One or more aspects of the present invention relate to a device that stirs a liquid that is mixed with at least one type of liquid or powder mixed liquid, and particularly to a vertical-type continuous high-speed stirring device that is equipped with a rotor blade that is rotated at high speed by a vertical rotation shaft.
What is known is emulsion fuel that is made by adding water to fuel oil such as light oil, heavy oil, or heavy gravity oil and stirring, and dispersing the water in the fuel oil. The heavy gravity oil is an oil that is poor in liquidity at normal temperature and becomes liquid only when heated to high temperatures; the heavy gravity oils preferably include the following oil liquids, which contain 90% by weight or more of a component with a boiling point of 340 degrees Celsius or more at normal pressure: petroleum-based asphalts and mixtures of the oils, various processed products of petroleum-based asphalts, intermediate products thereof, residues and mixtures of the residues, high pour-point oil or crude oil that does not flow at normal temperature, petroleum-based tar pitch and mixtures of the oils, bitumens, natural asphalt, Orinoco tar, tar, residue oil, and the like.
When the emulsion fuel is sprayed to a high temperature place, the water in the fuel droplets immediately comes to the boil; the fuel droplets are atomized (Micro-explosion), thereby realizing high-speed, highly-efficient combustion and suppressing generation of CO and soot. Moreover, the evaporation of water helps lower flame temperature; because the fuel has an effect of reducing NOx in exhaust gas, which is known as low-pollution fuel.
When the emulsion fuel is produced, the performance of a mixing device (mixer) significantly affects the combustion performance and long-term stability of the emulsion fuel produced. As a conventional mixing device, an emulsion production device that is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open Publication No. 2008-185223 (Patent Document 1), which is a previous application by the applicant, is known.
The emulsion production device is a device that continuously atomizes a mixed liquid by using a rotor blade that a rotor, which rotates at high speed or 10,000 rpm per minute or more, includes. The emulsion produced by the device is very fine with an average particle diameter of 0.1 μm. What is obtained is emulsion that is stable over time.
In the case of the above-described conventional emulsion production device, however, an amount of emulsion generated per minute is not necessarily sufficient, and it is hoped that an improvement thereof will be made. Therefore, an aspect of one or more embodiments of the present invention is to improve a vertical-type continuous high-speed stirring device that is used in producing emulsion, for example, and particularly to provide a vertical-type continuous high-speed stirring device that can save power consumption by making the device smaller in size, and can increase an amount of a processed fluid generated per minute, which is obtained by stirring.
A vertical-type continuous high-speed stirring device according to one or more embodiments of the present invention includes: a cylindrical container which includes a cover plate and a bottom plate; a liquid supply pipe which is disposed substantially on a central axis of the cylindrical container, which is supplied with at least one type of liquid from an upper end portion, and which passes through the cover plate of the cylindrical container and discharges the liquid above the bottom portion; a rotation hollow shaft which is disposed coaxially outside the liquid supply pipe and which rotates at high speed; an upper rotating body which is coaxially fixed to the rotation hollow shaft; a conical lower rotating body which is disposed below the upper rotating body, and which forms a flow path that leads the liquid flowing out of a lower end portion of the liquid supply pipe to an inner-wall direction of the cylindrical container, and which forms a first chamber between a lower surface of the upper rotating body and an upper surface of the lower rotating body; a rotor whose upper and lower ends are respectively fixed to the upper rotating body and the lower rotating body, and which includes a plurality of blades that are radially provided around the rotation hollow shaft; a screw conveyor which is a strip-shaped plate that is wound and fixed around the rotor in a spiral pattern; an inner-side cylindrical container which is provided in the cylindrical container and around the rotor containing the screw conveyor, and whose lower end is fixed onto the bottom plate of the cylindrical container, and whose upper end is open; a division plate which defines an upper and a lower portion inside the cylindrical container at an upper end portion of the inner-side cylindrical container to form a second chamber between a lower surface of the cover plate of the cylindrical container and the division plate and in which a plurality of through-holes are formed; an inclined bottom plate which is so disposed as to be inclined with respect to the bottom plate of the cylindrical container in such a way as to form a third chamber between a portion of the cylindrical container below the division plate and the inner-side cylindrical container; a processed fluid outlet which is provided on a side wall of the cylindrical container in such a way as to discharge a processed fluid stored in the third chamber out of the cylindrical container at a low position of the inclined bottom plate; and driving means for rotating and driving the rotation hollow shaft.
The vertical-type continuous high-speed stirring device according to one or more embodiments of the present invention is characterized in that the rotation hollow shaft rotates at least at 10,000 rpm or more.
The vertical-type continuous high-speed stirring device according to one or more embodiments of the present invention is characterized in that start ends and termination ends of two strip-shaped screw plates that are wound in a spiral pattern are disposed at opposite positions in a diametrical direction on a peripheral circumference of the first rotor.
The vertical-type continuous high-speed stirring device according to one or more embodiments of the present invention is characterized in that the strip-shaped screw plate includes two strip-shaped screw plates that are alternately wound in a spiral pattern.
The vertical-type continuous high-speed stirring device according to one or more embodiments of the present invention is characterized in that to the liquid supply pipe, at least two types of liquid are mixed and supplied, and the liquids are discharged above the upper surface of the lower rotation body after passing through the cover plate of the cylindrical container.
The vertical-type continuous high-speed stirring device according to one or more embodiments of the present invention is characterized in that to the liquid supply pipe, at least the one type of liquid is mixed with powder before being supplied.
Furthermore, the vertical-type continuous high-speed stirring device according to one or more embodiments of the present invention is characterized in that the upper rotating body that constitutes the rotor includes a conical lower surface, upper and lower surfaces of the first chamber are defined by the conical lower surface of the upper rotating body and the conical upper surface of the lower rotating body, and the first chamber is formed as a space that is open to the inner-side cylindrical container on an outer peripheral surface of the rotor.
Furthermore, the vertical-type continuous high-speed stirring device according to one or more embodiments of the present invention is characterized in that a plurality of blades that constitute the rotor are paddles that are radially provided in an opening portion inside the first chamber.
Furthermore, according to the vertical-type continuous high-speed stirring device of one or more embodiments of the present invention is characterized in that a plurality of paddles that constitute the rotor are fixed between the upper rotating body and the lower rotating body in such a way that an outer peripheral end portion of each paddle forms, along with outer peripheral surfaces of the upper rotating body and lower rotating body of the rotor, a cylindrical outer peripheral surface.
Furthermore, the vertical-type continuous high-speed stirring device according to one or more embodiments of the present invention is characterized in that the second chamber communicates with the inner-side cylindrical container at an upper end portion thereof, and the second chamber communicates with the third chamber through a plurality of through-holes formed in the division plate.
Furthermore, the vertical-type continuous high-speed stirring device according to one or more embodiments of the present invention is characterized in that the third chamber is formed by dividing, in a vertical direction, a space between an inner wall of the cylindrical container and an outer wall of the inner-side cylindrical container with an inclined bottom plate that traverses in a direction that obliquely intersects with respect to the rotation hollow shaft.
Furthermore, the vertical-type continuous high-speed stirring device according to one or more embodiments of the present invention is characterized in that the division plate is an annular plate, and a plurality of through-holes are long holes that are formed along a circumference of the annular plate.
Furthermore, the vertical-type continuous high-speed stirring device according to one or more embodiments of the present invention is characterized in that the processed fluid outlet is provided on a side wall of the cylindrical container and at the lowest position of the inclined bottom plate of the third chamber to allow a processed fluid stored in the third chamber to be discharged out of the cylindrical container due to gravity thereof.
According to one or more embodiments of the present invention, it is possible to provide a vertical-type continuous high-speed stirring device production capacity of which is significantly improved.
Hereinafter, an embodiment of a vertical-type continuous high-speed stirring device according to the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
As shown in
A rotation hollow shaft 7, which rotates at high speed away from the liquid supply pipe 2, is placed outside the liquid supply pipe 2, coaxially with the liquid supply pipe 2. An upper end portion of the rotation hollow shaft 7 is supported by a cover plate 8 of the cylindrical container 1 through a first bearing 8a in a rotatable manner and a lower end portion thereof is inserted into the cylindrical container 1. A circular truncated cone-shaped upper rotating body 10 of a rotor 9 is concentrically fixed to a portion of the rotation hollow shaft 7 that has been inserted into the cylindrical container 1. As shown in
Around the rotor 9 having the above configuration, strip-shaped screw conveyers 16, which are plates, are so provided as to be wound in a spiral pattern. As shown in
An inner-side cylindrical container 17 is provided inside the cylindrical container 1 around the rotor 9 having the above configuration. A gap g is formed as a flow path between a peripheral portion of the rotor 9 and a side wall of the inner-side cylindrical container 17.
As shown in
A division plate 18 is provided inside the cylindrical container 1 at an upper end portion of the inner-side cylindrical container 17. As shown in
A second chamber 20 is formed in the cylindrical container 1 above the division plate 18. The second chamber 20 is formed in a space between the cover plate 8 of the cylindrical container 1 and the division plate 18. The second chamber 20 communicates with the inner-side cylindrical container 17, which is provided around the rotor 9 at an upper-end opening portion. As described later, the emulsion that is conveyed upward by the screw conveyers 16 provided around the rotor 9 flows in the second chamber 20 as indicated by upward arrows in the diagram. The emulsion liquid that has been conveyed into the second chamber 20 then flows into a third chamber 21 as indicated by downward arrows via the long holes 19 formed in the division plate 18. That is, the second chamber 20 communicates with the inner-side cylindrical container 17 at an upper end portion thereof Moreover, the second chamber 20 communicates with the third chamber via the long holes 19, which are a plurality of through-holes formed in the division plate 18.
As shown in
The following describes operation of the vertical-type continuous high-speed stirring device having the above configuration. In the following description, an operation of producing emulsion fuel by mixing oil and water will be described. The present invention is, however, not limited to such a use only. Needless to say, the present invention is also available for a process of producing various kinds of emulsion other than fuel, or a process of mixing heavy oil and activated clay or activated sludge to carry out desulfurization or produce a new fuel by mixing the mixtures.
The liquids (e.g. heavy oil and water) stored in the oil tank 3 and the water tank 4 are each kept at around 55 degrees Celsius by the heater 5 and 6. The liquids in the tanks 3 and 4 pass through the branch pipes 2a and 2b and then the flow regulation valves 4a and 4b, and flow into the liquid supply pipe 2, in which a mixed liquid is obtained as the water and the oil are mixed, and the mixed liquid freely falls inside the liquid supply pipe 2. Incidentally, all the arrows in
Incidentally, the liquids flowing into the liquid supply pipe 2 are regulated by the flow regulation valves 4a and 4b, respectively. The ratio of the mixed liquid freely falling inside the liquid supply pipe 2 is, by volume ratio: Water:Oil=40:60.
The mixed liquid that has freely fallen inside the liquid supply pipe 2 flows into the first chamber 13. The mixed liquid is sprayed in the circumferential direction as the mixed liquid hits the upper surface 12a of the lower rotating body 12, and then flows into a flow path that is divided by a plurality of paddles 11. Since the paddles 11 are rotating at high speed, the mixed liquid is sheared and crushed by the paddles 11. As a result, the mixed liquid is transformed into an emulsion fuel consisting of fine particles with a particle diameter of about φ5 μm, for example.
Furthermore, the transformed emulsion fuel hits the side wall of the inner-side cylindrical container 17 due to a centrifugal force of the rotor 9, and is pushed into the gap g formed between the inner-side cylindrical container 17 and the periphery of the rotor 9. The emulsion fuel that has been pushed into the gap g is conveyed upward inside the gap g by the screw conveyers 16, which are provided around the rotor 9. The emulsion fuel is conveyed into the second chamber 20, which is formed in an upper portion of the cylindrical container 1.
The emulsion fuel that has been conveyed into the second chamber 20 fills the second chamber 20. Then, the emulsion fuel flows into the third chamber 21, as indicated by downward arrows, via the long holes 19 formed in the division plate 18. The emulsion fuel that has flowed into the third chamber 21 flows downward along the inclined bottom plate 21a due to the gravity of liquid. The emulsion fuel is discharged out of the cylindrical container 1 through the outlet 22, which is preferably formed at the lowest position.
The emulsion production device according to the embodiment of the present invention has made a significant improvement in the production capacity of emulsion produced compared with the above conventional device. That is, while the production capacity of emulsion by the above conventional production device is 1.4 L/min, the production capacity of emulsion by the device of the embodiment of the present invention is 4 L/min, which is about three times greater.
The first reason is that, according to the device according to the embodiment of the present invention, the screw conveyers 16 are provided around the rotor 9, making it possible to strongly push up and convey the emulsion produced in the first chamber 13 into the second chamber 20 by using a rotation force of the rotor 9.
The second reason is that the produced emulsion flows downward, in the third chamber 21, along the inclined bottom plate 21a due to the gravity of liquid, and is discharged out of the cylindrical container 1. Therefore, the rotating and driving of a second paddle, which is required in the conventional device to discharge the liquid, is not required. Thus, all of the driving force of the motor 14 can be dedicated to generating the emulsion fuel, or stirring the fluid at high speed.
The third reason is that, because the second paddle, which is required in the conventional device, is not required, a third bearing that is used to support the rotation hollow shaft 7 in the cylindrical container 1 is not required. Accordingly, an intermediate support body that operates as a division plate in the conventional device is not required. Therefore, flow-path resistance of the fluid passing through a plurality of long holes formed in the intermediate support body is dramatically reduced. As a result, the flow rate of fluid or emulsion flowing in the device is increased, and an amount of emulsion discharged is increased.
In the vertical-type continuous high-speed stirring device according to the embodiment of the present invention, the start point of the spiral winding is 180 degrees away from the end point thereof on the peripheral circumference of the rotor 9 in the screw conveyers 16 provided around the rotor 9. Moreover, the screw conveyers 16 are wound in a spiral pattern in such a way as to be adjacent to each other. Therefore, rotation balance of the rotor 9 is good, having no adverse effect on the high-speed rotation of the rotor 9. Therefore, the stable, high-speed rotation is maintained.
Furthermore, according to the vertical-type continuous high-speed stirring device according to the embodiment of the present invention, the second paddle, which is required in the conventional device to discharge the emulsion liquid out of the cylindrical container 1, is not required as described above. Accordingly, a chamber in which the second paddle is provided is not required, too. Therefore, the advantage is that the device as a whole can be made smaller in size.
Incidentally, the emulsion fuel produced by the vertical-type continuous high-speed stirring device according to the embodiment of the present invention was taken out and the average particle size of the micelles (aggregate) was measured by a particle size distribution measuring device of a laser light scattering type. The result was cp 0.1 μm. Moreover, the emulsion fuel was observed in a static state over one month and separation of the fuel was not recognized at all, proving that the emulsion fuel is very good in stability.
The vertical-type continuous high-speed stirring device according to the present invention is not limited to a process of producing the emulsion fuel. The vertical-type continuous high-speed stirring device is also available for producing other kinds of emulsion, such as edible emulsion.
The vertical-type continuous high-speed stirring device according to the present invention is also able to process water, such as drinking water or plant cultivation water, into ultrafine particles by carrying out a high-speed stirring and shearing process under pressure that is based on a centrifugal force of 8,000 G. In this case, nothing is stored in the oil tank 3 shown in
Furthermore, the vertical-type continuous high-speed stirring device according to one or more embodiments of the present invention is able to produce a fuel oil by, for example, mixing heavy oil with powdered activated earth, and supplying the mixture to a liquid supply pipe to promote chemical reaction of the heavy oil and activated earth. In this case, heavy oil is stored in the oil tank 3 shown in
Furthermore, the vertical-type continuous high-speed stirring device according to one or more embodiments of the present invention is able to produce a new fuel oil by mixing heavy oil with activated sludge, which is an industrial waste at a water treatment plant, and stirring the mixture with the use of the vertical-type continuous high-speed stirring device. According to one or more embodiments of the present invention, it turns the activated sludge into fine particles, which can be mixed well with heavy oil. In this case, heavy oil is stored in the oil tank 3 shown in
The present invention is not limited to those described above. In an implementation stage, the present invention can be applied in many other fields by modifying the components without departing from the spirit of the invention. Moreover, a plurality of components disclosed in the above embodiment may be appropriately combined to form various inventions. For example, from all the components disclosed in the embodiment, some components may be removed. Furthermore, components in other embodiments may be appropriately combined.
1: Cylindrical container
2: Liquid supply pipe
3: Oil tank
4: Water tank
5: Heater
6: Heater
7: Rotation hollow shaft
8: Cover plate
8
a: First bearing
9: Rotor
10: Upper rotating body
11: Paddle
12: Lower rotating body
13: First chamber
14: Motor
15: Bottom plate
16: Screw conveyer
17: Inner-side cylindrical container
18: Division plate
19: Long hole
20: Second chamber
21: Third chamber
22: Inclined bottom plate
23: Fluid outlet
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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2013-069682 | Mar 2013 | JP | national |
This application claims priority to Japanese Application No. 2013-069682, filed Mar. 28, 2013, and to PCT/JP2013/005761, filed Sep. 27, 2013, which also claims priority to Japanese Application No. 2013-069682, each of whose contents are expressly incorporated by reference herein.
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
PCT/JP13/05761 | 9/27/2013 | WO | 00 |