain D in the main body 1 is, so to speak, confined in the continuous pores of the porous body 21 for adsorbing fine particles, so that it cannot be freely convected. Therefore, even if a new drain is introduced from the inlet port 5, convection due to the impact does not occur,
No dispersion or agitation of fine particles. These fine particles flow down together with the drain through the continuous pores of the fine particle adsorbing porous body 21, and are adsorbed to the fine particle adsorbing porous body 21 in the process of reaching the drain discharging porous body 9.

As a result, it is possible to prevent the fine particles from adhering or accumulating on the drain discharge porous body 9 or from clogging of the pores. In this example, since the fine particle adsorbing porous body 21 is in close contact with the surface of the drain discharge porous body 9 on the inlet port 5 side and is filled in substantially the entire drain reservoir on the inlet port 5 side, It is extremely effective because there is no drain for free convection. In addition, in this example, since the porous body 21 for adsorbing fine particles which has been subjected to the hydrophilic treatment is used, water is easily permeated and it is suitable for a drain having a high water content. Incidentally, a hydrophobic (lipophilic) one is suitable for a drain having a high oil content ratio, since the oil content is efficiently attached.

Second Embodiment Next, a second embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5, but only the fine particle adsorbing porous body 41 is different from the previous example, This difference will be mainly described, the same portions will be denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted. That is, in this example, the sponge-like porous body 41 for adsorbing fine particles made of polyurethane foam similar to the previous example is formed into a cup shape so as to be in close contact only with the periphery (surface) of the drain discharge porous body 9. The drain discharge porous body 9 is covered and attached by its own elastic contraction force.

In this case, as shown in the drawing, the drain storage space Dk is provided between the main body 1 and the particulate adsorbing porous body 41.
And the drain (liquid phase portion) D stored in the space Dk can freely convect therein. Therefore, when the drain flows from the introduction port 5 and falls through the baffle plate 25 into the drain D accumulated in the main body 1, convection occurs, but the convection stirring action causes the particles to float. And dispersion occurs, but it only occurs outside the fine particle adsorption porous body 41.

Even in the presence of such convection, the drain that permeates into the continuous pores of the fine particle adsorbing porous body 41 is in a state where it cannot freely convect as in the previous example. There will be no problematic convection. Further, in the process in which the drain passes through the fine particle adsorbing porous body 41 and reaches the drain discharging porous body 9, the fine particles contained therein are the same as in the previous example.
Adsorbed in 1 continuous pore.

This example is slightly inferior in performance to the previous example because convection occurs in the drain stored in the drain storage space Dk, but since the inflow of drain per unit time is small, it is suitable for a device with small convection. .

Test Example 1 In the apparatus of Embodiment 1 shown in FIG. 1, the porous body for adsorbing fine particles (made of polyurethane foam) 21 has a porosity of 85% and the number of cells per 1 inch (linear length). Samples were prepared for each of Nos. 8, 13, 20, and 40, and the drain port of the air dryer, which produces a drain containing about 5 wt% iron rust (particles of about 0.5 to 1 μm), was introduced into the inlet port 5 of this device. Were connected, and the presence or absence of convection was observed for each. The pore diameters (actually measured values) corresponding to the numbers of cells are 1.5 mm, 1 mm, 0.6 mm, 0.
3 mm. The pressure received by the inlet 5 is 5 kgf.
/ Cm ² . However, in this test, the main body 1 was made of transparent plastic, and a small amount of dye (liquid) was appropriately dropped during the drainage process to observe the presence or absence of convection.

As a result, almost no convection was observed in any of the above cell numbers. After the continuous operation for one month, the difference in the state of the surface of the drain discharge porous body 9 was confirmed depending on the presence or absence of the fine particle adsorption porous body 21, and the present invention provided with the fine particle adsorption porous body 21. In, the adhesion of iron rust and the like was remarkably less than that in the case without. Further, when the fine particle adsorption porous body 21 of the present invention was taken out and appropriately cut and observed, it was confirmed that an extremely large amount of iron rust fine particles adhered to the continuous pores (surface) of the skeleton. These facts indicate that the particles of the present invention are less likely to adhere to the drain discharge porous body 9. However, among the above samples, if the number of cells is 8,
As compared with the others, a relatively large amount of fine particles were found to be attached to the drain discharge porous body 9. It is considered that because the cell (pore size) was relatively large, it was easy for the convection of the drain to spread to the infiltrated drain.

Test Example 2 The apparatus of Embodiment 2 was tested under the same conditions as in Example 1. However, the porous body 41 for adsorbing fine particles as a sample has a porosity of 85% and is 1 inch (linear length).
Only those with 20 cells per hit were tested. The fine particle adsorption porous body 41 has a minimum thickness of 1c.
m.

As a result, convection was observed in the drain in the liquid phase portion outside the fine particle adsorption porous body 41, but was not observed in the fine particle adsorption porous body 41 as before. Further, after the continuous operation for one month, the difference in the surface state of the drain discharge porous body 9 was confirmed by the presence or absence of the fine particle adsorption porous body 41.
In the present invention in which No. 1 was provided, the adhesion of iron rust and the like was remarkably less than in the case where it was omitted. Further, when the fine particle adsorbing porous body 41 according to the present invention was taken out and appropriately cut and observed, it was confirmed that an extremely large amount of iron rust fine particles adhered to the surface of the skeleton.

In any of the above embodiments, the drain discharge porous device has a cylindrical drain discharge device, but the present invention is not limited to the shape and structure of the drain discharge device and the drain discharge port. It can be embodied in a drain discharge device in which a bubble point pressure is partitioned by a drain discharge porous body having a bubble point pressure higher than a gas pressure received by the inlet.

[0036]

According to the present invention, it is effective to prevent the particles contained in the drain from adhering to the surface of the drain discharge porous body on the inlet side. As a result, it is possible to reduce the discharge performance of the drain discharge porous body.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a central longitudinal sectional front view showing a first embodiment of a drain discharge device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line AA in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a partial vertical sectional front view of a porous body for adsorbing fine particles used in the first embodiment example of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a central vertical sectional front view showing a second embodiment of the drain discharge device according to the present invention.

5 is a sectional view taken along line BB in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Drain discharge device body 5 Inlet port 7 Discharge port 9 Drain discharge porous body 21,41 Fine particle adsorption porous body

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification code Internal reference number FI Technical display area F16T 1/00 F16T 1/00 F

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A compressed gas such as compressed air in which a bubble point pressure is partitioned by a drain discharge porous body having a bubble point pressure higher than a pressure of a gas received by the discharge port. In a drain discharge device for discharging the contained drain, between the inlet and the drain discharge porous body, fine particles such as iron rust contained in the drain that can penetrate the drain and pass through. A drain characterized in that a porous body for adsorbing fine particles having innumerable minute continuous pores in a mesh or dendritic form capable of adsorbing is provided so as to cover substantially the entire surface of the drain discharge porous body. Ejection device. 2. The drain discharge device according to claim 1, wherein the particulate adsorbing porous body is in close contact with the surface of the drain discharging porous body substantially entirely. 3. The drain discharge device according to claim 1, wherein the porous body for adsorbing fine particles has a sponge-like soft elasticity. 4. The drain discharge device according to claim 1, wherein the particulate adsorbing porous body has hydrophobicity or lipophilicity.