Ion separation device, ion separation and concentration system, and ion separation method

Abstract

Provided are an ion separation device and an ion separation concentration system that can separate ions by permeating water from raw water without separately supplying water, such as an electric field device. 【Solution means】 The ion separation device 10A includes a supply chamber 12 that supplies a supply liquid 11 which is an electrolyte solution (NaCl + H + O) containing cations (Na - ) and anions (Cl 2 ), a cathode filter plate electrode 14 provided with a diaphragm 13 that separates cations (Na + ) and is disposed on both sides of the supply chamber 12, a flat anode electrode 15, and a cation chamber 17 into which the separated cations (Na + ) flow as a cation solution (alkali solution) 16 together with water.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an ion separation device and an ion separation and concentration system. and an ion separation method

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, as an ion separation device for separating cations and anions in a solution (electrolyte), the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1 has been proposed (see Patent Document 1).

[0003] FIG. 16 is a schematic diagram of a conventional electrolyzed water generator. In the technique of Patent Document 1, using a three-chamber type electrolyzed water generator as shown in FIG. 16, oxidized water and reduced water constituting electrolyzed water are generated. This electrolyzed water generator includes an intermediate chamber 1 through which various raw waters such as pure water and tap water and a supporting electrolyte such as sodium chloride (NaCl) or potassium chloride (KCl) dissolved in the raw water circulate in and out, and a cation exchange membrane 4 and a cathode 5 are disposed as partitions between the intermediate chamber 1 and the cathode chamber 2 into which cations (in FIG. 16, sodium ions (Na + )) of the supporting electrolyte dissolve, and an anion exchange membrane 6 and an anode 7 are disposed as partitions between the intermediate chamber 1 and the anode chamber 3 into which anions (in FIG. 16, chloride ion ) of the supporting electrolyte dissolve, and is composed of the anode chamber 3.

[0004] Using this electrolyzed water generator, the raw water in which the supporting electrolyte is dissolved is circulated in the intermediate chamber 1, electrolysis is performed, and raw water is respectively flowed into the cathode chamber 2 and the anode chamber 3, so that reduced water 8 is obtained from the cathode chamber 2, and chloride ion oxidized water 9 containing is respectively generated from the anode chamber 3. At that time, the physical properties are controlled to generate reduced water 8 and oxidized water 9, and by mixing an appropriate amount of these reduced water 8 and oxidized water 9, electrolyzed water can be obtained.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0005] ​

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0006] However, in the electrolyzed water generator disclosed in Patent Document 1, an ion exchange membrane is used to separate ions. However, the ion exchange membranes (4, 6) are dedicated membranes that can each permeate either cations or anions, and there is a problem that they can hardly permeate water. Therefore, as a fluid for receiving each permeated ion, it is necessary to separately supply water (H 2 O), which is purified water, into the cathode chamber 2 and the anode chamber 3, respectively. By supplying this water (purified water), reduced water 8 can be discharged from the cathode chamber 2, and chloride ion oxidized water 9 containing can be discharged from the anode chamber 3.

[0007] Thus, in the electrolyzed water generator using the conventional ion exchange membrane, there is a problem that it is necessary to separately supply purified water as carrier water into the cathode chamber 2 and the anode chamber 3, respectively, in order to obtain electrolyzed water.

[0008] Therefore, for example, the emergence of a technique for separating ions by permeating water from raw water without separately supplying water, such as in an electrolyzed water generator, is eagerly desired.

[0009] In view of the above problems, the present invention provides an ion separation device and an ion separation and concentration system that can separate ions by directly permeating water from raw water (feed liquid) without separately supplying water, such as in a conventional electrolyzed water generator. and an ion separation method to provide.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0010] The ion separation device according to the first aspect of the present invention includes a supply chamber that supplies a supply liquid which is an electrolyte solution containing cations and anions, a cathode filter plate electrode provided with diaphragms having pores for separating cations and arranged on both sides of the supply chamber, a flat anode electrode, and a cation chamber into which the separated cations flow as a cation liquid together with water. The cathode filter plate electrode includes a first cathode electrode having a hole on the supply chamber side, and a second cathode electrode having a hole installed on the cation chamber side with the diaphragm interposed therebetween, further including a first power source electrically connected to the flat anode electrode and the first cathode electrode, and a second power source electrically connected to the first cathode electrode and the second cathode electrode, and is provided with It is characterized by this.

[0011] The ion separation device according to the second aspect includes a supply chamber that supplies a supply liquid which is an electrolyte solution containing cations and anions, an anode filter plate electrode provided with diaphragms having pores for separating anions and arranged on both sides of the supply chamber, a flat cathode electrode, and an anion chamber into which the separated anions flow as an anion liquid together with water. Well, The anode filter plate electrode includes a first anode electrode having a hole on the supply chamber side, and a second anode electrode having a hole installed on the anion chamber side with the diaphragm interposed therebetween, further including a third power source electrically connected to the flat cathode electrode and the first anode electrode, and a fourth power source electrically connected to the first anode electrode and the second anode electrode, and is provided with It is characterized by this.

[0012] The ion separation device according to the third aspect includes a supply chamber that supplies a supply liquid which is an electrolyte solution containing cations and anions, a cathode filter plate electrode provided with diaphragms having pores for separating cations and arranged on both sides of the supply chamber, an anode filter plate electrode provided with diaphragms having pores for separating anions, a cation chamber into which the separated cations flow as a cation liquid together with water, and an anion chamber into which the separated anions flow as an anion liquid together with water. Well, The cathode filter plate electrode includes a first cathode electrode having a hole on the supply chamber side, and a second cathode electrode having a hole installed on the cation chamber side with the diaphragm interposed therebetween, and further including a first power source electrically connected to the flat anode electrode and the first cathode electrode, and a second power source electrically connected to the first cathode electrode and the second cathode electrode, and is provided with The anode filter plate electrode includes a first anode electrode having a hole on the supply chamber side, and a second anode electrode having a hole installed on the anion chamber side with the diaphragm interposed therebetween, and further including a third power source electrically connected to the flat cathode electrode and the first anode electrode, and a fourth power source electrically connected to the first anode electrode and the second anode electrode, and is provided with It is characterized by the following.

[0013] The ion separation device according to the fourth aspect is A stack is formed by connecting in series an ion separation device of a first aspect and an ion separation device of a second aspect, and two or more of these stacks are connected in series characterized by the following.

[0014] The ion separation device according to the fifth aspect is The diaphragm is in contact with the first cathode electrodes and the second cathode electrodes on both sides characterized by the following.

[0015] The ion separation device according to the sixth aspect is The diaphragm is in contact with the first anode electrodes and the second anode electrodes on both sides characterized by the following.

[0016] The ion separation and concentration system according to the seventh aspect is characterized by including a concentration device for concentrating the valuable substance in an electrolyte solution containing a valuable substance and a cation, and the ion separation device according to the first aspect for removing the cation in the concentrated solution.

[0017] The ion separation and concentration system according to the eighth aspect is characterized by including a concentration device for concentrating the valuable substance in an electrolyte solution containing a valuable substance and an anion, and the ion separation device according to the second aspect for removing the anion in the concentrated solution.

[0018] The ion separation and concentration system according to the ninth aspect is characterized by including a concentration device for concentrating an electrolyte solution containing at least one of a cation and an anion together with a valuable substance, and the ion separation device according to the third aspect for removing either or both of the cation and the anion in the concentrated solution.

[0019] The tenth ion separation device is A flat cathode electrode is provided at a position facing the cathode filter plate electrode in the cation chamber characterized by the following.

[0020] The eleventh ion separation device is A flat anode electrode is provided at a position facing the cathode filter plate electrode in the anion chamberCharacterized by.

[0021] The 12th ion separation device is A flat cathode electrode is provided at a position facing the cathode filter plate electrode in the cation chamber A flat anode electrode is provided at a position facing the cathode filter plate electrode in the anion chamber, and is provided with Characterized by the following. The 13th ion separation and concentration system includes a concentration device for concentrating the valuable substance in the electrolyte solution containing the valuable substance and cations, and a first 0 ion separation device for removing cations in the concentrated solution, and is characterized by including the above. The 14th ion separation and concentration system includes a concentration device for concentrating the valuable substance in the electrolyte solution containing the valuable substance and anions, and a 11 ion separation device for removing anions in the concentrated solution, and is characterized by including the above. The 15th ion separation and concentration system includes a concentration device for concentrating the electrolyte solution containing at least one of cations and anions together with the valuable substance, and a 12 ion separation device for removing either one or both of the cations or anions in the concentrated solution, and is characterized by including the above. The 16th cation separation method is A supply chamber that supplies a supply liquid which is an electrolyte solution containing cations and anions, A cathode porous plate electrode provided with diaphragms having pores for separating cations, disposed on both sides of the supply chamber, and a flat anode electrode, A cation chamber into which the separated cations flow as a cation solution together with water, The cathode porous plate electrode, A cathode first electrode having holes on the supply chamber side, Comprising a cathode second electrode having holes installed on the cation chamber side with the diaphragm interposed therebetween, Furthermore, a first power source electrically connected to the flat anode electrode and the cathode first electrode, A second power source electrically connected to the cathode first electrode and the cathode electrode second electrode, The cathode second electrode 14B is set as a first potential (V1), The cathode first electrode 14A is set as a second potential (V2), The flat anode electrode 15 is set as a third potential (V3), and The potentials supplied from the first power source and the second power source are set such that V3 > V2 > V1, and cations are separated with the absolute value of the potential of the cathode electrode being larger as the distance from the supply chamber increases (|V1| > |V2|). A method for separating cations, characterized by this. A 17th anion separation method is, A supply chamber that supplies a supply liquid which is an electrolyte solution containing cations and anions, An anode porous plate electrode provided with diaphragms having pores for separating anions, disposed on both sides of the supply chamber, and a flat cathode electrode, An anion chamber into which the separated anions flow as an anion solution together with water, The anode porous plate electrode, An anode first electrode having holes on the supply chamber side, Comprising an anode second electrode having holes installed on the anion chamber side with the diaphragm interposed therebetween, Furthermore, a third power source electrically connected to the flat cathode electrode and the anode first electrode, A fourth power source electrically connected to the anode first electrode and the anode electrode second electrode, The anode second electrode 24B is set as an anode first potential (V11), The anode first electrode 24A is set as an anode second potential (V12), The flat cathode electrode 25 is set as a cathode fourth potential (V4), and The potentials supplied from the third power source 43 and the fourth power source 44 are set such that V4 < V12 < V11, and anions are separated with the absolute value of the potential of the anode electrode being larger as the distance from the supply chamber 12 increases (|V11| > |V12|). A method for separating anions, characterized by this. The 18th method for separating cations and anions is as follows: a supply chamber that supplies a feed solution, which is an electrolyte solution containing cations and anions; a cathode filter plate electrode disposed on both sides of the supply chamber and having a diaphragm with pores for separating cations, and an anode filter plate electrode having a diaphragm with pores for separating anions; a cation chamber into which the separated cations flow as a cation solution together with water; an anion chamber into which the separated anions flow as an anion solution together with water, and comprising: the cathode filter plate electrode comprises a cathode first electrode having holes on the supply chamber side; a cathode second electrode having holes installed on the cation chamber side with the diaphragm therebetween, and further comprising: a first power source electrically connected to the flat anode electrode and the cathode first electrode; a second power source electrically connected to the cathode first electrode and the cathode electrode second electrode; the anode electrode comprises an anode first electrode having holes on the supply chamber side; an anode second electrode having holes installed on the anion chamber side with the diaphragm therebetween, and further comprising: a third power source electrically connected to the flat cathode electrode and the anode first electrode; a fourth power source electrically connected to the anode first electrode and the anode electrode second electrode; and setting the cathode second electrode to a first potential (V1); setting the cathode first electrode to a second potential (V2); setting the flat anode electrode to a third potential (V3), and the potentials supplied from the first power source and the second power source satisfy V3 > V2 > V1, and the absolute value of the potential of the cathode electrode increases as it is separated from the supply chamber (|V1| > |V2|); setting the anode second electrode to an anode first potential (V11); setting the anode first electrode to an anode second potential (V12); setting the flat cathode electrode to a cathode fourth potential (V4), and the potentials supplied from the third power source and the fourth power source satisfy V4 < V12 < V11; and separating cations and anions by setting the absolute value of the potential of the anode electrode to increase as it is separated from the supply chamber (|V11| > |V12|).

Advantages of the Invention

[0022] According to the present invention, one or both of cations and anions in a supply liquid can be efficiently separated. At this time, water from raw water (supply liquid) can be directly permeated through a diaphragm electrode to separate ions.

[0023] Also, even when impurities such as particles are present in the supply liquid, either one or both of cations and anions can be efficiently separated.

[0024] When using salt water as the supply liquid, desalted water with separated cations and anions can be obtained.

[0025] Also, either one or both of cations and anions present in the supply liquid containing valuable particles can be efficiently separated.

[0026] Furthermore, the ion separation device can also be equipped with an ion dialysis function.

Brief Description of Drawings

[0027]

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Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0028] Hereinafter, the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Note that the present disclosure is not limited by the following embodiments (hereinafter referred to as embodiments) for carrying out the invention. In addition, the constituent elements in the following embodiments include those that can be easily assumed by those skilled in the art, substantially identical ones, and those within the so-called equivalent range. Furthermore, the constituent elements disclosed in the following embodiments can be combined as appropriate. In the embodiments of this specification, the same members are denoted by the same reference numerals throughout. Note that this embodiment is merely an example embodying the configuration of the present invention, and various design changes can be made without departing from the matters described in the claims.

[0029] [Embodiment 1] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an ion separation device according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. The ion separation device 10A according to Embodiment 1 is a device that separates cations dissociated in a solvent (polar solvent; for example, water) of an electrolyte solution (hereinafter also referred to as "supply liquid") 11. Here, examples of the polar solvent include, in addition to water, methanol, ethanol, propanol, etc., but the present invention is not limited thereto. Here, the electrolyte solution (electrolyte or electrolyzed water), which is the supply liquid, is a general term for a liquid in which an electrolyte, a substance that dissociates (ionizes) into ions and exhibits electrical conductivity, is dissolved.

[0030] Here, the dissociation of ions is a general process in which a molecule (or an ionic compound such as a salt or a complex) is usually reversibly separated or split into small particles such as atoms, ions, and radicals. The lattice of an ionic crystal breaks when dissolved in water, and this dissociation refers to the separation of ions that occurs when a solid ionic compound dissolves. As an example, taking the formula unit of sodium chloride (NaCl), sodium chloride (NaCl) dissociates into one sodium ion (Na ion; cation) and one chloride ion (Cl ion; anion) in water. That is, water (H 2The salt (sodium chloride) soluble in (O) dissociates into its ions and is an electrolyte. In the electrolytic cell solution, sodium chloride (NaCl) dissociates completely in water into the cation sodium ion (Na + ) and the anion Chloride ion (Cl - ) and exists in an ionic state.

[0031] In this embodiment, sodium chloride (NaCl) is exemplified for explanation, but the present invention is not limited thereto. As shown in FIG. 1, the ion separation device 10A of Embodiment 1 includes an electrolyte solution supply chamber (hereinafter referred to as the "supply chamber") 12 that supplies an electrolyte solution 11 containing cations (Na + ) and anions (Cl - ) (NaCl + H 2 O: hereinafter referred to as the "supply liquid"), a cathode filter plate electrode 14 provided with a diaphragm (filter medium) 13 that separates cations (Na + ) disposed on both sides of the supply chamber 12, a flat anode electrode 15, and a cation chamber 17 into which the separated cations (Na + ) flow as a cation solution (hereinafter also referred to as an "alkali solution") 16 together with water. Here, the cathode filter plate electrode 14 is composed of a cathode first electrode 14A and a cathode second electrode 14B, and further sandwiches a diaphragm (filter medium) 13, which is an insulator having pores 13a, between the cathode first electrode 14A and the cathode second electrode 14B. Here, examples of the diaphragm 13 include cellulose, etc., but the present invention is not limited thereto.

[0032] The ion separation device 10A further includes a first power source 41 electrically connected to the flat anode electrode 15 and the cathode first electrode 14A, and a second power source 42 electrically connected to the cathode first electrode 14A and the cathode second electrode 14B. Here, the electrode configuration is such that the cathode second electrode 14B is at a first potential (V1), the cathode first electrode 14A is at a second potential (V2), and the flat anode electrode 15 is at a third potential (V3).

[0033] In this embodiment, the first power supply 41 and the second power supply 42 are set so that V1 = -20V, V2 = -15V, and V3 = +15V. Note that the potentials supplied from the first power supply 41 and the second power supply 42 are set such that V3 > V2 > V1, and the absolute value of the potential of the cathode electrode increases as the distance from the supply chamber 12 increases (|V1| > |V2|).

[0034] Note that the electrode configuration is not limited to the configuration of FIG. 1. An earth is installed on the cathode first electrode 14A, and with the cathode first electrode 14A as the reference electrode, the potential (V2) of the cathode first electrode 14A is set to 0V, the potential (V1) of the cathode second electrode 14B is set to -10V, and the potential (V3) of the flat anode electrode 15 is set to +10V. The absolute value of the voltage is changed so that the potential difference between each remains unchanged.

[0035] Here, a cathode electric field Ec is generated between the cathode first electrode 14A and the cathode second electrode 14B. The cathode electric field Ec exerts a repulsive force that suppresses the movement of negatively charged ions (Cl - ) from the supply chamber 12 to the cation chamber 17.

[0036] In addition, the cathode electric field Ec generated between the cathode first electrode 14A and the cathode second electrode 14B exerts a force that draws cations (Na + ) and positively charged water molecules from the supply chamber 12 toward the cation chamber 17. An electroosmotic flow occurs in which cations (Na + ) and positively charged water molecules are drawn toward the cation chamber 17 (see arrows F1 and F2 in FIG. 1). Therefore, the water in the supply chamber 12 is accelerated compared to the moving speed when it simply moves to the cation chamber 17 under the filtration pressure by a pump or the like. Thus, the amount of water moving from the supply chamber 12 to the cation chamber 17 per unit time increases.

[0037] Then, the cation liquid 16 that has moved to the cation chamber 17 is discharged to the outside from an outlet (not shown) of the cation chamber 17 due to the filtration pressure. In addition, the first supply and discharge liquid 11A from which cations are separated in the supply chamber 12 has a reduced cation concentration and is discharged to the outside from an outlet (not shown) of the supply chamber 12 by the filtration pressure.

[0038] Here, as the filtration pressure, the pressure by a supply pump (not shown) is preferably set such that the pressure (gauge pressure) in the supply chamber 12, which is a sealed space, is slightly higher than the atmospheric pressure, for example, 0.005 MPa or more and 0.5 MPa or less, preferably 0.02 MPa or more and 0.1 MPa or less.

[0039] Here, the cathode filter plate electrode 14 (cathode first electrode 14A, cathode second electrode 14B) is provided with a plurality of holes 14a penetrating in the left - right direction in the figure. The water in the supply liquid 11 moves through the holes 14a of the electrode 14.

[0040] Further, on the surfaces of the cathode filter plate electrode 14 (cathode first electrode 14A, cathode second electrode 14B) and the flat anode electrode 15, an anticorrosion layer (not shown) is provided. Examples of this anticorrosion layer include an insulating coating layer and a conductive noble metal layer. Examples of the material of the anticorrosion layer include titanium, aluminum, magnesium, tantalum, etc., but the present invention is not limited thereto. Examples of the material of the conductive noble metal layer include platinum, gold, palladium, etc., but the present invention is not limited thereto. The thickness of the anticorrosion layer is, in the case of the insulating coating layer, for example, about 5 μm to 30 μm, more preferably about 5 μm to 10 μm. Also, the thickness of the conductive noble metal layer such as platinum, gold, palladium, etc. is, for example, about 0.5 μm to 10 μm, more preferably about 1 μm to 5 μm. According to this anticorrosion layer, corrosion of the surfaces of the cathode filter plate electrode 14 and the flat anode electrode 15 is suppressed. Also, since the cathode filter plate electrode 14 and the flat anode electrode 15 have an insulating film layer, they do not contact the liquid constituting the supply liquid 11. As a result, even when a potential is supplied to the cathode filter plate electrode 14 and the flat anode electrode 15, electrolysis is less likely to occur between the surfaces of the cathode filter plate electrode 14 and the flat anode electrode 15 and the liquid.

[0041] The first cathode electrode 14A faces the flat anode electrode 15 with the supply chamber 12 therebetween. The distance D1 between the first cathode electrode 14A and the flat anode electrode 15 is, for example, 0.1 mm or more and 100 mm or less, more preferably 0.1 mm or more and 40 mm or less.

[0042] The distance D2 between the first cathode electrode 14A and the second cathode electrode 14B is not particularly limited, but is, for example, 0.1 mm or more and 20 mm or less, more preferably 0.1 mm or more and 2 mm or less. Note that, the smaller the distance D2 between the first cathode electrode 14A and the second cathode electrode 14B, the stronger the force of the cathode electric field Ec generated between the first cathode electrode 14A and the second cathode electrode 14B.

[0043] Examples of the separator 13 include cellulose such as filter paper (membrane) and nanofibers, etc., but the present invention is not limited thereto. Taking filter paper as an example, the pore size thereof is about 1 micron (a pore diameter 1000 times that of 1 nanometer). Therefore, since water molecules are sub-nanometers, water sufficiently permeates the separator 13. As a result, the supply liquid 11 is sent into the supply chamber 12 by a pump and freely passes through the separator 13.

[0044] On the other hand, when negative ions (Cl Chloride ion ) approach the first cathode electrode 14A on the cathode side, the negative electrode and the negative ions repel each other due to the Coulomb repulsive force and cannot pass through the first cathode electrode 14A. Conversely, when positive ions (Na - ) approach the anode electrode 15 side of the flat anode, the positive electrode and the positive ions repel each other due to the Coulomb repulsive force. + ) approach the anode electrode 15 side of the flat anode, the positive electrode and the positive ions repel each other due to the Coulomb repulsive force.

[0045] As described above, the separator 13 can be exemplified by filter paper, but it is more preferable to use a separator having a dielectric action. The separator having a dielectric action is composed of an insulating material, and for example, a non-woven fabric using fibers such as PP (polypropylene), PE (polyethylene), NY (nylon), and cellulose may be used. Here, by disposing the separator 13 having a dielectric action between the cathode first electrode 14A and the cathode second electrode 14B, the force of the cathode electric field Ec acting between the cathode first electrode 14A and the cathode second electrode 14B is increased. Note that the pore diameter of the pores 13a is preferably, for example, 0.2 mm or less. The separator 13 disposed between the cathode first electrode 14A and the cathode second electrode 14B may or may not be in contact. Here, the cathode porous electrode 14 provided with this separator 13 functions as an "ion separation membrane".

[0046] Next, an example of supplying a sodium chloride solution as the supply liquid 11 into the supply chamber 12 and separating cations will be described with reference to FIG. 1.

[0047] As described above, the ionic state in the supply chamber 12 is dissociated into cations (sodium ions: Na + ) and anions ( Chloride ion : Cl - ). Sodium ions (Na + ), which are cations, are drawn into the negative cathode first electrode 14A disposed in the supply chamber 12. When these sodium ions (Na + ) are drawn in, as a result, water (H 2 O) also permeates while the sodium ions (Na + ) permeate.

[0048] On the other hand, Chloride ion (Cl - ) is an anion and is blocked by the cathode first electrode 14A on the cathode side and cannot permeate through the cathode first electrode 14A. In FIG. 1, Chloride ion (Cl - ) is shown rebounding. Therefore, Chloride ion (Cl - ) is concentrated in the supply chamber 12. As a result, the first supply and discharge liquid 11A discharged from the supply chamber 12 has a decrease in cations (Na + ) and, Chloride ion(Cl - ) becomes concentrated.

[0049] In the present invention, it is characteristic that water permeates also through the diaphragm 13 constituting the cathode filter electrode 14 along with the permeation of cations (Na + ). As a result, the permeated water acts as carrier water for the cations (Na + ), and it is not necessary to separately supply water such as purified water. Note that cation exchange membranes and anion exchange membranes according to the prior art can hardly or only slightly permeate water, and have only the function of selectively permeating ions for separation. Therefore, in the prior art, it is essential to separately supply water such as purified water as carrier water.

[0050] As a result, according to the ion separation device 10A, in the cation chamber 17, a cation solution (alkali solution) 16 in which the cations of Na + have been moved can be obtained.

[0051] Note that the above-described cathode filter electrode 14 may be configured as an integral member including a cathode first electrode 14A, a cathode second electrode 14B, and a diaphragm 13, or the diaphragm 13 may be a separate member.

[0052] [Embodiment 2] FIG. 2 is a schematic view of the ion separation device of Embodiment 2. Note that the same reference numerals are given to the same constituent members as in the first embodiment, and the description thereof is omitted. In this embodiment as well, sodium chloride (NaCl) is exemplified for description, but the present invention is not limited thereto. As shown in FIG. 2, the ion separation device 10B of this embodiment is a device for separating anions dissociated in a solvent (polar solvent; for example, water).

[0053] As shown in FIG. 2, the ion separation device 10B includes cations (Na + ) and anions (Cl -A supply chamber 12 that supplies a supply liquid 11 containing - ) and an anode filter plate electrode 24 provided with a diaphragm 13 disposed on both sides of the supply chamber 12 for separating anions (Cl - ), a flat cathode electrode 25, and an anion chamber 27 into which the separated anions (Cl - ) flow together with water as an anion liquid (hereinafter also referred to as "acidic liquid") 26.

[0054] Here, the anode filter plate electrode 24 is composed of an anode first electrode 24A and an anode second electrode 24B, and further, a diaphragm 13, which is an insulator having pores, is sandwiched between the anode first electrode 24A and the anode second electrode 24B. This diaphragm 13 is made of an insulating material, and for example, a non-woven fabric using fibers such as PP (polypropylene), PE (polyethylene), NY (nylon), and cellulose may be used.

[0055] The ion separation device 10B further includes a third power source 43 electrically connected to the flat cathode electrode 25 and the anode first electrode 24A, and a fourth power source 44 electrically connected to the anode first electrode 24A and the anode electrode second electrode 24B.

[0056] Here, the electrode configuration is such that the anode second electrode 24B is at a first potential (V11), the anode first electrode 24A is at a second potential (V12), and the flat cathode electrode 25 is at a fourth potential (V4). In this embodiment, the third power source 43 and the fourth power source 44 are set so that V11 = +20V, V12 = +15V, and V4 = -15V. Note that the potentials supplied from the third power source 43 and the fourth power source 44 are set such that V4 < V12 < V11, and the absolute value of the potential of the anode electrode increases as it is separated from the supply chamber 12 (|V11| > |V12|).

[0057] An example of supplying a sodium chloride solution (NaCl + H 2 O) into the supply chamber 12 as the supply liquid 11 will be described. As described above, the ionic state in the supply chamber 12 is that of cations (sodium ions: Na+ ) and anions ( Chloride ion : Cl - ) are dissociated. Anions Chloride ion (Cl - ) are drawn into the anode first electrode 24A disposed in the supply chamber 12. When these anions Chloride ion (Cl - ) are drawn in, as a result, water (H 2 O) also permeates, and Chloride ion is allowed to permeate.

[0058] On the other hand, since sodium ions (Na + ) are cations, they are blocked by the anode first electrode 24A (the behavior of sodium ions (Na + ) bouncing back in FIG. 2) and cannot permeate through the anode first electrode 24A. As a result, sodium ions (Na + ) are concentrated in the supply chamber 12. As a result, the second supply and discharge liquid 11B discharged from the supply chamber 12 has Chloride ion (Cl - ) decreasing and cations (Na + ) being in a concentrated state.

[0059] The distance D3 between the anode first electrode 24A and the anode second electrode 24B is not particularly limited, but for example, it is 0.1 mm or more and 20 mm or less, more preferably 0.1 mm or more and 2 mm or less. Also, the smaller the distance D3 between the anode first electrode 24A and the anode second electrode 24B, the stronger the force of the anode electric field Ea generated between the anode first electrode 24A and the anode second electrode 24B.

[0060] The holes 24a of the anode first electrode 24A and the anode second electrode 24B communicate the supply chamber 12 and the anion chamber 27. The holes 24a of the anode first electrode 24A and the anode second electrode 24B are, for example, 0.1 μm or more and 5000 μm or less, more preferably 100 μm or more and 1000 μm or less. Note that the hole diameters of the holes 24a of the anode first electrode 24A and the anode second electrode 24B do not have to be the same.

[0061] In the present invention, as described in Embodiment 1, it is characteristic that water permeates together with the permeation of anions (Cl - ). As a result, the permeated water acts as carrier water for the anions (Cl - ), and it is not necessary to separately supply water such as purified water. As a result, it is not necessary to separately supply water such as purified water as carrier water for the permeated anions (Cl - ). Conventional cation exchange membranes and anion exchange membranes can hardly or only slightly permeate water, and have only the function of selectively permeating ions for separation.

[0062] As a result, in the anion chamber 27, an anion solution (acidic solution) 26 in which Cl - of the anions has been moved can be obtained.

[0063] Note that by installing the separator 13 having a dielectric action between the anode first electrode 24A and the anode second electrode 24B, the force of the anode electric field Ea acting between the anode first electrode 24A and the anode second electrode 24B may be increased.

[0064] Note that the above-described anode perforated plate electrode 24 may be configured as an integral member including the anode first electrode 24A, the anode second electrode 24B, and the separator 23, or the separator 13 may be a separate member.

[0065] [Embodiment 3] FIG. 3A is a schematic diagram of the ion separation device of Embodiment 3. FIG. 3B is a schematic diagram of another form of the ion separation device of Embodiment 3. Note that the same constituent members as those in Embodiments 1 and 2 are denoted by the same reference numerals and their description is omitted. As shown in FIG. 3A, the ion separation device 10C-1 of the present embodiment is a combination of the ion separation device 10A of Embodiment 1 and the ion separation device 10B of Embodiment 2, and separates cations and anions from a supply liquid containing both ions (cations and anions) to obtain an alkaline solution 16 and an acidic solution 26. As shown in FIG. 3A, the ion separation device 10C-1 of Embodiment 3 includes an electrolyte solution supply chamber (hereinafter referred to as "supply chamber") 12 that supplies a supply liquid 11 of an electrolyte solution (e.g., NaCl solution) containing cations and anions, and a cathode filter plate electrode 14 provided with a diaphragm (filter paper) 13 that is disposed on both sides of the supply chamber 12 and separates cations (Na + ), and an anode filter plate electrode 24 provided with a diaphragm 13 that separates anions (Cl - ), a cation chamber 17 into which the separated cations (Na + ) flow as a cation solution (alkali solution) 16 together with water, and an anion chamber 27 into which the separated anions (Cl - ) flow as an anion solution (acidic solution) 26 together with water.

[0066] The ion separation device 10C-1 also has a first power source 41 electrically connected to the cathode first electrode 14A and the anode first electrode 24A, a second power source 42 electrically connected to the cathode first electrode 14A and the cathode second electrode 14B, and a third power source 43 electrically connected to the anode first electrode 24A and the anode second electrode 24B. In this embodiment, as the diaphragm 13 in the cathode filter plate electrode 14, a non-woven fabric made of an insulating material and using fibers such as PP (polypropylene), PE (polyethylene), NY (nylon), and cellulose may be used.

[0067] Next, an example of supplying a sodium chloride solution as the supply liquid 11 into the supply chamber 12 and separating cations and anions will be described with reference to FIG. 3A.

[0068] As described above, the ionic state in the supply chamber 12 is dissociated into cations (sodium ions: Na + ) and anions ( Chloride ion : Cl - ). Sodium ions (Na + ), which are cations, are drawn into the negative cathode first electrode 14A disposed in the supply chamber 12. These sodium ions (Na +) is drawn in, and as a result, while water (H 2 O) also permeates, sodium ions (Na + ) permeate.

[0069] In contrast, Chloride ion (Cl - ) is an anion, so it is blocked by the minus cathode first electrode 14A and cannot permeate through the cathode first electrode 14A.

[0070] In the present invention, it is a feature that while sodium ions (Na + ) permeate, water also permeates through the diaphragm 13 constituting the cathode diaphragm electrode 14. As a result, there is no need to separately supply water such as purified water to the cation chamber 17 as the carrier water for the permeated sodium ions (Na + ).

[0071] Also, in the supply chamber 12, anions Chloride ion (Cl - ) are drawn into the anode diaphragm electrode (anode first electrode 24A, anode second electrode 24B) 24 arranged opposite to the cathode diaphragm electrode 14. When anions Chloride ion (Cl - ) are drawn in, as a result, while water (H 2 O) also permeates, Chloride ion will permeate.

[0072] In contrast, sodium ions (Na + ) are cations, so they are blocked by the anode first electrode 24A and cannot permeate through the anode first electrode 24A.

[0073] As a result, sodium ions (Na + ) are concentrated in the cation chamber 17. Also, Chloride ion (Cl - ) is concentrated in the anion chamber 27. Thereby, the third supply and discharge liquid 11C discharged from the supply chamber 12 has a decrease in sodium ions (Na + ) and, Chloride ion (Cl -) also enters a reduced state.

[0074] Here, into the cation chamber 17, water permeates along with the permeation of anions (Cl - ). As a result, the permeated water acts as carrier water for the anions (Cl - ), so there is no need to separately supply water such as purified water.

[0075] Note that the ion exchange membrane of the ion separation technology according to the prior art can hardly permeate water and only has the function of separating ions. In contrast, when producing the alkaline liquid 16 and the acidic liquid 26 with the ion separation device 10C of the present embodiment, there is no need to supply any purified water as carrier water.

[0076] As described above, according to the ion separation device 10C-1 of the present embodiment, in the ion state of the supply liquid 11 supplied into the supply chamber 12 (the mixed state of sodium ions (Na + ) and Chloride ion (Cl - ): pH = 7.0), on the side of the cathode mesh electrode 14 arranged on the left side of the supply chamber 12, sodium ions (Na + ) permeate, and sodium ions (Na + ) are concentrated in the cation chamber 17. At the same time, on the side of the anode mesh electrode 24 arranged on the right side of the supply chamber 12, Chloride ion (Cl - ) permeates, and Chloride ion (Cl - ) is concentrated in the anion chamber 27.

[0077] The confirmation of the ion separation of cations and anions in this ion separation device 10C-1 was performed with pH and BTB reagent. Here, a 0.05% aqueous solution of sodium chloride (NaCl) was used as the supply liquid 11, and the pH was adjusted with a carbonate buffer so that the supply liquid amount would be pH 7.0. At the same time, using a BTB (bromothymol blue) reagent, the pH state in each chamber was visualized by coloring.

[0078] As a result of this confirmation, the ionic state of the supply liquid 11 supplied to the supply chamber 12 (sodium ions (Na + ), and Chloride ion (Cl - )) in a mixed state: pH = 7.0), after ion separation, the pH of the alkaline liquid 16 discharged from the cation chamber 17 became 11.8, and the pH of the acidic liquid 26 discharged from the anion chamber 27 became 2.4.

[0079] Also, as a result of inspection with BTB reagent, the supply liquid 11 (pH = 7.0) supplied to the supply chamber 12 had a green color tone, but the color tone of the alkaline liquid 16 (pH = 11.8) in the cation chamber 17 changed to blue, and the color tone of the acidic liquid 26 (pH = 2.4) in the anion chamber 27 changed to yellow. Furthermore, in the flame test using a copper wire, the alkaline liquid 16 changed to the orange of Na ions, and the acidic liquid 26 changed to the green of copper chloride (CuCl 2 ). Also, in each flame test, it was confirmed that ion separation was surely performed.

[0080] As a result, the circulating liquid, which is the third supply discharge liquid 11C discharged from the supply chamber 12, has a reduced sodium ion (Na + ), and Chloride ion (Cl - ) is also in a reduced state (pH = 4.5).

[0081] A schematic diagram of the outline of the confirmation result with this BTB reagent is shown in FIG. 15. FIG. 15 is a schematic diagram of the result of confirming the ion separation state in the ion separation device with BTB reagent. In FIG. 15, "A" in the upper row indicates the color tone of the BTB reagent. "B" in the middle row indicates the state in which the color tone has changed in the supply chamber 12 equipped with the cation chamber 17 and the anion chamber 27 on both sides. "C" in the lower row indicates the state of the color tone of the supply liquid 11.

[0082] According to this embodiment, when a predetermined voltage is applied for the separation of cations and anions, ion separation is performed by the cathode filter plate electrode 14 and the anode filter plate electrode 24 respectively. Also, the separated water permeates through the cathode filter plate electrode 14 and the anode filter plate electrode 24 as the water serving as the carrier of ions. Therefore, it is not necessary to separately add water (such as purified water) which is ion carrier water as in the prior art.

[0083] In addition, during ion separation, since an electric voltage is applied to the electrodes (the cathode filter plate electrode 14 and the anode filter plate electrode 24), the electrodes generate heat and the supply liquid 11 is heated. Also, since electrolysis of water occurs, gas (hydrogen gas in the cation chamber 17, and chlorine gas and oxygen gas in the anion chamber 27) is generated around the electrodes. The gas moves to the upper part of the supply chamber 12 of the sealed space due to buoyancy. Therefore, gas venting means such as a gas vent valve are appropriately installed in the supply chamber 12, the cation chamber 17, the anion chamber 27, or the discharge line.

[0084] Also, as shown in FIG. 3B, the ion separation device 10C-2 is provided with a piezoelectric vibrator (vibrating member) 80 which is a piezoelectric member in the supply chamber 12, the cation chamber 17, and the anion chamber 27. By installing this piezoelectric vibrator (vibrating member) 80, it is possible to prevent the adhesion of particles even when there are particles floating in the supply liquid 11. As a result, the voltage applied to the first anode electrode 24A and the second anode electrode 24B can be made lower overall than when the piezoelectric vibrator (vibrating member) 80 is not installed.

[0085] That is, in order to improve the separation of particles, for example, in the case where 20V was applied to the anode first electrode 24A and the anode second electrode 24B, by installing the piezoelectric vibrator (vibrating member) 80, the applied voltage can be reduced to 5V for the anode first electrode 24A and 10V for the anode second electrode 24B, and the overall applied voltage can be reduced. As a result, it is possible to significantly reduce the power consumption of the ion separation device, suppress electrolysis, and further suppress heat generation. In particular, when separating heat-sensitive particles or biological organisms to be separated as described later, the heat reduction effect is significant. Note that the piezoelectric vibrator (vibrating member) 80 may be provided at at least one location.

[0086] [Embodiment 4] FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of the ion separation device according to Embodiment 4. Note that the same components as those in the first to third embodiments are denoted by the same reference numerals and their description is omitted. The ion separation device 10D according to the present Embodiment 4 has two sets (14-1, 14-2, 24-1, 24-2) of each electrode (cathode filter plate electrode, anode filter plate electrode), and two sets (17-1, 17-2, 27-1, 27-2) of a cation chamber 17 and an anion chamber 27 are provided respectively.

[0087] The potentials of the cathode electrodes 14A-1, 14B-1, 14A-2, 14B-2 are set to -15V, -20V, -30V, -35V respectively by a power supply (not shown). Also, the potentials of the anode electrodes 24A-1, 24B-1, 24A-2, 24B-2 are set to +15V, +20V, +30V, +35V respectively. The absolute values of the potentials of the cathode electrodes (14A-1, 14B-1, 14A-2, 14B-2) and the anode electrodes (24A-1, 24B-1, 24A-2, 24B-2) increase as they are separated from the supply chamber 12.

[0088] As shown in FIG. 4, the ion separation device 10D according to the present Embodiment 4 includes a supply chamber 12 that supplies a supply liquid 11 of an electrolyte solution (for example, NaCl solution: pH 7.0) containing cations and anions, cathode filter plate electrodes 14-1, 14-2 provided on both sides of the supply chamber 12 and having a diaphragm (filter medium) 13 for separating cations, anode filter plate electrodes 24-1, 24-2 provided on both sides of the supply chamber 12 and having a diaphragm (filter medium) 13 for separating anions, and a cation chamber 17 (17-1, 17-2) into which the separated cations (Na + ) flow as a cation solution (alkali solution) 16 together with water, and separated anions (Cl -)( )) flows into the anion chambers 27 (27-1, 27-2) together with water as an anion solution (acidic solution) 26, and is provided with the same.

[0089] In this embodiment, the second cation chamber 17-2 and the second anion chamber 27-2 each also serve as discharge chambers for discharging the alkaline solution 16 and the acidic solution 26, respectively, and are each provided with discharge holes 17a, 27a. In addition, the supply chamber 12 is also provided with a supply hole 12a and a discharge hole 12c. The discharged liquid is used as a circulating liquid.

[0090] As a result, from the discharge hole 17a of the second cation chamber 17-2, the alkaline solution 16 with an increased cation concentration and an increased pH is discharged. On the other hand, from the discharge hole 27a of the second anion chamber 27-2, the acidic solution 26 with an increased anion concentration and a decreased pH is discharged.

[0091] As in this embodiment, as the ion separation device 10D, by using two sets (14-1, 14-2, 24-1, 24-2) of each electrode (cathode filter plate electrode, anode filter plate electrode), two sets (17-1, 17-2, 27-1, 27-2) of the cation chamber 17 and the anion chamber 27 are provided, respectively, so that the ion separation efficiency increases. It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the installation of two sets of each of the cation chamber 17 and the anion chamber 27, and three sets (17-1, 17-2, 17-3, 27-1, 27-2, 27-3), four sets (17-1, 17-2, 17-3, 17-4, 27-1, 27-2, 27-3, 27-4) may be installed as necessary.

[0092] The ion separation devices 10A to 10D described above can be applied to any technical field for separating ions in an electrolytic solution. As technical fields for separating ions, in addition to alternatives such as ion exchange membranes and ion exchange resins, for example, in addition to seawater desalination (demineralization) devices, for example, it can also be applied to artificial dialysis devices and the like.

[0093] [Embodiment 5] FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of the ion separation device of Embodiment 5. As shown in FIG. 5, the ion separation device 10E of Embodiment 5 includes the ion separation device 10A of Embodiment 1, a supply tank 55 that supplies an electrolyte solution (supply liquid 11) containing cations, and a supply line L that supplies the supply liquid 11 from the supply tank 55 to the supply chamber 12 via a supply pump P. 1 and a circulation line L that circulates the first supply and discharge liquid 11A from the supply chamber 12 to the supply tank 55. 2 and an alkali line L that discharges the alkali liquid 16 from the cation chamber 17 to the alkali tank 56. 3 and is provided with.

[0094] The ion separation device 10E of Embodiment 5 continuously supplies the supply liquid 11 supplied from the supply tank 55 into the supply chamber 12, separates cations in the cation chamber 17, and circulates the inside of the supply chamber 12, whereby the cation liquid (alkali liquid) 16 can be continuously obtained in the alkali tank 56. Further, by installing the ion separation device 10B of Embodiment 2 instead of the ion separation device 10A, an anion liquid (acidic liquid) can be obtained.

[0095] [Embodiment 6] FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of the ion separation device of Embodiment 6. As shown in FIG. 6, the ion separation device 10F of Embodiment 6 includes the ion separation device 10D of Embodiment 4, a supply tank 55 that supplies an electrolyte solution (supply liquid 11) containing cations, and a supply line L that supplies the supply liquid 11 from the supply tank 55 to the supply chamber 12 via a supply pump P-1. 1 and a circulation tank 57 that temporarily stores the first supply and discharge liquid 11A from the supply chamber 12 in order to circulate it back to the supply chamber 12, and an alkali line L that discharges the alkali liquid 16 from the cation chamber 17 to the alkali tank 56 by a supply pump P-2. 3 and a supply line L that supplies the first supply and discharge liquid 11A from the supply chamber 12 to the circulation tank 57. 4 and from the anion chamber 27 for an acidic line L that discharges the acidic liquid 26 via a supply pump P-3 to the acidic liquid tank 58. 5 and is provided with. Circulation line L 4 A pressure relief valve (not shown) is installed in it to adjust the pressure (for example, about 0.03 MPa).

[0096] By using the ion separation device 10F of the sixth embodiment, the cation solution (alkali solution) 16 can be continuously obtained in the alkali tank 56, and the anion solution (acid solution) 26 can be continuously obtained in the acid solution tank 58.

[0097] Here, using the ion separation device 10F of the sixth embodiment as shown in FIG. 6, as the supply liquid 11, an aqueous solution of sodium nitrate (NaNO 3 ) was used, and the test results of ion separation are shown in FIG. 7 (FIG. 7A, FIG. 7B). Note that as the object to be separated, a 0.05% aqueous solution of NaNO 3 was used, and the pH was adjusted to 7.0 with a carbonate buffer. As the evaluation method, the ion concentration was measured with a Na + / NO 3 - ion meter.

[0098] As shown in FIG. 7A, the separation efficiency of Na ions, which are cations, was 95.4% (20 minutes), 88.5% (40 minutes), and 83.1% (60 minutes). As shown in FIG. 7B, the separation efficiency of NO 3 ions, which are anions, was 96.6% (20 minutes), 94.9% (40 minutes), and 94.3% (60 minutes). From the results of FIGS. 7A and 7B, it was found that the ion separation device of this embodiment can well separate cations and anions.

[0099] [Embodiment 7] FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of the ion separation device of the seventh embodiment. Note that the same reference numerals are given to the same constituent members as those in the above-described embodiments, and the description thereof is omitted.

[0100] The ion separation devices 10A to 10F of Embodiments 1 to 6 have described the technology for separating cations or anions in an electrolytic solution, but the ion separation device of the present invention is not limited thereto.

[0101] The ion separation device 10G of Embodiment 7 has the same configuration as the ion separation device 10C of Embodiment 3 (see FIG. 3) described above, but particles (in the figure, "●" Ptcl - ) 50 are mixed in the particle-containing supply liquid 51 supplied into the supply chamber 12, and ions and particles 50 are separated. Note that since the separation of cations (e.g., Na ions) and anions (e.g., Chloride ion ) is separated in the same behavior as described above, in the description of the ion separation device 10E of the present embodiment, the separation of particles 50 will be mainly described.

[0102] Here, as shown in FIG. 8, the supply chamber 12 of the ion separation device 10G is provided with an inlet 12a for introducing the particle-containing supply liquid 51, a supply liquid introduction line 12b interposed with a supply pump P connected to the inlet 12a, a third discharge port 12c for discharging the discharged liquid 51A from which particles 50, cations, and anions are separated, and a discharge line 12d connected to the third discharge port 12c.

[0103] The cation chamber 17 of the ion separation device 10G is provided with a first discharge port 17a for discharging the cation liquid 16 and a first discharge line 17b connected to the first discharge port 17a. Further, the anion chamber 27 of the ion separation device 10G is provided with a second discharge port 27a for discharging the concentrate 65 containing the anion liquid and a second discharge line 27b connected to the second discharge port 27a.

[0104] The cathode first electrode 14A faces the anode first electrode 24A with the supply chamber 12 interposed therebetween. The distance D1 between the cathode first electrode 14A and the anode first electrode 24A is a distance that allows the particles 50 in the particle-containing supply liquid 51 to move toward the anode first electrode 24A, for example, 0.1 mm or more and 100 mm or less, more preferably 0.1 mm or more and 20 mm or less.

[0105] In addition, regarding the pore diameter 13a of the diaphragm 13, it is an interval that allows the particles 50 in the particle-mixed supply liquid 51 to move toward the anode first electrode 24A and the anode second electrode 24B.

[0106] Regarding the operation method of the ion separation device 10G, first, the supply pump P is driven to supply the particle-mixed supply liquid 51 to the supply chamber 12. The supply pump P is continuously driven to continuously supply the particle-mixed supply liquid 51. Also, the pressure by the supply pump P is set so that the pressure (gauge pressure) in the sealed space S of the supply chamber 12 is higher than the atmospheric pressure, for example, 0.005 MPa or more and 0.5 MPa or less, preferably 0.02 MPa or more and 0.1 MPa or less, etc.

[0107] The pressure on the downstream side of the first discharge line 17b and the second discharge line 27b is adjusted to be substantially equal to the atmospheric pressure by a pressure regulating valve (not shown). Thereby, a pressure (hereinafter referred to as a filtration pressure) from the first supply port 12a (supply chamber 12) toward the cation chamber 17 and the anion chamber 27 acts on the sealed space S.

[0108] The cathode first potential V1 supplied from the cathode first power supply 61 to the cathode first electrode 14A is set to -20V. The cathode second potential V2 supplied from the cathode second power supply 62 to the cathode second electrode 14B is set to -30V. That is, the cathode power supply supplies cathode potentials (V1, V2) of the same polarity as the polarity (minus) of the particles 50 to the cathode electrodes. Also, the absolute value of the cathode potential supplied from the cathode power supply increases as it separates from the supply chamber 12 (|V2| > |V1|).

[0109] Set the first anode potential V11 supplied from the first anode power source 63 to the first anode electrode 24A to +20V. Set the second anode potential V12 supplied from the second anode power source 64 to the second anode electrode 24B to +30V. That is, the anode power source supplies anode potentials (V11, V12) with polarities different from the polarity (minus) of the particles 50 to the anode electrodes. Also, the absolute value of the anode potential supplied from the anode power source increases as the distance from the supply chamber 12 increases (|V12| > |V11|).

[0110] According to the above-described operation method, when the particle-mixed supply liquid 51 is supplied to the supply chamber 12, the particles 50 contained in the particle-mixed supply liquid 51 are repelled by the first cathode electrode 14A charged with the same polarity (see arrow A1 in FIG. 8). Also, the particles 50 are attracted by the first anode electrode 24A charged with a different polarity (see arrow B1 in FIG. 8). As a result, the particles 50 in the supply chamber 12 move toward the first anode electrode 24A.

[0111] Then, the particle-mixed supply liquid 51 (particle-mixed supply liquid 51 with a high concentration of particles 50) near the first anode electrode 24A passes through the hole 24a of the first anode electrode 24A and the hole 24a of the second anode electrode 24B due to the filtration pressure, and the particles 50 move to the anion chamber 27 (see arrow F4 in FIG. 8). Also, in the process of passing through the first anode electrode 24A and the second anode electrode 24B, the proportion of water in the particle-mixed supply liquid 51 decreases, and the proportion of the particles 50 increases, resulting in the concentrate 65. Details will be described below.

[0112] From the above, the positively charged water molecules decelerate compared to the moving speed when simply receiving the filtration pressure and moving to the anion chamber 27. For this reason, the amount of water passing between the first anode electrode 24A and the second anode electrode 24B per unit time decreases. As a result, the proportion of water contained in the particle-mixed supply liquid 51 that has moved to the anion chamber 27 becomes smaller than that of the particle-mixed supply liquid 51 near the first anode electrode 24A.

[0113] In addition, the anode electric field Ea between the anode first electrode 24A and the anode second electrode 24B exerts an attractive force that draws the negatively charged particles 50 from the anode first electrode 24A toward the anode second electrode 24B (see arrow F4 in FIG. 8). That is, the particles 50 receive an attractive force from the electric field when passing between the anode first electrode 24A and the anode second electrode 24B. As a result, the particles 50 are accelerated more than when they simply move to the anion chamber 27 under the filtration pressure. From the above, the amount of particles 50 passing between the anode first electrode 24A and the anode second electrode 24B per unit time increases. For this reason, the ratio of the particles 50 per unit volume contained in the particle-mixed supply liquid 51 that has moved to the anion chamber 27 becomes higher than that of the particle-mixed supply liquid 51 near the anode first electrode 24A.

[0114] In this way, the particle-mixed supply liquid 51 has an increased concentration of particles 50 in the process of passing between the anode first electrode 24A and the anode second electrode 24B, and becomes a concentrate 65 containing an anion liquid and having the particles concentrated. Then, this concentrate 65 is discharged from the second discharge line 27b through the second discharge port 27a by the filtration pressure.

[0115] On the other hand, in the supply chamber 12, a particle-mixed supply liquid 51 with a low concentration of particles 50 stays near the cathode first electrode 14A. This particle-mixed supply liquid 51 passes through the holes 14a of the cathode first electrode 14A and the holes 14a of the cathode second electrode 14B by the filtration pressure and moves to the cation chamber 17 (see arrow F2 in FIG. 8).

[0116] Here, a cathode electric field Ec is generated between the cathode first electrode 14A and the cathode second electrode 14B. The cathode electric field Ec exerts a repulsive force that suppresses the movement of the negatively charged particles 50 from the supply chamber 12 to the cation chamber 17. For this reason, the particles 50 are suppressed from moving to the cation chamber 17.

[0117] In addition, the cathode electric field Ec generated between the cathode first electrode 14A and the cathode second electrode 14B exerts a force to draw the positively charged water molecules from the supply chamber 12 toward the cation chamber 17. An electroosmotic flow occurs in which the positively charged water molecules are drawn toward the cation chamber 17 (see arrow F2 in FIG. 8). Therefore, the water in the supply chamber 12 is accelerated compared to the moving speed when it simply moves to the cation chamber 17 under the filtration pressure. Thus, the amount of water moving from the supply chamber 12 to the cation chamber 17 per unit time increases.

[0118] Then, the cation liquid 16, which is the water that has moved to the cation chamber 17 (the filtrate from which the particles 50 have been separated), has water discharged from the first discharge port 17a due to the filtration pressure.

[0119] As described above, most of the water contained in the particle-mixed supply liquid 51 moves toward the cation chamber 17. That is, the volume moving from the supply chamber 12 to the cation chamber 17 or the anion chamber 27 per unit time is larger for the cation chamber 17. Therefore, by means of the first valve 17c and the second valve 27c, the flow rates discharged from the first discharge port 17a and the second discharge port 27a are set, for example, to 9:1 (for example, 10-fold concentration), and adjusted so that more water is discharged from the first discharge port 17a. As a result, a large amount of water is continuously discharged as filtrate from the first discharge port 17a. Also, a concentrate 65 in which the particles 50 are concentrated is continuously discharged from the second discharge port 27a.

[0120] Here, in the present embodiment, the flow rate is set to 9:1 (for example, 10-fold concentration), but by adjusting the flow rate of the metering pump, the flow rate can be appropriately set to, for example, 2:1 (for example, 3-fold concentration), etc.

[0121] Here, as described above, since the particle-mixed supply liquid 51 contains cations (Na ions) and anions (Cl ions), the cations and anions are each ion-separated, and the alkaline liquid 16 and the acidic liquid 26 are discharged from the cation chamber 17 and the anion chamber 27. At that time, since the particle-mixed supply liquid 51 contains the particles 50, particle separation is also performed simultaneously.

[0122] [Embodiment 8] FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of the ion separation device according to Embodiment 8. Note that the same components as those in the first to seventh embodiments are denoted by the same reference numerals and their description is omitted.

[0123] The ion separation device of the present invention can perform ion separation even when charged particles are present in the electrolytic solution, along with the ion separation of cations or anions in the electrolytic solution.

[0124] In this embodiment, an aqueous sodium hydroxide (NaOH) solution is used as the supply liquid, and a particle-mixed supply liquid 51 in which particles (''●'' in the figure) 50 are mixed in the aqueous sodium hydroxide solution will be exemplified and described. However, the present invention is not limited thereto. As shown in FIG. 9, the ion separation device 10H according to Embodiment 8 includes a supply chamber 12 that supplies a particle-mixed supply liquid 51 containing cations (Na + ), anions (OH - ), and particles 50, a cathode filter plate electrode 14 disposed on both sides of the supply chamber 12 and including a diaphragm (filter medium) 13 that separates cations (Na + ), a flat anode electrode 15, and a cation chamber 17 into which the separated cations (Na + ) flow as a cation liquid (hereinafter also referred to as an ''alkali liquid'') 16 together with water.

[0125] Further, the ion separation device 10H according to Embodiment 8 further includes a supply tank 55 that supplies the particle-mixed supply liquid 51 to the supply chamber 12, an alkali tank 56 that receives the alkali liquid 16, a supply line L that supplies the particle-mixed supply liquid 51 from the supply tank 55 to the supply chamber 12 via a supply pump P 1 a circulation line L that circulates the discharged liquid 51B from the supply chamber 12 to the supply tank 55 2 and an alkali line L that discharges the alkali liquid 16 from the cation chamber 17 to the alkali tank 56 3 and is provided with. Here, the cathode electrode 14 is composed of a first cathode electrode 14A and a second cathode electrode 14B, each having pores 14a. Further, a separator 13, which is an insulator having pores 13a, is sandwiched between the first cathode electrode 14A and the second cathode electrode 14B.

[0126] Next, an example of separating cations and particles 50 by supplying a particle-mixed supply liquid 51 containing cations (Na + ) and anions (OH - ), and negatively charged particles (●(Ptcl - ))50 into the supply chamber 12 will be described with reference to FIG. 9.

[0127] As described above, the ionic state in the supply chamber 12 is dissociated into cations (sodium ions: Na + ) and anions (hydroxide ions: OH - ). Sodium ions (Na + ), which are cations, are drawn into the negative first cathode electrode 14A disposed in the supply chamber 12. When these sodium ions (Na + ) are drawn in, as a result, water (H 2 O) also permeates while the sodium ions (Na + ) permeate.

[0128] On the other hand, hydroxide ions (hydroxide ions: OH - ) and negatively charged particles (●(Ptcl - ))50 are anions, so they are blocked by the negative first cathode electrode 14A and cannot permeate through the first cathode electrode 14A. In FIG. 9, the behavior of the negatively charged particles 50 bouncing back in the supply chamber 12 is illustrated. Therefore, the negatively charged particles 50 are concentrated in the supply chamber 12. As a result, the discharge liquid 51B discharged from the supply chamber 12 has a reduced amount of cations (Na + ) and is in a state where the negatively charged particles 50 are concentrated.

[0129] As a result, in the cation chamber 17, the cations of Na+ A positively charged ion solution (alkali solution as filtrate) 16 that has been moved is obtained, and a discharged solution 51B in which negatively charged particles 50 are concentrated can be obtained from the supply chamber 12 side.

[0130] As a result, according to this embodiment, when the particles (●(Ptcl - ))50 are valuable substances, cations (for example, Na + etc.), which are impurities contained in the valuable substances, can be easily removed.

[0131] Here, conventionally, in order to remove cations (for example, Na ions) present in an aqueous solution containing valuable substances, it has been necessary to use so-called diafiltration, in which a large amount of water is used to repeat multiple dilution operations and separation operations, which requires time and labor.

[0132] <Test Example 1> FIG. 10A is a schematic diagram of Test Example 1 of the ion separation device of Embodiment 8. Next, an example of a test case in which a particle-mixed supply liquid 51 containing cations (Na + ), anions (OH - ), and negatively charged particles 50 is supplied into the supply chamber 12 using FIG. 10A to separate the cations, anions, and particles 50 will be described. As the particles 50, colloidal silica (particle size: 100 nm) was used.

[0133] As shown in FIG. 10A, the ion separation device 10I of Embodiment 1 further installs a receiving tank 59 that receives the supply discharge liquid 51B from the supply chamber 12 in the ion separation device 10H shown in FIG. 9, and an alkali line L 2 connected to this receiving tank 59 for discharging. The discharged liquid (containing particles (●(Ptcl + ))50) 51B discharged from the supply chamber 12 where Na + has been separated and the Na - concentration has decreased is stored in the receiving tank 59.

[0134] When the pH of the supply liquid 51 with the particles mixed in is set to 7.0, since the particles 50 are negatively charged, they are blocked by the negative cathode first electrode 14A and cannot pass through the cathode first electrode 14A. Therefore, in Fig. 10A, the particles 50 are concentrated in the supply chamber 12. As a result, the discharged liquid 51B discharged from the supply chamber 12 has a reduced concentration of cations (Na + + The results of this test are shown in [Table 1].

[0135]

Table 1

[0136] As shown in [Table 1], when the supply time of the supply liquid was 0 minutes, the TS (total evaporation residue; colloidal silica concentration, sodium concentration) was 1.006 wt%, the pH was 7.0, and the Na ion concentration was 21 ppm. When the properties of the discharged liquid 51B side were measured, when the supply time was 40 minutes, the TS (total evaporation residue; colloidal silica concentration, sodium concentration) was 2.277 wt%, the colloidal silica concentration magnification was 2.3 times, the pH was 4.3, the Na ion concentration was 12 ppm, and the Na ion separation efficiency was 42.9%. When the supply time was 60 minutes, the TS (total evaporation residue; colloidal silica concentration, sodium concentration) was 2.405 wt%, the colloidal silica concentration magnification was 2.4 times, the pH was 3.9, the Na ion concentration was 12 ppm, and the Na ion separation efficiency was 42.9%. When the supply time was 180 minutes, the TS (total evaporation residue; colloidal silica concentration, sod ium concentration) was 2.274 wt%, the colloidal silica concentration magnification was 2.3 times, the pH was 3.6, the Na ion concentration was 10 ppm, and the Na ion separation efficiency was 52.4%.

[0137] Also, when measuring the properties on the cation solution 16 side, when the supply time was 40 minutes, TS (total evaporation residue; colloidal silica concentration, sodium concentration) was 0.016 wt%, the colloidal silica concentration magnification was 98.4 times, the pH was 9.1, the Na ion concentration was 29 ppm, and the Na ion concentration magnification was 1.4%. When the supply time was 60 minutes, TS (total evaporation residue; colloidal silica concentration, sodium concentration) was 0.017 wt%, the colloidal silica concentration magnification was 98.3 times, the pH was 9.2, the Na ion concentration was 31 ppm, and the Na ion concentration magnification was 1.5%. When the supply time was 180 minutes, TS (total evaporation residue; colloidal silica concentration, sodium concentration) was 0.027 wt%, the colloidal silica concentration magnification was 97.4 times, the pH was 9.1, the Na ion concentration was 30 ppm, and the Na ion concentration magnification was 1.4%.

[0138] As is clear from the results in [Table 1], Na ions, which are cations, are separated from the particle-mixed supply liquid 51, and colloidal silica, which is the particle 50 in the discharge liquid, is concentrated, indicating that the separation efficiency of colloidal silica is good.

[0139] <Test Example 2> Figure 10B is a schematic diagram of Test Example 2 of the ion separation device according to Embodiment 8. Next, the ion separation device 10J shown in Figure 10B is the ion separation device 10H in Figure 9, and a distilled water supply tank 55B for supplying distilled water (DW) to 55A is installed. The test was the same as in Test Example 1, and colloidal silica (particle size: 100 nm) was used as the particle 50.

[0140] The ion separation device 10J of Test Example 2 is provided with a distilled water supply tank 55B for supplying distilled water DW to the supply tank 55A. By installing this distilled water supply tank 55B, when performing ion separation, distilled water DW equal to the discharge amount of the alkaline solution 16, which is the filtrate, is supplied to the slurry (particle + Na ion) in the supply tank 55A.

[0141] By supplying this distilled water DW, while maintaining the concentration of silica in the supply tank 55A and the silica concentration in the discharge liquid 51B, which is the circulating liquid returning to the supply tank 55A, at a constant level (1 wt%), together with the filtrate, which is the alkaline liquid 16, this is a filtration operation method for discharging Na ions.

[0142] Here, the supply flow rate of the particle-mixed supply liquid 51 from the supply tank 55A to the supply chamber 12 was set to F11 = 10 ml / min, and the return flow rate of the circulating liquid, which is the discharge liquid 51B, was set to F12 = 4 ml / min. And the supply flow rate of the distilled water DW was set to F14 = 6 ml / min, and the discharge flow rate of the alkaline liquid 16, which is the filtrate, was set to 6 ml / min to make them equal. The ion concentration of Na ions was demonstrated to have decreased from the initial concentration of 20 ppm in the supply tank 55A to 0 ppm as measured by an ion meter for the Na ion concentration in the circulating liquid.

[0143] The results of this test are shown in [Table 2].

[0144]

Table 2

[0145] As shown in [Table 2], when the supply time of the supply liquid was 0 minutes, the TS (total evaporation residue; colloidal silica concentration, sodium concentration) in the stock solution, which is the supply liquid, was 1.021 wt%, the pH was 9.0, and the Na ion concentration was 29 ppm.

[0146] First, when measuring the properties of the stock solution in the supply tank 55A, at a supply time of 40 minutes, TS (total evaporation residue; colloidal silica concentration, sodium concentration) was 0.818 wt%, pH was 6.5, sodium ion concentration was 10 ppm, and sodium ion separation efficiency was 50%. At a supply time of 80 minutes, TS (total evaporation residue; colloidal silica concentration, sodium concentration) was 0.802 wt%, pH was 4.0, sodium ion concentration was 5 ppm, and sodium ion separation efficiency was 75.0%. At a supply time of 120 minutes, TS (total evaporation residue; colloidal silica concentration, sodium concentration) was 0.764 wt%, pH was 3.7, sodium ion concentration was 3 ppm, and sodium ion separation efficiency was 85.0%. At a supply time of 150 minutes, TS (total evaporation residue; colloidal silica concentration, sodium concentration) was 0.717 wt%, pH was 3.7, sodium ion concentration was 2 ppm, and sodium ion separation efficiency was 90.0%.

[0147] Next, when measuring the properties of the discharged liquid (circulating liquid) 51B side, at a supply time of 40 minutes, TS (total evaporation residue; colloidal silica concentration, sodium concentration) was 1.845 wt%, colloidal silica concentration magnification was 1.9 times, pH was 3.2, sodium ion concentration was 5 ppm, and sodium ion separation efficiency was 75%. At a supply time of 80 minutes, TS (total evaporation residue; colloidal silica concentration, sodium concentration) was 2.058 wt%, colloidal silica concentration magnification was 2.0 times, pH was 3.2, sodium ion concentration was 3 ppm, and sodium ion separation efficiency was 85%. At a supply time of 120 minutes, TS (total evaporation residue; colloidal silica concentration, sodium concentration) was 1.704 wt%, colloidal silica concentration magnification was 1.7 times, pH was 3.2, sodium ion concentration was 2 ppm, and sodium ion separation efficiency was 90%. At a supply time of 150 minutes, TS (total evaporation residue; colloidal silica concentration, sodium concentration) was 1.516 wt%, colloidal silica concentration magnification was 1.5 times, pH was 3.2, sodium ion concentration was 0 ppm, and sodium ion separation efficiency was 100%.

[0148] When measuring the properties on the cation solution 16 side, when the supply time was 40 minutes, TS (total evaporation residue; colloidal silica concentration, sodium concentration) was 0.013 wt%, the colloidal silica concentration magnification was 98.7 times, the pH was 10.5, the Na ion concentration was 20 ppm, and the Na ion concentration magnification was 1.0%. When the supply time was 80 minutes, TS (total evaporation residue; colloidal silica concentration, sodium concentration) was 0.009 wt%, the colloidal silica concentration magnification was 99.1 times, the pH was 10.4, the Na ion concentration was 11 ppm, and the Na ion concentration magnification was 0.6%. When the supply time was 120 minutes, TS (total evaporation residue; colloidal silica concentration, sodium concentration) was 0.000 wt%, the colloidal silica concentration magnification was 100.0 times, the pH was 9.9, the Na ion concentration was 5 ppm, and the Na ion concentration magnification was 0.3%. From the above results, the concentration of Na ions in the circulating liquid reached 0 ppm with a separation efficiency of 100%, and the particle separation efficiency was also 100%. As a result, 100% separation efficiency of the particles (●(Ptcl - ))50) was achieved, and de-Na ion (0 ppm) was achieved.

[0149] [Embodiment 9] Figure 11A is a schematic diagram of the ion separation device of Embodiment 9. For the same constituent members as in the first to eighth embodiments, the same reference numerals are given and their descriptions are omitted. As shown in Figure 11A, the ion separation device of this Embodiment 9 is formed by connecting the ion separation device 10A of Embodiment 1 and the ion separation device 10B of Embodiment 2 in series to form a seawater desalination device 70.

[0150] As shown in Figure 11A, the ion separation device of Embodiment 9 is a modified example of the above-described ion separation device. The lower part in the figure is the ion separation device 10A of Embodiment 1, and the upper part is the ion separation device 10B of Embodiment 2.

[0151] The ion separation device 10A of Embodiment 1 on the lower stage side and the ion separation device 10B of Embodiment 2 on the upper stage side are configured as a unit, and by connecting a plurality of these units, the ion separation efficiency of cations and anions is remarkably improved.

[0152] As the supply liquid 71 of the present embodiment, brine (NaCl) is used. As shown in Fig. 11A, the lower ion separation device 10A allows cations to pass through and blocks anions, and the upper ion separation device 10B allows anions to pass through and blocks cations. That is, since the ion separation device of Embodiment 5 separates cations and anions from brine, it can function as a so-called seawater desalination device.

[0153] As shown in Fig. 11A, the seawater desalination device 70, which is the ion separation device of Embodiment 9, has a first ion separation device 10A arranged in the lower stage, and an aqueous sodium chloride solution (brine) 71 is supplied into the supply chamber 12 of the first ion separation device 10A.

[0154] The sodium ions in the supplied aqueous sodium chloride solution 71 permeate the cathode filter plate electrode 14 together with water. In this first ion separation device 10A, the Na ions permeate the cathode filter plate electrodes 14 (14A, 14B), Chloride ion are blocked by the cathode filter plate electrode 14, Chloride ion are concentrated and discharged from the supply chamber 12. The alkaline liquid 16 through which the sodium ions have permeated is discharged from the cation chamber 17 as the first cation liquid 16-1. The separation efficiency of Na ions in this first stage is 95%, and the Na ions are reduced by approximately 95%.

[0155] Next, the first cation liquid 16-1 is supplied into the supply chamber 22 of the second ion separation device 10B on the upper stage side. The first cation liquid 16-1, which is a cation permeate in which sodium ions are concentrated by the lower first ion separation device 10A, has sodium ions (Na +) is blocked by the anode plate electrode 24 (24A, 24B), only water permeates, and desalinated water 72 is discharged from the anion chamber 27. A module is configured with one set of this first ion separation device 10A and the second ion separation device 10B, and by installing a plurality of these modules in multiple stages, the Na + ion concentration can be reduced to a desired concentration.

[0156] In order to reduce the salt content from 3.5% seawater, it is generally said that when the salt content concentration is 0.05%, it can be used as drinking water.

[0157] FIG. 11B is a schematic diagram of seawater desalination equipment with a plurality of units of the seawater desalination device which is the ion separation device of Embodiment 9. As shown in FIG. 11B, by configuring the seawater desalination device 70 with a plurality of unit configurations and making it an n-stage module, the salt content concentration can be reduced to a desired concentration. As a result, by configuring the seawater desalination device 70 with a plurality of units, seawater (salt content concentration: about 3.5%) can be reduced to the salt content concentration of service water.

[0158] Thus, in the reverse osmosis membrane method using a reverse osmosis membrane generally used as a seawater desalination device, seawater with a salt content concentration of 3.5% is used as drinking water by setting it to a salt content concentration of 0.05%, but it is possible to desalinate to a sodium ion concentration equivalent to or higher than this.

[0159] Also, even when there are particles in seawater (for example, organisms such as plankton, organic matter, inorganic matter, etc.: (●(Ptcl - ))50, as described above, since the charged particles 50 can also be separated, seawater desalination can be performed. Particles can be separated if they are charged either way.

[0160] Note that seawater desalination by a conventional reverse osmosis membrane device is for particles (for example, organisms such as plankton, organic matter, inorganic matter, etc.: (●(Ptcl -Since the presence of [[))50]] causes clogging of the reverse osmosis membrane, it was treated at the front stage of the reverse osmosis membrane device.

[0161] That is, in the seawater desalination by the reverse osmosis membrane method in the prior art, seawater was polished to extremely clean water in the pretreatment to prevent clogging of the pores of the sub-nanometer reverse osmosis membrane.

[0162] On the other hand, in the seawater desalination device 70 using the ion separation device of the present invention, charged particles (●(Ptcl - ))50 can also be separated, so even if there is some plankton or the like, as long as there are charged ones, separation treatment becomes possible.

[0163] That is, negatively charged particles can be blocked by the ion separation device 10A in the first treatment at the lower stage, and positively charged particles can be blocked by the ion separation device 10B in the second treatment at the upper stage.

[0164] Generally, as a technology for desalinating seawater, there is the "reverse osmosis membrane method". This reverse osmosis membrane method is a technology that utilizes the "reverse osmosis phenomenon" of artificially applying a high pressure above the osmotic pressure to the salt water side and pushing only the water molecules in the salt water through the semipermeable membrane to the fresh water side.

[0165] In this seawater desalination method by the reverse osmosis membrane method of the prior art, for example, the generation of brine water with concentrated salt from a seawater desalination plant becomes a problem. In most cases, untreated brine is directly discarded into the sea, so there is a serious risk that harmful chemical substances such as scale inhibitors and antifouling agents contained in the waste will pollute the sea and have an adverse impact on marine organisms and the marine ecosystem. Furthermore, brine contains a large amount of salt, so compared with the salt content of the receiving water area, the salt concentration becomes higher, and as a result, there is also a problem of consuming the dissolved oxygen (DO) in the receiving water area.

[0166] The seawater desalination device 70 applying the ion separation device of the present invention has no such brine problem. In the first place, in the reverse osmosis membrane method, seawater supplied to the reverse osmosis membrane requires a pretreatment process. However, in the seawater desalination device of the present invention, as a pretreatment device, only a simple pretreatment facility of a "sand filtration device" for removing impurities in seawater needs to be installed, so it is efficient.

[0167] [Embodiment 10] Figs. 12 and 13 are schematic views of the ion separation device of Embodiment 10. Regarding the same constituent members in the above-described embodiments, the same reference numerals are given and their descriptions are omitted. The ion separation device in Fig. 12 has an active electrode arrangement, and the ion separation device in Fig. 13 has a passive electrode arrangement.

[0168] The ion separation device 10K in Fig. 12 supplies power by connecting to all 8 electrodes. The ion separation device 10D of the present Embodiment 4 has two sets of each electrode (cathode filter plate electrode, anode filter plate electrode) (14-1, 14-2, 24-1, 24-2), and two sets of each of the cation chamber 17 and the anion chamber 27 (17-1, 17-2, 27-1, 27-2) are provided.

[0169] By power supplies (ES1, ES2, IS1, IS2, IS3, IS4, IS5, IS6), the potentials of the cathode electrodes 14A-1, 14B-1, 14A-2, 14B-2 are set to -15V, -20V, -30V, -35V respectively. Also, the potentials of the anode electrodes 24A-1, 24B-1, 24A-2, 24B-2 are set to +15V, +20V, +30V, +35V respectively. The absolute values of the respective potentials of the cathode electrodes (14A-1, 14B-1, 14A-2, 14B-2) and the anode electrodes (24A-1, 24B-1, 24A-2, 24B-2) are set to be in a relationship where they increase as they are separated from the supply chamber 12. On the other hand, the ion separation device 10L in FIG. 13 supplies potentials of -35V and +35V by connecting a power source only to the two-pole electrodes at both ends. In FIGS. 12 and 13, the ion separation chamber is indicated by a one-dot chain line frame. A piezoelectric vibrator 80 is arranged in the ion separation devices 10K and 10L of the present embodiment.

[0170] [Embodiment 11] FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram of an ion separation and concentration system equipped with the ion separation device of Embodiment 11.

[0171] As shown in FIG. 14, the ion separation and concentration system 100 of Embodiment 11 includes a valuable substance concentration device 102 that concentrates a dilute solution 101 containing valuable particles 50 together with the particles 50 into a concentrated valuable substance 103 by concentrating a dilute solution containing at least one of cations and anions (cations, valuable substances), and an ion separation device 104 that removes either one or both of the cations or anions in the concentrated valuable substance 103 (for example, any one of the ion separation devices 10A, 10B, 10C, and 10H of the above-described embodiments). Note that cations are illustrated as ions in FIG. 14.

[0172] Examples of the valuable substance concentration device include filtration devices such as rotary ceramic membrane filters ("Dyna Filter; registered trademark"), but the present invention is not limited thereto. is not.

[0173] According to the ion separation and concentration system 100 of the present embodiment, a dilute solution with a low concentration of valuable substances can be concentrated once by the concentration device 102, and then cations (Na ions), which are impurities, can be separated from the subsequent concentrated valuable substance 103.

[0174] As a result, while concentrating the valuable substance, the ion concentration in the valuable substance decreases and the valuable substance purity improves.

[0175] That is, as described with reference to the ion separation device 10H of Embodiment 8 using FIG. 9, while circulating the particles (●(Ptcl-)) 50 as they are, by separating the cations (Na ions), when the particles (●(Ptcl-)) 50 are valuable substances, the cations (for example, Na+ etc.) which are impurities contained in the valuable substances can be easily removed, and the product purity can be improved.

[0176] [Embodiment 11] FIG. 17 is a schematic diagram of another ion separation device of Embodiment 11. Note that the same components as those in the above-described embodiments are denoted by the same reference numerals and their description is omitted.

[0177] The ion separation device 10M in FIG. 17 is an ion separation device having a so-called ion exchange membrane function of the prior art.

[0178] In this embodiment, sodium chloride (NaCl) will be exemplified and described. As shown in FIG. 17, the ion separation device 10M of Embodiment 11 has a cation (Na + ) and an anion (Cl - ) containing electrolyte solution (NaCl + H 2 O: hereinafter referred to as "feed solution") 11 supplying electrolyte solution supply chamber (hereinafter referred to as "supply chamber") 12, and cathode filter plate electrode 14 provided with diaphragm (filter medium) 13 for separating cations (Na + ) disposed on both sides of the supply chamber 12, flat anode electrode (anode) 15, and separated cations (Na + ) flowing as cation solution (hereinafter also referred to as "alkali solution") 110 together with water into cation chamber 17, and further, flat cathode electrode (cathode) 25 provided at a position facing the cathode filter plate electrode 14 in the cation chamber 17. And the supply chamber 12 is provided with a supply port and a discharge port (not shown), and supplies the supply solution 11 which is an electrolyte solution into the supply chamber 12.

[0179] The cation chamber 17 is provided with a replacement liquid supply port (not shown) and a replacement liquid discharge port for supplying a replacement liquid that replaces the moved cations, and the replacement liquid 110 is being supplied into the cation chamber 17. This replacement liquid 110 replaces the cations (Na + ) that have moved into the cation chamber 17 by ion exchange by the cathode filter plate electrode 14, and is used as the alkaline liquid 110A.

[0180] Here, the cathode filter plate electrode 14 is composed of a cathode first electrode 14A and a cathode second electrode 14B, and further has a diaphragm (filter plate) 13, which is an insulator having pores 13a, sandwiched between the cathode first electrode 14A and the cathode second electrode 14B. Here, as the diaphragm 13, for example, cellulose can be exemplified, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

[0181] The ion separation device 10M further includes a first power source 41 electrically connected to the flat anode electrode 15 and the cathode first electrode 14A, a second power source 42 electrically connected to the cathode first electrode 14A and the cathode second electrode 14B, and a fifth power source 45 electrically connected to the flat cathode electrode 25 and the cathode first electrode 14A. Here, the electrode configuration is such that the cathode second electrode 14B is at a first potential (V1), the cathode first electrode 14A is at a second potential (V2), the flat anode electrode 15 is at a third potential (V3), and the flat cathode electrode 25 is at a fourth potential (V4). The power supplies of the power sources (the first power source 41, the second power source 42, the fifth power source 45) are set so that the potentials are V3 > V2 > V1 > V4.

[0182] Note that, as the distance from the supply chamber 12 increases, the absolute value of the potential of the cathode electrode becomes larger (|V4| (40V) > |V1| (20V) > |V2| (10V)).

[0183] In the ion separation device 10A shown in Embodiment 1 of FIG. 1 described above, water was permeated through the cathode filter plate electrode 14. However, in this Embodiment 11, the configuration is such that only a small amount of water passes through. This is because the supply liquid 11 and the replacement liquid 110 are supplied in balance. As a result, in the cathode dialysis electrode 14, Na ions are drawn into the cathode first electrode 14A on the cathode side and move into the cation chamber 17. At this time, since there is almost no movement of water, as a result, only ions move from the supply liquid (NaCl) 11 to the replacement liquid (distilled water) 110, and the replacement liquid 110 is replaced.

[0184] Therefore, at the beginning of the operation, only Na ions permeate. So, the Na ions in the replacement liquid (distilled water) 110 have a low concentration. However, as the operation continues, only Na ions gradually permeate. Thus, the Na ion concentration in the replacement liquid (distilled water) 110 increases and becomes an alkaline liquid.

[0185] Here, the reasons for the lack of water movement can be listed as follows, for example. 1) The diaphragm 13 provides a filtration resistance and water hardly permeates. 2) The pressure difference between both rooms (supply chamber 12 / cation chamber 17) is in a state where there is almost no difference. 3) The supply tank (not shown) for supplying the supply liquid 11 and the replacement liquid supply tank (not shown) supply from almost the same position (that is, equivalent to the flow rate of the pump).

[0186] As described above, according to the ion separation device 10M of the present embodiment, the cations (Na ions) in the supply liquid 11 supplied into the supply chamber 12 are drawn into the cathode first electrode 14A on the cathode side and move (permeate) within the cation chamber 17.

[0187] According to the present embodiment, the moved (permeated) cations (Na ions) are replaced by the replacement liquid 110 separately supplied into the cation chamber 17, and exhibit a so-called ion dialysis function.

[0188] On the other hand, anions (Cl ions) are repelled by the cathode first electrode 14A and cannot move, remaining in the supply chamber 12. As a result, when the operation continues, the amount of cations (Na ions) in the supply chamber 12 decreases, and the amount of anions (Cl ions) increases. As the operation time elapses, the replacement liquid 110 becomes an alkaline liquid of an aqueous sodium hydroxide solution (pH = 11.8) from distilled water (pH 7.0).

[0189] Note that the replacement liquid 110 may or may not be circulated. The supply liquid side may or may not be circulated.

[0190] That is, by implementing the following three patterns as necessary, an ion separation device that exhibits an ion dialysis function can be provided. Pattern 1) Neither the supply liquid nor the replacement liquid is circulated. Pattern 2) Only one of the supply liquid and the replacement liquid is circulated. Pattern 3) Both the supply liquid and the replacement liquid are circulated.

[0191] [Embodiment 12] FIG. 18 is a schematic diagram of the ion separation device according to Embodiment 12. Note that the same constituent members as those of the ion separation device of Embodiment 11 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof is omitted. In this embodiment as well, sodium chloride (NaCl) is exemplified for explanation. As shown in FIG. 18, the ion separation device 10N of this embodiment is a device that separates anions dissociated in a solvent (polar solvent; for example, water).

[0192] As shown in FIG. 18, the ion separation device 10N includes a supply chamber 12 that supplies a supply liquid 11 containing cations (Na + ) and anions (Cl - ), an anode filter electrode 24 provided with a diaphragm 23 that separates anions (Cl - ) and disposed on both sides of the supply chamber 12, a flat cathode electrode 25, and separated anions (Cl -) flows into the anion chamber 27 together with water as an anion solution (hereinafter also referred to as "acidic solution") 26, and further includes a flat anode electrode (positive electrode) 15 provided at a position facing the anode mesh electrode 24 in the anion chamber 27. The supply chamber 22 is provided with a supply port and a discharge port (not shown), and a supply liquid 11, which is an electrolytic solution, is supplied into the supply chamber 22. The anion chamber 27 is provided with a replacement liquid supply port and a replacement liquid discharge port for supplying a replacement liquid 110 for replacing the moved anions, and the replacement liquid 110 is supplied into the anion chamber 27. This replacement liquid 110 replaces the anions (Cl - ) that have moved into the anion chamber 27 by ion exchange by the anode mesh electrode 24, and becomes the acidic solution 110B.

[0193] Here, the anode mesh electrode 24 is composed of an anode first electrode 24A and an anode second electrode 24B, and a diaphragm 23, which is an insulator having pores, is sandwiched between the anode first electrode 24A and the anode second electrode 24B. This diaphragm 23 is made of an insulating material, and for example, a non-woven fabric using fibers such as PP (polypropylene), PE (polyethylene), NY (nylon), and cellulose may be used.

[0194] The ion separation device 10N has a third power source 43 electrically connected to the flat cathode electrode 25 and the anode first electrode 24A, a fourth power source 44 electrically connected to the anode first electrode 24A and the anode electrode second electrode 24B, and a sixth power source 46 electrically connected to the flat anode electrode 15 and the anode second electrode 24B.

[0195] Here, for the electrode configuration, the anode second electrode 24B is set as the first potential (V11), the anode first electrode 24A is set as the second potential (V12), the flat cathode electrode 25 is set as the fifth potential (V5), and the flat anode electrode 15 is set as the sixth potential (V6). The power sources (the third power source 43, the fourth power source 44, the sixth power source 46) are set so that the potentials satisfy V5 < V12 < V11 < V6.

[0196] Note that, as the distance from the supply chamber 12 increases, the absolute value of the potential of the anode electrode becomes larger (|V6| (40 V) > |V11| (20 V) > |V12| (10 V)).

[0197] An example of supplying a sodium chloride solution (NaCl + H 2 O) as the supply liquid 11 into the supply chamber 22 will be described. As described above, the ionic state in the supply chamber 22 dissociates into cations (sodium ions: Na + ) and anions ( Chloride ion : Cl - ). The anion Chloride ion (Cl - ) is drawn into the anode first electrode 24A arranged in the supply chamber 12.

[0198] In the ion separation device 10B of Embodiment 2 shown in FIG. 2 described above, water was permeated through the anode filter electrode 24. However, in the ion separation device 10N of the present Embodiment 12, it is configured to allow only a small amount of water to pass through. This is because the supply liquid 11 and the replacement liquid 110 are supplied in balance. As a result, the anion ( Chloride ion : Cl - ) is drawn into the anode first electrode 24A on the anode side and moves (permeates) into the anion chamber 27. At this time, since there is almost no movement of water, as a result, only the anion ( Chloride ion (Cl - ) moves (permeates) from the supply liquid (NaCl) 11 in the supply chamber 22 to the replacement liquid (distilled water) 110 in the anion chamber 27, and is replaced with the replacement liquid 110 to become an acidic liquid.

[0199] As described above, according to the ion separation device 10N of the present embodiment, the anion ( Chloride ion ) in the supply liquid 11 is drawn into the anode first electrode 24A on the anode side and moves (permeates) into the anion chamber 27. This moved (permeated) anion ( Chloride ion) is replaced by the replacement liquid 110 separately supplied into the anion chamber 27, and exhibits a so-called ion dialysis function.

[0200] On the other hand, the cation (Na ion) is repelled by the anode first electrode 24A and cannot move, staying in the supply chamber 12. As a result, if the operation continues, the amount of cations (Na ions) in the supply chamber 12 increases, and the amount of anions (Cl ions) decreases. And as the operation time elapses, the replacement liquid 110 changes from distilled water (pH 7.0) to an acidic liquid (pH = 2.4).

[0201] [Embodiment 13] FIG. 19 is a schematic diagram of the ion separation device of Embodiment 13. For the same constituent members as those in Embodiments 11 and 12, the same reference numerals are given and the description thereof is omitted. As shown in FIG. 19, the ion separation device 10P of the present embodiment combines the ion separation device 10M of Embodiment 11 and the ion separation device 10N of Embodiment 12, separates cations and anions, and replaces them with the replacement liquid 110 respectively to obtain an alkaline liquid 16 and an acidic liquid 26.

[0202] As shown in FIG. 19, the ion separation device 10P of Embodiment 13 includes a supply chamber 12 that supplies a supply liquid 11 of an electrolyte solution (for example, NaCl solution) containing cations and anions, and is disposed on both sides of the supply chamber 12. A cathode filter plate electrode 14 having a diaphragm (filter paper) 13 for separating cations (Na + ), an anode filter plate electrode 24 having a diaphragm 23 for separating anions (Cl - ), a cation chamber 17 into which the separated cations (Na+) flow as a cation liquid (alkaline liquid) 16 together with water, and a separated anion (Cl - ) flows as an anion liquid (acidic liquid) 26 together with water, and an anion chamber 27. Furthermore, it includes a flat cathode electrode (cathode) 25 provided at a position facing the cathode mesh electrode 14 in the cation chamber 17, and a flat anode electrode (anode) 15 provided at a position facing the anode mesh electrode 24 in the anion chamber 27.

[0203] The ion separation device 10P includes a first power source 41 electrically connected to the cathode first electrode 14A and the anode first electrode 24A, a second power source 42 electrically connected to the cathode first electrode 14A and the cathode second electrode 14B, a fourth power source 44 electrically connected to the anode first electrode 24A and the anode second electrode 24B, a fifth power source 45 electrically connected to the flat cathode electrode 25 and the cathode second electrode 14B, and a sixth power source 46 electrically connected to the flat anode electrode 15 and the anode second electrode 24B.

[0204] The cation chamber 17 is provided with a replacement liquid supply port and a replacement liquid discharge port for supplying a replacement liquid for replacing the moved cations, and the replacement liquid 110 is supplied into the cation chamber 17. This replacement liquid 110 replaces the cations (Na + ) moved into the cation chamber 17 by ion exchange by the cathode mesh electrode 14, and is replaced with the replacement liquid 110 to form an alkaline liquid 110A.

[0205] The anion chamber 27 is provided with a replacement liquid supply port and a replacement liquid discharge port for supplying the replacement liquid 110 for replacing the moved anions, and the replacement liquid 110 is supplied into the anion chamber 27. This replacement liquid 110 replaces the anions (Cl - ) moved into the anion chamber 27 by ion exchange by the anode mesh electrode 24, and is replaced with the replacement liquid 110 to form an acidic liquid 110B.

[0206] In this embodiment, as the diaphragm 13 at the cathode mesh electrode 14, a non-woven fabric made of an insulating material and using fibers such as PP (polypropylene), PE (polyethylene), NY (nylon), and cellulose may be used.

[0207] Next, an example of supplying a sodium chloride solution as the supply liquid 11 into the supply chamber 12 and dialyzing and separating cations and anions will be described with reference to FIG. 19.

[0208] As described above, the ionic state in the supply chamber 12 is dissociated into cations (sodium ions: Na + ) and anions ( Chloride ion : Cl - ). Sodium ions (Na + ), which are cations, are drawn into the negative cathode first electrode 14A disposed in the supply chamber 12.

[0209] In contrast, Chloride ion (Cl - ) cannot pass through the cathode first electrode 14A because it is an anion and is blocked by the negative cathode first electrode 14A.

[0210] As a result, at the cathode filter plate electrode 14, Na ions are drawn into the cathode first electrode 14A on the cathode side and move into the cation chamber 17. At this time, since there is almost no movement of water, as a result, only ions move from the supply liquid (NaCl) 11 to the replacement liquid (distilled water) 110, and the supply liquid 11 is replaced with the replacement liquid 110 to become the alkaline liquid 110A.

[0211] Also, in the supply chamber 12, anions ( Chloride ion (Cl - ) are drawn into the anode filter plate electrodes (anode first electrode 24A, anode second electrode 24B) 24 disposed opposite to the cathode filter plate electrode 14. When anions ( Chloride ion (Cl - ) are drawn in, Chloride ion will pass through. As a result, the permeated Chloride ion is replaced with the replacement water 110 to become the acidic liquid 110B.

[0212] In contrast, sodium ions (Na +Since it is a cation, it is blocked by the anode first electrode 24A and cannot pass through the anode first electrode 24A.

[0213] As a result, sodium ions (Na + ) are dialyzed and concentrated in the cation chamber 17. Also, in the anion chamber 27 Chloride ion (Cl - ) is dialyzed and concentrated. Thereby, the third supply and discharge liquid 11C discharged from the supply chamber 12 has a reduced sodium ion (Na + ) and Chloride ion (Cl - ) also in a reduced state.

[0214] As described above, according to the ion separation device 10P of the present embodiment, in the ion state of the supply liquid 11 supplied into the supply chamber 12 (mixed state of sodium ion (Na + ) and Chloride ion (Cl - ): pH = 7.0), on the side of the cathode filter plate electrode 14 arranged on the left side of the supply chamber 12, sodium ions (Na + ) permeate, and sodium ions (Na + ) are concentrated in the cation chamber 17. At the same time, on the side of the anode filter plate electrode 24 arranged on the right side of the supply chamber 12 Chloride ion (Cl - ) permeates, and Chloride ion (Cl - ) is concentrated in the anion chamber 27.

[0215] The confirmation of the ion separation of cations and anions in this ion separation device 10P was performed with pH and BTB reagent. Here, a 0.05% aqueous solution of sodium chloride (NaCl) was used as the supply liquid 11, and the pH was adjusted with a carbonate buffer so that the supply liquid amount would be pH 7.0. At the same time, using a BTB (bromothymol blue) reagent, the pH state in each chamber was visualized by coloring.

[0216] As a result of this confirmation, the ionic state of the supply liquid 11 supplied to the supply chamber 12 (sodium ions (Na + ), and Chloride ion (Cl - ): the one with a mixed state of pH = 7.0), after ion separation, the pH of the alkaline liquid 110B discharged from the cation chamber 17 became 11.8, and the pH of the acidic liquid 110B6 discharged from the anion chamber 27 became 2.4.

[0217] Also, as a result of inspection with the BTB reagent, the supply liquid (pH = 7.0) 11 supplied to the supply chamber 12 had a green color tone, but the color tone of the alkaline liquid (pH = 11.8) 16 in the cation chamber 17 changed to blue, and the color tone of the acidic liquid (pH = 2.4) 26 in the anion chamber 27 changed to yellow. Furthermore, in the flame color reaction test using a copper wire, the alkaline liquid 16 changed to orange of Na ions, and the acidic liquid 26 changed to green of copper chloride (CuCl 2 ), and in each flame color reaction test, it was confirmed that ion separation was surely performed.

[0218] As a result, the circulating liquid, which is the third supply discharge liquid 11C discharged from the supply chamber 12, has a reduced sodium ion (Na + ), and Chloride ion (Cl - ) also in a reduced state (pH = 4.5).

[0219] Also, similar to the ion separation device 10-2 of FIG. 3B described above, a piezoelectric vibrator (vibrating member) 80, which is a piezoelectric member, may be installed in the supply chamber 12, the cation chamber 17, and the anion chamber 27. Thereby, since the adhesion of the particles 42 can be prevented, the voltage applied to the anode first electrode 24A and the anode second electrode 24B can be made lower overall.

[0220] [Embodiment 14] FIG. 20 is a schematic diagram of the ion separation device of Embodiment 14. For the same constituent members as those in the above-described embodiment, the same reference numerals are given and the description thereof is omitted.

[0221] Although the ion separation devices 10M to 10P of Embodiments 11 to 13 have described the technique of dialysis separation of cations or anions in the electrolytic solution, the ion separation device of the present invention is not limited to this. The ion separation device 10Q of Embodiment 14 has the same configuration as the ion separation device 10P of Embodiment 19 (see FIG. 19) described above. However, in the particle-mixed supply liquid 51 in which particles (in the figure, "●" Ptcl - ) 50 are mixed, the dialysis separation of ions is continuously performed. That is, in the electrodialysis device in the prior art, when particles are mixed in the object to be separated, the particles adhere to the dialysis membrane and electrodialysis cannot proceed.

[0222] On the other hand, the ion separation device 10 of the present embodiment can continue dialysis separation even when particles are mixed. The particles (negatively charged) 50 repel the cathode first electrode 14A in the same manner as the anions ( Chloride ion ) and do not move to the cation chamber 17. On the other hand, since there is no movement of water in the anion chamber 27 either, almost no particles that have moved with the movement of water move. This is because there is almost no movement of water because the pressure difference between the supply chamber 12 and the anion chamber 27 is made such that there is no pressure difference between the supply liquid 11 and the replacement liquid 110. As a result, the particles 50 remain in the supply chamber 12, but only both ions (cations and anions) permeate into both rooms (the cation chamber 17 and the anion chamber 27), and are replaced with the replacement liquid to obtain an alkaline liquid 110A and an acidic liquid 110B, respectively.

[0223] [Embodiment 15] FIG. 21 is a schematic diagram of the ion separation device of Embodiment 15. As shown in FIG. 21, the ion separation device 10R of Embodiment 15 includes the ion separation device 10P of Embodiment 13 (see FIG. 19), a supply tank 55 that supplies an electrolyte solution (supply liquid 11) containing cations, and a supply line L that supplies the supply liquid 11 from the supply tank 55 to the supply chamber 12 via a supply pump P-1 1-1a circulation line L1-2 for circulating the first supply and discharge liquid 11C from the supply chamber 12 back to the supply chamber 12, an alkali line L3-1 for discharging the alkali liquid 110A from the cation chamber 17 to the alkali tank 56, and an alkali line L for circulating the alkali liquid 110A from the alkali tank 56 as replacement water to the cation chamber 17 by means of a pump P-2 3-2 and an acid line L for discharging the acidic liquid 110B from the anion chamber 27 to the acidic liquid tank 58 5-1 and an acid line L for circulating the acidic liquid 110B from the acidic liquid tank 58 as replacement water to the anion chamber 27 by means of a pump P-3 5-2 and is provided with the same.

[0224] By using the ion separation device 10R of the present Embodiment 15, the alkali liquid 110A, which is the cation liquid replaced with the replacement liquid 110, can be continuously obtained in the alkali tank 56, and the acidic liquid 110B, which is the anion liquid replaced with the replacement liquid 110, can be continuously obtained in the acidic liquid tank 58.

[0225] [Embodiment 16] FIG. 22 is a schematic diagram of an ion separation and concentration system provided with the ion separation device of Embodiment 11.

[0226] As shown in FIG. 22, the ion separation and concentration system 200 of Embodiment 16 includes a valuable substance concentrator 102 that concentrates a dilute solution 101 containing valuable particles 50 together with the particles 50 into a concentrated valuable substance 103 by concentrating a dilute solution (cation, valuable substance) containing at least one of a cation and an anion, and an ion separation device 204 (for example, any one of the ion separation devices 10M, 10N, 10C, 10P) that removes either one or both of the cation and the anion in the concentrated valuable substance 103.

[0227] Examples of the valuable substance concentrator include filtration devices such as rotary ceramic membrane filters (registered trademark "Dyna Filter"), but the present invention is not limited thereto.

[0228] According to the ion separation and concentration system 200 of the present embodiment, a dilute solution with a low concentration of valuable substances can be concentrated once by the concentrator 102, and then cations and anions, which are impurities, can be separated from the concentrated valuable substances 103 thereafter.

[0229] As a result, while concentrating the valuable substances, the ion concentration in the valuable substances decreases and the purity of the valuable substances improves.

[0230] That is, as described with the ion separation device 10Q of Embodiment 14 using FIG. 20, while circulating the particles (●(Ptcl - )) 50 as they are, by separating the cations (Na ions), when the particles (●(Ptcl - )) 50 are valuable substances, the cations (for example, Na ions, etc.), which are impurities contained in the valuable substances, can be easily removed, and the product purity can be improved.

[0231] Also, even when the dilute solution contains not cations but anions alone or a mixture of cations and anions, the ions can be easily removed, and the product purity can be improved.

[0232] In addition, in the electrode configuration of the ion separation device having the ion dialysis separation function described above, it may be configured as the active electrode arrangement shown in FIG. 12 or the passive electrode arrangement shown in FIG. 13 described above.

[0233] [Embodiment 17] FIG. 23 is a schematic diagram of a seawater desalination system including the seawater desalination device 70 of Embodiment 9 described above. As shown in FIG. 23, the seawater desalination system 1000 according to Embodiment 17 of the present invention includes a first pretreatment device 1001, a second pretreatment device 1002 provided downstream of the first pretreatment device 1001, and a seawater desalination device 70 provided downstream of the second pretreatment device 1002. Each device is connected by piping.

[0234] The first pretreatment device 1001 is, for example, a sand filtration device or the like that includes a pretreatment container for introducing seawater 1010A taken from the sea, and a filter medium made of filter sand or the like filled in the pretreatment container. The seawater 1010A supplied into the first pretreatment container 1001 passes through the filter medium, and contaminants such as turbidity components or impurities contained in the seawater 1010A are removed.

[0235] The second pretreatment device 1002 includes an adsorption container (for example, a column or the like), not shown, into which the seawater 1010A from the first pretreatment device 1001 is supplied, and, for example, a hydrophilic polymer adsorbent or the like disposed in the adsorption container. The hydrophilic polymer adsorbent is a material that can efficiently adsorb biopolymers and the like, which are the main causes of biofouling among the fouling-causing substances.

[0236] As shown in FIG. 23, the seawater desalination system 1000 takes in seawater 1010 from the sea and supplies the seawater 1010 to the first pretreatment device 1001 through a pipe. The seawater 1010 supplied to the first pretreatment device 1001 is pretreated by the first pretreatment device 1001, and contaminants contained in the seawater 1010 are removed. The pretreated seawater 1010A pretreated by the first pretreatment device 1001 is supplied to the second pretreatment device 1002 as the first treated water. The fouling-causing substances contained in the first treated water are adsorbed and removed by this second pretreatment device 1002. The seawater 1010B of the second treated water from which the fouling-causing substances have been adsorbed and removed by the second pretreatment device 1002 is supplied to the seawater desalination device 70, and is separated by this seawater desalination device 70 into concentrated water 1011 and fresh water 1012.

[0237] As described above, in the reverse osmosis membrane method using a reverse osmosis membrane generally used as a seawater desalination device, seawater with a salt concentration of 3.5% is used as drinking water by reducing the salt concentration to 0.05%. It is possible to desalinate to a sodium ion concentration of about the same level or higher. Also, even when there are particles in seawater (for example, organisms such as plankton, organic substances, inorganic substances, etc.), seawater desalination can be performed. That is, the particles contained in seawater can be separated as being charged either way. Therefore, depending on the particles to be removed, the installation of the second pretreatment device 1002 can be omitted. Thereby, the system configuration can be simplified.

Industrial Applicability

[0238] The present invention can be generally applied to an ion separation device and an ion separation method capable of efficiently separating ions in a solution.

Explanation of Signs

[0239] 10A to 10R Ion separation device 11 Electrolyte solution (feed solution) 11A First supply and discharge liquid 11B Second supply and discharge liquid 11C Third supply and discharge liquid 12 Supply chamber 12a Inlet 12b Feed solution introduction line 12c Third discharge port 13 Diaphragm (filter medium) 14 Cathode filter plate electrode 14A Cathode first electrode 14B Cathode second electrode 15 Flat anode electrode 16 Cation solution (alkali solution) 17 Cation chamber 17a First discharge port 22 Supply chamber 24 Anode filter plate electrode 24A Anode first electrode 24B Anode second electrode 25 Flat cathode electrode 26 Anionic liquid (acidic liquid) 27 Anionic chamber 27a Second row outlet 50 Particle 51 Particle-mixed supply liquid 51A Discharge liquid 70 Seawater desalination device 71 Aqueous sodium chloride solution (seawater) 80 Piezoelectric vibrator 100 Ion separation and concentration system 110 Replacement liquid 110A Alkaline liquid 110B Acidic liquid 1000 Seawater desalination system DW Distilled water P Supply pump

Claims

1. a feed chamber for supplying a feed solution, the feed solution being an electrolyte solution including cations and anions; A cathode filter plate electrode having a diaphragm having pores for separating cations, the cathode filter plate electrode being disposed on both sides of the supply chamber, and a flat anode electrode; a cation chamber into which the separated cations flow together with water as a cation liquid; The cathode filter plate electrode is a cathode first electrode having a hole on the supply chamber side; a cathode second electrode having a hole disposed on the cation chamber side across the diaphragm; a first power source electrically connected to the anode electrode and the cathode first electrode of the flat plate; a second power source electrically connected to the cathode first electrode and the cathode second electrode; An ion separation device comprising:

2. a feed chamber for supplying a feed solution, the feed solution being an electrolyte solution including cations and anions; an anode filter plate electrode having a diaphragm having pores for separating anions, the anode filter plate electrode being disposed on both sides of the supply chamber; and a flat cathode electrode. an anion chamber into which the separated anions flow together with water as an anion liquid; The anode filter plate electrode is an anode first electrode having a hole on the supply chamber side; an anode second electrode having a hole disposed on the anion chamber side across the diaphragm; a third power source electrically connected to the cathode electrode and the anode first electrode of the flat plate; a fourth power source electrically connected to the anode first electrode and the anode second electrode; An ion separation device comprising:

3. a feed chamber for supplying a feed solution, the feed solution being an electrolyte solution including cations and anions; a cathode filter plate electrode provided on each side of the supply chamber and having a diaphragm having pores for separating cations; and an anode filter plate electrode provided on each side of the supply chamber and having a diaphragm having pores for separating anions; a cation chamber into which the separated cations flow together with water as a cation liquid; an anion chamber into which the separated anions flow together with water as an anion liquid; The cathode filter plate electrode is a cathode first electrode having a hole on the supply chamber side; a cathode second electrode having a hole disposed on the cation chamber side across the membrane; a first power source electrically connected to the anode electrode and the cathode first electrode of the flat plate; a second power source electrically connected to the cathode first electrode and the cathode second electrode; The anode filter plate electrode is an anode first electrode having a hole on the supply chamber side; an anode second electrode having a hole disposed on the anion chamber side across the diaphragm; a third power source electrically connected to the cathode electrode and the anode first electrode of the flat plate; a fourth power source electrically connected to the anode first electrode and the anode second electrode; An ion separation device comprising:

4. 10. An ion separation apparatus comprising an ion separation apparatus according to claim 1 and an ion separation apparatus according to claim 2 connected in series to form a stack, and two or more such stacks connected in series.

5. An ion separation device as described in claim 1 or 3, characterized in that the diaphragm is in contact with a first cathode electrode and the second cathode electrode on both sides.

6. An ion separation device as described in claim 2 or 3, characterized in that the diaphragm is in contact with the first anode electrode and the second anode electrode on both sides.

7. A concentrating device for concentrating the valuable material in an electrolyte solution containing the valuable material and cations; An ion separation and concentration system comprising: an ion separation device according to claim 1 for removing cations in the concentrated solution.

8. A concentrating device for concentrating the valuable material in an electrolyte solution containing the valuable material and anions; 3. An ion separation and concentration system comprising: an ion separation device according to claim 2 for removing anions in the concentrated solution.

9. A concentrating device for concentrating an electrolyte solution containing at least one of a cation and an anion together with a valuable substance; 4. An ion separation and concentration system comprising: an ion separation device according to claim 3 for removing either or both of cations and anions from the concentrated solution.

10. The ion separation apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a flat cathode electrode located opposite said cathode filter plate electrode in said cation chamber.

11. The ion separation apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising a flat anode electrode located opposite said cathode filter plate electrode in said anion chamber.

12. a flat cathode electrode located opposite the cathode filter plate electrode in the cation chamber; 4. The ion separation device according to claim 3, further comprising a flat anode electrode located opposite said cathode filter plate electrode in said anion chamber.

13. A concentrating device for concentrating the valuable material in an electrolyte solution containing the valuable material and cations; An ion separation and concentration system comprising: an ion separation device according to claim 10 for removing cations in the concentrated solution.

14. A concentrating device for concentrating the valuable material in an electrolyte solution containing the valuable material and anions; An ion separation and concentration system comprising: an ion separation device according to claim 11 for removing anions in the concentrated solution.

15. A concentrating device for concentrating an electrolyte solution containing at least one of a cation and an anion together with a valuable substance; An ion separation and concentration system comprising: an ion separation device according to claim 12 for removing either or both of cations and anions from the concentrated solution.

16. The method of claim 1, further comprising: providing a supply chamber for supplying a supply solution, the supply solution being an electrolyte solution containing cations and anions; A cathode filter plate electrode having a diaphragm having pores for separating cations, the cathode filter plate electrode being disposed on both sides of the supply chamber, and a flat anode electrode; a cation chamber into which the separated cations flow together with water as a cation liquid; The cathode filter plate electrode is a cathode first electrode having a hole on the supply chamber side; a cathode second electrode having a hole disposed on the cation chamber side across the diaphragm; a first power source electrically connected to the anode electrode and the cathode first electrode of the flat plate; a second power source electrically connected to the cathode first electrode and the cathode second electrode; The cathode second electrode 14B is set to a first potential (V1), The cathode first electrode 14A is set to a second potential (V2), The flat anode electrode 15 is set to a third potential (V3), The potentials supplied from the first power supply and the second power supply are V3>V2>V1, and the absolute value of the potential of the cathode electrode increases as it moves away from the supply chamber (|V1|>|V2|), thereby separating cations.

17. The method of claim 1, further comprising: providing a supply chamber for supplying a supply solution, the supply solution being an electrolyte solution containing cations and anions; an anode filter plate electrode having a diaphragm having pores for separating anions, the anode filter plate electrode being disposed on both sides of the supply chamber; and a flat cathode electrode. an anion chamber into which the separated anions flow together with water as an anion liquid; The anode filter plate electrode is an anode first electrode having a hole on the supply chamber side; an anode second electrode having a hole disposed on the anion chamber side across the diaphragm; a third power source electrically connected to the cathode electrode and the anode first electrode of the flat plate; a fourth power source electrically connected to the anode first electrode and the anode second electrode; The anode second electrode 24B is set to the anode first potential (V11), The anode first electrode 24A is set to an anode second potential (V12), The flat cathode electrode 25 is set to a fourth cathode potential (V4), The potentials supplied from the third power source 43 and the fourth power source 44 are V4<V12<V11, and the absolute value of the potential of the anode electrode increases as it moves away from the supply chamber 12 (|V11|>|V12|), thereby separating anions.

18. The method of claim 17, further comprising: providing a supply chamber for supplying a supply solution, the supply solution being an electrolyte solution containing cations and anions; a cathode filter plate electrode provided on each side of the supply chamber and having a diaphragm having pores for separating cations; and an anode filter plate electrode provided on each side of the supply chamber and having a diaphragm having pores for separating anions; a cation chamber into which the separated cations flow together with water as a cation liquid; an anion chamber into which the separated anions flow together with water as an anion liquid; The cathode filter plate electrode is a cathode first electrode having a hole on the supply chamber side; a cathode second electrode having a hole disposed on the cation chamber side across the membrane; a first power source electrically connected to the anode electrode and the cathode first electrode of the flat plate; a second power source electrically connected to the cathode first electrode and the cathode second electrode; The anode electrode is an anode first electrode having a hole on the supply chamber side; an anode second electrode having a hole disposed on the anion chamber side across the diaphragm; a third power source electrically connected to the cathode electrode and the anode first electrode of the flat plate; a fourth power source electrically connected to the anode first electrode and the anode second electrode; The cathode second electrode is at a first potential (V1); The cathode first electrode is at a second potential (V2); The flat anode electrode is set to a third potential (V3), and the potentials supplied from the first power source and the second power source are V3>V2>V1, and the absolute value of the potential of the cathode electrode increases as it is farther away from the supply chamber (|V1|>|V2|), The anode second electrode is set to an anode first potential (V11); The anode first electrode is at an anode second potential (V12); The cathode electrode of the flat plate is set to a fourth cathode potential (V4), and the potentials supplied from the third power source and the fourth power source are set to V4<V12<V11. a potential of the anode electrode having a potential that is greater in absolute value than the ...

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