JPH0952018A - Dehumidifier - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To dehumidify a space to be dehumidified to a low humidity level within a short time and keep the space at the low humidity even if outside air more or less comes into the space to be dehumidified. SOLUTION: An electrochemical element 8 comprising an anode 5 and a cathode 6 between which d.c. voltage from an electric power source 4 is applied and a solid polymer electrolytic membrane 7, which becomes a hydrogen ion exchange membrane, between the anode and the cathode is so installed as to make the anode 5 face to the inside of a space to be dehumidified and the cathode 6 face to the outside of the space and a fan 9 to blow a wind to prevent air in the space from staying in the electrode surface of the anode 5 is also installed.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a dehumidifying device, and more particularly to a dehumidifying device suitable for being installed in a container or a casing for accommodating or accommodating various articles and devices.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As shown in FIG. 5, a dehumidifying device of this type has a structure in which a portion of a side wall of a casing 41 forming a dehumidified space is provided with hydrogen between an anode 42 and a cathode 43 to which a DC voltage is applied. An electrochemical element 45 having a solid polymer electrolyte membrane 44 serving as an ion exchange membrane sandwiched between an anode 42 and a casing 4
1, the cathode 43 is attached so that the cathode 43 faces the outside of the casing 41.

Then, the anode 4 of the electrochemical device 45.
2 and the cathode 43, a DC voltage is applied between the anode 42 and
On the side, water or steam is electrolyzed and the reaction of the following formula (1) occurs. 2H ₂ O → O ₂ + 4H ⁺ + 4e ⁻ (1) Further, the protons (H ⁺ ) generated at this time pass through the solid polymer electrolyte membrane 44 and move to the cathode 43 side, and electrons (e
^- ) Also reaches the cathode 43 side through the power supply circuit, and on the cathode 43 side, the reaction of the following equation (2) occurs in which oxygen in the air is consumed to generate water or water vapor. O ₂ + 4H ⁺ + 4e ⁻ → 2H ₂ O (2) In this way, the molecules of water in the casing 41 become positive 4
At 2, the oxygen and hydrogen ions are electrolyzed, the hydrogen ions are carried to the cathode 43, and the oxygen and hydrogen ions outside the casing 41 recombine at the cathode 43 to generate water. As a result, the water or water vapor in the casing 41 is replaced with oxygen, and the inside of the casing 41 is dehumidified.

[0004]

However, in the conventional dehumidifier, it takes a very long time to dehumidify the inside of the casing 41 in which the dehumidifier is placed into a low humidity atmosphere (relative humidity of 10% or less). Even if the lid (not shown) is opened even once in order to take things in and out of the casing 41, the outside moist air enters and the humidity rises, so that there is a problem that it takes a longer time to be dehumidified. there were.

Further, even after the inside of the casing 41 is dehumidified, the humidity rises similarly if the lid is opened. Therefore, if the articles are not stored or withdrawn for a long period of time, anyway,
When it is necessary to take items in and out, the inside of the casing 41 cannot be maintained in a low humidity atmosphere. Therefore, the present invention can dehumidify to a low humidity in a short time even if outside air may intrude into the dehumidified space due to the opening and closing of the lid, for example. The technical issue is to be able to maintain a humidity atmosphere.

[0006]

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a solid polymer electrolyte membrane serving as a hydrogen ion exchange membrane sandwiched between an anode and a cathode to which a DC voltage is applied from a power source. The electrochemical element is arranged such that the anode is directed to the inside of the dehumidified space and the cathode is directed to the outside of the dehumidified space, and the air in the dehumidified space is moved to the electrode surface of the anode. It is characterized in that a fan for blowing air is arranged so as not to block the air flow.

According to the present invention, when the electrochemical device is energized, the water in the dehumidified space is electrolyzed at the anode into oxygen and hydrogen ions, and only the hydrogen ions are carried to the cathode to remove oxygen outside the dehumidified space. The reaction produces water. As a result, the water in the dehumidified space is replaced with oxygen, so that the dehumidified space is dehumidified. At this time, the fan causes the air in the dehumidified space to flow, and a large amount of water contained in the air is brought into contact with the anode, whereby the electrolysis reaction of water or water vapor on the electrode surface of the anode is promoted, and as a result, Since a large amount of hydrogen ions are carried to the cathode, the recombination reaction between H ⁺ ions and O _{2 on} the electrode surface of the cathode is promoted, and the dehumidification efficiency is improved. Therefore, the dehumidifying device of the present invention, compared to the conventional dehumidifying device,
The atmosphere in the dehumidified space can have a low humidity in a short time, and the atmosphere can be maintained.

[0008]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be specifically described below with reference to the drawings. 1 is a sectional view showing an example of a dehumidifying device according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing another example of a dehumidifying device according to the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing yet another example of a dehumidifying device according to the present invention. is there.

In the dehumidifying device 1, a part of a side wall of a casing 3 provided with an openable / closable lid 2 is provided with hydrogen between an anode 5 and a cathode 6 to which a DC voltage is applied from an external power source 4 such as an AC adapter. The electrochemical element 8 in which the solid polymer electrolyte membrane 7 serving as an ion exchange membrane is sandwiched is in a state where the anode 5 faces the inside of the casing 3 serving as the dehumidified space and the cathode 6 faces the outside of the casing 3. Mounted and casing 3
An axial fan 9 for blowing the air in the casing 3 toward the electrode surface of the anode 5 is disposed inside the fan so as to face the electrode surface of the anode 5.

In the electrochemical device 8, the porous base material forming the anode 5 is formed of platinum-plated stainless fiber or titanium fiber, and the porous base material carries a hydrophilic oxide. As the hydrophilic oxide, fine powder of silica gel or hydrous metal salt of aluminosilicate having excellent hygroscopicity, activated alumina, mullite, zirconia, or magnesia is used, and the fine powder is stainless fiber or titanium fiber. It is dispersed in an electroplating bath for platinizing and is deposited in the platinum plating film.
That is, fine particles of a hydrophilic oxide are dispersed in an electroplating bath for platinizing stainless fibers or titanium fibers forming the porous substrate of the anode 5, and a composite containing a dispersed phase of the fine particles in the platinum plating film. A hydrophilic oxide is supported on the entire porous base material of the anode 5 by a dispersion plating method for forming a film. The porous base material that constitutes the cathode 6 is also made of platinum-plated stainless fiber or titanium fiber, similar to the porous base material of the anode 5, and the solid polymer electrolyte membrane 7 is sandwiched between these porous base materials. Has been done.

The above is an example of the configuration of the present invention, and its operation will be described below. When the electrochemical element 8 is energized, the water in the casing 3 is electrolyzed into oxygen and hydrogen ions by the anode 5, and only the hydrogen ions are solid polymer electrolyte membrane 7.
Is transported to the cathode 6 through the cathode 6, and reacts with oxygen contained in the air outside the casing 3 to generate water. As a result, the water in the casing 3 is replaced with oxygen, and the inside of the casing 3 is dehumidified. At this time, the anode 5
Since the hydrophilic carbide is supported in the porous substrate of
Not only is the initial drive characteristic excellent, but the fixed polymer electrolyte membrane 7 is not damaged by the elution of metal ions from the anode 5.

Further, since the air in the casing 3 is forcibly blown toward the electrode surface of the anode 5 by the axial fan 9, a large amount of water contained in the air comes into contact with the anode 6. As a result, the electrolysis reaction of water or water vapor on the electrode surface of the anode 5 is promoted. Then, when the electrolysis reaction at the anode 5 is promoted, a large amount of hydrogen ions are carried to the cathode, so that the recombination reaction of H ⁺ ions and O _{2 on} the electrode surface of the cathode 6 is also promoted, and the dehumidification efficiency is improved. It As a result, the atmosphere in the casing 3 can be made to have a low humidity in an extremely short time. Therefore, even if some outside moist air is introduced by opening and closing the lid 2, it takes a long time until the humidity is made low. The low-humidity atmosphere can be maintained without the need.

Next, FIG. 2 shows another embodiment according to the present invention. In the dehumidifying device 20 of this example, the electrochemical element 8 is arranged on the side wall of the casing 3 and the dehumidifying device 20 is provided outside the casing 3. A blower duct 22 in which an axial fan 21 is arranged is provided, an air suction port 23 thereof is opened in a side wall of the casing 3, and an air outlet 24 is opened in a position facing the electrode surface of the anode 5. . The impeller 2 of the axial fan 21
Reference numeral 5 is provided inside the duct 22, and drive motor 26 is provided outside the duct 22.

Therefore, when the electrochemical element 8 is energized and the axial fan 21 is started, the air in the casing 3 passes from the air suction port 23 into the blower duct 22 and the air outlet 2
4 is sprayed toward the electrode surface of the anode 6, and the water contained in the air is forcibly brought into contact with the anode 6, so that the dehumidification efficiency is improved. Further, since the motor 26 that drives the axial fan 21 is disposed outside the duct 22, the heat generated from the motor 26 is dissipated into the atmosphere outside the casing 3, and the electrochemical element 8 also generates heat. Since it is not a thing, the electrochemical element 8 and the axial flow fan 21
The atmosphere temperature in the casing 3 does not rise by energizing the casing. Therefore, even when the temperature inside the casing 3 is strictly controlled, there is no adverse effect due to heat generation of the motor 26 and the like.

FIG. 3 shows still another embodiment,
In the dehumidifying device 30 of this example, the electrochemical element 8 is disposed on the side wall of the casing 3, and the fan 9 that blows air in the casing 3 toward the electrode surface of the anode 5 is
An axial fan 31 is disposed inside the casing 3 so as to face the electrode surface of the anode 5 and blows air outside the casing 3 toward the electrode surface of the cathode 6 so as to face the electrode surface of the cathode 5 and the casing. It is arranged outside the 3.

According to this, not only the air inside the casing 3 is blown to the electrode surface of the anode 5, but also the air outside the casing 3 is blown to the electrode surface of the cathode 6, so that the anode 5
The hydrogen ion, which is electrolyzed and carried to the cathode 6, is promoted to combine with hydrogen contained in the air blown to the cathode 6. Therefore, a large amount of hydrogen ions are consumed at the cathode 6, and along with this, the electrolysis reaction of the anode 5 becomes smoother, and the inside of the casing 3 can be dehumidified to a low humidity atmosphere in a shorter time. .

The fans are axial-flow type axial fans 9 and 2.
Not limited to 1,31, a centrifugal sirocco fan or a line flow fan may be used. Also, the axial fans 9 and 31
Is not limited to be disposed facing the electrode surfaces of the anode 5 and the cathode 6, but may be disposed at any position so that air inside and outside the casing 3 is not trapped on the electrode surfaces. Further, the dehumidifying device 1 of the present invention can be attached to an arbitrary casing 3, and may be used as, for example, a storage, a container for storing articles, or a magnetic disk recording device.

[0018]

EXAMPLES Here, the fan 9 of the dehumidifying apparatus 1 shown in FIG.
A test operation was performed to confirm the performance of the dehumidifier 1 shown in FIG. 1 and the dehumidifier 30 shown in FIG. In each of the examples, as the electrochemical element 8, the porous base materials of the anode 5 and the cathode 6 were both formed of platinum-plated titanium fiber to a thickness of 0.2 mm. The platinum plating has a thickness of 3 μm. As the hydrophilic oxide supported on the anode 5, fine powder of KA type zeolite having a particle size of 3 to 5 μm is used, and 100 to 200 g of KA zeolite fine powder is added to the electroplating bath for platinum plating per liter of the plating bath. , 9 parts platinum by volume in front of the titanium fibers forming the porous substrate:
A dispersion plating film of 1 part of KA type zeolite fine powder was formed.

As the solid polymer electrolyte membrane 7, Nafion-117 (registered trademark of DuPont) is used, and it is sandwiched between porous substrates to be the electrodes 5 and 6 at 190 ° C. and 50 kgf /
Hot pressing was performed at a molding pressure of cm ² to form bite portions 7a and 7b on both surfaces of the electrolyte membrane 7, in which the porous base materials of the electrodes 5 and 6 bite, respectively. The effective membrane areas of the porous base material and the solid polymer electrolyte membrane 7 are both selected to be 50 cm ^2, and the thickness of the solid polymer electrolyte membrane 7 is 180 μm except for the bite portions 7a and 7b. The depth of parts 7a and 7b is 170 μm
m. The DC voltage applied to the electrodes is 5V, the temperature inside the casing is 25 ° C, and the volume of the casing is 450 liters. The time required to reduce the humidity from 80% to 5% was measured, and the results are shown in Table 1 and FIG.

[0020]

[Table 1]

From the experimental results, it takes 25 hours to reach 5% when the fan 9 is not provided, whereas in the dehumidifier 1 in which air is blown to the anode 5 by the fan 9, it is about 1/4 of 6 hours 40 minutes. Can be dehumidified with
It was confirmed that the dehumidifier 30 in which air is blown to both the anode 5 and the cathode 6 by the fans 9 and 31 can dehumidify in about 5 hours and 20 minutes. Therefore, even when the lid 2 is opened and closed to take in and out an article and outside air enters the casing 3, the inside of the casing 3 can be dehumidified to a low humidity atmosphere in a short time, and a low humidity atmosphere can be obtained. Can be maintained.

[0022]

As described above, according to the present invention, the fan for flowing the air in the dehumidified space is provided, and the electrolysis reaction of water or water vapor on the electrode surface of the anode and the cathode Since the recombination reaction between H ⁺ ions and O _{2 on} the electrode surface is promoted, even if outside air may enter the casing by opening and closing the lid for putting in and taking out articles during and after dehumidification, it may take a short time. With this, it is possible to dehumidify the inside of the casing to a low humidity atmosphere, and it is possible to maintain a low humidity atmosphere, which is a very excellent effect.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing an example of a dehumidifying device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing another example of the dehumidifying device according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing still another example of the dehumidifying device according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a graph showing the dehumidifying performance of the dehumidifying device according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view showing a conventional dehumidifying device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 ... Dehumidifier 3 ... Casing 4 ... Power supply 5 ... Anode 6 ... Cathode 7 ... Solid polymer electrolyte membrane 8 ... Electrochemical element 9, 21, 31, ... Fan 22 ... Blower duct 23 ... Air inlet 24 ... Air outlet

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Mitsuyuki Imai Izumi 13-13 Shimozato, Higashi-Kurume City, Tokyo Optec Diddy Melco Laboratory Ltd. (72) Inventor, Shigetoshi Yokomatsu 1-13-13 Shimozato, Kurume-shi, Higashi Incorporated company Optec Diddy Melco Laboratory (72) Inventor Shiro Yamauchi 8-1-1 Tsukaguchihonmachi, Amagasaki-shi, Hyogo Itami Sanritsu Electric Co., Ltd. Inside the factory

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. An electrochemical system in which a solid polymer electrolyte membrane (7) serving as a hydrogen ion exchange membrane is sandwiched between an anode (5) to which a DC voltage is applied from a power source (4) and a cathode (6). An element (8) directs the anode (5) into the dehumidified space,
A fan (9, which is arranged so that the cathode (6) faces the outside of the space to be dehumidified and blows air in the space to be dehumidified so as not to stay on the electrode surface of the anode (5) twenty one)
A dehumidifying device, characterized in that 2. The fan (9) faces the electrode surface of the anode (5) so that the air in the space to be dehumidified is blown toward the electrode surface of the anode (5), and the fan (9) enters the space to be dehumidified. The dehumidifying device according to claim 1, which is provided. 3. A blower duct (22) provided with the fan (21) is provided outside a casing (3) forming a dehumidified space, and an air suction port (23) of the duct (22) is covered. The duct (22) is opened at an arbitrary position in the dehumidification space.
The dehumidifying device according to claim 1, wherein the air outlet (24) of the air outlet is opened at a position facing the electrode surface of the anode (5). 4. The fan (9) according to claim 1, further comprising, in addition to the fan (9), a fan (31) for blowing the outside air of the space to be dehumidified so as not to stay on the electrode surface of the cathode (6). Dehumidifier.