RU2768657C1 - Equipment for formation of liquid containing superfine bubbles and method for formation of liquid containing ultrafine bubbles - Google Patents

Abstract

FIELD: chemistry.

SUBSTANCE: present invention relates to equipment for formation of a liquid containing ultrafine bubbles and to a method for formation of a liquid containing ultrafine bubbles. Equipment includes a dissolution module which dissolves a predetermined gas in a liquid, a bubble formation module which forms bubbles with diameter less than 1 mcm in the liquid in which the predetermined gas is dissolved, a storage chamber for storing the liquid and a circulation control module. Control module provides for liquid circulation under the first condition in case the gas dissolution module is instructed to operate on the circulation route passing through the dissolution module. Control module provides circulation under the second condition in case the bubble formation module is instructed to operate on the circulation route passing through the bubble formation module. Second condition differs from the first condition.

EFFECT: technical result: efficient formation of liquid containing required gas with diameter less than 1 mcm.

40 cl, 41 dwg

Description

State of the art

The technical field to which the invention belongs

[0001] The present invention relates to equipment for forming an ultrafine bubble liquid and a method for forming an ultrafine bubble liquid.

Description of the prior art

[0002] Recently, technologies have been developed to exploit the properties of small bubbles such as microbubbles with a micrometer diameter and nanobubbles with a nanometer diameter. In particular, the utility of ultra-fine bubbles (hereinafter also referred to as "UFB") with a diameter of less than 1.0 μm has been confirmed in various fields of technology.

[0003] Japan Patent No. 6104201 discloses equipment in which a pressurized dissolution module that pressurizes a desired gas to dissolve it in a liquid, and a fine bubble forming module that emits liquid from a nozzle to form fine bubbles , are provided on an identical liquid circulation path to form fine bubbles of the desired gas at high concentration.

[0004] In the configuration of Japanese Patent No. 6104201, the dissolution of the desired gas and the formation of fine bubbles are performed simultaneously on an identical circulation path. In particular, the circulation condition such as liquid flow rate and pressure is identical in the pressurized dissolution step and the fine bubble formation step. However, the circulation condition suitable for dissolving the desired gas in the liquid and the circulation condition suitable for forming fine bubbles are not necessarily identical. In addition, these suitable circulation conditions vary independently of each other depending on the combination of liquid and gas to be used. Thus, with the configuration of Japanese Patent No. 6104201, it is not always possible to effectively form a liquid containing a fine bubble of a desired gas.

The essence of the invention

[0005] The present invention has been made to solve the above problem. Therefore, its purpose is to effectively form a liquid containing ultra-fine bubbles of the desired gas.

[0006] In a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided equipment for generating an ultrafine bubble liquid, comprising: a dissolution module that dissolves a predetermined gas in a liquid; an ultra-fine bubble forming module that generates ultra-fine bubbles in a liquid in which a predetermined gas is dissolved; and a circulation control module that controls liquid circulation along the liquid circulation paths including a dissolution module and an ultrafine bubble forming module, wherein the circulation control module circulates the liquid under a first condition that specifies the state of the liquid to be circulated along the circulation path, passing through the dissolution module, if the dissolution module is instructed to operate on the circulation path, and the circulation control module circulates the liquid under a second condition different from the first condition, along the circulation path passing through the ultra-fine bubble forming module, in the case of instructing the ultra-fine bubble formation module to operate on circulation route.

[0007] In a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for forming a liquid containing ultrafine bubbles, comprising: a dissolution step for dissolving a predetermined gas in the liquid; an ultra-fine bubble forming step for forming ultra-fine bubbles in a liquid in which a predetermined gas is dissolved; and a circulation control step for controlling the circulation of the liquid so as to circulate the liquid under the first condition, which specifies the state of the liquid to be circulated in the circulation path in which the dissolution step is performed, in the case of performing the dissolution step in the circulation path, and circulate the liquid under a second condition different from the first condition, along the circulation path in which the ultrafine bubble formation step is performed, in the case of performing the ultrafine bubble formation step in the circulation path.

[0008] Additional features of the present invention should become apparent from the following description of exemplary embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Brief description of the drawings

[0009] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of UFB forming equipment;

[0010] FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram of a preprocessing unit;

[0011] FIG. 3A and 3B are a schematic configuration diagram of a dissolution module and a diagram for describing liquid dissolution states;

[0012] FIG. 4 is a schematic configuration diagram of the T-UFB generation unit;

[0013] FIG. 5A and 5B are diagrams for describing the details of a heating element;

[0014] FIG. 6A and 6B are diagrams for describing film boiling states on a heating element;

[0015] FIG. 7A-7D are diagrams illustrating states of UFB formation caused by expansion of the resulting film boiling bubble;

[0016] FIG. 8A-8C are diagrams illustrating states of UFB formation caused by contraction of a resulting film boiling bubble;

[0017] FIG. 9A-9C are diagrams illustrating UFB formation states caused by liquid reheating;

[0018] FIG. 10A and 10B are diagrams illustrating UFB formation states caused by shock waves generated by the disappearance of a bubble formed by film boiling;

[0019] FIG. 11A-11C are diagrams illustrating an example of post-processing unit configurations;

[0020] FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram of a UFB-containing liquid generating equipment in the first embodiment;

[0021] FIG. 13 is a block diagram illustrating a control configuration in a UFB-containing liquid generation equipment;

[0022] FIG. 14 is a flowchart describing the steps for generating a UFB-containing liquid in the first embodiment;

[0023] FIG. 15 is a schematic diagram of a UFB-containing liquid generating equipment in the second embodiment;

[0024] FIG. 16 is a flowchart describing the steps of forming a UFB-containing liquid in the second embodiment;

[0025] FIG. 17 is a flowchart describing a modification of the second embodiment;

[0026] FIG. 18 is a schematic configuration diagram of the UFB-containing liquid generating equipment in the third embodiment;

[0027] FIG. 19 is a flowchart describing the steps of forming a UFB-containing liquid in the third embodiment;

[0028] FIG. 20 is a schematic configuration diagram of a UFB-containing liquid generating equipment in the fourth embodiment;

[0029] FIG. 21 is a flowchart describing the steps of forming a UFB-containing liquid in the fourth embodiment;

[0030] FIG. 22 is a flowchart describing a modification of the fourth embodiment;

[0031] FIG. 23 is a schematic configuration diagram of the UFB-containing liquid generating equipment in the fifth embodiment;

[0032] FIG. 24 is a schematic configuration diagram of a UFB-containing liquid generating equipment in the sixth embodiment;

[0033] FIG. 25 is a flowchart describing the steps of forming a UFB-containing liquid in the sixth embodiment;

[0034] FIG. 26 is a circuit configuration diagram describing a modification of the UFB-containing liquid generation equipment in the sixth embodiment;

[0035] FIG. 27 is a schematic diagram of a UFB-containing liquid generating equipment in the seventh embodiment; And

[0036] FIG. 28 is a flowchart describing the steps for generating a UFB-containing liquid in the seventh embodiment.

Detailed description of embodiments

UFB Forming Equipment Configuration

[0037] FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of the UFB forming equipment applicable to the present invention. The UFB forming equipment 1 of this embodiment includes a pre-treatment module 100, a dissolution module 200, a T-UFB forming module 300, a post-processing module 400, and a collector module 500. Each module performs unique processing for a liquid W such as tap water, supplied to the pre-treatment module 100 in the above order, and such treated liquid W is collected as a T-UFB-containing liquid by the manifold module 500. Functions and configurations of the modules are described below. Although details are described below, UFBs formed by using film boiling caused by rapid heating are referred to as thermal ultra-fine bubbles (T-UFBs) in this detailed description.

[0038] FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram of the pre-processing unit 100. The pre-treatment unit 100 of this embodiment performs degassing processing for the supplied liquid W. The pre-treatment unit 100 mainly includes a degassing container 101, a shower head 102, a pressure relief pump 103, a liquid introduction passage 104, a liquid circulation passage 105 and passage 106 for the release of liquid. For example, a liquid W such as tap water is supplied to the degassing container 101 from the liquid introduction passage 104 through the valve 109. In this process, the shower head 102 provided in the degassing container 101 sprays a slurry of liquid W in the degassing container 101 . The shower head 102 serves to cause gasification of the liquid W; however, centrifuge etc. . can be used instead as a mechanism to generate the effect of inducing gasification.

[0039] When a certain volume of liquid W is reserved in the degassing container 101, and then the pressure relief pump 103 is activated when all valves are closed, the already gasified gas components are discharged, and the gasification and discharge of the gas components dissolved in the liquid W is also caused. In this process, the internal pressure of the degassing container 101 can be depressurized to approximately several hundred thousand Pa (1.0 to 10.0 mmHg) by checking the pressure gauge 108. The gases to be removed by the pretreatment module 100, include, for example, nitrogen, oxygen, argon, carbon dioxide, etc.

[0040] The above-described degassing processing can be repeatedly performed for the same liquid W by using the passage 105 for circulating the liquid. In particular, the shower head 102 is operated when the valve 109 of the fluid passage 104 and the valve 110 of the fluid outlet 106 are closed and the valve 107 of the fluid circulation passage 105 is open. This makes it possible to re-spray the liquid W reserved in the degassing container 101 and degassed once in the degassing container 101 from the shower head 102. In addition, when the pressure release pump 103 is operated, the gasification processing by the shower head 102 and the degassing processing by the pump 103 are repeatedly performed for the same liquid W. Each time the above processing using the liquid circulation passage 105 is performed repeatedly, it is possible to reduce the gas components contained in the liquid W step by step. After the liquid W, degassed to the desired purity, is obtained, the liquid W is transferred to the dissolution module 200 through the liquid outlet passage 106 when the valve 110 is opened.

[0041] FIG. 2 illustrates a degassing module 100 that depressurizes the gas portion to gasify the dissolved component; however, the method for degassing the solution is not limited to this. For example, a heating and boiling method for boiling liquid W to gasify the dissolved component, or a film degassing method for increasing the interface between liquid and gas using hollow fibers can be used. The SEPAREL series (manufactured by DIC Corporation) is marketed as a hollow fiber degassing module. The SEPAREL series machine uses poly(4-methylpentene-1) (PMP) for the raw material of hollow fibers and is used to remove air bubbles from ink and the like, mainly supplied to the piezo head. In addition, two or more of the vacuum method, the heating and boiling method, and the film degassing method may be used together.

[0042] FIG. 3A and 3B are a schematic configuration diagram of the dissolution module 200 and a diagram for describing liquid dissolution states. The dissolution module 200 is a module for dissolving the desired gas in the liquid W supplied from the pretreatment module 100 . The dissolution module 200 of this embodiment mainly includes a dissolution container 201, a rotation shaft 203 containing a rotation plate 202, a liquid introduction passage 204, a gas introduction passage 205, a liquid discharge passage 206, and a pressurization pump 207.

[0043] The liquid W supplied from the pretreatment module 100 is supplied and reserved in the dissolution container 201 through the liquid introduction passage 204 . Meanwhile, the gas G is supplied to the dissolution container 201 through the gas introduction passage 205 .

[0044] After predetermined volumes of liquid W and gas G are reserved in the dissolution container 201, the pressurization pump 207 is activated to increase the internal pressure of the dissolution container 201 to about 0.5 MPa. A safety valve 208 is placed between the pressurization pump 207 and the dissolution container 201. When the liquid rotation plate 202 rotates through the rotation shaft 203, the gas G supplied to the dissolution container 201 is converted into air bubbles, and the contact area between the gas G and the liquid W increases to cause dissolution in the liquid W. This operation continues until until the solubility of the gas G reaches almost the maximum solubility at saturation. In this case, a liquid temperature reducing unit may be provided in order to dissolve the gas as much as possible. When the gas has low solubility, it is also possible to increase the internal pressure of the dissolution container 201 to 0.5 MPa or higher. In this case, the material, etc. container should be optimal for safety.

[0045] After the liquid W, in which the components of the gas G are dissolved in the required concentration, is obtained, the liquid W is discharged through the liquid outlet passage 206 and supplied to the T-UFB forming unit 300. In this process, the backpressure control valve 209 controls the pressure in the liquid stream W to prevent excessive pressure increase during supply.

[0046] FIG. 3B is a diagram principally illustrating the dissolution states of the gas G placed in the dissolution container 201. The air bubble 2, containing the components of the gas G placed in the liquid W, dissolves from the fragment in contact with the liquid W. The air bubble 2 is thereby gradually compressed, and the dissolved gas liquid 3 then appears around the air bubble 2. Since the air bubble 2 is affected by means of buoyancy, the air bubble 2 can move to a position at a great distance from the center of the dissolved gas liquid 3 or separate from the dissolved gas liquid 3 so that it becomes a residual air bubble 4. Particularly in the liquid W to be supplied to the module 300 T-UFB formation through the liquid discharge passage 206, mixing of air bubbles 2 surrounded by dissolved gas liquids 3 and air bubbles 2 and dissolved gas liquids 3 separated from each other occurs.

[0047] Dissolved gas liquid 3 in the drawings means "a region of liquid W in which the concentration for dissolving gas G mixed therein is relatively high." In the gas components actually dissolved in the liquid W, the concentration of the gas components in the liquid 3 with the dissolved gas is the highest in the fragment surrounding the air bubble 2. If the liquid 3 with the dissolved gas is separated from the air bubble 2, the concentration of the gas components of the liquid gas is greatest in the center of the region, and the concentration continuously decreases with distance from the center. In other words, although the dissolved gas liquid 3 region is surrounded by the dotted line in FIG. 3 for clarification, such a clear boundary does not actually exist. In addition, in the present invention, a gas that cannot be completely dissolved can be recognized as existing in the form of an air bubble in the liquid.

[0048] FIG. 4 is a schematic configuration diagram of the T-UFB generation unit 300. The T-UFB forming unit 300 mainly includes a chamber 301, a liquid introduction passage 302, and a liquid discharge passage 303. The flow from the fluid introduction passage 302 to the fluid discharge passage 303 through the chamber 301 is formed by an unillustrated flow pump. Various pumps including diaphragm pump, gear pump and screw pump can be used as a flow pump. The liquid W introduced from the liquid introduction passage 302 is mixed with the dissolved gas liquid 3 for the gas G placed by the dissolution module 200 .

[0049] The element layer substrate 12 containing the heating element 10 is placed in the lower section of the chamber 301. By applying a predetermined voltage pulse to the heating element 10, the bubble 13 formed by film boiling (hereinafter, also referred to as "generated film boiling bubble 13") is formed in the area in contact with the heating element 10. Then, an ultrafine bubble (UFB) 11 containing gas G is formed by expansion and contraction of the resulting film boiling bubble 13. As a result, containing UFB the liquid W containing the plurality of UFBs 11 is discharged from the liquid discharge port 303 .

[0050] FIG. 5A and 5B are diagrams for illustrating the detailed configuration of the heating element 10. FIG. 5A illustrates a close-up view of the heating element 10, and FIG. 5B illustrates a cross-sectional view of a wider area of the element layer substrate 12 including the heating element 10.

[0051] As illustrated in FIG. 5A, in the element layer substrate 12 of this embodiment, a thermal oxide film 305 as a heat storage layer and an interlayer film 306 also serving as a heat storage layer are layered on the surface of the silicon substrate 304. A SiO2-based film or a SiN-based film can be used in as the interlayer film 306. The resistive layer 307 is formed on the surface of the interlayer film 306, and the interconnect 308 is partially formed on the surface of the resistive layer 307. The aluminum alloy interconnect Al, SiAl, CuAl, and the like. can be used as the interconnect 308. A protective layer 309 made of a SiO2 based film or a Si3N4 based film is formed on the surfaces of the interconnect 308, the resistive layer 307, and the interlayer film 306.

[0052] A cavitation-resistant film 310 for protecting the protective layer 309 from chemical and physical attack due to the heat generated by the resistive layer 307 is formed on and around the fragment on the surface of the protective layer 309, and the fragment corresponds to the thermal fragment 311, which ultimately becomes the heating element 10. The area on the surface of the resistive layer 307 in which the interconnect 308 is not formed is a heat-generating fragment 311 in which the resistive layer 307 generates heat. The heating piece of the resistive layer 307, on which the interconnect 308 is not formed, functions as the heating element 10 (heater). As described above, the layers in the cell layer substrate 12 are successively formed on the surface of the silicon substrate 304 by a semiconductor fabrication technique, and the heat-acting piece 311 is thereby provided on the silicon substrate 304.

[0053] The configuration illustrated in the drawings is an example, and various other configurations are applicable. For example, a configuration in which the layering order of the resistive layer 307 and the interconnect 308 is reversed, and a configuration in which an electrode is connected to the bottom surface of the resistive layer 307 (so-called "insertion-electrode-based configuration") are applicable. In other words, as described below, any configuration can be applied as long as the configuration allows the heat-acting portion 311 to heat the liquid to form film boiling in the liquid.

[0054] FIG. 5B is an example of a cross-sectional view of a region including a circuit connected to the interconnect 308 in the element layer substrate 12. The n-well region 322 and the p-well region 323 are partially provided in the top layer of the silicon substrate 304, which is a p-channel conductor. The PMOS 320 is formed in the n-type well region 322, and the NMOS 321 is formed in the p-type well region 323 by introducing and diffusing impurities through ion implantation and the like. in the general MOS process.

[0055] The PMOS 320 includes a source region 325 and a drain region 326 formed by partially introducing n-type or p-type impurities into the top layer of the n-type well region 322, the gate interconnect 335, and so on. The gate interconnect 335 is deposited on a portion of the upper surface of the n-pocket region 322, excluding the source region 325 and the drain region 326, with a gate insulating film 328 with a thickness of several hundred Å placed between the gate interconnect 335 and the upper surface of the n-well region 322. type.

[0056] The NMOS 321 includes a source region 325 and a drain region 326 formed by partially introducing n-type or p-type impurities into the top layer of the p-well region 323, the gate interconnect 335, and so on. The gate interconnect 335 is deposited on a portion of the upper surface of the p-well region 323, excluding the source region 325 and the drain region 326, with a gate insulating film 328 with a thickness of several hundred Å placed between the gate interconnect 335 and the upper surface of the p-well region 323. type. The gate interconnect 335 is made of polycrystalline silicon with a thickness of 3000-5000 Å deposited by the CVD method. CMOS logic is constructed using PMOS 320 and NMOS 321.

[0057] In the p-type pocket region 323, the NMOS transistor 330 for driving the electrothermal conversion element (heating resistive element) is formed on a portion other than the portion including the NMOS 321. The NMOS transistor 330 includes a region 332 a source and a drain region 331 partially provided in the top layer of the p-type pocket region 323 by the steps of introducing and diffusing impurities, a gate interconnect 333, and so on. The gate interconnect 333 is deposited on a part of the upper surface of the p-pocket region 323, excluding the source region 332 and the drain region 331, while the gate insulating film 328 is placed between the gate interconnect 333 and the upper surface of the p-pocket region 323.

[0058] In this example, the NMOS transistor 330 is used as a transistor to drive the electrothermal conversion element. However, the driving transistor is not limited to the NMOS transistor 330, and any transistor can be used as long as the transistor is capable of driving multiple electrothermal conversion elements separately and can realize the above-described precise configuration. Although the electrothermal conversion element and the transistor for driving the electrothermal conversion element are formed on the same substrate in this example, they may be formed on different substrates separately.

[0059] The oxide film separation region 324 is formed by oxidation to form a protective oxide coating with a thickness of 5000-10000 Å between the elements, for example, between the PMOS 320 and the NMOS 321 and between the NMOS 321 and the NMOS transistor 330. The oxide film separation region 324 separates elements. A portion of the oxide film separation region 324 corresponding to the heat-inducing portion 311 functions as the heat storage layer 334, which is the first layer on the silicon substrate 304.

[0060] An interlayer insulating film 336 including a PSG film, a BPSG film, and the like. with a thickness of approximately 7000 Å, is formed by the CVD method on each surface of elements such as PMOS 320, NMOS 321 and NMOS transistor 330. After the interlayer insulating film 336 is made flat by heat treatment, the aluminum electrode 337 as the the interconnect layer is formed in the contact cavity penetrating through the interlayer insulating film 336 and the gate insulating film 328 . On the surfaces of the interlayer insulating film 336 and the aluminum electrode 337, an interlayer insulating film 338 including a SiO2-based film with a thickness of 10,000-15,000 Å is formed by a CVD plasma method. On the surface of the interlayer insulating film 338, a resistive layer 307 including a TaSiN-based film with a thickness of about 500 Å is formed by a sputtering method on fragments corresponding to the heat-acting fragment 311 and the NMOS transistor 330. The resistive layer 307 is electrically connected to the aluminum electrode 337 near the drain area 331 through the through cavity formed in the interlayer insulating film 338. On the surface of the resistive layer 307, an Al interconnect 308 is formed as a second interconnect layer for interconnecting with each electrothermal converting element. The protective layer 309 on the surfaces of the interconnect 308, the resistive layer 307, and the interlayer insulating film 338 includes a SiN-based film with a thickness of 3000 Å formed by a CVD plasma method. The cavitation resistant film 310 deposited on the surface of the protective layer 309 includes a thin film with a thickness of approximately 2000 Å, which is at least one metal selected from the group consisting of Ta, Fe, Ni, Cr, Ge, Ru, Zr, Ir, etc. Various materials other than the above-described TaSiN, such as TaN0.8, CrSiN, TaAl, WSiN, and the like, can be used as long as the material can form film boiling in the liquid.

[0061] FIG. 6A and 6B are diagrams illustrating film boiling states when a predetermined voltage pulse is applied to the heating element 10. In this case, a case of formation of film boiling at atmospheric pressure is described. In FIG. 6A, the horizontal axis represents time. The vertical axis in the lower graph represents the voltage applied to the heating element 10, and the vertical axis in the upper graph represents the volume and internal pressure of the resulting film boiling bubble 13 formed by film boiling. On the other hand, Fig. 6B illustrates the states of the resulting film boiling bubble 13 in association with times 1-3 shown in FIG. 6A. Each of the conditions is described below in chronological order. The UFBs 11 formed by film boiling as described below are mainly formed near the surface of the resulting film boiling bubble 13. The states illustrated in FIG. 6B are states in which the UFB 11 formed by the formation module 300 is re-supplied to the dissolution module 200 through the circulation path, and the liquid containing the UFB 11 is re-supplied to the liquid passage of the formation module 300, as illustrated in FIG. one.

[0062] Before the voltage is applied to the heating element 10, atmospheric pressure is actually maintained in the chamber 301. After the voltage is applied to the heating element 10, film boiling is formed in the liquid in contact with the heating element 10, and such an air bubble formed (hereinafter referred to as "film boiling bubble 13") is expanded by high pressure acting from within (time 1). The bubble pressure in this process is expected to be approximately 8-10 MPa, which is a value close to the saturation vapor pressure of water.

[0063] The time for voltage application (pulse width) is approximately 0.5-10.0 μs, and the resulting film boiling bubble 13 expands by the inertia of the pressure obtained at time 1 even after the voltage is applied. However, the negative pressure formed by expansion gradually increases in the resulting film boiling bubble 13, and the negative pressure acts in such a direction as to compress the resulting film boiling bubble 13. After a while, the volume of the resulting film boiling the bubble 13 becomes maximum at time 2 when the inertial force and the negative pressure are balanced, and thereafter, the resulting film boiling bubble 13 is compressed rapidly by the negative pressure.

[0064] When the film boiling bubble 13 disappears, the film boiling bubble 13 does not disappear over the entire surface of the heating element 10, but in one or more extremely small areas. For this reason, on the heating element 10, an even greater force than the bubbling force at time 1 is generated in an extremely small area in which the bubble 13 generated by film boiling disappears (time 3).

[0065] The formation, expansion, contraction and disappearance of the resulting film boiling bubble 13 as described above are repeated each time a voltage pulse is applied to the heating element 10, and new UFBs 11 are formed each time.

[0066] The formation states of the UFB 11 in each process of formation, expansion, contraction, and disappearance of the resulting film boiling bubble 13 are described in more detail with reference to FIG. 7A-10B.

[0067] FIG. 7A to 7D are diagrams principally illustrating the formation states of the UFB 11 caused by the formation and expansion of the resulting film boiling bubble 13. FIG. 7A illustrates the state before applying the voltage pulse to the heating element 10. The liquid W, in which the liquids 3 are mixed with the dissolved gas, flows in the chamber 301.

[0068] FIG. 7B illustrates a state in which a voltage is applied to the heating element 10, and the resulting film boiling bubble 13 is uniformly formed over almost the entire length of the area of the heating element 10 in contact with the liquid W. When the voltage is applied, the surface temperature of the heating element 10 rapidly increases at a rate of 10°C/µs. Film boiling occurs at a point in time when the temperature reaches almost 300° C., and the resulting film boiling bubble 13 is thereby formed.

[0069] Thereafter, the surface temperature of the heating element 10 continues to increase to approximately 600-800°C during the application of the pulse, and the liquid around the resulting film boiling bubble 13 is also rapidly heated. In FIG. 7B, the region of the liquid which is around the resulting film boiling bubble 13 and is to be rapidly heated is indicated as the still non-bubble high temperature region 14. The dissolved gas liquid 3 in the high temperature region 14 still without bubbling exceeds the thermal dissolution limit and evaporates, so that it becomes UFB. Such evaporated air bubbles have diameters of approximately 10-100 nm and high gas-liquid interface energy. Thus, the air bubbles float independently in the liquid W without disappearing in a short time. In this embodiment, the air bubbles formed by the formation to expansion thermal action of the resulting film boiling bubble 13 are referred to as "first UFB 11A".

[0070] FIG. 7C illustrates a state in which the resulting film boiling bubble 13 expands. Even after applying a voltage pulse to the heating element 10, the resulting film boiling bubble 13 continues to expand by the inertia of the force obtained by virtue of its formation, and the high temperature region 14 still without bubbling also moves and spreads by the inertia. In particular, in the expansion process of the bubble 13 formed as a result of film boiling, the dissolved gas liquid 3 in the high temperature region 14 evaporates without bubbling as a new air bubble and becomes the first UFB 11A.

[0071] FIG. 7D illustrates a state in which the resulting film boiling bubble 13 has a maximum volume. As the film boiling bubble 13 expands by inertia, the negative pressure in the film boiling bubble 13 gradually increases along with the expansion, and the negative pressure acts so as to compress the film boiling bubble 13. B the point in time when the negative pressure and the inertial force are balanced, the volume of the resulting film boiling bubble 13 becomes the maximum, and then the compression starts.

[0072] In the compression step of the resulting film boiling bubble 13, there are UFBs formed by the processes illustrated in FIG. 8A-8C (second UFBs 11B), and UFBs formed by the processes illustrated in FIG. 9A-9C (third UFB 11C). These two processes are considered to run simultaneously.

[0073] FIG. 8A-8C are diagrams illustrating the formation states of the UFB 11 caused by contraction of the resulting film boiling bubble 13. FIG. 8A illustrates a state in which the resulting film boiling bubble 13 begins to shrink. Although the resulting film boiling bubble 13 begins to shrink, the surrounding liquid W still has a force of inertia in the direction of expansion. Because of this, the inertial force acting in the direction away from the heating element 10 and the force passing to the heating element 10 caused by the contraction of the resulting film boiling bubble 13 act in the surrounding area extremely close to the resulting film boiling bubble 13 , and the area is depressurized. The region is indicated in the drawings as the negative pressure region 15 without bubbling yet.

[0074] The dissolved gas liquid 3 in the negative pressure region 15 still without bubbling exceeds the pressure dissolution limit and evaporates, so that it becomes an air bubble. Such evaporated air bubbles have diameters of approximately 100 nm and thereafter float independently in the liquid W without disappearing in a short time. In this embodiment, the air bubbles evaporating by the push action during compression of the resulting film boiling bubble 13 are referred to as "second UFB 11B".

[0075] FIG. 8B illustrates the contraction process of the resulting film boiling bubble 13. The contraction rate of the resulting film boiling bubble 13 is increased by the negative pressure, and the negative pressure region 15 without bubbles also moves along with the contraction of the resulting film boiling bubble 13. In particular, , in the process of compressing the bubble 13 formed as a result of film boiling, liquids 3 with dissolved gas in the part above the negative pressure region 15 precipitate one after another without bubbling and become the second UFB 11B.

[0076] FIG. 8C illustrates the state immediately before the disappearance of the resulting film boiling bubble 13. Although the moving speed of the surrounding liquid W is also increased by accelerated contraction of the resulting film boiling bubble 13, pressure loss occurs due to flow resistance in the chamber 301. As a result, the area occupied by the the negative pressure region 15 still without bubbling further increases and a certain number of second UFBs 11B is formed.

[0077] FIG. 9A-9C are diagrams illustrating states of formation of UFB by reheating the liquid W at the time of contraction of the resulting film boiling bubble 13. FIG. 9A illustrates a state in which the surface of the heating element 10 is covered by the compressed film boiling bubble 13.

[0078] FIG. 9B illustrates a state in which contraction of the resulting film boiling bubble 13 continues and part of the surface of the heating element 10 comes into contact with the liquid W. In this state, heat remains on the surface of the heating element 10, but the temperature is not high enough to cause to film boiling even if the liquid W comes into contact with the surface. The region of the liquid which is to be heated by coming into contact with the surface of the heating element 10 is indicated in the drawings as the reheated region 16 still without bubbling. Although film boiling is not carried out, the dissolved gas liquid 3 in the reheated region 16 still without bubbling exceeds the thermal dissolution limit and evaporates. In this embodiment, the air bubbles formed by reheating the liquid W at the time of contraction of the resulting film boiling bubble 13 are referred to as "third UFB 11C".

[0079] FIG. 9C illustrates a state in which contraction of the resulting film boiling bubble 13 is further continued. The smaller the film boiling bubble 13, the larger the area of the heating element 10 in contact with the liquid W, and third UFBs 11C are formed until the film boiling bubble 13 disappears.

[0080] FIG. 10A and 10B are diagrams illustrating UFB formation states caused by the effect of disappearance effect of the film boiling resulting bubble 13 formed by film boiling (i.e., cavitation type). Fig. 10A illustrates the state immediately before the disappearance of the film boiling bubble 13. In this state, the film boiling bubble 13 is rapidly compressed by the internal negative pressure, and the negative pressure region 15 surrounds the film boiling bubble 13 without bubbles yet.

[0081] FIG. 10B illustrates the state immediately after the film boiling bubble 13 disappears at the point P. When the film boiling bubble 13 disappears, the acoustic waves pulsate concentrically from the P point as the start point due to the influence of the disappearance. Acoustic wave is the collective term for an elastic wave that propagates through everything, whether it be gas, liquid or solid. In this embodiment, the compression waves of the fluid W, which are the high pressure surface 17A and the low pressure surface 17B of the fluid W, propagate alternately.

[0082] In this case, the dissolved gas liquid 3 in the negative pressure region 15 still without bubbling resonates by shock waves generated by the disappearance of the resulting film boiling bubble 13, and the dissolved gas liquid 3 exceeds the pressure dissolution limit, and the phase transition is performed at a time when the low pressure surface 17B passes through it. In particular, a certain number of air bubbles evaporate in the negative pressure region 15 without bubbling yet, simultaneously with the disappearance of the resulting film boiling bubble 13. In this embodiment, the air bubbles formed by the shock waves generated by the disappearance of the resulting film boiling bubble 13 , are called "fourth UFB 11D".

[0083] The fourth UFBs 11D formed by the shock waves generated by the disappearance of the resulting film boiling bubble 13 suddenly appear in an extremely short time (1 μs or less) in an extremely narrow region in the form of a thin film. The diameter is significantly less than the diameter of the first-third UFBs, and the energy of the gas-liquid interface is higher than the energy of the gas-liquid interface of the first-third UFBs. For this reason, the fourth UFBs 11D are considered to have different characteristics with respect to the first to third UFBs 11A to 11C and form different effects.

[0084] Additionally, the fourth UFBs 11D are uniformly formed in many parts of the area of the concentric sphere in which shock waves propagate, and the fourth UFBs 11D uniformly exist in the chamber 301 by virtue of their formation. Although a number of first-third UFBs already exist at the time of formation of fourth UFBs 11D, the presence of first-third UFBs does not significantly affect the formation of fourth UFBs 11D. It is also believed that the first or third UFBs do not disappear due to the formation of the fourth UFBs 11D.

[0085] As described above, it is assumed that the UFB 11 are formed in several stages from the formation to the disappearance of the resulting film boiling bubble 13 by generating heat from the heating element 10. The first UFB 11A, the second UFB 11B and the third UFB 11C are formed near the surface of the resulting film boiling. the result of film boiling of a bubble formed by film boiling. In this case, "about" means a region within about 20 µm of the surface of the resulting film boiling bubble. Fourth UFB 11D are formed in the area through which the shock waves propagate when the air bubble disappears. Although the above example illustrates the steps until the resulting film boiling bubble 13 disappears, the UFB formation method is not limited to this. For example, when the formed film boiling bubble 13 communicates with atmospheric air before the disappearance of the bubbles, UFBs can also be generated if the film boiling bubble 13 does not reach disappearance.

[0086] The remaining properties of the UFB are described next. The higher the liquid temperature, the lower the dissolution properties of the gas components, and the lower the temperature, the higher the dissolution properties of the gas components. In other words, a phase change of the dissolved gas components is induced and the formation of UFB becomes easier as the temperature of the liquid becomes higher. The temperature of a liquid and the solubility of a gas are inversely related, and the gas that exceeds the saturation solubility is converted into air bubbles and appears in the liquid as the temperature of the liquid increases.

[0087] Therefore, when the temperature of the liquid rapidly increases from the normal temperature, the dissolution properties decrease without stopping, and the formation of UFB begins. The thermal dissolution properties decrease as the temperature increases and a certain amount of UFB is formed.

[0088] On the other hand, when the temperature of the liquid decreases from the normal temperature, the dissolution properties of the gas increase, and the formed UFBs are more likely to liquefy. However, such a temperature is substantially lower than the normal temperature. Additionally, since after formation, UFBs have a high internal pressure and a high gas-liquid interface energy, even when the temperature of the liquid is reduced, it is very unlikely that a high enough pressure is applied to rupture such a gas-liquid interface. In other words, once formed, the UFBs do not easily disappear as long as the liquid is maintained at normal temperature and normal pressure.

[0089] In this embodiment, the first UFBs 11A described in FIG. 7A-7C and the third UFBs 11C described in FIG. 9A-9C may be described as UFBs that are formed by exploiting such gas thermal dissolution properties.

[0090] On the other hand, in the relationship between pressure and liquid dissolution properties, the higher the liquid pressure, the higher the gas dissolution properties, and the lower the pressure, the lower the dissolution properties. In other words, a phase change to a gas of a gas-dissolved liquid dissolved in a liquid is caused, and the formation of UFB becomes easier as the pressure of the liquid is lower. Once the liquid pressure falls below normal pressure, the dissolution properties immediately decrease and UFB formation begins. The push dissolution properties decrease as the pressure decreases and a certain amount of UFB is formed.

[0091] On the other hand, when the pressure of the liquid is increased such that it is higher than the normal pressure, the dissolution properties of the gas are increased and the formed UFBs are more likely to liquefy. However, this pressure is significantly higher than atmospheric pressure. Additionally, since after formation, UFBs have a high internal pressure and a high gas-liquid interface energy, even when the liquid pressure is increased, it is very unlikely that a high enough pressure is applied to rupture such a gas-liquid interface. In other words, once formed, the UFBs do not easily disappear as long as the liquid is maintained at normal temperature and normal pressure.

[0092] In this embodiment, the second UFBs 11B described in FIG. 8A-8C and the fourth UFBs 11D described in FIG. 10A-10B can be described as UFBs that are formed by using such pressurized gas dissolution properties.

[0093] These first to fourth UFBs formed through various causes are described separately above; however, the formation causes described above occur simultaneously with the film boiling event. Thus, at least two types of first-fourth UFBs may be formed simultaneously, and these formation causes may interact to form UFBs. It should be noted that the common practice is that all causes of formation are caused by changing the volume of the resulting film boiling bubble formed by the film boiling phenomenon. In this detailed description, a method for forming UFB by using film boiling caused by rapid heating as described above is referred to as a method for forming thermal ultra-fine bubbles (T-UFB). Further, UFBs formed by the T-UFB forming method are referred to as T-UFBs, and a liquid containing T-UFBs formed by the T-UFB forming method is referred to as a T-UFB containing liquid.

[0094] Almost all of the air bubbles formed by the T-UFB forming method are 1.0 µm or less, and it is unlikely that millibubbles and microbubbles are formed. In other words, the T-UFB generation method allows for dominant and efficient UFB formation. Further, T-UFBs formed by the T-UFB forming method have a larger gas-liquid interface energy than that of UFBs formed by the conventional method, and T-UFBs do not disappear easily under the condition of storage at normal temperature and normal pressure. In addition, even if new T-UFBs are formed by new film boiling, it is possible to prevent the already formed T-UFBs from disappearing due to the influence due to the new formation. In other words, it can be said that the number and concentration of T-UFB contained in the T-UFB-containing liquid have hysteresis properties depending on the number of times film boiling is carried out in the T-UFB-containing liquid. In other words, it is possible to control the concentration of T-UFB contained in the T-UFB-containing liquid by controlling the number of heating elements provided in the T-UFB forming unit 300 and the number of applications of a voltage pulse to the heating elements.

[0095] Referring again to FIG. 1. After the T-UFB-containing liquid W with the desired UFB concentration is formed in the T-UFB forming unit 300, the UFB-containing liquid W is supplied to the post-processing unit 400.

[0096] FIG. 11A-11C are diagrams illustrating configuration examples of the post-processing unit 400 of this embodiment. The post-processing module 400 of this embodiment removes impurities in the UFB-containing liquid W step by step in order from inorganic ions, organics, and insoluble solids.

[0097] FIG. 11A illustrates a first post-processing engine 410 that removes inorganic ions. The first post-treatment mechanism 410 includes an exchange container 411, cation exchange resins 412, a fluid introduction passage 413, a collection pipe 414, and a fluid outlet passage 415. The exchange container 411 stores the cation exchange resins 412. The UFB-containing liquid W formed by the T-UFB forming unit 300 is injected into the exchange container 411 through the liquid introduction passage 413, and absorbed in the cation exchange resins 412 so that cations as impurities are removed. Such impurities include metal materials exfoliated from the element layer substrate 12 of the T-UFB forming unit 300, such as SiO ₂ , SiN, SiC, Ta, Al ₂ O ₃ , Ta ₂ O ₅ , and Ir.

[0098] Cation exchange resins 412 are synthetic resins in which a functional group (ion exchange group) is introduced in a high polymer matrix having a three-dimensional network, and the appearance of the synthetic resins is spherical particles of approximately 0.4-0.7 mm. The overall high polymer matrix is a copolymer of styrene and divinylbenzene, and the functional group may be, for example, a functional group from the methacrylic acid series and the acrylic acid series. However, the above material is an example. As long as the material can effectively remove the required inorganic ions, the above material can be changed to various materials. The UFB-containing liquid W absorbed in the cation exchange resins 412 to remove inorganic ions is collected by the collection pipe 414 and carried to the next stage through the liquid discharge passage 415.

[0099] FIG. 11B illustrates a second post-processing engine 420 that removes organic matter. The second post-processing mechanism 420 includes a storage container 421, a filter filter 422, a vacuum pump 423, a valve 424, a fluid introduction port 425, a liquid outlet port 426, and an air intake port 427. The inside of the storage container 421 is divided into an upper and a lower two regions by a filtration filter 422. The liquid introduction passage 425 is connected to the upper region of the upper and lower two regions, and the air intake passage 427 and the liquid discharge passage 426 are connected to the lower region. . After the vacuum pump 423 is driven when the valve 424 is closed, the air in the storage container 421 is discharged through the air suction passage 427 to set the pressure inside the storage container 421 as a negative pressure, and the UFB-containing liquid W is then injected from passage 425 for the introduction of fluid. Then, the UFB-containing liquid W, from which impurities are removed by the filtration filter 422, is reserved in the storage container 421 .

[0100] The impurities removed by the filtration filter 422 include organic materials that can be mixed in the tube or each module, such as organic compounds including, for example, silicon, siloxane, and epoxy. The filter film applicable to the filtration filter 422 includes a sub-micrometer mesh filter (filter with a mesh diameter of 1 µm or less) that can remove bacteria and a nanometer mesh filter that can remove virus.

[0101] After a certain volume of the UFB-containing liquid W is reserved in the storage container 421, the vacuum pump 423 is stopped and the valve 424 is opened to carry the T-UFB-containing liquid in the storage container 421 to the next stage through the outlet passage 426 liquids. Although a vacuum filtration method is used as a method for removing organic impurities in this document, a gravity filtration method and pressure filtration, for example, can also be used as a filtration method using a filter.

[0102] FIG. 11C illustrates a third post-processing mechanism 430 that removes insoluble solids. The third post-processing mechanism 430 includes a sediment container 431, a fluid inlet 432, a valve 433, and a fluid outlet 434.

[0103] First, a predetermined volume of the UFB-containing liquid W is reserved in the sedimentation content container 431 through the liquid introduction passage 432 when the valve 433 is closed and remains there for a while. Meanwhile, the solids in the UFB-containing liquid W precipitate to the bottom of the sedimentation content container 431 by gravity. Of the bubbles in the UFB-containing liquid, relatively large bubbles such as microbubbles rise to the surface of the liquid by buoyancy and are also removed from the UFB-containing liquid. After sufficient time has elapsed, the valve 433 opens and the UFB-containing liquid W, from which solids and large bubbles are removed, is transferred to the manifold module 500 through the liquid outlet passage 434. An example of applying the three post-processing mechanisms is sequentially shown in this embodiment; however, there is no restriction on this, and the order of the three post-processing engines may be changed, or at least one required post-processing engine may be used.

[0104] Referring again to FIG. 1. The T-UFB-containing liquid W from which impurities are removed by the post-processing module 400 may be directly transferred to the collector module 500, or may be placed back into the dissolution module 200 again. In the second case, the concentration for gas dissolution of the T-UFB-containing liquid W, which decreases due to the formation of T-UFB, can be compensated to a saturated state again by the dissolution unit 200. If new T-UFBs are formed by the T-UFB generation unit 300 after compensation, the concentration of UFBs contained in a T-UFB-containing liquid with the above-described properties can be further increased. In other words, it is possible to increase the concentration of contained UFBs by the number of circulations through the dissolution module 200, the T-UFB forming module 300, and the post-processing module 400, and it is possible to transfer the UFB-containing liquid W to the collection module 500 after a predetermined concentration of contained UFBs is obtained.

[0105] The collection module 500 collects and stores the UFB-containing liquid W transferred from the post-processing module 400. The T-UFB-containing liquid collected by the collector module 500 is a highly pure UFB-containing liquid from which various impurities are removed.

[0106] In the manifold module 500, the UFB-containing liquid W can be classified by the T-UFB size by performing some filtration processing steps. Since the temperature of the T-UFB-containing liquid W obtained by the T-UFB method is assumed to be higher than the normal temperature, the manifold module 500 may include a cooling module. The cooling module may be provided in part of the post-processing module 400.

[0107] The above is a schematic description of the UFB forming equipment 1; however, of course, the few modules illustrated are subject to change and not all need to be prepared. Depending on the type of liquid W and gas G to be used and the proper use of the T-UFB-containing liquid to be formed, a part of the modules described above may be omitted, or another module other than the modules described above may be added.

[0108] For example, when the gas to be contained in the UFB is atmospheric air, the degassing unit as the pretreatment unit 100 and the dissolution unit 200 may be omitted. On the other hand, when several kinds of gases are to be contained in the UFB, another dissolution unit 200 may be added.

[0109] Impurity removal modules as described in FIG. 11A-11C may be provided above the T-UFB generating unit 300, or may be provided above and below it. When the liquid to be supplied to the UFB forming equipment is tap water, rain water, contaminated water, and the like, organic and inorganic impurities may be included in the liquid. If such a liquid W including impurities is supplied to the T-UFB forming unit 300, there is a risk that the characteristics of the heating element 10 will deteriorate and the salting-out phenomenon will be promoted. When the mechanisms, as illustrated in FIG. 11A-11C are provided above the T-UFB forming unit 300, it is possible to remove the above-described impurities in advance.

Liquid and gas applicable for liquid containing T-UFB

[0110] The following describes a fluid W applicable for forming a fluid containing T-UFB. The liquid W usable in this embodiment is, for example, pure water, ion exchange water, distilled water, bioactive water, magnetic active water, lotion, tap water, sea water, river water, pure and waste water, lake water, underground water , rainwater, etc. A mixed liquid containing the above liquid and the like is also applicable. A mixed solvent containing water and a soluble organic solvent may also be used. The soluble organic solvent to be used by mixing with water is not specifically limited; however, the following is a specific example of what is meant. The group of carbon number 1-4 alkyl alcohols includes methyl alcohol, ethyl alcohol, n-propyl alcohol, isopropyl alcohol, n-butyl alcohol, sec-butyl alcohol and t-butyl alcohol. The amide group includes n-methyl-2-pyrrolidone, 2-pyrrolidone, 1,3-dimethyl-2-imidazolidinone, N,N-dimethylformamide, and N,N-dimethylacetamide. The ketone or keto alcohol group includes acetone and diacetone alcohol. The cyclic ether group includes tetrahydrofuran and dioxane. The glycol group includes ethylene glycol, 1,2-propylene glycol, 1,3-propylene glycol, 1,2-butanediol, 1,3-butanediol, 1,4-butanediol, 1,5-pentanediol, 1,2-hexanediol, 1 ,6-hexanediol, 3-methyl-1,5-pentanediol, diethylene glycol, triethylene glycol and thiodiglycol. The polyhydric alcohol lower alkyl ether group includes ethylene glycol monomethyl ether, ethylene glycol monoethyl ether, ethylene glycol monobutyl ether, diethylene glycol monomethyl ether, diethylene glycol monoethyl ether, diethylene glycol monobutyl ether, triethylene glycol monomethyl ether, triethylene glycol monoethyl ether and triethylene glycol monobutyl ether. The polyalkylene glycol group includes polyethylene glycol and polypropylene glycol. The triol group includes glycerol, 1,2,6-hexanetriol and trimethylolpropane. These soluble organic solvents may be used alone, or two or more of them may be used together.

[0111] A gas component that can be introduced into the dissolution module 200, for example, is hydrogen, helium, oxygen, nitrogen, methane, fluorine, neon, carbon dioxide, ozone, argon, chlorine, ethane, propane, air, etc. . The gas component may be a gas mixture containing a portion of the above. Further, it is not necessary for the dissolution module 200 to dissolve the substance in the gaseous state, and the dissolution module 200 may melt a liquid or a solid containing the desired components into liquid W. The dissolution in this case may be spontaneous dissolution, dissolution caused by application of pressure, or dissolution caused by hydration, ionization and chemical reaction due to electrolytic dissociation.

Effects of the T-UFB shaping method

[0112] Next, the characteristics and effects of the above-described T-UFB shaping method are described by comparison with the conventional UFB shaping method. For example, in the conventional air bubble forming equipment provided by the Venturi method, a pressure-relieving mechanical structure such as a pressure-relieving nozzle is provided in a flow part. Liquid flows at a predetermined pressure to pass through the pressure relief structure, and air bubbles of various sizes are formed in the underlying area of the pressure relief structure.

[0113] In this case, among the generated air bubbles, since relatively large bubbles such as millibubbles and microbubbles are affected by buoyancy, such bubbles rise to the liquid surface and disappear. Even UFBs that are not affected by buoyancy can also disappear with millibubbles and microbubbles, because the gas-liquid interface energy of UFB is not very large. Additionally, even if the above-described pressure relief structures are placed in series and the same liquid flows through the pressure relief structures repeatedly, it is not possible to store UFB for a long time in the number corresponding to the number of repetitions. In other words, for a UFB-containing liquid formed by the conventional UFB forming method, it is difficult to maintain the concentration of UFB-containing at a predetermined value for a long time.

[0114] In contrast, in the T-UFB forming method of this embodiment using film boiling, a rapid temperature change from normal temperature to about 300°C and a rapid pressure change from normal pressure to about a few megapascals occur locally in a portion extremely close to heating element. The heating element has a rectangular shape, having one side of approximately several tens to hundreds of microns. This is approximately 1/10-1/1000 of the size of a traditional UFB forming unit. Additionally, when the dissolved gas liquid in an extremely thin film region of the surface of the resulting film boiling bubble instantly exceeds the thermal dissolution limit or the pressure dissolution limit (within an extremely short time less than microseconds), a phase transition occurs and the dissolved gas liquid precipitates into quality UFB. In this case, relatively large bubbles such as millibubbles and microbubbles hardly form, and the liquid contains UFB with a diameter of about 100 nm with an extremely high purity. In addition, since the T-UFBs thus formed have a sufficiently large gas-liquid interface energy, the T-UFBs do not break easily in a normal environment and can be stored for a long time.

[0115] In particular, the present invention, using the phenomenon of film boiling, which provides local formation of a gas-liquid interface, can form an interface in a part of the liquid close to the heating element without affecting the entire area of the liquid, and the area in which thermal and push actions performed can be extremely localized. As a result, the desired UFBs can be stably generated. When still additional conditions for forming UFBs are applied to the liquid for formation through liquid circulation, it is possible to further form new UFBs with little effect on already created UFBs. As a result, a UFB liquid of a desired size and concentration can be formed relatively easily.

[0116] In addition, since the T-UFB formation method has the above-described hysteresis properties, it is possible to increase the concentration to a desired concentration while maintaining a high purity. In other words, according to the T-UFB shaping method, it is possible to efficiently form a long-term storage-containing UFB-containing liquid with high purity and high concentration.

Specific use of liquid containing T-UFB

[0117] In general, applications containing ultrafine bubbles liquids differ by the type of gas contained. Any type of gas can create UFB, provided that a volume of approximately PPM to BPM of the gas can be dissolved in the liquid. For example, ultrafine bubble liquids can be applied to the following applications.

[0118] - The UFB containing liquid containing air can preferably be applied to cleaning in industrial, agricultural and fishing and medical environments and the like. and to the cultivation of plants and agricultural and fishery products.

[0119] - The UFB-containing liquid containing ozone can preferably be applied not only to the application for cleaning in industrial, agricultural and fishing and medical environments and the like, but also, for example, to applications intended for disinfection, sterilization and decontamination and environmental cleanup regarding sewerage and polluted soil.

[0120] - The UFB-containing liquid containing nitrogen can preferably be applied not only to the application for cleaning in industrial, agricultural and fishing and medical environments and the like, but also, for example, to applications intended for disinfection, sterilization and decontamination and environmental cleanup regarding sewerage and polluted soil.

[0121] - The UFB containing liquid containing oxygen can preferably be applied to the cleaning application in industrial, agricultural and fishing and medical environments and the like. and to the cultivation of plants and agricultural and fishery products.

[0122] - The UFB containing liquid containing carbon dioxide can preferably be applied not only to the application for cleaning in industrial, agricultural and fishing and medical environments, etc., but also, for example, to applications intended for disinfection , sterilization and purification from contaminants.

[0123] A UFB-containing liquid containing perfluorocarbons as a medical gas can preferably be applied to ultrasound diagnosis and treatment. As described above, liquids containing UFB can exhibit effects in various fields of technology, namely, medical, chemical, dental, food, industrial, agricultural and fishing, etc.

[0124] In each of the applications, the purity and concentration of the UFB contained in the UFB-containing liquid is important for the rapid and reliable manifestation of the effect of the UFB-containing liquid. In other words, unprecedented effects can be expected in various fields of technology by using the T-UFB forming method of this embodiment, which provides the formation of a UFB-containing liquid with a high degree of purity and with a desired concentration. The following is a list of applications in which the T-UFB forming method and T-UFB containing liquid are expected to be preferably applicable.

(A) Fluid cleaning application

[0125] - When the T-UFB shaping module is provided for the water clarification module, an improvement in the water clarification effect and the pH-adjusted liquid purification effect is expected. The T-UFB forming module may also be provided for the soda water supply server.

[0126] - When the T-UFB shaping unit is provided for a humidifier, an aroma diffuser, a coffee maker, and the like, an improvement in the humidifying effect, the deodorizing effect, and the room fragrance diffusion effect is expected.

[0127] - If the UFB-containing liquid in which the ozone gas is dissolved by the dissolution unit is formed and used for dental treatment, burn treatment and wound treatment using an endoscope, an improvement in the medical cleansing effect and antiseptic effect is expected.

[0128] - When the T-UFB forming unit is provided for a condominium water storage tank, the water clarification effect and the chlorine removal effect of drinking water to be stored for a long time are expected to be improved.

[0129] - If a T-UFB-containing liquid containing ozone or carbon dioxide is used for a process for preparing Japanese sake, shochu, wine, etc. in which high-temperature pasteurization processing cannot be performed, then pasteurization processing is expected to be more efficient than pasteurization processing for traditional liquid.

[0130] - If a UFB-containing liquid is mixed into an ingredient in the process of making food products for a specified health application and food products with declared functional properties, pasteurization processing is possible, and thus safe and functional food products can be provided without loss of taste.

[0131] - When the T-UFB forming unit is provided for the seawater and fresh water supply route for cultivation at the culture site of fishery products such as fish and pearls, it is expected to cause breeding and cultivation of fishery products.

[0132] - When the T-UFB-forming module is provided in the food preservation water treatment process, the food preservation state is expected to improve.

[0133] - When the T-UFB forming module is provided in the bleaching module for bleaching pool water or groundwater, a higher bleaching effect is expected.

[0134] - When a liquid containing T-UFB is used for crack recovery of a concrete element, an improvement in the crack recovery effect is expected.

[0135] - When T-UFBs are contained in a liquid fuel for a liquid fuel vehicle (such as a car, ship, and aircraft), an increase in the energy efficiency of the fuel is expected.

(B) Application for cleaning

[0136] Recently, liquids containing UFB have attracted attention as cleaning water for removing dirt and the like adhering to clothing. If the T-UFB forming unit described in the above embodiment is provided for a washing machine, and a UFB-containing liquid with higher purity and better permeability than the conventional liquid is supplied to the washing tub, further improvement in washing performance is expected.

[0137] - When the T-UFB shaping unit is provided for sauna shower and bedpan washing machine, not only a cleaning effect for all kinds of animals including the human body, but also an effect of causing removal of pollution in the form of water stains is expected and molded part on bathtub and bedpan.

[0138] - When the T-UFB forming unit is provided for a car window washing machine, a high pressure wall member cleaning machine, etc., a car washing machine, a dishwasher, a food washing machine, etc. further improvement in their purification effects is expected.

[0139] - When a liquid containing T-UFB is used for cleaning and maintenance of factory-made parts, including a deburring step after pressing, an improvement in the cleaning effect is expected.

[0140] - In the manufacture of semiconductor elements, if a liquid containing T-UFB is used as a polishing water for a semiconductor wafer, an improvement in the polishing effect is expected. Further, if a liquid containing T-UFB is used in the step of stripping the resist, peeling of the resist that does not peel off easily is improved.

[0141] - When the T-UFB forming unit is provided for cleaning and decontamination machines on medical devices such as a medical robot, a dental treatment unit, an organ-sparing container, and the like, an improvement in cleaning effect and cleaning effect is expected. from car pollution. The T-UFB generation module is also applicable to the treatment of animals.

(C) Pharmaceutical application

[0142] - If the T-UFB-containing liquid is contained in cosmetics or the like, penetration into the subcutaneous cells is caused, and additives that cause bad effects on the skin, such as a preservative and a surfactant, can be greatly reduced. As a result, safer and more functional cosmetics can be provided.

[0143] - If the preparation of high concentration nanobubbles containing T-UFB is used for contrasts for medical examination equipment such as CT and MRI, the reflected light of X-rays and ultrasonic waves can be effectively used. This allows a more detailed image to be captured, which is useful for initial diagnosis of cancer and the like.

[0144] - If high-concentration nanobubble water containing T-UFB is used for an ultrasonic wave treatment machine called "high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) therapy machine", the output power of ultrasonic waves may decrease, and thereby treatment may become more non-invasive. In particular, damage to normal tissues can be reduced.

[0145] - It is possible to prepare nanobubbles by using high concentration nanobubbles containing T-UFB as a source, modifying a phospholipid forming a liposome in the negative electric charge region around the air bubble, and applying various medical substances (such as DNA and RNA) through phospholipid.

[0146] - If the drug containing high concentration nanobubble water created by forming T-UFB is transferred to the tooth canal for recuperative treatment of pulp and dentin, the drug enters deep into the tooth canal through the nanobubble water penetration effect, and a cleansing effect is caused from pollution. This allows the infected pulp root canal to be treated safely in a short time.

[0147] Embodiments of the present invention are described in detail below.

First Embodiment

[0148] FIG. 12 is a schematic configuration diagram of the ultrafine bubble liquid generating equipment 2000 in the first embodiment (hereinafter referred to as "UFB containing liquid forming equipment 2000"). The UFB-containing liquid generation equipment 2000 in the present embodiment mainly includes a liquid supply unit 600, a gas dissolution unit 800, a first storage chamber 900, and an ultrafine bubble formation unit 1000 (hereinafter referred to as "UFB formation unit 1000"). The liquid supply module 600, the gas dissolution module 800, and the UFB forming module 1000 correspond to the pretreatment module 100, the dissolution module 200, and the T-UFB forming module 300 in FIG. 1, respectively. These modules are connected to each other via pipe 700, and fluid W is circulated by means of a pump 701 located in the intermediate section of pipe 700. In FIG. 12, each solid arrow represents liquid flow and each dotted arrow represents gas flow.

[0149] The liquid supply module 600 mainly includes a liquid reservoir module 601, two pumps 602 and 603, and a degassing module 604. The liquid W reserved in the liquid reservoir module 601 is transferred to the first storage chamber 900 by the pumps 602 and 603 through the degassing module 604 . The degassing module 604 houses a film through which gases can pass but liquids cannot. Due to the pressures from pumps 602 and 603, only gases pass through the film, so that gases and liquids are separated from each other. Liquid W moves to the first storage chamber 900 while gases are released to the outside. Various gases can be dissolved in the liquid reserved in the liquid reservoir module 601 . By removing the dissolved gases in the degassing module 604 before transferring the liquid to the first storage chamber 900, the dissolution efficiency in the gas dissolution step to be performed thereafter can be improved.

[0150] The gas dissolution module 800 includes a gas supply module 804, a pretreatment module 801, a confluent portion 802, and a gas-liquid separation chamber 803. While the gas supply unit 804 may be a gas cylinder storing the desired G gas, the gas supply unit 804 may be equipment capable of continuously generating the desired G gas. For example, if the desired G gas is oxygen, equipment that involves atmospheric air, removes nitrogen and supplies gas, from which nitrogen is removed by means of a pump.

[0151] The gas G supplied by the gas supply unit 804 undergoes a process such as electrical discharge in the pre-treatment unit 801. Then, at the confluent portion 802, the gas G is confluent with the liquid W flowing out of the first storage chamber 900. Here, a part of the gas G is dissolved in the liquid W. The gas G and the liquid W merged in this way are separated from each other again in the gas-liquid separation chamber 803, and only the part of the gas G that is not dissolved in the liquid W is discharged to the outside. The liquid W with the gas G dissolved therein is then transferred to the UFB forming unit 1000 by the pump 701. It should be noted that a dissolution degree sensor 805 that detects the dissolution degree of the gas G in the liquid W is provided below the gas-liquid separation chamber 803.

[0152] The UFB generating unit 1000 forms UFB in the liquid W forcibly flowing into the UFB forming unit 1000. Various methods such as the Venturi method can be used as the UFB forming method. In the present embodiment, the T-UFB method described using FIG. 4-10. The filter 1001 is positioned above the UFB forming unit 1000 and prevents impurities, dust, and the like from entering. to the UFB forming module 1000 . Removal of impurities, dust, etc. allows you to improve the efficiency of UFB formation in the module 1000 UFB formation. The UFB-containing liquid W formed by the UFB forming unit 1000 is stored in the first storage chamber 900 through the pipe 700.

[0153] The first storage chamber 900 stores the mixed liquid of the liquid W supplied from the liquid supply unit 600, the liquid W in which the desired gas G is dissolved by the gas dissolving unit 800, and the UFB-containing liquid in which T-UFBs are formed by the UFB unit 1000 -formations.

[0154] The temperature sensor 905 detects the temperature of the liquid stored in the first storage chamber 900. The liquid level sensor 902 is positioned at a predetermined height in the first storage chamber 900 and detects the surface of the liquid W. The UFB concentration sensor 906 detects the UFB concentration of the liquid W stored in the first storage chamber 900. The valve 904 opens when the liquid W stored in the first storage chamber 900 is discharged into the container from the outside. It should be noted that although not illustrated in FIG. 12, the first storage chamber 900 may include a stirrer to set the temperature and uniform distribution of the UFB liquid W.

[0155] The cooling unit 903 cools the liquid W stored in the first storage chamber 900. Preferably, the temperature of the liquid W to be supplied to the gas dissolving module 800 is as low as possible in order to effectively dissolve the desired gas G in the gas dissolving module 800. In addition, keeping the liquid W to be circulated at a low temperature suppresses the rise in temperature of the UFB forming unit 1000, which forms UFB by using film boiling. This allows the life of the UFB forming unit 1000 to be extended. In the present embodiment, the temperature of the liquid W to be supplied to the gas dissolution unit 800 is controlled to 20°C or lower by using the cooling unit 903, while the temperature of the liquid is detected by the temperature sensor 905.

[0156] The configuration of the cooling module 903 is not particularly limited. For example, a type that uses a Peltier device or a type that circulates a liquid cooled by a cooler can be used. In the second case, the cooling tube through which the cooling liquid circulates can be wound around the outer periphery of the first storage chamber 900 as shown in FIG. 12, or the first storage chamber 900 may be configured to be of a hollow structure with a cooling tube located in the hollow space. Alternatively, the configuration may be such that the cooling tube is immersed in the liquid W in the first storage chamber 900.

[0157] In the present embodiment, the above configuration forms a circulation path for the liquid W, which starts from the first storage chamber 900, passes through the gas dissolution unit 800 and the UFB formation unit 1000, and returns to the first storage chamber 900.

[0158] In FIG. 12, a pump 701 that forcibly directs the liquid W to be circulated along the entire circulation path is located between the gas dissolving unit 800 and the UFB forming unit 1000. However, the position and number of pumps are not limited to this case. For example, the pump may be located between the UFB forming module 1000 and the first storage chamber 900, or the pump may be located between the gas dissolving module 800 and the UFB forming module 1000, and also between the UFB forming module 1000 and the first storage chamber 900. Additionally, in the configuration of each module, a pump and valve may be provided as may be required for the operation of the module. A pump whose pulsation and flow variation is small is preferably used in order to prevent deterioration of the UFB formation efficiency.

[0159] In addition, the collection path and the liquid collection valve 904 W may not be provided in the first storage chamber 900, but at a different position in the liquid circulation path. Further, in case the temperature of the UFB forming unit 1000 rises greatly, the UFB forming unit 1000 may also include a cooling unit similar to that of the first storage chamber 900.

[0160] The dissolution rate sensor 805, the temperature sensor 905, and the UFB concentration sensor 906 need not be provided at the positions illustrated in FIG. 12. These sensors may be provided in other locations provided they are within the circulation route. Alternatively, the configuration may be such that each sensor is provided at a plurality of positions along the circulation path and an average value may be output.

[0161] The elements that come into contact with the UFB-containing liquid, such as the liquid-contact portions of the pipe 700, the pump 701, the filter 1001, the first storage chamber 900, and the UFB forming unit 1000, are preferably made from a material with high corrosion resistance. For example, a fluorine resin such as polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) or perfluoroalkoxylalkane (PFA), a metal such as SUS316L, or other inorganic material can be preferably used. Thus, it is possible to properly form the UFB even when highly corrosive gas G and liquid W are used.

[0162] FIG. 13 is a block diagram for describing the control configuration in the UFB-containing liquid generation equipment 2000 in the present embodiment. The CPU 2001 controls all the hardware using RAM 2003 as the workspace according to the program stored in ROM 2002.

[0163] When instructed by the CPU 2001, the pump control unit 2004 controls the actuation of the various pumps provided in the circulation path illustrated in FIG. 12, including pumps 602, 603, and 701. When instructed by the CPU 2001, the valve control module 2005 controls the opening and closing of various valves including the valve 904. When instructed by the CPU 2001, the sensor control module 2006 controls various sensors including a dissolution rate sensor 805, a liquid level sensor 902, a temperature sensor 905, and a UFB concentration sensor 906, and provides detection values of various sensors to the CPU 2001.

[0164] For example, in the event that the UFB-containing liquid generation equipment 2000 starts to function, the CPU 2001 drives the pumps 602 and 603 until the liquid level sensor 902 detects the surface of the liquid to reserve a predetermined volume of liquid in the first chamber 900 for storage. In addition, in case the UFB concentration detected by the UFB concentration sensor 906 reaches a predetermined value, the CPU 2001 causes the pump control module 2004 to stop operating the pump 701, and causes the valve control module 2005 to open the valve 904, thereby releasing liquid W stored in the first storage chamber 900.

[0165] FIG. 14 is a flowchart for describing the steps performed by the CPU 2001 in the case of generating a desired UFB-containing liquid in the UFB-containing liquid generation equipment 2000. At the start of this process, the CPU 2001 firstly reserves a predetermined amount of liquid in the first storage chamber 900 (S01).

[0166] In particular, the CPU 2001 instructs the pumps 602 and 603 to operate while monitoring the determination by the liquid level sensor 902. Thus, the liquid W reserved in the liquid supply unit 600 is degassed in the degassing unit 604 and transferred to the first storage chamber 900. Then, in case the liquid level sensor 902 detects a liquid surface, the CPU 2001 instructs the pumps 602 and 603 to stop functioning. As a result, a predetermined volume of liquid W is reserved in the first storage chamber 900 .

[0167] The CPU 2001 then starts regulating the temperature of the liquid W stored in the first storage chamber 900 (S02). Specifically, the CPU 2001 causes the cooling unit 903 to operate while monitoring the temperature detected by the temperature sensor 905. The CPU 2001 proceeds to S03 if the temperature detected by the temperature sensor 905 reaches 20°C or lower.

[0168] In S03, the CPU 2001 causes the gas dissolution unit 800 to operate and drives the pump 701 under the first circulation condition to circulate the liquid W while monitoring the determination by the dissolution degree sensor 805. In the present embodiment, the first circulation condition is a circulation condition suitable for dissolving gas G into liquid W. In the present embodiment, this first circulation condition is set such that the flow rate and pressure in the liquid flow in the circulation path is 300-3000 ml /min and 0.2-0.6 MPa, respectively. Specifically, at S03, the CPU 2001 instructs the pump control unit 2004 to drive the pump 701 so as to maintain such a flow rate and flow pressure.

[0169] In the case where, for example, the UFB forming unit is configured based on the Venturi method, i. e. the fluid passes through a particular flow path design to form the UFB, the formation of the UFB cannot be stopped without the fluid flow being stopped, and improperly sized bubbles may be formed. However, in the present embodiment, the T-UFB method is used. Thus, the UFBs are not formed in the UFB forming unit 1000 without voltage being applied to its heating elements(s). Thus, by causing the UFB generating unit 1000 not to operate on S03, no UFBs are generated, and in this state, the circulating liquid W can only effectively increase the dissolution rate of the gas G therein under the first circulation condition.

[0170] In the event that the dissolution degree sensor 805 detects a predetermined dissolution degree, the CPU 2001 instructs the gas dissolution unit 800 and the pump 701 to stop functioning (S04). As a result, the circulation of the fluid W is stopped. In this state, the liquid W, in which the desired gas G is dissolved with the desired dissolution rate, is reserved in the first storage chamber 900.

[0171] In S05, the CPU 2001 drives the pump 701 under the second circulation condition to circulate the liquid W. In the present embodiment, the second circulation condition is a circulation condition suitable for the UFB forming unit 1000 to form the UFB. In the present embodiment, this second circulation condition is set such that the flow rate and pressure in the liquid flow in the circulation path are 10-300 ml/min and 0.1-0.3 MPa, respectively. Specifically, at S05, the CPU 2001 instructs the pump control unit 2004 to drive the pump 701 so as to maintain such a flow rate and flow pressure.

[0172] Additionally, the CPU 2001 instructs the UFB generation module 1000 to function while monitoring the determination by the UFB concentration sensor 906 . Here, the CPU 2001 instructs the gas dissolution unit 800 not to function. In other words, the UFB concentration in the circulating liquid W is effectively increased under the second circulating condition.

[0173] In the event that the UFB concentration sensor 906 detects a predetermined UFB concentration, the CPU 2001 causes the UFB generation unit 1000 and the pump 701 to stop functioning (S06). As a result, the circulation of the fluid W is stopped. In this state, the UFB-containing liquid W containing the UFB of the desired gas G in the desired concentration is reserved in the first storage chamber 900.

[0174] At S07, the CPU 2001 opens the valve 904 to discharge the UFB-containing liquid W stored in the first storage chamber 900 into the collection container outside. Here, the CPU 2001 may discharge the entire liquid W stored in the first storage chamber 900 or discharge only a portion of the liquid W.

[0175] In S08, the CPU 2001 determines whether or not the liquid W collected in the collection container reaches the target volume. If the target amount is not reached, the CPU 2001 returns to S01 and repeats steps S01-S07. On the other hand, if it is determined in S08 that the target amount has been reached, this process ends.

[0176] In the present embodiment described above, the step of dissolving the desired gas G and the step of forming the UFB are steps that are independent of each other and in which the liquid circulates under a circulation condition suitable for the step. In particular, in the step of dissolving the desired gas G, the liquid is circulated at a relatively high flow rate and pressure to cause the gas to be dissolved in the draining portion 802. under a condition suitable for inducing film boiling, i.e. at a flow rate and pressure (approximately atmospheric pressure) lower than the flow rate and pressure under the first circulation condition. Thus, a liquid containing the UFB of the desired gas G can be formed more efficiently than conventional methods.

[0177] It should be noted that the specific numerical values of the flow rates and pressures under the first and second circulation conditions described above may vary in various ways according to the type of gas G and liquid W. For example, the flow rate and pressure in the first circulation condition and the flow rate and pressure in the second the circulation conditions may vary according to the combination of the gas type G and the liquid type W. In this case, a table may be stored in advance in the ROM in which, for each of the first circulation condition and the second circulation condition, the driving parameters of the pump 701 corresponding to the combinations of gas G and fluids W are associated with the circulation condition. Thus, the CPU 2001 can set the driving parameters suitable for the first circulation condition and the second circulation condition based on the combination of gas G and liquid W to be used.

[0178] The first and second circulation conditions may include a parameter other than flow and pressure, such as temperature and the like. In this case, the CPU 2001 sets the adjusted temperature from the liquid W differently in S03 and in S05.

[0179] For example, the temperature under the second circulation condition may be set lower than the temperature under the first circulation condition. Depending on the length of the pipe from the first storage chamber 900 to the UFB forming unit 1000, the temperature may rise slightly. Therefore, part of the gas G dissolved in the liquid W can precipitate as bubbles, which can effectively reduce the UFB formation. The higher the solubility of the gas, the greater the number of bubbles formed due to the increase in temperature. It is possible to prevent the occurrence of troubles as described above and to stably form the UFB by setting the temperature of the liquid to be lower at the time of UFB formation than at the time of gas dissolution, so that the temperature of the liquid does not rise to 20° C. or higher at the time when the liquid W is supplied to the UFB forming unit 1000 from the first storage chamber 900 .

Second Embodiment

[0180] FIG. 15 is a schematic configuration diagram of a UFB-containing liquid generating equipment 2000 in the second embodiment. The UFB-containing liquid generation equipment 2000 in the present embodiment is different from the equipment in the first embodiment illustrated in FIG. 12 in that two circulation paths are prepared for the first storage chamber 900. Circulation route A, indicated by arrow A in FIG. 15 is a circulation path starting from the first storage chamber 900, passing through the gas dissolution module 800 and returning to the first storage chamber 900, and uses the first pump 702 as the driving source. Circulation path B, indicated by arrow B, is a circulation path starting from the first storage chamber 900, passing through the UFB forming unit 1000, and returning to the first storage chamber 900, and uses the second pump 703 as a driving source.

[0181] By preparing the two circulation paths as described above, the UFB-containing liquid generation equipment 2000 in the present embodiment can perform the desired gas G dissolution step and the UFB formation step on independent circulation paths in which the circulation conditions suitable for the respective steps are set.

[0182] FIG. 16 is a flowchart for describing steps performed by the CPU 2001 in the case of generating a required UFB-containing liquid in the UFB-containing liquid generation equipment 2000 in the present embodiment. The UFB-containing liquid generating equipment 2000 in the present embodiment also has a control configuration similar to that in the first embodiment illustrated in the block diagram of FIG. 13.

[0183] FIG. 16, S11 and S12 are the same as S01 and S02 described in FIG. 14, and therefore their description is omitted here.

[0184] In S13, the CPU 2001 causes the gas dissolution unit 800 to operate and drives the first pump 702 under the first circulation condition to start circulation of the liquid W along the circulation path A. The content of the first circulation condition is the same as the content in the first embodiment. Then, this circulation along the circulation path A continues until the dissolution degree sensor 805 detects a predetermined dissolution degree. In case the dissolution rate sensor 805 detects a predetermined dissolution rate, the CPU 2001 causes the gas dissolution unit 800 and the first pump 702 to stop functioning (S14).

[0185] The CPU 2001 also starts circulation along the circulation route B (S15). Specifically, the CPU 2001 drives the second pump 703 under the second circulation condition, and also causes the UFB forming unit 1000 to operate. The content of the second circulation condition is also the same as the content in the first embodiment. Then, this circulation along circulation path B continues until the UFB concentration sensor 906 detects a predetermined UFB concentration. In case the UFB concentration sensor 906 detects a predetermined UFB concentration, the CPU 2001 instructs the UFB generation unit 1000 and the second pump 703 to stop functioning (S16).

[0186] After the circulation in the circulation path A and the circulation in the circulation path B are stopped, the CPU 2001 proceeds to S17, in which the CPU 2001 opens the valve 904 to discharge the liquid W stored in the first storage chamber 900 into the collection container outside. The next step is the same as the step in the flowchart described in FIG. 14, and therefore its description is omitted.

[0187] FIG. 17 is a flowchart for describing the modification of the second embodiment. The flowchart of the method according to FIG. 17 is different from the flowchart of FIG. 16 in that S19 is provided for circulation path A, and S14 moves to the end of the process. In this example, if the dissolution degree sensor 805 detects a predetermined dissolution degree, the CPU 2001 switches the circulation condition in the circulation path A from the first circulation condition to the third circulation condition while maintaining the operation of the gas dissolution unit 800 (S19).

[0188] In this modification, the third circulation condition is a condition for restoring the degree of dissolution of the gas in the liquid, which is reduced as a result of the formation of UFB. Although the third circulation condition may be the same condition as the first circulation condition, a flow rate and pressure lower than the flow rate and pressure of the first circulation condition may be used to prevent bursting of the formed UFBs. Alternatively, the third circulation condition may be such that the flow rate and pressure are identical to the flow rate and pressure under the first circulation condition, but circulation under the first circulation condition is performed and stopped repeatedly and periodically. In any case, according to this modification, the degree of dissolution of the gas in the liquid W can be maintained equal to the preferred value regardless of the concentration of contained UFB. This can further improve the efficiency of UFB formation.

[0189] According to the second embodiment described above using FIG. 15-17, circulation path A and circulation path B are shorter than the circulation path illustrated in the first embodiment. Thus, the respective steps can be completed in a shorter period of time than the steps in the first embodiment. In addition, the step of dissolving the gas G in the circulation path A and the UFB formation step in the circulation path B may be performed in separate routes under circulation conditions suitable for the individual stages. Accordingly, the desired UFB-containing liquid can be formed more efficiently.

[0190] In addition, according to the present embodiment, the route in which the liquid flows at a higher flow rate and pressure (circulation route A) is shorter than the route in the first embodiment. Thus, the UFB-containing liquid forming equipment itself can be made less costly and smaller, and its maintenance is also expected to be simplified.

Third Embodiment

[0191] FIG. 18 is a schematic diagram of a UFB-containing liquid generating equipment 2000 in the third embodiment. The UFB-containing liquid generation equipment 2000 in the present embodiment is different from the equipment in the second embodiment illustrated in FIG. 15 in that the second storage chamber 950 is added.

[0192] The second storage chamber 950 is smaller than the first storage chamber 900 and has a capacity of approximately 1/100 to 1/5 of the first storage chamber 900. Like the first storage chamber 900, the second storage chamber 950 is also preferably made from a material with high corrosion resistance. For example, a fluorine resin such as PTFE or PFA, a metal such as SUS316L, or other inorganic material may be preferably used. The second storage chamber 950 has a configuration substantially identical to that of the first storage chamber 900 and includes a temperature sensor 955, a liquid level sensor 952, and a cooling module 953. However, in the present embodiment, only the second storage chamber 950, rather than the first storage chamber 900, includes a UFB concentration sensor 956 for detecting the concentration of UFB contained, and a pipe and valve 954 for discharging the UFB-containing liquid into the container from the outside. Meanwhile, it is preferable that the pipe between the first storage chamber 900 and the second storage chamber 950 is as short as possible to prevent the temperature of the liquid W from rising at the time that the liquid is supplied to the second storage chamber 950 from the first storage chamber 900.

[0193] Circulation path A, indicated by arrow A in FIG. 18 is a circulation path starting from the first storage chamber 900, passing through the gas dissolution module 800 and returning to the first storage chamber 900, and uses the first pump 702 as the driving source. Circulation path B, indicated by arrow B in FIG. 18 is a circulation path starting from the second storage chamber 950, passing through the UFB forming unit 1000 and returning to the second storage chamber 950, and uses the third pump 704 as the driving source. Additionally, the route indicated by arrow C in FIG. 18 is a route for transferring liquid W from the first storage chamber 900 to the second storage chamber 950, and uses the fourth pump 705 as the driving source.

[0194] In this UFB-containing liquid formation equipment 2000 in the present embodiment, circulation path A for dissolving desired gas G and circulation path B for forming UFB do not merge with each other and are independent of each other. Thus, even if liquids are forced to flow through the two circulation paths at the same time, circulation conditions such as flow and pressure in the circulation paths do not affect each other, and a condition suitable for each circulation path can be maintained with high accuracy. For example, the flow rate and pressure in the first circulation condition may be higher than the flow rates and pressures in the first and second embodiments to further improve the efficiency of gas dissolution in liquid W. In addition, the circulation condition may include the temperature of the liquid in each circulation path in addition to flow and pressure, and the adjusted temperature can be set differently for circulation route A and circulation route B. In particular, a temperature suitable for dissolving the desired gas G may be set under the first circulation condition, and a temperature lower than or equal to this temperature may be set under the second circulation condition.

[0195] FIG. 19 is a flowchart for describing the steps performed by the CPU 2001 in the case of generating a required UFB-containing liquid in the UFB-containing liquid generation equipment 2000 in the present embodiment. The UFB-containing liquid generating equipment 2000 in the present embodiment also has a control configuration similar to that in the first embodiment illustrated in the block diagram of FIG. 13.

[0196] FIG. 19, S21 and S22 are the same as S01 and S02 described in FIG. 14, and therefore their description is omitted here.

[0197] In S23, the CPU 2001 causes the gas dissolving unit 800 to operate and drives the first pump 702 under the first circulation condition to start circulation along the circulation path A. Here, the CPU 2001 instructs the third pump 704 and the fourth pump 705 not to operate. The content of the first circulation condition may be identical to the content in the first embodiment, or be a higher flow rate and pressure than the flow rate and pressure in the first embodiment. Then, this circulation along the circulation path A continues until the dissolution degree sensor 805 detects a predetermined dissolution degree.

[0198] In case the dissolution degree sensor 805 detects a predetermined dissolution degree, the CPU 2001 transfers a portion of the liquid W stored in the first storage chamber 900 to the second storage chamber 950 (S24). Specifically, the CPU 2001 first causes the gas dissolution unit 800 and the first pump 702 to stop functioning. Next, the CPU 2001 causes the fourth pump 705 to operate while monitoring the detection by the liquid level sensor 952 provided in the second storage chamber 950, and stops the fourth pump 705 when the liquid level sensor 952 detects the liquid surface. As a result, a predetermined volume of liquid W is reserved in the second storage chamber 950.

[0199] Then, the CPU 2001 supplies the liquid volume W transferred to the second storage chamber 950 in S24 from the liquid supply unit 600 to the first storage chamber 900 again (S26). Specifically, the CPU 2001 causes the pumps 602 and 603 to operate until the liquid level sensor 902 detects a liquid surface.

[0200] After the temperature detected by the temperature sensor 905 reaches 20°C or lower, the CPU 2001 causes the gas dissolution unit 800 to resume operation and drives the first pump 702 under the third circulation condition to circulate the liquid W along the route A circulation (S27). In the present embodiment, the third circulation condition is a condition suitable for restoring the gas dissolution degree, which is lowered by causing the liquid W to flow in and out at S24 and S29, back to the desired dissolution degree again. The third circulation condition may be the same flow and pressure as the first circulation condition or the flow and pressure different from the first circulation condition. Alternatively, the third circulation condition may be such that the flow rate and pressure are identical to the flow rate and pressure under the first circulation condition, but circulation under the first circulation condition is performed and stopped repeatedly and intermittently.

[0201] In the event that the dissolution degree sensor 805 detects a predetermined dissolution degree, the CPU 2001 causes the gas dissolution unit 800 and the first pump 702 to stop functioning (S28). Here, stopping the operation of the first pump 702 is not essential. In other words, the next step may be performed while continuing circulation along the circulation path A.

[0202] CPU 2001 also controls circulation on circulation path B in parallel with S26-S28. First, the CPU 2001 starts regulating the temperature of the liquid W stored in the second storage chamber 950 (S25). Specifically, the CPU 2001 causes the cooling unit 953 to operate while monitoring the temperature detected by the temperature sensor 955. Here, the temperature range for the second circulation condition may be 20°C or lower, similar to the first circulation condition, but may be a lower temperature and lower. a reason similar to that described in the first embodiment. Meanwhile, in the case where the second storage chamber 950 is made of SUS316L or the like having a relatively high thermal conductivity, cooling of the second storage chamber 950 may start before S24. Thus, it is possible to control the temperature for the second circulation condition while the temperature of the liquid W supplied to the second storage chamber 950 is maintained at 20° C. or lower, and thereby suppress the precipitation of the dissolved gas G as bubbles. Accordingly, UFBs can be efficiently generated.

[0203] In case the CPU 2001 confirms that the temperature detected by the temperature sensor 955 is within the temperature range for the second circulation condition mentioned above, the CPU 2001 drives the third pump 704 under the second circulation condition to circulate the liquid W along the circulation path B, and causes the UFB generating unit 1000 to start functioning (S29). The content of the second circulation condition may be the same as the content in the first embodiment, or may be a condition different from the condition in the first embodiment. In any case, it is sufficient that the flow rate and pressure suitable for UFB formation are set. The CPU 2001 continues such circulation along circulation path B until the UFB concentration sensor 956 provided in the second storage chamber 950 detects a predetermined UFB concentration.

[0204] In the event that the UFB concentration sensor 956 detects a predetermined UFB concentration, the CPU 2001 causes the UFB generation unit 1000 and the third pump 704 to stop functioning (S30). The CPU 2001 then opens the valve 954 to discharge the liquid W stored in the second storage chamber 950 into the collection container outside (S31).

[0205] Here, assume T1 as the time required to dissolve the desired gas G in the new liquid with the desired degree of dissolution after the supply of this liquid to the first storage chamber 900 from the liquid supply unit 600 is started (times required for S27) . Also assume that T2 is the time required to convert the liquid W supplied to the second storage chamber 950 into a UFB-containing liquid at a desired concentration and complete its discharge into the collection container (time required for S25-S31). In the present embodiment, T1≤T2 is satisfied. If the above condition is satisfied, the liquid W in which the desired gas is dissolved in the required concentration for dissolution is already prepared in the first storage chamber 900 by the time the discharge from the second storage chamber 950 to the collection container is completed. Accordingly, the UFB shaping step can be efficiently continued.

[0206] In S32, the CPU 2001 determines whether or not the liquid W collected in the collection container reaches the target volume. If the target volume is not reached, the CPU 2001 returns to S24, in which the CPU 2001 transfers the liquid from the first storage chamber 900 to the second storage chamber 950 again. In this case, the liquid reserved in the first storage chamber 900 is a liquid in which the desired gas has already been dissolved at the desired dissolution rate.

[0207] On the other hand, if it is determined in S32 that the liquid W collected in the collection container reaches the target volume, this process ends.

[0208] According to the present embodiment described above, the gas G dissolution step in the circulation path A and the UFB formation step in the circulation path B can be performed simultaneously, respectively, under suitable circulation conditions. Further, since circulation path A and circulation path B do not merge with each other and are independent of each other, conditions suitable for the respective circulation paths can be maintained with greater accuracy.

Fourth Embodiment

[0209] FIG. 20 is a schematic diagram of a UFB-containing liquid generating equipment 2000 in the fourth embodiment. The UFB-containing liquid generation equipment 2000 in the present embodiment is different from the equipment in the third embodiment illustrated in FIG. 18 in that the route indicated by arrow D in FIG. 20 is added. The route indicated by arrow D in FIG. 20 is a route for transferring fluid W from the second storage chamber 950 to the first storage chamber 900, and uses the fifth pump 706 as the driving source. In addition, the second storage chamber 950 in the present embodiment includes a lower limit sensor 957 for controlling the lower limit of the liquid level, in addition to a liquid level sensor 952 for controlling the upper limit of the liquid level. The fourth pump 705 for transferring liquid W from the first storage chamber 900 to the second storage chamber 950 and the fifth pump 706 for transferring liquid W from the second storage chamber 950 to the first storage chamber 900 may be identical pumps or pumps that differ in performance. fluid transfer.

[0210] According to the present embodiment having the above configuration, the liquid W in the UFB-forming step of the circulation path B can be returned to the gas dissolution step of the circulation path A again. In other words, the degree of dissolution of the gas, which is lowered as a result of the formation of UFB, can be adjusted to an appropriate degree of dissolution again by returning the liquid to the circulation path A.

[0211] FIG. 21 is a flowchart for describing the steps performed by the CPU 2001 in the case of generating a required UFB-containing liquid in the UFB-containing liquid generation equipment 2000 in the present embodiment. The UFB-containing liquid generating equipment 2000 in the present embodiment also has a control configuration similar to that in the first embodiment illustrated in the block diagram of FIG. 13.

[0212] In FIG. 21, S41-S45 are identical to S21-S25 described in FIG. 19, and therefore their description is omitted here. However, in S44, the CPU 2001 does not stop the first pump 702 and maintains circulation along the circulation path A.

[0213] In S46, the CPU 2001 drives the third pump 704 under the second circulation condition to circulate the fluid W along the circulation path B, and causes the UFB forming unit 1000 to start operating.

[0214] Next, the CPU 2001 determines whether or not the UFB concentration sensor 956 detects a predetermined UFB concentration (S47). When determining that the predetermined UFB concentration has not been reached, the CPU 2001 returns a portion of the liquid W stored in the second storage chamber 950 back to the first storage chamber 900 (S48). Specifically, the CPU 2001 causes the fifth pump 706 to function while monitoring the determination by the lower limit sensor 957 provided in the second storage chamber 950, and causes the fifth pump 706 to stop functioning when the lower limit sensor 957 detects the liquid surface. As a result, the predetermined volume of liquid W is returned to the first storage chamber 900 from the second storage chamber 950.

[0215] In case the dissolution degree sensor 805 detects a predetermined dissolution degree, the CPU 2001 again transfers a portion of the liquid W stored in the first storage chamber 900 to the second storage chamber 950 (S49). Specifically, the CPU 2001 causes the fourth pump 705 to operate while monitoring detection by the liquid level sensor 952 provided in the second storage chamber 950, and causes the fourth pump 705 to stop operating when the liquid level sensor 952 detects a liquid surface. As a result, the predetermined volume of liquid W is transferred to the second storage chamber 950 from the first storage chamber 900. Next, these steps S48 and S49, i. e. the steps of causing liquid W to flow in and out between the first storage chamber 900 and the second storage chamber 950 are repeated until the UFB concentration sensor 956 detects a predetermined UFB concentration.

[0216] When determining in S47 that the UFB concentration sensor 956 detects a predetermined UFB concentration, the CPU 2001 stops the UFB generation unit 1000 and stops circulation along the circulation path B (S50). The CPU 2001 then opens the valve 954 to discharge the liquid W stored in the second storage chamber 950 into the collection container outside (S51).

[0217] In S52, the CPU 2001 determines whether or not the liquid W collected in the collection container reaches the target volume. If the target amount is not reached, the CPU 2001 returns to S41 and repeats steps S41-S51. On the other hand, when it is determined in S52 that the target volume has been reached, the CPU 2001 stops circulation along the circulation path A and the operation of the gas dissolution unit 800 (S53). This process is then terminated.

[0218] According to the present embodiment described above, the gas dissolution step in the circulation path A and the UFB formation step in the circulation path B can be performed continuously even at the time of liquid W between the first storage chamber 900 and the second storage chamber 950 and discharge liquids from the second storage chamber 950. The manufacturing efficiency of the UFB-containing liquid can therefore be improved to a greater extent than in the embodiments described above.

[0219] In the present embodiment illustrated in FIG. 20, a new circulation path CD including the paths indicated by arrows C and D can be generated by setting the transfer amount by the fourth pump 705 and the transfer amount by the fifth pump 706 to be equal to each other, and causing them to operate simultaneously. In this case, the first storage chamber 900 and the second storage chamber 950 can be considered as one large storage chamber and actually present a configuration similar to the second embodiment described in FIG. 15. In this case, an independent circulation condition may be set for the circulation path CD. In other words, during circulation along the circulation path A under the first circulation condition and circulation along the circulation path B under the second circulation condition, the circulation along the circulation path CD may be performed under a circulation condition different from both the first circulation condition and the second circulation condition.

[0220] In addition, in the present embodiment illustrated in FIG. 20, while the fourth pump 705 and the fifth pump 706 are stopped, an embodiment similar to the third embodiment described in FIG. 18. In other words, the UFB containing liquid generating equipment 2000 in the present embodiment illustrated in FIG. 20 is capable of switching between the formation method in the second embodiment and the formation method in the third embodiment according to various situations such as the type of UFB-containing liquid to be formed and the environment.

[0221] FIG. 22 is a flowchart for describing the modification of the fourth embodiment. In this modification, after the liquid W is supplied from the first storage chamber 900 to the second storage chamber 950 (S44), the liquid circulates along the circulation path A under the third circulation condition, and gas dissolution continues (S54). On the other hand, temperature control of the liquid in the second storage chamber 950 starts (S55), and the liquid circulates in the circulation path CBD under the second circulation condition (S56). The details of this circulation operation are the same as those described in FIG. 21. In the case where the temperature in the second storage chamber 950 is set to be different from the temperature in the first storage chamber 900, for example, in the case where the temperature in the second storage chamber 950 is set to 15°C and the temperature in the first storage chamber is set to 20 °C, the CPU 2001 may proceed to S56 without waiting for the temperature in the second chamber 950 to reach 15°C.

[0222] Upon detecting that all values of the dissolution rate sensor 805, the temperature sensor 905, and the temperature sensor 955 reach the predetermined values, the CPU 2001 causes the UFB forming unit 1000 to operate (S57). Then, upon determining that the UFB concentration sensor 956 detects the predetermined UFB concentration, the CPU 2001 stops the UFB forming module 1000 and the pumps 704, 705, and 706 to stop circulation along the circulation path CBD.

[0223] The CPU 2001 then opens the valve 954 to discharge the liquid W stored in the second storage chamber 950 into the manifold container outside (S51). Thereafter, similar to the process described in FIG. 21, these operations are repeated until the target volume of liquid containing UFB is obtained.

[0224] With the configuration of FIG. 20, at the time when the liquid W is supplied to the second storage chamber 950 from the first storage chamber 900, and before the temperature of the liquid in the second storage chamber 950 reaches a predetermined value, the temperature of the liquid may rise to a value higher than the adjusted value. temperature obtained in the first storage chamber 900, thereby lowering the dissolution rate of the gas G. According to this modification, even in such a case, UFBs can be formed stably and efficiently regardless of the length of route C and the material of the second storage chamber 950, since UFBs formation may start at S57 after S54 and S56.

Fifth Embodiment

[0225] FIG. 23 is a schematic diagram of a UFB-containing liquid generating equipment 2000 in the fifth embodiment. The UFB-containing liquid generating equipment 2000 in the present embodiment is different from the equipment in the fourth embodiment illustrated in FIG. 20 in that the path leading back to the first storage chamber 900 from the UFB forming unit 1000 does not pass through the second storage chamber 950.

[0226] For the UFB-containing liquid generating equipment 2000 in the present embodiment, the steps performed by the CPU 2001 in the case of generating the desired UFB-containing liquid are similar to those described in FIG. 22. However, in the present embodiment, the CBD circulation path at S56 in FIG. 22 is designated as the circulation route CB. Costs on route C and route B may be identical or different. If the costs differ, the flow rate on route C is set higher than the flow rate on route B.

[0227] In the case that the UFB forming unit 1000 generates a relatively large amount of heat, the temperature of the liquid W may rise, and the gas G dissolved therein may precipitate as bubbles. The return of these vials to the second storage chamber 950, as shown in FIG. 20, for example, must change the temperature of the liquid in the second storage chamber 950, and the bubbles transferred from the UFB forming unit 1000 must be supplied to the UFB forming unit 1000 again. This leads to such a problem that the efficiency of the UFB formation in the UFB formation unit 1000 may be impaired, and this problem is especially noticeable in the case where a high solubility gas is selected.

[0228] According to the present embodiment, the liquid passed through the UFB forming unit 1000 is returned to the first storage chamber 900. This makes it possible to eliminate the above problem and continue efficient UFB shaping.

[0229] It should be noted that the first storage chamber 900 has a significantly larger capacity than the second storage chamber 950 and is therefore less susceptible to temperature changes. In addition, the end position of path C is higher than the start position of path B. Thus, the probability of bubbles entering the second chamber 950 for storage and supply to the UFB forming unit 1000 is low. This provides a more stable UFB formation. This positional relationship between pipes is also applicable to the first storage chamber 900. By locating the end positions of paths A and B above the start of path C, the entry of bubbles into the second storage chamber 950 can be further reduced.

Sixth Embodiment

[0230] FIG. 24 is a schematic configuration diagram of the UFB-containing liquid generating equipment 2000 in the sixth embodiment. The UFB-containing liquid forming equipment 2000 in the present embodiment is configured to supply liquid W directly from the first storage chamber 900 to the UFB forming unit 1000, and supply liquid W from the UFB forming unit 1000 to the first storage chamber 900 through the third storage chamber 960. storage.

[0231] Similar to the second storage chamber 950, the third storage chamber 960 is smaller than the first storage chamber 900 and has a capacity of approximately 1/100 to 1/5 of the first storage chamber 900. The third storage chamber 960 is made of a highly corrosion resistant material such as fluorine resin such as PTFE or PFA, metal such as SUS316L, or other inorganic material. In addition, the third storage chamber 960 includes liquid level sensors 962 and 967, a UFB concentration sensor 966 for detecting the concentration of UFB contained, and a pipe and valve 964 for discharging liquid containing UFB into the container outside. Since the third storage chamber 960 is present below the UFB forming module 1000, the third storage chamber 960 does not require a cooling module, but may include a cooling module depending on the application.

[0232] The UFB filter 968 is provided in the third chamber 960 for storage at a position on/below the height level of the liquid level sensor 967. The inside of the third storage chamber 960 is divided into a UFB-containing liquid reservoir chamber 960a and a liquid reservoir chamber 960b by a UFB filter 968. The pore size of the UFB filter 968 is approximately 1 μm. Circulation path BD is formed such that the end of path B is located in the UFB-containing liquid reservoir chamber 960a, and the start of path D is located in the liquid reservoir chamber 960b. In this configuration, the UFBs in the UFB-containing liquid supplied from the UFB forming unit 1000 are reserved in the UFB-containing liquid storage chamber 960a, and the UFB-containing liquid W is transferred to the liquid storage chamber 960b and further supplied to the first chamber. 900 for storage.

[0233] For the UFB-containing liquid generating equipment 2000 in the present embodiment, the steps performed by the CPU 2001 in the case of generating the desired UFB-containing liquid are as described in FIG. 25 and these steps are substantially identical to those described in FIG. 17. Costs on route B and route D may be identical or different. If the costs on route B and route D are different, the cost on route D is set higher than the cost on route B.

[0234] At the time that the UFB forming unit 1000 forms the UFB, the liquid circulates along the circulation path A under the third circulation condition, and the gas dissolves into the liquid (S19). In the present embodiment, the UFBs formed by the UFB generating unit 1000 do not forcibly flow into the first storage chamber 900. Thus, there is no danger that the circulating UFBs should break at the confluent portion 802 or the like. Accordingly, the flow rate and pressure under the third circulation condition can be set freely and need not be set lower than the flow rate and pressure under the first circulation condition in order to prevent the UFB from breaking.

[0235] In the present embodiment, after being formed, the UFBs do not pass through various routes or the UFB forming unit 1000, but remain in the UFB-containing fluid reservoir chamber 960a. Thus, by controlling the operating time period of the UFB forming unit 1000, it is possible to stably form a UFB-containing liquid with a desired concentration.

[0236] When determining that the UFB concentration sensor 966 detects a predetermined UFB concentration, the CPU 2001 first causes the UFB generation unit 1000 and the pump 705 to stop functioning, thereby stopping only the supply of liquid W along the route B(S61). Thereafter, at the time that the liquid level sensor 967 detects the surface of the liquid, the CPU 2001 stops the pump 706 to stop the flow of liquid W along the path D (S62). The CPU 2001 then opens the valve 964 to discharge the liquid W stored in the third storage chamber 960 into the collection container outside (S17).

[0237] The present embodiment described above is particularly effective, for example, in the case in which a gas G whose solubility is not very high is used, and a high concentration UFB-containing liquid is formed by repeating the circulation along the circulation route A of a certain number of times.

[0238] FIG. 26 is a schematic configuration diagram of a UFB-containing liquid generation equipment 2000 as a modification of the sixth embodiment. UFB filter 968 is positioned horizontally in FIG. 24, while the UFB filter 968 is positioned vertically in FIG. 26.

[0239] In the case of FIG. 24, after the bubbles enter the UFB containing liquid reservoir chamber 960a, the bubbles attempting to rise due to buoyancy may compact the UFB filter 968 and reduce the effective area of the UFB filter 968. In contrast, in this configuration, the bubbles rising due to buoyancy should be released into the atmosphere. This allows the effective area of the UFB filter 968 to be maintained and the circulation to continue to run smoothly. Meanwhile, the UFB-containing liquid reservoir chamber 960a has a larger volume than the liquid reservoir chamber 960b. This allows the volume of UFB-containing liquid to be collected at one time to be increased.

Seventh Embodiment

[0240] FIG. 27 is a schematic diagram of a UFB-containing liquid generating equipment 2000 in the seventh embodiment.

[0241] The UFB-containing liquid forming equipment 2000 in the present embodiment is configured to supply liquid W from the first storage chamber 900 to the UFB forming unit 1000 through the second storage chamber 950, and supply liquid W from the UFB forming unit 1000 to the first chamber 900 for storage through the third chamber 960 for storage.

[0242] The configurations and functions of the second storage chamber 950 and the third storage chamber 960 are similar to the configurations and functions described above, and the first storage chamber 900 is configured to have a capacity greater than the sum of the capacities of the second storage chamber 950 and the third chamber 960 for storage.

[0243] FIG. 28 is a flowchart for the steps performed by the CPU 2001 in the case of generating the required UFB-containing liquid in the UFB-containing liquid generating equipment 2000 in the present embodiment. Fig. 28 is substantially identical to the flowchart described in FIG. 22. When determining that the UFB concentration sensor 966 detects the predetermined UFB concentration, the CPU 2001 first causes the UFB forming unit 1000 and the pump 705 to stop functioning, thereby stopping only the supply of liquid W along the CB path. (S71). Thereafter, at the time that the liquid level sensor 967 detects the surface of the liquid, the CPU 2001 stops the pump 706 to stop supplying the liquid W along the path D (S72). The CPU 2001 then opens the valve 964 to discharge the liquid W stored in the third storage chamber 960 into the collection container outside (S51).

[0244] According to the configuration of the present embodiment, it is possible to realize efficient UFB formation and formation of a high-concentration UFB-containing liquid by the UFB formation unit 1000 regardless of the type of gas G. Although FIG. 27 illustrates a case in which one type of gas G is bonded, the present embodiment is also suitable for the case of switching from a gas G to be bonded from one to another of a plurality of G gases.

Other embodiments

[0245] Embodiment(s) of the present invention may also be implemented by a computer system or equipment that reads and executes machine-executable instructions (e.g., one or more programs) recorded on a storage medium (which may also more fully be referred to as a "non-volatile computer-readable medium"). data storage") so as to perform the functions of one or more of the above embodiments, and/or which includes one or more circuits (for example, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC)) to perform the functions of one or more of the above embodiments, and through a method carried out by a system computer or equipment, for example, by reading and executing machine-executable instructions from a storage medium capable of performing the functions of one or more of the above described embodiments, and/or controlling one or more circuits capable of performing the functions of one one or more of the above embodiments. A computer may include one or more processors (eg, a central processing unit (CPU), a microprocessor unit (MPU)) and may include a network of individual computers or individual processors to read and execute computer-executable instructions. The computer-executable instructions may be provided to the computer, for example, from a network or from a storage medium. The storage medium may include, for example, one or more of a hard disk, random access memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM), a distributed computing system storage device, an optical disk (such as a compact disc (CD), a general purpose digital disc (DVD) or Blu-ray disc (BD)™), flash memory devices, memory cards, etc.

[0246] Although the present invention has been described with reference to exemplary embodiments, it should be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments. The scope of the appended claims is to be accorded the broadest interpretation so that it includes all such modifications and equivalent structures and functions.

Claims (106)

1. Equipment for the formation of a liquid containing bubbles with a diameter of less than 1 micron, containing: a dissolution module that dissolves a predetermined gas into a liquid; a bubble forming module that forms bubbles with a diameter of less than 1 μm in a liquid in which a predetermined gas is dissolved; storage room for storing liquids and a circulation control module that controls liquid circulation along liquid circulation paths including a dissolution module, a bubble formation module, and a storage chamber, wherein the circulation control module circulates the liquid under the first condition, which specifies the state of the liquid to be circulated along the circulation path passing through the dissolution module, if the dissolution module is ordered to operate on the circulation path, the circulation control module circulates the liquid under a second condition different from the first condition along the circulation path passing through the bubble formation module, if the bubble formation module is ordered to operate on the circulation path, the circulation control module circulates the liquid under the first condition along the circulation path starting from the storage chamber, passing through the dissolution module and the bubble formation module and returning to the storage chamber, in the case of instructing the dissolution module to operate and instructing the bubble formation module not to function in the circulation path, and the circulation control module circulates the liquid under the second condition along the circulation path in case of instructing the dissolution module not to operate and instructing the bubble formation module to operate in the circulation path. 2. Equipment according to claim 1, further comprising: a liquid supply module that supplies liquid to the storage chamber; And an outlet module that releases liquid from the storage chamber. 3. The equipment of claim 1, wherein the circulation control module circulates the fluid under the first condition and under the second condition by controlling the actuation of pumps located in the circulation paths. 4. The equipment of claim 1, wherein the bubble forming module generates bubbles with a diameter of less than 1 µm by causing the heating element to generate heat and provide film boiling at the interface between the liquid and the heating element. 5. Equipment for the formation of a liquid containing bubbles with a diameter of less than 1 micron, containing: a dissolution module that dissolves a predetermined gas into a liquid; a bubble forming module that forms bubbles with a diameter of less than 1 μm in a liquid in which a predetermined gas is dissolved; a circulation control module that controls liquid circulation along liquid circulation paths including a dissolution module and a bubble formation module, a first storage chamber and a second storage chamber for storing liquid and a module that supplies liquid from the first storage chamber to the second storage chamber, wherein the circulation control module circulates the liquid under the first condition that specifies the state of the liquid to be circulated along the circulation path passing through the dissolution module, if the dissolution module is ordered to operate on the circulation path, and the circulation control module circulates the liquid under a second condition different from the first condition along the circulation path passing through the bubble formation module, if the bubble formation module is ordered to operate on the circulation path, the circulation control module circulates the liquid under the first condition along the first circulation path starting from the first storage chamber, passing through the dissolution module and returning to the first storage chamber without passing through the bubble forming module, if the dissolution module is ordered to operate on the first circulation path, and the circulation control module circulates the liquid under the second condition along the second circulation route starting from the second storage chamber, passing through the bubble formation module and returning to the second storage chamber without passing through the dissolution module, if the bubble formation module is ordered to operate on the second circulation route. 6. The equipment of claim 5, further comprising a module that supplies liquid in which bubbles with a diameter of less than 1 μm are formed by the bubble forming module from the second storage chamber to the first storage chamber. 7. The equipment of claim 6, wherein the circulation control module circulates the liquid, under a circulation condition different from the first condition and the second condition, along a third circulation path including a path for supplying liquid from the first storage chamber to the second storage chamber and the path for supplying liquid from the second storage chamber to the first storage chamber. 8. The equipment of claim 5, wherein the circulation control module simultaneously circulates the first circulation path and circulates the second circulation path. 9. Equipment according to claim 8, in which: the circulation control module circulates the liquid under the first condition along the first circulation path in the event that the bubble generation module is instructed not to function, and the circulation control module circulates the liquid under a third condition different from the first condition along the first circulation path when the bubble generating module is ordered to operate. 10. Equipment according to claim 5, wherein the capacity of the second storage chamber is less than the capacity of the first storage chamber, and the equipment additionally comprises: a liquid supply unit that supplies liquid to the first storage chamber; And an outlet module that releases liquid from the second storage chamber. 11. The equipment of claim 5, wherein the circulation control module circulates the fluid under the first condition and under the second condition by controlling the actuation of pumps located in the circulation paths. 12. The equipment of claim 5, wherein the bubble forming module generates bubbles with a diameter of less than 1 µm by causing the heating element to generate heat and provide film boiling at the interface between the liquid and the heating element. 13. Equipment for the formation of a liquid containing bubbles with a diameter of less than 1 micron, containing: a dissolution module that dissolves a predetermined gas into a liquid; a bubble forming module that forms bubbles with a diameter of less than 1 μm in a liquid in which a predetermined gas is dissolved; And a circulation control module that controls liquid circulation along liquid circulation paths including a dissolution module and a bubble formation module, wherein the circulation control module circulates the liquid under the first condition, which specifies the state of the liquid to be circulated along the circulation path passing through the dissolution module, if the dissolution module is ordered to operate on the circulation path, the circulation control module circulates the liquid under a second condition different from the first condition along the circulation path passing through the bubble generation module if the bubble formation module is instructed to operate on the circulation path, and each of the first condition and the second condition defines a state that is at least one of the flow rate, pressure, and temperature of the fluid. 14. Equipment according to claim 13, wherein the first condition specifies a higher flow rate than the flow rate under the second condition. 15. Equipment according to claim 13, wherein the first condition specifies a higher pressure than the pressure under the second condition. 16. Equipment according to claim 13, wherein the second condition specifies a lower temperature than the temperature under the first condition. 17. The equipment of claim 13, wherein the circulation control module circulates the fluid under the first condition and under the second condition by controlling the actuation of pumps located in the circulation paths. 18. The equipment of claim 13, wherein the bubble forming module generates bubbles with a diameter of less than 1 µm by causing the heating element to generate heat and provide film boiling at the interface between the liquid and the heating element. 19. A method for forming a liquid containing bubbles with a diameter of less than 1 micron, containing: a dissolution step in which a predetermined gas is dissolved in the liquid; a bubble forming step of forming bubbles with a diameter of less than 1 μm in a liquid in which a predetermined gas is dissolved; And a circulation control step in which the circulation of the liquid is controlled so that: to circulate the liquid under the first condition that specifies the state of the liquid to be circulated along the circulation path in which the dissolution step is performed, in the case of performing the dissolution step in the circulation path, and to circulate the liquid under a second condition different from the first condition along the circulation path in which the bubble formation step is performed, in the case of performing the bubble formation stage in the circulation path, wherein the stage of circulation control includes the stages in which: circulating the liquid under the first condition along the circulation path in which the dissolution step and the bubble formation step are performed, in the event that the dissolution step is performed and the bubble formation step is not performed in the circulation path, and circulate the liquid under the second condition along the circulation route in case of failure to perform the dissolution step and perform the bubble formation step on the circulation route. 20. The method of claim 19, further comprising: a liquid supply step of supplying the liquid still to be circulated to the liquid storage chamber; And a discharge step in which the circulating liquid is discharged from the storage chamber. 21. The method of claim 19, wherein each of the first condition and the second condition specifies a state that is at least one of fluid flow, pressure, and temperature. 22. The method of claim 21, wherein the first condition specifies a higher flow rate than the second condition. 23. The method of claim 21, wherein the first condition specifies a higher pressure than the pressure under the second condition. 24. The method of claim 21, wherein the second condition specifies a lower temperature than the first condition. 25. The method of claim 19, wherein the step of controlling the circulation includes the step of circulating the liquid under the first condition and under the second condition by controlling the actuation of the pumps located in the circulation paths. 26. The method of claim 19, wherein the step of generating bubbles includes forming bubbles by causing the heating element to generate heat and cause film boiling at the interface between the liquid and the heating element. 27. A method for forming a liquid containing bubbles with a diameter of less than 1 micron, containing: a dissolution step in which a predetermined gas is dissolved in the liquid; a bubble forming step of forming bubbles with a diameter of less than 1 μm in a liquid in which a predetermined gas is dissolved; And a circulation control step in which the circulation of the liquid is controlled so that: to circulate the liquid under the first condition that specifies the state of the liquid to be circulated along the circulation path in which the dissolution step is performed, in the case of performing the dissolution step in the circulation path, and to circulate the liquid under a second condition different from the first condition along the circulation path in which the bubble forming step is performed, if the bubble formation step in the circulation path is performed; And a step of supplying liquid from the first liquid storage chamber to the second liquid storage chamber, wherein the stage of circulation control includes the stages in which: circulating the liquid under the first condition along the first circulation path, along which the liquid is withdrawn from the first storage chamber and returned to the first storage chamber, and at which the dissolution step is performed, and the bubble formation step is not performed, in the case of performing the dissolution step in the first circulation path, and the liquid is circulated under the second condition along the second circulation route, along which the liquid is removed from the second storage chamber and returned to the second storage chamber, and at which the dissolution stage is not performed, and the bubble formation stage is performed, if the bubble formation stage is performed on the second circulation route. 28. The method of claim 27, further comprising supplying a liquid in which bubbles of less than 1 µm in diameter are formed by the bubble forming step from the second storage chamber to the first storage chamber. 29. The method of claim 28, wherein the step of controlling the circulation includes the step of circulating liquid, under a condition different from the first condition and the second condition, along a third circulation path including a path for supplying liquid from the first storage chamber to the second storage chamber and a route for supplying liquid from the second storage chamber to the first storage chamber. 30. The method of claim 27, wherein the step of controlling the circulation includes simultaneously circulating the first circulation path and circulating the second circulation path. 31. The method of claim 30, wherein the step of controlling the circulation includes the steps of: circulate the liquid under the first condition along the first circulation path in case the bubble formation step is not performed, and circulating the liquid under a third condition different from the first condition along the first circulation path in case the bubble formation step is performed. 32. The method according to claim 27, wherein the capacity of the second storage chamber is less than the capacity of the first storage chamber, and the method further comprises: a liquid supply step of supplying liquid to the first storage chamber; And a release step in which liquid is released from the second storage chamber. 33. The method of claim 27, wherein each of the first condition and the second condition specifies a state that is at least one of fluid flow, pressure, and temperature. 34. The method of claim 33, wherein the first condition specifies a higher flow rate than the second condition. 35. The method of claim 33, wherein the first condition specifies a higher pressure than the second condition. 36. The method of claim 33, wherein the second condition specifies a lower temperature than the first condition. 37. The method of claim 27, wherein the step of controlling the circulation includes the step of circulating the liquid under the first condition and under the second condition by controlling the actuation of the pumps located in the circulation paths. 38. The method of claim 27, wherein the step of generating bubbles includes forming bubbles by causing the heating element to generate heat and cause film boiling at the interface between the liquid and the heating element. 39. A method for forming a liquid containing bubbles with a diameter of less than 1 micron, containing: a dissolution step in which a predetermined gas is dissolved in the liquid; a bubble forming step of forming bubbles with a diameter of less than 1 μm in a liquid in which a predetermined gas is dissolved; And a circulation control step in which the circulation of the liquid is controlled so that: to circulate the liquid under the first condition that specifies the state of the liquid to be circulated along the circulation path in which the dissolution step is performed, in the case of performing the dissolution step in the circulation path, and to circulate the liquid under a second condition different from the first condition along the circulation path in which the bubble forming step is performed, if the bubble formation step in the circulation path is performed; And at least one of the following: a first supplying step of supplying liquid to the bubble forming step from the first liquid storage chamber through the second liquid storage chamber; And a second supplying step of supplying liquid to the first storage chamber from the bubbling step through the third storage chamber for storing liquid, wherein the stage of circulation control includes the stages in which: circulating the liquid under the first condition along the first circulation path, along which the liquid is withdrawn from the first storage chamber and returned to the first storage chamber, and at which the dissolution step is performed, and the bubble formation step is not performed, in the case of performing the dissolution step in the first circulation path, and the liquid is circulated under the second condition along the second circulation route, along which the liquid is removed from the first storage chamber and returned to the first storage chamber, and at which the dissolution step is not performed, and the bubble formation stage is performed, if the bubble formation stage is performed on the second circulation route. 40. The method according to claim 39, while: the method comprises a second step of filing, the third storage chamber includes a filter that separates the inside of the third storage chamber into a bubble storage chamber connected to the bubble forming step and a liquid storage chamber connected to the first storage chamber, and the method further comprises a discharge step of discharging liquid from the bubble storage chamber.

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