WO2017047953A1

WO2017047953A1 - Composite filter

Info

Publication number: WO2017047953A1
Application number: PCT/KR2016/009727
Authority: WO
Inventors: 오병수; 최유승; 정기택
Original assignee: 엘지전자 주식회사
Priority date: 2015-09-17
Filing date: 2016-08-31
Publication date: 2017-03-23
Also published as: KR101744615B1; KR20170033704A

Abstract

The present invention provides a composite filter comprising: a crystal generation catalyst filter part formed so as to promote the reaction of hardness materials or scale-causing materials, which are present in feed water, with bicarbonate anions and to remove the hardness materials or the scale-causing materials from the feed water by means of crystallization; and an ion exchange resin filter part formed at a downstream side of the crystal generation catalyst filter part so as to filter the feed water, which has passed through the crystal generation catalyst filter part, and to remove the hardness materials or the scale-causing materials from the feed water by means of ion exchange.

Description

Composite filter

The present invention relates to a composite filter adapted to remove hard or scale-inducing substances from raw water.

Water hardness means that the amount of calcium ions and magnesium ions in water is quantified in terms of the corresponding amount of calcium carbonate (calcium carbonate, CaCO ₃ ) (unit mg / l). The hardness of water is known to affect the taste of water. If the hardness of water is higher than the standard, it is classified as hard water and if it is lower than the standard, it is classified as soft water. The World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines further refine the criteria for hard water and training.

Hard materials will react at temperatures above or below room temperature to form scale. The scale (for example, CaCO ₃ ) refers to a substance that is formed when the mineral component remaining in the water aggregates after evaporation of water. It is necessary to prevent the generation of scales because scales generated at the outlet of water systems such as refrigerators and water purifiers are recognized by the consumer as a failure or deterioration of the water system.

In addition, in water cleaning systems such as washing machines and dishwashers, the hard material combines with the negative ions of the detergent, causing deterioration of cleaning power and creating insoluble detergents. It is necessary.

One object of the present invention is to propose a composite filter capable of removing the hard or scale-inducing substances present in water, including ion exchange resins and crystallization catalysts.

Another object of the present invention is to propose a composite filter which can effectively remove the hardness material or the scale-inducing material by complementing the disadvantages of the ion exchange resin and the disadvantages of the crystal forming catalyst.

Still another object of the present invention is to propose a composite filter having a flow path structure capable of improving the hardness or scale-inducing material removal performance of the ion exchange resin and the crystal forming catalyst.

Another object of the present invention is to propose a composite filter which can improve the performance of the crystal forming catalyst in consideration of the relationship between the flow rate and the filtration performance.

In order to achieve the object of the present invention, the composite filter according to an embodiment of the present invention promotes the reaction between the hard material or the scale-inducing material and the bicarbonate anion present in the raw water, and the hardness from the raw water through crystallization. A crystal production catalyst filter unit configured to remove a substance or a scale-inducing substance; And an ion exchange resin filter part formed downstream of the crystal production catalyst filter part to filter the raw water passing through the crystal production catalyst filter part and configured to remove the hardness material or the scale-inducing material from the raw water through ion exchange. .

According to an example related to the present invention, the crystal formation catalyst filter unit includes a plurality of crystal production catalysts, and the crystal production catalysts promote the reaction of calcium cations and bicarbonate anions present in the raw water or present in the raw water. By promoting the reaction of the magnesium cation and bicarbonate anion, it can be made to crystallize the hardness material or the scale-inducing material.

According to another embodiment related to the present invention, the crystal production catalyst filter unit includes a plurality of crystal production catalysts, the crystal production catalysts comprising: a carrier made of a polymer having a negative charge; And a crystal seed present at the crystallization site of the carrier and comprising at least one of calcium and magnesium.

According to another embodiment related to the present invention, the crystal generation catalyst filter unit may have a flow path structure in which raw water rises from the bottom, and the ion exchange resin filter part may have a flow path structure in which raw water falls from the top to the bottom.

According to another embodiment related to the present invention, the composite filter may include a housing formed to receive the crystal generation catalyst filter unit and the ion exchange resin filter unit; And a pre-filter unit disposed to face the inner circumferential surface of the housing and configured to remove at least one of particulate matter, organic matter, and residual chlorine present in the raw water. The crystal-forming catalyst filter unit may pass through the pre-filter unit. A first case formed to introduce raw water and forming a boundary with the pre-filter unit; And a plurality of crystal generation catalysts introduced into the first case, wherein the ion exchange resin filter unit is formed such that raw water passing through the crystal generation catalyst filter unit flows in and borders the crystal generation catalyst filter unit. A second case forming a; And a plurality of ion exchange resins introduced into the second case.

A spiral protrusion may be formed on an inner wall surface of the first case.

A plurality of protrusions may be formed on an inner wall surface of the first case, and the plurality of protrusions may be disposed to be spaced apart from each other in a direction in which raw water rises in the crystal generating catalyst filter.

A lower end of the crystal generation catalyst filter unit may be spaced apart from an inner bottom surface of the housing, and the composite filter may be formed such that raw water passing through the pre-filter unit is filled in the flow path structure of the crystal generation catalyst filter unit.

The upper end of the crystal generation catalyst filter unit and the upper end of the ion exchange resin filter unit are spaced apart from the inner top surface of the housing, so that the raw water passing through the crystal generation catalyst filter unit falls into the flow path structure of the ion exchange resin filter unit. It can be formed to be.

The composite filter includes a water discharge passage formed between an outer wall surface of the first case and an outer wall surface of the second case, and a lower end of the ion exchange resin filter unit is spaced apart from an inner bottom surface of the housing so that the composite filter is Raw water passing through the ion exchange resin filter may be discharged through the water discharge passage.

According to another embodiment related to the present invention, the composite filter may include a housing formed to receive the crystal generation catalyst filter unit and the ion exchange resin filter unit; And a pre-filter unit disposed to face the inner circumferential surface of the housing and configured to remove at least one of particulate matter, organic matter, and residual chlorine present in raw water, wherein the crystal-forming catalyst filter unit has a plurality of crystal-forming catalysts. The first block may be formed, and the ion exchange resin filter unit may include a second block having a plurality of ion exchange resins.

One of the first block and the second block is formed to surround the other, and the flow path structure of the composite filter may be configured such that raw water is sequentially filtered by the first block and the second block.

According to the present invention having the above-described configuration, since the crystallization catalyst promotes the crystallization of the hard material or scale-inducing material, and the ion exchange resin is made to ion exchange with the hard material or scale-inducing material, the hard material from raw water Alternatively, the scale causing material may be removed. Accordingly, the present invention can lower the hardness of the water.

Crystal-forming catalysts have the advantage of significantly longer lifespan than ion exchange resins, but have a disadvantage in that the reaction rate is slower than that of ion exchange resins and the hardness or scale-inducing substances present in water cannot be completely removed. However, the ion exchange resin of the present invention is disposed on the downstream side of the crystal forming catalyst to remove the hard or scale-inducing material that is not filtered out of the crystal forming catalyst, thereby making up for the disadvantages of the crystal forming catalyst.

Ion-exchange resins have the advantage that the reaction rate is faster than that of the crystal formation catalyst, but has the disadvantage of requiring regeneration due to the shorter lifetime than the crystal formation catalyst. However, since the crystal forming catalyst of the present invention is disposed upstream of the ion exchange resin to remove the hard or scale-inducing substance, it can reduce the load applied to the ion exchange resin and compensate for the disadvantage of requiring frequent regeneration. Can be.

Since the crystal forming catalyst compensates for the disadvantages of the ion exchange resin and the ion exchange resin compensates for the disadvantages of the crystal forming catalyst, the composite filter of the present invention having the crystal generating catalyst and the ion exchange resin has a crystal forming catalyst and an ion exchange resin. Only have the advantage of.

In addition, the present invention proposes a flow path structure capable of maximizing the advantages of the crystal forming catalyst and the ion exchange resin.

The present invention has a structure that can be naturally separated from the crystal forming catalyst after the hardness or scale-inducing material is crystallized by the crystal forming catalyst. The natural separation of the crystals allows the crystal-forming catalyst to rejoin other reactions, thus improving the performance of the entire composite filter as well as allowing the crystal-forming catalyst to continuously filter hard or scale-inducing materials without regeneration. have.

The present invention has a flow path structure in which the ion exchange resin can stably adsorb the hardness material or the scale-inducing material. Through stable adsorption, the ion exchange resin can remove most of the hard or scale-inducing substances that are not filtered from the crystal forming catalyst.

In addition, the present invention proposes a configuration in which the crystallization catalyst can have sufficient filtration performance in an appropriate flow rate range of another filter to be connected in series with the complex filter by forming turbulent flow using the protrusion. Although the proper flow rate at which the crystal forming catalyst exhibits optimum performance is different from that of the other filters, the other filter and the composite filter of the present invention are proposed as a complementary structure is proposed so that the crystal forming catalyst has sufficient filtration performance in the appropriate flow rate range of other filters. Filtration performance of the entire filtration system including a can be improved. In addition, the complementary structure does not escape the tendency of miniaturization and simplification of the filtration system.

1 is a cross-sectional view of a composite filter showing a first embodiment of the present invention.

2 is a conceptual diagram showing the mechanism of the crystal formation catalyst.

Figure 3a is a conceptual diagram showing the mechanism of the ion exchange resin.

3B is a conceptual diagram showing the regeneration of the ion exchange resin.

4 is a graph comparing experimentally the crystal forming catalyst and the ion exchange resin.

5 is a cross-sectional view of a composite filter showing a second embodiment of the present invention.

6 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a two-stage filtration system by connecting the composite filter and the other filter of the present invention in series.

FIG. 7 is another conceptual diagram illustrating a two-stage filtration system connected in series with the complex filter and the other filter of the present invention.

8 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a three-stage filtration system by connecting the composite filter and other filters of the present invention in series.

9 is another conceptual diagram illustrating a three-stage filtration system by connecting the composite filter and other filters of the present invention in series.

EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION Hereinafter, the composite filter which concerns on this invention is demonstrated in detail with reference to drawings. In the present specification, different embodiments are given the same or similar reference numerals for the same or similar components, and description thereof is replaced with the first description. As used herein, the singular forms "a", "an" and "the" include plural forms unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.

1 is a cross-sectional view of a composite filter 100 showing a first embodiment of the present invention.

The prefilter unit 110 is configured to remove at least one of particulate matter, organic matter, and residual chlorine present in the raw water. The prefilter unit 110 is disposed upstream of the crystal generation catalyst filter unit 120. Upstream and downstream are the concept of relative position relative to the water flow. When water passes through the pre-filter unit 110 first and then through the crystal-generation catalyst filter unit 120, it will be described that the pre-filter unit 110 is formed upstream of the crystal-forming catalyst filter unit 120. Can be. In FIG. 1, the pre-filter unit 110 is formed upstream of the crystal generation catalyst filter unit 120.

The prefilter unit 110 may include at least a part selected from the group consisting of a precipitation filter, an electrostatic adsorption filter, and a carbon block filter. The filters may comprise a nonwoven fabric and may be referred to as an available nonwoven filter. Depending on which filter the pre-filter unit 110 includes, the mechanism of the pre-filter unit 110 or the kind of foreign matter filtered by the pre-filter unit 110 may vary.

The prefilter unit 110 is formed of a hollow cylinder or a hollow polygonal column. The hollow part of the prefilter unit 110 may be referred to as a hollow portion. The hollow part is a region for accommodating the crystal generating catalyst filter part 120 and the ion exchange resin filter part 130.

The prefilter unit 110 has an outer circumferential surface and an inner circumferential surface. The outer circumferential surface refers to a surface facing the inner circumferential surface of the housing 150. The inner circumferential surface refers to a surface facing the crystal generation catalyst filter unit 120 disposed in the hollow portion. The pre-filter unit 110 is configured to filter the raw water flowing in the downward direction from the top. Arrows in FIG. 1 indicate the flow of raw water. Raw water is primarily filtered in the course of passing through the pre-filter unit 110.

The crystal generation catalyst filter unit 120 is formed downstream of the prefilter unit 110. FIG. 1 shows a configuration in which the crystal generation catalyst filter 120 is formed downstream of the prefilter 110.

The crystal generating catalyst filter unit 120 is configured to promote the reaction between the hard material or the scale-inducing material existing in the raw water and the bicarbonate anion. The crystallization catalyst filter unit 120 is configured to remove the hard material or the scale-inducing material from the raw water through crystallization.

The crystal generation catalyst filter unit 120 includes a first case 121, a plurality of crystal generation catalysts 122, and a protrusion 123.

The first case 121 is formed so that the raw water passing through the pre-filter unit 110 flows in. Referring to FIG. 1, it can be seen that raw water passing through the pre-filter unit 110 in a downward direction from the bottom of the first case 121 flows into the first case 121.

The first case 121 has a hollow portion, the cross section may be formed in an annular shape. An annular cross section of the first case 121 means that the first case 121 has an annular inner space in an area excluding the hollow part. The annular inner space is where a plurality of crystal forming catalysts 122 are charged. However, the shape of the first case 121 is not necessarily limited thereto. The first case 121 may be disposed to be wrapped by the prefilter unit 110, but this is not necessarily limited thereto.

The first case 121 forms a boundary with the pre-filter unit 110. The outer circumferential surface of the first case 121 is disposed to face the inner circumferential surface of the prefilter unit 110. Raw water passes through the pre-filter unit 110 in a top-down direction with reference to FIG. 1, but may partially flow left and right. However, the raw water passing through the pre-filter unit 110 may not flow into the side of the crystal generating catalyst filter unit 120 by the boundary formed by the first case 121. Since the housing 150 is disposed on the outer circumferential surface of the prefilter unit 110, and the first case 121 is disposed on the inner circumferential surface of the prefilter unit 110, raw water passes through the prefilter unit 110. It can flow only in the flow path defined in. For example, raw water filtered by the pre-filter unit 110 may flow down the outer wall of the first case 121. Accordingly, the inner circumferential surface of the housing 150 and the first case 121 are combined with each other to form a flow of raw water flowing from the top to the bottom.

In the first case 121, a plurality of crystal generating catalysts 122 are charged (or filled). The crystal forming catalyst 122 is made to promote the reaction of the hard or scale-inducing material and bicarbonate anion present in the raw water. In addition, the crystal forming catalyst 122 is configured to remove the hard material or the scale causing material from the raw water through crystallization of the hard material or the scale causing material. The mechanism of the crystal formation catalyst 122 will be described later in more detail with reference to FIG. 2.

The crystal generation catalyst filter unit 120 has a flow path structure in which raw water rises from the bottom up. Specifically, the lower end of the crystal generation catalyst filter unit 120 is spaced apart from the inner bottom surface of the housing 150 and the raw water passing through the pre-filter unit 110 in the flow path structure of the crystal generation catalyst filter unit 120 It is formed to rise. The crystal forming catalyst 122 is configured to remove the hard material or the scale-inducing material from the raw water charged in the flow path structure.

In order to improve the hardness or scale-inducing material removal performance of the crystal forming catalyst 122, the water must be filled in the space where the crystal forming catalyst 122 is present, the filtration must be made. The space in which the crystal generating catalyst 122 is present refers to a flow path structure through which raw water passes, and refers to the internal space of the first case 121 in FIG. 1. The flow of water is also called up-flow.

A catalyst refers to a substance that serves to promote or inhibit a chemical reaction, and the catalyst is left intact after mixing with the product. The crystal forming catalyst 122 of the present invention also promotes crystal formation of the hard material or scale-inducing material, but remains unchanged after mixing with the product. Crystals produced by promoting crystal formation must be separated from the crystal formation catalyst 122 so that the crystal formation catalyst 122 can participate in other reactions. Therefore, in order to improve the hardness or scale-inducing substance removal performance of the crystal forming catalyst 122, it is necessary to quickly separate the crystal from the crystal forming catalyst 122.

When the crystal generation catalyst filter unit 120 has a flow path structure in which raw water rises from the bottom, the raw water filling the flow path structure provides buoyancy to the crystal production catalyst 122. Due to this buoyancy, the flow of the crystal forming catalyst 122 becomes active, so that the crystal can be separated from the crystal forming catalyst 122. When the crystal generation catalyst filter unit 120 has a flow path structure in which raw water rises from the bottom, the crystal may be naturally separated from the crystal generation catalyst 122 by using buoyancy provided by the raw water without applying an external force. That has the advantage.

If the crystal generation catalyst filter unit 120 has a flow path structure in which raw water falls from the top to the bottom, unlike the present invention, an effect of separating the crystal from the crystal generation catalyst 122 may be expected only by applying an external force. . This type of flow is called down-flow, which is distinguished from the upward flow.

An inner wall surface of the first case 121 surrounds the plurality of crystal generating catalysts 122. The plurality of crystal generation catalysts 122 are filled in the inner space surrounded by the inner wall surface of the crystal generation catalyst filter unit 120. Protrusions 123 are formed on the inner wall surface.

The composite filter 100 includes a pre-filter unit 110 and an ion exchange resin filter unit 130, as well as a crystal generation catalyst filter unit 120, and are in series with several additional filters as described with reference to FIGS. 6 to 9. Can be connected to form a filtration system. The performance of the filtration system is determined by the individual filters forming the filtration system. In addition, since the performance of each filter is affected by the flow rate of the raw water, in order to improve the performance of the filtration system as a whole, the flow rate of the raw water passing through the individual filters must be maintained in an appropriate range.

In general filters excluding the crystal forming catalyst filter unit 120, the filtration performance increases as the flow rate increases and then decreases again. This tendency also applies to various filters that may be used in the pre-filter unit 110. However, unlike the general filter, the crystal production catalyst filter unit 120 including the crystal production catalyst 122 shows a tendency that the filtration performance decreases and increases as the flow rate increases. This is because the crystal forming catalyst 122 must be separated from the crystal by being affected by the active flow of raw water so that it can participate in the reaction which promotes the crystal formation again. Therefore, the following two approaches can be considered to improve the performance of the filtration system as a whole.

(1) The first is to configure the filtration system so that the flow rate is set differently for each filter and supply the proper flow rate for each filter. This method can provide the best filtration performance for each filter, which can dramatically improve the performance of the filtration system. However, in order to set a different flow rate for each filter, a separate device for controlling the flow rate between the filters is required. This does not fit the tendency of the filtration system to be miniaturized and simplified due to space utilization and hygiene.

(2) The second is to set the flow rate of the filtration system to a range of flow rates suitable for a part of the filter, but complement other filters so as to exhibit sufficient filtration performance within the range of the set flow rate. The second approach may be less effective in improving the performance of the filtration system than the first, but it may contribute to the miniaturization and simplification of the filtration system since no separate device is required to control the flow rate between the filter and the filter.

The present invention employs a second approach in accordance with the trend toward miniaturization and simplification of the filtration system. The composite filter 100 includes the pre-filter unit 110 and the ion exchange resin filter unit 130 as well as the crystal forming catalyst 122, and further, the composite filter 100 is combined with other filters to form a filtration system. You may. Therefore, if the performance of the pre-filter unit 110 and the other filters should be supplemented according to the proper flow rate of the crystal formation catalyst 122, the complementary structure of each of the other filters except for the crystal formation catalyst 122 should be considered. Therefore, the solution of the problem is complicated.

On the contrary, if the crystal formation catalyst 122 is supplemented according to the appropriate flow rate of the other filters, the filtration performance of the entire filtration system can be improved only by the supplementation of the crystal formation catalyst 122, thereby simplifying the problem. In order to solve the problem by a simple method in the present invention to complement the filtration performance of the crystal forming catalyst 122 in the appropriate flow rate range of the pre-filter unit 110, a protrusion formed on the inner wall surface of the first case 121 (123) was adopted.

As described above, the crystal forming catalyst 122 has a tendency to decrease after increasing the filtration performance as the flow rate increases. Therefore, considering only the crystal formation catalyst 122, it is preferable to increase the flow rate until the improvement of the filtration performance is saturated. However, in general, the filter has a tendency to increase and decrease the filtration performance as the flow rate increases, and has a high filtration performance in a flow rate range relatively smaller than the optimum flow rate of the crystal forming catalyst 122.

The protrusion 123 formed on the inner wall surface of the first case 121 may be formed to improve the filtration performance of the crystal forming catalyst 122 at a relatively small flow rate. The protrusion 123 collides with particles of raw water to cause turbulence in the flow of raw water. Although the flow rate through the composite filter 100 is smaller than the optimum flow rate of the crystal forming catalyst 122, separation of the crystal from the crystal forming catalyst 122 may be achieved by turbulence. In addition, the crystal forming catalyst 122 separated from the crystal may rejoin another reaction. Therefore, the protrusion 123 formed on the inner wall surface of the first case 121 may improve the filtration performance of the crystal forming catalyst 122 in a relatively small flow rate range through the formation of turbulent flow.

The protrusion 123 may be formed spirally along the inner wall surface of the first case 121. When the protrusion 123 is formed in a spiral, turbulence may be formed while the raw water meets the protrusion 123 formed in the spiral.

In addition, the protrusions 123 may be provided in plural, and the plurality of protrusions 123 may be spaced apart from each other in the direction in which the raw water is filled in the crystal generation catalyst filter 120. The raw water may form turbulence by the protrusions 123 spaced apart from each other.

The ion exchange resin filter unit 130 is formed downstream of the crystal forming catalyst filter unit 120 to filter the raw water passing through the crystal forming catalyst filter unit 120. The ion exchange resin filter unit 130 is made to remove the hardness material or the scale causing material from the raw water through ion exchange.

In the present invention, the arrangement order of the crystal forming catalyst filter unit 120 and the ion exchange resin filter unit 130 has a very important meaning. The order of placement relates to which filter part the raw water passes first and which filter part then passes.

Sufficient time is required for the crystallization process of the crystal formation catalyst 122. Therefore, the crystal formation catalyst 122 has a disadvantage that the initial reaction rate is slower than the ion exchange resin 132. A comparison of the reaction rate between the crystal forming catalyst 122 and the ion exchange resin 132 can be seen in FIG. 4. In addition, the crystal formation catalyst 122 has a disadvantage in that it is difficult to remove 100% of the hardness material or the scale-inducing material present in the raw water.

On the other hand, the crystal forming catalyst 122 may participate in another crystallization reaction after participating in the crystallization reaction. This is due to the nature of the catalyst. Thus, the crystal forming catalyst 122 has a very long life compared to the ion exchange resin 132.

On the contrary, the ion exchange resin 132 removes the hard material or the scale causing material by ion exchange alone. Therefore, the ion exchange resin 132 has the advantage that the initial reaction rate is very fast. In addition, the ion exchange resin 132 has an advantage of being able to remove nearly 100% of the hardness material or scale-inducing material present in the raw water.

On the other hand, the ion exchange resin 132 has a disadvantage of requiring a short life and regeneration due to the consumption of ions to be exchanged. Unless regeneration is performed, the ion exchange resin 132 can no longer remove the hard or scale-inducing substance at any moment. In addition, the ion exchange resin 132 has a disadvantage that the regeneration efficiency is gradually reduced as the regeneration is repeated.

In the present invention, in consideration of the advantages and disadvantages of the crystal forming catalyst 122 and the ion exchange resin 132, the crystal forming catalyst filter 120 is disposed upstream of the ion exchange resin filter 130, the ion exchange resin The filter unit 130 is disposed downstream of the crystal generation catalyst filter unit 120.

When the crystal forming catalyst filter unit 120 is disposed upstream of the ion exchange resin filter unit 130, the crystal forming catalyst 122 first deposits the hard material or the scale-inducing material from the raw water before the ion exchange resin 132. Can be removed Accordingly, the load on the ion exchange resin 132 is reduced. The load herein refers to the amount of hard material or scale-inducing material that the ion exchange resin 132 should remove. Since the ion exchange resin 132 removes the hard or scale-inducing substance through a mechanism called ion exchange, the load on the ion exchange resin 132 is reduced. When the load on the ion exchange resin 132 is reduced, the lifespan and regeneration period of the ion exchange resin 132 may be extended. Accordingly, when the crystal generation catalyst filter unit 120 is disposed upstream of the ion exchange resin filter unit 130, the crystal generation catalyst 122 may compensate for the disadvantages of the ion exchange resin 132.

Unlike the present invention, if the ion exchange resin filter 130 is disposed upstream of the crystal generation catalyst filter 120, the load applied to the ion exchange resin 132 is not reduced at all. Therefore, the effect of extending the lifespan and regeneration period of the ion exchange resin 132 cannot be expected.

When the ion exchange resin filter unit 130 is disposed downstream of the crystal generation catalyst filter unit 120, the ion exchange resin 132 converts the hardness material or the scale-inducing material that is not removed by the crystal generation catalyst 122. You can even remove it. Since the crystallization catalyst 122 does not remove 100% of the hardness material or the scale-inducing material, the crystallization catalyst 122 alone has a limitation in decreasing the hardness of water. However, if the ion exchange resin 132 even removes the hard material or scale-inducing material not removed by the crystal forming catalyst 122, the hard material or scale-inducing material may be removed from the raw water to almost 100%. Therefore, when the ion exchange resin filter unit 130 is disposed downstream of the crystal generation catalyst filter unit 120, the ion exchange resin 132 may compensate for the disadvantage of the crystal generation catalyst 122.

Unlike the present invention, if the crystal forming catalyst filter unit 120 is disposed downstream of the ion exchange resin filter unit 130, the hard material or the raw material may be removed from the raw water until a point where regeneration of the ion exchange resin 132 is required. The scale causing material may be removed close to 100%. However, after the point where the ion exchange resin 132 needs to be regenerated, the crystal forming catalyst 122 may not remove the hard material or the scale-inducing material close to 100%.

The ion exchange resin filter unit 130 includes a second case 131 and a plurality of ion exchange resins 132.

The second case 131 is formed so that the raw water passing through the crystal generation catalyst filter unit 120 flows in. The second case 131 forms a boundary with the crystal generation catalyst filter unit 120. The second case 131 may be formed in a substantially hollow cylindrical or polygonal shape. A plurality of ion exchange resins 132 are introduced into the second case 131. The mechanism of the ion exchange resin 132 will be described later with reference to FIGS. 3A and 3B.

It may be disposed in the hollow portion of the first case 121 of the second case 131. However, only the flow path structure includes the pre-filter unit 110, the crystal-forming catalyst filter unit 120, and the ion-exchange resin filter unit 130, and the crystal-forming catalyst 122 and the ion-exchange resin 132 mutually If disposed in the divided area, the structure and arrangement of the first case 121 and the second case 131 is not necessarily limited to that shown in FIG.

The ion exchange resin filter unit 130 has a flow path structure different from that of the crystal generation catalyst filter unit 120. In order to maintain a stable adsorption section of the ion exchange resin filter 130, it is preferable to suppress the flow of the ion exchange resin 132 as much as possible. If the ion exchange resin filter unit 130 has an upward flow path structure similarly to the crystal generation catalyst filter unit 120, it is difficult to suppress the flow of the ion exchange resin 132 due to the buoyancy provided by the raw water. Therefore, the ion exchange resin filter 130 of the present invention has a flow path structure formed so that the raw water falls from the top to the bottom. The flow of raw water from top to bottom corresponds to down-flow.

Referring to FIG. 1, an upper end of the crystal generation catalyst filter unit 120 and an upper end of the ion exchange resin filter unit 130 are spaced apart from an inner upper end surface of the housing. Accordingly, the raw water passing through the crystal generation catalyst filter unit 120 may fall into the flow path structure of the ion exchange resin filter unit 130. If the ion exchange resin filter 130 has such a flow path structure, the flow of the ion exchange resin 132 filled in the second case 131 can be suppressed, so that the ion exchange resin filter 130 Can maintain a stable adsorption section.

The outer wall surface of the first case 121 and the outer wall surface of the second case 131 may be spaced apart from each other. A water discharge passage 160 is formed between the outer wall surface of the first case 121 and the outer wall surface of the second case 131. The water discharge passage 160 is connected to the water outlet 152 of the housing 150.

Referring to FIG. 1, the lower end of the ion exchange resin filter unit 130 is spaced apart from the inner bottom surface of the housing 150. Accordingly, the composite filter 100 is configured such that the raw water passing through the ion exchange resin filter unit 130 is discharged through the water discharge passage 160.

The composite filter 100 includes a housing 150 configured to receive the pre-filter unit 110, the crystal generation catalyst filter unit 120, and the ion exchange resin filter unit 130. In the housing 150, an inlet 151 and an outlet 152 may be formed. The inlet 151 is formed to supply water to the pre-filter unit 110. The water extraction unit 152 is configured to pass water sequentially passed through the pre-filter unit 110, the crystal generation catalyst filter unit 120, the ion exchange resin filter unit 130, and the water discharge passage 160 to the outside of the composite filter 100. It is formed to discharge into.

The crystal forming catalyst 122 and the ion exchange resin 132 may be introduced into the remaining space after the pre-filter unit 110 is disposed inside the housing 150. The crystal generation catalyst filter unit 120 and the ion exchange resin filter unit 130 are not formed of blocks, but a plurality of crystal generation catalysts 122 and a plurality of ion exchange resins 132 are formed. Therefore, when the crystal forming catalyst 122 and the ion exchange resin 132 are introduced into the remaining space of the housing 150, a single filter may be formed with the pre-filter unit 110 and the size of the composite filter 100 may be reduced. Can be. However, the crystal generation catalyst 122 and the ion exchange resin 132 should be put in a space separated from each other, and in order of the pre-filter unit 110, the crystal generation catalyst filter unit 120, the ion exchange resin filter unit 130 It should be arranged to have a flow path structure.

The composite filter 100 includes a water extraction nonwoven filter 140. The water extraction nonwoven filter 140 is disposed in the water extraction passage 160 of the ion exchange resin filter 130. The water extracting nonwoven fabric filter 140 may be formed to surround the second case 131 of the ion exchange resin filter 130, and may remove residual foreign matter from the raw water discharged through the water outlet passage 160. Crystals produced by the crystal formation catalyst 122 may also be filtered by the water extraction nonwoven filter 140.

The prefilter unit 110, the crystal generation catalyst filter unit 120, and the ion exchange resin filter unit 130 may be formed in unit modules so as to be easily combined or separated from each other. The crystal generation catalyst filter unit 120 of the unit module is inserted into the hollow portion of the pre filter unit 110 which is another unit module, and the crystal generation catalyst filter unit 120 is another unit module of the ion exchange resin filter unit 130. Inserted into, the combination of the pre-filter unit 110, the crystal forming catalyst filter unit 120 and the ion exchange resin filter unit 130 may be made.

Hereinafter, a mechanism in which the crystal forming catalyst 122 removes the hard material or the scale causing material from the raw water will be described.

2 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a mechanism of the crystal generating catalyst 122.

The crystal generating catalyst 122 includes a carrier 122a (catalyst support, carrier, or supporting material) and a crystal seed 122c.

The carrier 122a is made of a polymer having a negative charge. Hard materials or scale-inducing materials such as calcium cations 10 and magnesium cations 20 are positively charged. Therefore, if the carrier 122a is made of a negatively charged polymer, the carrier 122a may attract the hard material or the scale-inducing material by the electrostatic attraction. Negatively charged polymers include, for example, polyacrylates.

Several crystallization sites 122b are formed on the surface of the carrier 122a. Crystallization site 122b indicates the space where crystallization of the hard or scale-inducing material takes place. The crystal seed 122c is present at the crystallization site 122b.

Crystal seed 122c is an inorganic material that makes the hard material or scale-inducing material into a crystal. Crystal seed 122c includes at least one of calcium and magnesium. For example, the crystal seed 122c may include at least one of a calcium carbonate (calcium carbonate, CaCO ₃ ) crystal and a magnesium carbonate (magnesium carbonate, MgCO ₃ ) crystal.

Hard materials or scale-inducing substances present in raw water, such as calcium cations 10 and magnesium cations 20, are brought to the crystallization site 122b of the carrier 122a by electrostatic attraction when approaching the crystal forming catalyst 122. Gather. The crystal seed 122c is present at the crystallization site 122b, and the hardened material or the scale-inducing material is crystallized by the crystal seed 122c. The crystallization scheme of the hardness material or the scale-inducing material may be represented by Formula 1 and Formula 2. MEDIA points to the crystal formation catalyst 122.

[Formula 1]

^{_{^{Ca 2+ + HCO 3 - + MEDIA}}} -> CaCO 3 ( crystal) + CO ₂ + H ₂ O + MEDIA

[Formula 2]

^{_{^{Mg 2+ + HCO 3 - + MEDIA}}} -> MgCO 3 ( crystal) + CO ₂ + H ₂ O + MEDIA

Determining generation catalyst (122) is a calcium cation (Ca ² ⁺⁾ and bicarbonate anion (HCO ₃ ^-) present in the raw water as shown in the formula (1) to facilitate the reaction. In addition, the crystal forming catalyst 122 promotes the reaction between the magnesium cation (Mg ² ⁺ ) and the bicarbonate anion (HCO ₃ ⁻ ) present in the raw water, as shown in Formula 2. The crystal forming catalyst 122 contributes to the crystallization of the hard material or the scale-inducing material through the promotion of the chemical formula 1 reaction and the chemical formula 2 reaction.

Due to the vigorous flow of raw water, crystal 30 can be separated at crystallization site 122b. The crystal 30 separated from the crystal formation catalyst 122 may be mechanically filtered by the water extraction nonwoven filter 140 described with reference to FIG. 1.

Hereinafter, the mechanism and regeneration of the ion exchange resin 132 will be described.

3A is a conceptual diagram illustrating a mechanism of the ion exchange resin 132.

The ion exchange resin 132 has a sodium cation (Na +) and a functional group (SO ₃ ⁻ ). There is a difference in selectivity (or affinity) between the sodium cation bound to the functional group (SO ₃ ⁻ ) of the ion exchange resin 132 and the hard or scale-inducing substance (calcium cation or magnesium cation) present in the raw water. As such, chemical ion exchange may occur. Since the affinity of the calcium cations for the functional groups is greater than the sodium cations in the functional groups, the sodium cations in the functional groups are separated from the functional groups and instead the calcium cations bind to the functional groups. Magnesium cations also bind to functional groups on the same principle as calcium cations. By such an ion exchange process, the hardness material or the scale causing material may be removed from the raw water, and the hardness of the raw water may be lowered.

Since the ion exchange resin 132 removes the hard material or the scale-inducing material by chemical ion exchange, the initial reaction rate is very fast. As long as the sodium cation and the functional group are present in the ion exchange resin 132, the hardness material or the scale causing material present in the raw water may be continuously removed.

However, the amount of sodium cations and functional groups present in the ion exchange resin 132 is limited. Therefore, as the ion exchange resin 132 repeats the chemical ion exchange action, the ion exchange performance gradually decreases, and regeneration is required to restore the performance of the ion exchange resin 132.

3B is a conceptual diagram illustrating regeneration of the ion exchange resin 132.

In order to regenerate the ion exchange resin 132, the ion exchange resin 132 is exposed to salt water (liquid containing salt). Since there is an excess of sodium cations in the brine, there is a difference in concentration between the sodium cation and the calcium cation, and there is a difference in concentration between the sodium cation and the magnesium cation. When excess sodium cations present in the brine meet the ion exchange resin 132 to be recycled, the calcium cation or magnesium cation bound to the functional group is desorbed from the functional group by the concentration difference, and the sodium cation is bound to the functional group.

The ion exchange resin 132 may restore the removal performance of the hard material or the scale-inducing material by regeneration. However, as the regeneration is repeated, the regeneration efficiency gradually decreases. As a result, the regeneration cycle of the ion exchange resin 132 is shortened, and the recovery effect of the ion exchange performance is also lowered.

However, the present invention has already described that the disadvantage of the ion exchange resin 132 is supplemented by the crystal forming catalyst 122 (see FIGS. 2 and 2).

4 is an experimental comparison of the crystal forming catalyst 122 and the ion exchange resin 132.

The horizontal axis of the graph represents time (minutes), and the vertical axis represents water hardness reduction (%). Hardness reduction rate refers to the filtration ability to remove hardness and scale-causing substances from raw water.

Referring first to the graph of the ion exchange resin 132, the ion exchange resin 132 shows a rapid high filtration performance from the beginning. Since the hardness of the raw water exposed to the ion exchange resin 132 is lowered within a short time, it can be seen that the ion exchange resin 132 has a very fast initial reaction rate. In addition, since the hardness reduction rate of the ion exchange resin 132 is nearly 100%, it can be confirmed that the ion exchange resin 132 has a very good filtration performance.

However, looking at the experimental results, the lifetime of the ion exchange resin 132 ends before the operation time reaches about 200 minutes. Although the lifetime of the ion exchange resin 132 may vary depending on the experimental conditions, the lifetime of the ion exchange resin 132 is shorter than the lifetime of the crystal forming catalyst 122 even if the experimental conditions are changed. Therefore, in order to continue using the ion exchange resin 132, it must go through a process called regeneration.

On the other hand, referring to the graph of the crystal forming catalyst 122, the crystal forming catalyst 122 is increased slowly compared to the ion exchange resin 132. This means that the crystal forming catalyst 122 has a slower reaction rate than the ion exchange resin 132. However, unlike the ion exchange resin 132, the filtration performance of the crystal forming catalyst 122 continues to slowly increase with time. This means that the lifetime of the crystal forming catalyst 122 is much longer than that of the ion exchange resin 132, and unlike the ion exchange resin 132, it does not require frequent regeneration.

The fact that the crystal forming catalyst 122 has a much longer life than the ion exchange resin 132 results from a difference in mechanism. Since the ion exchange resin 132 removes the hard or scale-inducing substance from the raw water through the exchange between ions, the number of exchangeable ions decreases over time. In contrast, the crystal formation catalyst 122 may have a much longer life than the ion exchange resin 132 since the generated crystal is separated from the crystal formation catalyst, and thus may participate in another reaction to generate the crystal.

The composite filter of the present invention compensates for the shortcomings of the ion exchange resin 132 that requires regeneration using the crystal formation catalyst 122, and the crystal formation catalyst having a slow initial reaction rate using the ion exchange resin 132 ( 122) to compensate for the shortcomings. In particular, as the regeneration cycle of the ion exchange resin 132 is longer, the present invention has an advantage of solving problems such as waste of water due to regeneration, environmental pollution, and reduction of regeneration efficiency.

Hereinafter, another embodiment of the present invention will be described.

5 is a cross-sectional view of a composite filter 200 showing a second embodiment of the present invention.

An inlet 251 is formed at one side of the housing 250, and the pre-filter unit 110 receives raw water from the inlet 251. The prefilter unit 110 is configured to remove at least one of particulate matter, organic matter, and residual chlorine present in the raw water. The prefilter unit 110 may remove at least one of particulate matter, organic matter, and residual chlorine from raw water flowing from the outer circumferential surface toward the inner circumferential surface.

The prefilter unit 110 has a hollow portion. The crystal generation catalyst filter 220 may be disposed in the hollow portion of the pre-filter unit 110. The crystal generation catalyst filter 220 may include a block 220 having a plurality of crystal generation catalysts 122 (see FIG. 2). The block 200 having the crystal forming catalyst may be referred to as the first block 220 to distinguish it from the block of the ion exchange resin filter 230. Since the first block 220 and the crystal generation catalyst filter 220 are substantially the same, reference numerals of the first block 220 are denoted by the same reference numerals as the crystal generation catalyst filter 220.

The first block 220 is configured to remove the hard material or the scale-inducing material from the raw water flowing in the direction of the inner circumferential surface from the outer circumferential surface. Since the first block 220 has a plurality of crystal generation catalysts, the mechanism of the first block 220 is the same as that of the crystal generation catalyst described above. The crystal can be separated from the crystal forming catalyst by raw water passing through the crystal forming catalyst in the shear direction.

The first block 220 has a hollow part. An ion exchange resin filter 230 may be disposed in the hollow portion of the first block 220. The ion exchange resin filter unit 230 may include a block 230 having a plurality of ion exchange resins 132 (see FIGS. 3A and 3B). This block 230 may be referred to as a second block 230 to distinguish it from the first block 220. Since the second block 230 and the ion exchange resin filter unit 230 are substantially the same, the reference numerals of the first block 230 are denoted by the same reference numerals as the crystal generation catalyst filter unit 230.

The second block 230 is configured to remove the hard material or the scale causing material from the raw water flowing in the direction from the outer circumferential surface to the inner circumferential surface. Since the second block 230 has a plurality of ion exchange resins 132, the mechanism of the second block 230 is the same as that of the ion exchange resin 132 described above.

As the crystal forming catalyst filter 220 is formed of the first block 220 and the ion exchange resin filter 230 is formed of the second block 230, the material density of the composite filter 200 may be improved. have. In addition, when the ion exchange resin 132 needs to be regenerated, only the second block 230 may be separated and regenerated, and then inserted into the hollow part of the first block 220 again. Therefore, the block structure can improve the convenience of reproduction.

The second block 230 has a hollow part. A water outlet passage 260 may be disposed in the hollow portion of the second block 230, and the outlet passage 260 receives raw water from the second block 230. And the water outlet flow path 260 forms a flow path connected to the water outlet 252. The raw water filtered while sequentially passing through the first block 220 and the second block 230 may be discharged to the outside of the housing 250 through the water discharge passage 260 and the water outlet 252.

However, the block structure for improving the material integration degree is not necessarily limited to the structure of FIG. 5. One of the first block 220 and the second block 230 may be formed to surround the other one according to the positions of the inlet 251 and the outlet 252. For example, unlike FIG. 5, the second block 230 may be formed to surround the first block 220. However, the flow path structure of the composite filter should be made so that the raw water is sequentially filtered by the first block 220 and the second block 230.

Hereinafter, various modified examples in which the filtration system is constructed by connecting the

composite filter

100 or 200 of the present invention in series with other filters will be described. If the

composite filter

100 or 200 consists of a single filter, the filtration system is formed of a set of several filters.

The filtration system is formed by connecting two filters in two stages. The

composite filter

100 or 200 of the present invention is disposed on the upstream side, and the UF filter 300 (Ultrafiltration) is disposed on the downstream side. The UF filter 300 filters the water by the pressure difference, and separates a specific substance from the water by the size difference between the pores and the solutes. The

composite filter

100 or 200 and the UF filter 300 are connected in series.

At least one of particulate matter, organic matter, and residual chlorine is removed from the

prefilter unit

110 or 210 of the composite filter 100 or 200 (see FIGS. 1 and 5). In the crystal generation

catalyst filter unit

120 or 220 of the composite filter 100 or 200 (see FIGS. 1 and 5), the hard material or the scale-inducing material is removed by a mechanism called crystallization. The hardness material or the scale-inducing material are removed by the ion exchange resin filter unit 130 or 230 (see FIGS. 1 and 5) of the

composite filter

100 or 200 and an ion exchange mechanism. The UF filter 300 may remove the solutes, colloids, proteins, microbiological contaminants and large organic molecules from the water filtered by the

composite filter

100 or 200.

The filtration system is formed by connecting two filters in two stages. On the upstream side, the

composite filter

100 or 200 of the present invention is disposed, and on the downstream side, the

composite filter

300, 400 having the UF filter unit 300 and the post carbon block filter unit 400 is disposed. In order to distinguish the upstream

composite filter

100 or 200 and the downstream

composite filter

300, 400 from each other, the upstream

composite filter

100 or 200 may be referred to as a first

composite filter

100 or 200. The downstream

composite filters

300 and 400 may be referred to as second

composite filters

300 and 400.

The second

composite filters

300 and 400 include the UF filter unit 300 and the post carbon block filter unit 400 in one housing (not shown). The post carbon block filter unit 400 of the second

composite filter

300 or 400 filters out bacteria, which can be propagated in the filtration system, one last time. The description of the remaining filter or filter unit is replaced with the above description.

The filtration system is formed by connecting three filters in three stages. The

composite filter

100 or 200 of the present invention is disposed on the upstream side, the UF filter 300 is disposed on the midstream side, and the carbon block filter 400 is disposed on the downstream side. The

composite filter

100 or 200, the UF filter 300 and the carbon block filter 400 are connected in series.

Unlike the second

composite filter

300 or 400 described in FIG. 7 having the UF filter unit 300 and the post carbon block filter unit 400 in one housing (not shown), the filtration system of FIG. There is a difference in that the filter 300 and the carbon block filter 400 are provided in different housings (not shown).

A carbon block filter is disposed on the upstream side, an UF filter is disposed on the middle side, and a

composite filter

100 or 200 is disposed on the downstream side. The filtration system of FIG. 9 differs only in the arrangement order of the filtration system and the filter of FIG. The order of the filters forming the filtration system can be changed in design as needed.

The complex filter described above is not limited to the configuration and method of the above-described embodiments, but the embodiments may be configured by selectively combining all or some of the embodiments so that various modifications can be made.

The present invention can be used in industrial fields related to filters that filter raw water to produce purified water.

Claims

A crystal production catalyst filter configured to promote a reaction between the hard material or scale-inducing material present in the raw water and the bicarbonate anion, and to remove the hard material or scale-inducing material from the raw water through crystallization; And

A composite comprising an ion exchange resin filter portion formed downstream of the crystal formation catalyst filter portion to filter the raw water passing through the crystal generation catalyst filter portion, and to remove the hardness material or the scale-inducing substance from the raw water through ion exchange. filter.
The method of claim 1,

The crystal production catalyst filter unit includes a plurality of crystal production catalysts,

The crystal forming catalyst promotes the reaction of calcium cations and bicarbonate anions in the raw water or the reaction of magnesium cations and bicarbonate anions in the raw water to crystallize the hardness material or the scale-inducing material. A composite filter, characterized in that made.
The method of claim 1,

The crystal production catalyst filter unit includes a plurality of crystal production catalysts,

The crystal forming catalyst,

A carrier made of a polymer having a negative charge; And

And a crystal seed present at the crystallization site of said carrier, said crystal seed comprising at least one of calcium and magnesium.
The method of claim 1,

The crystal generation catalyst filter unit has a flow path structure in which the raw water is filled from the bottom up,

And the ion exchange resin filter part has a flow path structure in which raw water falls from top to bottom.
The method of claim 1,

The composite filter,

A housing formed to receive the crystal generation catalyst filter and the ion exchange resin filter; And

A pre-filter unit disposed to face the inner circumferential surface of the housing and configured to remove at least one of particulate matter, organic matter, and residual chlorine present in raw water;

The crystal generation catalyst filter unit,

A first case formed to introduce raw water passing through the prefilter unit and forming a boundary with the prefilter unit; And

It includes a plurality of crystal generating catalyst is put into the first case,

The ion exchange resin filter unit,

A second case formed to introduce raw water passing through the crystal generation catalyst filter and forming a boundary with the crystal generation catalyst filter; And

And a plurality of ion exchange resins introduced into the second case.
The method of claim 5,

Composite filter, characterized in that the spiral protrusion is formed on the inner wall surface of the first case.
The method of claim 5,

A plurality of protrusions are formed on the inner wall surface of the first case,

And the plurality of protrusions are disposed to be spaced apart from each other along the direction in which the raw water fills the crystal generation catalyst filter.
The method of claim 5,

And a lower end of the crystal generation catalyst filter part is formed such that raw water passing from the inner bottom surface of the housing and passing through the pre-filter part is filled with a flow path structure of the crystal generation catalyst filter part.
The method of claim 5,

An upper end of the crystal generation catalyst filter unit and an upper end of the ion exchange resin filter unit may be spaced apart from the inner top surface of the housing so that raw water passing through the crystal generation catalyst filter unit may fall into the flow path structure of the ion exchange resin filter unit. A composite filter characterized by the above.
The method of claim 5,

The composite filter includes a water discharge passage formed between the outer wall surface of the first case and the outer wall surface of the second case,

The lower end of the ion exchange resin filter unit is separated from the inner bottom surface of the housing complex filter, characterized in that the raw water passing through the ion exchange resin filter unit is discharged through the water discharge passage.
The method of claim 1,

The composite filter,

A housing formed to receive the crystal generation catalyst filter and the ion exchange resin filter; And

A pre-filter unit disposed to face the inner circumferential surface of the housing and configured to remove at least one of particulate matter, organic matter, and residual chlorine present in raw water;

The crystal generation catalyst filter unit is composed of a first block having a plurality of crystal production catalysts,

And the ion exchange resin filter unit comprises a second block having a plurality of ion exchange resins.
The method of claim 11,

One of the first block and the second block is formed to surround the other one,

The composite filter flow path structure, the composite filter, characterized in that the raw water is sequentially filtered by the first block and the second block.