WO2022003228A1

WO2022003228A1 - Electrochemical reactor for the electrochemical regeneration of activated carbon

Info

Publication number: WO2022003228A1
Application number: PCT/ES2021/070483
Authority: WO
Inventors: Juan Manuel GARCÍA CHAMIZO; Francisco Javier FERRÁNDEZ PASTOR; Miguel MOLINA CARMONA; Sergio GÓMEZ TRILLO
Original assignee: Universidad De Alicante
Priority date: 2020-07-03
Filing date: 2021-07-02
Publication date: 2022-01-06
Also published as: ES2890498A1; ES2890498B2

Abstract

The present invention relates to a reactor for the electrochemical regeneration of spent activated carbon. The reactor has two possible configurations, with concentric cylindrical electrodes and parallel flat electrodes, separated by an ionic membrane. An electrode is placed in each compartment, being able to act as an anode or cathode depending on the process requirement. The electrolyte necessary to carry out the electrochemical regeneration enters through the lower part of each compartment and exits through the upper part of each compartment. The reactor achieves a regeneration efficiency above 90% in spent activated carbons in water purification plants.

Description

DIGITAL DEVICE FOR OZONIZATION CONFINED IN A VOLUME OF ONE

AIR FLOW

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention refers to a device for ozonating the air contained in a volume that is part of a circuit through which air flows, in order to purify said flow, for use as respiratory equipment for personal use or for cleaning the air of a place, through digital configuration and regulation technology capable of supporting its use as equipment under the paradigms of wearing (wearable) and the internet of things (loT).

The device can be part of equipment and systems aimed at the following more specific purposes:

Purification of breathing air, by incorporating the device as part of masks, face shields, suits and other personal protective equipment, commonly known by the acronym PPE. Also for any equipment carried by people diagnosed with infectious diseases transmitted by respiratory or environment. Thus, it contributes to reducing the burden of pathogens in the environment thanks to the germicidal action on the source of the transmission chain. Used by people without a diagnosis of pathology, it helps to protect them by avoiding respiratory or environmental transmission infection because its germicidal effect reduces the contagious load necessary for infection, now at the end of the transmission channel. Likewise, for the protection against toxins and allergens.

Purification of the surrounding air, by incorporating the device into air circulation devices in the personal development environment. The purpose, in this case, is to reduce the pollutant load along the transmission channel, decontaminating it of pathogens, toxins and allergens, that is, purifying the air and the environment.

Purification of the environment including surfaces, objects and materials. By extension of the purifying effect of the air, the ozone that reaches the surfaces, the objects and the materials of the environment exerts the same disinfectant and decontaminating effect of all these.

The device can be used for ozonation of the following airflow modes: Unidirectional, for airflow from a source of contamination, including purification of air exhaled by infected people and aspiration or

SUBSTITUTE SHEET (RULE 26) admission of air carrying pathogens, allergens or toxins. By passing the air exhaled by a person with an infectious, respiratory or environmentally transmitted disease, through the ozone-laden volume of the device, decontamination of the air occurs due to the germicidal effect of ozone. Instead, blowing air containing toxins or allergens through the ozonated volume of the device just before it is inhaled, decontaminates it and protects the wearer. Likewise, the incorporation of the device as part of the inlet of any air renewal circuit produces its decontamination.

Bidirectionally, for air flow when the potential source of contamination is not determined. It refers to the purification of both exhaled and inhaled air, whether of pathogens, toxins or allergens, to be used by anyone in order to help reduce the environmental pollutant load while protecting itself from the aggressiveness of the environment to the respiratory tract. This is the most general case of use and that, therefore, represents the essence of the invention since there are no known proposals to actively purify air with an effectiveness comparable to that of ozone (the effectiveness of solutions based on activated carbon and similar is several orders of magnitude lower).

Inhibited confinement, to subject open air flows to ozone concentrations subject to the applicable health prescriptions, even in human presence. It corresponds to the mode of operation to purify the environment and decontaminate surfaces, objects and materials, including the equipment that incorporates the ozonator device.

At the same time, it can be used at high concentrations of ozone as long as the absence of people is guaranteed or at concentrations within the margins established by the health authorities when the aim is to keep the environment permanently purified.

Purification refers to the inhibition of the harmful capacity of one or more of the agents suspended in the air or present on surfaces, objects and materials that can occur within the following cases:

Germicidal effect on microbiological pathogens such as fungi, bacteria, protozoa, algae, spores and viruses. Ozone works by oxidizing the ionic groups that confer the functional chemical characteristics to organic molecules, especially those of the protective membranes, and gives rise to different chemical substances incompatible with life or at least with the pathogenic effect. As it is a chemical phenomenon of oxidation of lipids and proteins, its effect is generic regardless of the biological species

SUBSTITUTE SHEET (RULE 26) concerned.

Lethal effect on mites and small insects. Ozone toxicity acts by exterminating them or at least eradicating them by creating inhospitable environments for them.

Oxidant deactivating effect of the toxic, allergenic or deodorizing power of substances present in the environment. The products of oxidation are new chemical species, or what is the same, ozone causes the disappearance of harmful agents.

The foundation of the present invention, as it has been exemplified when explaining the purifying properties of ozone, is based on the use of the high oxidizing power of ozone (O ₃ ) which, in a small concentration, gives it a lethal capacity for microbial life thanks to the decomposition that it produces in biological tissues, as well as the ability to modify functional chemical species by inhibiting their odoriferous or allergenic effect. The harmless use of ozone for the health of higher beings is provided by regulating its production, persistence and confinement using digital monitoring and control technology (hardware and software) that guarantees the absence of ozone outside the confinement volume. and, therefore, the impossibility of coming into contact with higher beings.

The invention has been conceived and designed under a model-oriented approach which results in:

The resolution at the level of the model itself, which consists of the device for ozonation confined in a volume of an air flow, that is, the present invention. Conceptually, the device constitutes an air purification architecture (in the strict scientific-technical sense of the term, that is, a device with the capacity to purify air). The device synthesizes an abstraction of characteristics and properties that share a certain set of uses, utilities, benefits and possible properties under the common denominator of purifying the air. As such an architecture, the device is capable of being supplemented with ad hoc equipment and apparatus to obtain various functional air purification utilities.

The resolution at the utility level, which consists of each of the ad hoc equipment and devices mentioned for the ozonator device to provide the utility effects of air purification, that is, respiratory masks, desktop IoT equipment, etc.

STATE OF THE ART

SUBSTITUTE SHEET (RULE 26) Ozone generation is a known phenomenon applied to different commercial uses. Ozone has been widely shown to be effective in the elimination of bacteria, viruses, protozoa, nematodes, fungi, cell aggregates and spores due to the fact that it exerts its biological action by chemical reaction with the organic functional groups constituting the biological species. In the same way, it is capable of oxidizing harmful or undesirable organic and inorganic compounds.

The extreme difficulty in storing ozone is justified by the great instability that emanates from its high reaction power, which makes it tend to combine with a multitude of chemical compounds. For this reason, in the vast majority of places or spaces of industrial application, ozone is generated by means of the pertinent equipment just before its use.

Numerous patents focused on ozone are known. US2016 / 0022851 refers to ways to stabilize production; WO2013112197 discloses the use of ozone in a washing machine. In the sanitary field, CN 104225643 describes a device for sterilizing dialysis vessels by means of ozone and the elimination of this. The sterilization time described in the patent is established in a range between 20 to 50 minutes. Patent WO2019144131 presents a large cabinet which uses increased concentrations of ozone for the disinfection of medical articles.

In agriculture, ozone is used as an insecticide or fungicide and for the improvement of food. JP2007210881A describes a method for storing ozone in ice for food preservation.

Until now, there are no devices for individual use that consist of a system capable of purifying an air flow using ozonation technology confined to a certain volume of that flow, while preventing leaks outside of that volume; being able in turn to self-sterilize, and that they do not leave a polluting trace due to the formation of by-products and residues. In other words, it allows the treated air to be breathed, without the risks associated with inhaling ozone.

Most of the current air purification solutions use carbon filters or others and have limitations such as the depletion of the active agent and their field of action is restricted to the volume of the active agent, and the other elements and components of the equipment may become contaminated. Additionally, waste is produced in all cases.

SUBSTITUTE SHEET (RULE 26) BRIEF EXPLANATION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is a digital device for ozonation of the air contained in a volume that is part of a circuit through which air flows, in order to purify said flow, for equipment for personal use or as part of facilities and equipment, susceptible to additional use as loT equipment.

Its conception and design within the framework of information, communication and control technologies (TICC) has given rise to the structure of layers used in this field and which is specified in the following:

Transducer device. It consists of the components that materialize the ozone-generating electrochemical phenomena; also the electrochemical, thermal or catalytic components that decompose it; and those for measuring the presence of ozone outside the confinement.

Device control. It consists of the electronics (controller card, in the slang) that is responsible for regulating the operation of the transducers.

Device manager. It consists of the interface software that, on the one hand, governs the functional processes of the transducers through the control electronics and, on the other hand, enables the integration of the device in the TICC systems.

Under such an organization, the device can be operated (configured, monitored, etc.) as a loT network element, even remotely.

Functionally, the device consists of the following blocks: ozone generation. Regulates the timing and power of ozone generation by any of the known arc or ultraviolet emission methods with the appropriate frequency, depending on whether the air flow to be ozonized is greater or less than 0.1 l / s, respectively. . This is to achieve germicidal concentrations of up to 25 ppm in confined operation mode and less than 0.05 ppm in inhibited confinement operation mode. ozone confinement. It regulates the timing and power of the matrix of elements that accelerate the recombination of ozone to molecular oxygen that delimits the ozonation volume in order to prevent ozone from flowing out of said confinement volume. The accelerating or recombining elements may be chemical catalysts, electrical resistances or ultraviolet emitters operating at

SUBSTITUTE SHEET (RULE 26) ozone decomposition frequencies. confinement monitor. It consists of a network of sensors to detect the presence of ozone, located outside the confinement volume, including the electronics for its control. Its operation consists of transmitting the ozone concentration map outside the confinement volume and emitting a hardware interrupt in case of detection above the safety concentration, which is configurable (the default threshold is established in a fraction of the recommendation WHO). The safety concentration may be different at each end of the device, for example when used in masks.

Device manager. It is responsible for the communication, coordination and synchronization between all the modules to produce the ozonating effect of the confined volume: it manages the ozonation, decomposition and attention of the interruptions of the confinement monitor to inhibit the operation of the generator and intensify the power of the confinement module in order to restore the operation of the device to its working point. docking module. Fundamentally, it is the system for the mechanical fixation of the device to the devices and equipment that provide the functionality (masks, etc.). It includes the electrical supply, which can be part of the device or connected as an external element; as well as, optionally, a fan to force the air flow through the confining volume.

This device includes the following relevant improvements with respect to the state of the art: ability to operate with ozone at air purifying concentrations without risk to humans, pets or animals, due to the confinement of the activity in a controlled extra-corporal region of space. purification in the entire spectrum of agents that can be carried in the air or be present in the environment, from small insects and arachnids such as mites, through any of the microbiological species including airborne gametes, viruses and toxic or malodorous substances . Due to the fact that the phenomena underlying the invention are of a chemical nature, that is, purification occurs by destroying the chemical species that are constitutive of biological tissues or are toxic in themselves, the purification power is independent of the contaminating agent or infectious. This universality of the purification capacity gives the invention the status of a prevention system since it can be used to combat future toxins and infections, as well as mutations.

SUBSTITUTE SHEET (RULE 26) to come. without risk to health because ozone is confined within the device, preventing the inhalation of fumes and effluvia that can occur in the case of purification by active substances. absence of residues and by-products since ozone recombines back to molecular oxygen, without leaving an ecological footprint. sizing of the device, from miniaturization to equip masks and other PPE onwards, within a wide range, with the possibility of adapting the technology depending on the use and the benefits required unlimited long-term use, in the range of the ten years that characterize electronic technology devices. versatility to be part of air purification equipment and systems. Remote configuration and management, and system network integration.

Throughout the description and claims, what is expressly stated does not exclude other technical characteristics, components or utilities. Furthermore, the present invention covers all the possible combinations of particular and preferred embodiments indicated herein. Other variants are defined in the remainder of the specification and in the figures.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

To facilitate the understanding of the invention, a series of explanatory figures of particular examples of the invention are presented that cannot be considered limiting.

Figure 1: longitudinal section of an example of a device according to the invention.

Figure 2: diagram of organization and operation of the device.

DETAILED EXHIBITION OF IMPLEMENTATION MODES

Figure 1 shows an example of embodiment, in which the device is contained in a housing (10), with ozone confinement chambers (20, 40) and an ozonation chamber (30) arranged longitudinally. In the figure, the chambers (20, 30, 40) are preferably cylindrical, as well as the housing (10). Both ends of the casing (10) comprise a filter (11), optionally with a grid (12) to protect the filter (11) from the outside, and an ozone sensor (13). It also comprises recombiners (21) of

SUBSTITUTE SHEET (RULE 26) ozone decomposition, which are elements that accelerate the conversion of ozone to molecular oxygen and are located in the confinement chambers (20, 40).

The general mode of operation of the device supports any direction for the air flow asynchronously. For example, the device can be incorporated into a mask for use by people who lack diagnosis. Thus, the mask has the preventive purpose of protecting the wearer as well as reducing the pathogenic load of the environment and will operate both in the inhalation and exhalation directions. If the device is incorporated into the mask to be carried by people who have been diagnosed as infected, with the preventive purpose of reducing the pathogenic load of the environment, it will suffice for it to operate only in the direction of exhalation, this being optional and configurable.

If the device is incorporated into the mask to be carried by people who have a diagnosis of being healthy, with the preventive purpose of protecting them, it will suffice for it to operate only in the inhalation direction, this being optional and configurable.

The ozonation chamber (30) comprises the confined ozone chamber (34) where disinfection takes place and includes an ozone generator (31), and also comprises an electrical power source (32) such as a rechargeable battery, connection to the network with a transformer or similar, and a programmable electronic control and communication module (33), where communication can be wired or wireless, therefore it can have a wireless telecommunications sub-module with other electronic devices and / or the cloud. In figure 1 it has been represented as part of the ozonation chamber (30), although in a possible embodiment of the invention this chamber may have any other location.

The ozone confinement is produced by the recombiners (21) that prevent its exit from the second chamber (30) since it is decomposed immediately upon exiting it. In this way, any other gas can overcome the confinement barrier, but the ozone is only in the second chamber (30). The ozone sensors (13) ensure that there are no leaks outside the device, reducing or slowing down production if necessary. In such cases an appropriate alert will be indicated.

This device can be attached to many devices, portable or not, such as masks, helmets, personal protective equipment, purifying systems in vehicles, rooms, etc.

SUBSTITUTE SHEET (RULE 26) Figure 2 shows schematically how to handle the device is defined in three layers and the control unit. There is a first layer (1) with the components of the device that is attached to a specific device. It comprises sensors (1A) and transducers for ozone generation and recombination (1B), which are governed by the monitoring electronics layer (2) (2A) and the device control electronic module (2B), as well as a monitoring module (2). signal conditioning (1C).

The third layer (3) represents the device management software and interface with the utility programs and communication protocols IoT (3A) and communication with cloud services and others (3B).

The invention is a loT device for controlling ozonation confined to a limited volume within an air flow, with the ability to operate with ozone at air purifying concentrations without risk to higher beings due to the confinement of the activity in an extra region. -Corporal controlled space.

The ozone is confined within the device, preventing the inhalation of fumes and effluvia that could occur in the case of purification using active substances.

The device is arranged to be integrated into prevention systems, since it can be used to combat future toxins and infections, as well as future mutations of pathogens because the phenomena underlying the invention are of a chemical nature, that is, Purification occurs by destroying the constitutive chemical species of biological tissues or that are toxic in themselves and, therefore, the purification power is independent of the contaminating or infectious agent.

The device can be designed with very different dimensions, from miniaturization to equip masks and other PPE onwards. The technology can be adapted depending on the use and the required benefits, which gives it versatility to be part of air purification equipment and systems, even in human presence, both portable and embedded in the facilities. In addition, with this device, remote configuration and management and integration into system networks are possible.

Therefore, the device object of the present invention is a digital device for ozonation confined in a volume of an air flow, teleoperable as a component of

SUBSTITUTE SHEET (RULE 26) loT network, comprising an ozone confinement chamber (20), an ozonization chamber (30) and a further ozone confinement chamber (40) arranged sequentially; characterized in that the confinement chambers include ozone decomposition recombiners (21) that prevent ozone from escaping from the ozonation chamber (30) and because, externally to the chambers, it includes ozone sensors (13) to guarantee the absence of leaks ozone out of the device. And as a digital device, in addition to the transduction layer described in the preceding paragraph, it includes the electronics that regulate the operation of the transducers and the software that, on the one hand, governs the functional processes of the transducers through the control electronics and , on the other hand, it enables the integration of the device in the TICC systems.

SUBSTITUTE SHEET (RULE 26)

Claims

1 Digital device for ozonation confined in a volume of an air flow, housed in a housing (10) characterized in that internally it comprises an ozone confinement chamber (20), an ozonation chamber (30) and another confinement chamber ozone (40) arranged sequentially; where each confinement chambers comprise recombiners (21) for ozone decomposition that prevent ozone from escaping from the ozonation chamber (30) and where externally to these chambers and at the ends of the casing a filter (11) and an ozone sensor (13).

2.- Digital device for ozonation confined in a volume of an air flow, according to claim 1, where the ozonation chamber (30) comprises a confined ozone chamber (34) where disinfection takes place and includes an ozone generator (31), and also comprises an electrical power supply (32) and a programmable electronic control and communication module (33).

3.- Digital device for ozonation confined in a volume of an air flow, according to claim 2, wherein the programmable electronic control and communication module (33) comprises a wireless telecommunications sub-module.

4 Digital device for ozonation confined in a volume of an air flow, according to claim 2, where the electrical power source (32) is a rechargeable battery or is a connection to the network with a transformer.

5.- Digital device for ozonation confined in a volume of an air flow, according to claim 1, where the ends of the cylinder comprise grids (12) to protect the filters (11).

SUBSTITUTE SHEET (RULE 26)