RU2065764C1 - Membrane household device for producing drinking water - Google Patents

Abstract

FIELD: tap water purification. SUBSTANCE: device has vertical housing with upper and lower caps, coiled filtering member with filtrate-draining pipe, and carbon filter provided with outlet tube connected to purified water outlet pipeline. On the lower end of filtrate-draining pipe and on outside surface of the carbon filter outlet tube, bactericide agent bearing members are mounted in the form of rings, bushings, etc. Pipelines for entering tap water and withdrawing purified water are provided with back valves, and the latter pipeline incorporates filtering insertions made of open-pore material (for example, porous polyethylene) whose porosity is 30-80% and average pore size 20-120 mcm. The insertions are spaced at 40-150 mm to each other, and one of them is situated directly next to purified water outlet. Invention may also find use in food industry and medicine. EFFECT: eliminated emergence of microorganism colonies in dead spaces of device and pipelines. 3 cl, 1 dwg

Description

 The invention relates to apparatus for treating tap water to produce pure drinking-quality water and can be used in everyday life, in the food industry and in medicine.

 Known devices for this purpose of various designs, the main disadvantage of which is the ingestion and subsequent multiplication of microorganisms in the stagnant zones of the apparatus and / or on the surfaces of parts in contact with water, especially when its selection is stopped for a long period (24 hours). Various measures are being taken to prevent this process.

Known devices for treating tap water, which use a mesh metal fabric with a hard coating of silver with oligodynamic action against germ microbes [1]
Also known are devices containing a pre-filtering chamber with a bactericidal agent immobilized on a porous nozzle [2] as well as a device in which an activated carbon layer containing silver is formed at the inlet and outlet openings [3]
The closest in technical essence to the claimed device is a membrane household appliance for drinking water [4] selected as a prototype, including a vertical housing with covers, a coiled filter element with a filter tube and a charcoal filter on the filtrate line located coaxially inside it, pipelines for introducing water and for the removal of purified water and concentrate. The carbon filter contains porous (coal) or solid (for example, polyethylene granules) particles coated with a bactericidal agent (silver layer).

Known membrane household appliance has the following disadvantages:
the possibility of the formation of a sediment layer on the membrane of biological origin and the development of microorganisms in the stagnant zones of the device (from the inlet of tap water and the discharge of concentrate), which leads to a significant decrease in the productivity of the device and creates the danger of microorganisms entering clean water or even destroying the roll filter element;
the possibility of microorganisms entering the pipeline to drain clean water, especially when it stops being withdrawn and disconnected from the tap water line. In this case, the water located in the device’s body and in the pipeline almost completely flows out; moreover, after the pressure is removed due to relaxation of the membrane, a vacuum is created on the filtrate line, while on the inner surface of these parts, microorganisms can be fixed and further multiplied from the air.

 The task to which the claimed invention is directed is to prevent the formation of colonies of microorganisms in the stagnant zones of the apparatus and / or on the surfaces of parts in contact with water, especially when its selection is stopped for a long period.

 This is achieved by the fact that in a membrane household appliance for producing drinking water, including a vertical housing with lids, a roll filter element with a filter tube and a charcoal filter equipped with a pipe, sequentially arranged inside it, pipelines for introducing tap water and for draining purified water and concentrate moreover, the pipeline for the removal of purified water contains filter inserts of open-porous material with a bactericidal agent, and at the lower end of the filter tube and outside surface it coal filtrate outlet tube mounted elements with a bactericidal agent, pipelines for input of tap water and purified water outlet check valves are provided preventing the leakage of water from the internal cavity of the device when it is disconnected from the tap water line.

 The presence of water inside the device allows, firstly, to prevent the ingress of air and, with it, microbes into the device and, secondly, to ensure the distribution of the bactericidal agent over almost the entire volume of the membrane device due to the diffusion of the agent during the period during which the selection of pure water ( 24 hours).

 The bactericidal agent is placed in the inlet of tap water (on the surface of the elements installed on the filter outlet of the roll filter element) and in the pipeline for removing purified water (on the pore surface of open-porous material in the form of one or more inserts in this pipeline). As a bactericidal agent, silver is widely used in household appliances.

 Details (elements) of various forms convenient for manufacturing and subsequent assembly of the mold are placed on the filtrate outlet tube of the roll element, for example, in the form of closed rings, ring inserts, etc. the surface of which is covered with a layer of a bactericidal agent. The indicated shape of the products turned out to be the most convenient, although granules coated with a layer of a bactericidal agent and placed in the cavity of the device filled with tap water can also be used.

 In the cavity of the device, filled with clean water, a bactericidal agent is introduced in the form of a layer deposited on an open-porous material permeable to the water flow (filtering). The insert is placed inside the pipeline for the removal of purified water (the filter outlet pipe of the roll element is actually part of this pipeline) and may consist of separate sections (separate sections). As the open-porous material, a metal woven mesh, sintered ceramics or, in particular, porous polyethylene can be used, which is obtained by sintering granular polyethylene and a water-soluble salt, for example, potassium chloride. By changing the concentration of potassium chloride and the size of its particles, it is possible to obtain porous polyethylene of different porosity and different pore sizes. The surface of porous polyethylene is coated with silver from a solution of silver nitrate by the electrochemical method.

 These inserts of open-porous material are located inside the pipeline for the removal of purified water so that one of the inserts is located directly at the outlet of the purified water from the pipeline, and the rest is at a distance of 40-150 mm from each other.

 When the distance between the individual inserts decreases, the amount of open-porous material used increases, the total resistance of the pipeline to drain purified water increases, but the time to reach the required concentration of the bactericidal agent in the remaining water in the pipeline decreases.

 It was experimentally determined that to ensure the concentration of silver ions in the range of 0.05-0.5 mg / l in 24 hours, the distance between the individual inserts of open-porous material is 40-150 mm. The length of a separate insert from the conditions of ease of manufacture and its installation in the pipeline can be taken 1.5-3.0 diameter of the pipeline.

 One of the inserts is located directly at the outlet of the purified water from the pipeline, which ensures, firstly, an increased concentration of the bactericidal agent directly at the point of contact with air when the device is disconnected from the consumer, and secondly, due to the capillary effect in the pores of the open-porous material, a certain volume of water even if the check valve is unreliable. This creates an additional obstacle to the penetration of microbes from the air. From this, the role of the open-porous structure of the insert material, on the inner surface of the pores of which a layer of a bactericidal agent, is made clear.

 A decrease in pore size increases the insert resistance to the flow of purified water, and its increase reduces the indicated capillary effect in the pores and reduces the specific surface of the pores, i.e. the stock of the bactericidal agent located on it. Its amount provides a certain period of bactericidal action of the insert.

 It was experimentally found that for the manufacture of inserts in the pipeline for the removal of purified water, open-porous material with an average pore size of 20-120 μm should be used.

 The considered characteristics of an open-porous material (flow resistance and specific surface of pores) depend similarly on the general porosity of the material (ratio of pore volume to the total volume of an open-porous material sample). In addition, an increase in total porosity leads to a decrease in the strength of the insert itself.

It was experimentally determined that the most rational use of material with a porosity of 30-80%
The results of the experiments are shown in the table.

 The proposed technical solution will be clear from the following description and the attached drawing.

 The drawing shows a General view of the device.

In the drawing and in the text, the following notation:
1 building;
2 cover;
3 roll filter element;
4 carbon filtrate;
5 filter outlet pipe;
6 pipeline for the introduction of tap water;
7 pipeline for the removal of purified water;
8 pipeline for concentrate discharge;
9 check valve;
10 filter insert of open-porous material with a bactericidal agent;
11 element (insert, ring) with a bactericidal agent;
12 clamp;
13 union nut.

 The proposed membrane household device for producing drinking water consists of a housing 1 with caps 2, inside of which are coaxially arranged a roll filter element 3 with a filter tube 5, on which elements with a bactericidal agent 11 are installed on the side of the inlet water and the outlet of the purified water, and a carbon filter 4. The pipeline for entering tap water 6 is mounted in the bottom cover 2 and is equipped with a check valve 9, it is connected to the tap using a clamp 12 and a union nut 13. In the upper cover 2 is mounted The pipeline for drainage of concentrate 8 and the pipeline for drainage of purified water 7, also equipped with a non-return valve 9 and filter inserts with a bactericidal agent 10, are shown.

 The device operates as follows.

 Tap water through the pipeline for entering tap water 6 enters the membrane household appliance, where, passing first through the roll filter element 3, it is separated into a filtrate (purified water) and concentrate. The concentrate leaves through the pipeline to drain the concentrate 8, and the filtrate (purified water) through the filter pipe 5 enters the charcoal filter 4 for further treatment. Then the filtrate (purified water) through the pipeline to drain the purified water 7 is supplied to the consumer. After stopping the water withdrawal and disconnecting the membrane household appliance from the tap water line using the clamp 12 and the union nut 13, check valves 9 are activated that prevent water from flowing out of the internal cavities of the device and pipelines for entering tap water 6 and removing purified water 7. During the time, which stops the selection of clean water (24 hours), ensures the distribution of the bactericidal agent over almost the entire volume of the membrane device and the pipeline for the removal of purified water 7 due to the diffusion of the bactericidal Ghent (silver) from the surfaces of elements 11 mounted on filtrootvodyaschey tube 5 on the inlet side and tap water at the outlet of purified water and with 10 inserts the filter surfaces in the conduit for discharging the purified water 7.

1. The application of Germany N 3905164, 01 D 39 / 12,1990
2. US Patent N 5037547, C 02 F 1/44, 1992
3. Japanese application N 63-14676, C 02 F 1/28, 1988
Manual. Membrane household appliance "Rucheek", JSC "Polymersynthesis", Vladimir, 1993, the prototype. TTT1

Claims (3)

 1. Membrane household appliance for producing drinking water, comprising a vertical housing with caps and pipelines for introducing tap water and withdrawing concentrate and purified water, a roll filter element with a filtrate discharge tube and a charcoal filter provided with a discharge pipe connected to the discharge pipe, sequentially placed inside the housing purified water, characterized in that it is equipped with elements with a bactericidal agent located on the lower end of the filtrate outlet tube of the roll filter element and that on the outer surface of the escaping carbon filter tube of the filter insert open-cell material with a bactericidal agent placed inside the pipeline output of purified water and check valves disposed in ducts entering tap water and a concentrate output.  2. The membrane household appliance according to claim 1, characterized in that the filtering inserts are made of open-porous material with a porosity of 30 to 80% with an average pore size of 20 to 120 microns.  3. The membrane household appliance according to claim 1, characterized in that the filter inserts are placed at a distance of 40 150 mm from each other, and one of the inserts is located directly at the outlet of the purified water from the pipeline.

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