KR102100852B1 - Apparatus of capturing microplastic - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to an apparatus for capturing microplastic and, more specifically, to an apparatus for capturing microplastic including plastic beads and an X-ray generation device to electrically couple microplastic floating on a marine surface layer to capture and separate the microplastic. More specifically, according to an embodiment of the present invention, the apparatus for capturing microplastic particles included in seawater comprises: a second filter including a wall of a net shape, wherein an upper and a lower portion thereof are opened; a first filter positioned to enclose the outer surface of the second filter; a third filter which is positioned in the second filter, and captures microplastic particles; an upper plate to seal upper surfaces of the first filter, the second filter, and the third filter; and a lower plate to seal lower surfaces of the first filter, the second filter, and the third filter.

Description

Micro plastic collecting device {Apparatus of capturing microplastic}

Disclosed is a micro plastic collecting device, and more specifically, an X-ray generator capable of collecting and separating fine plastics floating on the surface of the ocean by collecting (separating electrically) plastic beads in a third filter. The present invention relates to a micro plastic collecting device comprising plastic beads.

Unless otherwise indicated herein, the content described in this section is not prior art to the claims of this application and is not admitted to be prior art by inclusion in this section.

As a device for collecting plastic floating in the ocean, there is a 'Plastic Catcher' created by Ocean Cleanup of the United States, which is a plastic garbage that floated in the sea by floating a U-shaped tube with a 2 ~ 3m-long polyurethane screen under the water. When it hits the tube, it collects garbage in a way that gathers at the vertex of the tube as it rides the vortex caused by the current.

However, these devices have the problem that they can form biofouling by attaching organic substances such as bacteria and algae, and prevent the movement of sea creatures while the tube is floating, and above all, filter fine plastics of 5 mm or less. There was a problem that I could not.

As a prior art, Korean Patent Publication No. 10-2019-0047952 (published date: 2019.05.09) discloses a collecting device for each particle size attached to the code end. This collecting device provides the effect of improving the filtration efficiency of collected water by separating and filtering plankton or fine plastic particles in the seawater by size because there are a plurality of collecting members sequentially provided in a small size. Has a purpose.

On the other hand, this device is not a structure to operate while moving on the sea, but consists of a structure that is settled and used in one place, and thus has limitations in capturing fine plastics floating in a wide range of oceans.

As another prior art, Korean Patent Publication No. 10-2015-0025534 (published date: 2015.03.11) discloses an aquatic organisms collector. Such a collector, a plankton collecting network for collecting plankton from fresh water or seawater, is composed of a first filter unit and a second filter unit, configured to separate and combine them, and is provided with a handle.

However, such a collecting machine was able to collect particles having different sizes by the first filtering member and the second filtering member, but there was a problem that the collected objects collected by size could not be easily recovered because the collection bottles were not distinguished. .

1. Korea Patent Publication No. 10-2019-0047952 (2019.05.09.) 2. Korean Patent Publication No. 10-2015-0025534 (2015.03.11.)

It is intended to provide a micro plastic collecting device that uses a plurality of filters to filter and collect fine plastics of sea water, but uses the power of the ship as the power to move the device, and uses the sunlight as an auxiliary power source for driving the device.

In addition, it is obviously not limited to the above-described technical problems, and another technical problem may be derived from the following description.

Disclosed is a device for collecting fine plastic particles contained in seawater, wherein a top and a bottom are opened, a second filter including a net-shaped wall, and a first filter positioned to surround the outer surface of the second filter , A third filter located inside the second filter, collecting the fine plastic particles, a top plate sealing the upper surfaces of the first filter, the second filter, and the third filter and the first filter, the second filter, and the third filter A micro plastic collecting device including a lower plate sealing the lower surface of the filter is presented as an embodiment.

According to the disclosed embodiment, fine plastic particles having a scale of 1 to 5 millimeters can be filtered and collected from surface water of the ocean, and a power source of a ship can be used to provide a fine plastic collecting device that does not require a separate device moving power source.

The effects of the present embodiments are not limited to the effects mentioned above, and other effects not mentioned will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the description of the claims.

1 is a state diagram of the use of a micro plastic collecting device according to an embodiment of the disclosed content.
Figure 2 is an exploded view of a fine plastic collecting device according to an embodiment of the disclosed content.
Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view of a fine plastic collecting device showing the connection structure of the solar panel and the X-ray generator according to an embodiment of the disclosed content.
4 is a plan view of a micro plastic collecting device according to an embodiment of the disclosed content.

Advantages and features of the present invention, and methods for achieving them will be clarified with reference to embodiments described below in detail together with the accompanying drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments disclosed below, but may be implemented in various different forms, and only the embodiments allow the disclosure of the present invention to be complete, and common knowledge in the technical field to which the present invention pertains. It is provided to fully inform the holder of the scope of the invention, and the invention is only defined by the scope of the claims. The same reference numerals refer to the same components throughout the specification.

In describing embodiments of the present invention, when it is determined that a detailed description of known functions or configurations may unnecessarily obscure the subject matter of the present invention, the detailed description will be omitted. And the terms to be described later are terms defined in consideration of functions in an embodiment of the present invention, which may vary according to a user's or operator's intention or practice. Therefore, the definition should be made based on the contents throughout this specification.

Hereinafter, a preferred embodiment of the improved fine plastic collecting device will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

As an embodiment of the invention disclosed in the present specification, the micro-plastic collecting device, the upper and lower portions are open, the second filter 20 including the mesh wall 21, the outer surface of the second filter 20 A first filter 10 positioned to wrap, a third filter 30 located inside the second filter 20, collecting fine plastic particles, the first filter 10, the second filter 20, and It includes an upper plate 40 for sealing the upper surface of the third filter 30 and a lower plate 50 for sealing the lower surface of the first filter 10, the second filter 20 and the third filter 30. do.

Looking in more detail, as shown in FIG. 2, the second filter 20 has an upper and lower opening, and an outer surface may be formed as a mesh wall 21. This is to form an inner space to accommodate the third filter 30 therein, as will be described later. The second filter 20 includes a mesh wall 21, but the through-holes of the mesh wall 21 may be formed of 1 to 5 millimeters. The purpose is to filter the seaweed and marine waste contained in the seawater and to pass the fine plastic of 1 to 5 millimeters or less. The mesh wall 21 maintains the shape, but is preferably formed of a silicone fabric so as to have flexibility.

The first filter 10 is positioned to surround the outer surface of the second filter 20, and serves to primarily filter seawater entering the second filter 20. Referring to FIG. 2, the first filter 10 may be positioned such that a plurality of panels 11 are disposed at regular intervals to form slits and surround the outer surface of the second filter 20. . The panel 11 is formed of an impermeable material through which water cannot pass, and the number and width of the panels 11 and slit spacing between the panels 11 are adjusted to primarily control the size of the material to be filtered. Can be adjusted. In addition, the panel 11 is formed of an impermeable material, and resistance to seawater may occur. Thus, the panel 11 is coated with a material having a low frictional force or has a low coefficient of friction on the surface of the panel 11. It is preferred to form. In addition, as shown in Figures 1 to 4, in order to filter the sea water in a large area, the cross-section of the collecting device according to an embodiment of the present invention, the front portion is formed as a complete plane or a curved plane, the rear portion It can be formed to reduce the resistance of seawater by streamlining to prevent seawater from entering the filter from the back due to the backflow of seawater.

In addition, the first filter 10, the second filter 20, and the third filter 30 are formed to cover only the front portion of the second filter 20 so that the seawater passing through the outside can be easily escaped, and the rear portion is opened. It may be formed in the form.

The third filter 30 is located inside the second filter 20 and collects fine plastic particles. The seawater passing through the slit of the first filter 10 and passing through the 1 to 5 millimeter through hole of the second filter 20 contains fine plastic particles smaller than the through hole. 30). Referring to FIGS. 2 to 4, the third filter 30 includes a battery, one or more X-ray generators 32 for irradiating X-rays, and fine plastic particles reacted by the X-rays. It may include a plurality of plastic beads 31 reacted by X-rays that are electrically coupled. The plastic beads 31 may be made of natural polymers such as cellulose and starch or PCL and PLA, which are chemical synthetic polymers. The biodegradable polymer described above is chemically decomposable and discharges natural by-products such as carbon dioxide, nitrogen, and water, so even if secondary microplastic occurs due to weathering, it has little adverse effect on the marine ecosystem and is another plastic to collect microplastic. You can solve the contradiction of using beads. In addition, natural polymers such as cellulose and starch are plastics to which physical or chemical modification technology is applied from natural materials, and are not only environmentally friendly, but also economical because of low production cost. PCL has the advantages of excellent resistance to water, oil and solvent, good compatibility, and relatively inexpensive. PLA has the advantage that it does not cause secondary environmental pollution because it is the safest natural polymer that does not generate microplastics secondaryly even though plastic beads may escape from the net due to corrosion.

The plastic beads 31 may be filled in a space formed by the lower plate 50 and the upper plate 40 and the mesh wall 21 of the second filter 20. In this case, the diameter of the plastic beads 31 may be formed to be larger than the through hole of the mesh wall 21 so as not to escape through the through hole.

In addition, in order to improve the fluidity of the seawater and the plastic beads 31 flowing into the third filter 30 and to improve the reaction efficiency of the fine plastics on the X-rays, only about 60% of the space is required for the plastic beads 31 ).

In addition, the third filter 30 may include one or more X-ray generators 32 for irradiating X-rays. Power is supplied by a separate power supply device or by a solar panel 41 described later. Power can be supplied.

The separate power supply may be a battery built in the X-ray generator 32 itself. The battery may be formed of a replaceable type, but it is preferable to use a rechargeable battery to improve the convenience of use. When the battery built in the X-ray generator 32 is of a rechargeable type, a charging unit 43 for charging the rechargeable battery may be formed outside the top plate 40.

The upper plate 40 seals the upper surfaces of the first filter 10, the second filter 20, and the third filter 30. The upper plate 40 is preferably formed to be impermeable to allow the seawater flowing into the micro plastic collecting device to pass only through the filter. The lower plate 50 also seals the lower surfaces of the first filter 10, the second filter 20, and the third filter 30, which is also formed to be impermeable so that the incoming seawater can only pass through the filter. It is desirable to be.

In addition, the upper plate 40 is located on the upper surface of the upper plate 40, the solar panel 41 for producing power and the switch unit 42 for controlling the operation of the X-ray generator 32 It can contain. The X-ray generator 32 may be operated by transmitting the electric power produced by the solar panel 41 to the X-ray generator 32. In this case, another second switch may be included to selectively use the power of the battery and the power of the solar panel 41.

In a more preferred embodiment, power from the battery may be used as the main power source, and power from the solar panel 41 may be used as the auxiliary power source. When using the power from the battery, it can also be used to charge the battery by transferring the power from the solar panel 41 to the battery.

When fixing each component of the top plate 40 with the top plate 40, a method of attaching by an epoxy adhesive may be used. Epoxy adhesive is an adhesive of the epoxy resin component, has excellent adhesion, can be adhered regardless of the nature of the object to be adhered to, and has excellent properties of adhesion persistence because it is strong against heat and moisture.

As shown in FIG. 3, the X-ray generator 32 is operated through a battery built in the X-ray generator 32, but the battery is charged through the charging unit 43 connected to the electric wire 45. By connecting the X-ray generator 32 and the solar panel 41 located on the upper surface of the top plate 40 through a wire 45, the electric power produced by the solar panel 41 is X It can also be configured to be used by the line generator 32 or to be delivered to the battery to charge the battery. In addition, the X-ray generator 32 can be operated through the switch unit 42, and the power is turned off to the X-ray generator 32, so that the fine plastic particles aggregated in the plastic beads 31 by reaction It can be restored to the state before the reaction. Through this, after using the collecting device, the fine plastic can be removed from the outside of the device, and the power is supplied again to collect the fine plastic.

The upper plate 40, the lower plate 50 and the solar panel 41 are formed of a flexible material, so as not to be damaged by the pressure of sea water and to prevent overturning.

In addition, the upper plate 40 and the lower plate 50 may further include a hook portion 44 that can be connected to the ship through the seam 60 through at least one side. More preferably, the flat portion of the first filter 10 described above is positioned to face the front surface, and one or more of the hook portions 44 may be formed on the front surface.

In addition, when the hook portion 44 is formed on only one of the upper plate 40 and the lower plate 50, the micro-plasmic collecting device may be difficult to maintain an accurate posture by the pressure of seawater, thereby maintaining balance. To this end, it is preferable to form two hooks 44 on both the upper plate 40 and the lower plate 50 to connect with the ship.

The above-described first filter 10, second filter 20 and the upper plate 40 and the lower plate 50 may be combined through an insoluble adhesive or an epoxy adhesive at a position in contact with each other. In the case of the second filter 20, the net wall support 22 and the upper plate 40 and the lower plate 50 may be combined, including the net wall support 22 at the upper and lower ends of the net wall 21. In this case, a groove capable of accommodating the mesh wall support 22 may be formed at a position in contact with the mesh wall support 22 to improve the bonding force.

In addition, in the case of the first filter 10, a plurality of panels 11 and slits may include separate structures at the top and bottom so as to be repeatedly positioned, but the panels may be provided at the upper plate 40 and the lower plate 50. 11) It is also possible to form a groove into which the fitting can be fitted and to fix and fit the panel (11).

The above-described fixing method is one example, and is not limited thereto, and may include all methods of fitting, fixing, bonding, and screwing to fix each component.

The disclosed content is only an example, and can be variously changed by a person having ordinary skill in the art without departing from the gist of the claims claimed in the claims. It is not limited to the embodiment.

10: 1st filter
11: Panel
20: second filter
21: net wall
22: net wall support
30: third filter
31: plastic beads
32: X-ray generator
40: top
41: solar panel
42: switch unit
43: live part
44: ring
45 A: electric wire
45 B: electric wire
50: bottom
60: joint line

Claims (6)

In the device for collecting the fine plastic particles contained in sea water,
A second filter having upper and lower openings and including a mesh wall;
A first filter positioned to surround the outer surface of the second filter;
A third filter positioned inside the second filter to collect fine plastic particles;
An upper plate sealing the upper surfaces of the first filter, the second filter, and the third filter; And
And a lower plate sealing the lower surfaces of the first filter, the second filter, and the third filter,
The third filter, the battery is embedded, micro plastic capture comprising at least one X-ray generator for irradiating X-rays, and a plurality of plastic beads electrically coupled to the fine plastic particles reacted by the X-rays Device.
The method according to claim 1,
The second filter includes a mesh wall, wherein the through hole of the mesh wall is a fine plastic collecting device, characterized in that 1 to 5 millimeters.
The method according to claim 1,
The first filter is a fine plastic collecting device, characterized in that a plurality of panels are arranged at regular intervals to form slits, and are positioned to surround the outer surface of the second filter.
delete The method according to claim 1,
The top plate,
A solar panel located on an upper surface of the top plate to produce electric power; And
A switch unit for controlling the operation of the X-ray generator;
Including,
Micro plastic collecting device, characterized in that for transmitting the power produced by the solar panel to the X-ray generator.
The method according to claim 1,
Micro plastic collecting device further comprising; a ring portion that can be connected to at least one side of at least one of the upper and lower plates through the ship and the seam.

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