Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
-` 2137~6 ~:
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ce~ g~ du~
W~ter ~ h~ a~lat~on, a~.d ~a~hln~ Facili~
The i~ention per~ains to a proCes~ ~or th prcduc~io~
and prOCQ~91~5 O~ wash wa~er ~or a wash~ng ~acility, in particular
a C~r wa~hing facillty, in which the wa~h water i~ u3e~ in at lea~t
Gn~ washing operation for t~e clea~ing of a motor vehicle ~r the
~ a~d after a wa~hing operati~n i9 a~ lea~ partiall~ reused,
whereby for ~at pllrpose at ~e~ a portion of the ~rained ~ff wash
water i~ ~oll~c~ad a~d led ~ raw ~ater to a filtering f~cility o~
a ~ nilar ~cind of treatment apparatus which haj at le~t one semi~
permeable membrane, which pass~s a por~io~ o~ th~ ~ed ra~ wate~
nder the ~rivin~ forc of a pr~sYllre dirfereslce a~ pure ~ater, and
the ~ure w~tex is fed to at le~t one sub~equer~t washin~ operat~on
as ~h wa'cer.
The inventi~n al30 inirolve~ a washilly ~acility, in
partlcula~ a car washing facllity wit~ ~t least o~e spray head or
sim~lar k~n~ o~ wah watex olltle~, wkich i~ pro~ided or ~ringing
the wash water out onto a motor ~7ehicle or ~ ~imil~r kind of object
to be c ea:~e~, whereby th~ washi~g fac~lity ~as a colloctin
arrallgement for collecticlg the wash water aft~r each wa~hing
opera~ion, which i9 connected with a wate~ treatme~ ~pparatus ~or
pro~es~ g at lea~t a s~ortion of the collect~d water and whose
~iltra~e- or pure ~ater outle~ is ~onrLected w~th at lea~t one w~sh
water outlq~ of the washir~y ~acil~ ty, wh~reby the treat~nent
apparacu~ has at leas~ one ~emi-per~eable me~ra~e which di~idcs a
raw ~ater area o~ t~.~ treat~nent ~pparatus ~om a pure water area.
VarioUs car washin~ ~ac:iliti~3~ are already known in which
- th~ wash ~2.t~r i applied t~ .he n20tor vehicle to be c}eaned duri~
'che indi~idual wa~hing ~tat.iorla or-washi~g ~tage~ ~y m~an~ of a~
S000 ~LI~d TO~Z L~ Z T$~ ST~ ro
21~7256
lea3t one s~ray head, a washing ~u~h, or a similar kind a~ ~a~h
wate~ outle~. Wi~h the pr~viously k~o~n wa~hin~ facilitio~, t~
wash water is drained away after each wa~hi~g op~rati~n, usually
into the se~age sy~e~. This me~ns a 9~6tantial. consump~ion
water~ as well a~ a ~rrespondingly large volume o~ was~e w~ter.
A car ~a~hing facility is already known from
G~ 2 24~ 191, n which a r~sa of the w~h water i~ provid~d. In
order to be able to re~se ~he waqh w~er, this pre~iously known
w~shing facility ha~ a tr~atment apparatu6 to which a wat~r
~ontainer is assigned. ~his wa~er co~ta'ner is di~i~ed by
9epar~ting walls into three cham~ers. In this connectlon, the
aollected wash water i~ condu~ted into a ~irst cha~ber of ~he w~er
co~tain~r, which is connected vlth a ssmi-per~eable mem~rane in the
for~ of ~ tubular module. Bo~h the raw ~ater i~let and the
permea~e outlet of ~his membrane are con~cted with the ~i~st
chamber o~ the water con~ain~r, while t~e concentrate outle~ leads
to a separate c~ncentrate holder. ~ se~o~d chamber o~ the water
cont~.ner i6 assigned to a fresh water qour~e a~d i5 co~nected with
~he thlrd cha~b-r o~ the wa~er container by mea~ o~ a ~harcoal
~ilter.
~ hrough various mixin~ ~al~e6 the w~ter s~ore from each
indi~idual chamber a~ ~ell as from the concentra~e co~tainer ~an be
mi~c~3d with each o~her to a d~gree, s~ that a dirt bulld-.lp by t}~e
dissolved ~att~r i~ the wa~h water i3 ~voided. Since th~ ~ubular
module in th~ treatm~nt appara~us of ~h~ pre~lously Xnow~ ~a~hing
~acilit~ can o~l~ proces~ a limited a~ou~ o~ th~ required wa~h
water, ~uch a mi~i~g ~nd ~tretchi~g o~ the tre~ted wash ~ater i9
necesa~. Si~c~ ~he larger por~ion of ~he ~reated wash water is
n~t a~ailable, .his is pro~lded abo~e all for a ~lnal puri~ication
pxocess. B~ mean~ o~ t~i~ pxeviously known ~a~hing ~aci}ity a di~t
b~ild-up on the car s~rface8 ~rom d~s~ol~ed material in the wash
water ca~ l~e avoided, but a signifi~ant sa~i~g of water ~ h this
pre~r~ously known appara~s is not achie~red.
The task therefore exists in p~rticul~r, o~ c~eating a
prçcess of the typo ~entioned at-the ~e~ia~ing, that i~ con~ec~d
~001~ LINYd la~Z L~9 STZ IS3, ~ :LI t~.'lO.
`` 21372~
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wi~h a consu~ptio~ of wa~er that is only ~light in compa~iso~ ~o
the ~reviously ~entioned t~pe. At ~he ~ame time, the-ta~k al~o
exists of cre~tin~ a car was~tng ~ac~llty or a ~;imilar kind o~
wa~hing facility ~peci~ically ~or car~ylng out the process in
accordance ~ith the i~e~ion.
~ he so~utio~ to ~his task i~ accordance with ~he
in~e~tion, wit~ regard to the prace~s of the ~ype mentioned at ~he
begl~ning, consists in the ~act that the wa~h water that i8 drained
away is reu~ed, in zn e~e~tially closed wat2r circuit, for
6~bse~uent wa~hing ope~ations, tha~ the flo~ direction of the raw
water ~hi~h flows past ~he semi-permeable membrane which i~ in the
~orm o~ a ~inding mod~le i9 revexsed ox ~han~ed, and tha~ the
re~aining portion of the raw ~ater ~assing ~y the membrane lea~es
the raw ~ater area of the membrane as concentrate ard 1s agaln f2d
to a semi-permeable memb~ane an~/or a s~bse~ue~t washins operaeion
with prefera~ly lower water quallty requlremen~s. Thus, i~ ~he
case o~ the process in accordance wi~h the inventio~, the was~
~ater that i9 dx~ined aw~y after each washing op~ration i~ r~used
~or ~ub~e~ue~t wa~hing oper~tlons in an essentlallr closed water
ciroult. In o der to achieve a water qua}lty that i~ as hi~h as
po~sible t~ 9pite o~ this, th~ wa~h water that is drained a~ay and
c~llected after the ~a3hin~ opexation~ is a~ lsa3~ extensi~ely
cleaned in 2 tr~at~en~ a~paratus ~nd i9 fed to the su~eq~ent
washing ope~ations a~ p~re ~ate~
For treatment of the ~ash wate~ a~cording to the proce~s
4f the prese~t in~ention, a ~reat~ent ap~ara~us i3 pro~ided wi~h at
least o~e s~mi-permeahle membrane a~ the form of a wl~di~g ~odule.
~hile a partizl quantity o~ ~his raw water passe~ thro~gh the
mem~rane a~ pure water under ~he dri~ing force of a pr~ssure
dif~er~nce and i~ fed ~o ~b~equen~ ~ashing o~erations, the
remaining ~uanti~y of r~w ~ater that i~ flowing past ~he metnbra~e
leave~ ~he raw water area o~ m~ra~e as conc:entra~e, ~d is
agai~ ~ed ~o a semi-p~rmeable ~embrane andJor to a s~bseq~ent
wa6hirlg operatio~ ~tfith low re~uiremen~ for ~ater ~ality.
~3pecifically, su~;:h wat:er that has been proce~sed with the aid o~ a
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9001~ D~IN~d lflflZ L~9 ~IZ IS~ Pl:LT ~fl,'lO.~ZI
.. .. : ~
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2~3725fi
s~mi-per~eakle ~e~rane does h3v~ a high wa~er quali~y; becauae o~
it~ salt content, ~hich is comparativ~ly low, and, ~or e~ampl~, i0
reduced by means of reverse o~me~i~. The addltion of only a
co~parati~ely small ~u,~n~i~y of de~er~ents or sl~milar kinds o~
che~i~als i~ nece~a~y wi~h wa~e~ that ~as been processed in ~hi5
way, which has a be~e~icial effe~t on the saliniey o~ the wa~h
water tha~ is fe~ into th~ water circ~it, ,~nd, be~use o ~he s~all
osmoti~ CountQr-pr~ure, also re~ only a low operati~g
p~os~ure ~or re~rerse o~osi3, for example.
I~ order to ~a~e the mo3t complete ~e pos~i~le of the
~a~h water that is fed to the t~ea~men~ appar~t~s after the
~llte~ or processing operation, it is p~efer~ble with th~
process according to tha lnvention i~ ~he pu~e ~ate~ i9 fed t~ ~ he
subseque~t washi~g opera~ion3 ha~ing higher requirement~ ~or the
wa~er qu~lity, and th~ co~centrate is advantageo~sly fed to t~ose
~ub~equent ~a~er oDera~io~s ~ith comparati~ely lawe~ requiremen~s
~for the water quality. I~, howe~er, a high water ~uality of the
wa~h wate~ to be used is ~ece~a~y ~or the ~ashing ope~ations o~
the washing ~acility, then it can be advantageous if ~he remainins
quan~ity of co~entra~e that is flowi~g past ~he ~embrane i~ mix~d
in with the wash water ~hat i~ collecLed after the washi~s
~p~ra~ions and is a3a~n ~d to the m~m~rane as ~aw water.
5ince, with the process in accordance with the inventio~
the w~h water i~ reused ~or the ~ub~equent washin~ opera~ions in
~n es~tially closed wa~er clrcuit, it is pos~i~le tha~ it can
beco~e in~rea6ingly laden wi~h di~t particles. I~ ord~r to achie~e
long operating and ~e~brane ~er~icz lieti~es, even when the wa~h
w~ter that i3 drained of ~ a~d fed to ~he treatment appa~atus i3
highly dirtied, i~ is pr~ided ;n ~ccorda~ce with the process o~
the in~e~tio~ that th~ direction of ~low o~ ~he raw w~ts~ ~lowi~g
pa~t the ~e~brane i r~er~ed or changed at i~tervals of time.
Th~s, the conve~tional membra~ madule~ which exhibit at
l~ast one ~emi-permeable ~embrane and, in parti~ula~, the windi~g
n~od~les that axe preferred fo~ r~as0nE~ of coæt, are su~;ceptible to
impuritie~ and br~akdown~. ~o~ that rea30n, there is routlrlely
placed ahe~d of ~uch modul~:; in the direction of 10w 3 sie~-like
~00~ I,~d 168Z L~9 STZ T5L ~I:L~ ~JIOrZT
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2~37256
S
pre-~ilter, whi ch is suppo~ed ~0 coUn~era~t an~ dirtylng of the
membrane3 by large p~rti~les and Whi~h has 'Co be c~ange~ freguently
if the raw w~er is hea~ily dirtied. I~l ~pit:e of thal~, the
nbranes still ge~ dirt~ ed durins3 period~ o~ operation,
particularly in the end a~ea tkat is ~CisLs ~he di~ection o~ 10
of the r~w wat~r. Thro~lyh tne reversal, which is pro~i~ed ror he~e,
in the di~ectio~ of flow of the water 10wing pa~t th~ mem~rane or
mernbrane~, both end areas oi~ the module bei~g used are made llse of.
When this i~ d3ne, ~hc particl~a of dirt ~hat had corne~ to rest on
th~ membrane surface a'~er the wa~hing opera~ions, particularly in
the end area of the windin~ module th~t ~as facing the direction of
~low be~ore the reversal o~ ~he ~low direc~iorl, ~re ~in~ed o~t,
while ~he oppo~ite e~d area of the module, ~.Jhich llntil then had
been le~s hea~lly loaded w1th particles of dirt, forms ~he ~ror~t~
Tno~t ~roa in the di-ection of ~low ~til the s~ rev~r~al in ~he
direction o~ flow. By means o~ thi3 ~ron~-and-bask utiliz~l:io~ o
the mod~}e, it~ operational and memb~ane service lifetimes can ~e
~ub~antiall~ increased, and the nece~sary mainte~ance i~erval~ of
the ~reatment apparacus being used in co~junction with the process
i~ acco~dan¢~ with the in~ention can ~ len~hened~ Si~ce with sach
re~ersal in the direction of flaw, the area ~f the ~,nodule ~'n~t had
been mor~ se~erely ~ir~l~d up ~ntil then tempor~rily forms the area
~ha~ i~ rear-most in the directio~ of ~low and that is rinsed
~hrough by drai~d o~ ~ash ~ater or ra~ water, the other~ise us~al
pre filte~ th~t i3 placed ahead of the ~od~le, can be dis~ensed
wi~h as ~uch, which makes for a ~o~-insigni~ican~ saYlnr~s in ~pace
and escp~3nses.
In accordance ~ith a further de~elopmen~al s~ggestion
that i~ impo~tant eno~gh to be deser~ing o~ protection in it~ ow~
rlght, it ii provided that by ~eans o~ a time-related reduction or
ln~errup~ion o~ ~e di~charge of pure ~ater at the ~mbra~e, an
increa~e of the st~tic water pres~ure on t~e pure water 6ide of the
membrane is brought abou~, a~d ~hat ~ollowi~ a fitatic increa6e ln
the pressure on the pure water 3ide, ~nd in particular following a
balancing o~ ~he ~atic wa~r pressu~e o~ both side~ of the
~e~r~ne, the s~atic ~ater p~essure that exi~ts ~n ~he raw water
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LOol~ ~LIN~d T~aZ L~S SIZ TSa ~T:lT ~TOfZI
21372~6
si~e of th~ trea~ent apparatus is lower~d, at inter~als ~f ~i~e,
brie~ly and pr~era~ly abruptly, relative ~o thl~ sta~ic water
pr~sure that e~i3ts on the pur~ ~ater olde. Partlcularly by ~ean~
o. an abrupt -eduction of the itatic water pres~ure that exi3t6 on
~he raw wa~er side o~ the treat~n~ apparatu~ r~l~ti~e ~o ~e
sta~ic water ~es~ure ~ha~ exists o~ ~h~ pura water ~ide, t~e
p~oduc~ion of w~h wate_ or pure wa~er i~ i~deed i~t~r~upt2d,
ho~ever, th~s txan6ient change in pres~llr~ l~ads to ~ ~ur~e-like
reverse 10w o the pure water ~rom ~he pure w~ter area, whi~h is
brie~ly exhiki~i~g the higher static pressu~e, to the raw wa.er
area. This re~r~e flow brings about a rinsing o~ the ~nen~r~ne
w~lls, as well a~ eaning o~ the! module at appropriate inter~rals
of time, so that lo~ger me~b~ne periods of servi~e are enco~raged.
In conjunctio~L wlth this, by ~ay of exa~nple, the flow spee~ and
with it the dynamic wa~ex pressure of ~he drained of ~ wash water or
raw water ~hat i~ ~lo-~ing p~ist ~he membrane, can be increa3ed in
order to lower the 6ta~ic water ~res~ure that exists on the raw
water side.
The solution in accorda~ce wi~h the inven~ion ~or the car
washin~ fa~ility or similar kind o~ washing facility of the type
menti~n~d at ~he begin~i~g consist6 parti~ularly i~ the f act tha~
the ~emi-per~eable ~embrane is fo~med a~ a wi di~g module, ~hat the
~o~ direct~on of the w~ter flowi~g past the membrane o~ the
~r~atment appara~us ~n ~he raw water ~ide i~ reversible by means o~
a flow-re~ersing arr~.gement and io~ that pu~pase the apparat~
openi~gs l~adi~ to the r~w wate~ arca a~e provided ae interval~ o~
time o~ an alte~n~ting ~asis a~ a ~ater inlet connected with ~he
collecti~g arrangemen on the inlet side or as a water Qu~let
leadi~ ~o ~ wash water outlet o the washins fa~ility an~/or to a
~emi-permeable ~embrane, and tha~ th~ pure wa~er area of the
treatment apparatus i~ con~ec~ed with at leagt one ~ur~her ~ash
wat~ outlet of the ~ashi~ facility. I~ the ca~e ~f ~he washing
~acil~ty in accordance with the in~entlon, ~he wash water is ~hus
not drained of~ into the sewa~e system after ~he individual washi~g
~pera~ione, b~ i~ ins~ead first collected in a eollectins
arran~e~ent, f~om which it i~, ed to a wa~e~ treatment apparatu~
800!~ D~LI~Nd T~Z L~S STZ T~, 9T:LI ~,'TO~ZI .
2 5 ~
In ~chis w~te:x ~xeatment apparatu~, at lea~e a part of th~ h
water tha~ was ~c~llect~d after ~h~: wa6hing operation~ is ~r~at~d
~nd purified, ~d is 6~lbse~uen~1y fed v' a ~he filtrate or p~rr~
water ourlet of th~ ~reat~ne~t app~ to at leac;t cne wash wa~er
outlet, ~t ~his wa~h water out~ tr the filtrate or ~ure water that
was prod~ced isl the t~eatn~.2~lt apparatue can ~e ~ed ~ain as wash
water ~r che cleanin~ Q a motor ~ehicle or the 1 iXe. With c~e
wa~hin~, acilit,~ acc~or~ance ~vich the inve~tion, the wa~h ~ater
1~ rhus c~,nducted ..n a~ es~entiall~r clo~ed water circ~it,
pra~c~ ica~.ly without ~ny wa~e w~ter ha~ing ~o be fed ~rorn t:he
inditrid.ual ~ashing ope~a~ion~ in~o ~che se~Rer.
For ~re~tme~t o~ the wa~ rate~ th~ trea~mbnt appara~l:u~
h~s at ie~3t ~ne serni-permeable ~Len~rar~e in the ~o~n of a winding
ntod~le tha~ separates a r~w wat~r a~ea of the t~eatment apparatu~
.rom a ~?ure wa~e~ area. I~ order to achia~e long operati~al and
meTobrane se~ice li~tir~es for che wash~ng facillty in a::~ordance
wi~h :hæ in~rer~tion and ~o_ its treatment ~LpFara~us, eYen ~i~ h wash
~rater that ha~ beer severely dirtied ~y j?revious washlrLg
oper3.tions, a~d i~ c~rder to maintain the w;~ter ~ircuit of the Wa5h
wa~er ror the longest pos~ible per~ od of time, it i8 provided
accor~ing to the washing fa~ility of the in~.-encion ~hat ~ke
~rection of flow o~ the water that i~ 10wing pa~t the membr~e of
~he ~reatnn~ t appa:~a~u~; on the ra~t water ~ide can be r~rer~ad by
rne~s o~ a ~low-re1,-ersing arrangement, and t~at ~or thaL ~?urpo~e
the apparatut ope~ings o~ tne ~rea~men. apparatus that l_ad to ~he
r~w water ar~a of t~e m~ranl3 6erve a~ water inlets or wat2r
outletg 03~ ar. al~ernati~g basis at irlter~als c~ time.
In order ~o a~ways ha~re a~allable a s~l~ficien~ Ltit~
o~ r o' the n~ces~ary water quality ~or the i~di~id~al washing
op~ratio~s of th~ washing facility according to the in~en~ion, it
1~ pro~id~d wlth th6 washi~ ~acility accordlng ~o the in~ntior.
th~t ~he pure ~ater a~ea of the treatment app~ratu~ is co~nec~ d
with at leas~ one ~ur~her wa~h wa~er ou~let of ths washln~
facilit~, w~ile t~e wa~h water outlet9 ~on~s~ted with the ~aw w~t~r
area are provided for wa~hing oper~tlo~s o~ ~ashin~ ~ta~ions ~ith
~omparatively lower requirements fo~ w~t~r q~ality or again lead to
~~ Nd le~z L~9 ~IZ l$a 9~:L~
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21372~6 -
a 6emi-pe~meabl~ m~br~na. In Cor.j~cti~n ~ith that, fo~ e~ample,
~he ~once~tra~e that ~lows frcm the wash water o~tl~ts that are
conr.ected with the raw w~ter area can ba used f or p~e-wa~he~ or
main washes.
~ fur~her developme~t in accordance wit:h tho invention
p~ovides ~~or the ~act that th~ treat~e~t apparatu~ ha~ ~t lea3t two
~emi-permeable ~emkranes, one mem~ra~e o~ which is allocated ~o a
fir3t trea~ment s~age, and the o~he~ membrane of whieh i~ allocated
to a second treat~nt st~ge, that ~he raw water area of the first
treatment etage is ~nnec~ed on th~ incoming and out~oins ~ides
wi~h the collecting arrangemen~, and i~s pure water a~ea ~
connected with the raw w~ter area o~ the seco~d ~reatment stage,
and tha~ ~he pure water are~ a~d ~he r~w wa~ar a~e~ of the ~econd
trea~m~nt stage e~ch lead on the outgo~ng side to a~ 1eEst o~e wash
w~ter ou~let. I~ a two-s~age treat~ent app~ra_us o~ thiq type, ~he
pure water or permeate produ~ed in the ~eco~d treat~ent ~age h~s
only a ~e~y low remaining s~l~ con~e~, e~en if the wa~h water that
is being ~ed to the t~ea~ment appa~atus as raw water originally
exhibited a hig~ salt con~ent. ~ve~ the ~o~c3n~te that is ~lowing
pa~ the ~e~brane of the ~e?~ond ~rea~ment stage exhibits a high
wate~ quality in ~o~parison to ~ pre-filtered ~a~er, and is thus
suitabl~ ~or use i~ the wa hin~ ~acilit~ in arcord~ce ~l~h the
i~e~ n, at l~ast for pr~ he~ and/or main ~ashe~
Additional features o~ the in~ention can be ~ound in ~he
~ollQwlng de~cription of imple~en~atio~ ex~mple6 i~ accorda~ce with
~e i~en~ion, in ~onjunction wi~h ~e claims a~d the drawing. The
indi~id~al f~at~re~ ca~ b~ realizPd ~i~her irdividually or in
gro~ps in conjun~ n wlth one form o~ im~le~entation o the
inv~ntion. ghown, in a repre~entatio~ that is 50me~-ime~ strongly
~che~atic in natura, ~re the ~ollo~ing~
Fi~ a car washing ~acility wi~h a water ~reatment
apparatus, the pllre ~a~cer area o~ which is con~ected -~ith four wash
water outlets, and the raw w~ter a~ea of which leads to a
collec~ior. device ~hat 19 made up of collecting basins,
Fig~ z is a washin~ facili~y,. similar to the ~ne ~
~i~ure 1, in which on~ ~art o it3 wa~h ~ater outlets i8 co~nected
; ~, ` -`.
OTOI~ LI~ Z L99 SIZ 1~ 91~ `IO~ZI . ~:
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2 i 3 7 2 5 6
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g . . ~ "
with th~ pu~e Wa~er a~F~a o~ the treatmen~c appar~tu~, arld the other :
part o~ tho w~sh w~er outlets i5 connec~ed with the raw water
ar~a, : ; -
~ g~ a ~ashing ~a~ility in which th~3 direction o
flo~ o~ the wa~e~ 1e~ing past a membrane o~ th~3 ~aw water sids of
the treatrne~ appa~at~ re~rerslbl~ by mea~s o a ~low^reversin3
arrangemer.t,
~ 1~. 4 is a -~ashing f-a~ility wl~h a two-stage ~reat~en~
ap}?~ra~Us ~or the ccllectad wa~h ~a~er.
Flgure 1 shows a car wa~hing ~acllit~ 1, which has ~ur
(not shown in de~ail) spray head~, washing br~he~, o~ similar
kind~ o~ wash water outlets 2 thro~gh 5 ~or one ~aahing ope~ation :: :
each, ~rhesa wa~lh water outlets 2 throu~h 5 are pro~ided ~or the -
applicatioll of t~.e wash water to a moto~ vehisle, fo~ exam~le,
during a pr~-wash ~outlet 2~, ~ain wash ~outlet 3), ~ax-wa3~
(outlet 4), anh clear wa~h ~outlet 5) o~era'cion. In ~rdex to . .
collect the wash w~t~r a~te~ each wa6hing operation, the washing
facllity 1 eY~ibits a ~ollec~ing arrange~ent 6, which is configured
as a relatively de~p sediment?ti~n and collec~ion ba~$n. ~he ~a~h
w~ter ~hat i~ d~ained away a~tèr the washin~ op~r~ion3 collect~ in
th~ collecting ~r~angem~nt 6, whereupon the co~rser dirt p~ticles -~.-settle ~o ~h~ botto~ of the collec~ing b~in, and oilæ and other
llgh~ ma~e~ial~ ~ove ~o the surfa~e o~ the collected was~ ~ater. ,.~
The collecti~g arra~g~me~t ~ i~ connect~d by means of a ~ . :
fe~ pu~p 7 a~d a feed pipe a ~ith ~ water trea~en~ apparatus 9 i~
which th~ wa~k wa~er that i~ ~rained away follo~i~g the ~hing
o~e~ations ~nd collected in the collecting arrangement 6 i8 `~
tr~ate~, purified, ~nd made ~Yailab~e as p~re ~ater for ~ubseguen~
~ashing o~eratior,s. Fo~ that purpos~, the ~iltrate, pe~meat~, or ~ .
pure water outlet 10 o~ the ~reatment apparatus 9 i~ connected ~ith - ~ :
each oi the wash water outl~t~ 2 through 5 of the wa~hi~g facility
1 . . . - . : ~;
As i~ sho~n in Figure 1, the f eed pu~p 7, or more
~peciflcally, the incomlng ori~ice o~ the ~eed pipe ~, is placed in
an area of the collectin~ arr~gement 6,.~hich is ~on~igured as a ~;
coll~ctl~g ba~in, that 1~ above th~ dlrt particles that ha~
IT0~ L~ Z L~S ~l~ l3~ 91:Ll ~6~ln ~1 :
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21~7~
collected on th~ ~ottom o~ the collecting arran~ement 5, and below
thc lighc ~at~rials that a~ oa~ing ~ the ~u~face o~ th~ water.
Th~ collecting arrangemen~ 6 th~t is pla~ed undern,~a~h ~he ou~lets
2 thro~h 5 i~ eo~e-ed by means of a gra~e 27 ~r similar klnd o~
water-permeable cover that can ~e driven upon by the mato~ vehicl~s
or the liXe that ar~ to be cle~ned. With a suitable desisn,
~owever, the c411ecting arrange~ent ~ ca~ also ~e well placed
~utside of ~h~ lane of t~e ~otor ~ehicle that i9 to be cleaned.
The ~eatm~nt apparatus g of the wa~h~ng facility 1 in
Figure ~ has a semi-permea~le ~em~ra~e 11, which separates a ra~
water are~ 1~ o~ the trea~e~t a~paratus 3 ~rom a pura wat~r a~ea
13. As c~n be seen ln Figure 1, the raw w~te~ area 12 o~ the
trea~ment appar~tus g is co~nected on the inco~in~ side to ~he
collec~ln~ arr~ngement 6 by means o~ the feed pipe 8, and likewi3e
has its outlet on the o~going ~ide in thi~ collecting arr~nge~ent
6, ~rom ~hich the concentra~e that i3 fed in i~ mixed with the wash
wate~ th~t has been dral~ed ~way a~d iP again fed ~o the treatme~t
apl?aratu~ 9 ~nd i, 8 mernbrane ~
The ~a~h ~a~er that ha~ been ~rained awa~,~ is thus ~sed
again and again or ~ubseguent washi~g operations in ~n e~entially
clo~ed ~rater cir~ui~, so tha~c practically rLo ~Ja~te water from the
individual w~his~g ope~ation~ h~Ls to }~e fed intcl the s~w~Lge s~stem,
and irl any c~e, o~ly a sli~ht dwindlin~ o~ th~ wash w~ter chat
comes about as a re~ o~ e~rap~ra~ n o~ ths like ha~ De
compensated fc~r.
Figure 2 3how~ a washing facility 14, ~hich i6 designed
i~ a way eimilar to that of the ~qaching facility 1 tn FiS~ure 1.
With the wa~hirlg facility 1~ as weli, the collecting axrangemerlt 6
that i~ designed a~ a collacting ~in is connected ~rith
treatme~t app~ratus ~, which exhibi~ a se~i-permeabl~ mc~br~ne 11
While coA~ser dirt particles ~an alread~ ~ettle out in the
collecting ~rrangemerlt ~ er di~t particles are colle~ted ~
sie~e~like pre-filte~ 15 that is ~lace~ et~esn in the f~ed pipe
a and ahead ~f th~ ~rea~ment a~para~us ~ in the direction of the
flow. In };articular, e~en ~his pre-cleanlng ~akes it pos6ible for
~he concentra~2 that i~ flowlng on th~ raw water 6~d~ 12 pa~t the
'~ ' ~' '
ZIOq~ ~d I~I~Z L3~ SIZ 1~ ~I:LI ~IO~ZI
-- :
i' ~ ' ' ~ ' ' ' ': ` ' ' " . . .
2~3725~
me~brane 11 to be used in ~o~nc~icn with the pre-wash or ~ain
wa~h, where~y th~se wa3hi~g oper~tions place lowe~ r~uireme~ts on
the water q~ali~y. The raw water area 12 is there~c,re connected on
the o~tg~in~ side with the tw4 wash water outlet8 3, 4, In ~ontras~
with tha~, the pu~e wa~er ~rea 13 of the trea~mant apparatu~ 9 in
~i~ure 2 leads only to the two o~her ~ater outletq 4, 5, which are
alloca~ed to ~he ~aæh-w~ and ~he clear ri~se opera~io~s, &ince
these washing operations place higher requi~e~en~s on the w~ter
quali~y of the w~sh water tha~ is made a~ailable.
The ~oll~cted ~a~h wa~er i~ ~sd ~o ~he treatmen~
a~paratuses ~ o~ th~ ~ashin~ .eacilitie3 shown here by means o~ ~e
~eed pu~p 7 i~ the ~ure ~ater produc~ion phase, using an operating
pres~ure that o~ercomes the o~motic coun~er-press~re in the area o~
the membrane 11 ~r ~e~r~es. Under the drivl~g force of th~
p~essure di~erence o~ the p~re water slde, a partial g~tit~ of
the wash w~ter that is fed tc ~he ~reatment apparatu~ 9 as raw
water passes through thq membrane 11, while the re~ai~ing qua~tity
of the raw water leaves the raw wa~ex axea 12 ~f ~.e membrane ~ 1 as
conce~tra'ce. Pre~erably, the ~~eatment app~ratus~ç~ 3 ~ho~L here are
ol~erated using a xe~erse osmo5is technique.
In Fi~u~e 3 a washing ~acility 1~ is 3hown, ~che ~cr~atment
apparatus 9 of which is automatically cl~:aned at irltar~als of ~lme
~n order to en~ur~ a proper water c:irc~lation of wash water, eves
o~er a long pe~iod 0c ~ime. For that pu~po~e, each of the two
appar~us openings or pipes 17, 1 3 of the ,_r~a~merlt app~ratu~
tha~ lead to the raw water ~rea 12 of the mem~rane 11, i~ conne~ted
to ~ wa~ex pipe L9, 20, each of which is, in turn, cor~ected with
each ~ther on the incomi~ ide and 02L the ou~goi~ ide b~r mea~
of a multiple-way valve 21, 22. In con~unction wit~ that, the
ir~co~ing-3ide pipe sections l~a, 20a of the water pipes 1~, 20 are
connected with the ~eed pipe B ~nd the eed. pll~np '?, while th~ pipe
sectio~ 13b, 20b that go fronl 'ch~ apparatus openi~gB or pipes 17,
18 empty into the colleçting arr~ngement 6 asai~ v~a the multiple~
way valve 2~ plus the common ret~r~ pipe 23,
The two m~ltiple-way val~e~ 21, 22 are ~art o~ a ~low-
reve~si~g arrangameIlt that allo~s a ~etrer~l at ir~ter~Ial3 of time
~100 EI~LI.~'~ Z L9S STZ 1~ LT :LT ~8 '10ZZI
:
21372~6 : ~
12
of flow direc~ion o~ the raw water that i9 f].owing pas~ ~he
mem~r~ne 11. ~y n~eans of such a re~ersal ~ the ~low direction, the
apparat~ls opeslin~6 17, 18 of, he ~re~tment ap~ar.~tus ~ tha~ lead to
the raw water ~rea 12 are used a~ intervals o~ 'cime cn
al~er~ating basis a~ a water inlet 03: a wa._sr ou~let, so ~hat each
of thQ two ra~ water- sid~ ~nd area3 o~ the tre~t~T~en~ ap}~ara~cus
~empo~arily fo~s ~h~3 incomln~, and thus more heavily loaded with
dirt pa:ctic:les, end area, ~ihile cne ou~going end a~ea at ~ha~
moment can be rirlsed by the ra~ watar, In ~hi~ w~y, e~ren i~ the
~ash water is very heavily dirtied, a~ egu~l ~tili~a~ion o ~he
me~nbran~ 11 ard a com~ara~ivel~r long metnbran~ ser~rice li~e ~an be
attai~sd, which ancourages ~ ~ontinuous water circ~ tion of t~e
wa~h water in the wa3hing ~Acility 16.
ln order 'co direct the raw w~e~ in the raw wate~ area 12
pa~t the mem~r~ne ~ he one flow direction, the ~ultiple-wa~
val~re 21 con~e~ a the ~eed pipe ~ h the pipe 6ectlon 20a, ~Yhile
t~e pip ~ection lgb is connec~ed with the r~tur~ pipe 23 by rnealns
o~ ~he val~ 22. T~e ~aw ~ater ~hae flo~s past the membrane ~lows
in the re~er~e direction of ~low, if the multiple-w~y ~alve ~l
connectæ the feed pipe ~ with the pipe se~tion 19a, and the
m~1~iple-way v~l~e 22 CQn~C~S ~he pipe section 20b with t~e -eturn
, . .....
pipe 23.
I~ order t~ be able al~o to rlnse and clean the membrane ~-
11 of the treatment app ratus 9 in Figure 3 d~ring a bri~$ rinsins
phase, it ie pro~tded that the ~atic water pre~s~r~ that e~ist~ on
t~ ~aw water side 12 o~ ~h~ treatment apparatus ~ be reduced
relativ~ to the static water p~e~su~e ~ha~ exi3ts on the pure water
side 13 at intsr~ o~ ~t~e for a brief ~eriod, p~eferably in an
abrupt man~er. I~ ~his rinsi~g phase, i~ whi~h, unllkD during the `~
pure water production pha~e, re~ar~ed static p~es~ure relation~hips
pre~ail ln th~ raw water an~ ~he p~re wate~ areas o~ the treatmen~ - -
app~ratus ~, pure water trzn3~ers from the pure water area 13 i~to
the raw water a~e~ 12, a~d in doin~ so, clo~ns th~ mem~rane pores
o~ the me~rane 11. ~.
For th~ p~XPos~, the val~es 21, 2~ pl~s a stop -~al~e 24
~hat is allocated to ~he p~re wa~er ~utlet lQ, ~re clo~ed in the
- -
d 10~2 iaS 91~ TS~ ~T:L~ TO~ZI . -
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21372~ ~
rin~ing ;?ha~e o~ the tre~rnent apparat-~ 9 in Figure 3, so _hat the
-~a~er pressu~e i9 a~pr;:)ximate~ly e~ual, ~th on ~he raw-w~te~ as
~ell a~ t~ pure-wa~er side .' 2, ~3 of th~ me~ ~e 11. ?~ow, lf
befor~, duri~g, cr a~ter a flow directiorl re~r~r~al only the
multiple-way vaive~ 21, ~2 are ~pened in ~ne of the t~o ~low
d-receions of ~he ~aw water, ~hen, oppo:3~.n~ ~he static pr~sst:Lr~ on
t~e pure btater ~ide 13, is - in acc~rdaxlcs wi-h 9~r~Loulll' 9
e~uation - a comparati~Jely lowe~ ~atic water pre~sure on the raw
wa~sr side, which has a~ a con~equenc~ t~e ~bove-mentioned rin3ins
o ~ the membrane pore~3 by th~ pure wa~er . In o~ler ~o l~wer thr
s~atic water ~re~stlre tha~ exi~3 on ~he raw water side 12, ~che
~lcrr speed a~d, wlth ~hac, the d~a~nic w~ter pr~ssure o~ th~ raw
water that is f}o~ing ~a6~ ~he me~nbr~ne c~n als3 ~e increased.
earti~larly in t~e e-~ent o~ a high ~alt conten~ oI the
col1ected wa~h water, it C~}L be ad~a;l~a~eou~ i~ there io
~e~porarily fed to the treat~ent apparatus 9 i~ Figure 3 as raw
wata~ for intermi~ten~ ~low through i~ a revers- ~low direction,
especia11y du-ing a brief reduction of ~e static ~ater p~e~s~ra on
the raw water ~ide 1~ in co~parison with ~he water pre3sure that
exi~ts on the p~re water side in t~e ri~sing pha82~ pur~ water or
~ water with a low sa1t co~tent. In co~junction with that, it is
b~neflcia1 if ~.ke int~r~a1~ of ~ime pro~ided for th~ ~low direction
~eversa1 and/or ~o~ ~ change ~ e w~ter pre~sure at the ~em~rane,
and/or tn~ extent of the ~han~e in water pres3ure at ~h~ m~mbrane
11 duri~g ~he ri~3in~ phase, a~e ~elected ir dapendence upon the
deg~ee of dirtying o~ the ~a~h wat~x that is collected a~ter the
washing opera~10ns ~nd fed t~ the treat~ent apparatU~ 5 as raw
watqr.
~ n Fisure 3, i~ is indicat~d th~t betwee~ the pure wacer
area 13 and the ~top Y~ 4 0~ the pure wa~er out1et }o, there i~
pr~vid~d an interme~Late r~Eerv~irl whieh is connected with the
pure wat~ ~re~ 13 o~ the treat~e~t ap~arat~3 ~, pre~erab1y ~ithout
a check ~ra1~e, and ~hieh makes available ~Nring ~che~ rinsing phase
a greater quan~ity of the ~re ~ater.or the permeate for rinsing
th~ por~s of the ~em~rane. ~ particu1ar1y ef~e~ti~e rinsing ~ffe~t
~n be attained during the ri~ing phase/ i~ eh~ StOp ~l~e9 are
ST~ Y~ 9 sT~ l5~ Ll:LT ~e ~Taf
.. .
21372~6 : ~
'. ~'. ,', ~ .-'
con~i~ured as ball ~alves ~r a 3i~il~r kind of quick-cl4si~g
~ittinss that e~couxage a~ abru~ cha~se o~: ~he pres~u~e
relation~hip6 in ~he ~egion of the membr~n~
~ ure ~ sh~wj, there does no~ ha~e to be a sle~e-}ike
and, in the reverse os~osis tech~i~ue, otherwlse u~ual pre-~ilt~r
placed ahead of ~he ~reat~e~t apparat~ 9, slnce the tr~at~ent
apparat~s ~ and its mem~r~ne 11 are cleaned at int~rvals of time
agair. and again b~ means o~ a ~low dir~ction re~erj~l, as well as
~y means oI a reversal of the pressure rel~tion~hips eha~ exi8~ on
~ho raw-water and ~he pure-water gides 12, 13. I~ o~der to
coun~era~t a dirtyin~ of the trea~ment apparat~ 9 even further, it
can ~2 ad~n~agoous iI there a~ fed into ~he raw water ahead of
the ~embrane in the dl~c~i~ of ~low ~emical dep~slt aicl5,
~dsorptio~ agent~ and/or abscrption agents, ~or exam~le activa~ed
charcoal powder, whlch ~ake ~p a portion of the dix~ part~clQs and
~9t~1~ ahead o~ t~e membrane 11 unti~ the ~ext flow direc~lon
reve~aal.
As with the wa~hina ~acili~ies 1, 14 and 25, the
trsat~e~t apparatu~ ~ o~ the washing ~acility 16 i~ Figure 3 also
exhibit3 a co~mercially availa~le ~o-called windi~g mod~le, which
aan be placsd in ar. appara~us hou~ng, ~hich ~ not shown, a~d
~hich i~ connectad with the i~coming and ou~goins raw wacer ~i~e~
o~ the tr~atmene appa~atu~ 9~ I~ con~unc~ion wi~h ~hi~, the annular
g~p tha~ is formed between th~ winding mwdule and the apparatus
hou~ing is sealed by ~ear.s of a rin~ ~eal, wh~ch i9 preferably
plRced a~ an e~d re~io~ of the winding module and which seals the
annular gap ~n o~ly one dire~ion of ~low and is permeable i~ t~e
oppo~ite dire~tion of ~low. ~n this way, the annular gap t~at i~
~med be~ween t~e ~ppa~atu~ housing and ~.e wi~ding mod~le is
llkewise ri~sed and clea~ed ~y ~a~ water ~h~ver th~ raw wa~eF is
flowing thro~l the ~reatment apparatu6 3 in ~h~ approp~iate
di~ctio~ can be ~eneficial if at lea~t o~e f~ont face o~ the
. winding module in the direction of f~ow ser~es ~ a deposit ~lt~r
a~d/or pra-~ilter.
I~ Fisur~ 4, a washing facility 25 is ~hown, tne
treatme~t appar~tus g o whic~ has two ~reat~ent ~tag~, each of
0TO0 DLIN~ I~Z L~S SIZ 1~ ~T:LT ~iro~zl ~ .
~ .`. i"
21372~6
., ~
- ., ~ .- -
which has one winding m~dule or semi-permeable membrane lla~ llb.
I~ c~njunction with that, the m~mbra~e lla ~ ~.llocat~d to the
~irst treatment s~age and the membrane llP to the second t~eatment
st~e~ The raw ~ater area 12 of the fi~t treat~e~t stage is
co~ne~ted on the incomlng and outgoi~g ~ides with the ~ollecti~
arr~n~e~ent ~ of the-~a~hing f~cility ~5, while i~s p~re wa~er ~r~a
13 leads ~o the raw ~at~r area 1~ of the ~econd trea~ment stage,
which e~hibits the me~rane llb. ~he p~re wat~ area and the ra~
water area or the ~econd tre~tmen~ stage are con~ected on the
out~oi~g side with the wa~h ~a~er ou~let~ 2 throu~h
conj~nction with ~hich the wa~h water outle~s ~, 3 ~hat a~e
pro~id2d for the pre-wash and main wa~ opera~ions are alloca~ed to
the ra~ water area 12, and the w,~sh water outlets 4, 5 ~hat ~re
provided ~or ~he wax-wash and the clear wa~h operations are
al~ocated to the ~ure water area 1~ o~ ~he second treatment sta~ç.
~en if the wash water ~hat is collec~ed ater the w~shlng
operatio~s a~d ~ed to ~he t~ea~men~ appara~us ~ h~s a high salt
content, ~he pe~meate or pure w~ter aLter the second treatment
~tage has o~ly a ~ery low sal~ ~o~tene, ~nd e~en the aoncentrate of
this second ~rea~en~ ~tage ha~ ~igni~ican~ly be~ter qualiry when
com~ared with w~te~ th~t has ~i~ply been pre-filtered.
In Figure~ 1 th~ough 4, ~orm~ cf i~pleme~t. ~io~ ~re sho~n
in which ~he treatment appara~uses 9 ar~ d~e~sioned ~o lar~e in
t~r~ of their pure wacer produc~ion c~paci~y, tha~ t~ey ~o~er the
actual wash water requ~re~en~3 of the wa~hin~ ~cilities 1, 14, 1
and 25, ~ithout it bein~ l~cessa~y or the pe~meate that i~ treated
aga~n as wa h water i~ the ~rea~ment apparat~s ~ andJor the
concen~ate 810win~ pa~t the ~embrane 11 to be stored temporarlly.
Howe~er, i~ order no~ to have to m~ch the capacity of the
treat~ent apparatus to a peak ca~aci~y that mi~h~ be u~ed only
rarely, and not to ha~ e ~o dime~ion i~c in a way that lS
corresp~ndingly la~ge, it can ~e beneficial to ~irst collect in
intermediate reservoirs the wa~h wa~er tha~ is drained a~ay and to
be p~sed alon~ ~o the treat~ent appara~us andlor the pure water
t~at is produced, in order to alway~ be able to maXe avatlable
~: i
L100 ~I~LI~ Z L~9 SIZ 1~ 8-t:LI ~JIOfZI
?,'
r;',~;-. ` :,. " ` `
2 1 3 7 2 5 ~
16
su~ icient wa~;h ~acer, in ~pite of in~e~mit~eIlt operatisn o~ t1;1e . ~ -
Partl~ularly with the forrn~ o~ lmFl~rnen~al:io}~ shown here, : .' .
which ~or~ by me~s~6 o~ the re~rersa o~mc~si~ ~ech~i~ue, the wash
w~ er or p~ e w~ter t}lat i~ pu~if ied in the trea~ ent apparatus
exhibits a comp~rat-vely lo~r salt content, so t:hat only slnall
quar~itieq of detergent or similar kinds o~ chetnical~ ar~ Ileeded.
Due to the low oamotic c~unter-pr~sure, a lo~ sal~ or chemical
con~en~ of the wash wate~ ~hat is ~ed to the ~rea~men~ apparatllSes
re$uires a low oper~t~ ng pressure during the re~rerse OS~llOSlS ~
~hich i8 beneCicial fo~ the simple productiorl of the wa~h water
that is guided in an almos~ closed recircula~ion Q~ water. ......
:, ' . .:
- Clai,sns ~
~ " ~
81~ LI.~Nd l~ L9q SIZ r~ ~ IO~'ZI ~ ~
.
