JP7839498B2 - Cleaning agent, method for manufacturing the cleaning agent, and method for using the cleaning agent - Google Patents

Description

This invention relates to a cleaning agent, a method for producing a cleaning agent, and a method for using a cleaning agent, particularly a cleaning agent used by immersion in a vehicle's air filter, a method for producing a cleaning agent, and a method for using a cleaning agent.

In recent years, with the rapid increase in greenhouse gas emissions such as carbon dioxide, global warming is progressing rapidly. Since carbon dioxide is present in large quantities in vehicle exhaust, typically from automobiles, regulations on exhaust emissions are sometimes considered.

Taking measures to comply with exhaust gas emission regulations may require changes to the engine design. If engine design changes are made to comply with emission regulations, there are concerns that engine performance will decrease, combustion efficiency will worsen, and this will affect the fuel efficiency of the vehicle.

Therefore, there is a need for technology that can purify exhaust gases without requiring changes to the engine design.

Patent Document 1 discloses a technology aimed at reducing harmful substances emitted from exhaust gases and improving fuel efficiency through a simple method of spraying an exhaust gas cleaner, made using only naturally derived ingredients, onto the vehicle's air filter.

Japanese Patent Publication No. 2018-193898

Incidentally, while the technology described in Patent Document 1 can achieve a certain degree of reduction in harmful substances from exhaust gases and improvement in fuel efficiency, there is still room for improvement from the perspective of preventing environmental damage and mitigating global warming.

This invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and aims to provide a cleaning agent that can effectively purify exhaust gases and improve fuel efficiency, a method for manufacturing the cleaning agent, and a method for using the cleaning agent.

To achieve the above objective, the present invention provides a cleaning agent containing tourmaline fine powder, porous material fine powder, fucoxanthin extracted from seaweed, and alginic acid extracted from seaweed, which is used by immersing it in the air filter of a vehicle.

Tourmaline powder is generally known to be a type of weak piezoelectric material, generating both piezoelectric and pyroelectric currents. For example, it is expected to exhibit an electrolytic effect on components in exhaust gases.

Based on the results of diligent daily research and trial and error, the inventors of this invention have completed the present invention based on the assumption that if fine tourmaline powder possessing such properties can be appropriately used, it will be possible to achieve, for example, the purification of exhaust gases emitted from vehicles and the improvement of vehicle fuel efficiency.

According to this cleaning agent, for example, by supporting fine tourmaline powder, which electrolyzes components in exhaust gases, on a porous material, the contact area between the fine tourmaline powder and moisture is expanded, and the supported fine tourmaline powder adheres uniformly to the air filter and is firmly fixed in place.

Therefore, by immersing the air filter in a cleaning agent and allowing the agent to permeate it, exhaust gases can be effectively purified, and the vehicle's fuel efficiency can be improved.

The fine powder of the porous material in this cleaning agent may contain amorphous silica extracted from fucoxanthin, or it may contain fine powder of zeolite.

The present invention provides a method for producing a cleaning agent to achieve the above objective, comprising: a first step of dispersing fine tourmaline powder and fine porous material powder in water to obtain a solution; and a second step of adding fucoxanthin extracted from seaweed and alginic acid extracted from seaweed to the solution obtained in the first step.

The method for using the cleaning agent according to the present invention to achieve the above objective comprises an immersion step in which a vehicle's air filter is immersed in a cleaning agent containing tourmaline fine powder, porous material fine powder, fucoxanthin extracted from seaweed, and alginic acid derivatives extracted from seaweed, and a drying step in which the air filter immersed in the cleaning agent in the immersion step is dried.

This invention allows for effective purification of exhaust gases and improves vehicle fuel efficiency.

This is a flowchart illustrating a method for using a cleaning agent according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Next, a cleaning agent according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described.

In this embodiment, the main components of this cleaning agent are water, tourmaline powder, porous material powder, fucoxanthin extracted from seaweed, and alginic acid extracted from seaweed.

While tap water used in ordinary households may be used, in this embodiment, it is preferable to use ion-exchanged water from which disinfectants such as chlorine have been removed.

Tourmaline powder is a group name for silicate minerals, a type of weak piezoelectric material, and is known to generate both piezoelectric and pyroelectric currents.

In this embodiment, the particle size of the tourmaline fine powder is prepared so that, from a practical standpoint, the maximum particle size is 600 μm.

The porous material may be any of the following: microporous material (pore size: 2 nm or less), mesoporous material (pore size: 2 nm to 50 nm), or macroporous material (pore size: 50 nm or more).

Potential microporous materials include activated carbon, zeolite, acetylene black, Ketjen black, furnace black, porous urethane foam, porous polyethylene, and porous vinyl acetate.

Mesoporous materials are expected to include silica oligomers, hollow silica, MCM, FSM, and metal oxide nanoparticles, while macroporous materials are expected to include pumice, etc.

Such porous materials are used that have a particle size that can promote the electrolysis of tourmaline fine powder. In this embodiment, it is preferable that the primary particle size is 100 nm to 200 nm.

In this embodiment, the fine powder of this porous material is amorphous silica and zeolite. In this embodiment, it is preferable to use amorphous silica extracted from fucoxanthin.

Fucoxanthin, also known as a carotenoid, is a natural pigment exhibiting red, yellow, or orange colors. It can be derived from plants, microorganisms, or synthetic compounds. In this embodiment, however, it is preferable that it be plant-derived, particularly from seaweed such as microalgae.

While the types of seaweed are not particularly limited, it is known to be found in large quantities in seaweeds such as wakame, kelp, arame, hondawara, and hijiki. For example, 100g of dry weight of kelp contains approximately 19mg, wakame contains 11mg, arame contains 7.5mg, hondawara contains 6.5mg, and hijiki contains 2.2mg.

In this embodiment, fucoxanthin extracted from one of these seaweed species may be used, or a mixture of fucoxanthin extracted from multiple seaweed species may be used.

Fucoxanthin is extracted from seaweed according to standard methods. Specifically, it is obtained by extracting the extract using an extraction solvent such as ethanol, methanol, or butanol, and then concentrating the extracted extract.

Alginic acid is a polysaccharide found in seaweed such as brown algae, and is a type of dietary fiber. While the type of seaweed used is not particularly limited, alginic acid extracted from kelp and giant kelp is widely used industrially.

Examples of alginic acids include sodium alginate, potassium alginate, ammonium alginate, calcium alginate, and alginic acid esters (propylene glycol alginate).

Alginic acid derivatives are extracted from seaweed according to standard methods. Specifically, after washing the seaweed, alkali is added and heated to solubilize the alginic acid in the algae. The solubilized alginic acid is then filtered to remove insoluble components, obtaining a sodium alginate solution.

Next, an acid is added to the aqueous solution of sodium alginate to lower the pH, causing it to precipitate again as insoluble alginic acid. The precipitated alginic acid is then dehydrated, washed, and dried to obtain alginic acid.

Next, the manufacturing method of the cleaning agent of this embodiment will be described.

First, 0.4 g of tourmaline with a maximum particle size of 600 μm, 1.0 g of amorphous silica with a primary particle size of 100 nm to 200 nm, and 1.0 g of zeolite with a primary particle size of 100 nm to 200 nm are dispersed in a stirring tank containing 60 g of deionized water, and the mixture is stirred to obtain a solution (Step 1).

In this embodiment, relatively vigorous stirring is necessary to suspend and disperse tourmaline, amorphous silica, and zeolite in deionized water.

Next, 1.0 g of fucoxanthin and 0.5 g of alginic acid are added to the solution obtained in the first step and stirred (second step). Since alginic acid gels or thickens upon heating, in this embodiment, stirring and mixing are preferably performed at room temperature to suppress gelation or thickening.

On the other hand, if the solution temperature rises due to the season, the on-site environment, or stirring, it is preferable to appropriately cool the stirring tank containing the deionized water.

By going through these first and second steps, a cleaning agent can be manufactured in this embodiment.

In this embodiment, the manufacturing of the cleaning agent was described in the first and subsequent second steps as described above. However, any method that allows for the dispersion of components such as tourmaline fine powder, porous material fine powder, fucoxanthin extracted from seaweed, and alginic acid extracted from seaweed in water may be used for manufacturing.

Next, the method of using the cleaning agent in this embodiment will be described.

Figure 1 is a flowchart illustrating the method of using the cleaning agent in this embodiment. First, the cleaning agent obtained by the above manufacturing method is placed in a container of any kind. Next, as shown in the figure, in step S1, the air filter is removed from the engine compartment of the automobile.

The removed air filter is placed in a container containing the cleaning agent, and in step S2, the air filter is immersed in the cleaning agent (immersion step). In this embodiment, immersing the air filter in the cleaning agent for about 30 minutes allows the cleaning agent to penetrate the air filter.

Next, the air filter is removed from the container, and in step S3, the air filter is dried. In this embodiment, the air filter is exposed to the air for about 30 minutes to allow it to air dry naturally (drying step).

After drying the air filter, in step S4, install the air filter in the engine compartment.

Thus, when an air filter impregnated with a cleaning agent is installed in the engine compartment, the fine tourmaline powder attached to and fixed on the air filter decomposes the moisture (water vapor) in the air passing through the air filter into hydroxyl ions ( _H₃O₂⁻ ) and hydrogen gas ( ^H₂ ) due to the pressure of the air passing through the air filter as the _vehicle is driven.

The fine tourmaline powder attached to and fixed on the air filter generates piezoelectricity due to the pressure of the air passing through the air filter. This causes water molecules ( _H₂O ) in the air to be electrolyzed into ^H⁺ and ^OH⁻ , and the ^H⁺ are attracted to the tourmaline and released as hydrogen gas ( _H₂ ).

On the other hand, ^OH⁻ combines with water molecules ( _H₂O ) to form ^a negative hydroxyl ion ( _H₃O²⁻ ), which is an ion with surfactant properties.

The hydroxyl ions ( _H₃O₂- ) generated by this electrolysis have surfactant properties, and therefore act to remove soot and other contaminants from ^the engine's combustion chamber, thereby improving fuel efficiency.

Furthermore, the hydrogen gas ( _H₂ ) generated by this electrolysis can improve fuel efficiency by burning itself, and because the combustion of hydrogen gas ( _H₂ ) consumes oxygen ( _O₂ ), it suppresses the increase in fuel injection amount caused by feedback control (a control that measures the amount of oxygen ( _O₂ ) in the exhaust gas and increases the fuel injection amount if there is oxygen), thus improving fuel efficiency and further improving the purification of automobile exhaust gases.

Thus, the combined cleaning effect of hydroxyl ions in the engine's combustion chamber and the combustion effect of hydrogen gas allow for near-complete combustion of the fuel, thereby improving the fuel efficiency of automobiles.

Furthermore, in addition to significantly reducing the emissions of carbon monoxide (CO) and hydrocarbons (HC) in exhaust gases, it is also possible to significantly reduce the emissions of nitride oxides ( _NOx ) and carbon dioxide ( ^CO2 ), thereby improving the performance of purifying automobile exhaust gases.

In this embodiment, the cleaning agent contains finely powdered porous material. This porous material supports, surrounds, or supports the finely powdered tourmaline, thereby expanding the contact area between the tourmaline powder and moisture (water vapor). This promotes the electrolytic action of tourmaline.

In particular, in this embodiment, amorphous silica and zeolite are used as porous materials. By using amorphous silica extracted from fucoxanthin, hydrogen gas ( _H₂ ) is more easily generated, thus improving combustion efficiency. Consequently, the fuel efficiency of the automobile is further improved.

Incidentally, high-grade urea solution is sometimes added to automobiles for the purpose of purifying exhaust gases, and it is generally believed that 1 liter of high-grade urea solution is consumed for every 1,000 km of driving.

In this embodiment, the cleaning agent masks the air filter by expanding the contact area between the tourmaline powder and moisture (water vapor) through the support of tourmaline fine powder on silica and zeolite, thereby suppressing the consumption of high-grade urea solution.

Furthermore, the fucoxanthin contained in the cleaning agent of this embodiment uniformly adheres the fine tourmaline powder and the fine porous material powder to the air filter, while the alginic acid derivatives also contained in the cleaning agent gel or thicken upon heating during operation, firmly fixing the fine tourmaline powder and the fine porous material powder to the air filter.

Thus, according to this embodiment of the cleaning agent, the porous material supports fine tourmaline powder, which electrolyzes components in the air passing through the air filter. This expands the contact area between the fine tourmaline powder and moisture (water vapor), and the supported fine tourmaline powder adheres uniformly to the air filter, resulting in a firm fixation.

Therefore, by immersing the air filter in a cleaning agent and allowing the agent to permeate it, exhaust gases can be effectively purified, and the fuel efficiency of the vehicle can be improved.

Furthermore, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and various modifications are possible without departing from the spirit of the invention.

In the above embodiment, the cleaning agent was described as being formulated with 60 g of deionized water as the base, with the following amounts of each component dispersed in the deionized water: tourmaline: 0.4 g, amorphous silica: 1.0 g, zeolite: 1.0 g, fucoxanthin: 1.0 g, and alginates: 0.5 g. It goes without saying that these amounts can be appropriately adjusted depending on the amount of deionized water.

Claims (5)

A cleaning agent containing tourmaline powder, porous material powder, fucoxanthin extracted from seaweed, and alginic acid extracted from seaweed, used by immersing it in the air filter of a vehicle. The cleaning agent according to claim 1, wherein the fine powder of the porous material contains amorphous silica on which fucoxanthin is supported . The cleaning agent according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the fine powder of the porous material includes fine powder of zeolite. The first step involves dispersing fine tourmaline powder and fine porous material powder in water to obtain a solution,
A second step involves adding fucoxanthin extracted from seaweed and alginic acid extracted from seaweed to the solution obtained in the first step,
A method for manufacturing a cleaning agent, comprising the following features. An immersion process in which the vehicle's air filter is immersed in a cleaning agent containing tourmaline fine powder, porous material fine powder, fucoxanthin extracted from seaweed, and alginic acid extracted from seaweed,
A drying step in which the air filter that has been immersed in the cleaning agent in the immersion step is dried,
Instructions for using a cleaning agent, including the features described.