Liquid handling system effluent alternating staging device with quality control functionality

Abstract

The utility model discloses a liquid processing system effluent alternative temporary storage device with quality control function, including liquid valve, gas valve, emptying valve, main storage tank, waste valve and at least two good airtight intermediate storage tanks, and the intermediate storage tank is communicated with the liquid valve's discharge port through first pipeline respectively, and the inlet of liquid valve is communicated with the output device of effluent, and the intermediate storage tank is communicated with the discharge port of gas valve through second pipeline respectively, and the inlet of gas valve is communicated with the air pump, and the intermediate storage tank is communicated with the inlet of emptying valve through third pipeline respectively, and the intermediate storage tank is communicated with the inlet of corresponding waste valve through fourth pipeline respectively, and the outlet of waste valve is communicated with main storage tank and waste liquid collecting device respectively, and is equipped with quality judging device for judging whether the effluent quality meets the requirement on the intermediate storage tank. The utility model can realize the discharge liquid alternative temporary storage of period, quality control and consolidated management function.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This utility model relates to chemical and biopharmaceutical liquid processing devices, specifically, to a liquid processing system effluent alternating temporary storage device with quality control function. Background Technology

[0002] In many fields of chemistry, chemical engineering, and biomedicine, there are devices that use different types of liquid processing equipment to periodically process liquids and output the processed liquids. These include, but are not limited to, liquid chromatography elution and gel permeation purification. The processed product solutions and the effluent often require quality control confirmation for application. Therefore, the effluent from each cycle of the processing equipment needs to be stored separately in an intermediate storage tank. Only after operator confirmation or after appropriate quality control procedures can the effluent from that cycle be combined into the main storage tank to prevent the effluent from failing to meet quality control specifications.

[0003] Utility model patent CN221459881U discloses a waste liquid collection device designed for preparative liquid chromatographs. This device uses two or more Mondl gas washing bottles, vacuum filtration flasks, etc., as buffer collectors, connected by polyethylene or latex tubing. In this patent, the waste liquid generated by the preparative liquid chromatograph flows out of the instrument outlet flow path, passes through a polyethylene tube, and enters the bottom of buffer collector No. 1. Using gas pressure, the liquid from the upstream of the flow path is collected by an upward discharge method. The liquid downstream of the flow path flows from the top of the collector through a polyethylene or latex tube into the next buffer collector. This process continues until the liquid at the top of the last buffer collector flows through a latex tube to a large waste liquid tank. This patented device helps to recover 500-1000 mL of waste liquid in a short time.

[0004] The aforementioned patent does not include the function of automatically and alternately storing the liquid generated in two parallel channels during two cycles, which is not convenient for the automated execution of temporary storage and merging of effluent in multi-cycle cycles. At the same time, the collection bottle does not have an automatic emptying capability, requiring the effluent from subsequent cycles to replace the effluent from previous cycles, which can lead to cross-contamination of liquids between cycles. Utility Model Content

[0005] The purpose of this invention is to provide a liquid treatment system effluent alternating temporary storage device with quality control function, so as to overcome the above-mentioned deficiencies in the prior art.

[0006] To achieve the above-mentioned technical objectives, the technical solution of this utility model is implemented as follows:

[0007] A liquid handling system with quality control function includes an alternating temporary storage device for effluent, comprising a liquid valve, a gas valve, a vent valve, a main storage tank, at least two airtight intermediate storage tanks, and a number of waste discharge valves equal to the number of intermediate storage tanks. The number of ports of the liquid valve, gas valve, vent valve, and waste discharge valve is at least one more than the number of intermediate storage tanks. The intermediate storage tanks are connected to the outlets of the liquid valves via a first pipe, and the inlets of the liquid valves are connected to the effluent output device. The intermediate storage tanks are connected to the outlets of the gas valves via a second pipe, and the inlets of the gas valves are connected to an air pump. The intermediate storage tanks are connected to the inlets of the vent valves via a third pipe. The intermediate storage tanks are connected to the inlets of the corresponding waste discharge valves via a fourth pipe. The outlets of the waste discharge valves are connected to the main storage tank and a waste liquid collection device. The liquid valve, gas valve, vent valve, waste discharge valve, and air pump are all electrically connected to a circuit control device. The intermediate storage tanks are equipped with a quality judgment device for determining whether the quality of the effluent meets the requirements.

[0008] Furthermore, the intermediate storage tanks are all connected to liquid valves, gas valves, vent valves, and waste discharge valves via airtight joints.

[0009] Furthermore, the third pipe extends to the bottom of the intermediate storage tank, while the first, second, and fourth pipes all extend to the vicinity of the inner side of the top cover of the intermediate storage tank.

[0010] Furthermore, there are two intermediate storage tanks, and the liquid valve, gas valve, vent valve, and waste discharge valve are all electrically controlled two-position three-way valves.

[0011] The beneficial effects of this utility model are as follows: This utility model can realize the functions of alternating temporary storage, quality control and combined management of discharged liquid between cycles; each time the liquid temporarily stored in the intermediate storage tank is emptied by air pressure, it is ensured that the intermediate storage tank is empty when it temporarily stores liquid again, thereby ensuring that the liquids between different cycles will not be cross-contaminated; the intermediate storage tank is equipped with a quality judgment device, which can determine whether the temporarily stored sample meets the quality control standards, so that the liquid that does not meet the control standards is discharged through a separate port and will not mix with the liquid in the main storage tank. Attached Figure Description

[0012] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the liquid treatment system effluent alternating temporary storage device with quality control function described in this embodiment of the present invention;

[0013] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the sensor described in an embodiment of this utility model.

[0014] As shown in the figure:

[0015] 1-Liquid valve; 2-Air pump; 3-Gas valve; 4-Drain valve; 5-Intermediate storage tank A; 6-Intermediate storage tank B; 7-Waste discharge valve A; 8-Waste discharge valve B; 9-Main storage tank; 10-Sensor A; 11-Sensor B; 12-LED light source; 13-Phototube. Detailed Implementation

[0016] The technical solutions of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings of the embodiments of the present invention.

[0017] In the description of this utility model, it should be noted that the terms "center," "upper," "lower," "left," "right," "vertical," "horizontal," "inner," and "outer," indicating orientation or positional relationships, are based on the orientation or positional relationships shown in the accompanying drawings and are used only for the convenience of describing this utility model and simplifying the description. They do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, or be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore should not be construed as a limitation of this utility model. Furthermore, the terms "first," "second," and "third" are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance.

[0018] In the description of this utility model, it should be noted that, unless otherwise explicitly specified and limited, the terms "installation," "connection," and "joining" should be interpreted broadly. For example, they can refer to a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; they can refer to a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; they can refer to a direct connection or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium; and they can refer to the internal connection of two components. Those skilled in the art can understand the specific meaning of the above terms in this utility model based on the specific circumstances.

[0019] like Figure 1 As shown in the figure, a liquid processing system with quality control function and an alternating effluent storage device includes two airtight storage tanks, each with a volume matching the effluent volume to be temporarily stored in each processing cycle, and capable of withstanding venting pressure. These are intermediate storage tanks A5 and B6, respectively. Five electrically controlled two-position three-way valves are included: a liquid valve 1 controlling the liquid flow direction; a gas valve 3 controlling the pressurization inside the intermediate storage tanks; a vent valve 4 controlling the connection between the intermediate storage tanks and the external atmosphere; and two waste discharge valves A7 and B8, respectively controlling whether the liquid temporarily stored in intermediate storage tanks A5 and B6 is merged into the main storage tank 9. An air pump 2 provides venting pressure, and airtight connecting pipelines for transporting liquids or gases are also included in the system. Each intermediate storage tank is equipped with corresponding sensors, as shown in the figure (sensor A10 and sensor B11), to determine whether the temporarily stored solution meets the quality control standards. Specific information is as follows:

[0020] In this embodiment of the device, the connected liquid processing system is a preparative liquid chromatography system, with an effluent volume of 200–2000 mL per cycle. Therefore, preferably, the intermediate storage tank is a 2L HDPE plastic container, pressure resistant to 0.5 MPa. The container top cover has four openings, and airtight connectors made of polytetrafluoroethylene are used for installation as described above. Figure 1 The fluid delivery pipeline is shown. In this embodiment, all five valves are PTFE vinyl sheets, two-position three-way solenoid valves made of perfluorinated material, and pressure resistant to 0.2 MPa. The air pump is a miniature diaphragm pump with a supply capacity of 5 L / min and a maximum output positive pressure of 0.1 MPa. All connecting pipes are PTFE tubing with an outer diameter of 1 / 8 inch. In this embodiment, the criterion for judging the effluent is that the solvent does not contain any residue of the target compound.

[0021] like Figure 2 As shown, because the target compound has ultraviolet absorption, an ultraviolet absorption probe is used as the sensor. The sensor is fork-shaped, with two prongs each equipped with a 254nm LED light source 12 and a phototube 13. When there is no liquid in the bottle and only air, or when the collected temporary liquid does not contain any residual target compound that has ultraviolet absorption at a wavelength of 254nm, the phototube 13 will give a high response signal. When the collected temporary liquid contains a certain concentration of target compound residue, the 254nm ultraviolet light will be absorbed by the liquid, and the photometric signal measured by the phototube 13 will decrease. When the photometric signal is below a certain threshold, it is determined that the temporary liquid cannot be combined with the main storage tank 9. The temporary liquid is output separately to another port.

[0022] For other embodiments with different volume requirements, liquid contact material requirements, and quality control schemes, the volume specifications, pipe diameter specifications, liquid path materials, and quality control sensor types can be changed accordingly based on the specific requirements of the embodiment.

[0023] The device is constructed and connected in the following manner:

[0024] Each intermediate storage tank has an airtight PTFE (polytetrafluoroethylene) connector installed on its airtight top cover. Four airtight connectors connect to pipelines leading to the waste discharge valve, liquid valve 1, gas valve 3, and vent valve 4, respectively. The pipelines have varying lengths when they enter the intermediate storage tank. The pipeline leading to the common end of the waste discharge valve ends at the bottom of the intermediate storage tank; while the pipelines leading to liquid valve 1, gas valve 3, and vent valve 4 end near the top cover, ensuring that these three pipe openings are always above the liquid level when the intermediate storage tank contains the maximum processing volume for one cycle.

[0025] The four pipelines originating from the four airtight joints, one of which connects to the common terminal of the exhaust valve, require no further explanation. Without loss of generality, the pipeline from intermediate storage tank A5 leading to liquid valve 1 and exhaust valve 4 is connected to the normally open terminals of liquid valve 1 and exhaust valve 4, respectively; the pipeline leading to gas valve 3 is connected to the normally closed terminal of gas valve 3. Similarly, the pipeline from intermediate storage tank B6 leading to liquid valve 1 and exhaust valve 4 is connected to the normally closed terminals of liquid valve 1 and exhaust valve 4, respectively; the pipeline leading to gas valve 3 is connected to the normally open terminal of gas valve 3.

[0026] The common terminal of liquid valve 1 is connected to the liquid outlet of the liquid handling system that requires periodic effluent management. The common terminal of gas valve 3 is connected to the controlled gas pump 2. The common terminal of vent valve 4 is not connected to any pipeline and is directly open to the atmosphere.

[0027] The normally open end of each drain valve leads to the main storage tank 9, which is used to combine all liquids that meet the storage conditions. The normally closed end of each drain valve leads to the drain port. Temporarily stored liquids that do not meet the combined storage conditions will be discharged through the drain port.

[0028] The sensor's working end is inserted into the intermediate storage tank. This ensures that at the end of each cycle, the liquid can completely submerge the corresponding LED light source 12 and phototube 13.

[0029] The operation mode of the device is illustrated using a complete working cycle of intermediate storage tank A5 as an example. By exchanging the parity of the cycle number and the valve phase, the operation mode of intermediate storage tank B6 can be obtained.

[0030] Step 1, Temporary storage of liquid

[0031] When the liquid handling system periodically outputs effluent, during each odd-numbered cycle, the normally open ends of liquid valve 1 and vent valve 4 are open. At this time, the effluent entering from the liquid outlet is introduced into intermediate storage tank A5 through the normally open end of liquid valve 1. The gas displaced by the injected liquid passes through the normally open end of vent valve 4 and is discharged from the common end of vent valve 4. During the liquid receiving process, the container maintains atmospheric pressure. During this step, the normally closed end of gas valve 3 is closed; therefore, whether gas pump 2 operates is independent of intermediate storage tank A5.

[0032] Step 2.1, Liquid receiving and reversing

[0033] When the liquid processing system that periodically outputs effluent completes an odd-numbered cycle and begins the next even-numbered cycle, the phases of all three solenoid valves switch to open at the normally closed end and close at the normally open end. At this time, the input liquid will be transferred to the intermediate storage tank B6 for reception. The intermediate storage tank A5 is connected to the air pump 2, which is connected to the common end of the gas valve 3, through the normally closed end of the gas valve 3.

[0034] 2.2 Selective evacuation of liquids

[0035] After the liquid is diverted, the liquid temporarily stored in intermediate storage tank A5 can be subjected to necessary quality control in any way (such as visual, optical or chemical sensors, which can be integrated into the automatic control).

[0036] 2.2-a, When the ultraviolet absorption intensity of the liquid temporarily stored in intermediate storage tank A5 is lower than the threshold due to the target compound (i.e., the light transmission signal read by phototube 13 is higher than the threshold), the conditions for merging into main storage tank 9 are met: the waste discharge valve is not powered, the common terminal is connected to the normally open terminal, and it leads to main storage tank 9. Air pump 2 starts, pressurizing the intermediate storage tank A5. The air pressure above the liquid surface increases, forcing the liquid in intermediate storage tank A5 through the liquid pipeline inserted to the bottom of the intermediate storage tank to be discharged into main storage tank 9. Air pump 2 stops working after all the liquid in intermediate storage tank A5 has been emptied into main storage tank 9.

[0037] 2.2-b, When the ultraviolet absorption intensity of the liquid temporarily stored in intermediate storage tank A5 is greater than or equal to the threshold due to the target compound (i.e., the light transmission signal read by phototube 13 is less than or equal to the threshold), the conditions for merging into the main storage tank 9 are not met, and it needs to be discharged to a separate waste outlet: the waste outlet valve is powered, with its common terminal connected to the normally closed terminal, leading to the waste outlet. The air pump starts, pressurizing the intermediate storage tank A5. The increased air pressure above the liquid surface forces the liquid in intermediate storage tank A5 through the liquid pipeline inserted to the bottom of the intermediate storage tank to be discharged to the waste outlet. The air pump 2 stops working only after all the liquid in intermediate storage tank A5 has been emptied into the main storage tank 9.

[0038] The operating phase of intermediate storage tank B6 is opposite to that of intermediate storage tank A5. In a liquid handling system with periodic outflow, temporary storage of the liquid is achieved during all even-numbered cycles, while liquid reception reversal and selective evacuation are achieved during all odd-numbered cycles. Further details are omitted.

[0039] The operation of all the above components is automatically controlled by a circuit control device. The switching signals between cycles can be issued by the connected liquid processing system. In this embodiment, the connected liquid processing system is a preparative liquid chromatography system, and the switching signals between cycles are TTL level signals.

[0040] The normally open and normally closed phases of the regulating valve do not change the operating mode and actual function of the device.

[0041] A two-position three-way valve can be replaced by two on / off valves without changing the operation mode and actual function of the device.

[0042] The air pump 2, which serves as a high-pressure air source, can be replaced with an air source that has a certain pressure and is controlled by a switch valve. Opening the valve is equivalent to turning on air pump 2, and closing it is equivalent to turning off air pump 2.

[0043] The above description is only a preferred embodiment of the present utility model and is not intended to limit the present utility model. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, improvements, etc., made within the spirit and principles of the present utility model should be included within the protection scope of the present utility model.

Claims

1. A liquid handling system effluent alternating temporary storage device with quality control function, characterized in that, It includes a liquid valve, a gas valve, a vent valve, a main storage tank, a waste discharge valve, and at least two airtight intermediate storage tanks. The intermediate storage tanks are connected to the outlet of the liquid valve via a first pipe, and the inlet of the liquid valve is connected to the outlet device of the effluent. The intermediate storage tanks are connected to the outlet of the gas valve via a second pipe, and the inlet of the gas valve is connected to the air pump. The intermediate storage tanks are connected to the inlet of the vent valve via a third pipe. The intermediate storage tanks are connected to the inlet of the corresponding waste discharge valve via a fourth pipe. The outlet of the waste discharge valve is connected to the main storage tank and the waste liquid collection device. The liquid valve, gas valve, vent valve, waste discharge valve, and air pump are all electrically connected to a circuit control device. The intermediate storage tanks are equipped with a quality judgment device for determining whether the quality of the effluent meets the requirements.

2. The liquid handling system effluent alternating temporary storage device with quality control function according to claim 1, characterized in that, The intermediate storage tanks are all connected to liquid valves, gas valves, vent valves and waste discharge valves respectively through airtight joints.

3. The liquid handling system effluent alternating temporary storage device with quality control function according to claim 1, characterized in that, The third pipe extends to the bottom of the intermediate storage tank, while the first, second, and fourth pipes all extend to the vicinity of the inside of the top cover of the intermediate storage tank.

4. The liquid handling system effluent alternating temporary storage device with quality control function according to claim 1, characterized in that, There are two intermediate storage tanks, and the liquid valve, gas valve, vent valve, and waste discharge valve are all electrically controlled two-position three-way valves.

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