JPS5825490B2 - Collection device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Sorptive purification of dry cleaning solvents such as tetrachlorethylene in the dry cleaning industry is known in the art.

In the dry cleaning industry, sorption filtration equipment and methods are used to
It is used to recover and purify dry cleaning fluids such as freon, petroleum naphtha and other dry cleaning solvents.

A process and apparatus using this method is described in U.S. Patent No. 3.
No. 733.267, the description of which is incorporated herein by reference.

Supersorption elements or beds, such as those used in the process and apparatus disclosed in the above-mentioned U.S. Pat. No. 3,733,267, are used by recirculating contaminated solvent through them; After a period of use, the bed becomes so soaked with contaminants that it no longer serves as a filtration and sorption medium to purify the solvent.

When this occurs, the solvent is drained from the sorption mechanism or vessel and returned to the dry cleaning apparatus reservoir, the filtration element or bed within the sorption vessel is replaced, and the sorption apparatus is reactivated.

However, simply draining the sorption bed does not recover all of the dry cleaning solvent contained within the bed.

Typically, after draining, the standard element is still between 7.6 and 11.4
It contains 1 Jttle (2-3 gallons) of trapped solvent, which is never discharged.

This solvent is primarily retained within the sorption bed.

Traditionally, this solvent was discarded along with the device and the contaminants adsorbed on the device.

Treating the device in this way and discarding the trapped solvent poses additional risks, such as the risk of inhalation of the solvent vaporizing after the device is removed from the container. .

Discarding elements that still capture solvents can lead to environmental pollution.

The cost of the discarded solvent is also a considerable waste.

The current price of tetrachlorethylene in the United States is approximately $3.10 per gallon (approximately $245 per liter).
yen).

Therefore, for each element discarded conventionally, 9 to 1
For $0, a lot of solvent will be thrown away all at once.

This is a considerable waste when considered over the course of a year.

Medium-sized dry cleaners that use filtration-sorption methods to purify dry cleaning solvents typically use
4 to 32 elements are replaced.

The cost of solvent lost due to this element replacement is 20 yen per year.
From $0 to $300.

This loss is even greater considering that many stores use 200 or more devices per year.
This will involve a solvent loss of about $0.

The present invention improves on conventional methods of fluid purification by filtration sorption methods, according to which the trapped fluid is recovered from the filtration sorption element when its capacity is exhausted. be able to.

This improvement is a device that evaporates the solvent trapped within the sorption bed and a mechanism that condenses the evaporated solvent, recovers it as liquid solvent, and returns it to the storage tank of the dry cleaning equipment.

This mechanism can be easily installed as part of a standard solvent filtration sorption unit and is inexpensive to manufacture.

Regarding the economic efficiency of this mechanism, for example, in a medium-sized dry cleaning store, the investment amount can be recovered within a portion or a half, and in many stores, it can be recovered in half a year or less.

Furthermore, by vaporizing and drying the sorption element, the risk of inhalation is greatly reduced and, in most cases, completely eliminated.

The recovered solvent is returned for reuse and does not escape and pollute the environment.

The apparatus directs superheated solvent vapor into and around the spent sorption element to vaporize the captured solvent and recirculates the vaporized solvent through a condensation unit where it is condensed to a liquid and recovered.

A portion of the solvent is recirculated through the heater to superheat the steam, and the superheated steam is returned to the circuit to evaporate additional solvent.

The mechanism can be activated over a period of time and while the sorption filtration unit is not activated.

For example, the recovery device can be operated overnight to recover solvent from used elements, allowing the solvent to evaporate and separate in the morning before cleaning operations begin.

Before the cleaning operation begins, the spent elements are replaced and the sorption unit is ready for operation.

In this way, the dry cleaning mechanism and its part, the filtration sorption unit, can be operated with little downtime to recover the trapped solvent.

The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

As shown in the accompanying drawings, a filtration sorption unit 10, such as that used in dry cleaning purification equipment, comprises:
It has a container 12 containing a filtration sorption element 14.

For convenience, the container 12 is shown as a two-element type, but it may be of a single-element type or a multi-element type of 2.3.4 or more, as is known in the art.

The element 14 is of the type having a central axis outlet 16, an annular sorption bed 18, and a fluted paper element prefilter 19 surrounding the periphery of the element 14.

Container 12 has a central axis 20 communicating with central axis outlet 21 and a solvent population 22 communicating with an annulus 24 surrounding the periphery of element 14 .

The outlet line 21 has a valve 25 spaced from the container 12.
Inlet line 22 also has a valve 26 spaced from container 12 .

The inlet line 30 of the solvent recovery mechanism 28 connects the valve 26 and the container 1.
2 to the inlet line 22 of the container 12.

As shown, line 30 is provided with a valve 32 .

The outlet line 34 of the solvent recovery mechanism 28 is connected to the valve 25 and the container 1.
2 is attached to the outlet line 21 from the container 12 at a point between 2 and 2.

As shown, a valve 36 is provided in the outlet line 34.

Valves 32 and 36 may be of the manual or electric solenoid type, or may be of the conventional type quick-acting check valves.

Solvent recovery mechanism 28 has a condensation vessel 38 .

This condensation vessel 38 may typically be a small pressure vessel;
For example, it has a capacity of 19 to 57.8 gallons (5 to 15 gallons), and is sealed from the outside air to prevent unnecessary air from entering.

Inlet line 30 terminates at an inlet 40 within container 38.

As shown, a condensing coil 42 is disposed near and above the inlet 40.

Coil 42 is typically 10-25°C (50-75°C).
Inlet 44 for a coolant such as ordinary tap water at a temperature of
and an outlet 46.

A drain 4B provided with a valve 50 allows condensed solvent to be removed from the container 38.

A steam outlet 52 from the container 38 is provided with a blower 54 driven by an electric motor 56 and connected to the outlet line 3.
4 to propel the steam to the outlet line 21 of the vessel 12.

For example, Ram Electric Company (L.
A % horsepower vacuum cleaner electric motor and two stage blower combination, such as those manufactured by A-MB Electric Co., Ltd., has been found to be satisfactory for propelling the steam in the present apparatus.

However, if air and a solvent such as tetrachlorethylene are mixed, this mixture cannot be economically condensed within the device, and therefore a large portion of the solvent evaporated from element 14 will not be recovered; It is necessary to provide a seal on the lower bearing to prevent outside air from being drawn into the device.

Electric motor 56 normally operates at a voltage of 115 volts, approximately 12
Amperes of current flow, but from the standpoint of motor safety and longevity it is actually preferable to insert a resistor in the line so that the motor operates at about 90 volts and 7-9 amps.

When using the particular Ram Electric Company motor/blower combination described above, the diameter of line 34 should be 25.4 millimeters (1 inch) or less to limit the power consumption of the motor; Alternatively, it may be preferable to utilize air friction and adiabatic compression to increase the temperature of the steam, for example by providing other throttling means.

If desired, the motor 56 may be provided with a cooling fan 59 to improve the life of the motor 56.

The outlet line 34 is also provided with a small electric heater 58, typically powered by a 115 volt power source.

Heater 58 superheats the vapor propelled through line 34 to element 14 to evaporate the solvent from element 14 .

In some cases, heater 58 is not necessary, and blower 54 and electric motor 56 are used to heat the steam circulating within the system.
The heat generated mechanically from the motor and the heat generated by the motor are sufficient.

It has been found that if heater 58 is placed in series with motor 56, the resistance of heater 58 is effective in reducing the voltage to motor 56 to about 90 volts.

At this voltage and current, the motor and blower speed will be approximately 12.00 Or, p, m, and the life of the motor will be greatly extended without unduly sacrificing the drying efficiency of the device.

The entire device is small, compact, and economical, and can be permanently installed, for example, in a standard conventional dry cleaning equipment sludge supersorption device.

Alternatively, the device can be made portable by using quick-acting check valves at 32 and 36 and flexible hoses at 30 and 34.

The pressure vessel 38 is inexpensive, the blower 54 and electric motor 56 combination is inexpensive, and the condensing coil 42 may be of an inexpensive type commonly used in automobile heaters.

The operating cost of the device is small compared to the value of the solvent recovered.

For example, the cooling water used is approximately 0.472-1.
The current drawn by the device is on the order of 891 Jtutle (about λ~% gallons), and the current drawn by the device is about 7 to 20 amps depending on the motor voltage and if heater 58 is used.

Solvent recovered using this equipment costs approximately $1.50 to $3.50 per hour of operation, depending on the price of the solvent.

When operating the solvent recovery system, vessel 12 is isolated from the rest of the dry cleaning apparatus by closing valves 25 and 26 and is disconnected from the solvent recovery system 2 by opening valves 32 and 36.
8 to the container 12.

Cooling water flows from line 44 through cooling coil 42 and is discharged from line 46.

The flow rate of cooling water at a nominal 24°C (75°F) (tap water) is typically about 0.5 to 2 liters per minute.

Energizing electric motor 56 and heater 58 causes two-stage blower 54 to direct solvent vapor through the device to output line 2 of vessel 12.
1, the steam then enters the central outlet 16 of the element 14 from the shaft 20 and enters the container through a radially outward passage through the element 14 and/or a passage through the front element. I'm leaving from 12.

Steam exiting vessel 12 passes through inlet line 22 and returns into vessel 38 through line 30 and inlet 40.

The vapor passing through coil 42 is partially condensed (the boiling point of tetrachlorethylene is 119°C).

The cooling water passing through the coil 42 has a temperature increase of approximately 5°C.

The uncondensed portion of the steam is propelled by blower 54 through line 34 and heater 58;
and is returned to vessel 12 and element 14 through line 21 to subsequently evaporate the trapped solvent.

The evaporated solvent is returned to container 38 as described above.

Container 12 and element 14 for typically 6 to 24 hours.
Once the solvent has been recovered from the dry element 1, valves 32 and 36 are closed to disconnect the solvent recovery device 28 from the container 12.
4 from container 12.

The dried elements are lighter, approximately 36 pounds per element, and do not contain volatile and toxic dry cleaning solvents, making it easy to replace the solvent-recovered elements.

The condensed solvent is collected in container 38.

The clean recovered solvent can be returned to the dry cleaning apparatus by recovering the solvent from the element 14 and draining it from the apparatus after disconnecting the recovery mechanism 28.

Alternatively, the container 38 may be provided with a float-controlled positive displacement pump (not shown) to automatically return the solvent to the center.

Other conventional means may be used to return the solvent to the dry cleaning equipment.

Normal operating parameters for solvent vapor introduced into vessel 12 are in the range of approximately 90-200°G (200-500°F), with operation at approximately 210°C (410'F) resulting in good solvent recovery. was carried out.

The saturated steam returned to vessel 38 through inlet 40 is typically 4
The temperature range was 0-65°C (105-150°F) and good recovery was obtained operating at 57°C (135°F).

Typically, the vapor flow through the blower 54 during operation of the device will be 0.28 to 1.42 m' (10 to 50 ft,") per minute at a blower speed of 12,000 to 22,000 r, p, m.
It is.

Many modifications may be made within the scope of the invention by those skilled in the art.

It is to be understood that the above embodiments are merely illustrative and the invention is limited only by the scope of the claims.

The present invention can be implemented in the following embodiments.

(1) An apparatus for recovering a dry cleaning fluid, a dry cleaning solvent, from a holding medium, the apparatus comprising means for heating a portion of the fluid and directing the heated portion of the fluid through the medium and another portion of the fluid. A recovery device comprising means for volatilizing the fluid, cooperating means for directing the fluid to the collection means, and means for recovering at least some of the fluid directed to the collection means.

(2) The recovery device according to item (1) above, wherein the recovery means is a condenser.

(3) The recovery device according to item (1) above, wherein the means for guiding the fluid through the medium is a blower.

(4) The collection device according to item (1) above, wherein the collection means is a container.

(5) The recovery device according to item (1) above, which has means for preventing air from being introduced into the device.

(6) in an apparatus for separating impurities from a fluid, a first conduit coupled to and in communication with the apparatus, coupled to a fluid collection vessel and in communication with an interior of the vessel;
a second conduit in communication with the fluid collection container and communicating with the interior of the fluid collection container; a condenser disposed within the fluid collection container for condensing the fluid; a pump in communication with the side conduit for circulating fluid through the container and the device; and a heater capable of heating the fluid circulating through the device, supplying the heated fluid to the device to heat the fluid within the device. A separation device that volatilizes a fluid and guides the volatilized fluid to a recovery container where it can be condensed and recovered.

Separation device according to clause (6) above, wherein the second conduit is coupled to the vessel at a location above the condenser.

(8) The separation device according to item (7), wherein the first conduit terminates inside the container at a location near the condenser.

(9) The separation device according to item (6), wherein the device is sealed to prevent air from being introduced into the device.

(10) A method for recovering a dry cleaning solvent used in a dry cleaning process having a filtration sorption media solvent purification device, the method comprising: heating a portion of the solvent to form superheated vapor; Circulating superheated steam around the media to volatilize the trapped solvent from the media, directing the circulating and volatilized solvent to a collection zone, condensing a portion of the circulating solvent, and discharging the condensed solvent. Collection method, including the stages of collection.

α1) The solvent is tetrachlorethylene.
Collection method described in section ).

α■ The recovery method according to item (10) above, in which the method is carried out continuously.

03) The recovery method according to item 00), wherein the solvent is trichlorethylene.

(141) The recovery method according to item 00), wherein the solvent is Freon-113.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The accompanying drawings show a conventional type of filtration and sorption unit fitted with the solvent recovery device of the present invention. 10... Filtration sorption unit, 12...
Container, 14... Filtration sorption medium, 16.21...
... Central shaft outlet, 18 ... Annular sorption bed, 19 ... Children's organ, 20 ... Middle upper part.
Axis, 21, 34...Exit line, 22...
...Solvent inlet, 24... Ring ring, 25, 26, 3
2゜36.50... Valve, 28... Solvent recovery mechanism, 30... Inlet line, 38...
...Condensation vessel, 40.44...Inlet, 42...
... Condensing coil, 46 ... Outlet, 48.
...Drain port, 52...Steam outlet, 54.
...Blower.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. In recovering dry cleaning solvent used in a dry cleaning process having a filtration and sorption medium solvent purification device, a portion of the dry cleaning solvent is heated to form superheated steam, and this superheated steam is passed through offshore filtration. circulating the trapped solvent through a sorption medium to volatilize the captured solvent from the medium; directing the circulated solvent and the volatilized solvent to a collection zone to condense at least a portion of the circulated solvent; A method of recovering a scavenging solvent from a mud supersorption medium comprising the steps of recovering. 2. means for heating a portion of the dry cleaning solvent;
means for passing a heated portion of said solvent through an Oki supersorption medium containing trapped dry cleaning solvent to volatilize another portion of such solvent; and means for directing said solvent to cooperative collection means; means for recovering fluid from said collection means.