US 5,174,315 AGranted

System for cleaning objects

AssigneeDurr GmbH

InventorsRudiger K. Hellstern, Peter M. Hosel, Arwed Eberle, Ulrich Lachenmayer, Herbert Kohler

Life of this patent

Estimating the term…

Loading patent…

Abstract

Method for cleaning objects with the aid of an aqueous cleaning fluid containing a washing agent, in which the objects are rinsed with an aqueous rinsing fluid after treatment with the cleaning fluid and wherein, to avoid any components having a low boiling point being returned to the cleaning and rinsing fluid as well as to avoid any loss in washing agents, the cleaning fluid is first subjected to membrane filtration, the permeate hereby recovered and containing washing agents is distilled, the concentrate resulting therefrom and containing washing agents is added to the cleaning fluid used in the cleaning process and the distillate is supplied to the rinsing process.

Claims9

Dependent claims

A system for cleaning objects to remove impurities by an aqueous cleaning fluid containing a washing agent and by rinsing said objects with an aqueous rinsing fluid after treatment of said objects with the cleaning fluid, said system comprising:

(a) at least one cleaning apparatus (10) for treatment of the objects with said cleaning fluid;
(b) at least one rinsing apparatus (12) for rinsing the objects with said rinsing fluid after the objects are cleaned;
(c) a membrane filter apparatus (22) for separating at least some of said impurities from at least a portion of said fluids thereby obtaining a cleaned permeate fluid at a permeate outlet of said filter apparatus as well as a rejects fluid at a rejects outlet of said filter apparatus;
(d) first feed line means (14,16,24) connecting at least one of said cleaning apparatus (10) and said rinsing apparatus (12) with an inlet of said membrane filter apparatus for feeding at least a portion of one of said fluids to said membrane filter apparatus;
(e) a vaporizer (30) including heating means (30a) for distilling at least a portion of said permeate fluid thereby obtaining a cleaned distillate fluid at a distillate outlet and a concentrate fluid comprising at least a portion of said washing agent at a concentrate outlet of said vaporizer;
(f) second feed line means (26) connecting said permeate outlet with said vaporizer for feeding at least a portion of said cleaned permeate fluid to said vaporizer;
(g) first return line means (40,46) connecting said distillate outlet with said rinsing apparatus (12) for adding at least a portion of said cleaned distillate fluid to said rinsing fluid, and
(h) second return line means (32) connecting said concentrate outlet with said cleaning apparatus (10) for adding at least a portion of said concentrate fluid with said washing agent portion to said cleaning fluid to be used in said cleaning apparatus.

5 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.