US20140001109A1

US20140001109A1 - Advanced oxidaiton device with high efficiency using turbulent flow

Info

Publication number: US20140001109A1
Application number: US14/017,261
Authority: US
Inventors: Sung Chul Lee; Jin Auck Kim; Yu Sup Kim
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2010-04-07
Filing date: 2013-09-03
Publication date: 2014-01-02
Also published as: JP2013523307A; CN102869273A; CN102869273B; EP2556758A1; WO2011126192A1; US20130026389A1; KR100971177B1; US8525126B2

Abstract

A UV fluid sterilizer which makes it possible to effectively sterilize a fluid which has a low UV transmissivity and an advanced oxidation device with high oxidation efficiency using a turbulent flow. To this end, the UV sterilizer or advanced oxidation device has a spring coil or wrinkled pipe in a spiral shape to bring forth a turbulent or spiral flow in the fluid.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a continuation-in-part application of the U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/639,764, filed Oct. 5, 2012, which is a national phase application of PCT/KR/2010/007597, filed Nov. 1, 2010, which claims priority to Korean patent application number 10-2010-0031781, filed on Apr. 7, 2010 in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of each of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a UV (Ultraviolet ray) fluid sterilizer, and in particular to a UV fluid sterilizer which makes it possible to effectively sterilize a fluid which has a low UV transmissivity and an advanced oxidation device with high oxidation efficiency using a turbulent flow.

BACKGROUND ART

UV Sterilization

UV sterilization is directed to a physical sterilization method using light and is concerned with a technology killing microorganisms by preventing them from growing and differentiating in such a way to destroy microorganism DNA information by means of the operations of 254 nm wavelengths in UV waves.
The UV sterilization method has been generally used for the sake of the sterilization of microorganisms in fluid (or waterborne microorganism). The fluid to be sterilized must have a certain level of UV transmissivity for the reasons that the sterilization UV wavelength is very short, 254 nm, so it can be easily absorbed by turbidity or chromaticity, which results in low transmissivity.
When the transmissivity of UV sterilization with respect to fluid reaches 60% (or 40.about.50% in some companies), it is judged to be economical. When the transmissivity of the fluid is below 40%, UV is not generally applied to the UV.
For these reasons, sterilization of the fluid the transmissivity of which is low is almost dependent on heat. When the sterilization on the fluid by means of heat is performed, over energy costs a lot, and lots of side effects occur as some components in the fluid is destroyed by high heat.
The UV transmissivity represents the intensity that a UV with a wavelength of 254 nm transmits through a fluid filled in a 1 cm crystal cell, and the intensity is expressed in percentage. The transmissivity of UV is generally above 98% in case of a drinkable water from a spring, and 96% in case of raw water from a tap, and 60.about.70% in case of waste water from a sewage.
The transmissivity of UV grows lower when there is a substance formed in a benzene structure such as pentose or hexose like an organic substance or a sugar syrup which is a component among fluids which absorbs UV like Fe, Mn, etc.
A fluid having a low transmissivity is a green vegetable juice (kale, water parsley, pomegranate, carrot, etc.), fruit juice beverage (orange, apple, pomegranate, etc.), tree juice (painted maple sap, maple tree sap, etc.), alcohol drinks (traditional wine, Korean wine, apple wine, etc.), various health beverages, sauce and seasoning (soy sauce, permission vinegar, fructose, etc.), lubricant, medicine, other high density and UV non-transmittable liquid which needs sterilization.
In particular, the green vegetable juice is a juice from the vegetable as natural organic vegetables are collected and pressed by a press; however ordinary bacteria counting to 10,000.about.100,000 (cfu/mL) per mL are found after pressing the vegetable. Most of the companies directly deliver to the customers within one day so as to prevent any spoilage during the distribution. The customers are guided to drink all the stuff after it is opened.
If the green vegetable juice is placed at a room temperature, lots of microorganism grows and the container becomes barrel-shaped in one day by means of the microorganism. In order to prevent the above mentioned problems, the sterilization of the microorganism is desperately needed, but the conventional art does not fully perform the sterilization by way of the UV.

Advanced Oxidation

Advanced oxidation processes (abbreviation: AOPs), in a broad sense, refers to a set of chemical treatment procedures designed to remove organic (and sometimes inorganic) materials in water and waste water by oxidation through reactions with hydroxyl radicals (OH). In real-world applications of wastewater treatment, however, this term usually refers more specifically to a subset of such chemical processes that employ ozone (O₃), hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) and/or UV light. One such type of process is called in situ chemical oxidation.
AOPs rely on in-situ production of highly reactive hydroxyl radicals (OH). These reactive species are the strongest oxidants that can be applied in water and can virtually oxidize any compound present in the water matrix, often at a diffusion controlled reaction speed. Consequently, OH reacts unselectively once formed and contaminants will be quickly and efficiently fragmented and converted into small inorganic molecules. Hydroxyl radicals are produced with the help of one or more primary oxidants (e.g. ozone, hydrogen peroxide, oxygen) and/or energy sources (e.g. ultraviolet light) or catalysts (e.g. titanium dioxide). Precise, pre-programmed dosages, sequences and combinations of these reagents are applied in order to obtain a maximum .OH yield. In general, when applied in properly tuned conditions, AOPs can reduce the concentration of contaminants from several-hundreds ppm to less than 5 ppb and therefore significantly bring COD and TOC down, which earned it the credit of “water treatment processes of the 21st century”.
The AOP procedure is particularly useful for cleaning biologically toxic or non-degradable materials such as aromatics, pesticides, petroleum constituents, and volatile organic compounds in waste water. Additionally, AOPs can be used to treat effluent of secondary treated wastewater which is then called tertiary treatment. The contaminant materials are converted to a large extent into stable inorganic compounds such as water, carbon dioxide and salts, i.e. they undergo mineralization. A goal of the waste water purification by means of AOP procedures is the reduction of the chemical contaminants and the toxicity to such an extent that the cleaned waste water may be reintroduced into receiving streams or, at least, into a conventional sewage treatment.
Meanwhile, current AOP devices have a lower yield rate of the hydroxyl radicals in which one or more primary oxidants (e.g. ozone, hydrogen peroxide, oxygen) are decomposed into the hydroxyl radicals via the ultraviolet light. For example, the AOP device of the state of the art has such a rate that when 100% of the hydrogen peroxide is added, only 3 to 4% thereof is decomposed into the hydroxyl radicals via the ultraviolent light and 96 to 97% hydrogen peroxide passes through the UV ray reactor. Further, when the waste water has a low transparency due to the organics within the water, the UV lights may not sufficiently reach and attack the organics, to lead to low efficiency of the oxidation rate.

SUMMARY

UV Sterilization

Accordingly, an embodiment of the present invention is made to improve the problems encountered in the conventional art and it is an aspect of the present invention to provide a UV fluid sterilizer which makes it possible to effectively perform a UV sterilization even when a UV transmissivity is low in such a way that the thickness of a fluid flowing around a UV lamp is made in a thin film shape to make sure that a transmission sterilization and a surface sterilization by a UV can be concurrently performed, and the flow of the fluid is made turbulent, and the UV is emitted to both the inner side and outer side with respect to the fluid flowing turbulently in the shape of a thin film.
To achieve the above aspects, there is provided a UV (Ultraviolet ray) fluid sterilizer, comprising a plurality of UV sterilization units; and wherein each UV sterilization unit comprising a small crystal tube; an inner UV lamp installed in the small crystal tube for emitting UV from the inner side of the fluid; a big crystal tube concentrically installed at the outer side of the small crystal tube for forming a flow space of the fluid; a spring coil fixed in a spiral shape at an outer diameter surface of the small crystal tube for providing a rotational force to the fluid; and a UV transmission contraction film which allows the spring coil to come into close contact with an outer diameter surface of the small crystal tube and serves to prevent impurities from sticking on a flow space of the fluid, and wherein a plurality of outer side UV lamps are provided at an outer side of the big crystal tube for externally emitting UV to the fluid flowing through the UV sterilization unit.
The big crystal tube and the small crystal tube can be substituted with a Teflon tube.
In addition, the inner side UV lamp and the outer side UV lamp are bar-shaped UV lamps which are installed in parallel from the crystal tube.
The UV fluid sterilizer according to the present invention is configured to make a fluid flow in a shape of a thin film while forming a turbulent flow, so the scanning efficiency of a UV lamp rises, and the UV is emitted to both the inner side and the outer side of the fluid flowing in a shape of a thin film and in a form of turbulent, so the scanning surface area increases two times as compared to the conventional UV fluid sterilizer which emits a UV only at the inner side of the fluid, so it is possible to effectively sterilize the fluid which has low UV transmissivity.
The flow of the fluid can be made smoother with the aid of a UV transmission contraction film installed at the outer surroundings of a spring coil, and small size impurities contained in the fluid do not gather as they are caught on the coil spring, thus enhancing sterilization efficiency.

Advanced Oxidation

The present disclosure has an aspect to provide an advanced oxidation device with high oxidation efficiency.
In accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure, there is provided an advanced oxidation device comprising a plurality of oxidation units, wherein each oxidation unit comprises: a first crystal tube; an inner UV lamp installed in the first crystal tube; a second crystal tube surrounding the first crystal tube; and a spring coil fixed in a spiral shape at an outer face of the first crystal tube, the coil being disposed between the first and second crystal tubes, wherein fluid containing materials to be oxidized flows between and along the first and second crystal tubes.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

These and/ or other aspects of present disclosure will become apparent and more readily appreciated from the following description of the embodiments, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings of which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic front view illustrating a first UV fluid sterilizer or advanced oxidation device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a cross sectional view shown by enlarging a UV sterilization unit or oxidation unit of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a vertical cross sectional view of FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a view for explaining a state that a fluid flows in a spiral shape with the aid of a coil spring.

FIG. 6 is a view for explaining a state that a fluid flows in a straight shape with the aid of a gap between a big crystal tube and a spring coil.

FIG. 7 is a illustrating a UV fluid sterilizer or advanced oxidation device according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

These detailed descriptions may include exemplary embodiments in an example manner with respect to structures and/or functions and thus a scope of the present disclosure should not be construed to be limited to such embodiments. In other words, the present disclosure may be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the disclosure to those skilled in the art. The present disclosure is defined only by the categories of the claims, and a scope of the present disclosure may include all equivalents to embody a spirit and idea of the present disclosure.
The terminology used in the present disclosure is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to limit the disclosure. For example, the terminology used in the present disclosure may be construed as follows.
As used in the disclosure and the appended claims, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprise” and/or “comprising and/or “include” and/or “including” and/or “have” and/or “having”” when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof.
Reference throughout the specification to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment” means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with an embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the subject matter disclosed. Thus, the appearance of the phrases “in one embodiment” or “in an embodiment” in various places throughout the specification is not necessarily referring to the same embodiment. Further, the particular features, structures or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments.
Below, various embodiments in accordance with the present disclosure may be in details described with reference to the drawings.

UV Sterilizer

FIGS. 1 and 2 are schematic front and side views of a UV fluid sterilizer according to a first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a cross sectional view shown by enlarging a UV sterilization unit, and FIG. 4 is a vertical cross sectional view of FIG. 3.
The UV fluid sterilizer according to an embodiment of the present invention features in that a plurality of UV sterilization units 10 are connected in series or in parallel. When the UV sterilization units 10 are connected in series, it helps enhance a sterilization efficiency, and when they are connected in parallel, it helps enhance the flow rate for sterilization process.
FIGS. 1 and 2 show the construction that the UV sterilization units 10 are connected in series. When the UV sterilization units 10 are connected in series, it is preferred that 2.about.5 units are grouped and connected in consideration of the differential voltages of the units. In the present embodiment, the fluid inputted into the fluid inlet is sterilized by means of the UV from the UV lamp while it passes, in sequence, through the plurality of the UV sterilization units 10 which are connected in series and then is discharged via a fluid outlet.
At the outer side of the UV sterilization units 10 are installed a plurality of bar shaped outer UV lamps 30 in parallel from the UV sterilization units 10 so as to externally emit UV to the fluid which passes through each UV sterilization unit 10. In the embodiment of the attached drawings, the outer UV lamps 30 are arranged in a square shape around each UV sterilization unit 10 when viewing in the lateral direction; however the number and arrangement of the outer UV lamps 30 are not limited thereto, and they can be modified in various shapes. At one side of the UV sterilization unit 10 is installed a UV sensor 20 for the purpose of detecting a washing state of the big crystal tube 15 when the operations of the UV fluid sterilizers stop.
FIGS. 3 and 4 are views for explaining the UV sterilization units 10. The UV sterilization unit 10 comprises an inner UV lamp 11, a small crystal tube 12, a spring coil 13, a UV transmission contraction film 14 and a big crystal tube 15.
The small crystal tube 12 and the big crystal tube 15 are preferably formed of the tubes made from crystal materials to make sure that the UV sterilization wavelengths (254 nm) can well transmit; however it might be substituted with a Teflon tube that a UV can well transmit. If the crystal tube 12 is substitute with the Teflon, the tube might be distorted due to the pressure of the fluid, so it is preferred to use the crystal tube.
The inner side UV lamp 11 is a bar shaped UV lamp and is installed in parallel from the small crystal tube 12 at the inner center of the small crystal tube 12, and the big crystal tube 15 has a larger inner diameter than the small crystal tube 12 and is arranged concentrically at the outer side of the small crystal tube 12 while surrounding the small crystal tube 12. So, a space is formed between the small crystal tube 12 and the big crystal tube 15 for a fluid to flow along the space.
The spring coil 13 comes into close contact with the outer diameter surface of the small crystal tube 12, thus causing the fluid flowing along the UV sterilization units 10 to have turbulent.
The UV transmission contraction film 14 is covered on the spring coil 13 and serves to fix the spring coil 13. The UV transmission contraction film 14 serves to interrupt the space in which the fibers or solid substances contained in the fluid can gather in the middle of the spinning flow due to the turbulent flow of the fluid while ensuring that the resistance of the fluid can be reduced for the sake of smooth flow of the fluid, and the energy loss due to the resistance can be prevented. The UV transmission contraction film 14 is made from a material which allows the UV sterilization wavelength to pass, and it should have a good contraction performance and should withstand a UV sterilization wavelength.
The outer side UV lamp 30 is provided in multiple numbers at the outer side of the big crystal tube 15 to be in parallel from the big crystal tube 15. It is preferred that each outer side UV lamp 30 is arranged symmetrically with an equal distance from each other when viewing from the inner side UV lamps 11.
The inner diameter of the big crystal tube 15 is larger than the outer diameter of the UV transmission contraction film 14, and a gap (d) is formed between the outer diameter of the UV transmission contraction film 14 and the inner diameter of the big crystal tube 15 for the fluid to flow along the gap as shown in FIG. 6. So, the fluid grows turbulent with the aid of the straight flow by means of the gap (d) and the spinning flow due to the spring coil 13. At this time, as the gap (d) grows narrower, an ideal turbulent flow formation condition is made; however a fiber or a solid substance might be caught on the gap (d) depending on the kinds of the fluid, so it is preferred that the gap (d) is formed to have a certain width.
In order for the fluid flowing along the concentric cross section area to uniformly receive the UV from the UV lamps, it is preferred that the fluid is made turbulent. The thusly generated turbulent flow helps prevent small solid impurities contained in the fluid from sticking on the inner diameter surface of the big crystal tube 15 and the outer diameter surface of the UV transmission contraction film 14, thus preventing the worsening of the sterilization function when the UV is interrupted by means of the solid impurities. In other words, it is preferred that the UV sterilization function cannot worsen when the sterilizer operates for a long time.
FIGS. 5 and 6 are views for explaining the flow of the fluid on the concentric cross section area. Here the fluid has a straight flow through a gap (d) between the big crystal tube 15 and the UV transmission contraction film 14 and a spiral flow along the configuration of the spring coil 14. When the spiral flow is made to have turbulent by adjusting the ratio between the flow rate and the concentric cross section area, the turbulent spiral flow collides with the straight flow, thus enhancing the turbulent flow of the fluid flowing through the gap (d). The turbulent factors in the spiral flow are affected by means of the flow rate and the flow passage cross section area.
The laminar flow and the turbulent flow appearing in the flow of the fluid are generally classified by means of Reynold's number. When Reynold's number is lower than 2,000, it means the laminar flow, and when it is higher than 4,000, it means the turbulent flow. The Reynold's number is determined by means of the density of the fluid, flow rate, the diameter of the tube, the viscosity, etc. Assuming that the flow rates are same, the smaller the diameter of the tube, the higher the Reynold's number, and as the viscosity grows lower and the density (temperature) grows lower, the Reynold's number rises.
So, it is possible to change the fluid flow to a turbulent flow by properly adjusting the width of the gap (d) and the pitches of the spring coil 13. If the pitch space of the spring coil 13 is too narrow, the spring coil 13 does not generate the resistance in the flow, and if it is two wide, the generation of the turbulent flow is interfered.
The UV fluid sterilizer according to an embodiment of the present invention is directed to enhancing the UV sterilization efficiency since the UV is emitted from the inner UV lamps 11 and the outer side UV lamps 30 while the fluid is flowing in a turbulent form through the gap between the big crystal tube 15 and the UV transmission contraction film 14.
Since the UV is concurrently emitted from the inner and outer sides of the fluid to the fluid, the UV sterilization efficiency can be enhanced since the UV scanning surface area increases more than two times as compared to the conventional UV fluid sterilizer.
FIG. 7 is a illustrating a UV fluid sterilizer according to a second embodiment of the present invention. More strictly, FIG. 7 is a illustrating a UV sterilization unit 10 according to a second embodiment of the present invention.
In this second embodiment of the UV sterilization unit 10, an outer pipe 24 is used in place of the big crystal tube 15 in the first embodiment. This pipe 24 may be a stainless pipe. Further, a spiral wrinkled inner pipe 23 may be used in place of the spring coils 13 in the first embodiment. This inner pipe 23 may be a stainless pipe. That is, the wrinkled inner pipe 23 may be formed by pressing an inner pipe in a spiral shape. This wrinkled inner pipe 23 may be bonded to the outer pipe 24 at the top thereof via the welding. In the inner wrinkled inner pipe 23, there is placed an inner crystal tube 22 to be in contact with the inner pipe 23. The UV lamp 21 is inserted into the inner crystal tube 22 so as to be spaced from the inner crystal tube. As shown in FIG. 5, in accordance with the second embodiment, there occurs a spiral flow along and between the inner spiral wrinkled pipe 23 and an inner crystal tube 22. This spiral flow may enhance sterilization efficiency as in the first embodiment.

Advanced Oxidation Device

The UV fluid sterilizer as shown in FIGS. 1 to 7 may be employed in the advanced oxidation device with high oxidation efficiency using the turbulent flow or spiral flow in accordance with the present disclosure. In this connection where the same configuration of the UV fluid sterilizer is employed in the advanced oxidation device, below are there provided the description where the same components as in the UV sterilizer are employed except for the adding into the wastewater the oxidants, for example ozone, hydrogen peroxide, oxygen. In the following description on the advanced oxidation, the reference to FIG. 1 to FIG. 7 is made in order to help better understanding of the same principle of the present invention between the sterilizer and oxidation device. In the following, the function “the sterilization” will change to the function “the oxidation”. In this connection, for the oxidation, the ozone and/or hydrogen peroxide is added in the oxidation device to form hydroxyl radicals. This adding of the oxidant is well known to the skilled person to the art thus will not be described later in details.
FIGS. 1 and 2 are schematic front and side views of an advanced oxidation device according to a first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a cross sectional view shown by enlarging an oxidation unit 10 and FIG. 4 is a vertical cross sectional view of FIG. 3.
The advanced oxidation device according to the embodiment of the present invention features in that a plurality of oxidation units 10 are connected in series or in parallel. When the oxidation units 10 are connected in series, it helps enhance oxidation efficiency, and when they are connected in parallel, it helps enhance the flow rate for oxidation process.
FIGS. 1 and 2 show the construction that the oxidation units 10 are connected in series. When the oxidation units 10 are connected in series, it is preferred that 2.about.5 units are grouped and connected in consideration of the differential voltages of the units. In the present embodiment, the fluid inputted into the fluid inlet is oxidized with the hydroxyl radials produced by means of the UV from the UV lamp while it passes, in sequence, through the plurality of the oxidation units 10 which are connected in series and then is discharged via a fluid outlet. The input fluid contains the ozone and/or hydrogen peroxide. Consequently, OH reacts unselectively once formed and contaminants with the fluid will be quickly and efficiently fragmented and converted into small inorganic molecules.
At the outer side of the oxidation units 10 are installed a plurality of bar shaped outer UV lamps 30 in parallel from the oxidation units 10 so as to externally emit UV to the fluid which passes through each Oxidation unit 10. In the embodiment of the attached drawings, the outer UV lamps 30 are arranged in a square shape around each Oxidation unit 10 when viewing in the lateral direction; however the number and arrangement of the outer UV lamps 30 are not limited thereto, and they can be modified in various shapes. At one side of the Oxidation unit 10 is installed a UV sensor 20 for the purpose of detecting a washing state of the big crystal tube 15 when the operations of the UV fluid sterilizers stop.
FIGS. 3 and 4 are views for explaining the oxidation units 10. The oxidation unit 10 comprises an inner UV lamp 11, a small crystal tube 12, a spring coil 13, a UV transmission contraction film 14 and a big crystal tube 15.
The small crystal tube 12 and the big crystal tube 15 are preferably formed of the tubes made from crystal materials to make sure that the UV wavelengths (254 nm) can well transmit; however it might be substituted with a Teflon tube that a UV can well transmit. If the crystal tube 12 is substitute with the Teflon, the tube might be distorted due to the pressure of the fluid, so it is preferred to use the crystal tube.
The inner side UV lamp 11 is a bar shaped UV lamp and is installed in parallel from the small crystal tube 12 at the inner center of the small crystal tube 12, and the big crystal tube 15 has a larger inner diameter than the small crystal tube 12 and is arranged concentrically at the outer side of the small crystal tube 12 while surrounding the small crystal tube 12. So, a space is formed between the small crystal tube 12 and the big crystal tube 15 for a fluid to flow along the space.
The spring coil 13 comes into close contact with the outer diameter surface of the small crystal tube 12, thus causing the fluid flowing along the oxidation units 10 to have turbulent.
The UV transmission contraction film 14 is covered on the spring coil 13 and serves to fix the spring coil 13. The UV transmission contraction film 14 may be optional and serves to interrupt the space in which the fibers or solid substances contained in the fluid can gather in the middle of the spinning flow due to the turbulent flow of the fluid while ensuring that the resistance of the fluid can be reduced for the sake of smooth flow of the fluid, and the energy loss due to the resistance can be prevented.
The UV transmission contraction film 14 is made from a material which allows the oxidation wavelength to pass, and it should have a good contraction performance and should withstand a wavelength.
The outer side UV lamp 30 is provided in multiple numbers at the outer side of the big crystal tube 15 to be in parallel from the big crystal tube 15. It is preferred that each outer side UV lamp 30 is arranged symmetrically with an equal distance from each other when viewing from the inner side UV lamps 11.
The inner diameter of the big crystal tube 15 is larger than the outer diameter of the UV transmission contraction film 14, and a gap (d) is formed between the outer diameter of the UV transmission contraction film 14 and the inner diameter of the big crystal tube 15 for the fluid to flow along the gap as shown in FIG. 6. So, the fluid grows turbulent with the aid of the straight flow by means of the gap (d) and the spinning flow due to the spring coil 13. At this time, as the gap (d) grows narrower, an ideal turbulent flow formation condition is made; however a fiber or a solid substance might be caught on the gap (d) depending on the kinds of the fluid, so it is preferred that the gap (d) is formed to have a certain width.
In order for the fluid flowing along the concentric cross section area to uniformly receive the UV from the UV lamps, it is preferred that the fluid is made turbulent. The thusly generated turbulent flow helps prevent small solid impurities contained in the fluid from sticking on the inner diameter surface of the big crystal tube 15 and the outer diameter surface of the UV transmission contraction film 14, thus preventing the worsening of the oxidation function when the UV is interrupted by means of the solid impurities. In other words, it is preferred that the oxidation function cannot worsen when the oxidation device operates for a long time.
FIGS. 5 and 6 are views for explaining the flow of the fluid on the concentric cross section area. Here the fluid has a straight flow through a gap (d) between the big crystal tube 15 and the UV transmission contraction film 14 and a spiral flow along the configuration of the spring coil 14. When the spiral flow is made to have turbulent by adjusting the ratio between the flow rate and the concentric cross section area, the turbulent spiral flow collides with the straight flow, thus enhancing the turbulent flow of the fluid flowing through the gap (d). The turbulent factors in the spiral flow are affected by means of the flow rate and the flow passage cross section area. The turbulence increases the mixing rate of the oxidants in the fluid and/or transmission rate of UV beams in the fluid, to lead to improve the production rate of the hydroxyl radicals and thus the oxidation rate for the waste water including the containments and/or organics.
The laminar flow and the turbulent flow appearing in the flow of the fluid are generally classified by means of Reynold's number. When Reynold's number is lower than 2,000, it means the laminar flow, and when it is higher than 4,000, it means the turbulent flow. The Reynold's number is determined by means of the density of the fluid, flow rate, the diameter of the tube, the viscosity, etc. Assuming that the flow rates are same, the smaller the diameter of the tube, the higher the Reynold's number, and as the viscosity grows lower and the density (temperature) grows lower, the Reynold's number rises.
So, it is possible to change the fluid flow to a turbulent flow by properly adjusting the width of the gap (d) and the pitches of the spring coil 13. If the pitch space of the spring coil 13 is too narrow, the spring coil 13 does not generate the resistance in the flow, and if it is two wide, the generation of the turbulent flow is interfered.
The oxidation device according to the embodiment of the present invention is directed to enhancing the oxidation efficiency since the UV is emitted from the inner UV lamps 11 and the outer side UV lamps 30 while the fluid is flowing in a turbulent form through the gap between the big crystal tube 15 and the UV transmission contraction film 14.
Since the UV is concurrently emitted from the inner and outer sides of the fluid to the fluid, the oxidation efficiency can be enhanced since the UV scanning surface area increases more than two times as compared to the conventional AOP (advanced oxidation process) device.
FIG. 7 is a illustrating an advanced oxidation device according to a second embodiment of the present invention. More strictly, FIG. 7 is a illustrating an oxidation unit 10 according to a second embodiment of the present invention.
In this second embodiment of the oxidation unit 10, an outer pipe 24 is used in place of the big crystal tube 15 in the first embodiment. This pipe 24 may be a stainless pipe. Further, a spiral wrinkled inner pipe 23 may be used in place of the spring coils 13 in the first embodiment. This inner pipe 23 may be a stainless pipe. That is, the wrinkled inner pipe 23 may be formed by pressing an inner pipe in a spiral shape. This wrinkled inner pipe 23 may be bonded to the outer pipe 24 at the top thereof via the welding. In the inner wrinkled inner pipe 23, there is placed an inner crystal tube 22 to be in contact with the inner pipe 23. The UV lamp 21 is inserted into the inner crystal tube 22 so as to be spaced from the inner crystal tube. As shown in FIG. 5, in accordance with the second embodiment, there occurs a spiral flow along and between the inner spiral wrinkled pipe 23 and an inner crystal tube 22. This spiral flow may enhance oxidation efficiency as in the first embodiment.
It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the present invention without departing from the spirit or scope of the inventions. Thus, it is intended that the present invention covers the modifications and variations of this invention provided they come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A UV fluid sterilizer comprising a plurality of UV sterilization units, wherein each UV sterilization unit comprises:

a first crystal tube;

an inner UV lamp installed in the first crystal tube;

a second crystal tube surrounding the first crystal tube; and

a spring coil fixed in a spiral shape at an outer face of the first crystal tube, the coil being disposed between the first and second crystal tubes,

wherein fluid to be sterilized flows between and along the first and second crystal tubes.

2. A UV fluid sterilizer comprising a plurality of UV sterilization units, wherein each UV sterilization unit comprises:

a crystal tube;

an inner UV lamp installed in the crystal tube;

an outer pipe surrounding the crystal tube; and

and inner wrinkled pipe disposed in a spiral form between the crystal tube and the outer pipe, the inner pipe having a wrinkled shape at a surface thereof,

wherein spiral flow of fluid to be sterilized fluid occurs between and along the crystal tube and inner wrinkled pipe.

3. The sterilizer of claim 2, wherein the inner wrinkled pipe is fixed to the outer pipe via a welding.

4. An advanced oxidation device comprising a plurality of oxidation units, wherein each oxidation unit comprises:

a first crystal tube;

an inner UV lamp installed in the first crystal tube;

a second crystal tube surrounding the first crystal tube; and

wherein fluid containing materials to be oxidized flows between and along the first and second crystal tubes.

5. The device of claim 4, further comprising a UV transmission contraction film to cover the spring coil to enable a close contact between the spring coil and the first crystal tube.

6. The device of claim 4, further comprising a plurality of external UV lamps disposed outside of the oxidation units.

7. The device of claim 4, wherein the first and/or second crystal tube is replaced with a Teflon tube.

8. The device of claim 4, wherein the UV lamp has a bar shape in parallel with the first crystal tube.