JPS6257366B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a water generating apparatus for obtaining liquid phase water from atmospheric moisture.

BACKGROUND ART Conventionally, a device for producing fresh water using seawater as a raw material is well known as a seawater desalination device. There is also a water reuse treatment device that processes wastewater such as sewage in a sophisticated manner to produce highly clear water that can be reused, but this can also be seen as a water production device in the same category as a seawater desalination device. . In other words, in all of these methods, water is obtained from a liquid whose main component is water in a liquid phase. Therefore, since these water generation devices use liquid water as a raw material, they naturally have the disadvantage that they cannot produce water in places such as deserts where liquid water is not available at all.

This invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a water generating apparatus that can easily obtain water even in places where liquid phase water cannot be obtained.

That is, the water generation device of the present invention is a device that obtains water from moisture present in the atmosphere, and relates to a novel water generation device that can generate water anywhere as long as the atmosphere exists. Of course, it is impossible to create water if there is no moisture in the atmosphere, but according to climate-related statistical data and the findings of the present inventors, even in the atmosphere of the huge desert in the central Arabian Peninsula, 1 m ³ of air There are 3 to 4 g of water in it, making it possible to produce fresh water.
Therefore, human activities can be carried out by obtaining water on barren land, and by using this water as irrigation water, it is also possible to cultivate plants. That is,
The present invention contributes to expanding the living area of humans, and its significance is extremely large.

The basic principle of the present invention is that in the first step, atmospheric moisture is adsorbed onto an adsorbent, and in the second step, the adsorbent that has adsorbed this moisture is heated to convert the adsorbed moisture into water vapor. This is desorbed as water and led to a condenser to turn it into water. At this time, the adsorbent simultaneously loses water and regains its adsorption capacity, so that the adsorbent is repeatedly used to adsorb moisture from the atmosphere. In this way, water in liquid phase can be continuously obtained from the atmosphere.

The present invention is based on the above-mentioned basic principle, and particularly the above-mentioned second
In this process, the method of heating the adsorbent and the method of condensing the water vapor desorbed from the adsorbent were devised.

Next, before explaining the present invention, the configuration shown in FIG. 1 that can be deduced based on the above basic principle will be explained.

That is, FIG. 1 is a diagram explaining the principle of an apparatus for obtaining liquid phase water from moisture in the air using an adsorbent. A blower, 4 is a condenser that condenses the hot and humid air that is detached from the storage section 1 during the attachment and detachment process, 4a is an air cooling fan, and 5 is a heater that heats the air supplied by the blower 3 with a burner 5a. It is something to do. 5b is a blower for the heater installed in the heater 5, 6 is an air-open type water tank for storing water obtained by condensation, 6a is the produced water, and 7 is the water tank in the first step. A discharge path for discharging the dry air after moisture adsorption discharged from the storage section 1 during adsorption; 7a is a suction path that leads outside air to the storage section 1; and 8 is a suction path that is discharged from the storage section 1 in the second process. A flow path 8a for introducing high temperature and humid air is a flow path for leading out water obtained in the condenser 4 and for discharging air. Reference numerals 9 to 12 designate valves for opening and closing the flow paths provided in the flow paths for sending the outside air, dry air, and high-temperature and humid air.

Next, the operation will be explained. First, as an adsorption process (first process) for adsorbing moisture in the atmospheric air to the adsorbent 1a held in the storage part 1, the valves 9 and 10 are opened and the blower 2 is driven to remove atmospheric air. It is fed to the storage section 1. At this time, the moisture in the air is adsorbed by the adsorbent 1a, and the dry air is discharged from the storage section 1 through the valve 9. The adsorption process is completed when the adsorbent 1a has sufficiently adsorbed water. Next, the process moves on to the desorption process of desorbing the moisture adsorbed by the adsorbent 1a. First, valves 9 and 10 are closed, and then valve 1 is closed.
1 and valve 12 are opened. In this desorption process, the blower 3, heater 5, and condenser 4 play the main roles. That is, when air is sent from the blower 3 to the heater 5 in the atmosphere and heated by the burner 5a at a high temperature (approximately 300°C if the adsorbent is silica gel) to the storage section 1, heat is generated in the adsorbent 1a. is given, and the adsorbed water is desorbed as water vapor. At this time, the temperature of the high-temperature air sent from the heater 5 drops due to the latent heat of desorption, but if silica gel is used as the adsorbent 1a, the temperature of the high-temperature and humid air after passing through the storage section 1 is It is desirable that the temperature is around 200℃. Note that this temperature is related to the desorption rate of the adsorbent and ultimately to what extent the adsorbed water can be desorbed. The high-temperature and humid air (around 200°C) that comes out after passing through the storage section 1 is sent to the condenser 4 via the valve 11 and through the flow path 8, where it is cooled and condensed by the cooling fan 4a, and becomes liquid. It becomes phase water. The above desorption process is performed using adsorbent 1.
This process is continued until water is no longer desorbed from a. After this desorption process is completed, the blower 3, heater 5, and condenser 4 are stopped, and the valves 11 and 12 are stopped.
Close it and carry out the adsorption process again. Thereafter, this adsorption process and desorption process are repeated to obtain water in the water receiving tank 6.
Note that the water tank 6 and the flow path 8a that sends air and water from the condenser 4 are not completely sealed, so that the air that has passed through the condenser 4 is released from the water tank 6 to the atmosphere. ing.

By the way, the water vapor that turns into water in the condenser 4 is only water vapor whose pressure is equal to or higher than the saturated vapor pressure determined by the temperature of the condenser 4. If the temperature is lower than this, no condensation will occur, and the air will pass through the condenser along with the arrow 6b.
6c, it is released into the atmosphere from the water tank 6. As will be described later, the method shown in FIG. 1 cannot be put to practical use because it is extremely difficult to increase the water vapor pressure above the water vapor pressure at which condensation occurs. It is also not good in terms of thermal economy. In other words, the high temperature and humid air containing water vapor discharged from the storage section 1 during the desorption process is at 200°C.
However, there is a drawback in that the condenser 4 directly cools this temperature and wastes the heat.

This invention also eliminates the drawbacks of the method shown in Figure 1 above, and provides a practical water generating device that consumes less thermal energy and does not wastefully dissipate the water desorbed from the adsorbent into the atmosphere. It provides
The configuration and effects thereof will be explained in detail below.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, reference numeral 17 is a storage section having the same configuration as the storage section 1, and is filled with an adsorbent 17a. 1
Numerals 3 and 14 are valves that open and close the flow path, and are similar to 9 and 10 in the housing section 1 . 18a is a channel for sending gas from the blower 2 to the housing section 1 or 17, and 18 is a channel for guiding the gas after passing through the housing section 1 or 17. Reference numerals 15 and 16 indicate opening/closing valves provided in a flow path through which gas for desorption is circulated to the accommodation section 17; valve 1 in the accommodation section 1;
This is similar to 1 and 12. 23, 23a, 2
3b is a gas circulation path for desorbing moisture adsorbed on the adsorbent 1a or 17a, and 24 is a gas circulation path for urging the desorption gas to circulate in the circulation path 23 in the direction of arrow A. The blower 4b is provided branching off from the circulation path 23, and is a pipe line for guiding the desorbed moisture-containing gas, and the blower 4c is a part that opens the pipe line 4b to the atmosphere. Other symbols are the same as those shown in FIG. 1 above.

Next, the operation will be explained. A case will be described in which the first accommodating part 1 is in the adsorption process and the second accommodating part 17 is in the desorption process. Regarding the adsorption process, the valves 9 and 10 are opened and the valves 13 and 14 are closed, and outside air (air) is supplied from the blower 2 to the storage section 1.
The moisture in the outside air is adsorbed by the adsorbent 1a. (At this time, of course, the valve 11,
12 is left closed. ) On the other hand, for the desorption process, the valves 15 and 16 are opened and the blower 24 is turned on.
is driven to urge the gas (for example, air containing water vapor) in the circulation path 23 in the direction of arrow A, pass it through the heater 5, and store the gas at a high temperature (approximately 300°C if the adsorbent is silica gel). The desorption process is started by feeding into section 17. This high-temperature gas heats the adsorbent 17a, and the adsorbed moisture is desorbed as water vapor, and the gas containing water vapor resulting from this desorption is sent out from the valve 15 to the circulation path 23. The gas sent to the circulation path 23 is
Since there is a volume increase due to water vapor desorbed from the adsorbent, a part of it is pushed out from the branched pipe line 4b to the condenser 4, but the remaining majority enters the blower 24 from the flow path 23a and is energized. It passes through the heater 5 and is circulated again to the storage section 17.

As described above, the present invention is characterized in that high-temperature gas for desorption is circulated. In other words, the temperature of the gas sent into the circulation path 23 from the storage section 17 during the desorption process is higher than the inlet temperature to the storage section.
Assuming 300°C, the temperature is about 200°C due to the latent heat of desorption as described above (explanation of Fig. 1), but in the present invention, this gas is circulated to the storage section 17, so
Now, we need to raise the temperature of this 200°C gas by 100°C to 300°C. By the way, in the method shown in Figure 1, it is necessary to constantly heat the gas at room temperature to 300°C, and the room temperature is 25°C.
It is necessary to raise the temperature to 275℃. From the above, it can be seen that in the present invention, the thermal energy for desorption is only about 40% (100/275≒0.36) of the method shown in Figure 1.
Details will be described later. ).

Next, talking about water recovery, the gas pushed out to the pipe 4b due to the increase in volume due to the desorbed water vapor is water vapor containing air at the very beginning of the desorption process, and therefore cannot be completely condensed in the condenser 4. However, as the desorption process progresses, the initially existing air is successively desorbed and replaced by water vapor, leaving only water vapor as the circulating gas. Therefore, from then on, if the temperature of the condenser 4 is below 100°C, 100% of the desorbed water vapor will be condensed into water. Note that the time for water vapor to escape into the atmosphere from the open portion 4c together with the initial air can be ignored compared to the entire desorption period, as will be described later.
It has the feature that 100% of water vapor is condensed. Therefore, this method is also superior to the method shown in FIG. 1 in this respect.

Next, the present invention will be explained in more detail using a case where molecular sieve is used as an adsorbent. It goes without saying that the adsorbent is not particularly limited to those mentioned above, but in short, it can be used as long as it has the ability to adsorb moisture in the gas phase and desorbs the adsorbed moisture by heating. Is possible.

In other words, if we take as an example a two-column type (using two storage units) freshwater production system with a water production capacity of 1000 kg of water/day and repeat adsorption three times per tower per day, the adsorption The time and desorption time are 4 each.
The amount of water adsorbed in one adsorption time is 1000/2
× 1/3≒167Kg. If the effective absorption amount of molecular sieve is 8%, the required amount is 167 x 100/8 = 2100K
g, and the capacity of the container to be filled with it is approximately 4 m ³ , and the amount of air contained is approximately 1 m ³ .
On the other hand, the amount of water vapor generated by desorption is
167×1.6≒267m ³ (1.6 is the specific volume of water vapor (m ³ /Kg
at 100℃). ) and 26 per hour.
7/4≒ ^67m3 . Therefore, it can be seen that the amount of water vapor brought out with 1 m ³ of air is insignificant compared to the total amount of water vapor, so there is no need to consider it a problem. Therefore, the air is exhausted in a very short period of time, and only water vapor is then circulated. (Strictly speaking, water vapor three times the original amount of air is sufficient to exhaust 90% of the air, and the time required is 1 x 3/67≒0.045 (hours)≒3 (minutes).
) Therefore, in this system, the gas supplying heat to the adsorbent is water vapor. The amount of circulation necessary to supply heat is the latent heat of desorption of the molecular sieve, which is 900 Kcal/Kg.
- It is water, and the temperature difference between the inlet and outlet of the high-temperature circulating gas storage section for desorption is 150°C, and the specific heat of water vapor is 0.16 Kcal/m ³ - Water vapor (at 300°C)
Therefore, the circulation amount V (m ³ /hour) is as follows: 167×900/4=150×0.16×V V≒1600 (m ³ /hour). In addition, in the case of a molecular sieve, the temperature of the high-temperature gas sent to the storage part for dehydration is preferably such that the temperature of the adsorbent is 350 to 450°C. (Therefore, the temperature at the inlet of the storage section is 500 to 600.
It is ℃. ) This temperature is determined by the final percentage of undehydrated water remaining in the adsorbent, but it is 350
When the temperature is 450° C., about 3 to 4% remains, whereas in the adsorption process more than 10% is adsorbed, so the above-mentioned effective adsorption amount of 8% can be achieved. Returning to the previous explanation, the air in the storage section 17 is exhausted in about 3 minutes as described above, and thereafter only the storage section is circulated. On the other hand, the pressure inside the circulation path 23 is always about 1 atmosphere because it is open to the atmosphere via the condenser 4. Further, except at the beginning of the desorption process, the only gas circulating is water vapor, and an amount of water vapor corresponding to the desorbed water vapor is pushed out to the condenser 4, where it becomes water. At this time, since there is no gas other than water vapor, no gas exits from the outlet of the condenser 4, so 100% of the water vapor becomes water. Further, the temperature of the condenser 4 in this case only needs to be a temperature at which water vapor condenses at atmospheric pressure, and therefore only needs to be about 100° C. or less. For example 90
℃ is also sufficient. Also, unlike the method shown in Figure 1,
Since there is no air in the circulating gas, there is no need to cool the air, so the condenser 4 can be small;
Only a small amount of air is needed for cooling. The reason why there is no need to cool the circulating gas is that, as already understood from the previous explanation, the circulating gas is only water vapor, so only the amount increased by desorption is automatically condensed as 100% water vapor. This is because it is pushed out by vessel 4.

In the case of the fresh water generator of the present invention, since water is desorbed as water vapor, there is a question as to whether it is possible to desorb water using the same water vapor, but there is no problem with this point. The driving force for desorption is temperature, while the opposing force is certainly the partial pressure of water vapor around the adsorbent. In this case, the partial pressure of water vapor is approximately 1 atm (atmospheric pressure) and does not exceed this. Therefore, it is sufficient that the temperature of the adsorbent is high enough to withstand this 1 atm pressure, and as mentioned above, the temperature of the adsorbent is 350~
At 450°C, residual moisture of 3 to 4% can be desorbed even under a water vapor partial pressure of 1 atm. On the other hand, any high-temperature gas may be used to supply heat to the adsorbent, so in this case water vapor plays this role. In addition, the water vapor in the circulation path is heated by the heater 5 at the entrance of the storage section 17 to a temperature of 500 to 600°C, and at the exit of the storage section 17, heat is supplied to the adsorbent and the temperature decreases by 150°C.
The temperature is ~450℃, and the water vapor pressure is 1 atm, so it is always in a superheated state.In other words, since it is dry steam, it can condense as water even when heat is applied to the circulation path or adsorbent. There isn't.
It only condenses when it is pushed out to the condenser 4 and the temperature drops below 100°C.

In addition, the amount of air sent into the storage part 1 during the adsorption process is as follows, assuming that the moisture in the air is 10 g - water/m ³ - air and that this is absorbed by the adsorbent to 3 g - water/m ³ - air. The amount of air that should be sent to a fresh water generator with a capacity of 1000Kg-water/day is 1000 x 10 ³ / (10-3) x 1/24 x 1/60 per second.
×1/60≒1.7m ³ /sec, which shows that it is very small.

Here, the apparatuses shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 (according to the present invention) will be compared quantitatively. In FIG. 1, it is assumed that silica gel is used as the adsorbent, and 2000 kg is filled in the storage section. For comparison with the one in FIG. 1, it is assumed that the one in FIG. 2 also has only one housing section and is filled with 2000 kg of silica gel as in FIG. 1. Now, suppose that air containing 10g of moisture per ^1m3 is sent to this storage area (summer air in Japan has more than 20g of moisture per ^1m3 of air), and the moisture in this air is adsorbed by the adsorbent. The amount is about 3g-water/m ³ -air and is released. By the way, the effective moisture adsorption amount of silica gel is 16% by weight when the temperature is around 25℃ under the above humidity conditions.
It can be done to a certain extent. Therefore, assuming that the adsorption process is carried out for 4 hours, the amount of air blown into the storage section V is 2000 x 0.16/(10-3) x 10 ^-3 = 4 x V V≒12000 m ³ /hour = 200 m ³ / Minute = 3.3m ³ /second. This value is the same as that in FIGS. 1 and 2.

Next, we will compare the desorption process. First, the latent heat of desorption for desorbing water adsorbed on silica gel is
700Kcal/Kg-water. Therefore, assuming the desorption process is 4 hours, the amount of heat per unit time required for desorption (the amount of heat given to silica gel) Q is 2000 x 0.16 x 700 = 4 x Q Q = 56000 Kcal/hour, and of course, Fig. 1, The same applies to both cases in FIG. By the way, if high-temperature gas of 300°C is sent into the storage part for the desorption process and comes out at 200°C, the amount of air blown for desorption V will be the specific heat of the gas by 0.2Kcal/
m ³ - gas, 56000=(300-200)×0.2×V V=2800m ³ /hour ≒47m ³ /minute ≒0.8m ³ /second. This air volume is the same in both FIGS. 1 and 2. Here, when considering the amount of heat q ₁ (in the case of Fig. 1) and q ₂ (in the case of Fig. 2) to be supplied from the heater 5, (the normal temperature is assumed to be 25°C), the first
In the case of the figure, q ₁ =2800×(300−25)×0.2=154000Kcal/hour.

In the case of Figure 2, the gas temperature entering the heater 5 is 200
℃, so q ₂ = 2800 x (300 - 200) x 0.2 = 56000 Kcal/hour. That is, in the case of Fig. 2, it can be seen that approximately 40% (56000/154000≒0.4) of the amount of heat is sufficient. In reality, in both cases, there is sensible heat that raises the temperature of the silica gel to 200 to 300°C, and heat loss from the adsorption tower surface, so both q ₁ and q ₂ are slightly smaller than the above values (within 20%). It can be seen that the apparatus of the present invention shown in FIG. 2 requires a much smaller amount of heat, although it is larger.

Next, consider the amount of water recovered. Assuming that the temperature of the condenser 4 is 45° C., the saturated water vapor pressure at that temperature is approximately 64 g-water/m ³ -air in terms of absolute humidity.
By the way, in the case of Figure 1, the absolute humidity of the gas (air + water vapor at 200°C) that is desorbed from the storage part during the desorption process and comes out containing water vapor is the amount of desorption per hour. divided by the air volume V of
Moisture in the air being delivered (i.e. 10g - water/m ³ -
Just add air). Therefore, 2000×0.16×10 ³ /4×1/2800+10≒
39g - water/m ³ - air. Since this value is less than 64 g-water/m ³ , no water vapor condenses in the condenser under this condition. In other words, it can be seen that no water is obtained. In order to obtain water, it is possible to lower the temperature of the condenser, but in practice it is extremely difficult to lower the temperature below room temperature. In this case, even if the condenser is made infinitely large and the cooling air volume by the cooling fan 4a is made infinitely large to reach a temperature of 25°C, which is the same as the air temperature, the saturated water vapor pressure will be 23g - water/m ³ - air in terms of absolute humidity. However, only 40% (39-23/39≒0.4) of water is recovered. Note that if the air volume V to the storage part during the desorption process is reduced, the absolute humidity of the gas coming out of the storage part will increase, as seen from the above equation, and therefore water can be recovered even if the temperature of the condenser is high. becomes possible. However, in this case, the temperature of the gas must be increased by the reciprocal of the air volume, which not only lowers the efficiency of the heater, but also
If the temperature exceeds ℃, the silica gel will deteriorate, so it cannot be carried out.

As described above, the method shown in FIG. 1 is extremely difficult to put into practical use. On the other hand, as is clear from the above explanation, the method shown in Figure 2 (the present invention) is approximately
100% water can be recovered.

By the way, at the end of the desorption process, the water vapor remaining in the storage part as a circulating gas is switched to the adsorption process and released into the atmosphere, but the amount is
The water recovery amount is approximately 0.8Kg (0.4Kg/m ³ (specific gravity of water vapor at 1 atm 250℃) x 2m ³ ), and the amount of water recovered is 320Kg (2000 x
0.16), there is no problem at all.

As described above, the water generating apparatus according to the present invention is excellent in both thermoeconomics and water recovery.

In the above embodiment, a case was described in which a water tank 6 that is open to the atmosphere is used, but the water tank 6 is not necessarily limited to this. For example, in the configuration shown in FIG. 2, after the start of desorption, the circulation path 23
After the air inside is expelled by water vapor, the water tank 6
Water production is possible even if the container is configured to be sealed, or if it is sealed from the beginning.

FIG. 3 is a system diagram showing another embodiment of the present invention, and is a preferred example in which the circulation path is configured to be sealed from the atmosphere. In the figure, 25 is a heat exchanger provided within the circulation path 23. Note that the other symbols are the same as those in FIG. 1 or 2 above, so their explanation will be omitted. Note that in this embodiment, the condenser 4
is provided in the circulation path 23, and the gas flowing out of the storage section 1 or 17 passes through the heat exchanger 25, the condenser 4, the blower 24, the heat exchanger 25, the heater 5, and then returns to the storage section 1. or 17. Water liquefied by the condenser 4 is configured to flow through a pipe 8a branched from the circulation path 23 and stored in a water tank 6 sealed from the atmosphere.

Next, the operation will be explained. Since the adsorption process is the same as the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, the explanation will be omitted, and the desorption process will be explained. It is assumed that the housing section 1 is in the process of being attached and detached.

The high-temperature gas (around 300°C) in the circulation path 23 that is heated by the heater 5 and sent to the storage section 1 is absorbed into the adsorbent 1.
Heat is applied to the adsorbent 1a, and the moisture adsorbed on the adsorbent 1a is desorbed as water vapor. At this time, the high-temperature gas loses its latent heat of desorption, so its temperature drops to around 200°C, and along with the water vapor generated by desorption, the valve 1
1 and then sent to the heat exchanger 25. heat exchanger 25
The high-temperature gases before and after containing water vapor sent to the condenser 4 condense the water vapor into water (100
The gas is cooled down to around 100°C by exchanging heat with the gas (around 100°C or lower), and then the heat is removed in the condenser 4, where part of the water vapor in the gas becomes water. In this method, condenser 4
Since the water tank 6 is in a sealed state, the gas (containing water vapor at the saturated water vapor pressure at the temperature of the condenser) after passing through is circulated without being released to the outside, so no water loss occurs. . The gas that has passed through the condenser 4 passes through the pipe line 23a and is energized by the blower 24, and the gas passes through the condenser 4 and is energized by the blower 24.
It is heated to about 200° C. in the heat exchanger 25, further heated to about 300° C. in the heater 5, and sent to the storage section 1 to continue desorption. As can be seen above, by providing the heat exchanger 25, the heater 5 can transfer the gas for desorption at approximately 100°C from 200°C to 300°C.
It is only necessary to raise the temperature by ℃, which is more economical.

In the embodiment shown in Fig. 3 above, the desorption system is a closed system, and the gas for desorption is repeatedly circulated without leaking to the outside. Therefore, cumulatively, the absolute humidity of this circulating gas is water can be collected reliably. In other words, if the specifications of the device are the same as those in Figure 2, after two circulations, 68 g - water/m ³ - air (39 + 29 =
68) and the saturated water vapor pressure at 45℃ is 64g - water /
m ³ - larger than air, water vapor in the circulating gas condenses and water comes out. The time required for two circulations can be determined by dividing the volume of the gas in the storage section and the circulation system route by the air volume V and multiplying it by two.
In the case of a device that fills air, the total volume is 4 to 5 m ³ and the volume of the space (internal gas volume) is at most 2 m ³ , so 2/2800 x 2 ≒ 1.7 x 10 ^-3 hours = 0.1 minute. = 6 seconds In other words, water will come out after 6 seconds. Since this value is a very short time compared to 4 hours for the desorption process, in practical terms water will come out as soon as the adsorbent reaches the desorption temperature. Moreover, since it is a sealed system, there is no loss of water during the desorption process. At the end of the desorption process, the water contained in the circulating gas remaining in the storage section is switched to the adsorption process and released into the atmosphere, amounting to 128 g.
(64g/m ³ × 2m ³ ), and the amount of water recovered is 320Kg.
(2000×0.16), there is no problem at all.

In the case shown in FIG. 3, the water receiving tank may be open to the atmosphere, or it may be open to the atmosphere until the air in the circulation path flows out, and thereafter it may be closed.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing still another embodiment of the present invention, in which the storage section 1, the heater 5, the circulation path 23, and the blower 24 are housed in a container 26. Note that FIG. 4 shows the desorption process, and the arrows indicate the direction of the flow of gas flowing through the circulation path 24. This embodiment has the advantage of simplifying the configuration of the circulation path.

In the embodiments described above, one or two accommodating units 1 are used, but it goes without saying that the accommodating units 1 are not limited to these, and an appropriate number may be used as necessary. For example, by using three storage units and carrying out the three processes of adsorption, desorption, and a cooling process for cooling the adsorbent heated by desorption in an appropriate sequence, It is also possible to obtain water without interruption. It is also easy to configure the device to operate automatically through automatic control.

Of course, various other modifications are possible; for example, in the case of FIG. By installing it, it is possible to reduce space, and it is also desirable to use solar heat as a heat source or power source, and to add various heat systems for effective energy use. It is.

By the way, in the above description, the present invention was explained with reference to the case where water is obtained using moisture in the atmosphere as a raw material, but the raw material is not necessarily limited to the atmosphere.

As explained above, according to the present invention, after adsorbing moisture from the gas phase on an adsorbent, a circulation path is formed through the adsorbent storage section and the adsorbent is heated. By desorbing water and condensing at least a portion of the desorbed water vapor, there is an effect that liquid phase water can be efficiently obtained with small energy even in places where liquid phase water is not available.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the principle of a water generator, FIG. 2 is a system diagram showing a water generator as an embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS. 3 and 4 are diagrams showing other embodiments of the invention. FIG. 2 is a system diagram and a configuration diagram shown. In the figure, 1 and 17 are storage parts, 1a and 17a are adsorbents, 4 is a condensing part, 5 is a heater, 6 is a water tank, and 23 is a circulation path. The same reference numerals in the figures indicate the same or corresponding parts.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. An adsorbent that is housed in a storage section and adsorbs moisture when supplied with gas containing moisture, a circulation path that circulates the gas through the storage section during desorption, and a circulation path that circulates the gas through the storage section during desorption. A heater for heating the above-mentioned adsorbent and desorbing the moisture adsorbed by the adsorbent, and a heater provided branching from the above-mentioned circulation path to circulate the water vapor desorbed by the above-mentioned heater through the above-mentioned circulation path. A water generating device comprising: a condensing section for condensing water vapor branched from the circulation path; and a water receiving tank for receiving water produced by the condensing section. 2. The water generating device according to claim 1, wherein the circulation path is sealed. 3. The water generating device according to claim 1, wherein the water receiving tank is connected to the condensing section, and the circulation path is opened to the atmosphere after passing through the water receiving tank. 4. The water generating device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that a plurality of accommodating parts are provided, and the adsorption and desorption are performed in a temporally staggered manner. 5. The freshwater generating device according to claim 4, wherein two storage units are provided, and adsorption and desorption are performed alternately. 6. The freshwater generating device according to claim 4, wherein three storage sections are provided, and adsorption, desorption, and cooling are sequentially performed. 7. The water generating device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, which uses a molecular sieve as an adsorbent.