JPH1085546A - Low dew point air supply system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To structure a low dew point air supply system whose energy consumption is low. SOLUTION: In a system for supplying a low dew point air to a dry room R, a reflux air RA2 originating from the dry room R is passed, as a purge air, through a low temperature purge area 11e, a purge regeneration area 11b and a high temperature purge area 11d in that order, for the rotor 11 of a dry dehumidifier. Thus the purge air at the low dew point is effectively used to cool the rotor 11, so that the air flow of a reflux air RA1 can be increased by reducing the volume of the purge air and in turn, the intake volume of an atmospheric air can be diminished. In addition, the energy consumption for the regeneration of the purge air can be saved as the rotor 11 is heated in the purge regeneration area 11b.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a low dew point air supply system for supplying low dew point air to a target room.

[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 directed to a system for supplying low dew point air to a room requiring low dew point air such as a dry room. It is an object of the present invention to provide a supply system to solve the above problem.

[0009]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, a dry dehumidifier having a rotatable rotor having an adsorbing function and an absorbing function is provided in a target room with a low dew point. In the air supply system, the dry dehumidifier may be configured such that a passage area of the air located on the rotor end surface is arranged in the order of the rotation direction of the rotor in a regeneration zone, a high temperature purge zone, a low temperature purge zone, a dehumidification zone, and a purge regeneration zone. The target chamber is partitioned so that air that has passed through the dehumidification area is supplied, and a part of the return air from the target chamber is supplied to the low-temperature purging area of the rotor in the dry dehumidification apparatus. A regeneration zone, a high temperature purge zone, and air passing through the high temperature purge zone is mixed with air of a regeneration system passing through the regeneration zone. Dewpoint air supply system is provided.

[0010] In the low dew point air supply system configured as described above, first, a part of the return air from the target chamber passes through the low temperature purge zone of the rotor to cool the rotor. The air, which has been heated in reverse by cooling the rotor, is then introduced into the purge regeneration zone. Since the purge regeneration zone is the next zone after the dehumidification zone, the air heated through the low temperature purge zone is cooled when passing through the purge regeneration zone. On the other hand, the rotor is heated in reverse. Accordingly, since the rotor is heated before entering the next regeneration section, the amount of heating in the regeneration section can be reduced.

The air cooled after passing through the purge regeneration section then passes through the high-temperature purge section and pre-cools the rotor after passing through the regeneration section. Therefore, before the rotor moves from the regeneration zone to the dehumidification zone, the rotor is cooled in two stages in the high temperature purge zone and the preceding low temperature purge zone. As a result, the purge air can be used more effectively than before, and the air volume can be made smaller than before. Therefore, the amount of the purge air can be reduced, so that the return air can be excessively diverted to the processing air side, so that the amount of outside air introduced as the processing air can be reduced and the energy required for outside air processing can be reduced. it can. In addition, even if there is a transfer of moisture in the purge regeneration section, the air then passes through the high-temperature purge section, so that the rotor can remove moisture from the rotor in the subsequent low-temperature purge section.

The air that has passed through the high-temperature purge zone is mixed with the air of the regeneration system that passes through the regeneration zone. However, since the air that has passed through the high-temperature purge zone is heated by the rotor, the air in the regeneration system is heated accordingly. Energy required for the operation is reduced.

[0013] The low dew point air supply system according to claim 2 is the low dew point air supply system according to claim 1,
The cooling device is configured to cool the air that has passed through the purge regeneration zone before the air that has passed through the purge regeneration zone is introduced into the high-temperature purge zone.

[0014] Before the air that has passed through the purge regeneration section is introduced into the high-temperature purge section, by separately cooling the purge air with a cooling device, the rotor can be cooled with a smaller amount of air. .

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a system for supplying air having a low dew point to a target room by using a dry dehumidifier having a rotatable rotor having an adsorption function and an absorption function. The air passing area located on the rotor end face is divided into a regeneration area, a high-temperature purge area, a low-temperature purge area, and a dehumidification area in the order of rotation of the rotor, and the target chamber has air passing through the dehumidification area. Is supplied, and a part of the return air from the target chamber is configured to sequentially pass through a low-temperature purge section and a high-temperature purge section of the rotor in the dry dehumidifier. The passed air is cooled by a cooling device before being introduced into the hot purge zone, and the air that has passed through the hot purge zone is mixed with air of a regeneration system that passes through the regeneration zone. Characterized in that it is configured as a low dew point air supply system is provided.

In the low dew point air supply system according to the third aspect, unlike the first and second aspects, the passage area of the air located at the end face of the rotor includes a regeneration area, a high temperature purge area, a low temperature purge area, and a reduced area. It is divided into four wet areas, and no purge regeneration area is provided. Therefore, as it is, it is introduced into the high temperature purge zone at a higher temperature than in the case of the first and second aspects. However, in the low dew point air supply system of the third aspect, the low temperature purge area is replaced by a cooling device instead of the purge regeneration zone. The purged air that has passed through and is heated is cooled.

As a result, although the energy efficiency is lower than that of the low dew point air supply system of the first and second aspects, the utilization efficiency of the purge air itself is still better than before, and the air volume is also lower than before. Can be. Therefore,
Return air can be diverted to the processing air side by an amount corresponding to the reduced air volume of the purge air, and the amount of outside air introduced as processing air can be reduced, and the energy required for outside air processing can be reduced. . Therefore, the energy consumption of the whole system can be reduced as compared with the related art.

[0018]

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 a first 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. Have been.

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 dehumidification section 5a of the first-stage dry dehumidifier 5 and has been subjected to the outside air treatment 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 faces of the rotor 11 are arranged in the order of the rotation direction of the rotor 11 indicated by the arrow in FIG. 3 in the dehumidifying area 11a, the purge regeneration area 11b, the regeneration area 11c,
d, divided into five air passage areas of the low temperature purge section 11e. A dehumidification inlet 12a, a purge regeneration inlet 12b, a regeneration outlet 12c, a high-temperature purge outlet 12d, and a low-temperature purge outlet 12e for connecting to a duct or the like are formed on the outer end surface of the chamber 12 corresponding to each of these sections. ing. The dehumidification inlet 12a, the purge regeneration inlet 12b, and the regeneration outlet 1 formed on the outer end face of the chamber 12 also correspond to the five sections on the outer end face of the chamber 13.
2c, a dehumidification outlet, a purge regeneration outlet, a regeneration inlet, a high temperature purge inlet, and a low temperature purge inlet corresponding to the high temperature purge outlet 12d and the low temperature purge outlet 12e, respectively (all not shown).

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 thereafter 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.

Some return air RA2 from the dry room R
Is supplied to the low-temperature purge section 1 of the rotor 11 of the dry dehumidifier 10 through the purge system return air duct 23 as purge air.
1e, whereby the rotor 11 is cooled. 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.

The low-temperature purge section 11e of the rotor 11
Is passed through the purge regeneration section 11b. Here, the purge air is cooled and the rotor 11 is heated. The cooled purge air is introduced into the high temperature purge section 11d through the purge regeneration outlet duct 24.
Here, the rotor 11 is cooled again and the purge air is heated. The purge air heated and raised in temperature is guided to the regeneration system by the purge system fan 25, and further joined by the second stage regeneration fan 26 to the air of the regeneration circulation system P to be mixed. Most of the air mixed in this way is sent to the second stage regeneration heater 28 through the regeneration system duct 27, and this regeneration heater 28
After being heated to 20 ° C., the rotor 11 of the dry dehumidifier 10
Used for reproduction. That is, the regeneration area 11c of the rotor 11
It is introduced to. The humidity of the regeneration system is determined by the amount of dehumidification, the dew point temperature of the purge air to be introduced, and the ratio of the introduced purge air amount to the regeneration air amount and the processing air amount.

Although the air is discharged from the regeneration system by the amount of the high-temperature side purge air, a part of the air is passed through the first-stage regeneration heater 30 by the operation of the first-stage regeneration fan 29 and then heated. Area 5b of the first-stage dry dehumidifier 5
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 31, 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. D1 to D8 in FIG. 1 are dampers interposed in a duct for adjusting the air volume.

The low dew point supply system according to the first embodiment is configured as described above.
When the return air RA2 from the air passes as a purge air through the low temperature purge section 11e of the rotor 11, the rotor 11 is cooled. Next, the purge air heated when cooling the rotor 11 is introduced into the purge regeneration section 11b.
Since the purge regeneration section 11b is the area next to the dehumidification section 11a, the heated purge air is cooled when passing through the purge regeneration section 11b. On the other hand, since the rotor 11 is heated in reverse, the amount of heating in the next regeneration section 11c is reduced.

The purge air cooled after passing through the purge regeneration section 11b then passes through the high-temperature purge section 11d to pre-cool the rotor 11 after passing through the regeneration section 11c. Therefore, when viewed from the rotor 11 side, before moving from the regeneration zone 11c to the dehumidification zone 11a, cooling is performed in two stages in the high temperature purge zone 11d and the low temperature purge zone 11e. Therefore, the purge air can be effectively used, and the air volume can be reduced as compared with the conventional case. As a result, the amount of purge air is reduced,
Return air RA1 that reduces return air RA2 and turns it to the processing air side
Can be increased, and the amount of outside air OA introduced as processing air can be reduced, and the energy required for outside air processing can be reduced. Therefore, the energy consumption of the entire system is reduced without lowering the performance.

Even if there is a transfer of moisture in the purge regeneration section 11b, the air passes through the high-temperature purge section 11d next.
In 1e, the moisture of the rotor 11 can be removed.

According to the system of the first embodiment, if the temperature of the return air RA2 used as purge air is 23 ° C., the outlet temperature of the low-temperature purge section 11e is 4 °.
The outlet temperature of the purge regeneration section 11b can be 28 ° C., and the outlet temperature of the high temperature purge section 11d can be 82 ° C.

According to the findings of the inventor, the system according to the first embodiment and a conventional system of this kind
That is, when compared with the case where the rotor of the dehumidifying and dehumidifying device is divided into three sections of a dehumidifying section, a regenerating section, and a purging section, and all the air that has passed through the purging section is returned to the regenerating system, it is 15 to 2 centigrade with cold heat.
The energy consumption can be reduced by 0%, by 30 to 35% by heat, and by 20 to 25% in total. 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.

In the low dew point air supply system according to the first embodiment, as in the low dew point air supply system according to the second embodiment shown in FIG. 4, the purge air that has passed through the purge regeneration section 11b is High temperature purge area 11d
A cooling device, for example, a cooling coil 41 may be added to the purge regeneration outlet duct 24 so that it is cooled before being introduced into the purge regeneration outlet duct 24. In FIG. 4, members denoted by the same reference numerals as those in FIG. 1 indicate the same members as the corresponding members in the low dew point air supply system according to the first embodiment.

According to the low dew point air supply system according to the second embodiment, the purge air that has passed through the purge regeneration section 11b is cooled by the cooling coil 41 before being introduced into the high temperature purge section 11d. Therefore, it is possible to further reduce the amount of purge air while maintaining the cooling capacity of the purge. Accordingly, it is possible to reduce the return air RA2 and to increase the return air RA1, and the outside air OA can be increased.
Can be further reduced, and the energy required for the outside air treatment can be further reduced.

The rotor 11 of the dry dehumidifier 10 used in each of the first and second embodiments has a structure as shown in FIG.
The air passage area is divided into five air passage areas of a dehumidification area 11a, a purge regeneration area 11b, a regeneration area 11c, a high temperature purge area 11d, and a low temperature purge area 11e in the order of rotation of the rotor 11. However, if such a purge regeneration zone cannot be set in the rotor, FIG.
The low dew point air supply system according to the third embodiment shown in FIG. In FIG. 5, members denoted by the same reference numerals as those in FIG. 1 indicate the same members as the corresponding members in the low dew point air supply system according to the first embodiment.

As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the dry dehumidifier 50 used in the low dew point air supply system according to the third embodiment has chambers 52, 53 at both end surfaces of a rotating rotor 51. The end surfaces of the rotor 51 are arranged in the rotation direction of the rotor 51 in the order of the dehumidification area 51 a and the regeneration area 5.
1b, a high-temperature purge section 51c, and a low-temperature purge section 51d. A dehumidification inlet 52a, a regeneration outlet 52b, a high-temperature purge outlet 52c, and a low-temperature purge outlet 52d for connecting to a duct or the like are formed on the outer end surface of the chamber 52 corresponding to each of these sections. Of course, the outer end face of the chamber 53 also corresponds to these four areas, and corresponds to the dehumidification inlet 52a, the regeneration outlet 52b, the high temperature purge outlet 52c, and the low temperature purge outlet 52d formed on the outer end face of the chamber 52. Dehumidification outlet,
A regeneration inlet, a high temperature purge inlet, and a low temperature purge inlet are respectively formed (all not shown).

Then, as shown in FIG. 5, the return air RA2 from the dry room R is used as purge air as a low temperature purge 5
After passing through 2d, it is cooled by a cooling coil 54 as a cooling device, and then introduced into the high-temperature purge section 51c. The high-temperature purge section 51c is mixed with the air of the regeneration system as in the first and second embodiments.

According to the low-dew-point air supply system of the third embodiment having such a configuration, the energy efficiency is slightly higher than that of the first and second embodiments because the purge regeneration area is not provided in the rotor 51. The purge air that has passed through the low-temperature purge 52d but has increased in temperature,
4, the rotor 51 is cooled and then introduced into the high-temperature purge section 52c. Therefore, the rotor 51 can be cooled in two stages by the purge air, so that the purge air can be used more effectively. Consumption is low. Further, since the present invention can be applied even when the purge regeneration area cannot be set in the rotor 51, the practical effect is large.

[0037]

According to the low dew point air supply system of the first and second aspects, the air heated through the low-temperature purge section heats the rotor when passing through the purge regeneration section. , The amount of heating can be reduced. Also, before the rotor itself moves from the regeneration zone to the dehumidification zone, the rotor will be cooled in two stages in the high temperature purge zone and the low temperature purge zone,
The purge air can be effectively used, and the cooling efficiency is good. Accordingly, the air volume of the purge air can be made smaller than before, and the return air from the target chamber can be extraly diverted to the processing air side, thereby reducing the amount of external air introduced as the processing air and the energy required for external air processing. Can be reduced. Further, the air heated by passing through the high-temperature purge zone is mixed with the air of the regeneration system passing through the regeneration zone, so that the energy required for heating the air of the regeneration system is reduced accordingly. Therefore, the low dew point air supply system according to claims 1 and 2 can significantly reduce energy consumption as compared with the conventional system. In particular, in the low dew point air supply system of claim 2, before the air that has passed through the purge regeneration section is introduced into the high-temperature purge section, the purge air is appropriately cooled by the cooling device. The rotor can be cooled, and the energy consumption can be further reduced.

According to the low dew point air supply system of the third aspect, the efficiency of use of the purge air itself is better than before and the amount of air can be reduced as compared with the conventional case, so that the return air is treated accordingly. It can be turned to the air side, and the amount of outside air introduced as processing air can be reduced, and the energy required for outside air processing can be reduced. In addition, since the air heated through the high-temperature purge zone is mixed with the air in the regeneration system passing through the regeneration zone, the energy required for heating the air in the regeneration system is reduced. Therefore, the system consumes less energy than before.

[Brief description of the drawings]

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

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a dry dehumidifier used in the low dew point air supply system of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a front view of the dry dehumidifier of FIG. 2 as viewed from an axial direction.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram schematically showing a configuration of a low dew point air supply system according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram schematically showing a configuration of a low dew point air supply system according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

6 is a perspective view of a dry dehumidifier used in the low dew point air supply system of FIG.

FIG. 7 is a front view of the dry dehumidifier of FIG. 6 as viewed from the axial direction.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Dry dehumidifier 11, 51 Rotor 11a Dehumidification area 11b Purge regeneration area 11c Regeneration area 11d High temperature purge area 11e Low temperature purge area 41, 54 Cooling coil D1-D8 Damper R Dry room

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A system for supplying air having a low dew point to a target room by using a dry dehumidifier having a rotatable rotor having an adsorption function and an absorption function, wherein the dry dehumidifier is located at an end face of the rotor. The air passing zone is divided into a regeneration zone, a high temperature purge zone, a low temperature purge zone, a dehumidification zone, and a purge regeneration zone in the order of rotation of the rotor, and the air that has passed through the dehumidification zone is supplied to the target chamber. A part of the return air from the target chamber is a low-temperature purge section of the rotor in the dry dehumidifier, a purge regeneration section,
A low dew point air supply characterized by being configured to sequentially pass through a high temperature purge zone, wherein the air having passed through the high temperature purge zone is mixed with air of a regeneration system passing through the regeneration zone. system. 2. A system for supplying air having a low dew point to a target room using a dry dehumidifier having a rotatable rotor having an adsorption function and an absorption function, wherein the dry dehumidifier is located at an end face of the rotor. The air passing zone is divided into a regeneration zone, a high temperature purge zone, a low temperature purge zone, a dehumidification zone, and a purge regeneration zone in the order of rotation of the rotor, and the air that has passed through the dehumidification zone is supplied to the target chamber. A part of the return air from the target chamber is a low-temperature purge section of the rotor in the dry dehumidifier, a purge regeneration section,
The air passing through the hot purge section is sequentially cooled, and the air that has passed through the purge regeneration section is cooled by a cooling device before being introduced into the hot purge section. Characterized in that the air thus obtained is mixed with air in a regeneration system that passes through the regeneration zone. 3. A system for supplying air with a low dew point to a target room by using a dry dehumidifier having a rotatable rotor having an adsorption function and an absorption function, wherein the dry dehumidifier is located at an end face of the rotor. The passage area of the air is divided into a regeneration area, a high-temperature purge area, a low-temperature purge area, and a dehumidification area in the order of rotation of the rotor, so that the air passing through the dehumidification area is supplied to the destination chamber. A part of the return air from the target chamber passes through a low-temperature purge section and a high-temperature purge section of the rotor in the dry dehumidifier in that order, and the air that has passed through the low-temperature purge section is purged by the high-temperature purge section. The air that has been configured to be cooled by a cooling device before being introduced into the zone, and that has passed through the high-temperature purge zone has been configured to be mixed with air of a regeneration system that passes through the regeneration zone. And a low dew point air supply system.