JPH0221987A - Treating device for waste photographic processing liquid - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To sufficiently remove moisture from the concentrate generated by evaporation concn. and to prevent staining of a treating device at the time of taking out of the treating device by providing a filter means for filtering the concentrate and disposing a liquid draining means for executing liquid draining of the concentrate housed in this filter means. CONSTITUTION:A waste photographic processing liquid is heated by a heating means 2 and is subjected to evaporation concn. by a separating means 3. The waste photographic processing liquid generated in this evaporation concn. is housed in the filter means 5. The concentrate housed in this filter means 5 is then subjected to the liquid draining by operating the liquid draining means 30 and is taken out of the treating device after the operation of the evaporation concn. is stopped. Sticking of the concentrate to the treating device is decreased by housing the concentrate into the filter means 5 in such a manner at the time of the treatment of the evaporation concn. Further, the staining of the treating device is prevented by executing the liquid draining of the concentrate to remove the moisture thereof at the time of taking out of the treating device. In addition, the lightweight and easy-to-handle concentrate is obtd.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention is a method for evaporating waste liquid (hereinafter referred to as photographic processing waste liquid or waste liquid) generated during the processing of photographic light-sensitive materials using an automatic photographic processor. The present invention relates to a processing device, and particularly to a processing device for photographic processing waste liquid suitable for processing by being disposed in or near an automatic processor.

[Prior Art] In general, photographic processing of silver halide photographic materials includes development, fixing, washing, etc. in the case of black and white photosensitive materials, and color development, bleach-fixing (or bleaching, washing, etc.) in the case of color photosensitive materials. established),
A combination of processes using a treatment liquid having one or more functions such as water washing and stabilization is carried out.

In photographic processing in which a large amount of light-sensitive material is processed, the components consumed during processing are replenished, while the components that are concentrated by elution or evaporation into the processing solution (
Measures are taken to maintain the performance of the processing solution at a constant level by removing bromide ions in the developing solution and silver complex salts in the fixing solution and keeping the processing solution components constant. The processing solution is replenished and a portion of the processing solution is discarded for removal of thickening components in photographic processing.

In recent years, systems have been changing to systems in which the amount of replenishment fluid, including the washing water used as a replenishment fluid for washing, has been drastically reduced due to pollution and economic reasons. It is led through a waste liquid pipe, diluted with waste liquid from washing water, cooling water from automatic processors, etc., and then disposed of in sewers, etc.

However, due to the tightening of pollution regulations in recent years, it is not possible to dispose of washing water and cooling water into sewers or rivers. It has become virtually impossible to dispose of bleach-fix solutions (or bleach-fix solutions, stabilizers, etc.). For this reason, each photo processing company pays a collection fee to a specialized waste liquid processing company to collect the waste liquid, or installs pollution treatment equipment. However, the method of outsourcing to a waste liquid treatment company is
A considerable amount of space is required to store the waste liquid, and the cost is also extremely high.Furthermore, the initial investment (initial cost) for pollution treatment equipment is extremely large, and it takes a considerable amount of space to set up. It has drawbacks such as the need for space.

Therefore, in general, the waste liquid is collected by a waste liquid collection company and is rendered harmless through secondary and tertiary processing, or the price of waste liquid collection is increasing year by year due to the rising quality of collected liquid, and the collection efficiency is low in minilabs etc., so it is difficult to collect it. This has resulted in problems such as waste liquid filling the store.

In order to solve these problems, research has been conducted to heat the photographic processing waste liquid to evaporate the water to dryness or solidify it, with the aim of making it easier to process the photographic processing waste liquid even in minilabs. This is shown in Utility Model Application Publication No. 60-70841. By the way, in the research of the inventors, photo
When wastewater A is evaporated, sulfur dioxide gas, hydrogen sulfide,
Harmful or extremely foul-smelling gases such as ammonia gas are generated. It has been found that this is caused by the decomposition of ammonium thiosulfate and sulfites (ammonium salt, sodium salt, or potassium salt), which are commonly used as fixing solutions and bleach-fixing solutions in photographic processing solutions, due to high temperatures. Furthermore, during the evaporation process, moisture in the photographic processing waste liquid becomes vapor and gasifies, thereby expanding the volume and increasing the pressure in the evaporator. Therefore, due to this pressure, the harmful or malodorous gas leaks out of the evaporation treatment apparatus to the outside of the apparatus, resulting in an extremely unfavorable working environment.

Therefore, in order to solve these problems,
No. 1 discloses a method of providing an exhaust gas treatment section such as activated carbon in the exhaust pipe section of an evaporation treatment device. However, this method has the serious drawback that water vapor from a large amount of water in the photographic processing waste liquid condenses or condenses in the exhaust gas treatment section, covering the gas absorption processing agent and causing it to instantly lose its gas absorption ability. Therefore, it could not yet be put into practical use.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] 'In order to solve these problems, the present inventors condensed the vapor produced by evaporation when evaporating photographic processing waste liquid, and Previously, we proposed a device for concentrating photographic processing waste that processes the condensate and also treats non-condensed components before discharging them to the outside.

However, it has been found that this proposal has the following problems. In other words, the vapor produced by the evaporation process is condensed by the cooling condensation means, but since the concentrate produced by the evaporation concentration accumulates inside the evaporation means, for example, the valve provided on the evaporation means is opened and the vapor is placed in a waste bag or discarded. It is then taken out into a container.

By the way, since the concentrate adheres to the inner wall of the evaporation means,
When taking it out, leakage occurs and it takes time and effort. Further, the concentrate taken out from the evaporation means into a bag or container contains a large amount of water, which causes problems such as dirtying of the processing equipment and being heavy and requiring trouble in handling.

This invention was made in view of the conventional problems,
It is an object of the present invention to provide a processing device for photographic processing waste liquid that sufficiently removes water from the concentrate generated by evaporation concentration, prevents the processing device from becoming dirty, and facilitates handling.

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides a processing apparatus for photographic processing waste liquids that heats photographic processing waste liquids using a heating means to evaporate and concentrate the photographic processing waste liquids. It is characterized by comprising a filtration means for accommodating the filtration means, and a liquid draining means for draining the concentrate contained in the filtration means.

Furthermore, in the photographic processing waste liquid processing apparatus of the present invention, the liquid draining means can be operated after the evaporative concentration operation is stopped.

Therefore, the photographic processing waste liquid is evaporated and concentrated by heating, and the concentrate produced by this evaporation and concentration is stored in the filtration means.

After the evaporative concentration operation, the liquid draining means is operated to drain the concentrate contained in the filtration means and take it out from the processing device.

Therefore, during the evaporative concentration process, the concentrate is stored in the filtering means, so that it is less likely to adhere to the apparatus. Furthermore, since the concentrate is drained to remove moisture when taken out from the processing equipment, it does not get dirty when taken out, and is lightweight and easy to handle.

The operation of this liquid draining means may be started during the evaporative concentration operation or after the operation is stopped, and the evaporative concentration operation is stopped before the liquid draining of the concentrate stored in the filtration means is completed. All you have to do is do it.

This liquid removal means rotates the filtration means containing the concentrate, for example, and the rotation speed is preferably 10 to 200 Orp.
m, more preferably 30 to 500 rpm.

Further, the liquid draining means can drain the liquid by fixing one side of the filtering means and slowly rotating the other side to squeeze the filter.

Furthermore, the concentrate may be drained by passing the filtration means between a pair of rollers and squeezing the filtration means with the rollers.

Further, the filtration means may be heated by applying heat, and air may be applied to the filtration means to cool it to drain the liquid. Furthermore, hot air may be applied to the filtration means for drying.

Alternatively, the liquid may be drained by vibrating or applying impact to the filtering means.

Each of these liquid draining means can be provided alone, or any one of them can be provided in combination. moreover,
The liquid draining means may be driven automatically by electrical means or may be operated manually.

This heating means may be a nichrome wire, a heated heater such as a cartridge heater, a quartz heater, a Teflon heater, a bar heater, a panel heater, or a microwave. Alternatively, a conductive material may be brought into direct contact with the photographic processing waste liquid, and the conductive material may cause an electric current to flow through the photographic processing waste liquid and heat the photographic processing waste liquid.

The material of the heating part is heat-resistant glass, titanium, stainless steel,
Any heat-resistant material such as carbon steel or heat-resistant plastic may be used, or stainless steel (preferably 5US304 or 5US) may be used for safety and corrosion resistance.
US316, particularly preferably 5US316) and titanium.

Further, the heating means may be installed at any position as long as it can heat the waste liquid of the evaporation means.

Typical examples of photographic processing waste liquids that can be buried according to the present invention are those described in Japanese Patent Application No. 194615/1983 filed earlier by this applicant. The processing apparatus of the invention is effective in the case of photographic processing waste liquid containing large amounts of thiosulfates, sulfites, and ammonium salts, and is particularly effective in cases containing organic acid ferric complex salts and thiosulfates. .

A preferred application of the present invention is to treat photographic processing waste liquid generated during the development of photographic light-sensitive materials using an automatic processor in or near the automatic processor.

[Example] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a processing apparatus for photographic processing waste liquid according to the present invention.

In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes a circulation system for photographic processing waste liquid, and this circulation system 1 includes a heating means 2 for heating the photographic processing waste liquid, and a separation means 3 for separating steam containing gas generated by this heating from the photographic processing waste liquid. are independently provided, and the heating means 2 is arranged at a lower position than the separating means 3.

The heating means 2 is provided around the outer periphery of the vibrator 4 in the circulation system, and heats the photographic processing waste liquid from the outside of the vibrator 4. By this heating, the photographic processing waste liquid is automatically circulated through the circulation system 1 and heated. be done. The heating means 2 may be placed inside the vibrator 4 to directly heat the photographic processing waste liquid.

Note that the heating means 2 may be placed at a higher position than the separating means 3, and in this case, a circulation phonf is placed in the circulation system 1 to force the circulation.

In the circulation system 1, the part where the heating means 2 is installed is placed on the side of the heat-resistant part to avoid misalignment, and by providing the heating means 2 in the circulation system 1, it is possible to reduce the evaporation area of the photographic processing waste liquid. Moreover, there is no need to heat the concentrate,
It is possible to significantly reduce the odor residue caused by overheating decomposition of the concentrate, and even as the concentration progresses, the generation of hydrogen sulfide and sulfur-based odors is reduced.

The separating means 3 is composed of a container having a predetermined capacity, and this container is made of plastic, titanium, etc., and has a container body 3a.
and a lid body 3b.

A filtration means 5 is arranged inside this separation means 3, and this filtration means 5 is constituted by a sludge filter 5a, and a cover body 3
b via a mounting member 5b to be detachably supported.

This lid body 3b is attached and detached by, for example, screwing into the container body 3a, and is formed in a circular shape with a diameter of 20 cm or less.
The diameter of is preferably 5 to 15 cm.

The heated photographic processing waste liquid discharged from the vibrator 4 of the circulation system 1 is co-fed to the separation means 3, where it is separated into gas-containing steam and unconcentrated photographic processing waste liquid, and this photographic processing waste liquid is passed through the sludge filter. 5a. The sludge filter 5a can be used to take out the filtered concentrate from which water has been removed.

The separating means 3 is provided with a liquid level detecting sensor 6, and the liquid level detecting sensor 6 monitors the amount of the photographic processing f9: liquid in the separating means 3. Vibrator 4 of circulatory system 1 is Vibrator 7
It is connected to the waste liquid supply tank 8 via the vibrator 7.
Photographic processing waste liquid is supplied by driving a hero's bomb 9 installed in the chamber. The hero's bomb 9 is controlled by the liquid level information from the liquid level detection sensor 6, and keeps the amount of photographic processing waste liquid in the circulation system 1 constant. A liquid level detection sensor 10 is provided in the waste liquid supply tank 8 to monitor the remaining amount of photographic processing waste liquid, and when a predetermined amount is reached, the waste liquid is automatically supplied or the operation is stopped. A discharge means 11 is provided on the upper part of the separation means 3 for taking out the vapor containing the residue generated by the heating of the evaporation means.
consists of a take-out part 12 provided in the container body 3a and a discharge vibrator 13, and a baffle plate 14 is provided in the take-out part 12, so that the liquid supplied from the vibrator 4 of the circulation system 1 is directly discharged. This prevents it from happening. In addition, this extraction section 12
is communicated with the container main body 3a via the vibrator 15, and is adapted to return the liquid accumulated in the extraction section 12 to the container main body 3a.

The discharge vibrator 13 is equipped with a dissolving means 16 for dissolving steam in the water by bringing it into contact with water, and a water supply vibrator 17 constituting the dissolving means 16 is connected to the discharge vibrator 13, and when the water supply pump 18 is operated, the water is removed from the water tank 19. Water is supplied, the water comes into contact with steam, and the steam is dissolved in the water, which is then discharged into the drainage tank 20. In this way, when the steam containing gas produced by heating the photographic processing waste comes into contact with water and dissolves the steam in water, the cooling capacity and condensation efficiency are improved, so it is released outside the equipment without being condensed. The ratio of steam generated is reduced, and it is possible to prevent foul-smelling and harmful gases from being released to the outside of the device.

This drainage tank 20 is connected to the vibrator 7 via a vibrator 21, and air is supplied to the circulation system 1 by the operation of this air pump 22. This mixture of air causes
By lowering the evaporation temperature of photographic processing waste, it suppresses the generation of odors such as hydrogen sulfide and ammonia gas.

Further, the water 4Ii19 is supplied with water from a water supply 23, and the liquid level is monitored by a liquid level detection sensor 24, and based on this liquid level information, a valve 25 is opened and closed to keep the water level constant.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, this processing apparatus is equipped with a liquid draining means 30 for draining the concentrate contained in the filtering means 5. In this embodiment, the liquid draining means 30 is constituted by a motor 31 whose rotational speed is preferably 10 to 2000 rpm, more preferably 30 to 2000 rpm.
500 rpm, thereby draining the concentrate contained in the filtration means 5.

The liquid cutting means 30 is activated after the evaporative concentration operation is stopped, but the operation of the liquid cutting means 30 may be started during the evaporation concentration operation or after the evaporation concentration operation is stopped.
It is sufficient if the evaporative concentration operation is stopped before the draining of the concentrate stored in the container is completed.

Therefore, the photographic processing waste liquid was heated to evaporate and concentrate, and the concentrate produced by this evaporation and concentration was stored in the filtration means 5. After the operation of evaporation and concentration, the liquid draining means 30 was operated and the concentrate was stored in the filtration means 5. Drain the concentrate and remove it from the processing equipment.

Therefore, when taking out the concentrate from the processing equipment, the liquid is drained from the concentrate to remove water, so it does not get dirty when taken out, and it is lightweight and easy to handle.

FIG. 3 shows another embodiment of the liquid draining means 30, in which a recess 3c is formed in the container body 3a of the separating means 3. When the concentrate is accommodated in the sludge filter 5a of the filtration means 5, one side of the filtration means 5 is fixed by coming into contact with the recess 3c of the container body 3a.

Therefore, when the other motor 31 is slowly rotated, the sludge filter 5a is throttled and the concentrate can be drained.

FIG. 4 shows still another embodiment of the liquid draining means 30, in which the sludge filter 5a of the filtration means 5 is connected to a pair of rollers 32.
The filtering means 5 is squeezed by the roller 32 to drain the concentrate. This roller 32 is rotated by a drive motor 33,
It may also be operated manually.

FIG. 5 shows still another embodiment of the liquid draining means 3o, in which the sludge filter 5a of the filtration means 5 is heated by a heater 34 provided in the container body 3a for heating the photographic processing waste liquid. Warm and dry the concentrate.

The filtering means 5 is supplied with hot air from the outside to the container body 3a.
You can also give it to dry.

FIG. 6 shows yet another embodiment of the liquid draining means 30. In this embodiment, a rotary container 36 is rotatably provided with a motor 37 in a case 35 provided at a location different from the separating means. The sludge filter 5a of the filtration means 5 is placed in the rotary container 36, and the motor 37 is driven to rotate and drain the concentrate, and this water is discharged to the waste tank 39 via the hose 38.

[Effects of the Invention] As mentioned above, the photographic processing waste liquid processing apparatus of the present invention has the following effects:
It is equipped with a filtration means for accommodating the concentrate generated by evaporation and concentration, and a liquid draining means for draining the concentrate contained in the filtration means. Then, the liquid cutting means is activated after the evaporative concentration operation is stopped.

Therefore, the photographic processing waste liquid is evaporated and concentrated by heating, and the concentrate produced by this evaporation and concentration is stored in the filtration means.
After the evaporative concentration operation, the liquid draining means is operated to drain the concentrate stored in the filtration means and take it out from the apparatus, so that it is possible to reduce the amount of the concentrate from adhering to the apparatus during the evaporative concentration process.

Furthermore, since the concentrate is drained to remove moisture when taken out from the processing equipment, it does not get dirty when taken out, and is lightweight and easy to handle.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a photographic processing waste liquid processing apparatus according to the present invention, and FIGS. 2 to 6 are schematic diagrams showing other embodiments of the photographic processing waste liquid processing apparatus according to the present invention. In the drawings, 1 is a circulation system, 2 is a heating means, 3 is a separation means,
4 is a vibrator, 5 is a filtering means, 11 is a discharge means, and 30 is a liquid draining means.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A processing device for photographic processing waste liquid that heats the photographic processing waste liquid with a heating means to evaporate and concentrate the waste liquid, including a filtration means for accommodating the concentrate generated by the evaporation concentration, and a filtration means for accommodating the concentrate generated by the evaporation concentration. 1. A photographic processing waste liquid processing apparatus, comprising: a liquid draining means for draining the concentrated product. 2. The photographic processing waste liquid processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the liquid cutting means is operated after the evaporation concentration operation is stopped.