Water filtration and photocatalysis dual-function filter

Abstract

A filtering cavity is formed in a shell of the water filtering and photocatalysis dual-function filter, a water inlet is formed in the top of the shell, and a water outlet is formed in the bottom of the shell; a grating net for coarse filtration is arranged in the box body, a transparent bearing seat consisting of a transparent bottom plate and a vertical plate is arranged below the box body, the bearing seat is divided into a bearing part for placing a filtering and photocatalysis bifunctional material unit, and the bottom plate or the vertical plate is provided with a hole part for mounting a light-emitting unit; the filter realizes efficient purification through multiple filtration and catalysis, and the light-emitting unit can irradiate in multiple directions and is matched with the transparent window and the fluorescent coating to improve the light utilization rate; an openable overhaul window is arranged, so that the material unit is convenient to maintain and replace, and a bifunctional material with large circulation amount and good catalytic effect is adopted. The problem of low efficiency caused by poor penetrability of an external light source of the photocatalytic filter is solved, and the utilization rate of light energy is improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This utility model relates to the field of water purification technology, and in particular to a dual-function filter that combines water filtration with photocatalysis. Background Technology

[0002] Organic dyes and pharmaceutical antibiotics pollute water resources, threatening human health and the balance of natural ecosystems. Therefore, effective water treatment is crucial for both human health and the natural environment. Membrane filtration, photocatalysis, solar evaporation, and physical adsorption are commonly used water treatment methods. Membrane filtration technology has been widely used in wastewater treatment due to its advantages of low cost, high efficiency, and low energy consumption. However, membrane filtration alone still suffers from low degradation efficiency and severe membrane fouling when degrading pollutants. In the treatment of organic pollutants, photocatalysis technology offers advantages such as mild reaction conditions, no secondary pollution, high degradation efficiency, and low energy consumption. Combining membrane filtration with photocatalysis can not only solve the membrane fouling problem but also improve wastewater purification capabilities. Currently, there are materials with dual functions of filtration and photocatalysis. For example, in the paper published earlier by the inventors (see the paper below), a bifunctional composite material of Bi2SiO5@carbonized wood was prepared using carbonized wood loaded with Bi2SiO5 as the matrix. It has a high degradation rate for RhB (Rhodamine B) and TC (tetracycline pollutants). However, since it requires light exposure, this composite material still faces some technical problems when used as a filter.

[0003] Paper literature: Haohang Fang et al., A high-flux, photocatalytic wood-derived filter for high-efficiency water purification, International Journal of Biological Macromolecules 279 (2024) 135490. Utility Model Content

[0004] To address the aforementioned problems, one objective of this invention is to provide a dual-function filter that combines water filtration and photocatalysis, thereby resolving the light supply issue in the filter for materials with both filtration and photocatalysis functions.

[0005] To achieve these objectives and other advantages of this utility model, this utility model provides a water filtration and photocatalytic dual-function filter, comprising:

[0006] The outer casing has a filter chamber inside, a water inlet at the top, and a water outlet at the bottom;

[0007] A bar screen, installed inside the filter chamber, is used for coarse filtration of the water entering the filter chamber;

[0008] A transparent support base, located below the grid mesh, includes a transparent base plate and several vertical plates perpendicular to the base plate. The vertical plates divide the area above the base plate into several independent support sections. The base plate has through holes that correspond to the support sections, allowing water to pass through. The base plate or vertical plates have holes inside their cross-sections, where light-emitting units are installed.

[0009] Several material units with dual functions of filtration and photocatalysis are fitted on the support, and the light from the light-emitting unit shines on the material units with dual functions of filtration and photocatalysis through the transparent support.

[0010] This embodiment solves the problem of low efficiency caused by poor penetration of external light sources in traditional photocatalytic filters by directly irradiating the photocatalytic material through the built-in light-emitting unit. The transparent support structure design has both water flow guidance and light transmission functions, improving the light energy utilization rate. In addition, the modular support design makes it easy to replace or combine different functional material units.

[0011] Preferably, the light-emitting unit is embedded at the intersection of the bottom plate and the vertical plate in the hole, so that the light can be transmitted bidirectionally to the bottom plate and the vertical plate respectively, illuminating the bottom and side surfaces of the dual-functional material unit of filtering and photocatalysis.

[0012] Preferably, the cross-section of the hole is a polygonal structure; or, the interior is set with a rhomboid structure to enhance light refraction.

[0013] Preferably, a transparent window is provided on the side of the outer casing at a position corresponding to the support portion. The transparent window is also made of transparent glass or transparent plastic, so that external light can shine on the material unit with dual functions of filtering and photocatalysis.

[0014] Preferably, the inner wall surface of the filter chamber and the bottom surface of the grid are covered with a fluorescent coating.

[0015] Preferably, at least one of the transparent windows is configured as an openable maintenance window, the size of which matches the outer contour of the transparent support and is connected to the housing via a hinge or snap-fit ​​structure; when the maintenance window is opened, the transparent support can be inserted into or removed from the filter chamber as a whole along the opening direction of the maintenance window.

[0016] Preferably, the material unit with dual functions of filtration and photocatalysis is the Bi2SiO5@carbonized wood dual-function composite material disclosed in the paper: Haohang Fang et al., Ahigh-flux, photocatalytic wood-derived filter for high-efficiency waterpurification, International Journal of Biological Macromolecules 279 (2024)135490, which is processed into a block shape to fit the support.

[0017] Preferably, it also includes a buffer container connected to the outlet, with a suction pump connected to the side of the buffer container to provide suction force, and a drain outlet opened downwards from the suction section, with a one-way valve installed at the drain outlet to allow water to flow out in one direction.

[0018] This utility model has at least the following beneficial effects:

[0019] This invention solves the problem of low efficiency caused by poor penetration of external light sources in traditional photocatalytic filters by directly irradiating photocatalytic materials through built-in light-emitting units. The transparent support structure design combines water flow guidance and light transmission functions, improving light energy utilization. Furthermore, the modular support design facilitates the replacement or combination of different functional material units.

[0020] Other advantages, objectives and features of this invention will be partly apparent from the following description, and partly understood by those skilled in the art through study and practice of this invention. Attached Figure Description

[0021] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the water filtration and photocatalysis dual-function filter of this utility model;

[0022] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the transparent support base of this utility model when it is combined with the material unit;

[0023] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the transparent support base of this utility model;

[0024] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the material unit with dual functions of filtration and photocatalysis in this utility model;

[0025] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the light-emitting unit of this utility model.

[0026] The components include: outer shell 10; inlet 101; outlet 102; filter chamber 103; inspection window 104; bar screen 30; material unit 40 with dual functions of filtration and photocatalysis; transparent support 50; base plate 501; vertical plate 502; bearing part 503; through hole 504; hole 505; light-emitting unit 60; suction pump 70; buffer container 80; and one-way valve 801. Detailed Implementation

[0027] The present invention will be further described in detail below with reference to the embodiments, so that those skilled in the art can implement it based on the description.

[0028] As shown in Figures 1-5, the present invention provides a water filtration and photocatalytic dual-function filter, comprising:

[0029] The outer casing 10 has an internal filter chamber 103, a water inlet 101 at the top, and a water outlet 102 at the bottom. Specifically, the outer casing 10 is made of metal or transparent plastic (such as polycarbonate PC plastic, ABS plastic, etc.); it can be a rectangular prism structure, 30 cm long, 30 cm wide, 40 cm high, or other required dimensions, or other structures such as a cylindrical structure; the water inlet 101 and water outlet 102 are set as circular tubes, which can be circular tubes with a diameter of 3 cm, or other required dimensions. The water inlet 101 is located at the top center of the outer casing 10, and the water outlet 102 is located on one side of the bottom. Inside the outer casing 10, corresponding to the installation positions of the grille 30 and the transparent support 50, respectively, are provided with slots and protrusions for fixing.

[0030] A bar screen 30 is installed inside the filter chamber 103 to perform coarse filtration on the water entering the filter chamber 103. Specifically, the bar screen 30 is a size that matches the filter chamber 103, such as a square structure with a length of 28 cm and a width of 28 cm. The frame of the bar screen 30 is embedded in the slot, and the gaps are filled with sealant to firmly fix the bar screen 30 and effectively intercept large particles of impurities.

[0031] The transparent support 50, located below the grid 30, includes a transparent base plate 501 and several vertical plates 502 perpendicular to the base plate 501. The vertical plates 502 divide the upper part of the base plate 501 into several independent support parts 503. The base plate 501 has through holes 504, which correspond to the support parts 503, allowing water to pass through. The base plate 501 or the vertical plates 502 has holes 505 inside their cross-sections, and light-emitting units 60 are installed in the holes 505.

[0032] Specifically, a transparent support 50 can be made using transparent acrylic or other transparent materials, and the size of the transparent support 50 matches that of the filter chamber 103. For example, the transparent base plate 501 is a square about 26 cm long, 26 cm wide, and 1 cm thick, and the vertical plate 502 is about 20 cm high and 1 cm thick. By cutting and gluing, the vertical plate 502 is arranged into a cross-shaped structure and fixed to the top of the base plate 501, dividing the upper part of the base plate 501 into four independent square support parts 503 (or other numbers) with a side length of about 13 cm. A through hole 504 is drilled at the center of the base plate 501 corresponding to each support part 503. The through hole 504 can be square or round. The through hole 504 is smaller than the bottom size of the material unit 40 with dual functions of filtration and photocatalysis, so that the material unit 40 with dual functions of photocatalysis cannot fall out of the through hole 504 and is supported. At the same time, water can pass through the material unit 40 with dual functions of photocatalysis and the through hole 504.

[0033] A hole 505 is made at a suitable position on the base plate 501 or the vertical plate 502 (avoiding the support part 503). The diameter of the hole 505 is smaller than the thickness of the base plate 501 or the vertical plate 502, such as about 0.5 cm. A light-emitting unit 60, such as an LED bead or LED strip, is inserted into the hole 505. The positive and negative leads are connected to thin wires. The wires are led out from the wire holes preset in the outer casing 10 (the wire holes are fitted with sealant or sealing rings to prevent water leakage) and connected to an external constant current drive power supply to control the brightness of the light-emitting unit 60. The transparent support 50 is placed in the filter chamber 103 and cooperates with the boss structure in the filter chamber 103. Adhesive can be further applied to make it fit tightly with the boss structure to ensure sealing and stability.

[0034] Several dual-function material units 40 for filtering and photocatalysis are fitted into the support portion 503. Light from the light-emitting unit 60 shines through the transparent support 50 onto the dual-function material units 40. Specifically, the dual-function material units 40 are processed into a size that matches the support portion 503, such as a square block material unit with a height of 20 cm and a side length of about 13 cm, or a square block material unit made of stacked material blocks or sheets of other sizes. The square block material unit is then placed inside the support portion 503. It can also be further secured with straps so that the bottom and sides of the square block material unit are in close contact with the base plate 501 and the vertical plate 502, so that it can receive light and carry out the photocatalytic reaction.

[0035] One implementation process of this embodiment is as follows: The light-emitting unit 60 is installed on the transparent support 50, the material unit 40 with dual functions of filtration and photocatalysis is placed on the support part 503 of the transparent support 50, and then the grid 30 and the transparent support 50 are respectively placed into the filter chamber 103, the outer shell 10 is closed, the wires of the light-emitting unit 60 are connected to ensure that the light-emitting unit 60 emits light normally, and then the water inlet 101 is connected to the polluted water body, the flow rate is controlled, and filtration and catalytic treatment is carried out.

[0036] Furthermore, in another embodiment, a hole 505 is made at the vertical intersection of the base plate 501 and the vertical plate 502. After the light-emitting unit 60, such as the lamp bead, is embedded, the light-emitting surface faces both sides of the base plate 501 and the vertical plate 502. The light can be transmitted bidirectionally to the base plate 501 and the vertical plate 502 respectively, illuminating the bottom and side surfaces of the filter and photocatalytic dual-function material unit 40.

[0037] In this embodiment, light from the bottom plate 501 penetrates the bottom pores of the material unit, activating the photocatalytic reaction at the bottom layer. Light from the vertical plate 502 is reflected by the side wall to cover the side of the material unit, eliminating the shadow blind area of ​​traditional single-sided lighting and effectively leveraging the characteristics of the dual-function material unit 40 for filtering and photocatalysis.

[0038] Preferably, the hole 505 is a circular hole (the cross-section in the figure is a circular hole), or the hole 505 is set as a prismatic hole (cross-section) or a rhomboid structure is set inside the hole 505, and multiple refractive surfaces are constructed using the rhomboid structure to enhance light refraction.

[0039] Furthermore, in another embodiment, the sidewall of the outer casing 10 is provided with transparent windows corresponding to the positions of each support portion 503. These transparent windows are made of transparent glass or transparent plastic, allowing external light to pass through and illuminate the surface of the corresponding dual-function filter and photocatalytic material unit 40, forming multi-directional synergistic irradiation with the irradiation light from the light-emitting unit 60. Specifically, the sidewall of the outer casing 10 uses a high-transmittance acrylic sheet (transmittance ≥90%), or is provided with rectangular transparent windows composed of a high-transmittance acrylic sheet (transmittance ≥90%), corresponding to each support portion 503. The window edges are sealed with waterproof rubber rings. During the day, natural light directly illuminates the material unit through the transparent windows. When the light intensity is insufficient, the lighting unit is automatically activated to supplement the light, or both are activated simultaneously.

[0040] Furthermore, in another embodiment, at least one of the transparent windows is configured as an openable maintenance window 104. The size of the maintenance window 104 matches the outer contour of the transparent support 50 and is connected to the outer shell 10 via a hinge or snap-fit ​​structure. When the maintenance window 104 is opened, the transparent support 50 can be inserted into or removed from the filter chamber 103 along the opening direction of the maintenance window 104. Specifically, the top of the maintenance window 104 is connected to the outer shell 10 via a stainless steel hinge, and the bottom is provided with a magnetic snap-fit ​​to be fastened and fixed to the outer shell 10. An annular silicone sealing ring is provided at the edge of the window, and waterproof sealing is achieved by the pressure of the snap-fit ​​when closed. In practice, the maintenance window 104 is opened, the support 50 is removed, the dual-function material unit 40 in the bearing part 503 is replaced, the support 50 is pushed back in, and the snap-fit ​​is locked.

[0041] Furthermore, in another embodiment, the inner wall surface of the filter cavity 103 and the bottom surface of the grid 30 are covered with a fluorescent coating. When the light from an external light source or the light-emitting unit 60 shines on the fluorescent coating, it diffusely reflects light onto the upper surface of the dual-function material unit 40 and into the pores of the material, thereby stimulating the material's function and improving light utilization.

[0042] Furthermore, in another embodiment, the filtration and photocatalytic bifunctional material unit 40 is prepared as a carbon / Bi2SiO5@Bi bifunctional composite material according to the literature "Haohang Fang et al., A high-flux, photocatalytic wood-derived filter for high-efficiency water purification, International Journal of Biological Macromolecules 279(2024) 135490", and processed into a block matching the size of the support 503. This material has the characteristics of high flux and good catalytic effect. Alternatively, existing bifunctional materials such as TiO2 / g-C3N4 composite material can be used.

[0043] Furthermore, in another embodiment, a buffer container 80 is also included, which is connected to the outlet 102 via a pipeline. The buffer container 80 has a suction port on its side wall, which is connected to a suction pump 70 via a pipeline. The bottom of the buffer container 80 extends downward to form a suction section, and a drain outlet is opened at the end of the suction section. A one-way valve 801 is installed in the drain outlet, which only allows the water in the buffer container 80 to be discharged outward in one direction.

[0044] In this embodiment, polluted water enters through inlet 101, undergoes coarse filtration by the bar screen 30, and is then filtered and photocatalyzed by the dual-functional material unit 40 (a combination of filtration and photocatalysis) before flowing out through outlet 102. At this point, suction pump 70 is activated, and under suction force, the treated water quickly flows into buffer container 80. When the water level in buffer container 80 reaches a certain height, the water, under its own gravity, pushes open one-way valve 801 and flows out through drain outlet, achieving one-way discharge of the water. This method effectively controls the discharge speed and flow direction of the treated water, preventing unstable water flow from affecting subsequent water-using equipment, while ensuring that the quality of the treated water is not contaminated by external sources.

[0045] Although the embodiments of this utility model have been disclosed above, they are not limited to the applications listed in the specification and embodiments. It can be applied to various fields suitable for this utility model. Other modifications can be easily made by those skilled in the art.

Claims

1. A dual-function filter for water filtration and photocatalysis, characterized in that, include: The outer casing has a filter chamber inside, a water inlet at the top, and a water outlet at the bottom; A bar screen, installed inside the filter chamber, is used for coarse filtration of the water entering the filter chamber; A transparent support base, located below the grid mesh, includes a transparent base plate and several vertical plates perpendicular to the base plate. The vertical plates divide the area above the base plate into several independent support sections. The base plate has through holes that correspond to the support sections, allowing water to pass through. The base plate or vertical plates have holes inside their cross-sections, where light-emitting units are installed. Several material units with dual functions of filtration and photocatalysis are fitted on the support, and the light from the light-emitting unit shines on the material units with dual functions of filtration and photocatalysis through the transparent support.

2. The water filtration and photocatalytic dual-function filter as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The light-emitting unit is embedded at the intersection of the bottom plate and the vertical plate in the hole. The light can be transmitted bidirectionally to the bottom plate and the vertical plate, respectively illuminating the bottom and side surfaces of the dual-functional material unit for filtering and photocatalysis.

3. The water filtration and photocatalytic dual-function filter as described in claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The cross-section of the hole is polygonal, or the interior is set with a rhomboid structure to enhance light refraction.

4. The water filtration and photocatalytic dual-function filter as described in claim 1, characterized in that, A transparent window is provided on the side of the outer casing corresponding to the position of the supporting part, so that external light can shine on the material unit with dual functions of filtration and photocatalysis.

5. The water filtration and photocatalytic dual-function filter as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The inner wall surface of the filter chamber and the bottom surface of the grid are covered with a fluorescent coating.

6. The water filtration and photocatalytic dual-function filter as described in claim 5, characterized in that, At least one transparent window is configured as an openable access window, the size of which matches the outer contour of the transparent support and is connected to the housing via a hinge or snap-fit ​​structure.

7. The water filtration and photocatalytic dual-function filter as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The material unit with dual functions of filtration and photocatalysis is a Bi2SiO5@carbonized wood dual-function composite block.

8. The water filtration and photocatalytic dual-function filter as described in claim 1, characterized in that, It also includes a buffer container connected to the outlet, with a suction pump connected to the side of the buffer container to provide suction force. The suction part has a drain outlet at the bottom, and a one-way valve is installed at the drain outlet to allow the water to flow out in one direction.

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