U.S. patent application number 09/812646 was filed with the patent office on 2001-10-04 for apparatus for putting into contact a defined quantity of a treatment material with an aqueous solution to be treated and process for treating an aqueous.
This patent application is currently assigned to Eastman Kodak Company. Invention is credited to Poncelet, Olivier, Wettling, Danielle Marie.
Application Number | 20010025821 09/812646 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 8848825 |
Filed Date | 2001-10-04 |
United States Patent
Application |
20010025821 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Poncelet, Olivier ; et
al. |
October 4, 2001 |
Apparatus for putting into contact a defined quantity of a
treatment material with an aqueous solution to be treated and
process for treating an aqueous
Abstract
The present invention relates to an apparatus for putting into
contact a defined quantity of treatment material with an aqueous
solution to be treated. The apparatus comprises at least one medium
permeable to the aqueous solution to be treated in which the
treatment material is placed. The medium is made of polyester foam
and has the form of a closed envelope. The treatment material
present in the at least one medium is a material for trapping a
compound to be eliminated from the solution.
Inventors: |
Poncelet, Olivier; (Chalon
sur Saone, FR) ; Wettling, Danielle Marie; (Chatenoy
le Royal, FR) |
Correspondence
Address: |
Milton S. Sales
Patent Legal Staff
Eastman Kodak Company
343 State Street
Rochester
NY
14650-2201
US
|
Assignee: |
Eastman Kodak Company
|
Family ID: |
8848825 |
Appl. No.: |
09/812646 |
Filed: |
March 20, 2001 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
210/764 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G03C 5/395 20130101;
C02F 1/50 20130101; A01N 25/34 20130101; C02F 2209/40 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
210/764 |
International
Class: |
C02F 001/50 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Mar 31, 2000 |
FR |
0004253 |
Claims
1. An apparatus for putting into contact a defined quantity of
treatment material with an aqueous solution to be treated, the
apparatus comprising: at least one medium permeable to the aqueous
solution in which the treatment material is placed, the medium
being made of polyester foam and having a form of a closed
envelope; wherein the treatment material present in the at least
one medium is a material for trapping a compound to be eliminated
from the solution.
2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the treatment material present
in the envelope is a biocide material provided to prevent the
development of microorganisms liable to be developed in the aqueous
solution to be treated.
3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the envelope comprises a
self-fastening part enabling its closure.
4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the self-fastening part is
Velcro.RTM. type.
5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the treatment material present
in the envelope is in gel form.
6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the apparatus is connected to
a tank which contains the aqueous solution to be treated so as to
make the aqueous solution circulate according to a defined flow
rate in the apparatus.
7. A process for treating an aqueous solution comprising: putting
into contact the aqueous solution with a treatment material in an
apparatus comprising a medium permeable to the aqueous solution,
wherein the medium is made of polyester foam and has the form of a
closed envelope.
8. The process of claim 7 for treating photographic baths.
9. The process of claim 8 for treating a photographic wash bath.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention relates to an apparatus for putting
into contact a defined quantity of treatment material with an
aqueous solution to be treated, and in particular an apparatus for
putting a biocide material into contact with an aqueous solution
liable to develop microorganisms. The invention also relates to a
treatment process of the aqueous solution liable to develop
microorganisms. The apparatus can also be used in particular to put
into contact a material capable of trapping silver with a
photographic processing solution.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] In the industrial field, the growth of microorganisms in
aqueous solutions is a known phenomenon that requires the
utilization of biocide. The role of biocides is to inhibit the
growth and/or proliferation of microorganisms. In particular in the
field of photography it is known that when the growth of
microorganisms is not checked, the aqueous solution transforms into
slurry that causes the clogging-up of equipment, the deterioration
of processing baths and a deterioration of the quality of the
photographic images.
[0003] For environmental protection reasons it is desirable to
reduce the quantity of biocide necessary for the inhibition of the
growth of microorganisms. In fact too much biocide in effluents is
not acceptable when these effluents have to be treated by a
purification plant.
[0004] The French patent application number 9915123 describes a
biocide material that enables the quantities of biocides necessary
to inhibit microorganism growth to be reduced and that stays active
for several weeks.
[0005] It is a material comprising a water permeable matrix in
which a mixture of biocides is dispersed of which at least one of
the biocides is a hydrophilic biocide and at least one of the
biocides is a hydrophobic biocide, the biocide materials being
chosen from among the isothiazolones. To be active the biocide
material must be crossed by the aqueous solution to be treated, for
example water. Such material is utilized in gel form.
[0006] To be utilizable the biocide material in gel form and more
generally all treatment material must be confined in a container to
prevent unwanted diffusion in the solution to be treated.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0007] It is an object of the invention to provide an apparatus for
putting into contact a controlled quantity of treatment material
with an aqueous solution which is easy to set up.
[0008] It is another object of the invention to provide an
apparatus for putting into contact a controlled quantity of
treatment material with an aqueous solution that enables the
treatment material to be correctly confined while maximizing its
efficiency.
[0009] It is yet another object of the invention to provide a
treatment process for an aqueous solution implemented by an
apparatus that is easy to set up and which enables the treatment
material to be correctly confined while maximizing its
efficiency.
[0010] The invention relates to an apparatus for putting into
contact a defined quantity of treatment material with an aqueous
solution to be treated. The apparatus comprises at least one medium
permeable to the aqueous solution in which the treatment material
is placed. The medium is made of polyester foam and has the form of
a closed envelope. The treatment material present in the at least
one medium is a material for trapping a compound to be eliminated
from the solution.
[0011] The invention also relates to a process for treating an
aqueous solution comprising the step of putting into contact the
aqueous solution with a treatment material in the apparatus for
putting into contact a defined quantity of treatment material.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0012] Other characteristics will appear on reading the following
description, with reference to the drawings wherein:
[0013] FIG. 1 shows a general schematic diagram of the apparatus
according to the invention in a particular installation; and
[0014] FIG. 2 shows one embodiment of the medium of the treatment
material.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0015] Referring now to FIG. 1, one embodiment of the apparatus
according to the invention in a particular installation is shown. A
tank 10 contains an aqueous solution liable to develop
microorganisms. The tank 10 is water fed through a duct 12. This
tank 10 is fitted with an overflow 14 that enables the volume of
solution in the tank 10 to be kept constant. In addition the tank
10 is fitted with an outlet 16 connected by a duct 18 to an
apparatus 20 for putting a controlled quantity of treatment
material, in this case a biocide material, in contact with the
aqueous solution to be treated. The apparatus 20 comprises at least
one treatment unit 26, for example a tray. The apparatus 20 is
connected to a pump 24 that enables the treated solution to be sent
back into the tank 10 according to a defined flow rate. The
apparatus 20 according to the invention comprises, in each
treatment unit 26, at least one medium 21 permeable to the aqueous
solution to be treated in which is confined the biocide material.
The medium 21 is simply put into the treatment unit 26.
[0016] The apparatus for putting the biocide into contact with the
aqueous solution is preferably arranged as described above and
shown in FIG. 1. However, it is possible to insert it directly into
the tank containing the solution to be treated. In this case, the
solution could be made to circulate inside the tank itself through
the biocide material.
[0017] FIG. 2 shows one embodiment of the medium 21 containing the
biocide. According to the invention, the medium 21 has the form of
a closed envelope. In certain cases the biocide material may be
prepared directly in the medium 21. However, it may be prepared
separately and inserted into the medium 21. To make filling easy,
it is desirable that the medium 21 is in the form of an envelope
having an opening 100 through which the biocide material can be
inserted. Advantageously, the envelope has a self-fastening part
21a to enable easy closing of the envelope after filling. The
self-fastening part is for instance Velcro.RTM. type. The form of
the closed envelope has the advantage of correctly confining the
biocide material. However, the solution to be treated must be able
to pass through the medium 21 so as to activate the biocide
material. Thus the material utilized to produce the medium 21 must
be sufficiently porous to let the solution pass and prevent the
biocide material that is, as was seen above, present in gel form,
from escaping freely from the medium. To this end, the medium 21
according to the invention is made from polyester foam.
[0018] According to one embodiment of the invention apparatus,
treatment unit or tray 26 is used in which is placed envelope 21,
for example 22 cm long by 22 cm wide. The polyester foam utilized
to make the envelope is for example made of heat bonded polyester
fibers. It has for example thickness 14 mm.
[0019] The envelope according to the invention has many advantages.
Indeed it can be reopened so that, for example, a small quantity of
biocide material present inside can be sampled in order for example
to analyze the material. Thus, during utilization, the user can
easily check that the biocide material is still sufficiently active
and then re-close the envelope thanks to the self-fastening part to
continue normal utilization. Similarly, the user can open the
envelope and empty it of its contents if necessary and then clean
it in order to refill it again. Indeed the polyester foam can be
regenerated unlike other materials like, for example, woven
material. The user can also wash the envelope in case of
clogging-up.
[0020] The medium 21 of the invention also has the advantage of not
suffering load losses during utilization.
[0021] Advantageously, the medium 21 in polyester foam has a filter
function and enables the apparatus assembly to be kept clean, that
is the treatment tank and the apparatus for delivering the biocide,
for a long period of time. In fact it enables various impurities
coming from the tank to be filtered mechanically.
[0022] The solution to be treated liable to contain bacteria is put
into contact with the biocide material by crossing the apparatus 20
that contains at least one medium 21 in which the biocide material
is found. By crossing this biocide material, the solution is loaded
with biocide. This solution loaded in biocide is then sent back to
the treatment tank 10. It is thus possible to limit bacteriological
growth in the solution.
[0023] The apparatus for putting a defined quantity of treatment
material into contact in an aqueous solution to be treated can be
utilized in any application in which the water quality in
bacteriological terms has to be controlled. For example, the
apparatus can be utilized in the photographic sector, the
maintenance of industrial cooling waters, etc.
[0024] The invention apparatus can be utilized advantageously in a
photographic processing machine. In particular, it is especially
advantageous to utilize it in the field of conventional medical
imaging, a field where it is desirable to have the maximum
reduction of bacteriological proliferation. Indeed, in X-ray film
processing processes, the presence of bacteria causes defects on
the developed films. Such defects can falsify the diagnosis.
Moreover, bacterial proliferation causes the formation of a biofilm
on the walls of the treatment tanks and on the cylinders and
rollers guiding the film, which requires machines to be stopped for
cleaning.
[0025] Processing machines conventionally comprise a developing
bath, a bleaching bath, a fixing bath and one or more wash baths.
The invention apparatus can be utilized on any of these baths,
preferably to treat a wash bath. The apparatus utilized in this
application may comprise several treatment units 26 each one
comprising a medium filled with biocide material. In the particular
embodiment of FIG. 1, the apparatus 20 for delivering the biocide
material has three treatment units 26 of which at least one unit
contains the medium 21 filled with biocide material. In this
application the medium 21 is also utilized to put into contact a
treatment material of a different nature, for example a material
for trapping compounds to be eliminated from the solution. For
example, the other units may contain a material capable of trapping
the silver contained in the solution to be treated. The treatment
material present in the medium 21 is then constituted of imogolite
whose surface has been altered and which includes thiol groups able
to collect the silver ions present in the solution to be
treated.
[0026] The invention apparatus can also be used in the field of
motion picture processing for preventing the formation of
precipitates in the processors, and/or for decreasing the frequency
of their cleaning. Due to the configuration and the volume of the
baths to treat, the apparatus comprises a plurality of media 21
which are attached together. Such a design permits the optimization
of the interaction between the media and the fluid to be treated.
It also limits the elastic deformation due to gravity which is
particularly advantageous since the apparatus is used during a long
period of time.
[0027] The invention has been described in detail with particular
reference to certain preferred embodiments thereof, but it will be
understood that variations and modifications can be effected within
the spirit and scope of the invention.
* * * * *