JPS6082107A - Centrifugal gas-liquid separator using porous membrane tube - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To separate and take out gas and liquid from a gas and liquid mixture even in an agravic field by providing a spiral passage whose inner circumferential side is formed of a gas permeable membrane material at the inside of an external cylinder. CONSTITUTION:A gas and liquid mixture is introduced into a spiral tube 2 from a gas and liquid intake port 3, and circulated in the spiral tube 2. A liquid having higher relative density is pushed to an external cylinder 1 side by centrifugal force, and the gas bubbles having lower density are pushed by the reaction thereof to the center line side of the spiral passage. Since the porous membrane material 2 is made of a material which is not wetted with the liquid, the liquid is not passed through the membrane material and only the gas is passed. The gas bubbles are moved from the inside of the porous membrane material 2 on the high-pressure side to the inside 4 of the external cylinder 1 on the low-pressure side through fine pores, and can be taken out from a gas takeout port 5 on the downstream side. The liquid separated from the gas can be taken out from a liquid takeout port 6.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] The present invention is a gas-liquid separation device that separates and extracts gas and liquid from a gas-liquid mixture through a porous membrane in zero gravity or microgravity or a fluctuating gravity field such as in outer space. Regarding.

In the general chemical industry, the process of dissolving a gas in a liquid to create a liquid containing the gas is important and is used for many purposes. One typical process is to blow gas directly into liquid. In this case, a part of the gas blown into the liquid is diffused and dissolved into the liquid, and the excess gas becomes bubbles, floats in the liquid, and moves from the liquid to the upper part. This method is effective in a gravitational field like on Earth. However, in an environment where there is no gravity such as outer space, this process cannot be used as it is; in other words, the use of the difference in specific gravity between liquid and gas cannot be applied due to the absence of gravity. However, even in environments such as zero gravity, it becomes necessary to blow gas directly into the liquid in order to dissolve the gas in the liquid.

Furthermore, when gas (bubbles) is generated in a liquid, such as when gas is generated due to electrolysis of the liquid or when dissolved gas is bubbled into the liquid due to fluctuations in liquid pressure, how can it be handled in an environment such as zero gravity? Efficient gas-liquid separation is a major technical issue.

By the way, performing gas-liquid separation using a liquid-impermeable and gas-permeable membrane is generally one type of gas-liquid separation M method.
4. Under zero gravity, various problems arise, and the general methods used on Earth cannot be applied as they are.4. In the kidney, in weightless conditions such as outer space, there is no specific gravity between gas and liquid, so even if bubbles occur in the gas-liquid mixture, the bubbles are sucked toward the porous A membrane material. It remains in the gas-liquid mixture and cannot be efficiently separated and extracted from the liquid.

The present invention aims to solve such technical problems, and provides a gas and liquid mixture that can be separated and extracted from a gas-liquid mixture even in a zero gravity field, a microgravity field, a fluctuating gravity field, etc. The purpose is to provide a liquid separation device.

For this purpose, the gas-liquid separator of the present invention forms a spiral flow path in which the gas-liquid mixed gas flows in a spiral shape inside the outer cylinder, and at least the spiral flow path on the inner circumferential side for the gas-liquid mixed gas of this flow path. The wall is formed of a porous membrane material that is impermeable to liquid and permeable to gas, and gas is moved to the vicinity of the porous membrane material on the low pressure side by centrifugal force through the pores of the porous membrane material, and is allowed to pass through the membrane. The gas is separated from the liquid and extracted.

The gas mixture that is pumped into the outer cylinder by a pump etc.
T+! While flowing through the swirl channel, the liquid with a large relative mass (relative density) is moved radially outward (outer circumferential side), and the gas (bubbles) with a small relative mass is moved radially inward (inner circumferential side). Move to.

The gas drawn to the inner circumferential side (low-pressure side) comes into contact with the inner channel wall, gradually penetrates the pores of the porous membrane material, and is guided to the gas channel on the center side (the central spiral axis side). . Gas is taken out from a gas outlet provided in the outer cylinder through this gas flow path.

On the other hand, the liquid deflected toward the outer circumferential side (high pressure side) flows through the spiral flow path due to the pressure of the pump and is directly taken out from the liquid outlet provided in the outer cylinder.

In this way, according to the present invention, the flow of the gas-liquid mixture is slowed down in a spiral manner inside or outside the liquid-impermeable and gas-permeable porous membrane material, and the gas-liquid mixture is rotated by the action of the centrifugal force at that time. By deflecting the gas toward the center of motion and the liquid toward the opposite direction, the gas (bubbles) is actively moved close to the porous membrane material and comes into contact with the membrane, allowing it to flow through its pores. The gas was separated and extracted reliably.

Therefore, in a zero-gravity field, the gas in the liquid is essentially in an undiffused state, but due to centrifugal force, the gas contained in the liquid can be continuously extracted. The gas-liquid mixture flow path may be a spiral flow path itself within the cylindrical body, a flow inside the tubular body arranged in a spiral shape, or a forced flow path formed by a groove, a guide wall, etc. arranged on the circumferential wall of the cylindrical body. etc.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below based on the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a diagram for conceptually explaining bubble separation using a porous membrane under zero gravity. A tube 2 made of a porous membrane material is arranged inside the outer cylinder 1, and inside this tube 2,
Assume that a gas-liquid mixture is fed and the gas therein is extracted to the outside through a porous membrane material (tube) 2. In that case, as shown by arrow A in the figure, the air-liquid intake port 3
Bubbles (gas) g in the gas-liquid mixture led into the tube 2 are extracted to the outside 4 of the membrane through the pores of the porous membrane material 2, and from there the gas outlet provided in the outer tube l is extracted. 5 and is taken out as shown by arrow B. The other liquid is extracted from the liquid outlet 6 downstream of the tube 2, as shown by arrow C.

However, under zero gravity, no relative movement occurs between the gas and the liquid due to the difference in specific gravity, and the bubbles in the center of the liquid remain in that position forever, making it difficult to move the bubbles to the vicinity of the membrane.

In contrast, the present invention utilizes the centrifugal force generated by the spiral channel to promote the movement of air bubbles to the membrane surface.

FIGS. 2A and 2B show a first embodiment of the present invention.

A gas-liquid mixture is introduced into the cylindrical outer cylinder l (gas-liquid intake port 3).
is provided, and a spiral tube 2 connected to the gas-liquid intake port 3 is disposed inside the outer cylinder l. The material of the tube 2 is, for example, a hydrophobic porous membrane material (such as Teflon) when the liquid is water.

The t-flow side of this tube 2 is connected to a liquid outlet 6 provided in the outer cylinder l. A gas outlet 5 is provided on the outer periphery of the outer cylinder 1 to take out the gas that has passed through the pores (having a certain diameter) or slits 7 of the porous membrane material (tube) 2. For example, a gas pump is connected to the pump, and the gas is sucked by this pump.

A gas-liquid mixture is introduced into the spiral tube 2 from the gas-liquid intake port 3 by a pump not shown in IA, and the gas-liquid mixture is circulated within the spiral tube 2.

Then, around the air/liquid intake 1"3! When the bubbles g that were uniformly scattered in the α body come inside the porous membrane material 2, the second
As shown in Figure (B), the centrifugal force pushes the liquid with a high relative density towards the outer cylinder l, and the reaction produces air bubbles g with a small density! l! ! It is unevenly distributed on the central axis m side of the swirl flow path.

The porous membrane material 2 in this case is made of a material that prevents liquid from getting wet, such as Teflon for water (liquid), so it does not allow liquid to pass through it, but it does not allow gas to pass through. Let it pass. In addition.

In the case of oil or other predetermined liquids, a membrane material that has no affinity for one or more of these bodies is selected.

Therefore, the air bubbles g biased toward the central axis m side inside the porous Wffi material 2 move through the pores 7 inside the porous membrane material 2 on the high pressure side to the inside 4 of the outer cylinder 1 on the low pressure side, and The gas can be evenly taken out from the gas outlet 5 of the flow. On the other hand,
The liquid pushed toward the outer cylinder l side of the porous membrane material 2 can be extracted from the downstream liquid outlet 6 with air bubbles g removed by the pressure of the pump.

In this way, according to this embodiment, the low-density air bubbles g are brought into active contact with the porous membrane material 2 by centrifugal force, separated from the high-rich liquid, and taken out through the pores 7. Therefore, the contact rate between the bubbles g and the porous membrane material 2 increases, and if the flow rate of the gas-liquid mixture remains the same, the gas-liquid separation efficiency can be reliably improved.

In addition, the tube 2 made of porous membrane material can be made longer than a tube with a simple double structure as shown in Fig. 1 because it is arranged in a spiral manner. If you want to set it.

The entire device can be made more compact.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, a porous membrane material 2 is provided inside the outer cylinder l.
Although it has a simple structure, just by winding it in a spiral,
Even in a zero gravity field or a fluctuating gravity field, gas and liquid can be reliably separated and extracted from a gas-liquid mixture. Note that in this embodiment, the tube cross section does not necessarily have to be circular.

FIGS. 3A and 3B show a second embodiment of the present invention. On the outer peripheral surface of one end of the cylindrical outer cylinder 1, a gas-liquid intake port 3 for introducing a gas-liquid mixture into the interior 4 of the outer cylinder 1 is provided at a position eccentric from the central axis m. A liquid outlet 6 for taking out the liquid in the gas-liquid mixture is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the end.

The inner circumferential wall 8 of the outer cylinder 1 consists of a cylindrical portion 8a for gas and liquid intake, and a conical portion 8b whose diameter gradually becomes smaller as it goes from the cylindrical portion 8a toward the liquid outlet 6. outside tf
A gas outlet 5 for taking out the gas g is formed at one end of the gas/liquid intake 13 side of the film, and from the gas outlet 5, the gas is drawn from the porous membrane material along the central axis m of the interior 4 of the outer cylinder l. A straight tube 2 is inserted.This tube 2 is made of a porous membrane material of sacred wood through which only the gas g can flow through the pores 7, as in the first embodiment.

The gas-liquid mixture introduced into the interior 4 of the outer cylinder 1 from the gas-liquid intake 1 3 moves spirally from the cylindrical portion 8 a to the conical portion 8 b while swirling around the tube 2 . Due to the centrifugal force at this time, the high-density liquid is pushed toward the inner peripheral wall 8, while the low-density gas (bubbles) g is pushed to the inner porous membrane material 2.
(see FIG. 3B), the gas flows roughly through the pores 7 into the interior 9 of the tube 2 on the low pressure side, and is then taken out from the gas outlet 5.

In particular, the swirling flow of the gas-liquid mixture gradually increases in flow velocity from the cylindrical portion 8a to the conical portion 8b, and can be reliably separated into gas g and liquid by a large centrifugal force.

FIGS. 4A and 4B show a third embodiment of the present invention.
A spiral groove 10 is carved in the inner circumferential wall of the outer cylinder l, and a linear porous +I! is formed inside the spiral groove lO. I! A tube 2 made of material is provided. The gas-liquid mixture introduced from the gas-liquid intake ■3 flows to the right in the figure through the spiral channel surrounded by the outer periphery of the tube 2 and the spiral groove lO.
is taken out from the liquid outlet 6, and gas g is taken out from the gas outlet 5 through the pore 7 in the tube 2. The gas-liquid inlet 3 and the liquid outlet 6 are each connected to the outer cylinder l.
It opens in the tangential direction at the outer periphery of. The groove may also be formed by a spiral fin, and the gap between the groove and the membrane is preferably closed or as small as possible.

In this embodiment as well, the centrifugal force of the gas-liquid mixture produces a positive separation effect due to its own spiral movement. In this case as well, the spiral flow path can be formed into a conical shape, and the cross-sectional shape, cross-sectional area, etc. of the flow path can be changed as appropriate.

As described above, according to the present invention, a spiral flow path through which a gas-liquid mixture flows spirally is formed inside the outer cylinder, and a porous membrane material through which only gas passes is formed at least on the inner peripheral side of the flow path. The structure is such that gas and liquid can be reliably separated and extracted from both sides of the channel wall using centrifugal force, so even in zero gravity, microgravity, or fluctuating gravity fields, gas-liquid separation is possible. can be done completely. Therefore, by using the apparatus of the present invention, it is possible to smoothly extract gas generated in a solution by, for example, electrolysis.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram of gas-liquid separation. FIG. 2(A) is a cross-sectional view of the first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2(B) is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the main part, and FIG. 3(A) is a cross-sectional view of the second embodiment. , Fig. 3(B) is an enlarged sectional view of the main part.
Figure (C) is a view in the direction of arrow A in Figure 3 (A), Figure 4 (A)
is a sectional view showing the third embodiment, and FIG. 4(B) is an enlarged sectional view of the main part thereof. 1. Outer tube 2. Porous membrane material (tube) 3. Gas and liquid intake port 5. Gas outlet port 6. Liquid outlet port. A, Pore 8, Outer cylinder inner circumferential wall 10, @ Whirling groove (Groove) Applicant: Agency for Science and Technology Agency, Director-General's Secretariat, Accounting Division Director, Asamichi Kato, Physician, Figure 1, Figure 2 Diagram (A)

Claims (7)

[Claims] (1) A gas-liquid mixture flow path for flowing a gas-liquid mixture inside the outer cylinder is formed in a spiral shape, and at least the inner circumferential wall of the spiral flow path is formed with liquid-permeable and gas-permeable porous holes. A gas-liquid separation device characterized in that it is constructed of a quality membrane material. (2) The device according to claim 1, wherein the spiral flow path is constituted by a tube made of a porous membrane material. (3)! lI! g The swirl flow path has a gas-liquid intake port that allows the gas-liquid mixture to flow in the tangential direction of the outer cylinder at the outer periphery of one end of the outer cylinder, and a spiral flow path that allows the inflowing gas-liquid mixture to flow spirally along the central axis of the outer cylinder. Claim 1, which is formed as a spiral flow in an outer cylinder having an inner circumferential wall of the outer cylinder and a liquid outlet for causing the liquid to flow out from the outer circumferential portion of the other end opposite to the gas-liquid inlet of the outer cylinder. Device. (4) The outer cylinder is cylindrical.Claims 1 to N'
The device according to item S3-. (5) The inner circumferential wall is formed to have a smaller diameter as it goes from the gas/liquid intake port to the liquid outlet.
The device according to item 3-. (6) The device according to any one of claims 1.3 to 5, wherein the inner circumferential wall of the swirl flow path is a tube made of a porous membrane material arranged along the central axis of the outer cylinder. (7) The device according to any one of claims 1.3 to 6, wherein the inner circumferential wall of the outer cylinder has a spiral groove through which the gas-liquid mixture flows in a spiral manner.