JPS6221564B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a water generation device that obtains water from moisture in gas.

BACKGROUND ART Conventionally, a device for producing fresh water using seawater as a raw material is well known as a seawater desalination device. There is also a water reuse treatment device that processes wastewater such as sewage to obtain highly clear water that can be reused, but this can also be seen as a water production device in the same category as a seawater desalination device. I can do it. That is, in all of these methods, a solution containing liquid water as a main component is used as a raw material to obtain water. For this reason, since these water generation devices use liquid water as a raw material, they cannot naturally generate water in places such as deserts where liquid water is not available at all.

Therefore, there is a demand for a water generation device that can easily obtain water even in areas such as deserts where liquid water cannot be obtained, and such new water generation devices are being developed.

In other words, this new water generation device is a device that obtains water from moisture present in the atmosphere, and is a new water generation device that can generate water anywhere as long as the atmosphere exists. Of course, it is impossible to create water if there is no moisture in the atmosphere, but statistical data on climate and the inventors' research show that even in the atmosphere of the huge desert in the central Arabian Peninsula, the air
There is 3 to 4 g of water in m ³ and water generation is possible. Therefore, in addition to being barren, water can be obtained and human activities can be carried out, and by using this water for irrigation, it is also possible to cultivate plants. In other words, this water production device contributes to expanding the living area of humans, and its significance is extremely large.

The basic principle of this water generation device is that the first step is to adsorb moisture in the atmosphere onto an adsorbent, and the second step is to heat the adsorbent that has adsorbed this moisture to remove the adsorbed moisture. is desorbed as water vapor, which is then led to a condenser and converted into water. At this time, the adsorbent simultaneously loses water and regains its adsorption capacity, so that the adsorbent is repeatedly used to adsorb moisture from the atmosphere. In this way,
Liquid phase water can be obtained continuously from the atmosphere.

FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram showing an example of a water generating apparatus according to the prior art based on the above basic principle.

In the figure, 1A and 1B are first and second storage parts that accommodate adsorbents 1a and 1b, respectively, 2 is a blower as a means for feeding a gas containing moisture such as air to this storage part 1A or 1B,
Reference numeral 3 denotes a gas circulation path formed through the housing portion 1A or 1B, and 4 a blower for urging the gas in the circulation path 3 in the direction of arrow A in the figure.
Reference numeral 5 denotes a heater for heating the gas in the circulation path 3, which heats the adsorbent 1a or 1b and desorbs the moisture adsorbed thereto.
5a is a burner as a heating source, 5b is a blower for supplying fuel or combustion air to this burner 5a, and 6 is provided in a flow path 3b branched from a branch portion 3a of the circulation path 3; 3b is a condenser that condenses water vapor; 6a is an air-cooling blower for the condenser 6; 7 is an air-open water tank that stores the water obtained in the condenser 6; 7a is the produced water. .
All valves 8 to 15 open and close gas flow paths.

Next, the operation will be explained.

In this prior art freshwater generating device, there are two storage parts.
Since the base is provided, when one storage part is performing the adsorption process (first process), the other storage part is performing the desorption process (second process), and after these processes are completed, By alternating and repeating these processes, the desorption process can be performed continuously. In the following description, the first storage section 1
The description will be made assuming that A is in the adsorption process and the second storage part 1B is in the desorption process.

In the adsorption process in the first storage section 1A, valves 8 and 9 are opened, and valves 10, 11, 12 and 1 are
3 is closed, and the blower 2 is operated to bring air into contact with the adsorbent 1a housed in the first housing part 1A. At this time, moisture in the air is adsorbed by the adsorbent 1a, and
The air that has lost moisture and becomes dry is discharged to the outside of the system through a valve 8. In this way, the adsorption process is completed when the adsorbent 1a has sufficiently adsorbed water.

On the other hand, the attachment and detachment process in the second housing section 1B is as follows:
It is desirable that this be carried out in parallel with the above adsorption process. That is, with the valves 10 to 13 closed, the valves 14 and 15 are opened, the gas (air) in the circulation path 3 is heated by the heater 5, and the blower 4 is heated in the direction of arrow A in the figure. circulate. Then, the heated air heats the adsorbent 1b in the second storage section 1B, and the adsorbent 1b is heated.
This method attempts to convert moisture previously adsorbed into water vapor and desorb it.

In this way, when water vapor is desorbed from the adsorbent 1b, the volume of gas in the circulation path 3 increases due to the generation of water vapor due to desorption and the high temperature, and the volume increases in the circulation path 3. The gas is discharged into the atmosphere through the condenser 6 along with the desorbed water vapor. At this time, the water vapor in the gas flowing out from the circulation path 3 is condensed in the condenser 6 and stored in the water receiving tank 7, but the water vapor corresponding to the saturated vapor pressure determined by the temperature of the condenser 6 is It is also released into the atmosphere and becomes a loss. However, the air initially contained in the second storage section 1B is small compared to the amount of water vapor to be desorbed, and of course the amount is limited, so it is all exhausted by the water vapor that is generated one after another. Thus, substantially only water vapor circulates within the circulation path 3. In this state of only water vapor,
The pressure inside the circulation path 3 is always about 1 atmosphere because it is open to the atmosphere via the condenser 6. Further, the gas circulating in the circulation path 3 is only water vapor, and an amount of water vapor equivalent to the desorbed water vapor is pushed out to the condenser 6, where it becomes water and becomes water vapor in the water receiving tank 7.
stored within. In this way, the adsorbent 1b
The desorption process is completed when sufficient moisture has been desorbed.

The adsorption process and desorption process as explained above are
By making the first and second storage parts 1A and 1B perform this process alternately, water can be continuously obtained from the moisture in the air.

By the way, if the water vapor generated in the above desorption process cannot be sufficiently condensed, the moisture adsorbed by the adsorbent 1a or 1b from the air will escape back into the air. In order to efficiently generate water from the moisture inside, it is necessary to increase the condensing capacity of the condenser 6. However, in deserts and other places where this type of water generation equipment shows its true value, it is not easy to obtain electricity as well as water, so it is necessary to save energy as much as possible, and the capacity of the air cooling blower 6a of the condenser 6 also has to be reduced. It needs to be made as small as possible. Furthermore, it is not easy to obtain a sufficient installation area in deserts, etc., and it is desirable to reduce this installation area.
Therefore, in the device according to this prior art, it is not easy to increase the capacity of the air cooling blower 6a to increase the condensing capacity of the condenser 6 and to efficiently generate water from the moisture in the air.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned points, and is configured such that at least two housing units are provided, and when one housing unit is in the adsorption process, the other housing unit is in the desorption process, All or part of the air that is sent to the storage section that is in the adsorption process through a condenser that condenses the moisture desorbed in the storage section that is in the desorption process, or the air that is discharged from the storage section that is in the adsorption process. By cooling all or part of the condenser, it is possible to omit the air cooling blower of the condenser, thereby reducing the installation area of the air cooling blower and saving energy. The purpose of this invention is to provide a freshwater generating device that can produce water.

FIG. 2 is a system configuration diagram showing a fresh water generator according to an embodiment of the present invention.

In the figure, 16 is a condenser that is cooled by all or part of the air that is supplied by the blower 2 to the first housing section 1A or the second housing section 1B.

The fresh water generator of this embodiment is substantially similar to the prior art water generator shown in FIG. 1, except for the condenser 16.

Since the operation of the fresh water generator of this embodiment can be easily understood from the operation of the fresh water generator according to the prior art described above, the explanation thereof will be omitted here.

The fresh water generator of this embodiment uses a condenser 16 that is cooled by all or part of the air that is supplied by the blower 2 to the first storage section 1A or the second storage section 1B. Therefore, it is possible to omit the air cooling blower 6a of the condenser 6 of the water generating apparatus according to the prior art shown in FIG. 1, and the installation area of this air cooling blower 6a can be reduced and energy saving can be achieved. be able to.

The adsorbents 1a and 1b used in this example are Molecular Sib 3A, Molecular Sib 4A, Molecular Sib 5A, Molecular Sib 10X, and Molecular Sib 13X.
Zeolite, silica gel, alumina gel, etc.
Any material commonly used as a solid adsorbent may be used, such as silica alumina, activated alumina, activated carbon, activated bauxite, and activated clay. Furthermore, adsorbents that are generally used as aqueous solutions, such as lithium bromide and lithium chloride, can be supported on a suitable carrier such as alumina or asbestos. These adsorbents are selected in consideration of their adsorption properties, temperature and humidity. Further, the operating conditions for adsorption and desorption of these adsorbents are appropriately selected depending on the adsorbent used, and are not particularly limited. Further, in the above embodiment, the blower 2 is of a push-in type and is provided on the air supply side of the first and second housing sections 1A and 1B, but this blower 2 is of a suction type and is provided in the first and second housing sections 1A and 1B.
Provided on the air discharge side of the second storage portions 1A and 1B,
The condenser 16 may be cooled by all or part of this discharged air. Further, in the above embodiment, the case where the water receiving tank 7 is open is described, but the case where the water receiving tank 7 is open is described. to be sealed after
Alternatively, the present invention can be applied to any other modification. Furthermore, in the above embodiment, a case was explained in which two first and second accommodating parts 1A and 1B were provided, but the number of accommodating parts does not necessarily need to be limited to two, and two or more plural It goes without saying that the present invention can be applied even when a housing section is provided.

In the above description, the present invention has been described with respect to the case where water is obtained using moisture in the atmosphere as a raw material, but it is not necessarily limited to the atmosphere.

As described above in detail, the fresh water generating apparatus of the present invention is configured to include at least two storage units, and when one storage unit is in the adsorption process, the other storage unit is in the desorption process. Then, a condenser that condenses the moisture desorbed in the storage section that is in the desorption process is used to supply all or part of the air that is sent to the storage section that is in the adsorption process, or the air that is discharged from the storage section that is in the adsorption process. Since cooling is performed using all or part of the air, it is possible to omit the cooling means for cooling the condenser, and the installation area of this cooling means can be reduced and energy saving can be achieved. be able to.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram showing an example of a water generation apparatus according to the prior art to which the present invention is applied, and FIG. 2 is a system configuration diagram showing an example of the fresh water generation apparatus of this invention. In the figure, 1A and 1B are first and second storage parts, respectively, 1a and 1b are adsorbents, 2 is a blower (feeding means), 5 is a heater, and 6
and 16 are condensers, respectively. Note that the same reference numerals in the figures indicate the same or corresponding parts.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. At least two storage units containing an adsorbent that absorbs the moisture when the gas is supplied with the gas containing moisture, and a feeder that supplies the gas containing moisture to the storage unit during adsorption. means, a heater that heats a desorption gas during desorption, raises the temperature of the adsorbent with the heated desorption gas, and desorbs the moisture adsorbed on the adsorbent; and a heater that condenses the desorbed moisture. and a condenser configured such that when one of the accommodating parts is in the adsorption process, the other accommodating part is in the desorption process,
The condenser is cooled by all or part of the air fed to the storage unit undergoing the adsorption process or by all or part of the air discharged from the storage unit during the adsorption process. Features of water production equipment.