KR20130072761A - Filter apparatus and method of operating the same - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A filter apparatus and the operating method thereof are provided to be effectively applied when the ion concentration is high among the inflow water and improve the efficiency of electricity regeneration of the filter apparatus by reducing the grade of the absorption concentration according to the direction of the flow. CONSTITUTION: The filter apparatus comprises the anode, the cathode, and a pair of ion exchanger which arranged between the anode and the cathode, the fluid path (13), and the ion exchanger (13a) which fills the fluid path. The fluid path positioned between a pair of cation exchange film is spread from the inlet port toward the outlet according to the fluid path. The fluid path has a shape that increases the flow rate per cross section according to the direction of the fluid path. The cross section of the fluid path of the outlet is smaller than the cross section of the fluid path of the inlet. [Reference numerals] (AA) Channel direction (absorption direction); (BB) Recovery direction

Description

FIELD APPARATUS AND METHOD OF OPERATING THE SAME [0001]

A filter device and a method of operating the filter device.

Tap water contains a large amount of hardness components such as calcium or magnesium. These hardness components can combine with the fatty acids of the soap to produce metallic contaminants that can cause skin disorders. It is possible to easily form a scale on the inner wall of a heat exchanger or a boiler tube in an appliance to lower energy efficiency.

Therefore, techniques for softening tap water, which is hard water, have been studied.

As a technology for softening hard water, there has been proposed a method for softening hard water by using an ion exchange resin and regenerating by supplying a high concentration chemical solution to an ion exchange resin having a long life. However, this method is not convenient for users and can cause environmental pollution by high concentration chemical solution. Therefore, a simple and environmentally friendly method is being sought.

On the other hand, as a system for filtering water, a method of performing adsorption and regeneration in-situ using an ion exchange membrane and an ion exchange resin has been proposed. However, the system can be effectively applied only when the concentration of ions to be removed in the influent water is very low, and when the concentration of ions to be removed in the influent water is high, it is difficult to apply the system because there is a limit to continuous operation. Therefore, it is difficult to apply the system as it is to water soften water.

One embodiment provides a filter device that can be effectively applied when the ion concentration in the influent water is high.

Another embodiment provides a method of operating the filter device.

According to one embodiment, there is provided a fuel cell comprising: an anode and a cathode facing each other; a pair of cation exchange membranes disposed between the anode and the cathode; a flow path extending between the pair of cation exchange membranes and extending along the flow direction from the inlet to the outlet; And an ion exchanger filled in the flow path, wherein the flow path has a shape in which a flow rate per a cross-sectional area increases along the flow direction.

Sectional area of the flow path on the discharge port side may be smaller than a cross-sectional area of the flow path on the discharge port side.

Sectional area of the flow path may be continuously or discontinuously reduced along the flow direction.

The flow path may have a planar shape of either a trapezoidal shape, a bell shape, or a top shape.

The flow path may have a zigzag planar shape in which the cross-sectional area decreases along the flow direction.

Wherein the flow path includes a first flow path extending along a first flow path direction and a second flow path extending along a second flow path direction different from the first flow path direction and a cross sectional area of the first flow path and the second flow path is Can be reduced along the first flow direction and the second flow direction, respectively.

The adsorption concentration of the ion exchanger may be substantially uniform along the flow direction when the influent water passes through the flow path.

The positive electrode and the negative electrode may be formed of a material capable of inducing a water decomposition reaction.

The flow direction may be perpendicular to a direction in which the anode and the cathode face each other.

The filter device can be used to soften the hard water.

The filter device may be used to soften the influent having an ion concentration of at least about 100 ppm or more.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a method of operating the above-described filter device, comprising the steps of: passing inflow water containing ions to be removed along the flow path in the flow path to adsorb the ion to be removed to the ion exchanger; And applying a voltage to the anode and the cathode to supply water between the anode and the cathode to regenerate the ion exchanger.

The voltage applied to the positive electrode and the negative electrode may be a voltage capable of inducing water decomposition.

The step of adsorbing ions to the ion exchanger and the step of regenerating the ion exchanger may be repeated two or more times, and the polarity of the voltage applied to the anode and the cathode may be reversed each time.

The influent water may have an ion concentration of at least about 100 ppm or greater.

The flow direction and the direction in which the voltage is applied may be vertical.

In the step of adsorbing ions to the ion exchanger, the adsorption concentration of the ion exchanger may be substantially uniform along the flow direction.

By reducing the gradient of the adsorption concentration along the flow direction, the electric regeneration efficiency of the filter device can be increased.

1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a filter device according to one embodiment,
2 is a schematic view exemplarily showing a flow path applied to the filter device according to one embodiment,
3 is an enlarged view of the flow path of the filter device according to one embodiment,
FIG. 4 is a graph showing the adsorption concentration according to the position of the flow path in the filter device of FIG. 3,
5 is an enlarged schematic view of the flow path of the conventional filter device,
FIG. 6 is a graph showing the adsorption concentration according to the position of the flow path in the conventional filter device of FIG. 5,
FIGS. 7 to 10 are schematic views showing various shapes of channels in a filter device according to an embodiment,
11 is a graph showing contaminant removal rates before and after the operation of the filter device manufactured according to the embodiment and the comparative example,
12 is a graph showing the regeneration amount per cycle in the case where adsorption and regeneration of the filter device manufactured according to the embodiment and the comparative example are performed four times.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail so that those skilled in the art can easily carry out the present invention. The present invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein.

In the drawings, the thicknesses are enlarged to clearly indicate layers and regions. Like parts are designated with like reference numerals throughout the specification. Whenever a portion of a layer, film, region, plate, or the like is referred to as being "on" another portion, it includes not only the case where it is "directly on" another portion, but also the case where there is another portion in between. Conversely, when a part is "directly over" another part, it means that there is no other part in the middle.

A filter device according to one embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. FIG.

FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing a filter device according to one embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a schematic view exemplarily showing a flow path applied to a filter device according to an embodiment.

1, the filter device 10 according to one embodiment includes a cathode 20 and a cathode 30 facing each other, a pair of cation exchange membranes (not shown) disposed between the anode 20 and the cathode 30 12, and 14, and a flow path 13 positioned between the cation exchange membranes 12 and 14.

The anode 20 and the cathode 30 may be formed of a material capable of inducing a water decomposition reaction and may be formed of a metal, a metal oxide, a stainless steel, a vitreous carbon, a graphite, a carbon black, Can be made.

The metal may be at least one selected from the group consisting of Pt, Ti, Ru, Ag, Au, Ir, Pd, Co, (Fe) or a combination thereof. The metal oxide may be selected from, for example, PtO ₂ , IrO ₂ , TiO ₂ , CaTiO ₃ , NaWO ₃ , MnO ₂ , RuO ₂ , PbO ₂ and combinations thereof.

Anode 20 / cathode 30 is, for example may be a _{Pt / Ti, IrO 2 / Ti} , RuO 2 / Ti, PbO 2 / Ti.

The positions of the anode 20 and the cathode 30 can be changed from each other.

The cation exchange membranes 12 and 14 are disposed opposite to each other and have a negative charge on their surface, so that they can selectively transmit cations.

The flow path 13 is located between the cation exchange membranes 12 and 14 and extends from the inlet through which the influent water is supplied to the outlet through which the treated water is discharged. The inflow water is supplied through the inlet port rotor and is passed through the flow path 13, softened by ion exchange and discharged to the outlet port. Hereinafter, the direction in which the inflow water flows through the flow path 13, It is called 'Euro direction'.

The flow path 13 is filled with a plurality of ion exchangers 13a.

The ion exchanger 13a is not limited as long as it is capable of adsorbing metal ions, quasi metal ions, or chlorine disinfection by-products present in water. Examples of the ion exchanger 13a include activated carbon, high specific surface area graphite (HSAG), carbon nanotube (CNT) But are not limited to, mesoporous carbon, activated carbon fibers, ion exchange resins, zeolites, smectites, vermiculites, iron oxides, titanium oxides, aluminum oxides, a metal oxide, a manganese oxide, a yttrium oxide, a molybdenum oxide, a cobalt oxide, a nickel oxide, a copper oxide, a zinc oxide, a zirconium oxide zirconium oxide, ruthenium oxide, tin oxide, carbon, alloys or mixtures thereof.

2, the cross-sectional area of the flow passage 13 on the discharge side is smaller than the cross-sectional area of the flow passage 13 on the inlet side, as shown in Fig. 2, for example. The cross-sectional area of the flow path along the flow direction can be reduced.

The ion-exchange material 13a filled in the flow path 13 can have a substantially uniform adsorption concentration irrespective of the position in the flow path 13 by having a shape in which the flow rate per cross-sectional area increases along the flow direction. Accordingly, when a voltage is applied to the anode 20 and the cathode 30, uniform regeneration performance can be achieved regardless of the position of the flow path 13, and as a result, the electric regeneration efficiency can be enhanced.

The adsorption concentration and the electric regeneration efficiency will be described in more detail in the method of operation of the filter device.

Hereinafter, a method of operating the reproducing apparatus will be described with reference to FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 together with FIG.

FIG. 3 is a schematic view showing an enlarged view of the flow path in the filter device according to one embodiment, and FIG. 4 is a graph showing the adsorption concentration according to the position of the flow path in the filter device of FIG.

The operation method of the filter device according to an embodiment of the present invention is a method of operating an ion exchanger 13a filled in the flow path 13 by passing inflow water containing ions (hereinafter referred to as "contaminants" The step of adsorbing the contaminants and the step of regenerating the ion exchanger 13a by applying a voltage between the anode 20 and the cathode 30 and supplying water between the cathode 20 and the cathode 30 .

First, consider the adsorption step.

When the inflow water is supplied through the inlet of the flow path 13 in the state where no voltage is applied to the filter device, the contaminants of the influent water are adsorbed by the ion exchanger 13a filled in the flow path 13, Is discharged to the discharge port.

At this time, since the adsorption is performed along the flow direction (y direction), adsorption is performed from the ion exchanger 13a located close to the inlet. Accordingly, the ion exchanger 13a located close to the inlet is in contact with the influent having a high concentration of contaminants, while the ion exchanger 13a located far from the inlet is in contact with the influent having a relatively low concentration of contaminants.

As described above, this embodiment has a shape in which the flow rate per unit area increases along the flow direction, so that the ion exchanger 13a positioned close to the inlet has a small flow rate of the influent water contacting per unit area, The ion exchanger 13a located therein has a large flow rate of influent water contacting a single surface area.

Therefore, the ion exchanger 13a located close to the inlet is in contact with the influent having a high concentration of the contaminant at a small flow rate, while the ion exchanger 13a located far from the inlet has a relatively low concentration of the contaminant, As a result, the ion exchanger 13a filled in the flow path 13 can have a substantially uniform adsorption concentration irrespective of the position.

Next, the regeneration step of the ion exchanger 13a will be described.

The regeneration step is a step of removing contaminants adsorbed to the ion exchanger 13a in the adsorption step. When water is electrolyzed by applying a voltage capable of inducing water decomposition to the positive electrode and the negative electrode, H + and OH- generated in the anode 20 and the cathode 30 are converted to the ion exchanger 13a by the following reaction, The contaminants can be removed.

[Reaction Scheme]

O₂ + 4H⁺ + 4e^- Anode: 2H ₂ O

O ₂ + 4H ⁺ + 4e ^-

RH + M⁺ Ion exchanger: RM + H ⁺

RH + M ⁺

H₂ + 2OH^- Cathode: 2H ₂ O + 2e ^-

H ₂ + 2OH ^-

That is, the H + produced in the anode passes through the cation exchange membrane 12 to remove the contaminant M + from the ion exchanger 13a, OH- generated in the cathode can not pass through the cation exchange membrane 14, ), And the regeneration can be maintained.

On the other hand, when a voltage is applied to the positive electrode 20 and the negative electrode 30 arranged in the direction perpendicular to the flow direction (y direction) (z direction), reproduction is performed along the surface direction of the positive electrode 20 and the negative electrode 30 .

As described above, since the adsorption concentration of the ion exchanger 13a is substantially uniform regardless of the position in the flow path 13, the filter device according to this embodiment can exhibit substantially uniform regeneration performance as a whole throughout the flow path 13 Thus, the electric regeneration efficiency can be increased. Here, the electric regeneration efficiency represents the regeneration performance with respect to the applied current. Since the current is equally applied to the entire flow path 13 on the basis of the position at which the adsorption concentration is the highest, If one reproduction performance is shown, the electric reproduction efficiency can be increased.

Such adsorption and regeneration can be repeated two or more times, and the adsorption and regeneration patterns described above can be kept the same. At this time, the polarity of the current applied to the positive electrode and the negative electrode in the regeneration step can be reversed every time, and scaling and contamination of the organic material on the electrode surface can be prevented.

On the other hand, adsorption and regeneration of the conventional filter device will be discussed in comparison with the above-described embodiment.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of the flow path of the conventional filter device, and FIG. 6 is a graph showing the adsorption concentration according to the position of the flow path in the conventional filter device of FIG.

In Fig. 5, a zigzag-like flow path having the same cross-sectional area along the flow direction is taken as an example.

First, consider the adsorption step.

When the inflow water is supplied through the inlet port of the flow path 13 'in a state where no voltage is applied to the filter device, contaminants of the inflow water are adsorbed by the ion exchanger 13a' filled in the flow path 13 ' The treated water is discharged to the discharge port.

At this time, the flow paths shown in Fig. 5 have the same cross-sectional area along the flow direction, so that the flow rates per unit area are the same.

6, the ion exchanger 13a positioned close to the inlet has a high adsorption concentration of the contaminants, whereas the ion exchanger 13a located close to the inlet, that is, The ion exchanger 13a located close to the outlet has a low adsorption concentration. That is, the adsorption concentration gradient of the ion exchanger 13a can be formed along the flow direction.

Next, the regeneration step of the ion exchanger 13a will be described.

When an electric current is applied to the positive electrode and the negative electrode (not shown) arranged so as to be perpendicular (z direction) to the flow direction, reproduction is performed along the surface direction (reproduction direction) of the positive electrode and the negative electrode. At this time, the regeneration is performed at all positions of the flow path 13 in the same manner, and the current applied at this time is set based on the position where the adsorption concentration is the highest. At this time, as described above, the ion exchanger 13a positioned close to the inlet has a high adsorption concentration of contaminants and the ion exchanger 13a located far from the inlet has a low adsorption concentration. Therefore, when the same current is applied, And the outlet side has low electric regeneration efficiency. Therefore, the conventional filter device may have a lower efficiency of the electric regeneration than the filter device according to the present embodiment.

The flow path 13 according to the present embodiment described above is not particularly limited as long as the flow rate per cross-sectional area increases along the flow direction. For example, the cross-sectional area of the flow path 13 along the flow direction may be continuously or discontinuously reduced have.

FIGS. 7 to 10 are schematic views showing various shapes of flow paths in a filter device according to an embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 7, the flow path 13 may have a bell-shaped flat shape in which the cross-sectional area decreases from one side to the other, where one side may be the inlet side and the other side may be the outlet side.

Referring to FIG. 8, the flow path 13 may have a top-like flat shape in which the cross-sectional area decreases from one side to the other side, where one side may be the inlet side and the other side may be the outlet side.

Referring to FIG. 9, the flow path 13 may have a zigzag plane shape in which the cross-sectional area decreases along the flow direction.

10, the flow path 13 includes a first flow path 13A extending along the first flow direction (flow direction A) and a second flow path 13B extending along the second flow direction (flow direction B) And the sectional areas of the first flow path 13A and the second flow path 13B can be reduced along the flow direction, respectively. The first flow path 13A and the second flow path 13B may be symmetrically arranged, thereby increasing space efficiency without wasting space.

The filter device described above can be used to soften hard water and can be usefully used to soften inflow water having a high ion concentration of at least about 100 ppm or more.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to experimental examples. It should be understood, however, that the following examples are for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention.

Fabrication of filter device

A filter device (comparative example) having an ion exchange part having a flow path as shown in Fig. 3 and a filter device (example) having an ion exchange part having a flow path as shown in Fig. 4 were produced according to the conditions shown in Table 1.

Ion exchanger CMP28 (Iontech) Ion exchanger capacity 2.2eq / L Ion exchanger content 8 mL Ion exchange membrane Neosepta CMX (Tokuyama, Japan) electrode Ti / Pt plate Influent conductivity  ~ 650 μS / cm Treated water conductivity ~ 1750 μS / cm

Operation of the filter device

Step 1: Adsorption

H₂O, MgCl₂

H₂O, NaHCO₃를 용해하여 CaCO₃ 기준으로 250ppm의 농도가 되도록 유입수를 준비한다. 실시예 및 비교예에 따라 제작된 필터 장치의 이온 교환부에 상기 유입수를 110mL/min 의 유속으로 10분 동안 공급한다.
The operation of the filter apparatus was carried out at room temperature, and CaCl ₂

H ₂ O, MgCl ₂

H ₂ O and NaHCO ₃ are dissolved to prepare an influent water having a concentration of 250 ppm based on CaCO ₃ . The influent water is supplied to the ion exchange portion of the filter device manufactured according to Examples and Comparative Examples at a flow rate of 110 mL / min for 10 minutes.

Step 2: Electric regeneration

The filter device was charged with 0.1 MH ₂ SO ₄ While supplying the solution at a flow rate of 5 mL / min, a current of 680 mA or -680 mA is applied to the electrode for 20 minutes.

Step 3: Repeat adsorption / electrical regeneration

The adsorption and the electric regeneration are repeated four times. The polarity of the electrode is reversed each time.

Rating 1

After operating the filter device manufactured according to Examples and Comparative Examples, the concentration of contaminants (Ca ^{2 +} , Mg ^{2 +} ) remaining in the treated water was measured and compared with the concentration in influent water to evaluate the contaminant removal rate (%) .

The results are shown in Fig.

11 is a graph showing contaminant removal rates before and after the operation of the filter device manufactured according to the embodiment and the comparative example.

Referring to FIG. 11, it can be seen that the filter device manufactured according to the embodiment exhibits a contaminant removal rate of about 90% in the same manner as the filter device manufactured according to the comparative example during 1-4 times of adsorption and electricity regeneration .

It can be seen from this that even if the flow path of the filter device is modified, the contaminant removal performance is not affected.

Rating 2

The regenerated amount of the filter device manufactured according to the examples and comparative examples is evaluated.

The regeneration amount evaluation was carried out using 0.1 M H ₂ SO ₄ supplied from the ion exchange part to the space between the ion exchange membrane and the electrodes The concentration of the contaminant discharged into the solution can be measured and performed.

The results are shown in Fig.

12 is a graph showing the regeneration amount per cycle in the case where adsorption and regeneration of the filter device manufactured according to the embodiment and the comparative example are performed four times.

Referring to FIG. 12, it can be seen that the filter apparatus manufactured according to the embodiment maintains a uniform regeneration amount every cycle, whereas the filter apparatus manufactured according to the comparative example has a lower regeneration amount in the initial cycle. These results show that the filter device fabricated according to the comparative example was mainly saturated with only the ion exchanger in the vicinity of the inlet in the initial cycle so that the regeneration efficiency was low. On the other hand, the filter device manufactured according to the embodiment, It is considered that the regeneration efficiency is high as a whole by showing a substantially uniform adsorption concentration.

While the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments, And falls within the scope of the invention.

10: Filter device 13, 13 ': Flow path
13a, 13a ': ion exchanger
13A: first flow path 13B: second flow path
14: cathode 20: anode
30: cathode

Claims (17)

The positive and negative electrodes facing each other,
A pair of cation exchange membranes disposed between the anode and the cathode,
A flow path extending between the pair of cation exchange membranes and extending along the flow direction from the inlet to the outlet,
The ion exchanger
Lt; / RTI >
Wherein the flow path has a shape in which the flow rate per cross-sectional area increases along the flow direction.
The method of claim 1,
Sectional area of the flow path on the discharge port side is smaller than the cross-sectional area of the flow path on the discharge port side.
3. The method of claim 2,
Wherein the cross-sectional area of the flow passage is continuously or discontinuously reduced along the flow direction.
4. The method of claim 3,
Wherein the flow path has a planar shape of any one of a trapezoidal shape, a bell shape, and a top shape.
4. The method of claim 3,
Wherein the flow path has a zigzag planar shape in which the cross-sectional area decreases along the flow direction.
4. The method of claim 3,
The flow path
A first flow path extending along the first flow direction, and
And a second flow path extending along a second flow direction different from the first flow direction,
Lt; / RTI >
Wherein the cross-sectional areas of the first flow path and the second flow path are respectively smaller along the first flow direction and the second flow direction
Filter device.
The method of claim 1,
Wherein the adsorption concentration of the ion exchanger is substantially uniform along the flow direction when the influent passes through the flow path.
The method of claim 1,
Wherein the anode and the cathode are formed of a material capable of inducing a water decomposition reaction.
The method of claim 1,
And the flow direction is perpendicular to a direction in which the anode and the cathode face each other.
The method of claim 1,
Wherein the filter device is used to soften the hard water.
The method of claim 1,
Wherein the filter device is used to soften inflow water having an ion concentration of at least 100 ppm or more.
A method of operating a filter device according to claim 1,
Passing inflow water containing ions to be removed along the flow path of the flow path to adsorb the ion to be removed to the ion exchanger; and
Applying a current to the anode and the cathode, and supplying water between the anode and the cathode to regenerate the ion exchanger
/ RTI >
The method of claim 12,
Wherein the current applied to the anode and the cathode is a current capable of inducing water decomposition.
The method of claim 13,
Wherein the step of adsorbing ions to the ion exchanger and the step of regenerating the ion exchanger are repeated two or more times,
Wherein the polarity of the current applied to the positive electrode and the negative electrode is reversed every time.
The method of claim 12,
Wherein the influent water has an ion concentration of at least 100 ppm or more.
The method of claim 12,
Wherein the flow direction and the direction in which the current is applied are perpendicular to each other.
The method of claim 12,
In the step of adsorbing ions to the ion exchanger
Wherein the adsorption concentration of the ion exchanger is substantially uniform along the flow direction.

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