JPH1076131A - Low dew point air supply system and dry dehumidifying device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To construct a low dew point air supply system small in energy consumption. SOLUTION: In a system for supplying a low dew point air to a dry room R, a return air RA2 from the dry room R is introduced into a purge zone 11a of a dry dehumidifying device and an air at an outlet side of the purge zone 11c is separated into a high temp. side purge air C1 passed through a pot near a regenerating zone 11b and a low temp. side purge air C2 passed through a part near a dehumidifying zone 11a. The high temp. side purge air C1 is mixed with an air of a regenerating line and the low temp. side purge air C2 is mixed with a treating air. Both of energy necessary for the regenerating, and the outside air treatment of the dry dehumidifying device 10 are simultaneously reduced.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a low dew point air supply system for supplying low dew point air to a target room, and a dry dehumidifier suitable for the low dew point air supply system.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a semiconductor manufacturing process and a lithium battery manufacturing process, for example, there is an increasing demand for equipment called a dry room, which has a dry and low dew point atmosphere.

[0003] As a method of dehumidifying air, a method of cooling and dehumidifying is conventionally known. However, in cooling and dehumidifying, only air having a dew point of -5 ° C or more can be generated. It cannot handle low dew points.

Therefore, so-called dry dehumidifiers using a rotary rotor are used in air conditioners and air conditioning systems that supply air with a low dew point (-50 ° C. or lower). In this dry dehumidifier, the end face side of a honeycomb rotor impregnated with an absorbent such as lithium chloride or calcium chloride, or a rotor composed of an adsorbent such as silica gel or zeolite is used as a dehumidification area and a regeneration area. It is partitioned, while processing air is passed through the dehumidification area while rotating the rotor to create dry air, and high-temperature regeneration air is passed through the regeneration area to regenerate the water in the absorbent and the adsorbent. It is configured to continuously evaporate into the air to perform the dehumidification process.

However, if the rotor is moved to the processing system, that is, the dehumidification zone while the temperature is high, the air that has not been dehumidified passes through the rotor and raises the dew point. , An area called a purge area,
In many cases, the rotor is rotated in the order of a regeneration zone, a purge zone, and a dehumidification zone, and cooling air is passed through the purge zone to cool the rotor.

In order to supply low dew point air using such a dry dehumidifier, a method of treating the dry dehumidifier in one stage and a method of separately providing a dry dehumidifier for external air treatment in two stages are provided. There are two methods for performing processing. The one-stage system has a low initial cost, but consumes a lot of energy, and is mainly used for supplying low dew point air to a small room. On the other hand, in the two-stage system, the regeneration system is circulated to reduce energy consumption, and the exhaust from the regeneration area in the second-stage dry-type dehumidifier is reused for the regeneration of the first-stage dry-type dehumidifier. By doing so, the energy is reduced. In a system for supplying air with a low dew point to a dry room or the like, a two-stage system is generally used.

[0007]

However, when dehumidification is performed using such a dry dehumidifier, air having a dew point lower than that of cooling and dehumidification can be supplied, but not only a one-stage system but also an energy-saving type. Even the two-stage type consumes more energy than cooling and dehumidification, and further energy saving is required. In addition, most of the above-described dry rooms are operated for 24 hours, and the reduction of energy has a very high effect on equipment costs including operation costs. .

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and is intended to supply low dew point air to a room that requires low dew point air, such as a dry room. It is an object of the present invention to provide a system and a dry dehumidifier suitable for use in the low dew point air supply system to solve the above-mentioned problem.

[0009]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a rotatable rotor having a suction function and an absorption function, and an air passage area located at an end face of the rotor is provided with a rotor. In a system that processes the processing air using a dry dehumidifier that is divided into a dehumidifying area, a regeneration area, and a purge area radially from the center to supply low dew point air to a target room such as a dry room, While the return air from the target chamber is introduced into the purge section, the air at the outlet of the purge section is separated into air passing through a section near the regeneration section and air passing through a section near the dehumidification section,
The air that has passed through the portion near the regeneration zone is mixed with air in a regeneration system that passes through the regeneration zone, and the air that has passed through the portion near the dehumidification zone is mixed with the processing air. A low dew point air supply system is provided.

In such a low dew point air supply system, the air that has passed through the portion near the regeneration zone is mixed with the air of the regeneration system that passes through the regeneration zone. Can be reused as a heat source. At the same time, the air that has passed through the portion near the dehumidification area is mixed with the processing air. By returning the low-temperature side air to the processing system, for example, it is possible to reduce the amount of outside air taken in. ing. Further, since the return air from the target chamber is introduced into the purge area, air with a low dew point passes through the purge area, and moisture does not transfer to the rotor after regeneration.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a dry dehumidifier having a rotatable rotor having an adsorbing function and an absorbing function and chambers for connecting ducts at front and rear ends of the rotor. The located air passage area is radially divided from the center of the rotor into a dehumidification area, a regeneration area, and a purge area, and the chamber located on the purge area inlet side is provided with a purge inlet that is an inlet to the purge area. The chamber located on the purge area outlet side is provided with a high-temperature purge outlet and a low-temperature purge outlet which are outlets from the purge area and are separated from the high-temperature side and the low-temperature side. In addition, a dry dehumidification apparatus is provided, wherein the low temperature purge outlets are respectively arranged near the dehumidification area.

According to such a dry dehumidifier, when the air that has passed through the purge section on the rotor end face through the purge inlet is discharged from the chamber located on the purge section outlet side,
From the high-temperature purge outlet, relatively hot air that has passed through a portion near the regeneration zone flows out, and from the low-temperature purge outlet, relatively low-temperature air that has passed through a portion near the dehumidification zone flows out. Therefore, it becomes easy to mix the high-temperature purge air with the regeneration system in the low-dew-point air supply system, and to mix the low-temperature purge air with the process air.

[0013]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 schematically illustrates a low dew point air supply system according to the present embodiment. The low dew point air supply system according to the present embodiment is configured as a system that supplies low dew point air to a dry room R. I have.

First, the introduced outside air OA is guided by the outside air intake duct 1 and cooled and dehumidified by the outside air processing cooler 2. Thereafter, the air is mixed with the regeneration excess air cooled by the regeneration excess air cooling cooler 3 and introduced into the dehumidifying section 5a of the first-stage dry dehumidifier 5 by the outside air processing fan 4, for example, at a dew point temperature of −10 ° C. It is dehumidified until. The first-stage dry dehumidifier 5 is of a type having a rotor end face divided into two, a dehumidification section 5a and a regeneration section 5b.

After that, the air that has passed through the dehumidifying section 5a of the first-stage dry dehumidifier 5 and has been subjected to outside air processing is partially returned air RA returned from the dry room R through the return air duct 6.
It is mixed with 1 and sent to the precooler 8 by the processing fan 7. After the processing air is cooled by the pre-cooler 8, it is introduced into the dehumidification area 11a of the rotor 11 of the second-stage dry dehumidification device 10 to be dehumidified.

The second-stage dry dehumidifier 10 is shown in FIGS.
, And has a configuration in which chambers 12 and 13 are arranged on both end surfaces of a rotating rotor 11. The end face of the rotor 11 is divided into three air passage areas of a dehumidification area 11a, a regeneration area 11b, and a purge area 11c in the order of the rotation of the rotor 11 indicated by arrows in FIG. A dehumidification outlet 12a, a regeneration inlet 12b, and a purge inlet 12c for connecting to a duct or the like are formed on the outer end surface of the chamber 12 corresponding to these sections.

On the other hand, on the outer end face of the chamber 13, as shown in FIG. 5, a dehumidification inlet 13a corresponding to the dehumidification area 11a and a regeneration outlet 13b corresponding to the regeneration area 11b.
However, corresponding to the purge area 11c, the regeneration area 11
b, a high temperature purge outlet 13c is provided in the dehumidification area 11
The low temperature purge outlets 13d are formed in portions near a.

With this configuration, as shown in FIG.
The processing air A passes through the dehumidification area 13 a of the rotor 11 from the dehumidification inlet 13 a of the chamber 13 and is discharged from the dehumidification outlet 12 a of the chamber 12, and the regeneration air B is supplied from the regeneration inlet 12 b of the chamber 12 to the rotor 11. Reproduction area 11b
, Is discharged from the regeneration outlet 13 b of the chamber 13, and the purge air C is discharged from the regeneration inlet 1 of the chamber 12.
The high-temperature side purge air C1 passing through the purge section 11c of the rotor 11 from 2c and passing through a portion near the regeneration section 11b is discharged from the high-temperature purge outlet 13c of the chamber 13 and is located near the dehumidification section 11a of the purge section 11c. The low temperature side purge air C2 that has passed through
Is discharged from the low-temperature purge outlet 13d.

The air which has been dehumidified in the dehumidification area 11a of the rotor 11 of the dry dehumidification apparatus 10 and has a low dew point is adjusted to a predetermined temperature by the heater 21 and the aftercooler 22 and then supplied. The air is supplied to the dry room R as air SA.

Part of return air RA2 from dry room R
Is purged as purge air C through a purge system return air duct 23 and a purge section 11c of the rotor 11 of the dry dehumidifier 10
To cool the rotor 11. If the cooling is not sufficient, the rotor 11 enters the dehumidification area 11a while the temperature is high, and the dehumidification cannot be performed sufficiently.

Of the air that has passed through the purge section 11c of the rotor 11, the high-temperature side purge air C1 that has passed through a portion near the regeneration section 11b is supplied to the purge system high-temperature side duct 2
4 to the regeneration system, and the second stage regeneration fan 25
And is mixed with the air of the regeneration circulation system P.
Most of the air mixed in this way is sent to the second-stage regenerative heater 27 through the regenerative system duct 26, where the air is heated to, for example, 120 ° C., and then dried. Used for regeneration of the rotor 11 of the wet device 10. That is, it is introduced into the regeneration area 11b of the rotor 11. The humidity of the regeneration system is determined by the amount of dehumidification, the dew point temperature of the purge air C to be introduced, the amount of purge air introduced, and the ratio of the amount of regeneration air to the amount of processing air.

Air is discharged from the regenerating system by the amount of the high-temperature side purge air C1. A part of the air is passed through the first-stage regenerating heater 29 by the operation of the first-stage regenerating fan 28, and then the temperature is increased. The regeneration zone 5 of the first-stage dry dehumidifier 5
b and used for regeneration of the rotor of the dry dehumidifier 5. Thereafter, the exhaust gas is exhausted out of the system as exhaust EA. The remainder passes through the regeneration excess air circulation duct 30, is cooled by the cooler 3 for cooling the regeneration excess air described above, is mixed with the outside air OA, and is introduced into the dehumidification area 5a of the first-stage dry dehumidifier 5 to be reduced. It is moistened.
That is, it is reused as a part of the processing air. This outside air OA
Since the air to be mixed with the air originally returned from the dry room R, the air has already been considerably low in humidity.

On the other hand, of the air that has passed through the purge section 11c of the rotor 11, the low-temperature side purge air C2 that has passed through a portion near the dehumidification section 11a is supplied to the low-temperature side duct 3 of the purge system.
1 to the processing system and mixed with the processing air.

D1 to D9 in FIG. 1 are dampers interposed in a duct for adjusting the air volume. In particular, the outlet air of the purge system is divided into two systems, a high temperature side and a low temperature side. Damper D
5. By providing a damper D3 in each of the low temperature side ducts 31 of the purge system, the air volume of each system can be easily adjusted.

The low dew point supply system according to this embodiment is configured as described above. First, the purge air C used for cooling the rotor 11 of the dry dehumidifier 10 passes through a portion near the regeneration section 11b. High temperature side purge air C1
Can be reused as a heat source for regeneration of the rotor 11, so that the energy required for regeneration can be reduced accordingly. In the purge air C, the dehumidifying area 11
Since the low-temperature side purge air C2 that has passed through the portion near a is mixed with the processing air, the intake amount of the outside air OA can be reduced, and as a result, the energy for the outside air processing can also be reduced. Accordingly, the energy required for the regeneration of the rotor 11 and the processing of the outside air are both reduced, so that the system as a whole consumes very little energy. In addition, as described above, in the present embodiment, the air mixed with the outside air OA via the regeneration excess air circulation duct 30 and the regeneration excess air cooling cooler 3 is:
Since the air was originally returned from the dry room R, the humidity has already become considerably low, and from this point, the energy required for the external air treatment is reduced.

According to the inventor's knowledge, compared with the case where all the air that has passed through the purge section 11c of the rotor 11 is returned to the regeneration system, 7 to 15% for cold heat and 15 to 30% for warm heat, a total of 10 to 20% % Of energy consumption can be reduced. In addition, since the size of the rotor of the first-stage dry dehumidifier 5 can be reduced to 2/3, the cost of equipment can be reduced.

The second-stage dry dehumidifier 10 used in the above system is provided with a high-temperature purge outlet 13c and a low-temperature purge outlet 13d in the chamber 13 corresponding to the purge section 11c of the rotor 11, so that the high-temperature Side purge air C
1. The low temperature side purge air C2 can be easily separated,
Installation and incorporation are easy and the cost is almost the same as the conventional one. Of course, the configuration of the chambers 12 and 13 does not need to be circular in cross section as in the second-stage dry dehumidifier 10 used in the system.
Any shape such as a square may be used as appropriate.

[0028]

According to the low dew point air supply system of the first aspect, the heat recovered on the high temperature side of the rotor of the dry dehumidifier is
It can be reused as a heat source for regeneration of the rotor, and at the same time, it is possible to reduce the intake amount of outside air and the like. Therefore, both the energy required for regeneration and the energy for outside air treatment can be reduced at the same time, and low-dew-point air can be supplied to the target chamber with less energy than before. Further, since the return air from the target chamber is used as the purge air, there is no transfer of moisture from the purge area to the rotor after regeneration.

According to the dry dehumidifier of the second aspect, when the air that has passed through the purge area is discharged, the air is separated into a high-temperature side and a low-temperature side in the outlet-side chamber and discharged. It is easy to mix the high-temperature purge air into the regeneration system in the low-dew-point air supply system according to the first aspect and to mix the low-temperature purge air into the process air. Can be implemented.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory view schematically showing a configuration of a low dew point air supply system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

2 is a perspective view of the dry dehumidifier used in the low dew point air supply system of FIG. 1 as viewed from a purge inlet side.

3 is a front view of the dry dehumidifier of FIG. 2 as viewed from a purge inlet side.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the dry dehumidifier used in the low dew point air supply system of FIG. 1 as viewed from a purge outlet side.

FIG. 5 is a front view of the dry dehumidifier of FIG. 2 as seen from a purge outlet side.

FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view showing an air passage area of a rotor in the dry dehumidifier of FIG. 2;

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Dry dehumidifier 11 Rotor 11a Dehumidification area 11b Regeneration area 11c Purge area 12, 13 Chamber 12a Dehumidification outlet 12b Regeneration inlet 12c Purge inlet 13a Dehumidification inlet 13b Regeneration outlet 13c High temperature purge outlet 13d Low temperature purge outlet C1 High temperature side purge Air C2 Low temperature side purge air D1 ～ D9 Damper R Dry room

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A rotor having a rotatable rotor having an adsorbing function and an absorbing function, and an air passage area located on an end face of the rotor is radially partitioned from a center of the rotor into a dehumidifying area, a regeneration area, and a purge area. In a system in which processing air is processed using a dry dehumidifier to supply low dew point air to a target chamber, return air from the target chamber is introduced into a purge zone, and air at a purge zone outlet side is The air passing through the portion near the regeneration zone and the air passing through the portion near the dehumidification zone are separated, and the air passing through the portion near the regeneration zone is mixed with the air of the regeneration system that passes through the regeneration zone. The low dew point air supply system, wherein the air that has passed through the portion near the dehumidification area is configured to be mixed with the processing air. 2. A dry-type dehumidifier having a rotatable rotor having an adsorbing function and an absorbing function and chambers for duct connection before and after an end face of the rotor, wherein an air passage area located on the end face of the rotor is provided. The chamber is radially partitioned from the rotor center into a dehumidification area, a regeneration area, and a purge area, and a chamber located on the purge area inlet side is provided with a purge inlet serving as an inlet to the purge area, and is located on the purge area outlet side. A high temperature purge outlet and a low temperature purge outlet are provided in the chamber that is an outlet from the purge section and is separated from a high temperature side and a low temperature side. A dry type dehumidifying device, which is arranged near a dehumidifying area.