JPH10174710A - Ozone sterilization and deodorization system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a system which adequately embodies effective ozone sterilization or deodorization in a wide shape. SOLUTION: This system sterilizes or deodorizes the wide-area space by diffusing ozone air of an adequate and uniform concn. to the space. Adequate ozone forming mechanisms 3 consisting of ozone forming devices 7 which form the high-concn. ozone from the supplied air or oxygen, ozone diluting devices 8 which dilute the high-concn. ozone to the concn. harmless to the human body and to make it possible to obtain a sterilization or deodorization effect and ozone concn. monitor devices 9 which detect the ozone concn. of the space and regulate the amt. of the ozone to be formed by the ozone forming devices are allocated by one set each to the small spaces theoretically segmenting the wide-area space. The ozone forming devices 7 of the respective adequate ozone forming mechanisms 3 are connected by dehumidifying devices 1 or oxygen thickening devices 15 and diffusing mechanisms 4 for releasing the ozone air toward the small spaces by means of pipings 2 isolated from the outside.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a relatively large space, such as a food processing plant, which needs to be sterilized or deodorized.
The present invention relates to an ozone sterilization and deodorization system that diffuses ozone air at an appropriate and uniform concentration (in a wide area).

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An ozone disinfection and deodorization system kills bacteria floating in a space, removes odorous gas, and removes the inner walls of a building.
It is equipment that discharges ozone air (air containing ozone) into a room or indoor space in order to sterilize or deodorize equipment, equipment or furniture installed indoors or on the floor or ceiling. The powerful oxidizing action of ozone is used for sterilization or deodorization.However, if the ozone concentration (the ratio of ozone in the ozone air) is too high, it can impair human health or oxidize everything. There is a problem of damage by working, and it is difficult to handle. This is because the difference between the ozone concentration that provides an effective sterilizing or deodorizing effect and the ozone concentration that causes the above-mentioned problem is extremely small, and the device generates an ozone concentration that is allowed by the indoor space to be sterilized or deodorized. The resulting ozone concentration is extremely high.

[0003] In a conventional general ozone sterilization and deodorization system, a large amount or high concentration of ozone air generated by a large-sized ozone generator is distributed by piping and discharged from a large number of air outlets opening to a wide area. Normally, an ozone generator uses a silent discharge type ozone generator which is inexpensive to manufacture and operate, but in this silent discharge type, if there is moisture in the air (exactly oxygen in the air) as the raw material, Since the generation of ozone is inhibited and the amount of ozone generated increases in proportion to the oxygen concentration in the air, a dehumidifier is used to stably generate a sufficient amount or concentration of ozone air necessary and sufficient for distribution. Alternatively, the air is often pretreated with an oxygen concentrator (eg, PSA). Since the dehumidifier or the oxygen concentrator generally has a large capacity, the size of the ozone generator is inevitably increased, and the generated ozone air has a large amount and a high concentration. The dilution of the ozone concentration is realized by providing a large number of outlets to which the ozone is distributed and reducing the amount of ozone air released per outlet, so that the ozone concentration after the release is reduced.

[0004]

In the conventional ozone sterilization and deodorization system as described above, the temporal ozone concentration in the space to be sterilized or deodorized fluctuates, and the spatial ozone concentration is biased. In particular, when the system is operated so as not to affect the human body, only a sterilizing or deodorizing effect lower than the design specification of the entire system can be obtained. Ozone is consumed by sterilization or deodorization, leaks to the outside due to low airtightness in general houses and factories, except for special purpose factories, and is released by ventilation (including natural and compulsory ones). Due to loss, the required ozone amount fluctuates every moment even in the same space. The amount of ozone loss is difficult to predict, especially when the number and time of ventilation is artificially affected, and the presence of air conditioning equipment complicates ventilation problems, for example, as cooling equipment decomposes ozone. This is a problem of the temporal variation of the ozone concentration.

In view of the above-mentioned problems of ozone consumption, ozone loss due to ventilation, leakage or decomposition, the positional relationship between the outlet for discharging ozone air and the place where ozone is consumed and lost. Will create a spatial bias in ozone concentration. In particular, the conventional system is not sufficiently diluted, but rather emits high-concentration ozone air, especially because the ozone concentration near the outlet increases, even when considering excluding the ozone consumption and loss. In other words, places where the ozone concentration is high and places where the ozone concentration is low are unevenly distributed. For example, in addition to the vicinity of the outlet, the ozone concentration is high in a place where ozone air is likely to merge due to the arrangement of the outlet and air flow, and the ozone concentration is low in a place where ventilation, leakage or decomposition is severe. This is the problem of spatial deviation of the ozone concentration.

[0006] A more important problem is that the conventional system in which the ozone air is generated and distributed in a concentrated manner is difficult to correct the temporal fluctuation or spatial bias of the ozone concentration.
Fine adjustment is also difficult. For example, even if a temporal change or a spatial deviation of the ozone concentration can be detected using any sensor, the ozone concentration in the space cannot be optimized only by adjusting the amount of ozone generated. In order to correct the temporal variation or spatial deviation of the ozone concentration, it is simple and appropriate to provide a valve for adjusting the flow rate in the middle of the pipe to the outlet for discharging the ozone air, but it is necessary to intensively generate the valve. In the method of distributing the ozone air, the pipes and the valves are oxidized, and in consideration of the permanent operation of the system, the pipes and valves must be specially made to be resistant to ozone, There is a problem that the manufacturing and operation costs of the entire system are increased.

As described above, the conventional ozone disinfection and deodorization system, on the one hand, suppresses the temporal fluctuation of the ozone concentration, the spatial deviation, and the oxidation of pipes and the like. In order to prevent the ozone concentration from harming the human body, the average ozone concentration during system operation had to be reduced, and only a sterilization or deodorization effect lower than the intrinsic capability of the device was obtained. is there. This tendency becomes more remarkable as the space in which the system is installed becomes wider, and in a large space such as a factory, for example, in a food processing plant, the conventional ozone sterilization and deodorization device can hardly achieve the expected effect. Will be.

[0008] Therefore, the present inventors have studied to develop a system that realizes appropriate and effective ozone sterilization or deodorization in a wide area represented by a food processing factory. In particular, the wide-area space found in factories often changes in the shape and size of the space due to the modification of the production equipment, and the above-mentioned temporal variation in the ozone concentration and spatial bias are likely to occur. Regarding the system to be studied, we decided to aim for a device configuration that could easily and easily respond to such changes in the shape and size of the wide space.

[0009]

As a result of the examination, it has been developed that bacteria and odorous gases floating in a space by diffusing ozone air of an appropriate and uniform concentration in a wide area and walls and installations defining the space. Or a system for disinfecting or deodorizing equipment and the like, comprising an ozone generator for producing high-concentration ozone from supplied air or oxygen, and diluting the high-concentration ozone to a concentration that is harmless to the human body and has a sterilizing or deodorizing effect. An ozone diluting device that detects the ozone concentration in the space and an ozone concentration monitoring device that adjusts the amount of ozone generated by the ozone generating device to a small space that logically partitions a wide area The ozone generator of each appropriate ozone generating mechanism is used as a dehumidifier or oxygen concentrator, and the ozone dilutor is used as a diffusing mechanism that emits ozone air by directing it to a small space. An ozone sterilization deodorization system coupled with isolated the piping section.

The ozone generator and the dehumidifier or the oxygen concentrator, and the ozone dilutor and the diffusion mechanism are connected by pipes isolated from the outside, respectively. Therefore, in this system, the ozone generator is connected to the ozone dilutor and the diffusion mechanism. There is no danger of the generated ozone air leaking out on the way. Further, since the piping from the dehumidifier or oxygen concentrator to each ozone generator only sends air, the problem of ozone oxidation as in the conventional system cannot occur. A dehumidifier is a device that removes water in the air, which is not desirable for ozone generation, to a certain extent.An oxygen concentrator has a high oxygen concentration so that ozone can be generated with high efficiency. Is a device for supplying. As a result, the ozone generator can generate high-concentration ozone (2 g / hour at minimum capacity).

The appropriate ozone generating mechanism is provided for each small space (a virtual divided space, not a physical partition by partition or the like) which logically partitions the wide area. The small space is determined according to the shape or size of the wide area, but it is preferable that the small space be in a range in which the diffusion of ozone by the diffusion mechanism and the monitoring by the ozone concentration monitoring device function sufficiently. Diffusion mechanisms include those that simply emit diluted ozone and diffuse ozone into a small space with an externally added fan, etc., and those that swirl the discharge end to diffuse ozone. A single group or a plurality of groups are provided according to In the system of the present invention, the generated high-concentration ozone is separated into two by the ozone concentration diluting device and the diffusion mechanism.
The ozone air is diluted at an appropriate stage, and both are generally diluted at a high magnification.

[0012] The ozone concentration monitoring device detects a temporal change or a spatial deviation of the ozone concentration in a wide area, and adjusts the ozone generation amount of the ozone generation device in accordance with the required amount of ozone which fluctuates every moment. In order to suppress or stop the capability of the system with respect to the abnormality of the ozone concentration, for example, a control device (details will be described later) which receives an electric signal of an ozone sensor and adjusts or temporarily shuts off an applied voltage of an ozone generator. is there. Usually, only one ozone sensor is provided for the pair with the ozone generator, but a plurality of ozone sensors may be provided according to the shape or size of the small space. In this case, the signal value of each sensor is individually weighted. You may give a master-slave relationship,
The average value of the signals may be sent to the control device by making them all equal.

[0013] The ozone air is diluted with the ozone concentration diluting device as a first step to dilute the high-concentration ozone immediately after it is generated, and further diffused and released from a diffusion mechanism as a second step, so that it is finally harmless to the human body and sterilized. Alternatively, a concentration capable of obtaining a deodorizing effect is realized. The ozone concentration diluting device is a primary device for diluting high-concentration ozone, and its ability may be determined in consideration of the effect of dilution by a diffusion mechanism, and the dilution method or device structure is not limited. In the present invention, a high-concentration ozone feeder has a double structure consisting of an inner tube with a closed top and an outer tube for passing air that carries diluted ozone to the diffusion mechanism, and the inner tube has fine pores. Ozone sterilization is performed by mixing ozone leaking uniformly and quantitatively from the inner tube surface to the outer tube with air flowing through the outer tube, thereby diluting the ozone to a concentration harmless to the human body and having a sterilizing or deodorizing effect. We decided to incorporate it into the deodorizing system.

The inner tube may be of any material as long as it has fine pores and is resistant to oxidation of ozone, but is preferably made of resin or porous ceramic having fine pores. As the resin inner tube, for example, there is a tube in which a resin film having pores used for ultrafiltration or the like is formed in a tubular shape. Ozone air from dehumidifier produced as a raw material, the ozone generation device near 10 g / m ³ approximately, when further combined oxygen concentrator, the value reaches up to 50 to 100 g / m ^3.
When such high-concentration ozone is diluted at a high magnification by mixing with air, it is difficult to dilute the two without violent stirring, and conventionally a spatial deviation of the ozone concentration was caused. A small amount of high-concentration ozone distributed over the entire surface of the inner tube is gradually released to the air by uniformly and quantitatively leaking the high-concentration ozone sent into the inner tube whose end is closed from the inner tube surface. And without causing a spatial bias in ozone concentration,
Dilute to a concentration that is harmless to the human body and provides a sterilizing or deodorizing effect.

As mentioned above, ozone is suitable for sterilization or deodorization, but if its concentration is too high, it harms the human body. Therefore, in the present invention, the ozone concentration monitoring device is controlled by an ozone sensor that emits an electric signal in accordance with the ozone concentration in the space, and by controlling the voltage applied to the ozone generation device in accordance with the electric signal from the ozone sensor. The controller is configured to store the electrical signal seen during normal operation as a safety criterion in the control device.If the control device confirms an electrical signal different from the safety criterion, it is regarded as abnormal and the controller applies the applied voltage of the ozone generator to the controller. Let me shut off
Fail-safe against abnormal changes in ozone concentration has been achieved. In the event of an abnormality, in addition to stopping the ozone generation device, a red light may be emitted or a siren may be sounded to warn the operator or the administrator.

An ordinary ozone sensor outputs an electric signal proportional to the ozone concentration exceeding the fixed value when the detected ozone concentration exceeds a certain value. If this constant value is harmless to the human body and a concentration at which a sterilizing or deodorizing effect can be obtained, if the ozone concentration monitoring device is properly operated, the ozone concentration will slightly fluctuate across the concentration, and the electric power of the ozone sensor will be reduced. The signals form a signal pattern having a substantially constant period. When there is one ozone sensor and the control device is ON-OFF control, the signal pattern formed by the electric signal of the ozone sensor is used as a safety standard, and when the control device is proportional control, the electric signal in a fixed cycle Is stored in the control device as a safety criterion, and a case where the signal pattern or the output voltage or the frequency component deviates from the safety criterion is regarded as abnormal. When a plurality of ozone sensors are used, a state in which the electric signals of the ozone sensors match is regarded as a normal state, and a state in which the electric signal of one of the ozone sensors is increased or decreased is regarded as abnormal.

[0017]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a general ozone sterilization or deodorization system in which a proper ozone generating mechanism 3 is connected to a pipe 2 branched from a dehumidifier 1 and a plurality of diffusion mechanisms 4 are connected to a pipe 2 extending from each proper ozone generating mechanism 3. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an installation example in which the system is constructed in a wide area 6 divided into a U-shape by a partition wall 5.

As shown in FIG. 1, the proper ozone generating mechanism 3 of this embodiment includes an ozone generating device 7, an ozone diluting device 8, and an ozone concentration monitoring device 9. Ozone generator 7
Is composed of a silent discharge type ozone generator (not shown). The air dehumidified by the dehumidifier 1 to a dew point of -40 to -60 ° C.
It produces high concentration ozone of 00ppm. The method of generating ozone is not particularly limited, but it is preferable to use a silent discharge ozone generator in order to reduce the production cost and operation cost of the apparatus, and for example, a small-sized apparatus as disclosed in JP-A-8-185955 is preferable. The use of the ozone generator (referred to as a low-temperature plasma generator in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-185955) has an advantage that a device for realizing stable ozone generation can be miniaturized.

The ozone diluting device 8 comprises a fluororesin inner tube 10 having fine pores, and an outer tube 12 through which ozone conveying air sent from a blower 11 flows. The inner tube 10 has a closed top, and when the high-concentration ozone is fed from the ozone generator 7, the ozone is uniformly and quantitatively leaked from the surface of the inner tube 10 to the outer tube 12. 0 from blower 11.
The carrier air is circulated to the outer tube 12 at a pressure of 1 kg / cm ² , and the leaked ozone and air are mixed to form ozone air diluted to 2.5 to 5 ppm and sent to the diffusion mechanism 4 as it is. It is. The diffusion mechanism 4 is a nozzle that horizontally turns at a low speed and diffuses the ozone air at a speed of 15 to 20 m / sec over a range of several meters in radius, that is, emits the ozone air while diluting it.
The size of a general wide area is 200-400m ³ and the ceiling height is 4
Assuming m and ventilation 3 times / hour, the ozone concentration of the released ozone air is about 0.1 ppm. The ozone concentration is such that it can kill Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella and the like in a few hours.

The ozone concentration monitoring device 9 includes an ozone sensor 13
When the ozone concentration in the space in which the system is installed exceeds a certain value (for example, 0.1 ppm), an electric signal of an output voltage proportional to the amount exceeding the certain value is output by an ozone sensor. 13 outputs to the control device 14. Control device
14 stores in advance the electrical signal in the normal state as a safe value (signal pattern (cycle), output voltage, frequency component, etc.), and confirms the abnormality of the electrical signal due to a sudden change in ozone concentration at the time of abnormality. Then, the voltage applied to the ozone generator 7 is cut off. In this example, when an electric signal is input from the ozone sensor 13, the control device 14 cuts off the voltage applied to the ozone generation device 7 and temporarily stops ozone generation. Also,
The output cycle of the electric signal from the ozone sensor 13 in the normal state is defined as the safety standard, and the output cycle of the electric signal is set to the safety standard.
When the value exceeds twice, it is regarded as abnormal, and the applied voltage is cut off and an alarm is issued.

The above-mentioned ozone concentration monitoring device is a so-called fail-safe mechanism, and is particularly important in a system for handling dangerous substances such as ozone which may harm humans. From this point of view, not only is it possible to quickly detect abnormalities and issue a warning and stop the generation of ozone,
Even in a normal state, the control device continuously adjusts the amount of ozone generated by the ozone generator in accordance with the electric signal of the ozone sensor which changes according to the ozone concentration so that the ozone concentration is prevented from suddenly changing. The concentration monitoring device may be used as a device for stabilizing ozone generation. In addition,
Although the system of the present invention handles high-concentration ozone only in a very short range from an ozone generator to an ozone diluting device, such a system configuration is also a kind of fail-safe, which is a feature showing the high safety of the present invention. ing.

The system of this embodiment having such a configuration is, for example, as shown in FIG.
From the ceiling of a flat U-shaped room, which is a wide area 6, and the appropriate ozone generating mechanism 3 is allocated to each of the four small blocks of the logically divided space,
The pipe 2 is connected to each of the ozone generating devices 7, and further, the diffusion mechanism 4, which is provided for each of the five small spaces, is connected to the corresponding ozone diluting device 8, thereby constructing the apparatus. Since the dehumidifier 1 is outdoors and the ozone generator 7, the ozone dilutor 8 and the pipe 2 are all hidden behind the ceiling, the appearance of the room is not impaired even if the number of devices is increased. During the operation of the entire system, the ozone generator 7 is stopped, and the ozone diluting device 8 and the diffusion mechanism 4 can be individually installed, repaired, and replaced (especially, expansion of the diffusion mechanism 4 or position change). There is also the advantage of a high degree of freedom.

The purpose of the diffusion mechanism 4 is to diffuse the ozone air to dilute it to an appropriate ozone concentration and to discharge the ozone air as uniformly as possible into the target small space. Because the ozone concentration is previously diluted at a considerably high magnification by an ozone concentration diluting device, for example, when the nozzle is horizontally swirled, it is possible to sufficiently diffuse and discharge even if the swirling speed is slow, and the nozzle is horizontally swirled. There is a feature that does not form a new airflow associated with. Conventionally, ozone air that is harmless to the human body and has not been sufficiently diluted to a concentration that provides a sterilizing or deodorizing effect is diluted, and the released ozone air is vigorously stirred to eliminate spatial deviation of the ozone concentration. It was necessary to diffuse, and the agitation formed an unnecessary flow of air, which disturbed the environment of a wide-area space that was appropriately adjusted (particularly lowering the temperature). The present invention hardly hinders the environment of the wide space 6 as in the prior art.

As shown in FIG. 1, the dehumidifier 1
If an oxygen concentrator 15 (for example, PSA) is used instead of Ozone to generate a higher concentration of ozone, an ozone water generator 16 can be connected and operated in parallel with the appropriate ozone generator 3. Since ozone is hardly soluble, ozone water requires a higher concentration of ozone than ozone air. In the system of the present invention,
Although the raw air or diluted low-concentration ozone air is distributed by the pipe 2, high-concentration ozone was not handled in an extremely limited range, so even if a system capable of producing higher-concentration ozone was constructed. The safety is not impaired, but rather the generation of ozone water is made possible and the use is expanded.

[0025]

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an ozone sterilization or deodorization system capable of appropriately and effectively sterilizing or deodorizing regardless of the shape or size of a wide space. In addition, this system is economical in installation or operation because of its inexpensive device configuration and good handling, has excellent aesthetics, and has a high degree of freedom in layout, so it has a store with a complex layout and many installations, and a wide area. It can be used in buildings and factories. It is also excellent in safety, and can be used continuously with peace of mind, in addition to the above economics.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of an ozone sterilization or deodorization system of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an installation example in which the system of FIG. 1 is constructed.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Dehumidifier 2 Piping 3 Appropriate ozone generation mechanism 4 Diffusion mechanism 5 Partition wall 6 Wide area 7 Ozone generator 8 Ozone diluting device 9 Ozone concentration monitoring device 10 Fluororesin inner tube 11 Blower 12 Outer tube 13 Ozone sensor 14 Control device 15 Oxygen concentrator 16 Ozone water generator

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A system for disinfecting or deodorizing bacteria and odorous gases floating in a space by diffusing ozone air having an appropriate and uniform concentration in a wide area and walls, installations, and fixtures defining the space. An ozone generator that generates high-concentration ozone from supplied air or oxygen, an ozone diluting device that dilutes the high-concentration ozone to a concentration that is harmless to the human body and has a sterilizing or deodorizing effect, and detects ozone concentration in the space. And an ozone concentration monitoring device that adjusts the amount of ozone generated by the ozone generation device, and allocates a set of appropriate ozone generation units to a small space logically divided into a wide area, and Ozone disinfection and decontamination by connecting an ozone generator to a dehumidifier or oxygen concentrator and an ozone dilutor to a diffusion mechanism that emits ozone air by turning the ozone air into a small space with a pipe isolated from the outside. Odor system. 2. The ozone diluting device has a double structure including an inner tube having a closed top for feeding high-concentration ozone and an outer tube for flowing air for conveying diluted ozone air to a diffusion mechanism. The tube has fine pores, and is diluted to a concentration that is harmless to the human body and has a sterilizing or deodorizing effect by mixing ozone leaking uniformly and quantitatively from the surface of the inner tube to the outer tube and air flowing through the outer tube. The ozone sterilization and deodorization system according to claim 1, which is configured as described above. 3. An ozone sensor which emits an electric signal in accordance with the ozone concentration in a space, a control device which controls the voltage applied to the ozone generator in accordance with the electric signal from the ozone sensor or temporarily shuts off the ozone sensor. The control device stores an electric signal seen in a normal state as a safety standard in the control device, and regards the case where the control device confirms an electric signal different from the safety standard as an abnormality, and causes the control device to cut off the applied voltage of the ozone generation device. The ozone sterilization and deodorization system according to claim 1, which is configured as described above.