Water softening device and method for regenerating ion exchange resin

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9815713-B2
Application number	US-201415104210-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 12, 2014
Priority date	Dec 13, 2013
Publication date	Nov 14, 2017
Grant date	Nov 14, 2017

Abstract

The present invention relates to a water softening device including: a resin chamber which has an ion exchange resin and softens hard water passing through the ion exchange resin; and electrodes which are arranged by placing the resin chamber therebetween and apply voltages to the resin chamber so as to soften the hard water, and which regenerates the ion exchange resin, wherein the ion exchange resin is a slightly acidic cation exchange resin and/or a weakly alkaline anion exchange resin. The present invention provides the water softening device capable of easily regenerating the ion exchange resin and repeating the softening-regenerating without using chemicals or the like while maintaining the performance of softening water, thereby enabling a continuous use thereof.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A water softening device comprising:
a pair of electrodes;
a plurality of resin chambers disposed spaced apart from each other between the pair of electrodes;
at least one conductive member disposed between each of the plurality of resin chambers; and
a plurality of ion exchange resins provided in each of the plurality of resin chambers, made of at least one of a slightly acidic cation exchange resin and a weakly alkaline anion exchange resin, configured to soften water, and configured to be regenerated when a voltage is applied to the pair of electrodes,
each of the plurality of ion exchange resins is configured to be regenerated for each unit divided by the conductive member.

2. The water softening device of claim 1 , wherein the conductive member has non-permeability to ions or non-permeability to water.

3. The water softening device of claim 1 , further comprising a plurality of first diaphragms disposed adjacent to the plurality of ion exchange resins, respectively, and configured to pass an anion therethrough when the ion exchange resins are regenerated; and
a plurality of second diaphragms disposed adjacent to the plurality of ion exchange resins, respectively, and configured to pass a cation therethrough when the ion exchange resins are regenerated.

4. The water softening device of claim 1 , further comprising passages respectively formed between the pair of electrodes and the plurality of ion exchange resins, and a passage formed between the conductive member and the plurality of ion exchange resins.

5. The water softening device of claim 1 , wherein the slightly acidic cation exchange resin and the weakly alkaline anion exchange resin have a particle shape, are mixed and accommodated in the resin chambers, and have particle sizes of 100 μm to 500 μm, respectively.

6. The water softening device of claim 1 , wherein an ion-exchange capacity of the slightly acidic cation exchange resin is one to nine times an ion-exchange capacity of the weakly alkaline anion exchange resin.

7. The water softening device of claim 1 , further comprising a first diaphragm is a strongly alkaline anion exchange resin membrane, and a second diaphragm is a strongly acidic cation exchange resin membrane.

8. A water softening device comprising:
a pair of electrodes;
a resin chamber disposed between the pair of electrodes; and
an ion exchange resin provided in the resin chamber, includes of a slightly acidic cation exchange resin and a weakly alkaline anion exchange resin, configured to soften water, and configured to be regenerated when a voltage is applied to the pair of electrodes,
wherein an ion-exchange capacity of the slightly acidic cation exchange resin is one to nine times an ion-exchange capacity of the weakly alkaline anion exchange resin.

9. The water softening device of claim 8 , further comprising: a first diaphragm disposed adjacent to the ion exchange resin, disposed apart from an anode of the pair of electrodes, and configured to pass an anion therethrough when the ion exchange resin is regenerated; and a second diaphragm disposed adjacent to the ion exchange resin, disposed spaced apart from a cathode of the pair of electrodes, and configured to pass a cation therethrough when the ion exchange resin is regenerated.

10. The water softening device of claim 8 , wherein the slightly acidic cation exchange resin and the weakly alkaline anion exchange resin have particle shapes and are mixed and accommodated in the resin chamber.

11. The water softening device of claim 10 , wherein the slightly acidic cation exchange resin and the weakly alkaline anion exchange resin have particle sizes of 100 μm to 500 μm, respectively.

12. The water softening device of claim 8 , wherein an ion-exchange capacity of the slightly acidic cation exchange resin is one to nine times an ion-exchange capacity of the weakly alkaline anion exchange resin.

13. A method of regenerating an ion exchange resin, the method comprising:
applying a voltage to a pair of electrodes when a plurality of ion exchange resins in a plurality of resin chambers disposed between the pair of electrodes are regenerated;
introducing water into each of the plurality of resin chambers; and
discharging the water, which was introduced into the plurality of the resin chambers and passed through each of the ion exchange resins, to the outside;
wherein, regeneration of the plurality of ion exchange resins includes selectively regenerating the plurality of ion exchange resins based on a flow route of the water flowing in the plurality of resin chambers.

14. The method of claim 13 , wherein the plurality of resin chambers are separated by conductive members disposed spaced apart from the plurality of ion exchange resins, and the selectively regenerating of the plurality of ion exchange resins includes selecting a plurality of first diaphragms respectively installed on both sides of the plurality of ion exchange resins and installed at an anode side of the electrodes, a plurality of second diaphragms installed at a cathode side, and a plurality of passages formed between the conductive members.

15. The method of claim 14 , wherein the flow route of the water includes a route in which the water flows through at least one ion exchange resin, an anode chamber adjacent to the at least one ion exchange resin, and a cathode chamber adjacent to the least one ion exchange resin in that order, wherein the anode chamber is a space adjacent to an anode of in passages formed adjacent to the at least one ion exchange resin, and the cathode chamber is a space adjacent to a cathode in the passages formed adjacent to the at least one ion exchange resin.

16. The method of claim 13 , wherein the introducing of the water into each of the plurality of resin chambers includes introducing part of the water introduced into at least one resin chamber and introducing remaining water into the remaining resin chambers.

17. The method of claim 13 , wherein the plurality of ion exchange resins include a slightly acidic cation exchange resin and a weakly alkaline anion exchange resin mixed and accommodated in the plurality of resin chambers.

18. A method of regenerating an ion exchange resin provided in a water softening device, the method comprising:
introducing water into a resin chamber in which an ion exchange resin is accommodated when water is softened and discharging the introduced water to the outside when the water passes through the ion exchange resin, wherein the ion exchange resin comprises an acidic cation exchanged resin mixed with an alkaline anion exchange resin;
applying a voltage to electrodes respectively disposed on both sides of the resin chamber when the ion exchange resin is regenerated; and
introducing water to the resin chamber and discharging the water introduced into the resin chamber to the outside when the water passes through the ion exchange resin,
wherein the ion exchange resin includes a slightly acidic cation exchange resin and a weakly alkaline anion exchange resin,
wherein an ion-exchange capacity of the slightly acidic cation exchange resin is one to nine times an ion-exchange capacity of the weakly alkaline anion exchange resin.

19. The method of claim 18 ,
wherein regenerating of the ion exchange resin includes, when a hydrogen ion and a hydroxide ion are generated on an interface of the slightly acidic cation exchange resin and the weakly alkaline anion exchange resin by water decomposition, exchanging hardness components of an ion adsorbed on the sl

Assignees

• Samsung Electronics Co Ltd

Inventors

• Ohnari Hiroto
• Miyashiro Keisuke
• Okazaki Takeshi
• Yanase Satoshi

Classifications

• C02F2201/46105

  Details relating to the electrolytic devices · CPC title

• C02F2303/16

  Regeneration of sorbents, filters · CPC title

• C02F1/42 Primary

  by ion-exchange (ion-exchange in general B01J) · CPC title

• B01J49/75

  of water softeners · CPC title

• C02F2001/422

  using anionic exchangers · CPC title