Method for cleaning porous ceramic filters

Abstract: The method of cleaning porous ceramic filters with a backwashing apparatus comprising an accelerating circulation path and a unit for mixing accelerated water with high-pressure air can be implemented with compact equipment to achieve efficient cleaning. The pool water purifying apparatus and system that adopt this method of cleaning porous ceramic filters comprise a filtering means that uses the ceramic filters, a disinfecting means and an adsorbing means and, optionally, an ultrafiltration means as an additional filtering means, and are capable of removing not only bacteria but also viruses so that the water purified by this apparatus and system may be as clean as potable water. Such an extremely high efficiency of water purification achieved by the apparatus and system can be maintained over a prolonged period since both the filtering and adsorption means can be cleaned by backwashing. The purifying apparatus is compact but it can be made further compact and allows for simpler installation work if the individual means of purification are integrated into a unitary assembly. The purifying system permits the water in a plurality of pools having different water temperatures to be purified efficiently with a single unit of the purifying apparatus.

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to a method of cleaning porous ceramic filters according to the preamble of claim 1 that is applicable to filtration equipment that is capable of effectively removing organics, inorganics and other impurities from pool water and other kinds of contaminated water. The term "pools" as used herein includes not only ordinary swimming pools but also whirlpools installed in sports clubs, Kurhaus (spa houses) and healthcare facilities, as well as various kinds of health promoting hot tubs and spas. With the growing concern for physical fitness, many people prefer swimming as an exercise of the whole body that helps promote their health and relieve psychical stress and today an increasing part of the population, irrespective of age and sex, frequently go to swimming pools. In order for people to enjoy swimming in a safe and clean condition, pools must be kept clean, particularly in terms of water quality, and as the use of swimming pools increases, the performance requirements of purifying facilities that determine the quality of pool water are becoming increasing stringent. This is particularly true with indoor pools which are supposed to be used in all seasons because sweat, hair and other foreign matter originating from the human body are potential sources of bacterial growths that contaminate the pool water and deteriorate its quality. Filtration equipment available today adopts various methods to purify pool water. A common method is based on the combination of filtration and disinfection with chlorine or its compounds. Recently proposed methods are disinfection with ultraviolet rays and treatments with ozone. New filter media have also been proposed as substitutes for sand and they are porous filter media exemplified by ceramic filters and activated carbon (see Japanese Patent Application (kokai) No. 143917/1988 and Japanese Patent Application Nos. 311319/1988, 311320/1988, 126035/1989 and 126036/1989). One of the filter media that are drawing particular attention for application to facilities for purifying pool water is a porous ceramic filter. Porous ceramic filters have a three-dimensional network of extremely fine filtering spaces that are advantageous for application to pools, particularly to indoor pools, and are capable of effectively trapping organic matters such as oils excreted from the human body that have cannot be removed with existing filters. The concept of prior art pool water filtering equipment that employs porous ceramic filters is shown in Fig. 8. A cylindrical porous ceramic filter 700 (hereunder referred to simply as "ceramic filter 700") is closed on its top with a lid 702 and fixed in the center of a hollow cylindrical housing 704. An entrance line 708 for introducing water from a pool 706 is connected to the left side wall of the housing and an exit line 710 for recirculating filtered water to the pool 706 is connected to the center of the bottom of the housing 704. A line 712 for introducing filter aids is connected to the right side wall of the housing 704; an air vent 714 is provided on top of the housing 704; and a drain line 716 is connected to the bottom of the housing 704 in a position outside the ceramic filter 700. A back wash line 718 for cleaning the ceramic filter 700 is provided as a branch from the exit line 710. The process of filtering the water in the pool 706 with the filtration equipment shown in Fig. 8 proceeds in the following manner. First, the air vent 714, a valve 720 on the back wash line 718 and a valve 722 on the drain line 716 are closed. Then, a valve 724 on the entrance line 708 and a valve 726 on the exit line 710 are opened and a circulating pump 728 is driven so that the water in the pool 706 circulates through a loop consisting of the entrance line 708, housing 704 and exist line 710 in that order. In short, as the water passes through the ceramic filter 700 in the direction a of a solid arrow, impurities in it are removed by filtration and clean water is returned to the pool 706. As this process of water filtration continues, filter cake builds up on the outer surface of the ceramic filter 700 and clogs its extremely fine voids. If this condition occurs, the filter efficiency will decrease and, in an extreme case, it becomes necessary to replace the whole unit of expensive ceramic filter 700 but this means an extremely high cost since a number of filter units are usually employed. To avoid this problem, it is necessary to clean the ceramic filter 700 periodically by removing the filter cake deposited on its outer surface. Cleaning of the ceramic filter 700 is conventionally performed by backwashing in which a "jet stream" consisting of a mixture of cleaning water and air is supplied at high speed through the back wash line 718 in such a way that the jet stream coming into the ceramic filter 700 passes through it to go outside as indicated by an unfilled arrow b . As shown in Japanese Patent Application (kokai) No. 2252/1973, the back wash line 718 is furnished with a large air tank 729 filled with a large amount of air compressed to a comparatively high pressure and a flush tank 730 partly filled with cleaning water A to one third of its capacity. When a valve 732 provided between the two tanks is opened, the large amount of compressed air in the air tank 729 is jetted into the flush tank 730, where it is mixed with the cleaning water to produce an accelerated jet stream which is introduced into the ceramic filter 700. The process of backwashing for cleaning the ceramic filter 700 in the apparatus shown in Fig. 8 starts with stopping the circulating pump 728, closing the valves 724 and 726 and opening the valves 720 and 722. This completes the preconditioning step. Then, the valve 732 is opened, whereupon the large amount of compressed air in the air tank 729 is jetted into the flush tank 730 and the resulting accelerated jet stream flows through the back wash line 718 in the direction of arrow to come into the ceramic filter 700 through which it passes (for backwashing) in the direction indicated by an unfilled arrow b and, after dislodging the filter cake and other deposits on the outer surface of the filter 700, the jet stream leaves the housing 704 via the drain line 716. Since the voids in the ceramic filter 700 are extremely small, the jet stream used for backwashing is required to have a very high flow rate, namely, high cleaning pressure, in order to insure efficient cleaning of the filter. To this end, the air tank 729 must be filled with a large amount of highly compressed air but then the air tank 729 and, hence, the overall filtration equipment, becomes bulky to increase the initial investment cost. Further, the ceramic filter 700 must be backwashed at an adequate cleaning pressure for a comparatively long period in order to insure positive cleaning of the filter. However, as described above, the prior art backwashing apparatus forms a jet stream using the highly compressed air contained in the air tank 729 of a predetermined capacity, so the cleaning pressure drops in a very short time after it peaks (see Fig. 7). Hence, in order to maintain the necessary cleaning pressure for a desired period of time, not only a very large air tank 729 but also a high-performance system for filling with compressed air is necessary. In addition, the cleaning water must be supplied in a large volume. These result in a further increase in the equipment and running costs. A reduction of the required amount of high-pressure air is achieved e.g. according to US-A-4 927 547, where the main acceleration of the cleaning fluid is due to a mechanical pump. However, the arrangement of this document does not allow the pump to be operated to its maximum capacity during the whole backwashing period. BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been accomplished under these circumstances and has as a first object providing a method of cleaning porous ceramic filters that are used in fluid filtration equipment, particularly one that is assembled in an apparatus for purifying pool water, which method can be implemented with inexpensive and small equipment and allows the porous ceramic filters to be cleaned by backwashing in a reliable and effective manner. In order to attain the first object described above, a first aspect of the present invention provides a method according to claim 1 Preferably, said mixing means generates said two-phase stream by jetting said high-pressure air radially inwardly of the flow of said cleaning fluid. Preferably, said mixing means generates said two-phase stream by jetting said high-pressure into the flow of said cleaning fluid in a direction parallel to said flow of the cleaning fluid. Preferably, said mixing means is supplied with high-pressure air that is a two-phase stream prepared by preliminary mixing of the cleaning fluid with air. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Fig. 1 is a diagram that shows the concept of a system for filtering pool water using the method of the present invention for cleaning porous ceramic filters; Figs. 2 and 3 are schematic sectional views showing an example of the mixing unit used in the filtration system shown in Fig. 1; Figs. 4 and 5 are schematic sectional views showing another example of the mixing unit used in the filtration system shown in Fig. 1; Fig. 6 is a diagram that shows the concept of a modification of the air supply means in a system for filtering pool water using the method of the present invention for cleaning porous ceramic filters; Fig. 7 is a graph showing the washing pressure vs time profile of the method of the present invention for cleaning porous ceramic filters as compared with a prior art method; Fig. 8 is a diagram showing the concept of a system for filtering pool water using a prior art method of cleaning porous ceramic filters; and DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention is described below in detail with reference to the preferred embodiments shown in accompanying drawings. To begin with, the method of cleaning porous ceramic filters which is the first aspect of the present invention is described specifically with reference to Figs. 1 - 7. Fig. 1 shows the concept of a system for filtering pool water using the method of the present invention for cleaning porous ceramic filters (which is hereinafter referred to simply as the "cleaning method"). In the filtration system shown in Fig. 1, the water in a pool 12 (the term "water" as used herein without any qualifier shall refer to the pool water which is to be filtered) is supplied around a porous ceramic filter 10 (which is hereinafter referred to simply as "ceramic filter") and passes through the side wall of the ceramic filter inwardly, whereby the water is filtered to become clean. The ceramic filter 10 which has a cylindrical shape is closed on its top with a lid 14 and fixed to the center of the bottom of a hollow cylindrical housing (tank) 18. In the filtration system shown in Fig. 1, an entrance line 20 for introducing water from a pool 12 is connected to the left side wall of the tank housing 18; a precoating unit 22 for supplying filter aids is connected to the right side of the housing 18; an air vent 24 is provided on top of the housing 18; a drain line 26, an exit line 28 for recirculating filtered water to the pool 12, and a back wash line 30 are connected to the bottom of the housing 18. The back wash line 30 is a branch from the exit line 28 and used to backwash the ceramic filter 10 by the cleaning method of the present invention. The entrance line 20 is fitted with a valve 32 and a prefilter 34 and connects part of the pool 12 to the housing 18. The prefilter 34 rejects dust and other large particulate matter from the water before it is filtered with ceramic filter 10. The exit line 28 is fitted with a valve 36 and a circulating pump 38 which is a drive source for circulating the water. The exit line 28 connects the pool 12 to the center of the bottom of the housing 18, or the area which corresponds to the interior of the cylindrical ceramic filter 10. Constructed in this way, the filtration system shown in Fig. 1 has the water circulated by the pump 38 through the closed loop consisting of the pool 12, entrance line 20, housing 18 (ceramic filter 10), exit line 28 and pool 12 in that order. As a result, the water entering the housing 18 is filtered by passing through the side wall of ceramic filter 10 inwardly in the direction of a solid arrow a . Fig. 1 shows a preferred embodiment of the filtration system in which it is equipped with the filter aid supply unit 22. The unit 22 supplies the housing 18 with two filter aids, one being in a powder form and the other in a fibrous form. The unit 22 comprises a slurry pump 40 capable of feeding fluids in a slurry form, a tank 44 filled with a mixture 42 of water and a powder filter aid such as diatomaceous earth or lime, a tank 48 filled with a mixture 46 of water and a fibrous filter aid such as cellulose, pulp fibers or asbestos, and valves 50 and 52 associated with respective tanks 44 and 48. The tanks 44 and 48 are equipped with stirrers 44a and 48a, respectively, for agitating the mixtures with which they are filled. As already mentioned, the ceramic filter 10 has a three-dimensional network of voids that are small enough to trap very small particles such as oils excreted from the human body. Hence, if the ceramic filter 10 is directly used for filtration, those fine voids may soon be clogged to cause great difficulty in the operation of filter cleaning. Under the circumstances, it is preferred to perform filtration with the layers of the two filter aids mentioned above being formed (precoated) on the outer surface of the ceramic filter 10, the powder filter aid (e.g. diatomaceous earth and lime) forming a release layer that readily collects impurity particles in the pool water and that can be easily removed as required, and the fibrous filter aid (e.g. cellulose, pulp fibers and asbestos) forming a filtering layer over said release layer. This arrangement not only enhances the efficiency of cleaning the ceramic filter 10 but also facilitates its backwashing so that it can be used over a prolonged period, whereby the effectiveness of the cleaning method of the present invention is further improved. In order to achieve even better cleaning, a silica layer made of silica gel which is capable of removing proteins in the pool water by selective adsorption may be formed between the release layer and the filtering layer. The order of arrangement of the release layer, filtering layer and the optical silica layer is by no means critical but they may be arranged in a reverse order. The present invention is not limited to the case where only one layer is formed from each of the filter aids. If desired, at least one of the filter aids may be precoated to form multiple layers, of each of the filter aids employed may form multiple layers. The process of forming the layers of two filter aids with the precoating unit 22 may proceed as follows. First, a filter aid of interest and water are mixed thoroughly with the associated stirrer. Then, the valve associated with the layer of filter aid to be formed is opened and the necessary amount of the resulting mixture 42 or 46 in slurry form is supplied into the housing 18 by means of the slurry pump 40. After turning off the slurry pump 40 and closing the valve, the circulating pump 38 is driven to circulate the mixture in the same manner as in filtering the water. In the example shown in Fig.1, two separate tanks 44 and 48 are provided for the respective filter aids 42 and 46. This, however, is not the sole case of the present invention and only one precoating tank may be used in the following manner: the required amount of one filter aid is charged into that precoating tank and mixed with water; the total mixture is supplied into the tank housing 18 for a predetermined period by means of the slurry pump 40 so as to form the layer of the filter aid on the outer surface of the ceramic filter 10; this procedure is repeated as many times as are necessary for the layers of the filter aids to be formed. By this reclusive method, a cellulose layer is first formed, then a silica gel layer, next a diatomaceous earth layer, and finally another cellulose layer is formed. While various known products can advantageously be used as the silica gel capable of selective adsorption of proteins, a silica hydrogel may be shown as a particularly preferred example. A silica hydrogel is a polymer of SiO₂ molecules with a size of several millimicrons that form a three-dimensional structure having a uniform pore size and a large void volume and surface area, with silanol groups forming a network structure within and on the surfaces of the voids. Such a silica hydrogel, particularly one having pore sizes of 80 - 100 A, may be combined with activated carbon to provide an adsorptive purifying means that is capable of removing very small particulate matters such as proteins released from the human body. An advantageous example of the silica hydrogel is "Britesorb A-100" of Asahi Glass Co., Ltd. The thicknesses of the release layer, filtering layer and the silica layer, as well as the amounts of filter aids that are used to make those layers are by no means critical and may be determined as appropriate depending on various factors such as the temperature of pool water, its use and the degree of fouling. A method of filtration using the two layers of filter aids (i.e., release layer and filtering layer) is described in detail in Japanese Patent Application (kokai) No. 143917/1988. In the filtration system shown in Fig. 1 which has the basic layout described above, the back wash line 30 with which the cleaning method of the present invention is implemented in order to remove the filter cake deposited on the side wall of the ceramic filter 10, as well as the aforementioned filter aids is provided as a branch from the exit line 28. In the filtration system shown in Fig. 1, the back wash line 30 forms a channel through which a "two-phase" jet stream made of water and air is propelled at high speed to clean the ceramic filter 10 by backwashing it in the direction indicated by an unfilled arrow b . The back wash line 30 is composed of a feed tank 54 filled with a cleaning fluid, a pump 56 for supplying the cleaning fluid, a circulation path 58 including the pump 56, an air supply means 60, and a mixing unit 62 in which the cleaning fluid is mixed with air to form a jet stream made of a gas and a liquid phase. The tank 54 is filled with the cleaning fluid which is to be mixed with air to form a two-phase jet stream and this tank may be selected from among various ordinary tanks. The cleaning fluid that can be used in the cleaning method of the present invention is not limited to any particular type and various kinds of cleaning fluids may be employed depending on the object of using the filtration system of interest (e.g. whether it is used to purify pool water or other kinds of water), with illustrative examples being ordinary water, tap water and water containing small amounts of detergents such as alkalies having a cleaning capability. The circulation path 58 includes the pump 56 and is a closed loop through which the cleaning fluid can be circulated by a process consisting of supplying a predetermined amount of the cleaning fluid from the tank 54, closing valves 61 and 64 while opening a valve 63, and then driving the pump 56. As already described in connection with the prior art, the ceramic filter 10 is preferably backwashed with the cleaning fluid (or the jet stream) being supplied at high speed to create a high cleaning pressure. Since the cleaning method of the present invention uses the circulation path 58 to circulate the cleaning fluid before the cleaning operation is started, the pump 56 can be brought to a complete start-up condition so that it is operated to its maximum capacity during the backwashing of the ceramic filter 10. The air supply means 60 supplies the mixing unit 62 with air which is to be mixed with the cleaning fluid to form a jet stream. The air supply means 60 that can be used in the present invention is not limited to any particular type and may be selected from among various types of air supply means, preferably high-pressure air supply means, as exemplified by air compressors and air containers that are capable of supplying the mixing unit 62 with the necessary and sufficient amount and pressure of air. For insuring that high-pressure air can be supplied in a consistent manner, the air supply means 60 may be equipped with a reserve tank that can be filled with highly compressed air. In the mixing unit 62, the cleaning fluid and air supplied in the way described above are mixed to form a jet stream. Fig. 2 shows schematically a section of the mixing unit 62 as taken in the direction in which the cleaning fluid travels, and Fig. 3 shows schematically a section of the same unit as taken in a direction normal to the travel of the cleaning fluid (on line III-III). As shown, the mixing unit 62 is cylindrical in shape and has an inlet 65 for the cleaning fluid, an air inlet 66, and an outlet 67 through which the jet stream formed of the cleaning fluid and air is ejected. The cleaning fluid supplied by means of the pump 56 is admitted into the mixing unit 62 through the inlet 65 and travels through a through-hole 69 in the direction of arrow x . At the same time, the high-pressure air fed by the air supply means 60 is admitted through the inlet 66 as indicated by arrow y , passes through an annular space 71 around the through-hole 69, and is ejected into the latter in the direction of arrow via eight nozzles 73 that surround the through-hole. Thus, in the mixing unit 62 shown in Figs. 2 and 3, the high-pressure air mixes with the cleaning fluid by being jetted in the latter from around the through-hole 69 in an area near the middle portion of said hole in the direction of arrow x . As a result, a jet stream composed of a liquid and a gas phase is formed and leaves the outlet 67 to be propelled into the housing 18. The direction in which the high-pressure air is ejected into the through-hole 69 is not limited to the case shown in Fig. 2 but it may be applied in various other directions. It should, however, be noted that for the reason already described above (the flow rate and cleaning pressure of the jet stream should be high in order to achieve satisfactory cleaning), the high-pressure air is preferably applied in a direction that will not impede the travel of the cleaning fluid, or in a direction substantially parallel to the direction of arrow x . For the same reason, the high-pressure air, if it is applied in a direction substantially parallel to the direction of arrow x , is preferably propelled at a sufficient pressure to accelerate the speed of the cleaning fluid. Fig. 4 shows another example of the mixing unit that can be used in the present invention and Fig. 5 is a cross section of Fig. 4 taken on line V-V. In the mixing unit 62 shown in Fig. 2, the high-pressure air is propelled into the through-hole 69 in the circumferential direction, namely, from the periphery of the flow of the cleaning fluid. In the mixing unit shown by 80 in Fig. 4, a jet stream is formed by propelling the high-pressure air into the cleaning fluid in the same direction as it flows. The mixing unit 80 shown in Fig. 4 is essentially the same as the mixing unit 62 in that it is cylindrical in shape and has an inlet 82 for the cleaning fluid, an air inlet 84, and an outlet 86 through which the jet stream formed of the cleaning fluid and air is ejected. The cleaning fluid supplied by means of the pump 56 is admitted into the mixing unit 80 via the inlet 82 and travels through a through-hole 88 in the direction of arrow x . At the same time, high-pressure air fed by the air supply means 60 is admitted via the inlet 84 as indicated by arrow y and propelled into the through-hole 88 by way of a nozzle 90 the center line of which aligns with that of the through-hole 88, or which permits the high-pressure air to travel along the center line of the flow of the cleaning fluid in the same direction as it travels. The jet stream formed by this mixing of the high-pressure air and the cleaning fluid leaves the outlet 86 to be supplied into the housing 18. As in the case of the mixing unit 62, in order to enhance the cleaning efficiency, air to be propelled into the through-hole 88 in the mixing unit 80 is preferably applied at a sufficient pressure to accelerate the speed of the cleaning fluid. The means of mixing the cleaning fluid with air that can be used in the present invention is in no way limited to the mixing units 62 and 80 and various known gas-liquid mixing means may be employed without any particular limitations. According to the cleaning method of the present invention which has the basic features described above, the cleaning fluid supplied by the pump 56 which is adapted to operate at maximum capacity and the high-pressure air fed by the air supply means 60 are mixed in the mixing unit 62 to form a jet stream. As a result, the jet stream having the adequate cleaning pressure indicated by a dashed line in Fig. 7 can be continuously supplied and the ceramic filter 10 can be cleaned in an efficient and positive manner without using large or many air tanks or cleaning fluid tanks that have been necessary in the prior art to insure the filling of high-pressure air and cleaning fluid in large volumes. To state conversely, the cleaning fluid and high-pressure air need be supplied in smaller amounts and this contributes to a substantial reduction in the running cost of the filtration system. In the examples described above, the cleaning fluid fed by the pump 56 is mixed only with high-pressure air in the mixing unit 62 (or 80). However, this is not the sole case of the present invention and the example shown in Fig. 6 may be adopted. As shown, the air supply means 60 is used in combination with a second tank 92 for supplying the cleaning fluid and a high-pressure pump 94; the high-pressure air supplied from the air supply means 60 is mixed with the cleaning fluid fed by the high-pressure pump 94 and the resulting two-phase jet stream which is a premix of the air and cleaning fluid is injected into the mixing unit 62 where it is mixed with the cleaning fluid fed by the pump 56. The process of cleaning the ceramic filter 10 by backwashing through the back wash line 30 shown in Fig. 1 may proceed as follows. First, the valve 64 is closed whereas the valves 61 and 63 are opened and, then, the pump 56 is driven to have the cleaning fluid circulate through the circulation path 58. If the circulation path 58 is supplied with an adequate amount of the cleaning fluid, the valve 61 may be closed. In the meantime, the valves 32 and 36 and air vent 24 are closed whereas the valve 68 on the drain line 26 are opened. Subsequently, checking is made as to whether the cleaning fluid is circulating through the circulation path 58 with the pump 56 operating at its maximum capacity. If the result is positive, a valve 70 positioned downstream of the mixing unit 62 is opened to open the back wash line 30. Then, valves 61 and 64 are opened, valve 63 is closed and valve 72 associated with the air supply means 60 is opened, whereupon high-pressure air is supplied into the mixing unit 62 where it is mixed with the cleaning fluid to form a jet stream, which is injected into the ceramic filter 10. The jet stream entering the ceramic filter 10 passes through its side wall outwardly as indicated by an unfilled arrow b , dislodges filter cake and other deposits on the outer surface of the ceramic filter 10 and is subsequently discharged from the housing 18 together with the dislodged matter through the drain line 26. While the method of the present invention for cleaning porous ceramic filters has been described above in detail, it should be noted that the invention is in no way limited to the particular embodiments described hereinabove but that various modifications and improvements can be made. As described on the foregoing pages, in accordance with the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of cleaning porous ceramic filters in fluid filtration equipment, which method can be implemented with inexpensive and small equipment and allows the porous ceramic filters to be cleaned by backwashing in a reliable and effective manner. Using this method, the overall cost of a system for filtering pool water and other bodies of water that are contaminated with fine particulate matters, particularly with organics and inorganics, can be markedly reduced. In addition, the amounts of cleaning fluid and high-pressure air that are necessary to form a backwashing jet stream are much smaller than in the prior art filtration systems and, hence, the running cost of the system can be substantially reduced.

Claims: A method of cleaning cylindrical porous ceramic filters (10) in a filtration unit that removes impurities from a fluid by flowing said fluid in such a way that it passes through the side wall of each of said porous ceramic filter inwardly, in which method a cleaning fluid is accelerated by a pump (56) and mixed with high-pressure air to generate a high-speed two-phase stream which is a mixture of said high-pressure air and the cleaning fluid; and wherein said high-speed two-phase stream is supplied to said porous ceramic filter in such a way that said stream passes through the side wall of each of said porous ceramic filter (10) outwardly to clean said porous ceramic filters, characterized by supplying said cleaning fluid to a path (58) for circulating said cleaning fluid, the circulation path (58) including the pump (56); accelerating said cleaning fluid in the closed loop of the circulation path (58); after reaching the desired flow speed, closing said circulation path (58); opening the path leading to a mixing means (62) that is provided downstream of said circulation path; jetting said high-pressure air supplied by a high-pressure air supply means (60) in the mixing means (62) to mix with said cleaning fluid that has been accelerated in said circulation path. A method according to claim 1 wherein said mixing means generates said two-phase stream by jetting said high-pressure air radially inwardly of the flow of said cleaning fluid. A method according to claim 1 wherein said mixing means generates said two-phase stream by jetting said high-pressure into the flow of said cleaning fluid in a direction parallel to said flow of the cleaning fluid. A method according to any one of claims 1 - 3 wherein said mixing means is supplied with high-pressure air that is a two-phase stream prepared by preliminary mixing of the cleaning fluid with air.

Inventors: SUGITOMO AKITOSHI, SUGITOMO, AKITOSHI, SUGIMOTO, AKITOSHI
Applicants: SUGITOMO AKITOSHI, SUGIMOTO, AKITOSHI
Application year: 1991
Main classification: B01D29
IPC codes: B08B9, B01D61, B01D37, B01D63, C02F1, B01D29, B01D65