JPH0422480A - Apparatus for evaporative concentration treatment of waste photographic processing solution - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To accurately detect the liquid level in a column from the outside by providing an optical sensor consisting of a light emitting device and a photodetector to a part of the column constituted of a transparent member so that the light of the light emitting device is cut off by the waste photographic processing solution in the column. CONSTITUTION:At least a part of an evaporative concn. column 9 wherein a heating part 6 communicates with a steam condensing part 8 is constituted of transparent members 26a, 26b. An optical sensor consisting of a light emitting device 22a and a photodetector 22b is provided to the parts constituted of the transparent members to form such a structure that the light from the light emitting device 22a is cut off by the waste photographic processing solution in the column. As a result, the liquid level in the column can accurately be detected from the outside of the column and the supply of the waste photographic processing solution can always be accurately stopped so as to hold a prescribed liquid level.

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.

[Conventional technology]

Generally, photographic processing of silver halide light-sensitive materials is carried out in the order of color development, bleach-fixing (or bleaching and fixing), and water washing or stabilization processing.

In photographic processing in which a large amount of light-sensitive material is processed, the components consumed during the processing are replenished, while the components that are dissolved into the processing solution or concentrated by evaporation (for example, embodied ions in the developer, fixing A method is used to maintain the performance of the processing solution at a constant level by removing substances (such as silver complex salts in the solution) and keeping the processing components constant. A portion of the processing liquid is discarded to remove thickening components during processing.

In recent years, systems have been changing to systems in which the amount of replenishment fluid, including washing water, which is used as a replenishment fluid for washing, has been significantly reduced due to pollution and economic reasons, but photographic processing waste fluid is removed from the processing tank of automatic processors. It is led through a waste liquid pipe, diluted with waste liquid from washing water, cooling water from automatic processing machines, etc., and then disposed of in a sewer or the like.

However, due to stricter pollution regulations in recent years, it is possible to dispose of washing water and cooling water into sewers or rivers, but other photographic processing solutions [e.g. developer, fixer, color developer, bleach-fixer] (or bleaching solution, fixing solution), stabilizing solution, etc.] has become virtually impossible to dispose of. 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 it is also extremely expensive.Furthermore, the initial investment (initial cost) for pollution treatment equipment is extremely large, and it requires a fairly large space to set up. It has disadvantages such as requiring

Therefore, waste liquid is generally collected by a waste liquid collection company and rendered harmless through secondary and tertiary processing.However, not only is the price of waste liquid collection increasing year by year due to rising collection costs, but collection efficiency is low in minilabs, etc., so it is difficult to do so. No one can come to collect the liquid, causing 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. It is shown in JP-A No. 60-70841 and the like. By the way, the inventors' research has shown that when photographic processing waste liquid is evaporated, harmful or extremely malodorous gases such as sulfur dioxide gas, hydrogen sulfide, and 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. Further, during the evaporation process, moisture and the like in the photographic processing waste liquid becomes vapor and gasifies, thereby expanding the volume and increasing the pressure in the evaporation pot. 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. However, it has not yet been put to practical use.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

In order to solve these problems, the present inventors condensed the vapor produced by evaporation when processing waste photographic processing liquid by evaporation, and further treated the condensate produced by condensation and also treated non-condensed components. We have previously proposed a device for concentrating photographic processing waste liquid that is discharged to the outside.

However, according to this proposal, we found that there is a hanging point. In other words, an accurate liquid level detection means is required to supply photographic waste liquid up to the specified liquid level in the evaporation column. During the concentration process, it is difficult to install a detection means inside the column because it will inhibit evaporation or the mechanical function will be quickly damaged by sludge splashes, etc.

Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a means for accurately detecting the liquid level inside a column from outside the column.

[Means to solve the problem]

The object is achieved by any one of the following means (a), (b), (c), and (d).

(a) At least a part of the evaporation concentration column that communicates the heating part and the vapor condensing part is made of a transparent member, and a light sensor consisting of a light emitting device and a light receiving device is provided in the part made of the transparent material, and a light sensor consisting of a light emitting device and a light receiving device is provided inside the column. An apparatus for evaporating and concentrating photographic processing waste liquid, which has a structure that blocks the light of the light emitting device.

(b) The temperature of the photographic processing waste liquid in the optical sensor installation part is set to 70°C.
An evaporative concentration treatment apparatus for photographic processing waste liquid as described in item a above, wherein the temperature is below ℃.

(c) An apparatus for evaporating and concentrating photographic processing waste liquid as described in a%, having a structure in which the inside of the column transparent member in which the optical sensor is installed is washed with the supplied photographic waste liquid waste liquid.

(d) The apparatus for evaporating and concentrating photographic processing waste liquid according to item a, wherein the signal from the optical sensor is used as a signal for stopping the supply of photographic processing waste liquid.

In the present invention, the evaporative concentration column 9 is a container body having upper and lower chambers and communicating with each other, as shown in FIG. A heating section is formed in which the waste liquid is supplied and heated by the heating means to evaporate its moisture, a cooling means is provided in the royal chamber, and the steam generated from the lower chamber is guided through the communication section to cool and condense it.Steam condensation It forms a part.

The portion made of the transparent member in the second invention is a portion forming the heating section of the lower chamber. The photographic processing waste liquid is supplied to a predetermined height that is not the upper end of this heating section, and the supply is stopped when detected by the optical sensor. This detection window is made of a transparent member.

The applicant has discovered that photographic processing waste liquid tends to adhere to utensils as dirt when heated to 70°C, and the temperature of the photographic processing waste liquid inside the window has been adjusted to prevent the window made of the above-mentioned transparent member from becoming dirty. The temperature should be kept below 70℃.

Furthermore, it is preferable to direct the supply port toward the inner surface of the window and spray or sprinkle the supplied photographic processing waste solution so that dirt on the window can be cleaned with the photographic processing waste solution supplied into the column.

Detection using an optical sensor requires a detection time of 1 in order to prevent false detection due to hunting or splashes caused by the liquid level.
It is best to set it to about 0 seconds.

〔Example〕

Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a sectional view illustrating the overall configuration of the embodiment.

When the water circulation pump 14 is started, the water pumped up from the container 16 is vigorously blown downward from the ejector 15. At this time, the air passage 23 connected in a T-shape by the ejector 15 becomes under negative pressure, so when the valve 8 is opened, the vapor condensing section 8 and the evaporation concentration column (hereinafter simply referred to as column) connected thereto are opened. Air is sucked out from the air chamber 9, and these, the vapor condensing section 8 and the column 9 are depressurized.

Next, when the valve 20 is opened, the waste liquid is sucked up from the container 19 by the reduced pressure and sprayed into the column 9 through a nozzle 21 provided at the upper part of the column 9.

When the waste liquid accumulates in the column 9 and reaches the liquid level A, the optical sensor 22 detects this, closes the valve 20, and stops the liquid injection. The valve 20 may be a solenoid valve.

One part 26a and 26b1 of the side wall of the column 9 is made of a transparent material, and the light emitting part 22a and the light receiving part 22b of the optical sensor 22 are arranged facing each other through these windows, and the heating part 6 is arranged so as not to block this optical path. The shape is an escape.

Since the opening of the nozzle 21 was provided toward the inner wall of the first part 26a and 26b of the side wall of the column 9, this part 1-
Since the photographic waste liquid is sprayed, cleaning is performed and the light from the optical sensor 22 is not blocked by dirt such as sludge. FIG. 2 shows a system in which a pump 2OA is used instead of the valve 20 as a means for pumping up waste liquid.

FIG. 3 shows another embodiment of the liquid level detection section.

That is, on the side of the column 9, a connecting pipe was provided below the liquid level A, which is the specified liquid level, and the upper part of the pipe was above the liquid level, and a nozzle 21 for supplying photographic waste liquid was installed above this pipe. . The part located at the liquid level A is made of a transparent member, and as shown in the figure, the light emitting part 22a and the light receiving part 2 of the optical sensor 22 are made of a transparent material.
2b were provided facing each other.

Since the liquid level detected by this optical sensor is equal to the liquid level A, the supply of photographic waste liquid is stopped when the optical sensor 22 detects the liquid level.

Then, since the supplied photographic waste liquid is sprayed from the nozzle 21 toward the transparent members 26a and 26b, the inner walls of the transparent members are cleaned, and the detection by the optical sensor 22 is not hindered by dirt. In this second embodiment as well, the tube projecting to the side of the column 9 constitutes a part of the evaporation wire forming column 9 mentioned in the claims.

Next, the heat pump 1 will be explained in detail. The heat pump 1 includes a compressor 2, an air-cooled condenser 3, a propeller fan 4 driven by a fan motor 5, a heating section 6, a cooling coil 13, a cooling section 7, a vibrator connecting these, and this system. It consists of a refrigerant injected into the tank.

The refrigerant compressed by the compressor 2 reaches a high temperature and is blown out toward the air-cooled condenser 3. Here, forced air cooling is performed using a propeller fan 4 driven by a fan motor 5. This is done in order to prevent the heat pump from running out of control, control the temperature of the heating section 6, and prevent gas generation due to high temperatures.

Next, the refrigerant that has reached an appropriate temperature due to the forced air cooling is heated to a heating section 6.
to go into. The heating unit 6 is also disposed continuously above the liquid level of the waste liquid injected into the column 9 below the liquid level A.
The part below heats the waste liquid, and the part above the liquid surface heats the generated steam.

The refrigerant that has passed through the heating section 6 passes through the dryer 111 and the capillary reach tube 10, enters the cooling coil 13, cools the water injected into the container 16, and then enters the cooling section 7. After cooling the vapor evaporated from the column 9, the refrigerant returns to the compressor 2 to complete one cycle, and this cycle is repeated.

The features of this configuration are that the water blowing force of the water circulation pump is used as a pressure reduction means, and the water is cooled with the heat pump's refrigerant. By using a condenser (condenser) and heating the steam not only below the liquid level but also above the liquid level, the upward movement of evaporated steam is accelerated and evaporation efficiency is greatly improved. be.

Furthermore, as an efficiency design, by reducing the pressure in the column 9 as described above, by opening the valve 2o, the waste liquid is pumped up and put into the column 9 without a liquid pump, which is effective for efficiency and compactness.

When heating evaporation is carried out under reduced pressure with the above configuration, a phenomenon occurs in which the waste liquid violently splashes upward from the waste liquid surface of the column 9. To prevent this from entering the cooling section 7, a splash prevention is performed. A plate 24 is provided.

The generated water vapor is cooled and condensed in the cooling section 7 and accumulated as water droplets at the bottom 8C of the steam condensing section 8, but is discharged into the container I6 through the valve I8 by the pressure reducing means. and,
The container 16 is provided with an overflow port, and the water overflowing with the condensed water flows into the condensed water tank 35 through a pipe 36 and is collected.

As evaporation concentration progresses and the waste liquid becomes sludge,
There is a point where the balance of the cooling/heating cycle as described above suddenly collapses, and this is detected when the refrigerant temperature at the outlet of the compressor 2 after compression suddenly changes from 100°C to 120°C. Therefore, by detecting this temperature change with a temperature sensor, the compressor 2 is stopped and the water circulation pump 14 is stopped to detect that the waste liquid has turned into sludge.
stop.

At this time, since the container 16 is open to atmospheric pressure, the water in the container 16 is reduced to the air passage 23 due to the reduced pressure state of the steam condensing section 8.
In order to prevent this, the valve 18 is designed as a three-way valve so that the air passage 2 is inhaled when the valve is stopped.
The third side is closed, leaving an opening to the atmosphere.

However, instead of a three-way valve, an electromagnetic valve or the like for opening and closing an opening communicating with the atmosphere may be provided in the air passage 23, and this may be opened and balanced at atmospheric pressure at the same time as the above-mentioned stop.

Thereafter, the valve 25 at the bottom of the column 9 is opened to discharge the sludge. The sludge collected here contains a high concentration of silver, so it is stored in a sealed container as a valuable resource, and the silver is collected separately before being disposed of in an appropriate location.

In addition, the concentration level with this device is 18 to 20 in total waste liquid.
It can be concentrated up to twice as much, and the sludge conversion rate is apparently 98%.

〔Effect of the invention〕

With this structure, it is possible to supply photographic processing waste liquid to the evaporation concentration processing apparatus for photographic processing waste liquid up to a specified liquid level, and to always stop the supply accurately at the specified liquid level.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of the embodiment. FIG. 2 and tiJ3 are partial cross-sectional views of another embodiment. 1...Heat pump 2...Compressor 3.
...Air-cooled condenser 4...Propeller fan 5...
Fan heater 6... Heating section (condenser) 7... Cooling section (evaporator) 8... Vapor condensing section 9... Evaporation concentration column (column) 10... Capillary tube 11... Dryer 13...Cooling coil 14
...Water circulation pump I5...Ejector 16.
... Container 17 ... Pressure reducing means 18 ... Valve 19 ... Container 20 ... Valve
21... Nozzle 22... Optical sensor-22a...
- Light emitting part 22b... Light receiving part 23... Airway 2
4...Splash prevention plate 25...Valve 26a, 2
6b...Transparent member

Claims (4)

[Claims] (1) At least a part of the evaporation concentration column that communicates the heating part and the vapor condensing part is made of a transparent member, and a light sensor consisting of a light emitting device and a light receiving device is provided in the part made of the transparent material, An apparatus for evaporating and concentrating photographic processing waste liquid, having a structure in which the photographic processing waste liquid blocks light from the light emitting device. (2) Set the temperature of the photographic processing waste liquid in the optical sensor installation part to 70.
2. The apparatus for evaporating and concentrating photographic processing waste liquid according to claim 1, wherein the temperature is below .degree. (3) The apparatus for evaporating and concentrating photographic processing waste liquid according to claim 1, wherein the inside of the column transparent member in which the optical sensor is installed is constructed to be washed with the supplied photographic processing waste liquid. (4) The apparatus for evaporating and concentrating photographic processing waste liquid according to claim 1, wherein the signal from the optical sensor is used as a signal for stopping the supply of photographic processing waste liquid.