RU2246882C2 - Method and complex for preparing of bottled oxygen- saturated water - Google Patents

Abstract

FIELD: processes and equipment for treatment of water with oxygen-containing gas, water bottling and treatment of bottles for adequate storage of water, may be used in industrial enterprises.

SUBSTANCE: method involves producing oxygen-saturated water by ejection-floatation mixing of water with oxygen-containing gas; bottling oxygen-saturated water and capping, with gas-and-vapor H₂O₂+O₂ mixture synthesized by plasma chemotronical method being used in all above operations. Complex of equipment comprises ejection-floatation unit for oxygen saturation of water and installation for supplying and bottling of oxygen-saturated water.

EFFECT: improved quality of bottled oxygen-saturated potable water, increased storage time and reduced consumption of power and materials.

4 cl, 1 dwg, 4 tbl

Description

The present invention relates to physico-chemical technologies and techniques for the treatment of water and containers for its storage, bottling and corking of high-quality water in a sealed container prepared for its long-term storage.

The invention can be used in industrial production of high quality water. A specific implementation of the invention is planned in the industrial production of bottled oxygenated drinking water and drinks with the brands "SUPERVODA", "OXI", "EASY WATER", "LIFE JUICE" and others.

The analysis of scientific, technical and patent information [1, 2] shows that in known technical solutions, oxygen saturation of water can be achieved by mixing an oxygen-containing gas with water and less efficiently spraying (spraying) water in an oxygen-containing gas, followed by coalescence (sticking) of water droplets and its withdrawal from a water-gas mixture.

In the first case, oxygen is in water in the form of tiny bubbles of an oxygen-containing gas, of which molecular oxygen is sorbed by water at the gas-liquid interface and saturates the water.

In the second case, oxygen is in an oxygen-containing gas in which tiny droplets of water are sprayed. Molecular oxygen is sorbed by water at the liquid-gas interface.

The interphase boundary of an oxygen-containing gas bubble in water and water droplets in an oxygen-containing gas can be charged by an electric field, high-energy photons, a surfactant, and other physicochemical effects that affect the depth of oxygen saturation of the water and the rate of molecular oxygen transition through the interphase boundary.

A known method of preparing bottled oxygenated drinking water and a set of equipment for its implementation [3].

In this method, as well as in pressure flotation [2, p.231], water is first saturated under pressure (up to 6 atm) and low temperature (not more than 10 ° С) with atmospheric oxygen. Then, oxygen-saturated water is sprayed in a stream of air under reduced overpressure (up to 3 atm) and a reduced temperature. The air enriched with oxygen from droplets of oxygen-supersaturated water is mixed under pressure with air-conditioned drinking water in a separate pressure storage tank, from which it is sent for bottling.

The method also provides for the mixing of two gases (O ₂ and CO ₂ ) used to improve the taste of drinking oxygenated water.

Oversaturated with oxygen in an environmentally friendly way [3] with an oxygen concentration of 10 to 40 mg O ₂ / L H ₂ O, the drinking water is sent under overpressure to bottling. After the bottling operation, the bottles with oxygenated water are clogged. Sealed containers (bottles and corks) are pre-disinfected by known methods [1].

A set of equipment for implementing the method [3] includes an installation for saturation of drinking water with oxygen, consisting of series-connected storage pressure vessels (columns) for collecting and treating water with oxygen-containing gas under pressure, auxiliary equipment for maintaining overpressure and reduced temperature in the water saturation with oxygen, installation of bottling and blockage of oxygenated water in a bottle connected by a pipeline to the installation of saturation of drinking water with oxygen.

The construction of the patent complex [3] is the closest (for a set of equipment necessary for the production of bottled oxygenated drinking water) in the claimed technical solution.

The disadvantages of the method of preparation of bottled oxygenated water [3]:

- instability of the oversaturated state of drinking water bottled under pressure (during storage and when opening a sealed bottle);

- high energy costs for the process of saturation of water with oxygen, associated with maintaining excess pressure in the columns, low water temperature and the consumption of oxygen-containing gas.

The disadvantages of the complex equipment for implementing the method [3]:

- high energy intensity and material intensity of the equipment for the saturation of drinking water with oxygen;

- the possibility of microorganisms entering during bottling of oxygenated water in bottles and when sealing them with stoppers (bottles are disinfected from microorganisms before the bottling operation);

- the possibility of ignition in oxygen at overpressure of engine oil, the vapors of which can get from auxiliary equipment into the oxygen saturation of drinking water.

A known method of preparing oxygenated drinking water and installation for its implementation in the industrial production of bottled water [4].

This method consists in mixing an oxygen-containing gas with treated chilled water under pressure (as well as in pressure flotation [2, p.231]) in order to obtain an oxygen-saturated state of treated water.

In contrast to the technical solution [3], drinking water undergoes preliminary treatment with reverse osmosis and electrolysis method.

Energy-intensive physicochemical processes are used in a water oxygen saturation unit [4] to increase the stability of a water-supersaturated state of water by reducing the concentration of salts in water and introducing charged H ₂ + O ₂ electrolysis gas into the water.

Known physico-chemical methods of pre-treatment of drinking water have several disadvantages:

- water electrolysis causes contamination of drinking water with electrolysis products (active chlorine, heavy metal ions);

- desalination of water by reverse osmosis to the level of distillate negatively affects the cells of the esophagus (causes their osmotic shock).

For environmentally friendly oxygen-containing drinking water from the above pretreatment methods, only a modified electrolysis method can be used to obtain an oxygen-containing vapor-gas mixture of H ₂ + O ₂ [5].

Pollution products of an oxygen-containing vapor-gas mixture of N ₂ + O ₂ in this technical solution are only water vapor and alkali vapor.

In the claimed complex, the construction of an electrochemical system [5] was used in the construction of a plasmacheotron synthesis system for a gas-vapor mixture of H ₂ O ₂ + O ₂ based on the patent [6].

The method of saturation of water with oxygen and the installation for its implementation [4] has the disadvantages discussed in the known technical solution [3].

Given the above analysis of scientific, technical and patent. information, the technical solution to the problem is to increase the efficiency of water treatment with oxygen-containing gas by achieving, with deep oxygen saturation of water (from 30 to 40 mg O ₂ / L H ₂ O), a steady-state water time, saturated with oxygen, under normal conditions, and reducing energy consumption for the process of oxygen saturation of water and energy intensity of the complex for implementing the method.

The solution to the problem is achieved:

1. The use of sequential ejection and pressure-flotation mixing obtained plasmacheotron. by the method of an oxygen-containing vapor-gas mixture of Н ₂ О ₂ + О _{2 of a} patent [6] with water being treated, which makes it possible to increase the efficiency of water treatment with an oxygen-containing gas, apply a modernized, low-energy pressure flotation system in the production of bottled oxygen-containing water, and reduce energy costs for water treatment.

2. Using the abnormal physicochemical properties of an oxygen-containing steam-gas H ₂ O ₂ + O ₂ mixture to deeply saturate the treated water with oxygen and achieve a stable over time oxygen-saturated state of the treated water under normal conditions.

3. Using the abnormal physicochemical properties of an oxygen-containing steam-gas H ₂ O ₂ + O ₂ mixture, it instantly (within seconds) dissolves when mixed with treated water to eject it into the pressure part of the flotation system between the pump and the column (tank).

4. Using the anomalous physicochemical properties of an oxygen-containing vapor-gas H ₂ O ₂ + O ₂ mixture to interact with siliceous materials and hydrocarbon polymers used in the water treatment system with an oxygen-containing vapor-gas mixture.

The above analysis of the prior art allowed to establish that analogues, characterized by sets of features that are identical to all the features of the claimed method and the complex for its implementation, are absent. Therefore, each of the claimed inventions meets the condition of patentability “novelty”.

Search results for known solutions in this and related fields of technology in order to identify features that match the distinctive features of the prototypes of each claimed invention have shown that they do not follow explicitly from the prior art. From the level of technology defined above, the popularity of the influence of the transformations provided for by the essential features of each of the claimed inventions on the achievement of a technical result has not been revealed. Therefore, each of the claimed inventions corresponds to the level of patentability “inventive step”.

In the claimed technical solution, the requirement of the unity of the invention is met, since the method and complex are designed to saturate water with oxygen and obtain bottled oxygenated drinking water. The claimed invention solves the same problem - increasing the efficiency of water treatment with an oxygen-containing gas mixture and reducing energy costs for the process of saturation of water with oxygen.

The drawing schematically shows a complex for implementing the proposed method for the preparation of bottled oxygenated water.

The basis of the complex is the oxygen saturation water system (systems I, II of the drawing), which is mutually coordinated in the complex with a circulating-flow pipeline of oxygen-saturated water with the installation of bottling and blocking of oxygen-saturated water in bottles (systems III, IV of the drawing). In detail, the apparatus for bottle corking with stoppers of the system IV of the filling and capping system is not shown in the drawing.

System I of a water oxygen saturation installation contains a pressure-flotation column 1, a main pump 2, an ejector 3, connected by a circulation and flow pipe in the lower part of the column, a feed water supply pipe, a pipe connecting the column with the atmosphere, a pipe for draining oxygenated water into bottles.

System I is connected hermetically by a gas-vapor mixture pipeline (symbol in the drawing H ₂ O ₂ + O ₂ ) with a plasma-chemotron (electrochemical) system II for producing an oxygen-containing gas-vapor mixture.

System II contains a capacity of an aqueous electrolyte 4 connected hermetically by a pipeline to a plasma-chemotron (electrochemical) apparatus 5 and a gas-liquid separator 7, forming an airlift circulation-flow circuit. The power and control of the plasmacheotron apparatus 5 is carried out by unit 6. The system 6 also includes an oxygen flow regulator 8 and oxygen flow controllers of the gas-vapor mixture 9, 10.

The oxygen saturation water system through system I is connected by a hermetically circulating-flowing pipeline of oxygenated water to the supply and bottling system of the III bottling and blocking apparatus for oxygenated water.

System III contains a circulating-flow pipeline of oxygenated water connecting the flotation column 1, an auxiliary pump 11, an ejector 12, a water flow regulator 13, a water flow regulator 14, a pipeline for supplying oxygenated water to the bottling apparatus 15 for dosing it into bottles 16. Automatic bottle transfer line , apparatus for corking bottles of portion-filled oxygenated water bottles 16 are represented by a simplified drawing system as system IV (system for transporting and corking bottles of an installation bottling and blockage of oxygenated water in bottles). System IV of the complex is interconnected with system III through the bottling apparatus 15.

System IV performs auxiliary functions in the technology of the complex.

The complex works as follows.

An aqueous electrolyte solution is poured into the container 4 and the apparatus 5 of the system of the II complex. For the electrochemical apparatus, a 10% alkali solution (NaOH or KOH + H ₂ O), for a plasmacheotron apparatus - 4%. The flow regulators 8, 9, 10 and the control unit 6 in the circulation-flow pipe connecting the tank 4, the plasmacheotron (electrochemical) apparatus 5 and the gas-liquid separator 7 create an airlift gas-liquid flow.

Roughly rotameter (not shown in the diagram) sets the flow rate of the gas mixture. The control unit 6 sets the temperature of the oxygen-containing vapor-gas mixture (not lower than 70 ° C).

The gas-vapor mixture is released into the atmosphere through flow controllers 9, 10 before reaching the operating parameters.

After the preparation, inclusion and conclusion of system II to the technological mode, the system of complex I is switched on.

The automatic pump starter (not shown in the diagram of FIG. 1) turns on the main pump 2. The valves of the circulation and flow pipe connecting the flotation column 1, pump 2, ejector 3, and the valves on the pipelines for entering and leaving water from column 1 (not shown in the diagram ) sets the vacuum in the ejection apparatus 3 and the balanced flow rate of the incoming (source) and outgoing (oxygenated) water. Monitoring the regulation of rarefaction in the ejector 3 is carried out using a differential pressure gauge, the correctness of the flow control in the main circulation and flow pipe - a steady level of treated water in the flotation column 1.

Technological control of the process of water saturation with oxygen in the installation (systems I, II) is carried out simultaneously at the inlet and outlet of the water from system I of the unit with flow-through sensors of the oxygen meter AZHA-101, measuring the pH of oxygen-saturated water of system I with a portioned pH meter pH-121.

Using oxygenated water control devices in an oxygen saturation water installation, the operation mode of systems I and II is set for fixed: plant performance, power consumption, oxygen, reagent (NaOH or KOH) and distilled water in physicochemical system II providing oxygen-saturated water in the pipeline connected to the installation of bottling and blockage of oxygenated water in bottles, pH 7.3 ± 0.8, CO ₂ ≥ 15 mg O ₂ / DM ³ .

After preparing, turning on and putting the oxygen saturation water unit into technological mode with an automatic starter (not shown in Fig. 1), an auxiliary circulating-flow pipe of the oxygen-saturated water filling and clogging unit into bottles connecting the flotation column 1, pump 11, ejector 12 and return flow regulator 13.

The regulator of the return stream 13 to the column and the flow regulator 14 installed in the pipeline connecting the auxiliary circulating-flow pipeline of oxygenated water to the bottling apparatus 15, sets the capacity of the bottling apparatus and the vacuum level in the ejection apparatus 12.

The consumption of the gas-vapor mixture of H ₂ O ₂ + O ₂ in the bottling and blocking of oxygenated water in bottles is carried out using the regulator 10 of the ejection apparatus 12. The consumption of the gas-vapor mixture of H ₂ O ₂ + O ₂ is determined by a rotameter calibrated by volumetric method (not shown in the diagram) .

Full technological control of the oxygenated water prepared in the complex is carried out:

- at the entrance to the complex (system I of the oxygen saturation unit of the complex);

- at the outlet of the bottling apparatus of the bottling and clogging of oxygenated water in bottles (system III complex);

- hermetically sealed bottles with oxygenated water during storage (from system IV complex).

As discussed above, at a fixed temperature and pressure of the environment, the source and oxygenated water, the control is carried out by the content of oxygen (CO ₂ ) dissolved in water and pH. The instruments and analysis methods used by the applicants were verified by a certified State Drinking Water Center of the city of Krasnodar.

Tables 1-4 show the experimental test data of the claimed technical solution in real conditions of the pilot industrial production of oxygenated water, approved by the sanitary and epidemiological service of the city of Krasnodar.

Conditions for conducting a pilot experiment:

Source water - drinking artesian water GOST 2874-82 with salinity on a scale of NaCl 0.4-0.6 g / DM ³ ;

The content of dissolved oxygen in the source water is 3.2 ± 0.4 mg O ₂ / dm ³ ;

the pH of the source water is 7.2 ± 0.1;

The temperature of the source water is 25 ± 2 ° C;

The maximum saturation of the source water with atmospheric oxygen (n.o.) on the saturation line for the water-air boundary with a specific air flow rate of at least 1.5 dm ³ / dm ^{3 of} water is 8.8 ± 0.2 mg O ₂ / dm ³ . The water control devices used in the tests were indicated earlier.

Table 2 presents the experimental test data of the complex with the addition of compressed oxygen to the system II (system for the synthesis of a gas-vapor mixture) through a flow regulator.

The condition for the experiment of testing the complex in table 1 and table 2 are adequate

Table 3 presents the experimental test data of the complex, taking into account the technological operations of washing bottles and corks with disinfecting silver water [1], followed by their washing with oxygen-saturated water, leaving system III of the bottling and blocking of oxygen-saturated water in bottles of the complex.

These technological operations can reduce the amount of impurities (microorganisms, heavy metal ions, organic substances on the material of the bottle, cork and, as a result, in bottled oxygenated drinking water) and increase the depth of processing of the polymeric material with the gas-vapor mixture of Н ₂ О ₂ + О ₂ .

The conditions for testing the pilot industrial complex of table 3 are adequate to the conditions for testing the complex in table 2.

The data in table 4 shows the influence of the materials included in the main systems of the complex on the efficiency of drinking water treatment with an oxygen-containing vapor-gas mixture of Н ₂ O ₂ + O ₂ .

The conditions of the experiment are adequate to the conditions of the experiment of tables 2, 3;

If we do not take into account the influence of an oxygen-containing steam-gas mixture of Н ₂ O ₂ + O ₂ on the quality of drinking water by taste and energy parameters, a longer shelf life of the treated water, which is supersaturated with oxygen, then for a specific bottled oxygenated water “Oxy” with an oxygen saturation depth of up to 40 mg O ₂ / l H ₂ O the cost of pilot batches of water did not exceed US $ 0.4 per 1 liter of Oxy drinking water (2 times lower than the cost of the products of the well-known company “Agva Rush”, see the review of the company “Agva Rush” “Buti oxygenated water ”Internet Information System, http: // www aqua rush com.).

This is due to the fact that the well-known energy-intensive technical solution was used in the production of bottled oxygenated water of the Agva Rush company [4].

A high tasting assessment of the quality of bottled oxygenated drinking water brands “Supervoda” and “Oxy”, the shelf life of oxygenated water for at least 6 months, obtained by the claimed method and the complex for its implementation, prove the competitiveness of new products on the consumer market and, as a result, the industrial applicability of the invention .

Based on the above material, the authors believe that the technical problem in the claimed invention is solved in full.

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

1. Kulsky L.A. Fundamentals of chemistry and water technology. - Kiev: Naukova Dumka, 1991, 568 p.

2. Rodionov A.I., Klushin V.N., Torocheshnikov N.S. Engineering environmental protection, Moscow: Chemistry, 1989, 512 p.

3. Hechtl Christian. Production of long-term drinking water spilled in a bottle saturated with oxygen in the form of air (oxygen and carbon dioxide). German patent No. 1047826, C 02 F 1/68 (NCI BG 7 D 1/00 H 4 C), 10.16.1998

4. Jeffery Grandeil and others. A method for the production of oxygenated water. U.S. Patent No. 6,284,293 B 1 A 23 L 100 (NKI 426/67) 09/04/2001

5. Verdiev M.G. and others. Electrolyzer to obtain a mixture of oxygen and hydrogen. Russian Patent No. 2091508 C 1, C 25 B 1/04, 09/27/1997, the Method of producing a mixture of oxygen and hydrogen. Patent of Russia №2091507 С 1, С 25 В 1/04, 09/27/1997

6. Zykov E.D., Scherbak V.N. Plasma-chemotron method for producing a gas-vapor mixture of H ₂ O ₂ + O ₂ . Russian patent No. 2171863 C 2, C 25 V 1/30, 1/04, C 02 F 1/46, 07/30/1998

Claims (4)

1. A method of preparing bottled oxygenated water, comprising mixing oxygenated gas with water, bottling and blocking oxygenated water in bottles, characterized in that the ejection and pressure-flotation mixtures of the oxygen-containing steam-gas mixture of N ₂ O ₂ + O ₂ obtained with the plasma-chemical method are carried out . 2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the bottles and corks are washed with a disinfecting solution containing silver ions before the technological operation of filling and blocking oxygenated water, followed by washing them with oxygenated drinking water prepared using a vapor-gas mixture of N ₂ O ₂ + O ₂ . 3. A complex for the preparation of bottled oxygenated drinking water, containing a water oxygen saturation system, characterized in that the oxygen water saturation system consists of an ejection flotation system containing a main pump, an ejector and a flotation column connected by a circulation and flow pipe, and connected to a gas-vapor pipeline with a gas-vapor mixture production system, consisting of a gas-liquid separator connected by an airlift circulating-flow pipe, a tank of water an electrolyte and a plasma-chemotron apparatus synthesizing an oxygen-containing vapor-gas mixture, while the vapor-gas mixture production system is connected through a flotation column to a circulating-flow pipeline of oxygen-saturated water in a system for supplying and bottling oxygen-saturated water into bottles, which contains an auxiliary pump, an ejector connected by a steam-gas pipeline to the system for producing a gas-vapor mixture, and an apparatus for bottling oxygenated water in bottles, configured to supply and a filling machine conveyor and then moving the filled water oxygenation bottle conveyor apparatus in sealing stoppers of bottles. 4. The complex according to claim 3, characterized in that the structural elements of oxygen saturation of water, supply and bottling of oxygen-saturated water in bottles, as well as pipelines for supplying oxygen-containing steam-gas mixture are made of glass, plastic, rubber and silicone materials.