JP4182354B2 - Water capture system for microgravity environment used in pervaporation method - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a water catching system used in a pervaporation method. More specifically, the present invention relates to a water catching system that is connected to the permeation side of the permeable membrane and can reduce the pressure of the permeation side of the permeable membrane as compared with the supply side of the permeable membrane in the pervaporation method. In the osmotic vaporization method, the present invention is connected to the permeation side of the permeation membrane, the permeation side of the permeation membrane is decompressed compared to the supply side of the permeation membrane, and the fraction that permeates the permeation membrane is cooled and liquefied The present invention relates to a water catching system that can remove mixed bubbles. Furthermore, the present invention relates to a water catching system that can be suitably used even in a microgravity environment such as outer space.
In the present specification, the pervaporation method is synonymous with the pervaporation method.

  In order to promote the use of the space environment, the development of the International Space Station, the construction in orbit, and the construction of science and technology that supports its operation are indispensable. In particular, in manned activities at the space station, an environmental control and life support system that supplies air, water, and food necessary for people to live and quickly removes discharged waste is important. In particular, if the wastewater can be purified and reused, the amount of necessary resources to be replenished from the ground can be reduced, and as a result, the replenishment cost can be expected to be reduced.

  The present inventors have disclosed an osmotic vaporization method using a hydrophilic chitosan membrane in Patent Document 1, and (1) that non-volatile components in water can be completely removed by this osmotic vaporization method, (2 ) About 60% free ammonia can be removed with chitosan membrane, (3) 90% or more can be removed in the case of ammonia nitrate or organic acid ammonia, (4) According to the combination of pervaporation method and adsorption method, It was clarified that 99.99% or more can be removed, and (5) that the adsorbent can be repeatedly regenerated using vacuum.

In order to stably operate the pervaporation system based on the pervaporation method disclosed in Patent Document 1 in the space environment, maintaining the membrane permeation driving process by supplying warm heat corresponding to the heat of vaporization in permeation vaporization, It is necessary to maintain the reduced pressure on the permeate side at the same time as supplying cold heat for condensing the permeated water vapor.
The feature of outer space is an extreme temperature difference. In other words, the sunlight that is exposed to sunlight is hot, and the shade that is not exposed to sunlight is cold. Therefore, it is possible to carry hot and cold temperatures to a predetermined part of the pervaporation system by means of a suitable liquid medium and heat exchanger and medium transport means. It is also possible to generate hot and cold heat from electric energy by solar power generation and use it in the pervaporation system.

JP 2001-269572 A

The problem remaining for constructing a water circulation system in the space environment by the pervaporation method according to the invention described in Patent Document 1 is the development of a water capturing method in a microgravity environment.
Usually, the permeation side of the pervaporation device is depressurized compared to the supply side. In the space environment, the reduced pressure state can be easily obtained by utilizing outer space. However, when space is used to decompress the permeation side of the pervaporation device, there has been a problem that it is difficult to collect the fraction that has permeated the permeation side.

Further, liquefaction by condensation of permeated water vapor in a normal pervaporation system is performed by cooling using a heat exchanger. The handling of condensate is a difficult task unique to microgravity environments. That is, under microgravity, the condensed and liquefied liquid adheres to the heat exchanger and stops there, reducing the heat exchange efficiency. Conventionally, in order to remove the condensate adhering to the heat exchanger, it has been considered to remove the condensate adhering to the heat exchanger by applying a mechanical rotational motion to the centrifugal force. However, this method complicates the pervaporation system, which makes it difficult to operate the system stably.
Furthermore, although cooling using a heat exchanger requires gas condensation and liquefaction energy, energy associated with heat conduction through the heat exchanger material in heat exchange is lost. Also, since the condensate is a poor conductor of heat, it is difficult to increase the heat exchange efficiency by cooling using a heat exchanger.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and is arranged on the permeation side of the permeation membrane of the pervaporation device in a microgravity environment such as outer space, and supplies the permeation side of the permeation vaporization device. A microgravity environment water catching system for reducing the pressure compared to the side and liquefying the fraction permeated to the permeation side of the permeable membrane, comprising an aspirator, a pump, a heat exchanging means, and a bubble removing device. A circulation line connected in series is provided, and the liquid in the circulation line can be circulated by the pump, and the aspirator supplies the permeation side of the pervaporation device to the supply side by the circulation movement of the liquid. Compared to the above, the fraction permeated to the permeation side of the pervaporation device is liquefied by the liquid circulating in the aspirator, and the liquid temperature is kept constant by heat exchange means. While being adjusted to a degree range, to a water-trapping system, characterized in that air bubbles present in the liquid are removed by the bubble removing device.

The invention according to claim 2 is characterized in that the bubble removing device has a bubble discharge hole at one end surface center, a liquid supply port at one end, and a defoamed liquid discharge port at the other end. Each having a cylindrical housing, a conical cone disposed at the tip of the housing, coaxially arranged with the central axis of the housing and defining a swirl flow chamber, and one end Is opened to the outside of the housing, and a plurality of small holes are formed in the peripheral wall, and a bubble removing pipe extending along the central axis of the cone is provided, and the liquid that circulates and moves in the circulation line Is supplied to the bubble removing device from the supply port, and the liquid introduced into the swirl flow path through the supply port is divided into an outer layer and an inner layer by separating the liquid and the bubbles contained in the liquid by a centrifugal separation action. Separated into each of the cones The bubbles gathering along the axis are discharged together with the liquid to the outside through the bubble removing pipe, and the liquid discharged from the tip opening of the cone is discharged from the discharge port for the defoaming liquid. The water collecting system according to claim 1 .

According to a third aspect of the present invention, the bubble removing device includes a bubble discharge hole at one end surface center portion, a liquid supply port at one end portion, and a defoamed liquid discharge port at the other end portion. Each having a cylindrical housing, a conical cone disposed at the tip of the housing, coaxially arranged with the central axis of the housing and defining a swirl flow chamber, and one end Is opened to the outside of the housing and a plurality of small holes are formed in the peripheral wall, and a bubble removing pipe extending along the central axis of the cone, and heat exchange means provided along the outer surface side of the cone A surface hemispherical flow direction reversal body provided on the extension of the central axis of the cone and for changing the flow direction of the liquid discharged from the tip opening of the cone-shaped cone. Circular movement in the line The liquid that is supplied to the bubble removing device from the supply port, and the liquid introduced into the swirl flow path through the supply port causes the liquid and the bubbles contained in the liquid to be separated into the outer side and the inner side by centrifugal action. The bubbles separated from each other and discharged along the central axis of the cone together with the liquid are discharged from the outlet through the bubble removal pipe, and the liquid discharged from the tip opening of the cone is The flow direction is reversed by the flow direction reversal body, and the temperature is changed by the heat exchange means, and then the liquid is discharged from the discharge port for the defoamed liquid. It relates to the water catching system described .

According to the first aspect of the invention, since the permeation side of the pervaporation device is decompressed by the aspirator, the permeation side of the permeation vaporization device is decompressed and, at the same time, the fraction permeated to the permeation side circulates in the aspirator. This fraction is liquefied by exchanging heat with the liquid, so that the permeated fraction can be easily collected.
Further, since a rotating device for heat exchange means is not required, the pervaporation system can be stably operated.
Furthermore, since the heat exchange means, the bubble removing device, and the circulation line are provided so that the liquid can be circulated and moved, the liquid temperature of the liquid can be maintained within a certain temperature range, and the bubbles mixed in the liquid Can be removed, and the pervaporation system can be operated more stably.
According to the invention of claim 2 , since the bubbles in the liquid can be removed by the centrifugal force of the liquid and no means for giving a rotational motion is required, the pervaporation system can be operated more stably. it can.
Further, the increment of the liquid in the circulation line due to the liquefaction of the component permeated to the permeate side is discharged from the bubble removing device together with the bubbles, so that the permeated component can be easily collected.
According to the invention of claim 3 , since the heat exchanging means is provided on the outer periphery of the conical cone of the bubble removing device, the water catching system can be made compact and the space can be used effectively. .
According to the invention which concerns on Claim 4 , the contamination of the fraction which permeate | transmitted the permeable film can be suppressed to the minimum.

  Hereinafter, a water catching system according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a preferred embodiment of a water catching system according to the present invention.

The water capturing system according to the present invention is used by being connected to the permeation side of the pervaporation apparatus. That is, it is a device for reducing the pressure of the permeation side of the permeation membrane of the pervaporation device as compared with the supply side, and liquefying and collecting the fraction permeated through the permeation membrane.
The pervaporation method is a separation method that involves a phase change in which liquid is supplied to the supply side (primary side) of the permeable membrane and the permeation side (secondary side) of the permeable membrane is gas.

The water catching system (10) according to the present invention comprises an aspirator (11) provided on the permeation side (b) of the pervaporation device (A) as shown in FIG. The aspirator (11) has a liquid supply port (11a), a liquid discharge port (11b), and a suction port (11c). The permeation side (b) of the pervaporation device (A) is a suction port (11c). )It is connected to the.
When liquid is supplied to the liquid supply port (11a) and discharged from the liquid discharge port (11b), gas is sucked from the suction port (11c), and the permeation side (b) of the pervaporation device (A) is Depressurized.

The fraction that has passed through the permeable membrane (c) of the pervaporation device (A) (hereinafter sometimes referred to as the “permeated fraction”) is drawn into the aspirator (11) from the suction port (11c) by the suction of the aspirator (11). Enters and contacts the liquid flowing in the aspirator (11). As a result, heat exchange occurs between the permeated fraction and the liquid, and the permeated fraction is liquefied.
In order to easily collect the permeated fraction, the liquid supplied into the aspirator (11) is preferably the same substance as the permeated fraction or a substance that can be easily separated from the permeated fraction. For example, when the permeated fraction contains water (water vapor), the liquid supplied into the aspirator (11) is preferably water in order to easily collect water.

As shown in FIG. 1, it is preferable that the water capturing system (10) according to the present invention is provided with a pump (12), and liquid is supplied to the aspirator (11) by driving the pump (12). .
The pump (12) used in the present invention is not particularly limited as long as it can pump a liquid, and examples thereof include a centrifugal pump, a Levitro pump, a magnet pump, a self-contained magnet pump, a Bareske type pump, and the like. Can do.

The pump (12) is preferably capable of supplying a liquid to the aspirator (11) so as to be equal to or higher than the optimum flowing water passing speed of the aspirator (11), and has an optimum flowing water passing speed of the aspirator (11). A pump (12) that can supply twice or more liquid to the aspirator (11) is more preferable.
If the amount of liquid supplied to the aspirator (11) is small, the permeation side (b) of the pervaporation device (A) may not be sufficiently decompressed.

  As a material which comprises a pump (12), it is preferable that it is a material which does not have the worry which contaminates a liquid, for example, PVDF can be illustrated.

In particular, in the present invention, it is preferable to use a Levitro pump as the pump (12). FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of the Levitro pump (120). The Levitro pump (120) is provided with a coil (121), and has a mechanism for magnetically levitating the integrated impeller (122) and rotor (123) and rotating them in the magnetic field of the stator (124). ing.
Thus, the Levitro pump (120) has no shafts, bearings, shaft seals, etc., and does not generate frictional heat or particles. Further, the liquid can be kept at high purity without being contaminated. Moreover, since the Levitro pump (120) has the ability to discharge bubbles in the liquid, it can also be expected to have an effect of removing bubbles in the liquid.

As shown in FIG. 1, it is preferable that the water catching system (10) according to the present invention is provided with a bubble removing device (13).
The gas that exists in the liquid exists in a microgravity environment such as a space environment in a state where it remains as a bubble.If the bubbles present in the liquid are not actively removed, the heat exchange efficiency is reduced. You may be invited.
The bubble removing device (13) used in the present invention is not particularly limited as long as it can remove bubbles present in the liquid. Preferably, a bubble removing device (13) that can apply centrifugal force to the liquid to separate the liquid and the bubbles to remove the bubbles can be exemplified.

As shown in FIG. 1, it is preferable that the water capturing system (10) according to the present invention is provided with a heat exchange means (14).
The liquid supplied into the aspirator (11) liquefies the permeated fraction when it comes into contact with the permeated fraction. For this reason, the liquid temperature rises. If the liquid temperature rises, it will eventually become difficult to efficiently liquefy the permeated fraction.
By providing the heat exchange means (14) in the water catching system (10), the liquid temperature of the liquid can be adjusted to a certain range, and the permeated fraction can be liquefied efficiently.
It does not specifically limit as a heat exchange means (14), A general heat exchange means can be illustrated.

As shown in FIG. 1, it is preferable that the aspirator (11), the bubble removing device (13), the pump (12), and the heat exchange means (14) are connected by a circulation line (15). The liquid can circulate in the circulation line (15) by driving the pump (12).
The material constituting the circulation line (15) is not particularly limited as long as it is a material that does not contaminate the liquid. For example, stainless steel can be exemplified, but engineering plastics are used to reduce the weight of the circulation line (15). In particular, engineering plastics coated with Teflon (registered trademark) are preferred.

FIG. 3 shows an example of a bubble removing device (130) preferably used in the present invention.
The bubble removing device (130) shown in FIG. 3 includes a cylindrical housing (131). A liquid incremental discharge / bubble discharge hole (132a) and a supply hole for bubble-containing liquid (133a) are provided at one end face central portion of the cylindrical housing (131). A supply pipe (133) for bubble-containing liquid is inserted into the supply hole (133a) so that the supplied liquid is ejected in the tangential direction of a cone-shaped cone (134) described later. Since the liquid is jetted in the tangential direction of the cone-shaped cone (134), the liquid generates a swirling flow in the swirling flow chamber (136).
The liquid incremental discharge / bubble discharge pipe (132) is inserted into the liquid incremental discharge / bubble discharge hole (132a).
The other end of the cylindrical housing (131) is provided with a defoaming liquid discharge port (135a) through which the defoaming liquid discharge pipe (135) is inserted.
In the cylindrical housing (131), a conical cone is disposed coaxially with the central axis of the cylindrical housing (131) and has an opening at the tip that defines the swirling flow chamber (136). (134) and a liquid incremental discharge / bubble removal pipe (132) having one end open to the outside of the housing and a plurality of small holes formed in the peripheral wall and extending along the central axis of the cone (134). Is provided.

Further, like the bubble removing device (130) shown in the figure, the cylindrical housing (131) is provided on the central axis extension line of the cone (134), and the tip opening of the conical cone (134) is provided. It is preferable that a surface hemispherical flow direction reversal body (137) for changing the flow direction of the liquid discharged from is provided.
Furthermore, it is preferable to provide a heat exchanging means (14) along the outer surface of the cone (134) as in the illustrated bubble removing device (130).

The liquid supplied to the aspirator (11) is introduced into the swirling flow chamber (136) through the supply port (133a). When this liquid contains bubbles, the liquid and bubbles are separated into an outer layer and an inner layer by centrifugal action, and the bubbles gathering along the central axis of the cone (134) are discharged together with the liquid and discharged. It can be discharged to the outside through the pipe (132).
When the permeated fraction is liquefied, the flow rate of the liquid flowing in the circulation line (15) naturally increases. When the amount of liquid in the circulation line (15) exceeds an allowable amount, the liquid is discharged from the liquid incremental discharge / bubble removing pipe (132) together with the bubbles. In the case where the permeated fraction is collected and reused, the liquid overflowing from the liquid incremental discharge / bubble removing tube (132) can be collected and used easily.
On the other hand, the liquid from which the bubbles are removed is discharged from the tip opening of the cone (134). In the bubble removing device (13) shown in the figure, the liquid discharged from the opening at the front end is reversed in the flow direction by the flow direction reversing body (137) and comes into contact with the pipe (cooling coil) wound spirally. Then, after passing through the outer surface side of the cone (134), the flow direction is reversed again by the inner wall of the housing (131) on one end surface side and discharged from the discharge port (135).
When the flow direction inversion body (137) is not provided, the liquid is discharged from the discharge port (135).

Like the bubble removing device (130) shown in the figure, by providing heat exchange means (14) along the outer surface of the cone (134), when the liquid passes through the cylindrical housing (131), the liquid is removed. Heat exchange can be performed.
The illustrated heat exchange means (14) is provided with a tube that spirally winds the outer surface of the cone (134) along the outer surface of the cone (134), and a refrigerant for heat exchange is passed through the tube. It is configured so that the liquid can be heat exchanged by liquid.
The material of the spirally wound tube (cooling coil) is preferably a material that does not contaminate the liquid and preferably has a high thermal conductivity. Examples of such a material include SUS304, SUS316, copper, and titanium. Examples of such alloys can be given.

  The material constituting the bubble removing device (13) is preferably a material that does not contaminate the liquid. Examples of such a material include SUS304, SUS316, copper, and a titanium alloy, and are lightweight. When the material is preferable, polycarbonate, acrylic resin, polypropylene, fluororesin, epoxy resin, engineering plastic and the like can be exemplified.

  The water capture system according to the present invention can be suitably used as a water capture system for an osmotic vaporization method implemented in a micro-weight environment such as a space environment. It can also be used as a small pervaporation membrane ultrapure water production apparatus for medical and biochemical experiments.

  EXAMPLES Hereinafter, although this invention is demonstrated in detail based on an Example, this invention is not limited at all by the following example.

[Water catcher]
4 to 6 are projection views of the microgravity-compatible test water catching device (100) used in the following examples. 4 is a projection view from the top (X plane) direction, FIG. 5 is a projection view from the front (Y plane) direction, and FIG. 6 is a projection view from the left side (Z plane) direction. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a schematic configuration of the microgravity compatible test water catching device (100).
The microgravity compatible test water catching apparatus (100) shown in the figure is provided with a frame (F) so that it can be verified on the ground whether or not it functions in a microgravity environment, and is installed in six directions. It can be done.

(120) is a Levitro pump (circulation pump), (E) is a vortex type flow monitor (velocimeter), (130) is a bubble removing device provided with heat exchange means, and (X) is an aspirator mounting part (D) is a resistance temperature detector, (131a) is a small ball valve, and (G) is a ball valve.
The bubble removing device (130) has the same configuration as the bubble removing device shown in FIG.

As shown in the flow diagram of FIG. 7, the circulating water that has passed through the bubble removing device (130) is cooled by heat exchange by the heat exchange means (14). The cooled circulating water is sent to the pump (120). Then, the circulating water is sent from the pump (120) to the aspirator (11), and returns to the bubble removing device (130) again through the flow meter (E).
In FIG. 7, I is a pressure sensor, H is a temperature sensor, and Y is a mounting position of the pervaporation device.

[Example 1]
First, the apparatus (100) was arranged so that the X surface was the upper surface, and pure water was filled into the system from the liquid incremental discharge / bubble removal pipe (132) of the bubble removal apparatus (130). Next, the ball valve of the liquid incremental discharge and bubble removal tube (132) is closed, and one of the tubes (not shown) is connected to the small ball valve (131a) of the bubble removal device (130) and the suction port of the aspirator, The other was inserted into a container (not shown), and the container was filled with pure water. In this state, the pump (12) was started and the circulating water was cooled by circulating the refrigerant in the cooling coil of the heat exchange means (14).
When the cock of the suction port of the small ball valve (131a) and the aspirator is opened and the rotation speed of the pump (12) is increased, pure water is sucked from the suction port of the aspirator and pure water is discharged from the discharge port (135). Pure water circulated through the container. At this time, the air remaining in the system was discharged from the container to the outside of the system, so that the circulation system was filled with pure water. After the system was completely filled with pure water, the cock of the suction port of the aspirator and the cock of the discharge port (135) were closed, and the rotation of the pump was stopped and stopped. This was set to an initial setting state in which the circulating system was filled with pure water.

The rotation number of the circulation pump, the circulating water temperature, the circulating water flow velocity, and the ultimate pressure (degree of vacuum) when the water catching device (100) was operated under the following conditions were measured.
The results are shown in Tables 1-6. Table 7 shows the conditions under which the ultimate pressure is lowest in the results of Tables 1-6. In Tables 1 to 7, “+ X” refers to the case where the X surface is disposed on the upper surface, and “−X” refers to the case where the X surface is disposed on the bottom surface. The same applies to Y and Z.
<Operation conditions>
The rotation speed of the circulation pump was controlled by a controller. The refrigerant (water containing ethylene glycol 52 wt%) was circulated into the cooling coil of the heat exchanging means (14) using a commercially available constant temperature circulator, and the refrigerant temperature was maintained at a predetermined temperature (−1 ° C. ± 4 ° C.).

[Example 2]
The water catching device was placed in the “+ X” state, and a coolant (water containing ethylene glycol 52 wt%) at a predetermined temperature (−1 ° C. ± 4 ° C.) was circulated and fed into the cooling coil of the heat exchange means (14). .
The temperature change of the circulating water when the rotation speed of the pump (120) was maintained at 5000 rpm was recorded. The results are shown in FIG. In FIG. 8, the graph indicated by “series 1” is the result at a rotational speed of 5000 rpm.

[Example 3]
The water catching device was placed in the “+ X” state, and a coolant (water containing ethylene glycol 52 wt%) at a predetermined temperature (−5 ° C. ± 2 ° C.) was circulated and fed into the cooling coil of the heat exchange means (14). .
The temperature change of the circulating water when the rotation speed of the pump (120) was maintained at 6000 rpm was recorded. The results are shown in FIG. In FIG. 8, the graph indicated by “series 2” is the result at a rotational speed of 6000 rpm.

[Example 4]
The water catching device was placed in the “+ X” state, and a coolant (water containing ethylene glycol 52 wt%) at a predetermined temperature (−5 ° C. ± 2 ° C.) was circulated and fed into the cooling coil of the heat exchange means (14). .
The temperature change of the circulating water when the rotation speed of the circulation pump (120) was maintained at 7000 rpm was recorded. The results are shown in FIG. In FIG. 8, the graph indicated by “series 3” is the result at a rotational speed of 7000 rpm.

As shown in Table 7, the water catching device (100) was able to maintain the temperature of the circulating water at 10 ° C. or less, specifically at 5 to 8 ° C.
The flow rate of the circulating cooling water was about 25 L / min (about 6 L / min per aspirator).
With regard to the relationship between the rotational speed and the ultimate vacuum, the degree of vacuum increased as the rotational speed increased and the cooling water flow rate increased, and reached the theoretical vacuum degree of the cooling water system temperature. The optimum rotation speed was 6000 rpm to 7000 rpm.
The cooling water catcher has reached a theoretical degree of vacuum in all directions in the XYZ directions. The degree of vacuum at the circulating cooling water temperature was 950 to 1400 Pa.
Although the cooling water system uses pure water, no discharge phenomenon was observed even at high speed rotation (7000 rpm).

[Example 5]
A water catching device in a state in which pure water is continuously sucked from the suction port of the aspirator at a speed of 15 ml / min to 150 ml / min under the conditions of the rotational speed of the circulation pump: 6000 rpm, the circulating water temperature: 5 ° C., and the degree of vacuum: 2000 Pa. 100) was driven. At this time, a predetermined amount of air (1 ml to 10 ml) was supplied into the system together with pure water.
As a result, the air (bubbles) supplied into the system gathers in the center of the swirling flow generated by the liquid incremental discharge / bubble removal device (132), and eventually the system together with the circulating water from the liquid incremental discharge / bubble removal pipe (132). It was discharged outside.

[Example 6]
In the microgravity-compatible test water catching device (100) shown in FIGS. 4 to 6, air was introduced from the suction port of the aspirator. Immediately after the air was introduced and after 3 minutes had passed since the suction port of the aspirator was sealed, the state of the pump was photographed with a high-speed camera. The behavior of bubbles in the system was observed with respect to the spatial arrangement of the six pumps. As a pump, a DCP1 type pump manufactured by Iwaki Co. was used.

The results are shown in FIGS.
FIG. 9 is a photograph showing the result when the impeller of the pump is arranged vertically and the discharge port of the pump is arranged horizontally horizontally. (A) is a photograph which shows the state in the pump immediately after bubble introduction, (b) is a photograph which shows the state in the pump which passed 3 minutes after bubble introduction.
FIG. 10 is a photograph showing the result when the impeller of the pump is arranged in the vertical direction and the discharge port of the pump is arranged downward. (A) is a photograph which shows the state in the pump immediately after bubble introduction, (b) is a photograph which shows the state in the pump which passed 3 minutes after bubble introduction.
FIG. 11 is a photograph showing the result when the impeller of the pump is arranged vertically and the discharge port of the pump is arranged horizontally downward. (A) is a photograph which shows the state in the pump immediately after bubble introduction, (b) is a photograph which shows the state in the pump which passed 3 minutes after bubble introduction.
FIG. 12 is a photograph showing the result when the impeller of the pump is arranged in the vertical direction and the discharge port of the pump is arranged upward. (A) is a photograph which shows the state in the pump immediately after bubble introduction, (b) is a photograph which shows the state in the pump which passed 3 minutes after bubble introduction.
FIG. 13 is a photograph showing the results when the pump impeller and the discharge port are arranged in the horizontal direction and the pump suction port is arranged upward. (A) is a photograph which shows the state in the pump immediately after bubble introduction, (b) is a photograph which shows the state in the pump which passed 3 minutes after bubble introduction.
FIG. 14 is a photograph showing the results when the pump impeller and the discharge port are arranged in the horizontal direction and the pump suction port is arranged downward. (A) is a photograph which shows the state in the pump immediately after bubble introduction, (b) is a photograph which shows the state in the pump which passed 3 minutes after bubble introduction.

As shown in FIGS. 9 to 14, the bubbles sucked into the system were discharged from the system in a relatively short time without staying in the system for a long time regardless of the posture direction of the pump.
FIGS. 15 and 16 show high-speed digital photographs of the improved Bareske type pump CP3 type casing and the heat exchanger one minute after air injection, respectively. The injected air stayed in the heat exchanger, not the pump. Bubbles tended to collect in the center of the swirl flow in the heat exchanger. Because of the ground test where gravity works, large bubbles tend to stay above the container due to buoyancy. However, in microgravity, it does not stay there, but is crushed into microbubbles when passing through the aspirator, and the bubbles are considered to be discharged together with water by the bubble removing function provided in the heat exchanger.

The water capturing system according to the present invention can remove bubbles contained in the liquid without giving a rotational motion, and can stably operate the system. It can be suitably used as a water collection system for the vaporization method.
Moreover, it can utilize suitably also as a water capture system of the pervaporation method implemented on the ground which is not a microgravity environment.

It is a figure which shows an example of suitable embodiment of the water catching system which concerns on this invention. It is a figure which shows schematic structure of a Levitro pump. It is a figure which shows a bubble removal apparatus. It is a projection figure from the upper surface (X surface) direction of the microgravity corresponding | compatible test water catching apparatus used in an Example. It is a projection figure from the front (Y surface) direction of the microgravity-adaptive type test water catching device used in an example. It is a projection view from the left side (Z plane) direction of the microgravity corresponding type test water catching device used in the examples. It is a flowchart which shows schematic structure of a microgravity corresponding | compatible test water catching apparatus. It is a figure which shows the result of Examples 2-4. It is a photograph which shows the result at the time of arrange | positioning the impeller of a pump to a perpendicular direction, and arrange | positioning the discharge port of a pump horizontally upwards. (A) is a photograph which shows the state in the pump immediately after bubble introduction, (b) is a photograph which shows the state in the pump which passed 3 minutes after bubble introduction. It is a photograph which shows the result at the time of arrange | positioning the impeller of a pump to a perpendicular direction, and arrange | positioning the discharge port of a pump downward. (A) is a photograph which shows the state in the pump immediately after bubble introduction, (b) is a photograph which shows the state in the pump which passed 3 minutes after bubble introduction. It is a photograph which shows the result at the time of arrange | positioning the impeller of a pump to a perpendicular direction, and arrange | positioning the discharge port of a pump horizontally below. (A) is a photograph which shows the state in the pump immediately after bubble introduction, (b) is a photograph which shows the state in the pump which passed 3 minutes after bubble introduction. It is a photograph which shows the result at the time of arrange | positioning the impeller of a pump to the orthogonal | vertical direction, and arrange | positioning the discharge port of a pump upward. (A) is a photograph which shows the state in the pump immediately after bubble introduction, (b) is a photograph which shows the state in the pump which passed 3 minutes after bubble introduction. It is a photograph which shows the result at the time of arrange | positioning the impeller and discharge port of a pump horizontally, and arrange | positioning the suction port of a pump upward. (A) is a photograph which shows the state in the pump immediately after bubble introduction, (b) is a photograph which shows the state in the pump which passed 3 minutes from bubble introduction. It is a photograph which shows the result at the time of arrange | positioning the impeller and discharge port of a pump horizontally, and arrange | positioning the suction port of a pump downward. (A) is a photograph which shows the state in the pump immediately after bubble introduction, (b) is a photograph which shows the state in the pump which passed 3 minutes after bubble introduction. 2 is a high-speed digital photograph inside the pump casing. It is a high-speed digital photograph in a heat exchanger.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Water collection system 11 Aspirator 11a Liquid supply port 11b Liquid discharge port 11c Suction port 12 Pump 120 Levitro pump 121 Coil 122 Impeller 123 Rotor 124 Stator 13 Bubble removal device 131 Housing 131a Small ball valve 132 Incremental discharge and bubble removal tube 132a Increment in liquid Discharge / Bubble Discharge Hole 133 Supply Pipe 134 Cone 135 Defoamed Liquid Discharge Pipe 135a Defoamed Liquid Discharge Port 136 Swirling Flow Chamber 137 Flow Direction Reversing Body 14 Heat Exchange Means 15 Circulation Line A Permeation Vaporizer a Supply Side b Permeate Side c Permeation membrane

Claims (4)

In a microgravity environment such as outer space, the fraction that is placed on the permeation side of the permeation vaporizer and depressurizes the permeation side of the pervaporation device compared to the supply side. A water collection system for microgravity environment to liquefy
An aspirator, a pump, a heat exchange means, and a bubble removal device are provided with a circulation line connected in series, and the liquid in the circulation line can be circulated by the pump,
The aspirator is liquefied by a liquid that circulates and moves the inside of the aspirator by reducing the pressure of the permeation side of the pervaporation device compared to the supply side by circulating the liquid, and the fraction that permeates the permeation side of the pervaporation device.
Water-capturing system for microgravity environment, characterized in that air bubbles present in the liquid are removed by the liquid with the liquid temperature by the heat exchange means is adjusted to a predetermined temperature range, the bubble removing device. The bubble removing device is
  A cylindrical housing provided with a bubble discharge hole at one end surface central portion, a supply port for liquid at one end portion, and a discharge port for defoamed liquid at the other end portion;
  In the housing, a conical cone provided with an opening at a tip which is disposed coaxially with the central axis of the housing and defines a swirling flow chamber;
  One end is opened to the outside of the housing and a large number of small holes are formed in the peripheral wall, and a bubble removing pipe extending along the central axis of the cone is provided.
  The liquid circulating in the circulation line is supplied from the supply port to the bubble removing device,
  The liquid introduced into the swirl flow path through the supply port separates the liquid and the bubbles contained in the liquid into an outer layer and an inner layer by a centrifugal separation action, and follows the central axis of the cone. The collected bubbles are discharged together with the liquid to the outside through the bubble removal pipe,
  2. The water collection system for a microgravity environment according to claim 1, wherein the liquid discharged from the opening at the tip of the cone is discharged from a discharge port for defoaming liquid. The bubble removing device is
  A cylindrical housing provided with a bubble discharge hole at one end surface central portion, a supply port for liquid at one end portion, and a discharge port for defoamed liquid at the other end portion;
  In the housing, a conical cone provided with an opening at a tip which is disposed coaxially with the central axis of the housing and defines a swirling flow chamber;
  A bubble removing pipe having one end open to the outside of the housing and a plurality of small holes formed in the peripheral wall, and extending along the central axis of the cone;
  Heat exchange means provided along the outer surface side of the cone;
  A surface hemispherical flow direction inversion body for changing the flow direction of the liquid discharged from the tip opening of the cone-shaped cone, provided on the central axis extension line of the cone;
  The liquid circulating in the circulation line is supplied from the supply port to the bubble removing device,
  The liquid introduced into the swirl flow path through the supply port separates the liquid and the bubbles contained in the liquid into an outer layer and an inner layer by a centrifugal separation action, and follows the central axis of the cone. Collecting bubbles together with liquid through the bubble removal pipe and discharging from the outlet to the outside,
  The liquid discharged from the opening at the front end of the cone is reversed in flow direction by the flow direction reversal member, and after the temperature change is given to the liquid by the heat exchange means, the discharge port for defoaming liquid The water collecting system for microgravity environment according to claim 1, wherein the water collecting system is discharged from the water. The water capturing system for a microgravity environment according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the liquid flowing in the aspirator contains substantially no impurities.

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