JPH0465699B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

(Industrial Application Field) The present invention relates to a deodorizer for refrigerators or freezers. (Prior art) Malodorous components generated in food preservation refrigerators and freezers include sulfur-containing acidic substances such as hydrogen sulfide and mercaptan, neutral substances such as dimethyl sulfide,
Examples include nitrogen-containing alkaline substances such as ammonia and trimethylamine. A method of adsorbing and removing malodorous components in gas using activated carbon has been known for a long time.Ordinary activated carbon adsorbs acidic and neutral substances among the malodorous components mentioned above, but it absorbs alkaline substances, especially ammonia and lower Since it hardly adsorbed amines, it tended to be unable to completely adsorb and remove the above-mentioned malodorous components. In addition, it is not possible to tell from the appearance of activated carbon whether the adsorption amount of bad odors has reached a saturated state, and therefore users often find it too early or too late to replace the product. It was inconvenient for continued use. (Problems to be Solved by the Invention) The present invention was made in view of the above-mentioned drawbacks of the deodorizing agent for refrigerators etc. made of ordinary activated carbon. To provide a deodorizer which has excellent deodorizing power regardless of the condition, and whose effective life can be ascertained from its appearance and whether or not it is time to replace it can be determined. (Means for Solving the Problems) The activated carbon used in the present invention is not particularly limited as long as it has a function of adsorbing and removing malodorous components, and may be either powdered activated carbon or granulated activated carbon.
The internal specific surface area is usually about 100 to 3000 m ² /g, preferably about 800 to 1600 m ² /g. Such activated carbon adsorbs and removes acidic malodorous substances such as hydrogen sulfide and mercaptan, and neutral substances such as dimethyl sulfide. Ion exchange resins used in the present invention include:
It is preferable to use a cation exchange resin or an anion exchange resin treated with an acid. Conventionally known cation exchange resins are widely used, and specific examples of ion exchange groups include phenolic hydroxyl groups, carboxyl groups, and sulfo groups. Incidentally, the cation exchange resin in the present invention includes an amphoteric ion exchange resin having cation exchange ability. This neutralization reaction of the ion exchange resin removes malodorous components such as ammonia and lower amines, which are hardly removed by ordinary activated carbon. The above activated carbon and ion exchange resin are used in the form of a plate-like body, each of which is held in a synthetic resin foam such as polyurethane or a rubber foam, in order to effectively utilize the deodorizing effect by adsorption or ion exchange. The lifespan indicator indicates the lifespan of the deodorizer.
It consists of a transparent container containing a coloring substance that is non-freezing and volatile at refrigeration or freezing temperatures.It usually contains a gel agent such as agar or gelatin, a colorant, water,
Highly safe solvents such as ethanol, methanol, and isopropanol are mixed and adjusted according to the approximate lifespan of the deodorizer. An example of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1 is the plate-shaped body 12 consisting of a main body 2 and a lid 3;
4 is a lifespan indicator. A large number of ventilation holes 1 are provided on the outer walls of the container body 2 and the lid 3.
4, 14... are provided on the flat side wall 5 of the lid 3, and an upwardly tapered guide groove 6 is provided on the flat side wall 5 of the lid 3 to facilitate attachment of the life indicator 4. A protrusion 10 (see FIG. 2) is provided that protrudes laterally from the opening 8 in which the life indicator 7 is provided and can engage a protrusion 9 provided on the neck of the life indicator 4. The lid 3 extends further laterally than the side wall 7 and covers the life indicator 4, giving the deodorizer a good appearance as a whole. The life indicator 4 contains a colored agar/ethanol aqueous solution-based life indicator, and when using the deodorizer, the lid is removed as shown in Figure 2. The deodorizer's lifespan can be determined from its appearance by reducing its volume as the deodorizer ages. (Example) Examples of the present invention will be shown below. Example 1 4 g of finely powdered activated carbon was held uniformly on the entire surface and interior of a polyurethane foam sheet (86 x 60 x 5 m/m), and then the entire surface and interior of a 34 x 60 x 5 m/m polyurethane foam sheet was coated. 4 g of acid-treated anion exchange resin was uniformly held, two sheets were covered with breathable paper, and this was placed in the container 1 shown in Figures 1 to 3. Sample A (composite sheet) was obtained. For comparison, we used 120 x 60 x 5 m/m polyurethane foam, a sheet impregnated with 4 g of acid-treated anion exchange resin, a sheet impregnated with 4 g of activated carbon, and a blank (polyurethane foam only).
were prepared and placed in the container 1 as samples B, C, and D, respectively. Sample A was then placed in a 20 capacity polyethylene tank containing 50 ppm of hydrogen sulfide and left at a temperature of 20°C. A hole with a diameter of 1 cm was made in the side of the tank, and a gas detection tube (manufactured by Gastech) was inserted to measure the hydrogen sulfide concentration. Measurements were similarly made after 1 hour, 2 hours, and 24 hours, and the removal rate of hydrogen sulfide gas was calculated. Next, similar measurements were performed using Samples B, C, and D. The gas removal rate was as shown in Table 1. Example 2 The deodorizing power of each sample was measured in the same manner as in Example 1 except that a container containing 200 ppm of ammonia was used instead of the container containing 50 ppm of hydrogen sulfide. The results were as shown in Table 2.

【table】

[Table] Example 3 In the same manner as in Example 1, two types of plate-shaped bodies were prepared in which activated carbon and an acid-treated anion exchange resin were held in polyurethane foam and placed in a container, which was used to store food. The useful life of each product was confirmed by placing it in the refrigerator or freezer. Next, we adjusted the amounts of coloring agent, water, ethanol, and agar and placed them in a transparent container so that the height of the life indicator was approximately 30 m/m, and then placed them in the freezer and refrigerator to check the volume reduction. When a period of time corresponding to the effective life of each deodorant had passed, each life indicator had almost completely gelled to a height of about 5 m/m. Effects of the Invention The deodorizer of the present invention is configured as described above, and has acidic,
It has excellent deodorizing power against malodor components made of both alkaline and neutral substances, and its useful life can be easily determined by the life indicator, making it extremely easy to determine whether it is time to replace it. It's convenient.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Figures 1 to 3 relate to the deodorizer of the present invention. Figure 1 is a partially cutaway perspective view of the container with the lifespan indicator removed, and Figure 2 is the state with the lifespan indicator attached to the container. FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the main part, and FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the whole. 1... Container, 4... Life indicator, 12... Plate-shaped body, 1
4...Vent hole.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1 Two types of plate-like bodies made of synthetic resin or rubber foam holding activated carbon and ion exchange resin, respectively, are equipped with numerous ventilation holes on the outer wall and a transparent container with antifreeze and volatile material on the side wall. A deodorizer for a refrigerator or freezer, characterized in that the deodorizer is housed in a container to which a life indicator containing a colored substance is detachably attached.