MXPA99011561A - Ionisation filter for purifying air - Google Patents

Abstract

La invención se refiere a un filtro de ionización para purificar aire que estéenriquecido con partículas de polvo y con otros contaminantes inorgánicos y orgánicos. El filtro tiene al menos un electrodo de emisión eléctricamente cargado, para producir partículas eléctricamenteconductoras, y al menos un electrodo pasivo para recolectar las partículas contaminantes que se encuentran en movimiento en el campo eléctrico entre el electrodo de emisión y, el electrodo pasivo. De conformidad con la invención, una capa adicional que tiene propiedades desnaturalizantes, se coloca en la trayectoria de flujo de las partículas contaminantes que se van a precipitar. Esta capa estácompuesta preferentemente de capas fuertementeácidas y fuertemente alcalinas, o viceversa, con una capa neutra intermedia entre capas de diferentes valores de pH en cada caso. Los microorganismos, tales como bacterias, hongos, esporas y/o alergenos que se mueven en el campo eléctrico del filtro de ionización son destruidos simultáneamente por esta propiedad desnaturalizante.

Description

IONIZATION FILTER TO PURIFY AIR FIELD OF THE INVENTION The invention concerns an ionization filter for purifying air that is enriched with dust particles and other organic and inorganic contaminants, with at least one electrically charged emission electrode that is used to produce electrically conductive parts, and at least one passive electrode which is used to collect the contaminating particles that circulate between the emission electrode and the passive electrode.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION In situations of high dust precipitation, these ionization filters, which until now are being used especially for the precipitation of dust from the fumes of plants that use fossil fuel, are distinguished by their low resistance to flow to the fumes that pass through the electrodes and they are purified. More than that, these electrostatic filters suffer very little wear and tear, and therefore need to be repaired only to a limited degree due to their simple design, excluding moving parts. Within buildings, such as residences, hospitals, public administration buildings, etc., an air purification process occurs, for example, within the circulating system of the air conditioning equipment, usually by ordinary filters that are commonly manufactured with materials similar to the fleece fabric. These filters have an extensive pressure drop, and the purification effect decreases as the load becomes higher. Bacteria, fungi, spores or other microorganisms can pass through the filter, or they can be released through existing leaks in the duct system due to increased fan pressure caused by the load, which can lead to health problems considerable in people who should be supplied with fresh air.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The invention is based on the task of developing a filter system, in particular one suitable for buildings, which has a high efficiency in purification, even with respect to harmful microorganisms, with a low pressure drop. In accordance with the invention this task is achieved by equipping an ionization filter, of the type described above, with an additional layer of materials with denaturing properties, and placing it in the flow path of any contaminants that are generated. In relation to the invention, the denaturing layer may be comprised of a material having a mass transfer free area, for the microorganisms, and that area is prepared in such a way that the microorganisms die shortly after contacting. The materials of denaturing effects may include copper compounds, appropriate, or other known toxic materials, with which the respective layer is saturated, or otherwise prepared. The invention thus ensures that on the passive electrode of the ionization filter not only the common dust particles, as well as other microorganisms, are precipitated, but also the additional microorganisms are simultaneously killed by the denaturing layer used herein. Another feature of the invention, which proves to be particularly beneficial, is the use of a material for the denaturing layer, which is either strongly acidic or strongly alkaline or which is suitably pretreated. Strongly acid material means that it has a pH value between 1 and 3, and strongly alkaline means that it has a value between 11 and 14. It has been shown that almost all microorganisms die in that extreme environment. It has been proven that it is especially effective to place the denaturing layer in several secondary layers, alternating strongly acidic and strongly alkaline layers, or vice versa, and with a neutral intermediate layer between two layers of different pH values. The additional and extreme change in environmental conditions creates a particularly high kill rate of microorganisms. The change of environmental conditions, from strongly acid to strongly alkaline, and vice versa, can be obtained through the preparation with the appropriate salts or bleach. It is best to accommodate the denaturing layer directly in front of the surface of the passive electrode, or to design the surface of the passive electrode additionally as a denaturing area. If the denaturing material is electrically conductive or becomes electrically conductive by integrating the appropriate materials, such as a wire mesh or as wire screens, then the denaturing layer itself can even be used directly as a passive electrode. In ionization filters that use a metallic wire as the emission electrode, it becomes useful to additionally equip the wire-shaped emission electrode with extra-fine wire tips throughout its length to increase its efficiency. At the end of these extra-fine wire ends, which fit in the best shape around the emission electrode, at an angle between 60 degrees and 90 degrees, it is known that very strong electric fields develop that cause an ionization, appropriately intense , of the particles that pass through that area. This in turn leads to a high proportion of precipitation on the passive electrode of opposite charge. In smaller air conditioning systems, such as in residential buildings or in automobiles, the ionization filter emission electrode is a metallic wire placed in the center of a conductive tubular conduit, while the denaturing layer is located on the inner surface of the flow channel surrounding the emission electrode. These filters can be easily placed with flanges in existing flow paths and removed and replaced with other units when they are loaded. When the ionization filter is working, it has been proven that it is useful to adjust the electrical voltage between the emission electrode and the passive electrode to a value above 5,000 V (preferably above 7,000 V). This high tension usually forms ozone that additionally contributes to exterminate microorganisms. The charged ionization filters according to the invention can be discarded particularly easily and thermally if, according to another feature of the invention, the passive electrode consists of a thermally recoverable organic base material, which is reinforced with an electrically conductive organic material. The organic base material, which should not be sensitive to an acid and / or alkali, may include reinforced paper, cardboard, plastic fleece or similar materials. For the electrically conductive material, graphite could be used, instead of the above, for reinforcement purposes. If the denaturing layer consists of alternating secondary layers of different pH values, and is used simultaneously as the passive electrode, then another feature of the invention requires that all the denaturing layers be reinforced with graphite and made, in an appropriate, electrically conductive manner. . Especially in the case of ionization filters that are used for the purification of larger volumes of air, an additional optimization can be carried out by equipping the passive electrode with a mesh design on each side facing an emission electrode, each area of the mesh it is preferably covered with acidic, neutral and alkaline layers which are arranged one behind the other and an acidic or alkaline layer alternately forms the surface facing the emission electrode. This type of chamfered design for the denaturing layer is similar to a chessboard, and ensures that microorganisms are exposed to constantly changing environmental conditions that will quickly exterminate them, both when they pass through the layer that is parallel to the surface and when they continue through the layer that is vertical to the surface. The planned mesh designAs such, it can have a random shape but preferably it must be rectangular, square or hexagonal in the shape of a honeycomb. For the additional optimization of the precipitation effect of the ionization filter, it has also been proved that it is useful to place several passive electrodes of denaturing effect, in rows. In this way, any particles that still manage to pass through the main passive electrode are precipitated in one of these additional, subsequent passive electrodes. This precipitation effect can be increased even if, in accordance with another characteristic of the invention, a surplus of ions is generated on the emission electrode with respect to the absorption capacity of the main passive electrode. Since the air to be purified generally does not have consistent moisture, in accordance with another feature of the invention it has proven useful to impregnate the denaturing layers, additionally, with hygroscopic substances such as potassium salts and / or sodium salts. The hygroscopic substances absorb moisture from the air and thus ensure that the level of humidity required to maintain strongly acidic and / or strongly basic properties is always guaranteed in the denaturing layer. In accordance with another feature of the invention, the denaturing layer can be further impregnated or soaked with polyclonal and / or monoclonal antibodies. These antibodies especially cause allergens to be precipitated and denatured to a greater degree than in a system that is only acidic and / or alkaline. The antibodies can be fed either by impregnating the secondary layers of the denaturation layer or by incorporating an additional layer that has been saturated with the antibodies. If necessary it is also possible to further saturate the denaturation layers with agents that actively work against the formation of endotoxins, toxic substances that are known to develop during the disintegration of the bacteria, or provide other means of saturation against the growth of the bacteria. mushrooms. For the purpose of increasing the degree of precipitation in the ionization filter, it may be useful, in accordance with another feature of the invention, to direct an atomized aerosol to the air to be purified, before it passes the emission electrode. The fine drops of the aerosol are also ionized in the area of the emission electrode and move towards the passive electrode. Due to the subsequently increased ionic density within the ionization filter, an increased area has been generated to which the tiny particles are attached, which means that these particles can then be transported to the passive electrode in larger quantities. It has been shown that it is effective to generate the aerosol in an ultrasound atomizer, which is distinguished by its particularly fine atomization effect. If necessary, activated carbon can be further integrated into the denaturing layer, either directly or in the form of an additional layer, to precipitate additional contaminants or also to increase the effectiveness of the precipitation.

Claims (22)

NOVELTY OF THE INVENTION Having described the above invention, it is considered as a novelty, and therefore, the content of the following is claimed as property: CLAIMS

1. An ionization filter for the purification of air that is enriched with dust particles and with other inorganic and organic contaminants, having at least one electrically charged emission electrode for the generation of electrically conductive particles, and at least one passive electrode for the collecting the pollutants that are circulated in the electric field between the emission electrode and the passive electrode, characterized in that it has another layer of denaturing properties that is placed in the flow path of the contaminating particles to be precipitated.

2. The ionization filter according to claim 1, characterized in that the denaturing layer is strongly acidic or strongly alkaline.

3. The ionization filter according to claim 1 or claim 2, characterized in that the denaturing layer consists of several secondary layers, with strongly acidic or strongly alkaline layers, or vice versa, alternating, and with an intermediate neutral layer, placed between two layers. layers with different pH values.

4. The ionization filter according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the denaturing layer is connected to the surface of the passive electrode.

5. The ionization filter according to one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the surface of the passive electrode, or the entire passive electrode, has denaturing properties.

6. The ionization filter according to one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the emission electrode is a metallic wire, which is equipped with extra-fine wire tips that are distributed along their entire length.

7. The ionization filter according to claim 6, characterized in that the extra-fine wire tips are fastened to the wire at an angle that varies from 60 to 90 degrees with respect to the axis of the wire.

8. The ionization filter according to one of claims 6 or 7, characterized in that the passive electrode has the shape of a tube and in that the denaturing layer is placed on the inner surface facing the emission electrode.

9. The ionization filter according to claim 8, characterized in that the passive tube-shaped electrode can be connected with flanges to the flow channel and can be integrated with it.

10. The ionization filter according to claims 1 to 9, characterized in that the electrical voltage between the emission electrode and the passive electrode is greater than 7,000 volts.

11. The ionization filter according to one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that the passive electrode consists of a base material, organic, which can be thermally recovered and which is reinforced with an electrically conductive organic material.

12. The ionization filter according to claim 11, characterized in that the electrically conductive material is graphite.

13. The ionization filter according to claim 11 or 12, characterized in that the passive electrode has at least three layers, with a chemically neutral layer between a strongly acidic layer and a strongly alkaline layer, and because each layer is reinforced with graphite.

14. The ionization filter according to claims 1 to 13, characterized in that the passive electrode is equipped with a mesh design on each side that is facing an emission electrode, and each area of the mesh is covered with layers acids, neutral and alkaline, preferably of felt, which are arranged one after the other, and an acidic or alkaline layer alternately forms the surface facing the emission electrode.

15. The ionization filter according to claim 14, characterized in that the mesh design has a rectangular, square and / or hexagonal shape, preferably in the form of a honeycomb.

16. The ionization filter according to one of claims 1 to 15, characterized in that at least two passive electrodes with denaturing properties are connected in series, in the flow path of the electrically charged contaminants.

17. The passive electrode according to claim 16, characterized in that an excess of ions is generated in the emission electrode.

18. The ionization filter according to claims 1 to 17, characterized in that the denaturing layers are additionally wetted or saturated with substances having a hygroscopic effect.

19. The ionization filter according to one of claims 1 to 18, characterized in that the denaturing layers are further soaked with monoclonal antibodies, and / or with substances that act against endotoxins and / or with substances that act against fungi.

20. The ionization filter according to one of claims 1 to 19, characterized in that an atomized aerosol is fed to the air stream to be purified before it passes through the emission electrode.

21. The ionization filter according to claim 20, characterized in that the aerosol is generated in an ultrasound atomizer.

22. The ionization filter according to one of claims 1 to 21, characterized in that activated carbon is integrated, either directly into the denaturing layer, or in the form of an additional layer.