APPARATUS FOR CONCENTRATING AND DILUTING SPECIFIC GAS AND METHOD FOR CONCENTRATING AND DILUTING SPECIFIC GAS

• US 20100162752A1
• Filed: 11/29/2006
• Published: 07/01/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 07/04/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Tmeic Corporation (Toshiba Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Toshiba Mitsubishi-Electric Industrial Systems Corporation (Toshiba Corporation)
• Inventors: Okihara, Yujiro, Tanimura, Yasuhiro, Saitsu, Tetsuya, Ohta, Koji, Itoh, Nobuyuki, Ueda, Rayohei, Tabata, Yoichiro
• Granted Patent: US 8,500,874 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 62/606
• CPC Class Codes: B01D 2256/14 Ozone
• CPC Class Codes: B01D 53/002 by condensation
• CPC Class Codes: C01B 13/0251 by making use of membranes
• CPC Class Codes: C01B 13/10 Preparation of ozone
• CPC Class Codes: C01B 13/11 by electric discharge
• CPC Class Codes: C01B 2201/80 Additional processes occurring alongside the electrical discharges, e.g. catalytic processes
• CPC Class Codes: C01B 2201/82 Treatment with ultraviolet light
• CPC Class Codes: C01B 2210/0092 Ozone
• CPC Class Codes: Y02C 20/40 of CO2

Abstract

One ozone concentrating chamber is provided therein with a part of a cooling temperature range where ozone can be selectively condensed or an oxygen gas can be selectively removed by transmission from an ozonized oxygen gas, and a part of a temperature range where condensed ozone can be vaporized, and condensed ozone is vaporized by moving condensed ozone with flow of a fluid or by gravitation to the part where condensed ozone can be vaporized, whereby the ozonized oxygen gas can be increased in concentration. Such a constitution is provided that a particle material 13 for condensation and vaporization filled in the ozone concentrating chambers 11 and 12 has a spherical shape of a special shape with multifaceted planes on side surfaces, or an oxygen transmission membrane 130 capable of selectively transmitting an oxygen gas in an ozone gas is provided.

Claims

1. An apparatus for concentrating and diluting a specific gas comprising:

a specific gas concentrating system including a chamber having filled therein a particle material for condensation and vaporization capable of selectively condensing the specific gas or having equipped therein a gas transmission member selectively transmitting other gases than the specific gas and a freezing machine that cools the specific gas fed to the chamber to a predetermined cool temperature; and

a gas feeding and retrieving system having a feeding port feeding a gas containing plural gas species, a diluted gas retrieving port retrieving a gas containing the specific gas having been diluted, and a concentrated gas retrieving port retrieving a gas containing the specific gas having been concentrated;

wherein the diluted gas retrieving part of the gas fed to the chamber is performed dilution of the specific gas by selectively condensing the specific gas on a surface of the particle material or the gas transmission member through cooling with the freezing machine or by selectively transmitting the other gases than the specific gas by the gas transmission member, and

wherein the concentrated gas retrieving part of the gas fed to the chamber is performed concentration of the specific gas by vaporizing the condensed gas on the surface of the particle material or the gas transmission member through heating a surrounding of the concentrated gas retrieving part, thereby continuously retrieving the gas containing the specific gas having been diluted through the diluted gas retrieving part of the chamber or the gas containing the specific gas having been concentrated through the concentrated gas retrieving part of the chamber.

2. The apparatus for concentrating and diluting a specific gas according to claim 1, wherein said freezing machine is provided on the diluted gas retrieving side of the chamber and cool the gas to a cool temperature accelerating condensation of the specific gas or transmission of other gases than the specific gas on the surface of the particle material or the gas transmission member.

3. The apparatus for concentrating and diluting a specific gas according to claim 1, further comprising at least one of an automatic pressure controller (APC) for controlling an inner pressure of the chamber and a mass flow rate controller (MFC) for controlling a flow rate of a gas retrieved from the chamber on either of the gas retrieving port of the diluted gas retrieving part or the gas retrieving port of the concentrated gas retrieving part of the chamber, thereby continuously retrieving through them a gas containing the specific gas having been diluted from the diluted gas retrieving part of the chamber and a gas containing the specific gas having been concentrated from the concentrated gas retrieving part of the chamber.

4. The apparatus for concentrating and diluting a specific gas according to claim 1, wherein a chamber is equipped therein the gas transmission member, further comprising;

an automatic pressure controller I (APC I) for controlling an inner pressure P1 of the chamber of a diluted gas having removed the specific gas by transmitting other gases than the specific gas at the diluted gas retrieving part of the chamber, and

an automatic pressure controller II (APC II) for controlling an inner pressure P2 at the concentrated gas retrieving part of the chamber, thereby producing a gas pressure difference Δ

P (=P2−

P1) on sides on the gas transmitting members, continuously retrieving a gas containing the specific gas having been diluted from the diluted gas retrieving part of the chamber and a gas containing the specific gas having been concentrated from the concentrated gas retrieving part of the chamber.

5. The apparatus for concentrating and diluting a specific gas according to claim 1, wherein a temperature distribution is provided in a vertical direction of the chamber by a constitution of increasing upward a thermal insulation capability of a thermal insulating function provided on a periphery of the chamber.

6. The apparatus for concentrating and diluting a specific gas according to claim 1, wherein the particle material for condensation and vaporization filled in the chamber is made to be a spherical shape with a part of the side surface thereof being flattened, and is filled in layers to make the flattened parts of the spherical particle material in contact with each other.

7. The apparatus for concentrating and diluting a specific gas according to claim 1, wherein a material of the particle material for condensation and vaporization is glass, ceramics or a metal that does not undergo chemical reaction with the gas containing plural gas species.

8. The apparatus for concentrating and diluting a specific gas according to claim 6, wherein a material of the particle material for condensation and vaporization is glass, ceramics or a resin material having low thermal conductivity, and a surface of the particles is coated with a metallic film having high thermal conductivity that does not undergo chemical reaction with the gas containing plural gas species.

9. The apparatus for concentrating and diluting a specific gas according to claim 1, wherein the gas containing plural gas species fed to the apparatus is an ozonized gas containing an ozone gas, and an ozone of the ozonized gas is highly concentrated based on a concentration of the ozonized gas to produce an ozone having a high concentration.

10. The apparatus for concentrating and diluting a specific gas according to claim 4, wherein the gas containing plural gas species fed to the apparatus is an ozonized gas containing an ozone gas, the inner pressure P1 of at the retrieving part of the diluted gas is set to the atmospheric pressure (0 MPa) or more, and the pressure P2 at the concentrated gas retrieving part is set to a range of from 0.1 MPa to 0.5 MPa, to provide a gas pressure difference in Δ

P (=P2−

P1) between sides of the gas transmission members of 0.1 MPa or more.

11. The apparatus for concentrating and diluting a specific gas according to claim 4, wherein the gas containing plural gas species fed to the apparatus is an ozonized gas containing an ozone gas, and the gas transmission member is constituted with a Teflon (a trade name) membrane material or a ceramic material, to transmit selectively only an oxygen gas contained in the ozonized gas with the gas transmission member.

12. The apparatus for concentrating and diluting a specific gas according to claim 1, wherein the gas containing plural gas species fed to the apparatus is an ozonized gas containing an ozone gas, and the freezing machine is provided in a vicinity of the chamber and cools the particle material or the gas transmission member to a prescribed low temperature by setting the cooling temperature of the chamber to −

100°

C. or more.

13. The apparatus for concentrating and diluting a specific gas according to claim 1, wherein the gas containing plural gas species fed to the apparatus is an ozonized gas containing an ozone gas, and the ozonized gas diluted gas (oxygen gas) retrieved from the diluted gas retrieving part of the chamber is made to have a high pressure with a gas compressor to reuse the gas as a raw material gas for an ozone gas generator.

14. The apparatus for concentrating and diluting a specific gas according to claim 9, wherein the gas containing plural gas species fed to the ozone concentrating system is an ozonized gas containing an ozone gas, and further comprising an ozone generator generating an ozonized oxygen gas is provided, and the ozonized oxygen gas generated from the ozone generator is fed as the gas containing plural gas species to a center part of the ozone concentrating system.

15. The apparatus for concentrating and diluting a specific gas according to claim 1, wherein the gas containing plural gas species fed to the ozone concentrating system is an ozonized gas containing an ozone gas, and as an ozone generator 0 generating the ozonized oxygen gas, a nitrogen-free ozone generator generating an ozone gas from a high purity oxygen gas having an addition amount of a nitrogen gas of 1 ppm or less is used.

16. The apparatus for concentrating and diluting a specific gas according to claim 1, wherein the gas containing plural gas species fed to the apparatus is air containing at least one of a carbon dioxide gas, a NOx gas and a Freon gas, the gas contained in air is concentrated to separate into air containing the gas having been concentrated and air containing the gas having been diluted.

17. The apparatus for concentrating and diluting a specific gas according to claim 1, wherein the apparatus is constituted with a plurality of specific gas concentrating system each connected as multistage cascade.

18. A method for concentrating or diluting only a specific gas from a gas containing plural gas species wherein a chamber is filled therein a particle material for condensation and vaporization of the specific gas or is equipped therein a gas transmission member selectively transmitting other gases than the specific gas, with a function of cooling the gas in the chamber, and a gas feeding and retrieving system having a function of retrieving a gas containing the specific gas having been diluted or retrieving a gas containing the specific gas having been concentrated is provided;

and including the following steps;

introducing the specific gas containing the plural gas species to the chamber;

cooling the gas in the chamber, thereby selectively condensing only the specific gas or selectively transmitting the other gases than the specific gas on a surface of the particle material or the gas transmission member, so as to realize dilution of the specific gas by a diluted gas retrieving part of the chamber; and

heating a surrounding of a concentrated gas retrieving part of the chamber while streaming down a liquid condensed on the surface of the particle material or the gas transmission member 130 to a lower part of the chamber by gravitation, thereby vaporizing the condensed gas on the surface of the particle material to realize high concentration of the specific gas at a concentrated gas retrieving part of the chamber, and continuously retrieving a gas containing the specific gas having been diluted from the diluted gas retrieving part of the chamber or a gas containing the specific gas having been concentrated from the concentrated gas retrieving part of the chamber.

19. The method for concentrating or diluting a specific gas according to claim 18, wherein at least one of an automatic pressure controller (APC) for controlling an inner pressure of the chamber and a mass flow rate controller (MFC) for controlling a flow rate of a gas retrieved from the chamber, on at least one of the gas retrieving port of the diluted gas retrieving part and the gas retrieving port of the concentrated gas retrieving part of the chamber, further including:

automatically controlling an inner pressure of the chamber to a prescribed pressure with the automatic pressure controller (APC), and

setting a flow rate of a gas containing the specific gas having been retrieved from the diluted gas retrieving part of the chamber through them with the mass flow rate controller (MFC), thereby enabling automatic control of a concentrated gas concentration and flow rate upon continuously retrieving a gas containing the specific gas having been concentrated.

20. The method for concentrating or diluting a specific gas according to claim 18, wherein a chamber is equipped therein the gas transmission member, further including:

providing an automatic pressure controller I (APC I) controlling an inner pressure P1 of the chamber of a diluted gas having removed the specific gas by transmitting other gases than the specific gas at the diluted gas retrieving part of the chamber,

providing an automatic pressure controller II (APC II) controlling an inner pressure P2 at the concentrated gas retrieving part of the chamber, thereby producing a gas pressure difference Δ

P (=P2−

P1) on sides on the gas transmitting members, continuously retrieving a gas containing the specific gas having been diluted from the diluted gas retrieving part of the chamber and a gas containing the specific gas having been concentrated from the concentrated gas retrieving part of the chamber; and

varying at least one set pressures of the automatic pressure controller I (APC I) and the automatic pressure controller II (APC II), thereby enabling control of a concentrated gas concentration upon continuously retrieving the gas containing the specific gas having been concentrated.

21. The method for concentrating or diluting a specific gas according to claim 18, wherein the chambers are provided plurally as a multistage cascade to improve the degree of concentrating of the concentrated gas of the specific gas and the degree of diluting of the diluted gas of the specific gas.

22. The method for concentrating or diluting a specific gas according to claim 18, wherein the gas containing plural gas species fed to the chamber is an ozonized gas containing an ozone gas, and the ozone in the ozonized gas is highly concentrated.

23. The method for concentrating or diluting a specific gas according to claim 18, wherein the gas containing plural gas species fed to the chamber for concentrating and diluting is air containing at least one of a carbon dioxide gas, a NOx gas and a Freon gas, and the gas contained in air is concentrated to separate into air containing the gas having been concentrated and air containing the gas having been diluted.