JP2010508142A - Low floating solids solution production system and method, and use thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

  The system and method for the production of a solution with low suspended solids content uses a column (10), where the solvent is passed through the column (10) at least once. The column (10) comprises a packed solid consisting of crushed mollusk shells (20, 21) having a diameter of at least one size. The final solution also has an effective use as a cleansing and disinfecting agent and has also been found to be beneficial in the treatment of skin diseases and other diseases of the body. Furthermore, the shell can be crushed and used as an active ingredient in the production of ointments useful in medicine.

Description

The present invention relates generally to systems and methods for producing a low suspended solids solution by filtering the solution through a column containing crushed shells from mollusks. More specifically, the present invention relates to a system and method for producing a low suspended solids solution having cleaning, sterilizing and medical properties. Furthermore, the present invention relates to a method for preparing a medically useful ointment comprising a comminuted shell composition as part thereof.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Mollusk-derived shells are generated as industrial waste from fishing grounds around the world. This shell waste is customarily dropped into the sea. However, shells have been effectively utilized as a calcium source and to obtain antibacterial agents, as well as for water purification. Powders obtained from scallops, oysters, clams and other mollusk shells, and solutions containing such powders have been shown to have antibacterial and antiviral properties and uses as water purification agents. It has also been found that the above powders have shown useful properties when applied as a deodorant for sterilization, as a preservative, and in selected pharmaceutical applications.

  The antibacterial properties of the shell powder include, for example, treatment of dermatophytosis (US Patent Application No. 2004/0028748), treatment of periodontal disease (European Patent Application No. 1676583) or lesions caused by atopic dermatitis, lesions caused by psoriasis Has been well documented and tested in the alleviation of inflammation caused by the disease and in renal dialysis (Japanese Patent Application No. 2004-256785). The shell powder can also be used in soaps that have been shown to treat tinea pedis (athlete's foot) caused by fungal growth.

  Japanese Patent Application No. 05-267807 (Ueda et al.) Is a method of purifying contaminated water, river bottom, lake bottom, sea bottom and bay bottom by spraying fossil shell powder on the sea bottom to purify contaminated water and river bottom. It is described.

  Japanese Patent Application No. 08-316935 (Suzuki et al.) Describes a porous material made from fired shells for purifying water. This material has been shown to effectively purify water and can be effectively applied to large scale water purification.

  Japanese Patent Application No. 11-328702 by Sasaya discloses a deodorant obtained by pulverizing scallop shells having a crystal structure consisting of a calcite-type structure of calcium carbonate.

  US Pat. No. 6,365,193 and US Pat. No. 6,488,978 to Sasaki et al. Disclose that the burned shell can be used as an antibacterial and water purification agent. Sasaki et al. Disclose heating the shell under an inert gas atmosphere to burn the shell. In particular, the antibacterial agent is obtained by burning powder derived from a shell of a sea shell in an inert gas atmosphere. This powder can be easily dissolved in water, especially warm water, and used as an antimicrobial solution.

  The use of shells as described above represents a wide range of applications where shell properties can be exploited. In order to manage and reduce the large volume of shell waste produced annually, further development directed to new uses of shell materials is desired and needed.

  Most of the above applications require the use of powders obtained from mollusk shells or heat treatment under high temperature and special conditions, so that both of these are expensive equipment and complex for implementation. Requires a simple setup procedure. Furthermore, it has also been found that when powder dissolves in water, it tends to lose its activity over time.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a simple method for obtaining a low-floating solid shell extract that is safe for the human body and environmentally friendly, mainly containing calcium. This low floating shell extract inherits the antibacterial properties of the shell and can be effectively applied as a cleaning and disinfecting agent or for the treatment of skin diseases, as has been shown so far. The resulting solution can also be used as a fluid or mixed with suitable excipients to give a solid or mastic structure.

  Furthermore, because the system and method of the present invention is simple and economically advantageous, it can be industrially applied to the purification and purification of contaminated water on a larger scale.

  According to one aspect of the present invention, a method of removing suspended solids from a solution comprising repeatedly filtering the solution through a filter / extraction column containing crushed mollusk shell particles. A method is provided.

  According to another aspect of the present invention, an apparatus for removing suspended solids from a solution comprising a filter / extraction column, a fluid inlet located at one end of the filter / extraction column, and the filter / extraction column An apparatus is provided that includes a fluid outlet located at the other end of the filter and wherein the filter / extraction column contains crushed mollusk shell particles.

  According to a further aspect of the present invention, an apparatus for removing suspended solids from a solution is provided. This device is installed at the other end of the filter / extraction column, the filter / extraction column, the fluid inlet installed at one end of the filter / extraction column, effectively assembled for the removal of the suspended solids. The filter / extraction column contains crushed mollusk shell particles.

  According to one preferred embodiment of the present invention, an apparatus comprising two filter / extraction columns arranged in series, wherein the first filter / extraction column contains crushed mollusk shell particles and the second filter An apparatus is provided wherein the extraction column contains ground mollusc shell particles precoated with iron oxide or hematite.

According to another aspect of the present invention, a low suspended solids solution produced by the above method is provided.
According to a further aspect of the present invention there is provided the use of a low suspension solids solution for the treatment of dermatoses, pre-combined with a carrier such as Euselin® or petrolatum.

  Another object of the present invention seeks to provide a detergent composition comprising only a low suspended solids solution or a mixture of said solution and 0.4 wt% sodium hydroxide (NaOH). . This weight factor can vary as determined by those skilled in the art while maintaining the effectiveness of cleaning.

  These and other features of the invention will become more apparent from the accompanying drawings.

It is sectional drawing of the extraction column containing an inlet, a discharge port, and a housing member. It is an exploded cross-sectional view of the upper half of the extraction column, depicting an empty column setting. FIG. 4 is an exploded cross-sectional view of the upper half of the extraction column, depicting a column filled with a packing member. It is an exploded sectional view of the lower half of the extraction column, depicting an empty column setting. FIG. 2 depicts a cross-sectional view of an apparatus that includes two extraction columns arranged in series. It is a figure which shows the measured turbidity of a shell extract with exposure time. FIG. 5 shows the increase in calcium content measured in shell extract with exposure time.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The following description relates to a preferred embodiment that exemplifies only one of the possible uses of the present invention.

  FIG. 1 depicts a filter / extraction column (10) including an inlet (11), an outlet (13), two screens (14) and a housing member (12). The housing member (12) defines a passageway (12a) that can be filled with a crushed mollusk shell.

  FIG. 2a depicts an exploded view of the upper half of the filter / extraction column (10), which comprises an upper coupling (16), a screw-on stopper (15) and the stopper. It includes a discharge port (13) arranged at (15). A screen (14) may be placed on the housing member (12) to accommodate the crushed mollusk shell in the filter / extraction column (10). The upper coupling (16) is fitted with a coupling inner lip (17) so that the screen (14) can be attached to the housing member. To prevent leakage of the column, a replaceable seal (18) such as silicon can be used.

  FIG. 2b depicts an exploded view of the lower half of the extraction column, which comprises a lower coupling (16), a stopper (15) and an inlet (11) located in the stopper (15). including. The lower coupling is fitted with a coupling inner lip (17) so that a screen (14) can be attached to the housing member (12) to accommodate the crushed mollusk shell in the filter / extraction column. can do. The inlet (11) is designed to connect to a plastic valve or a pump used to supply solvent to the column. In order to avoid leakage of the column, a replaceable silicon seal (18) can be used.

FIG. 3 depicts a filter / extraction column (10) that includes an inlet (11), an outlet (13), the top and bottom identical screens (14), and a housing member (12). The housing member (12) contains crushed mollusk shell particles, the size of which may be the same or different. In one embodiment shown in FIG. 3, the casing member contains ground shell particles (20) having a diameter of 0.5 to 1 mm and ground shell particles (21) having a diameter of 3 to 4 mm at the bottom thereof. is doing. However, the crushed mollusk shells may have roughly equal particle sizes and / or particle sizes distributed along the path depending on the need for filtering / extraction in one or more areas. An area is defined as containing ground shell particles of approximately the same diameter. The packing of the ground shell particles into the column can follow a regular or irregular distribution according to the desired gradient. Prior to grinding, a heat treatment can be applied to the shell at a temperature of about 300 ° C. for about 1.5 minutes.

  FIG. 4 depicts a cross-sectional view of the device (1) according to the invention, comprising at least two filter / extraction columns (2, 3) arranged in series. In this two-column apparatus (1), the filter / extraction column is such that the outlet (13) of the first column (2) is connected to the inlet (11) of the second column (3) by a connection tube (23). So that they are arranged linearly. The casing member (12) of the first column (2) can accommodate crushed shell particles (20) having a diameter of 0.5 to 1 mm at the bottom thereof, and then crushed shell particles having a diameter of 3 to 4 mm. (21) can be accommodated. The housing member (12) of the second column (3) may contain crushed shell particles (24) coated with iron oxide or hematite. It is believed that coating the ground shell particles with iron oxide or hematite can substantially improve the water purification characteristics of the filter / extraction column by reducing the metal content in the water passing through the device (1). It is done. Analysis of the water that passed through the filter / extraction column apparatus (1) showed that the content of aluminum and arsenic in the contaminated water was almost zero.

  In the practice of the present invention, the shell is recovered as soon as it gets off the fishing boat and placed in a transport box. The shell is then cleaned with an electric drill with a wire brush and thoroughly washed under high pressure to ensure effective cleaning. Subsequent to the cleaning and washing steps, a cooling step may be provided in which the shell is allowed to rest on the metal screen for the length of time necessary to cool the shell to ambient temperature. In the next step, the shell is crushed into particles of diameter 1, 2, 3, 4 mm. Nearly the same diameter particles or a mixture of different diameter particles can be used in the filter / extraction column according to the invention.

  The effectiveness of the cleaning agent depends on several factors such as the pH of the solvent and the particle size of the ground shell that forms the packing member of the extraction column. By passing distilled water through the filter / extraction column (10), among other parameters, the turbidity, calcium content and suspended solids of the extract can be controlled, among other parameters. The number of passes and the water flow rate determine the properties of the cleaning agent such as the cleaning effect. It has been shown that the size of the ground shell is inversely proportional to the effectiveness of the cleaning agent. For example, in order to produce a low floating solids solution effective as a cleaning agent, the particle size of the crushed shell is preferably 0.5 to 4 mm, more preferably 0.5 to 2 mm.

  FIG. 5 shows the turbidity versus exposure time measured in Experiment 1 detailed below. It will be seen that the measured turbidity of the solution decreases with the exposure time of the filter / extraction column. Turbidity was measured after each solvent passed through the extraction column. After a 12 hour exposure time, the measured turbidity of the shell extract was about 2.2 NTU. Each measured value of said turbidity correlates with the measured value of the amount of suspended solids in the shell extract after each passage. Therefore, as shown in Table 1 of Experiment 1, after the solvent first passes through the filter / extraction column, the amount of suspended solids decreases from 6 mg / L over time and reaches about 0 mg / L after 12 hours. .

  FIG. 6 shows the amount of calcium versus exposure time measured after each time the water passed through the extraction column. The final shell extract contains about 121 times more calcium than the starting solvent. The calcium content of the shell extract is preferably more than 14 mg / L, more preferably more than 20 mg / L. Other factors that can affect the effectiveness of the cleaning agent are the pH and turbidity of the shell extract. In order to optimize the cleaning results, the pH of the shell extract must be between 8.0 and 9.7 and the turbidity must be less than 6 NTU.

Experiment 1
As shown in FIG. 1, the extraction column (10) consisted of a 6 inch diameter, 4 foot long PVC tube with two couplings closing at both ends. The upper coupling had a 90 ° elbow threaded with a 3/4 inch plastic tube connected to it. The upper coupling and the plastic tube connected thereto represent the outlet (13) according to the invention.

  The constructed lower coupling had a straight adapter screwed into the coupling stopper and was connected to a plastic tube representing the inlet (11) according to the invention. A 12 V, 360 gallon / hour pump was connected to the column inlet and used to pass distilled water through the column. The top and bottom of the column are the same except that the bottom coupling had a 3/4 nipple with a 3/4 plastic tube connected to a plastic valve and a 12V pump. Designed. The two screens (14) shown in FIG. 1 were used to hold the crushed scallop shell in the passage (12a).

  The comminuted shell composition consisted of a mixture of 0.5 and 1 mm diameter scallop shell particles. The mass of the smaller particles was about 10 kg and the column was filled to within 2 inches from the top coupling screen (14). The rest of the column was filled with the larger 3 and 4 mm diameter particles.

  After the first pass of distilled water, the shell extract had a high suspended solids concentration. The suspended solids concentration was found to decrease with exposure time. Table 1 shows the suspended solids concentration in the solution as measured with a Hach Company DR-2400 spectrometer. This method for measuring suspended solids is a simple and direct measurement that does not require filtration or ignition / metering steps as required by gravimetric procedures. The US Environmental Protection Agency has designated a gravimetric method for measuring solids, but this method is often used to confirm processes in factories. The test result is measured at 810 nm. This method is recorded in Hach Water Analysis Handbook, Method 8006, page 963.

The accuracy of spectroscopic methods for measuring suspended solids concentration is measured by Hach Water Analysis.
Comparison with the gravimetric method described in Handbook, Method 8271, page 947. The mass of the aluminum pan was measured to the nearest 1 mg with a Scientech 120 analytical balance. A 100 mL sample was taken in situ from the solution and placed on an aluminum pan. The dish with the sample was placed in a preheated oven and allowed to evaporate at 103-105 ° C. for about 6 hours. The dish was then removed from the oven and allowed to cool at room temperature in a desiccator. The dish with the sample was then removed from the desiccator and weighed to the nearest 0.1 mg with a Scientificech 120 analytical balance. This was the first mass measurement of the sample. This dish and the sample were again placed in an oven preheated for 1 hour, and mass measurement was performed until the difference in results did not exceed 0.4 mg. The second measurement of mass was performed as described above. Table 2 below shows the suspended solids concentration in the solution as measured by gravimetric analysis.

In the formula:
A = sample + tray weight (mg)
B = Weight of dish (mg)

In the formula:
Dh = highest number of data results obtained D1 = lowest number of data results obtained

Experiment 2
Two extraction columns were constructed as described above in Experiment 1 (see FIG. 4). Two columns were placed in series with the first column outlet directly connected to the second column inlet. A 12 V, 360 gallon / hour pump was connected to the inlet of the first column and was used to pass distilled water through the first and second columns.

  The packing member of the first column was made from a mixture of smaller scallop shell particles of diameter 0.5 and 1 mm. The mass of the smaller particles was about 10 kg, but the column had to be filled 2 inches below the upper coupling screen (14). The rest of the column was filled with the larger 3 and 4 mm diameter particles as described in Experiment 1.

The packing member of the second column was made from crushed scallop shell particles coated with iron oxide or hematite (Fe ₂ O ₃ ). Coating the ground shell particles with iron oxide can be done by any method known to those skilled in the art. In the present invention, scallop shell coating is performed by immersing the shell in iron oxide or hematite for 4 hours and then baking the shell and solution at 200 ° C. for 4 hours. The shell must then be washed with distilled water and dried in an oven at 200 ° C. for 3 hours.

  Contaminated water with a high content of aluminum and arsenic was passed through a device comprising two extraction columns arranged in series. It was actually found that the aluminum and arsenic content of the resulting aqueous solution was reduced to 0 mg / L.

  The present invention provides a system and method for producing a low suspended solids solution by filtering the solution through a column containing a crushed shell from a mollusk. As a result of the use of the above systems and methods, a solution having a number of properties is obtained. In particular, this solution can be effectively provided as a cleaning agent and disinfectant, and is effective in the treatment of various skin diseases. Furthermore, the present invention provides applications for mollusk shells, industrial waste generated in large quantities from fishing grounds around the world.

Claims (18)

  A method of removing suspended solids from a solution comprising repeatedly filtering the solution through a filter / extraction column (10) containing crushed mollusk shell particles (20, 21).   The method of claim 1, wherein the solution is water.   The crushed mollusk shell particles (20, 21) are boiled at a temperature of about 100 ° C for about 15 minutes prior to placement in the filter / extraction column (10). the method of.   The crushed mollusk shell particles (20, 21) are calcined at a temperature of about 300 ° C for about 1.5 minutes prior to placement in the filter / extraction column (10). The method of any one of these.   An apparatus for removing suspended solids from a solution, comprising a filter / extraction column (10), a fluid inlet (11) installed at one end of the filter / extraction column (10), and the filter / extraction column ( 10) A device comprising a fluid outlet (13) located at the other end of 10), wherein the filter / extraction column (10) contains crushed mollusk shell particles (20, 21).   A first screen (14) removably connected to one end of the filter / extraction column (10) near the fluid inlet (11) and a filter / extraction column (10) near the fluid outlet (13). The apparatus of claim 5, further comprising a second screen (14) removably connected to the opposite end.   An apparatus for removing suspended solids from a solution, comprising a plurality of the apparatus of claim 5 or 6 connected in an operable arrangement effective for removing suspended solids from a solution. .   Two filter / extraction columns (10) arranged in series, the first filter / extraction column (10) contains the crushed mollusk shell particles (20, 21) and the second filter / extraction column ( The device according to claim 7, wherein 10) contains ground mollusc shell particles (24) precoated with iron oxide or hematite.   The solution manufactured by the method of any one of Claims 1-4.   10. The solution according to claim 9, wherein the concentration of calcium exceeds 14 mg / L.   The solution according to claim 9 or 10, wherein the concentration of calcium exceeds 20 mg / L.   The solution according to any one of claims 9 to 11, wherein the pH of the solution is 8.0 to 9.7.   The solution according to any one of claims 9 to 12, wherein the turbidity of the solution is less than 6 NTU.   14. A solution according to any one of claims 9 to 13, further comprising an amount of NaOH compatible with the effectiveness of the solution.   15. The solution according to claim 14, wherein the ratio of NaOH to the solution is 0.4% by weight. Further comprising an excipient selected from the group consisting of euthelin and petrolatum.
14. The solution according to any one of items 13.   Use of the solution according to any one of claims 9 to 15 as a cleaning agent.   Use of the solution according to claim 16 for the treatment of skin diseases.