DEVICE FOR DISINFECTING GASES AND/OR LIQUIDS

• US 20130236353A1
• Filed: 09/07/2012
• Published: 09/12/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 09/08/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Schott AG (Carl-Zeiss-Stiftung)
• Original Assignee: Jorg Blechschmidt
• Inventors: Bartsch, Reiner, Blechschmidt, Jrg
• Granted Patent: US 9,381,458 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 422/4
• CPC Class Codes: A61L 2/10 Ultraviolet radiation
• CPC Class Codes: A61L 9/20 Ultraviolet radiation
• CPC Class Codes: B01D 53/007 by irradiation
• CPC Class Codes: C02F 1/32 with ultraviolet light
• CPC Class Codes: C02F 1/325 Irradiation devices or lamp constructions
• CPC Class Codes: C02F 2201/3222 Units using UV-light emitting diodes [LED]
• CPC Class Codes: C02F 2201/3227 Units with two or more lamps
• CPC Class Codes: C02F 2201/3228 Units having reflectors, e.g. coatings, baffles, plates, mirrors
• CPC Class Codes: C02F 2303/04 Disinfection

Abstract

A device for disinfecting of gases and/or liquids, includes a tube of UV-transparent glass having a hollow interior space and a tube wall with a tube inside wall and a tube outside wall, as well as at least one UV-light source. The UV-transparent glass tube has an indentation extending into the interior space on at least one location and in the at least one indentation at least one UV-light source is arranged. The geometry causes the UV-light sources to be closer to the medium to be disinfected, so that a large portion of the UV-light reaches the interior space on a direct path through the glass, thus allowing for a low-loss transfer of the UV-light.

Claims

1. A device for disinfecting at least one of gases and liquids, the device comprising:

a tube formed of an ultraviolet (UV)-transparent glass and having a hollow interior space and a tube wall including a tube inside wall and a tube outside wall, said UV-transparent glass tube having at least one indentation extending into said hollow interior space on at least one location; and

at least one UV-light source arranged in said at least one indentation.

2. The device according to claim 1, wherein said inside wall does not include said at least one indentation and said at least one UV-light source is positioned at least partially within said inside tube wall of said UV-transparent glass tube.

3. The device according to claim 2, wherein said at least one UV-light source is positioned completely within said inside tube wall of said UV-transparent glass tube.

4. The device according to claim 1, wherein said at least one UV-light source is a predetermined number of UV-light sources and said at least one indentation is a predetermined number of indentations corresponding with said predetermined number of UV-light sources.

5. The device according to claim 4, wherein only one of said predetermined number of UV-light sources is provided in a corresponding one of said predetermined number of indentations.

6. The device according to claim 4, wherein said predetermined number of UV-light sources provided in said UV-transparent glass tube is between 1 and 8 and only one of a single of said predetermined number of UV-light sources and a group of said predetermined number of UV-light sources is provided in a corresponding one of said predetermined number of indentations.

7. The device according to claim 6, wherein said predetermined number of UV-light sources provided in said UV-transparent glass tube is between 1 and 6.

8. The device according to claim 7, wherein said predetermined number of UV-light sources provided in said UV-transparent glass tube is between 1 and 5.

9. The device according to claim 8, wherein said predetermined number of UV-light sources provided in said UV-transparent glass tube is between 1 and 4.

10. The device according to claim 9, wherein said predetermined number of UV-light sources provided in said UV-transparent glass tube is between 1 and 3.

11. The device according to claim 1, wherein said UV-transparent glass forming said tube is selected from one of a quartz glass and a silicate glass.

12. The device according to claim 11, wherein said silicate glass is one of a borosilicate glass and a sodium-potassium-barium-silicate glass.

13. The device according to claim 1, wherein said UV-transparent glass forming said tube has a composition including:

14. The device according to claim 1, wherein said UV-transparent glass forming said tube has a composition including:

15. The device according to claim 1, wherein said UV-transparent glass forming said tube has a composition including:

16. The device according to claim 1, further comprising a reflector which is one of:

a) arranged around and completely encasing said tube;

b) mounted on or applied to said outside tube wall and said reflector is not provided in an area of said at least one indentation;

c) mounted on or applied to said inside tube wall and said reflector is not provided in an area of said at least one indentation;

d) arranged around said glass tube, mounted on or applied to said outside tube wall except in an area of said at least one reflector, wherein an additional reflector is provided for each of said at least one UV-light source; and

e) mounted on or applied to said inside tube wall except in an area of said at least one reflector, wherein an additional reflector is provided for each of said at least one light source.

17. The device according to claim 16, wherein said reflector applied to one of said outside tube wall and said inside tube wall is in the form of a UV-reflective coating except in said area of said at least one indentation.

18. The device according to claim 1, wherein said at least one UV-light source is one of a medium pressure UV-lamp, a high pressure UV-lamp, a low pressure UV-lamp, a UV-light emitting diode (LED) and a cold cathode light (CCL).

19. The device according to claim 18, wherein said low pressure UV-lamp is a mercury low pressure lamp.

20. The device according to claim 4, wherein said predetermined number of indentations are locally limited in said UV-transparent glass tube.

21. The device according to claim 1, wherein a shape of said at least one indentation is adapted to a corresponding shape of said at least one UV-light source.

22. The device according to claim 1, wherein a wall thickness of said UV-transparent glass tube is constant along a tube circumference when providing said at least one indentation.

23. The device according to claim 1, wherein a cross section of said UV-transparent glass tube is one of round, oval and angular.

24. The device according to claim 23, wherein said angular shape of said UV-transparent glass tube has one of 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 corners.

25. The device according to claim 1, said UV-transparent glass tube further including at least one recess in addition said at least one indentation, wherein said none of said UV-light sources are positioned in said recesses.

26. The device according to claim 4, wherein said predetermined number of UV-light sources are arranged symmetrically.

27. The device according to claim 26, wherein said predetermined number of UV-light sources are in an arrangement which is one of axially symmetric, mirror symmetric, rotationally symmetric and centrically symmetric.

28. A method for disinfecting at least one of a liquid and a gas, the method comprising the steps of:

providing a tube formed of an ultraviolet (UV)-transparent glass and having a hollow interior space and a tube wall including a tube inside wall and a tube outside wall, said UV-transparent glass tube having at least one indentation extending into said hollow interior space on at least one location;

providing at least one UV-light source arranged in said at least one indentation; and

using said tube and said UV-light source arranged in said at least one indentation of said tube to disinfect at least one of a liquid and a gas in one of a stationary and a flowing condition.

29. The method according to claim 28, using the method for disinfecting the at least one of a liquid and a gas to treat and disinfect drinking water, disinfect and produce ultrapure water, treat waste water, treat liquids from the pharmaceutical industry and the food industry, and to disinfect at least one of air and industrial gases.