Patent Grant
10220333
The present application claims priority under 35 U. S. C. § 119 to Japanese Patent Application No. 2014-266,247, filed Dec. 26, 2014. The contents of this application are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.
1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to an atomizing separation method and an atomizing separation device for separating at least one of components with different vapor pressures from a solution that includes the components by atomizing the solution into mist, and in particular to an atomizing separation method and an atomizing separation device that are suitable for separation of hot spring water, sea water or waste fluid, or a solution that contains a solute (e.g., organic acid, salt, sugar, amino acid, fatty acid, glycerol, glycol, nucleic acid and extract) in a solvent (e.g., water).
2. Description of Related Art
When solvents (e.g., water) in which low vapor pressure solutes are dissolved are removed from solutions of the solvents and the solutes, the solutions will have various features. For example, the hot spring water can be easily carried after condensed by removing water. This is convenient. The reason is that hot spring water the same as natural hot spring can be provided for home or public bath by mixing the condensed hot spring water with the bath water, or the like. For example, in the case where hot spring water is condensed to a concentration of 100-fold by removing water, only 2 liters of the condensed hot spring water is required to be mixed with a 200-liter home bathtub in order to provide hot spring water having the same water quality as the natural hot spring. 2 liters of condensed hot spring water can be easily transported by parcel delivery services, and the like. On the other hand, 200 liters of hot spring water cannot be easily transported.
Devices have been developed which condense hot spring water by evaporating the water component from the hot spring water or by separating the water component by using a reverse osmotic membrane (see Laid-Open Patent Publication Nos. JP 2002-273,412 A and JP 2007-38,052 A1). Also, a closed-loop chamber structure condensing device has been developed which extracts and condenses alcohol from the alcoholic aqueous solutions (see International Publication No. WO 2009-122,728 A1).
The device disclosed in JP 2002-273,412 A evaporates and removes the water component from hot spring water whereby condensing the hot spring water. This device consumes a large amount of energy. In addition, it is difficult for this device to condense hot spring water to a high concentration. The reason for large energy consumption is the heat of vaporization of water is very large, which requires this device to consume a large amount of energy as the large heat of vaporization when water is evaporated and removed. On the other hand, the reason for difficulty in condensing hot spring water to a high concentration is that hot spring components will be deposited and adhered on the surface of the device, which evaporates the water component. If hot spring components are deposited on the surface of the evaporating device, the hot spring components will reduce thermal conduction from the device to the hot spring water, and the evaporation efficiency of the device. In addition, the deposited substance cannot be easily removed. As a result, a large amount of manpower is required to remove the substance.
The device disclosed in JP 2007-38,052 A1 passes hot spring water through the reverse osmotic membrane for removal of the water component. It is difficult for this device to efficiently and quickly remove the water component from the hot spring water. For this reason, the condensation cost in this device will be very high. In addition, it is necessary to pass water through the reverse osmotic membrane in the reverse direction after the reverse osmotic membrane is used for a certain time period in order to clean up the reverse osmotic membrane. Therefore, this device cannot continuously operate for a long time.
The device disclosed in WO 2009-122,728 A1 vibrates an aqueous alcohol solution at an ultrasonic frequency to produce mist, and collects the mist to produce highly concentrated alcohol. In this device, carrier gas is circulated between an atomizer and a collector, in other words, in a closed loop so that the atomized mist is separated from the carrier gas and collected by the collector whereby increasing the alcohol concentration. When the alcohol aqueous solution is atomized into mist by ultrasonic vibration, the alcohol concentration of the mist will become higher than the alcohol concentration of the solution which is not atomized. Accordingly, alcohol with a higher concentration than the solution can be obtained by collecting the mist from the carrier gas. In this device, since the alcohol concentration is increased by collecting the mist from the carrier gas while circulating the carrier gas in the closed loop, the carrier gas (e.g., air) to be supplied to the atomizer for ultrasonic vibration of the solution is circulated and is used in the closed loop without exhaust. Since this device is necessarily collect fine mist for condensation, the mechanism for efficiently collecting the fine mist will be complicated. On the other hand, although the alcohol concentration of the mist carried in the carrier gas becomes higher than the solution, the difference is small. For this reason, the alcohol concentration cannot be so high in the device which collects the mist from the carrier gas.
The present invention has been developed for solving the aforementioned disadvantages. It is one object of the present invention to provide an atomizing separation method and an atomizing separation device capable of separating at least one of components with different vapor pressures from a solution that includes the components by atomizing the solution into mist at very high efficiency while reducing the separation cost.
An atomizing separation method according to a first aspect of the present invention is a method for separating at least one of components with different vapor pressures from a solution L that includes the components by atomizing the solution including an atomization step, and a separation step. A solution L is atomized into mist in air whereby producing mist-mixed air in the atomization step. Droplets of the mist included in the mist-mixed air are classified according to their particle diameter sizes, and exhaust air that contains air as carrier gas is exhausted in the separation step. In the atomizing separation method, the heat energy of both of the latent heat and sensible heat that are included in the exhaust air exhausted in the separation step are collected, and one or both of the solution L to be atomized in the atomization step and air to be blown toward the solution L are heated by the collected heat.
In an atomizing separation method according to a second aspect of the present invention, the solution L to be atomized in the atomization step can be a solution L containing a solute that has a vapor pressure lower than the solvent, and air that contains fine mist with a smaller particle diameter can be exhausted as the exhaust air, while the classified larger mist droplets can be collected and fed back to the solution L in the separation step whereby condensing the solution L.
In an atomizing separation method according to a third aspect of the present invention, the solution L to be atomized in the atomization step or air can be heated by external energy that is supplied from the outside.
In an atomizing separation method according to a fourth aspect of the present invention, after the sensible heat of the exhaust air is collected by a heat exchanger 55, the exhaust air, which is exhausted in the separation step, can be pressurized and supplied to a condenser 47, and the condenser 47 can collect the heat of condensation of a vaporized component as the latent heat of the exhaust air so that the latent heat and sensible heat of the exhaust air can be collected as the collected heat.
In the atomizing separation method according to a fifth aspect of the present invention, after the sensible heat of the exhaust air is collected by a heat exchanger 55, the latent heat of the exhaust air which passes through the heat exchanger 55 can be collected by a heat-pump-type latent-heat-collector 42.
In an atomizing separation method according to a sixth aspect of the present invention, the separation step can include first and second separation steps. The droplets of the mist, which is included in the mist-mixed air, are classified according to their particle diameter sizes, and the classified larger mist droplets are fed back to the solution in the first separation step. The mist droplets that are included in the mist-mixed air from which the larger mist droplets have been removed in the first separation step are further classified according to their particle diameter sizes, and the classified relatively large mist droplets are fed back to the solution L, while the mist-mixed air that contains fine mist from which the relatively larger mist droplets have been separated are exhausted in the second separation step. The larger mist droplets that are separated and fed back to the solution L in the first separation step have particle diameters larger than the relatively larger mist droplets that are separated in the second separation step.
In an atomizing separation method according to a seventh of the present invention, the flow rate of the mist-mixed air can be 0.5 m/sec or greater in the separation step.
An atomizing separation method according to an eight aspect of the present invention can include a filtration step before the atomization step. The solution L to be atomized can be filtered in the filtration step. A part of solvent can be removed by passing the solution L through a reverse osmotic membrane 61 in the filtration step, and the liquid from which the part of solvent has been removed is atomized into mist in the atomization step.
An atomizing separation device according to a ninth aspect of the present invention is a device for separating at least one of components with different vapor pressures from a solution L that includes the components by atomizing the solution. The device includes an atomizer 1, a blower 2, a classifier 3, an exhaust-heat collector 4, and an exhaust-heat-based heater 5. The atomizer 1 atomizes a solution L into mist in air whereby producing mist-mixed air. The blower 2 blows air into the atomizer 1. The classifier 3 classifies droplets of the mist included in the mist-mixed air that is discharged from the atomizer 1 according to their particle diameter sizes, and exhausts exhaust air that contains air as carrier gas. The exhaust-heat collector 4 collects the heat energy of both of the latent heat and sensible heat that are included in the exhaust air exhausted from the classifier 3. The exhaust-heat-based heater 5 heats one or both of the solution L in the atomizer 1 and the air by using the collection heat that is collected by the exhaust-heat collector 4. In this atomizing separation device, the heat energy of both of the latent heat and sensible heat of the exhaust air, which is discharged from the atomizer 1, is collected as the collection heat by the exhaust-heat collector 4, and the exhaust-heat-based heater 5 heats the solution L in the atomizer 1 or the air with the collection heat.
In an atomizing separation device according to a tenth aspect of the present invention, the solution L to be atomized into mist in air by the atomizer 1 can be a solution L containing a solute that has a vapor pressure lower than the solvent, and the exhaust air that contains fine mist with a smaller particle diameter, which is classified by the classifier 3, can be exhausted to the outside, while the larger mist droplets, which are classified by the classifier 3, are fed back to the solution L whereby condensing the solution L.
In an atomizing separation device according to an eleventh aspect of the present invention, the exhaust-heat collector 4 includes a sensible-heat collector 41, and a latent-heat collector 42. The sensible-heat collector 41 collects the sensible heat of the exhaust air, which is exhausted from the classifier 3. The latent-heat collector 42 collects the latent heat of the exhaust air, which is exhausted from the sensible-heat collector 41.
In an atomizing separation device according to a twelfth aspect of the present invention, the latent-heat collector 42 can include a compressor 46, a condenser 47, and an expansion valve 48. The compressor 46 pressurizes the exhaust air, which is exhausted from the classifier 3. The condenser 47 condenses a vaporized component that is included in the exhaust air that is pressurized by the compressor 46. The expansion valve 48 is connected to the exhaust side of the condenser 47. The condenser 47 can be connected to the exhaust-heat-based heater 5.
In an atomizing separation device according to a thirteenth aspect of the present invention, the latent-heat collector 42 can include an evaporator 56, a compressor 57, a second condenser 58, and an expansion valve 59. The evaporator 56 supplies heat energy to a refrigerant to be circulated by using the heat energy of the exhaust air, which is exhausted from the classifier 3, so that the refrigerant can be evaporated. The compressor 57 pressurizes the refrigerant gas that is discharged from the evaporator 56. The second condenser 58 cools and liquefies the refrigerant gas that is discharged from the compressor 57, and can generate the heat of condensation. The expansion valve 59 is connected between the second condenser 58 and the evaporator 56. The second condenser 58 can serve as the exhaust-heat-based heater 5.
In an atomizing separation device according to a fourteenth aspect of the present invention, the exhaust-heat-based heater 5 can include an exhaust-heat-based air heater 5A, and an exhaust-heat-based solution heater 5B. The exhaust-heat-based air heater 5A heats the air to be supplied to the atomizer 1. The exhaust-heat-based solution heater 5B heats the solution to be supplied to the atomizer 1.
In an atomizing separation device according to a fifteenth aspect of the present invention, the classifier 3 can include first and second classifiers 3A and 3B that are connected in series to each other. The mist-mixed air can be supplied from the first classifier 3A to the second classifier 3B, and the mist droplets that are separated from the mist-mixed air by the first classifier 3A can be larger than the mist droplets that are separated from the mist-mixed air by the second classifier 3B.
In the atomizing separation device according to sixteenth the present According to invention, the classifier 3 can include a cyclone classifier 35 or a bag filter.
According to an atomizing separation method of the first aspect of the present invention, and an atomizing separation device of the ninth aspect of the present invention, at least one of components with different vapor pressures can be separated from a solution that includes the components by atomizing the solution into mist at very high efficiency while reducing the separation cost. The reason is that, after a solution is atomized into mist in air whereby producing mist-mixed air, the mist droplets, which are included in the mist-mixed air, are classified according to their particle diameter sizes, while the air that includes mist subjected to the classification is exhausted, and the heat energy of both of the latent heat and sensible heat that are included in the exhausted air are collected so that the solution to be atomized and/or air is heated by using the collected heat.
In addition, according to the method and device of the present invention, since the heat energy of both the latent heat and the sensible heat is collected from the exhausted air, and the air and the solution, which are supplied to the atomizer, are heated by using the collected heat, which is exhausted in known methods and devices, the heat that is exhausted in known methods and devices can be effectively used to heat the solution and the air. Therefore, the atomization efficiency of the solution can be improved by heating the air and the solution by effectively using the exhausted heat of both the latent heat and the sensible heat. As a result, at least one of components with different vapor pressures can be separated from a solution that includes the components by atomizing the solution into mist by a smaller amount of energy. In particular, according the atomizing separation method and device of the first aspect of the present invention, since the atomization efficiency can be improved by efficiently collecting the heat energy including not only the sensible heat but also the latent heat, the amount of heat energy that is supplied from the outside can be reduced. As a result, there is an advantage that at least one of components with different vapor pressures can be more efficiently separated from a solution that includes the components by atomizing the solution into mist.
According to an atomizing separation method of the second aspect of the present invention, and an atomizing separation device of the tenth aspect of the present invention, the solution can be condensed to a very high concentration by a single process while at least one of components with different vapor pressures can be separated from a solution that includes the components by atomizing the solution into mist at very high efficiency and the separation cost is reduced. The reason is that, after the solution, which contains a solute with a vapor pressure lower than a solvent, is atomized into mist in air, the mist droplets, which are included in the mist-mixed air, are classified according to their particle diameter sizes, and the exhaust air containing fine mist with smaller particle diameter is exhausted to the outside while the larger mist droplets are fed back to the solution, so that the solution is condensed in the aforementioned method and device.
When a solution containing a solute with the vapor pressure lower than a solvent is atomized, the concentration of the solute varies in accordance with the particle diameter of the mist droplets. Specifically, larger droplets will have a high concentration of the solute, while smaller droplets will have a low concentration of the solute and the most parts of the smaller droplets will be the solvent. For this reason, the concentration of the solute can become high, in other words, the solute can be condensed by removing the solvent by exhausting fine mist together with air as the exhaust air to the outside. For example, in the case where hot spring water is atomized, almost no hot spring components will be included in fine mist, in other words, almost all the part of fine mist will be water as the solvent. Accordingly, the water component can be removed from hot spring water by exhausting the fine mist together with air. According to the aforementioned method and device, since water as the solvent can be removed from the hot spring water not by evaporating the water but by removing fine mist of water, heat of vaporization is not required to remove the solution from the hot spring water. The energy required to atomize the solution is much smaller than the energy required to evaporate the solution. Also, the energy required to classify fine mist and to exhaust it outside together with air is very small. Therefore, according to the method and device of the present invention, the solutions such as hot spring water can be efficiently condensed by separating solvents such as water from the solutions with a very small amount of energy. In addition, since the solution is atomized into mist, and the solvent such as water is removed by exhausting fine mist together with air to the outside, the solution can be condensed to a very high concentration without drawbacks such as adhesion of a deposited substance dissimilar to the method for separating a solvent from a solution by evaporating the solvent by heating the solvent for evaporation. For example, according to the method and the device of the present invention, hot spring water can be condensed to a concentration of 100-fold without deposition.
A more complete appreciation of the invention and many of the attendant advantages thereof will be readily obtained as the same becomes better understood by reference to the following detailed description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein:
The embodiments will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals designate corresponding or identical elements throughout the various drawings.
The following description will describe embodiments according to the present invention with reference to the drawings. It should be appreciated, however, that the embodiments described below are illustrations of an atomizing separation method and an atomizing separation device to give a concrete form to technical ideas of the invention, and an atomizing separation method and an atomizing separation device of the invention are not specifically limited to description below. In this specification, reference numerals corresponding to components illustrated in the embodiments are added in “CLAIM” and “SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION” to aid understanding of claims. However, it should be appreciated that the members shown in claims attached hereto are not specifically limited to members in the embodiments.
An atomizing separation method and an atomizing separation device according to the present invention separate at least one of components with different vapor pressures from a solution that includes the components by atomizing the solution into mist. After atomizing the solution into mist in air whereby producing mist-mixed air, the method and device classify mist in the mist-mixed air into fine mist droplets and larger mist droplets, and exhaust air containing the fine mist droplets to the outside so that at least one of components with different vapor pressures is separated from a solution that includes the components. The atomizing separation method and device condense a solution containing a solute that has a vapor pressure lower than a solvent. According to the method and device of the present invention, the solvent is removed from the solution by classifying mist in the mist-mixed air into fine mist droplets and larger mist droplets, and exhausting exhaust air containing the fine mist droplets to the outside after atomizing the solution into mist in air and producing mist-mixed air. The solution can be a solution in which a solute with a low vapor pressure dissolves in water (e.g., hot spring water, seawater or waste fluid), or a solution in which at least one of organic acid, salt, sugar, amino acid, fatty acid, glycerol, glycol, nucleic acid and extract dissolves in a solvent (e.g., water, etc.).
When a solution is atomized into mist, the concentration of its solute of the mist varies in accordance with the particle diameter of the mist droplets. Specifically, the solute concentration of fine mist droplets will be lower than larger mist droplets. For this reason, the concentration of the solute can be increased by removing the solvent from the solution by exhausting fine mist together with air. Dissimilar to the known closed-loop type chamber condensation method and device, the method and device of the present invention do not collect fine mist in the condensation. According to the method and device of the present invention, the concentration of the solute is increased by exhausting fine mist together with air to the outside.
Each of atomizing separation devices shown in
In the aforementioned atomizing separation device, the solution is condensed by removing a water component by exhausting mist-mixed air containing fine mist droplets into which mist is classified by the classifier 3 as the exhaust air to the outside. In addition, the heat energy of both of the latent heat and sensible heat that are included in the exhaust air is collected by the exhaust-heat collector 4, and the collected heat is supplied to the exhaust-heat-based heater 5 so that the solution L to be atomized or air is heated by the exhaust-heat-based heater 5. As a result, the solution L can be efficiently condensed.
In the atomizers 1 shown in
The atomization chamber 11 is a closed chamber. The solution L in the atomization chamber 11 is vibrated at an ultrasonic frequency, and is atomized into mist in air. The atomized mist is mixed with air so that mist-mixed air is produced. The surface of the solution L is held at a fixed level in the atomization chamber 11. The fixed level of the solution L is set at the height where the solution L can be efficiently atomized into mist when the solution L is ultrasonically vibrated by the ultrasonic vibrators 12. In order to hold the surface of the solution L at the fixed level, the inlet side of the atomization chamber 11 is connected through a pump 7 to a solution tank 6 that stores the solution L, and the outlet side of the atomization chamber 11 is also connected to the solution tank 6. The solution overflows from an outlet port of the atomization chamber 11, which is arranged on the outlet side, so that the surface of the solution is held at the fixed level. Alternatively, the surface level of the solution is detected by a level sensor while a predetermined amount of the solution is discharged from the outlet port, and the operation of the pump is controlled in accordance with the level that is detected by the level sensor so that the surface of the solution is held at the fixed level.
In the opened-loop type atomizing separation devices shown in
In the opened-loop type atomizing separation device shown in
The solution is ultrasonically vibrated by the ultrasonic vibrator 12, and is atomized into mist in air. The concentration of the mist droplets, which are produced by ultrasonic vibration, in the air varies in accordance with their particle diameters. Fine mist droplets with a small particle diameter have a solute concentration lower than larger mist droplets, and are mostly composed of the solvent.
When the solution is ultrasonically vibrated in the atomization chamber 11, a liquid protuberance P is produced and protrudes upward. The mist is dispersed into air from the surface of the liquid protuberance P. In the ultrasonic atomizers 1A shown in
In the ultrasonic atomizers 1A shown in
The conical member 14 is arranged above the ultrasonic vibrator 12. The solution is ultrasonically vibrated by the ultrasonic vibrator 12, and is efficiently sprayed as mist from the conical member 14. The conical member 14 has a tapered sleeve shape (conical shape) having a spray opening 15 that is opened at its top end. In the illustrated ultrasonic atomizers 1A, the solution is supplied to the atomization chamber 11, and then supplied to the interior of the conical member 14. The solution supplied to the conical member 14 is subjected to ultrasonic vibration from the ultrasonic vibrator 12 toward the spray port 15, and is atomized into mist and dispersed through the spray opening 15. The illustrated ultrasonic vibrator 12 emits ultrasonic waves upward. To achieve this, the conical member 14 is fastened above the ultrasonic vibrator 12 in a vertical orientation.
In the atomizing separation devices shown in
The conical member 14 shown in
After sprayed into the air from the spray openings 15 of the conical members 14, the mist is mixed with carrier gas of air so that mist-mixed air is produced and supplied to the classifier 3 from the atomization chamber 11. The conical member 14 has an air-discharging opening 16 that is arranged and opened around the spray opening 15, and discharges air as the carrier gas as shown in
The ducts 17 of the conical members 14 are connected to the blower 2. Air as the carrier gas is supplied from the blower 2, and is then discharged through the air-discharging opening 16 so that the mist is sprayed into the discharged air, and the mist-mixed air is produced.
In the ultrasonic atomizers 1A shown in
In the atomizer 1B shown in
In the atomizer, a two-fluid nozzle can be used as the spraying nozzle. In this case, the solution and pressurized air are supplied to the two-fluid nozzle so that mist-mixed air can be discharged from the two-fluid nozzle. The two-fluid nozzle can pressurize both air and the solution when supplying the air and the solution, or only air whereby sucking the solution by using the air which flows at high speed so that mist-mixed air can be discharged.
The spraying nozzle 22, an atomization electrode 53, and a high-voltage power supply 54 are provided in the atomization chamber 21 of the atomizer 1B shown in
The temperature of solution has an influence on the atomization efficiency of the solution. When the temperature of a solution is held at a predetermined temperature, the atomization efficiency can be high. In the opened atomizing separation devices shown in
In addition, the atomization efficiency of the solution can be high when the temperature of air as the carrier gas to be supplied to the atomizer 1 is heated to a predetermined temperature. In the devices shown in
The exhaust-heat collector 4 collects not only the sensible heat but also the latent heat from the exhaust air which contains fine mist that is exhausted from the classifier 3. The temperature of the exhaust air decreases when the sensible heat is collected. The sensible heat can be collected by a heat exchanger 55. Since the exhaust air contains an evaporated gas component of mist, the heat of condensation is generated by liquefying the evaporated component of the mist. This heat of condensation can be collected as the latent heat of the exhaust air. The heat energy of the latent heat that is collected by condensing the evaporated component included in mist is substantially large as compared with the sensible heat included in the exhaust air. For this reason, a very large amount of heat energy can be collected by collecting not only the sensible heat but also the latent heat from the exhaust air. In order to collect the heat of condensation as the latent heat from the evaporated component included in the exhaust air, it is necessary to liquefy the evaporated component included in the exhaust air so that the heat of condensation is generated. The exhaust-heat collector 4 includes a latent-heat collector 42 that forcedly cools the exhaust air and collects the heat of condensation as the latent heat. In the atomizing separation devices shown in
The exhaust-heat collector 4 includes a sensible-heat collector 41 in addition to the latent-heat collector 42. The sensible-heat collector 41 collects the sensible heat of the exhaust air which is exhausted from the classifier 3. The latent-heat collector 42 collects the latent heat of the exhaust air. In the atomizing separation devices shown in
In the atomizing separation devices shown
The exhaust-heat collector 4 shown in
The heat-pump exhaust-heat collector 4 of the atomizing separation device shown in
The condenser 47 of the exhaust-heat collector 4 shown in
In the atomizing separation devices shown in
In the atomizing separation devices shown in
As shown in the atomizing separation device of
The latent-heat collector 42 collects the latent heat of the exhaust air that is exhaust from the classifier 3. In the exhaust-heat collector 4, after the sensible heat of the exhaust air is collected by the heat exchanger 55, the heat-pump-type latent-heat-collector 42 collects the latent heat of the exhaust air which passes through the heat exchanger 55. The compressor 46, the condenser 47, and the expansion valve 48 are provided in the heat-pump latent-heat collector 42 in the atomizing separation devices shown in
The condenser 47 of the latent-heat collector 42 is the heat exchanger 55 in which the pipe for exhausting the exhaust air is watertightly arranged in the sealed case 49 that is filled with the heating medium such as water. The heating medium of the condenser 47 is heated by using the heat of condensation of the exhaust air that is condensed in the pipe. The heating medium is heated with the latent heat of the exhaust air of the exhaust air so that the latent heat of the exhaust air is collected. The heating medium that has heated by collecting the latent heat, that is, the heating medium that is heated with the collection heat is fed to the exhaust-heat-based heater 5 by the circulating pump 50. The exhaust-heat-based heater 5 heats the solution to be supplied to the atomizer 1 with the heating medium that is heated with the collection heat.
In the atomizing separation device shown in
In the atomizing separation devices shown in
The exhaust-heat-based heater 5 includes the exhaust-heat-based air heater 5A, and the exhaust-heat-based solution heater 5B. The exhaust-heat-based air heater 5A heats the air to be supplied to the atomizer 1. The exhaust-heat-based solution heater 5B heats the solution that is supplied to the atomizer 1. In the atomizing separation devices shown in
In the atomizing separation devices of the present invention, the solution to be supplied to the atomizer 1 may be heated with the collection heat of the sensible heat that is collected by the sensible-heat collector 41, while air to be supplied to the atomizer 1 may be heated with the collection heat of the latent heat that is collected by the latent-heat collector 42 as shown by the dashed lines in Figures. Also, in the atomizers shown in
Although the latent-heat collector 42 and the exhaust-heat-based solution heater 5B are separately provided, and the collection heat that is collected by the latent-heat collector 42 is supplied to the exhaust-heat-based solution heater 5B so that the solution for the atomizer 1 is heated in the atomizing separation devices shown in
In the atomizing separation device shown in
When supplied from the atomizer 1 with mist droplets that are included in the mist-mixed air, the classifier 3 classifies the mist droplets into particle size groups according to their particle diameters. The atomizer 1 sprays the mist into the air whereby producing mist-mixed air. As a result, the mist is supplied together with air as carrier gas to the classifier 3. In the atomizing separation devices shown in
When supplied from the atomizer 1 with mist droplets that are included in the mist-mixed air, the classifier 3 classifies the mist droplets into particle size groups according to their particle diameters. In the atomizing separation device shown in
The perforated plates 32 face each other in the closed case 31. The perforated plates are spaced at a predetermined interval away from each other, and arranged in a vertical orientation. The perforated plates 32 have through holes 33. The through holes 33 of one of the perforated plates 32 are arranged at vertical positions that are deviated from the vertical positions of the through holes 33 of another perforated plated 32 that is arranged adjacent to the one of the perforated plates 32 so that the air collides with the surface of the perforated plate 32 on the exhaust side if traveling in a straight line when passing through the through holes 33 of the perforated plate 32 on the inlet side. According to the thus-constructed first classifier 3A, when passing through the through holes 33 of the perforated plate 32 on the inlet side, the largest mist droplets can be efficiently brought into collision with the surface of the perforated plate 32 on the outlet side so that the largest mist droplets can be efficiently attached to the surfaces of the perforated plates 32 on the outlet side.
The first classifier 3A shown in the cross-sectional view of
The second classifier 3B collects the middle mist droplets which are not collected by the first classifier 3A, and but does not collect the fine mist droplets whereby discharging air that contains the fine mist droplets as the exhaust air to the outside. The second classifier 3B is a cyclone classifier 35 which collects the middle mist droplets, and but does not separate the fine mist droplets from the mist-mixed air whereby discharging air that contains the fine mist droplets as the exhaust air to the outside. The cyclone classifier 35 has a funnel shape, which is obtained by coupling a cone to the bottom of a cylinder. The mist-mixed air flows into the upper part of the cylinder in the tangential direction to the circle of the cylinder. When flowing into the upper part of the cylinder, the mist-mixed air moves in a spiral inside the cylinder. The mist droplets also move in a spiral together with air in the spirally moving mist-mixed air. In the spiral movement, a centrifugal force acts on the mist droplets from the center toward the outside in the radial direction. The centrifugal force increases in proportion to the mass of a mist droplet. Since the mass of a mist droplet increases in proportion to the cube of the radius of the mist droplet, the centrifugal force that acts on a mist droplet increases also in proportion to the cube of the radius of the mist droplet. Accordingly, large centrifugal forces act on large mist droplets so that the large mist droplets are likely to move outward, that is, toward the interior surface of the cylinder, and are attached onto the interior surface of the cylinder. As a result, the large mist droplets flow down along the interior surface of the cone, and are fed back to the solution in the atomizer 1. On the other hand, since the fine mist droplets included in the mist-mixed air are small in mass, centrifugal forces that act on the fine mist droplets are small. Accordingly, the fine mist droplets move in a spiral together with the air as the carrier gas, and are discharged as the exhaust air from the center part of the cylinder to the outside.
According to the aforementioned classifier 3, mist droplets with a high solute concentration can be collected by separating them from the air, and be fed back to the solution, while fine mist droplets with a low solute concentration can be discharged together with the air to the outside without separating the fine mist droplets from the air so that the solute concentration can be high, in other words, the solution in the atomizer 1 can be condensed.
According to the aforementioned atomizing separation method and device, a solution is atomized into mist in air whereby producing mist-mixed air, and mist droplets included in the mist-mixed air are classified into a plurality of particle size groups according to their particle diameter sizes so that the larger mist droplets are collected and fed back to the solution, while the mist-mixed air that contains fine mist droplets are discharged as exhaust air to the outside. As a result, the solution can be condensed by removing a solvent from the solution. However, the atomizing separation method and device according to the present invention additionally may separate and collect the solvent component of the solution by liquefying the fine mist droplets that are contained in the mist-mixed air that is discharged as the exhaust air from the classifier after the classification. In this method and device, the evaporated component included in the exhaust air from which the sensible heat and the latent heat have been collected by the exhaust-heat collector is liquefied and collected. In particular, the exhaust-heat collector collects the heat of condensation by condensing the evaporated component included in the exhaust air when the latent heat is collected by the latent-heat collector. Accordingly, the evaporated component included in the exhaust air is liquefied and discharged as liquid in this process. Since the evaporated component in the exhaust air is liquefied by collecting the latent heat by using the latent-heat collector so that the solvent component of the solution can be collected as liquid, it is not necessary to provide a dedicated device for collecting the evaporated component included in the exhaust air as liquid by liquefying the evaporated component.
It should be apparent to those with an ordinary skill in the art that while various preferred embodiments of the invention have been shown and described, it is contemplated that the invention is not limited to the particular embodiments disclosed, which are deemed to be merely illustrative of the inventive concepts and should not be interpreted as limiting the scope of the invention, and which are suitable for all modifications and changes falling within the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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