Desalination apparatus

Abstract

To provide a desalination apparatus capable of easily and efficiently obtaining distilled water from seawater, domestic wastewater, contaminated water or the like.SOLUTION: This steam generator is provided with a steam generating unit whose upper part is opened and in which water to be treated is stored, a heating means which is arranged on the lower side of the steam generating unit and applies heat to the water to be treated stored in the steam generating unit to generate steam from the water to be treated, and a water-repellent nanofilter whose upper part is opened and which is composed of a fiber layer between the opened upper part of the steam generating unit. The desalination apparatus includes a phase conversion unit having a discharge port for discharging water to the outside on the upper side of a position where the water-repellent nanofilter is arranged, and a cooling unit mounted on the opened upper part of the phase conversion unit through a cooling part and storing cooling water for cooling the cooling part inside.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a desalination apparatus that can easily and efficiently obtain distilled water from seawater, domestic wastewater, polluted water, etc. [Background technology]

[0002] Various desalination apparatuses have been proposed in the past.

[0003] For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a desalination device that obtains fresh water from seawater, saline water, industrial wastewater, or the like by distillation.

[0004] Patent Document 2 discloses a seawater desalination system that is capable of reducing contamination of reverse osmosis membranes and stably obtaining fresh water.

[0005] Patent Document 3 discloses a wastewater treatment and freshwater production system that uses FO membranes, utilizing the FO (Forward Osmosis) phenomenon, in which seawater and domestic wastewater are used as the intake liquid, and the RO (Reverse Osmosis) phenomenon, in which seawater is used as the intake liquid, to reduce wastewater treatment costs, improve wastewater treatment efficiency, improve energy recovery efficiency, and reduce the energy required to desalinate seawater. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0006] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2011-5428 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2014-221459 [Patent Document 3] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2024-88297 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0007] An object of the present invention is to provide a desalination apparatus that can easily and efficiently obtain distilled water from seawater, domestic wastewater, polluted water, etc. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] The present invention can be exemplified as follows. [1] a steam generating unit having an open top and containing water to be treated therein; a heating means disposed below the steam generating unit for applying heat to the water to be treated contained in the steam generating unit to generate steam from the water to be treated; a phase conversion unit having an open top, mounted between the open top of the steam generating unit and the water vapor generating unit via a water-repellent nanofilter made of a fiber layer, and having an outlet for discharging water to the outside above the position where the water-repellent nanofilter is located; a cooling unit that is mounted on the open upper portion of the phase conversion unit via a cooling part and contains cooling water for cooling the cooling part; A desalination device comprising:

[0009] [2] The water-repellent nanofilter is a desalination device [1] that is formed in a layered structure by mixing water-repellent fine fibers made of a water-repellent resin, with a fiber diameter of 1 nm to 700 nm and a length of 100 times or more the fiber diameter, with water-repellent ultrafine fibers made of a water-repellent resin, with a fiber diameter of 1 μm or less and a length of 100,000 times or more the fiber diameter. [Effects of the Invention]

[0010] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a desalination apparatus that can easily and efficiently obtain distilled water from seawater, domestic wastewater, polluted water, etc. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0011] [Figure 1]1 is a cross-sectional view, with some parts omitted, illustrating a schematic configuration of a desalination apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a partially omitted perspective view illustrating an example of the state of use of the desalination apparatus illustrated in FIG. 1, in which a drum-type incinerator is used as the heating means. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a partially omitted perspective view illustrating an example of a state in which the desalination apparatus illustrated in FIG. 1 is in use, in which a gas stove is used as heating means. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0012] A desalination device 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention comprises a steam generation unit 5 arranged above a heating means 2, a phase conversion unit 4 arranged above the steam generation unit 5, and a cooling unit 3 arranged above the phase conversion unit 4.

[0013] A water-repellent nanofilter layer 8 consisting of a fiber layer is arranged between the upper part of the internal space of the water vapor generation unit 5 and the lower part of the internal space of the phase conversion unit 4, and a cooling section 10 is arranged between the upper part of the internal space of the phase conversion unit 4 and the lower part of the internal space of the cooling unit 5.

[0014] Furthermore, the steam generation unit 5 contains water 7 to be treated therein, and water vapor is generated by heating the water 7 to be treated by the heating means 2, and the water vapor rises in the internal space of the steam generation unit 5. The phase conversion unit 4 is provided with a water discharge outlet 16 above the position where the water-repellent nanofilter 8 is located, for discharging the water vapor that has risen through the water-repellent nanofilter layer 8, after which the water is cooled by the cooling section 10 and subjected to phase conversion, and the resulting water is discharged to the outside from the phase conversion unit 4. Furthermore, the cooling unit 3 contains cooling water 11 therein for cooling the cooling section 10.

[0015] In the desalination apparatus 1 having such a configuration and structure, the water-repellent nanofilter layer 8 may be disposed either between the vertically adjacent water vapor generation unit 5 and the phase conversion unit 4. In addition, the cooling section 10 may be disposed either between the vertically adjacent phase conversion unit 4 and the cooling unit 3.

[0016] An example of a desalination apparatus 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0017] The desalination apparatus 1 of this embodiment includes a heating means 2, a steam generation unit 5, a phase conversion unit 4, and a cooling unit 3 (FIG. 1).

[0018] The steam generating unit 5 is open at the top and contains the water to be treated 7 inside. For example, the steam generating unit 5 can be formed from a cylindrical body made of metal with a bottom and an upper end opening at the top.

[0019] The heating means 2 is disposed below the steam generation unit 5 and applies heat to the water to be treated 7 contained in the steam generation unit 5 to generate steam from the water to be treated 7.

[0020] The internal space of the steam generation unit 5, indicated by the symbol 6 in Figure 1, becomes the steam space 6 through which steam generated from the water to be treated 7 heated by the heating means 2 rises as shown by arrow 12 in Figure 1.

[0021] The phase conversion unit 4 is a part that causes a phase conversion in which the water vapor that has risen as shown by the arrow 12 in FIG. 1 returns to the state of water as described above.

[0022] The phase conversion unit 4 has an open top and is mounted between the open top of the steam generation unit 5 and a water-repellent nanofilter 8 made of a fiber layer, and is provided with an outlet 16 for discharging water to the outside above the position where the water-repellent nanofilter 8 is located.

[0023] For example, the phase conversion unit 4 can be constructed from a metallic cylindrical body whose lower end is connected to the upper opening of the water vapor generation unit 5 via a water-repellent nanofilter 8 that has the same diameter as the water vapor generation unit 5 and is arranged at the lower end.

[0024] The cooling unit 3 is mounted on the open top of the phase conversion unit 4 via a cooling section 10, and contains cooling water 11 inside to cool the cooling section 10. For example, the cooling unit 3 can be configured from a metallic cylindrical body whose lower end is connected to the upper opening of the phase conversion unit 4 via the cooling section 10, which has the same diameter as the cylindrical phase conversion unit 4 and is provided at the lower end.

[0025] The upper end of the cooling unit 3 may be open, or the upper end may be closed so that the cooling water 11 can be replenished and supplied to the inside of the cooling unit 3 as needed.

[0026] The water-repellent nanofilter 8 consisting of the above-mentioned fiber layer is formed in a layered structure by mixing water-repellent fine fibers made of a water-repellent resin, each having a fiber diameter of 1 nm to 700 nm and a length 100 times or more the fiber diameter, with water-repellent ultrafine fibers made of a water-repellent resin, each having a fiber diameter of 1 μm or less and a length 100,000 times or more the fiber diameter.

[0027] The water-repellent nanofilter 8 made of a fiber layer is a filter formed in a layered form by mixing the above-mentioned fine fibers with the above-mentioned ultrafine fibers.

[0028] Fine fibers with a fiber diameter of 1 nm to 700 nm and a length of 100 times or more the fiber diameter are effective in capturing and removing fine solids. Furthermore, by mixing ultrafine fibers with a fiber diameter of 1 μm or less and a length of 100,000 times or more the fiber diameter, the bulkiness of the water-repellent nanofilter 8 can be maintained, and the pressure loss of the filter can be reduced.

[0029] Such a water-repellent nanofilter 8 allows gases such as water vapor to pass through, while capturing minute particles through van der Waals forces. This allows it to capture various fine particles contained in the water to be treated 7, as well as harmful substances such as impurities, viruses (diameter: e.g., 24 nm to 120 nm), bacteria, heavy metal ions, and radioactive materials such as arsenic, cesium, and plutonium (diameter: e.g., about 0.5 nm), even if they are contained in droplets of water vapor generated by heating the water to be treated 7.

[0030] The water-repellent nanofilter 8 has a collection efficiency of 99.97% and effectively captures even minute particles such as viruses through van der Waals forces.

[0031] When the water to be treated 7 is heated and steam is generated, droplets and viruses caused by boiling can be removed almost 100% by the water-repellent nanofilter 8 through van der Waals forces.

[0032] Therefore, even if the water to be treated 7 is, for example, seawater, domestic wastewater, or dirty water (for example, polluted water), various harmful substances can be separated from the water, and water suitable for drinking can be obtained.

[0033] In this way, the water to be treated 7 that is stored in the steam generation unit 5 and heated by the heating means 2 to generate steam can be any water that contains moisture, such as seawater, sewage, domestic wastewater, or gel-like solutions, and can be subject to desalination treatment.

[0034] When the water to be treated 7 is seawater, salt can be produced, and the water can be utilized as a resource without producing highly concentrated salt water (brine).

[0035] The use of a water-repellent resin (e.g., polypropylene, polyethylene, etc.) as the material for the above-mentioned fine fibers and ultrafine fibers increases the specific surface area of ​​the water-repellent resin, thereby enabling the material to exhibit high water repellency (ultra-water repellency).

[0036] Such a water-repellent nanofilter 8 repels liquid water, and therefore can prevent water from wetting the surface of the water-repellent nanofilter or from penetrating into the interior of the water-repellent nanofilter 8 .

[0037] With the above-described structure, when the water to be treated 7 contained in the water vapor generation unit 5 is heated by the heating means 2, the water vapor generated from the water to be treated 7 passes through the water-repellent nanofilter 8 and rises into the internal space 9 of the phase conversion unit 4.The water vapor is then condensed back into water by the cooling section 10 located between the top of the phase conversion unit 4 and the cooling unit 3, and falls onto the water-repellent nanofilter 8 as shown by arrow 13 in Figure 1.

[0038] Due to the characteristics of the water-repellent nanofilter 8 described above, the water droplets condensed from the water vapor in this way cannot penetrate the interior of the water-repellent nanofilter 8, and are discharged as impurity-free fresh water from the phase conversion unit 4 to the outside through the outlet 16 located above the position where the water-repellent nanofilter 8 is located.

[0039] In the embodiment shown in Figure 1, the water-repellent nanofilter 8 is highest at the center and slopes downward toward the peripheral wall of the phase conversion unit 4, which is a cylindrical body in which the discharge outlet 16 is provided.

[0040] As described above, the water droplets 14 that have condensed back into water by the cooling section 10 fall onto the water-repellent nanofilter 8 as shown by arrow 13 in Figure 1, flow over the water-repellent nanofilter 8 as shown by arrow 15, and are discharged to the outside from the outlet 16 through the drainage pipe 17 as shown by arrow 18.

[0041] The water-repellent nanofilter 8 may have a laminated structure including, for example, a nanofiber layer and two support layers facing each other with the nanofiber layer sandwiched therebetween. In this case, the support layers may be, for example, nonwoven fabric. The nanofibers may be produced by melt air spinning a thermoplastic resin such as polypropylene or polyethylene.

[0042] As the water-repellent nanofilter 8, for example, Z-Filter (product name) from Zetta Corporation can be used.

[0043] The cooling section 10, which is disposed between the cooling unit 3 and the phase conversion unit 4, can be, for example, an aluminum fin exposed to the upper part of the internal space of the phase conversion unit 4. The aluminum fin is constantly cooled by the presence of cooling water 11 contained inside the cooling unit 3.

[0044] As shown by arrow 12 in Figure 1, the water vapor that rises through the water vapor space 6 of the water vapor generation unit 5 and passes through the water-repellent nanofilter 8 is cooled by the aluminum fins that form the cooling section 10 at the top of the internal space 9 of the phase conversion unit 4 and are constantly cooled by the presence of cooling water 11 contained inside the cooling unit 3 as described above, and condenses to return to water.

[0045] In addition, the cooling section 10 can also be formed by a long, bent, stainless steel thin tube extending above the internal space of the phase conversion unit 4, and the cooling water 11 contained inside the cooling unit 3 can flow through this long, stainless steel thin tube to form the cooling section 10.

[0046] If an incinerator, for example, an incinerator using a can-shaped object such as a drum, can be used as the heating means 2, safe drinking water can be easily obtained if seawater, sewage, and combustible materials are available as the water to be treated 7. This is effective when drinking water is urgently needed in the event of a disaster or on an island.

[0047] In addition, water vapor is generated from the water to be treated 7 by heating, and after passing through the water-repellent nanofilter 8, it is condensed by the cooling section 10. Therefore, the heating that generates water vapor also serves as thermal disinfection, and by passing the water through the water-repellent nanofilter 8 that has the above-mentioned functions, viruses, heavy metals, arsenic, etc. can be removed.

[0048] Figure 2 is a partially omitted perspective view illustrating the desalination apparatus 1 illustrated in Figure 1 and described above, mounted on a drum-type incinerator 2a serving as heating means for use. The illustrated drum-type incinerator 2a is equipped with a combustible material inlet 24 and a vent 25, and various combustible materials, such as debris from disasters and biomass (rice straw, cotton stalks, wheat straw, thinned wood, etc.), can be input through the combustible material inlet 24 and burned.

[0049] If used in this way, it would be possible to desalinate seawater, wastewater, etc. using only rubble and biomass from disasters, for example.

[0050] FIG. 3 is a perspective view with some parts omitted, illustrating the state in which the desalination apparatus 1 illustrated in FIG. 1 and described above is mounted on a gas stove 2b serving as heating means and used.

[0051] In this way, the heating means 2 is not limited to the incinerators, gas stoves, solar heaters, etc. mentioned above, but various heating equipment and heating devices such as induction cookers can be used as long as they are capable of heating the water to be treated 7 contained in the steam generation unit 5 and generating steam from the water to be treated 7.

[0052] In the above-described embodiment, the water to be treated 7 that is contained inside the steam generation unit 5 and that will generate steam when heated by the heating means 2 can be the cooling water 11 that was originally contained inside the cooling unit 3 and used to cool the cooling section 10.

[0053] For example, a configuration can be adopted in which the cooling unit 3 and the steam generation unit 5 are connected by a water supply pipe 20, and water 11 in the cooling unit 3 flows from the cooling unit 3 to the steam generation unit 5 via the water supply pipe 20. The cooling unit 3 and the steam generation unit 5 are connected by the water supply pipe 20, and an open / close valve is interposed in the water supply pipe 20. The open / close valve can be opened to allow water 11 in the cooling unit 3 to flow from the cooling unit 3 to the steam generation unit 5 via the water supply pipe 20, and the open / close valve can be closed to stop the inflow.

[0054] An example of such a configuration is shown in Figure 1. In the illustrated embodiment, the tip of the water pipe 20 is connected to the inside of the steam generating unit 5 via a float valve 21.

[0055] As evaporation of the water 7 to be treated contained in the steam generation unit 5 progresses and the water level of the water 7 to be treated drops, the float 22 of the float valve 21 moves downward in Figure 1 as shown by arrow 23. When the float 22 drops in the direction shown by arrow 23 to a predetermined position, the float valve 21 opens, and the water 11 in the cooling unit 3 flows into the steam generation unit 5 through the water supply pipe 20 as shown by arrow 24, becoming the water 7 to be treated.

[0056] This inflow causes the water level of the water to be treated 7 in the steam generation unit 5 to rise, and when the float 22 rises to a predetermined height, the float valve 21 closes and the flow from the cooling unit 3 to the steam generation unit 5 via the water supply pipe 20 is stopped.

[0057] This reduces the amount of water 11 in the cooling unit 3, but the amount of water that will become the treated water 7 corresponding to the amount of reduction can be automatically replenished into the cooling unit 3 in accordance with the amount of reduction, or it can be replenished manually.

[0058] The water 11 in the cooling unit 3 is used to cool the cooling section 10 located at the lower end of the cooling unit 3, and the water 11, whose temperature has increased as a result of being used to cool the cooling section 10, will stagnate at the upper part of the cooling unit 3.

[0059] Therefore, if the base end of the water supply pipe 20 is connected to the cooling unit 3 at a position above the cooling unit 3, as described above, it is advantageous because the water 11 with an elevated temperature that is stagnating at the upper part of the cooling unit 3 can be supplied preferentially to the steam generation unit 5.

[0060] Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications are possible within the technical scope that can be grasped from the claims.

[0061] For example, as long as the desalination device 1 is equipped with the heating means 2, steam generation unit 5, phase conversion unit 4, and cooling unit 3 having the structure and configuration described above, the size of the desalination device 1 can be changed in various ways and can be made larger.

[0062] Furthermore, due to the excellent function of the water-repellent nanofilter 8 described above, it is also possible to treat toxic waste liquids.

[0063] Therefore, the desalination apparatus 1 of the present invention can be made large and can be very useful for treating wastewater in sewage treatment plants and factories.

Claims

1. a steam generating unit having an open top and containing water to be treated therein; a heating means disposed below the steam generating unit for applying heat to the water to be treated contained in the steam generating unit to generate steam from the water to be treated; a phase conversion unit having an open top, mounted between the open top of the water vapor generating unit and the water vapor generating unit via a water-repellent nanofilter made of a fiber layer, and having an outlet for discharging water to the outside above the position where the water-repellent nanofilter is located; a cooling unit that is mounted on the open upper portion of the phase conversion unit via a cooling part and contains cooling water for cooling the cooling part; A desalination device comprising:

2. 2. The desalination apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the water-repellent nanofilter is formed in a layered configuration by mixing water-repellent fine fibers made of a water-repellent resin, each having a fiber diameter of 1 nm to 700 nm and a length 100 times or more the fiber diameter, with water-repellent ultrafine fibers made of a water-repellent resin, each having a fiber diameter of 1 μm or less and a length 100,000 times or more the fiber diameter.

Images