JP2007175566A - Hollow fiber membrane module - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a hollow fiber membrane module capable of sufficiently crushing an annular elastomer of a header inner surface by low output and certainly keeping a liquid sealed even when ultrasonic weld is used as a means fixing a header to a main body case. <P>SOLUTION: In the hollow fiber membrane module comprising a hollow fiber module bundle, the main body case housing the hollow fiber membrane bundle, a partition wall fixing the hollow fiber membrane bundle to the inner wall of a main body case end part, the header attached to the case opening end part and having an inlet opening or an outlet opening of a liquid to be treated, and an annular elastomer provided on the inner surface of the header, the annular elastomer is provided with an annular groove on at least one side of the contact surface with the inner surface of the header or the contact surface with the partition wall. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a hollow fiber membrane module, and more particularly to a hollow fiber membrane module suitable for blood purification, water filtration, a plasma separator and the like.

  As widely known in the art, a hollow fiber membrane module using a hollow fiber membrane is used for blood purification, for example, blood dialysis. Such a hollow fiber membrane module includes a cylindrical main body case having a dialysate inlet port at one end and a dialysate outlet port at the other end, a hollow fiber membrane bundle inserted in the main body case, and the hollow fiber The membrane bundle has a partition that fixes the membrane bundle to the inner wall of the main body case at the end, and the header is fixed to the open end of the main body case. When using for dialysis of blood, the dialysate is introduced from the inlet port and led out from the outlet port to circulate in the main body case, and the blood is passed through the header blood inlet port and directed toward the outlet port through the hollow fiber. Blood is dialyzed by circulating through the membrane.

  In the hollow fiber membrane module, the main body case and the header need to be sealed in a liquid-tight manner so that blood or dialysate does not leak from the joint between the main body case and the header. Therefore, a method of providing an annular elastic body on the inner surface of the header is widely known, and the main body case and the header can be liquid-tightly sealed by fixing the header to the case while crushing the annular elastic body. At this time, it is necessary for the annular elastic body to be sufficiently crushed to maintain liquid tightness. In addition, in order to stably maintain liquid-tightness even if fine irregularities or foreign matter are present on the contact surface of the annular elastic body, the sealable area of the annular elastic body is increased, that is, the pressure receiving area is increased. There was a thing. Further, as shown in FIG. 5, the partition wall is provided with a groove portion, and by inserting an annular elastic body having a shape capable of contacting the entire inner wall of the groove portion, the space between the annular elastic body and the partition wall is filled, A technique for improving the sealing performance has been proposed (see Patent Document 1).

  However, in the above conventional technique, the large pressure-receiving area of the annular elastic body means that the area where the annular elastic body is in contact with the partition wall and the body case is large. In immobilization, a large load was required to sufficiently crush the annular elastic body.

In particular, when the ultrasonic welding method is adopted as a means for fixing the header to the case, the ultrasonic pressure is easily attenuated by increasing the pressure applied to the header, and the transmission of the ultrasonic vibration is hindered. Sufficient heat generation at the welded portion between the header and the case cannot be promoted, and it may be difficult to obtain a predetermined amount of penetration for sufficiently sealing the welded portion. Therefore, in the ultrasonic welding method, it is preferable that the pressure applied to the header is small.
JP-A-4-231965

  An object of the present invention is to squeeze the annular elastic body on the inner surface of the header with a low pressure, for example, even when ultrasonic welding is used as a means for fixing the header to the main body case, the output of the inner surface of the header can be reduced. An object of the present invention is to provide a hollow fiber membrane module that can sufficiently crush an annular elastic body and can reliably maintain a liquid-tight state.

  In order to solve the above problems, the hollow fiber membrane module of the present invention includes a hollow fiber membrane bundle, a main body case that houses the hollow fiber membrane bundle, and the hollow fiber membrane bundle fixed to the inner wall of the end of the main body case. Partition wall, a header attached to a case opening end, and a header having an inlet or outlet for processing liquid, and an annular elastic body provided on the inner surface of the header, the inner surface of the header, At least one of a part of the contact surface or a part of the contact surface with the partition wall is provided with an annular groove.

  In addition, another hollow fiber membrane module of the present invention includes an annular groove in at least one of a part of a contact surface with the annular elastic body in the header or a part of a contact surface with the annular elastic body in the partition. It is characterized by this.

  The present invention also provides a hollow fiber membrane bundle, a main body case for storing the hollow fiber membrane bundle, a partition wall for fixing the hollow fiber membrane bundle to an inner wall of the main body case end, and a case opening end. A part of the contact surface with the header inner surface in a method of manufacturing a hollow fiber membrane module comprising a header having an inlet or outlet for introducing a liquid to be treated and an annular elastic body provided on the inner surface of the header. Alternatively, a hollow fiber membrane characterized by using an annular elastic body having an annular groove on at least one part of a contact surface with the partition wall, and integrally fixing the main body case and the header by ultrasonic welding. A method for manufacturing a module is provided.

  Separately, the present invention uses at least one of a header or a partition wall provided with an annular groove in a part of a contact surface with the annular elastic body, and integrally fixes the main body case and the header by ultrasonic welding. The present invention provides a method for producing a hollow fiber membrane module.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, it is possible to crush the cyclic | annular elastic body of a header inner surface with a low pressurization force, can maintain a liquid-tight state reliably, and can provide an inexpensive hollow fiber membrane module. In particular, when ultrasonic welding is used as a means for fixing the header to the main body case, it is possible to sufficiently crush the annular elastic body with low energy. A hollow fiber membrane module having a penetration amount can be provided.

  The hollow fiber membrane module of the present invention includes medical devices such as hemodialyzers, plasma separators, plasma component separators, blood filters, plasma component adsorbers, artificial lungs and endotoxin removal filters represented by hollow fiber type artificial kidneys. Module, an adsorption module filled with an adsorbent, and a module for a filtration device.

An embodiment of the hollow fiber membrane module of the present invention will be described based on the drawings.
FIG. 1 shows a first embodiment when the hollow fiber membrane module of the present invention is used as a hemodialyzer, but the following preferred modes and examples are not limited to this case. In FIG. 1, the hollow fiber membrane module includes a main body case 3 having a treatment liquid inlet port 1 near one end in the longitudinal direction and a treatment liquid outlet port 2 near the other end. A hollow fiber membrane bundle 4 formed by aligning a number of hollow fiber membranes inserted in the main body case 3 in one direction, and the hollow fiber membrane bundle 4 is fixed to the inner wall of the main body case at each end. A partition wall 5 is provided. In addition, headers 8 and 9 including blood inlet / outlet ports 6 and 7 for blood to be processed are welded and fixed to the end portion of the main body case 3 by ultrasonic welding portions 10. And in order to fix a main body case and a header fluid-tightly, it has the cyclic | annular elastic body 11 in between (shown in FIG. 2).

  The material of the main body case and header is not particularly limited, but a thermoplastic such as polypropylene, polyethylene, polytetrafluoroethylene, polyester, polycarbonate, or acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) is used, and ultrasonic welding is possible. Is preferably used.

Examples of the material of the hollow fiber membrane bundle 4 include cellulose, cellulose derivatives, polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), polypropylene, and polysulfone.
Examples of the material of the partition wall 5 include polymer materials such as polyurethane, silicone, and epoxy, and preferably a two-component mixed curing type polymer adhesive, which can be manufactured by centrifugal molding (potting) or the like. it can.

  Hereinafter, the hollow fiber module of the present invention, the manufacturing method thereof, and the annular elastic body used will be described. The method for fixing the header to the case is based on ultrasonic welding, but the preferred modes and examples described below are not limited to the case where ultrasonic welding is used.

  After bundled a plurality of hollow fiber membranes made of a polymer for hollow fiber membranes selected from the materials listed above and inserted into the main body case, and after attaching a bulkhead casting cap to the end of the main body case, from the materials listed above The selected partition wall polymer is injected into the case end to form the partition wall, thereby fixing the hollow fiber membrane to the main body case. After the partition walls are solidified, the partition member is cut so that the hollow fibers at both ends open outward, and the header is liquid-tightly attached to both ends of the cut main body case to form a hollow fiber membrane module. .

FIG. 2 shows an end portion of the hollow fiber membrane module shown in FIG. 1 and shows an annular elastic body according to the present invention. (A) in a figure shows about the hollow fiber end part before welding of a main body case and a header, (b) shows about the hollow fiber module end part after welding. In (b), the headers 8 and 9 are welded and fixed to the main body case 3 by the ultrasonic welding portion 10. An annular elastic body 11 is provided on the inner surface of the header, and is pressed against both the headers 8 and 9 and the partition wall 5 and is crushed so that the liquid tightness of the hollow fiber module is maintained.
Although the shape of the ultrasonic welding part 10 is arbitrary, when the material of the main body case and the header is a crystalline resin, since there is less entrapment of bubbles and vibration is more easily transmitted, a shear joint is preferably used. Although the amount of penetration of the ultrasonic weld 10 is not particularly defined, sufficient welding strength can be obtained by setting the length A of the melted portion of the header in the longitudinal direction of the case to 0.5 mm to 2.0 mm.

  First, the ultrasonic welding part 101 of the header collides with the ultrasonic welding part 102 of the main body case. Furthermore, by applying ultrasonic vibration while applying pressure, heat is rapidly generated at the interface between the ultrasonic welds 101 and 102, and melting starts. The molten resin melts into the surrounding space. Furthermore, the ultrasonic welds 101 and 102 are melted by applying pressure and ultrasonic vibration. During this time, the annular elastic body is pressed between the partition wall 5 and the headers 8 and 9. When the ultrasonic vibration is stopped after the ultrasonic welding portion 101 reaches the desired amount of penetration, the ultrasonic welding portion 10 is cooled, and the header and the main body case are fixed. Here, if the annular elastic body 11 is pressed at the moment when the ultrasonic welded portion 10 starts to melt, the annular elastic body 11 attenuates vibration, so that sufficient welding energy may not be added. Therefore, when the length A of the melted portion of the header reaches about 0.2 mm to 1.2 mm, if the annular elastic body starts to be pressed between the partition wall 5 and the headers 8 and 9, sufficient energy at the start of melting. It is preferable because good welding can be obtained.

  3 and 8 are a cross-sectional view and a plan view showing an example of the form of the annular elastic body 11 shown in FIG. 2, respectively. As the material of the annular elastic body, rubber or elastomer such as silicon rubber, fluorine rubber, acrylonitrile butadiene rubber (NBR), or the like is preferably used so that a sealing property can be exhibited by a repulsive force against pressing.

  The size, rubber hardness, and crushing amount of the annular elastic body 11 are arbitrary, but if the repulsive force against crushing is excessive, a part of the partition wall receives a large pressing force for a long time, and the partition wall is deformed by a creep phenomenon. As a result, sealability may deteriorate. Therefore, the rubber hardness of the annular elastic body is preferably about Hs 30 to 50. At this time, the height E of the annular elastic body is about 1.0 mm to 5.0 mm, and the crushing amount of the annular elastic body is 0.1 mm to When it is about 2.0 mm, it becomes possible to stably maintain a liquid-tight state. Moreover, it is preferable that the line width D in the radial direction is about 2.0 mm to 5.0 mm because a seal portion can be sufficiently secured even if there are fine foreign matters or irregularities on the seal surface. In addition, the header contact surface and the partition contact surface of the ring-shaped elastic body have a smooth curved shape, so that the pressure receiving area immediately after the start of pressing can be reduced, and the crushed portion is the surrounding space. It is preferable because it can be deformed so as to spread and the sealing performance can be improved.

  One aspect of the hollow fiber module according to the present invention is characterized in that when the annular elastic body 11 is in a free state, an annular groove 12 is provided on a part of a contact surface with a header or a partition in the hollow fiber module. By providing the annular groove portion 12 in a part, it is possible to reduce the pressure receiving area immediately after the start of pressing. Here, in the present invention, the provision of the annular groove on a part of the contact surface with the header or the partition means that the entire contact surface is not a groove. As shown in FIG. 5, when all of the contact surfaces are grooves, the effect of the present invention that enables the annular elastic body on the inner surface of the header to be crushed with a low pressure is not provided. However, the annular groove in the present invention means a groove provided over the entire circumference of the annular elastic body. If the groove is not provided over the entire circumference, when the header is fixed to the case, it cannot be pressurized with a uniform force over the entire circumference of the elastic body. A liquid-tight body cannot be maintained uniformly over the circumference. For the same reason, it is desirable that the depth and width of the groove be uniform. In addition, since the annular groove part should just be provided in a part of contact surface, as shown in FIG. 6, you may have two or more annular grooves in the same contact surface. When the annular groove 12 is provided near the center in the width direction of the annular elastic body as shown in FIG. 2, the repulsive force is concentrated on both sides of the annular groove so that the hollow fiber membrane module has a strong sealing property. And having a two-stage seal structure is preferable because the risk of leakage is reduced.

  The annular elastic body is preferably in contact with the partition wall portion where the hollow fiber membrane bundle does not exist so as not to block the opening of the hollow fiber membrane bundle. However, when used for blood purification or the like, if the distance between the annular elastic body and the hollow fiber membrane bundle is too long, it tends to become a space where blood stays and causes blood flow to deteriorate. It is preferable to install the annular elastic body at a position close to the hollow fiber membrane bundle so that blood can flow into it. On the other hand, if the main body case is made of difficult-to-adhere plastic such as polypropylene, polyethylene, polytetrafluoroethylene, etc., the main body case and the partition wall cannot be bonded, and the partition wall may peel off. In order to keep the thread membrane module in a liquid-tight state, it is preferable to bring the annular elastic body into contact with the main body case as well as the partition wall. In this case, it is effective to increase the line width D of the annular elastic body so that it can cover from the partition wall at a position close to the open end of the hollow fiber membrane bundle to the main body case. Therefore, a large pressing force is required when fixing the header case. At that time, when the annular groove is provided, when the annular elastic body is pressed, the portion inside the groove 12 can be kept in a good liquid-tight state even with a low pressing force, and the portion outside the groove 12 In this case, since the boundary between the partition wall and the main body case can be maintained in a good liquid-tight state, the annular elastic body can be sufficiently crushed.

  Here, in the annular elastic body, the annular groove portion 12 may be provided on either the contact surface with the header or the contact surface with the partition wall, but there is an advantage that it is not necessary to define the insertion direction of the annular elastic body. In terms of having, it is more preferable to provide annular grooves 12 on both sides.

  Further, in the annular elastic body shown in FIG. 3, the groove width B of the annular groove 12 is 0.5 mm to 2.0 mm, and the groove depth C of the annular groove 12 is about 0.1 mm to 2.0 mm. The pressing force when the annular elastic body is pressed can be sufficiently reduced, and it is preferable because large deformation does not occur when the elastic body is transported or gripped by the apparatus during automatic assembly.

  There is no restriction | limiting in particular when producing the cyclic | annular elastic body which has this groove part 12, The groove part 12 can be provided by a shaping die, and a groove part can also be provided by post-processing after shaping | molding.

  Further, as another embodiment of the hollow fiber module according to the present invention, as illustrated in FIG. 7, one or both of the contact surfaces with the annular elastic body in the header or the partition are the same as in the case of the annular elastic body. An annular groove portion may be provided, and the same effect as described above can be obtained.

  There are no particular restrictions on creating a header or partition having such a groove, and in the case of a header, the groove 12 can be provided by a molding die, and the partition 12 can be provided by a partition casting cap. it can. Moreover, a groove part can also be provided by the post-process after shaping | molding in any of a header and a partition.

  Moreover, the cyclic | annular groove part 12 provided in the contact surface with the cyclic | annular elastic body in a header or a partition may be supplemented by the deformation | transformation when the whole cyclic | annular elastic body is crushed.

  FIG. 4 is a schematic side view illustrating an ultrasonic welding apparatus used for manufacturing the above-described hollow fiber membrane module of the present invention. In FIG. 4, the vibrator 15 vibrates in response to a signal generated by the oscillator 16, and the horn 13 transmits ultrasonic vibration while applying pressure to the header 9 by the actuator 14. As a result, the interface between the header and the case generates heat, and the ultrasonic welding part 10 starts melting. When the ultrasonic weld 10 starts melting, the header is melted with respect to the main body case, and at this time, the annular elastic body provided on the inner surface of the header is pressed between the partition wall and the header, thereby the header and the main body. It becomes possible to keep liquid-tight between the case.

  Although the ultrasonic welding apparatus used by this invention is not specifically limited, Preferably the apparatus of the frequency of 15 Khz-60 Khz is suitable. Furthermore, when an apparatus having a frequency of about 15 Khz to 40 Khz is used, vibrations can be easily transmitted to the ultrasonic welding part 10, so that good transmission welding is possible. In FIG. 4, the hollow fiber membrane module is held on the cradle 17, but the welding result can be stabilized by holding the module on the cradle 17 so that vibration is uniformly transmitted. .

  The material of the horn is not particularly defined, but a metal such as aluminum or titanium is preferably used so that a sufficient amplitude can be obtained.

  Hereinafter, although an Example is shown about the hollow fiber membrane module of this invention, this invention is not limited to this Example.

[Production Example 1]
Using the annular elastic body provided in the hollow fiber membrane module, the load when a predetermined amount of crushing was crushed in the thickness direction was measured. The ring-shaped elastic body has an inner diameter of 36.3 mm, a radial line width of 4.8 mm, a height of 3.4 mm, made of silicon rubber and a hardness of Hs 40 degrees, and has a substantially elliptical cross-sectional shape. The contact surface and the contact surface with the partition wall are provided with an annular groove, and the groove depth is 0.17 mm and the width is 0.3 mm. Here, the groove was provided over the entire circumference in the center of the annular elastic body in the radial direction. This annular elastic body was sandwiched between two stainless steel flat plates, and the load was measured with a compression tester. As a result, the weight when this annular elastic body was crushed by 0.4 mm was 12 kgf. Here, Shimadzu AGS-100A was used as a compression tester, and the ambient temperature during the measurement was 24 ° C.
[Production Example 2]
Two annular elastic bodies which are the same material as the annular elastic body described in Production Example 1 and have the same outer diameter and inner diameter, but which have a substantially elliptical cross-sectional shape without an annular groove. The weight was measured in the same manner as in Production Example 1. As a result, the weight when this annular elastic body was crushed by 0.4 mm was 16 kgf.

From this result, it was confirmed that the annular elastic body provided in the hollow fiber membrane module according to the present invention required less force for crushing than the conventional annular elastic body.
[Example 1]
The hollow fiber membrane module in the present invention was manufactured by ultrasonic welding. At this time, polypropylene was used as the material of the header and main body case, and the one of Production Example 1 was used as the annular elastic body. Polyurethane was used as the partition wall material. An ultrasonic welding machine having an output of 1200 w and a frequency of 20 Khz was used. Ultrasonic vibration was applied to the object at a pressure of 800 N. As a result, it was confirmed that the amount of penetration of the welded portion was 1.25 mm and the amount of crushing of the annular elastic body was 0.40 mm, and a predetermined amount of crushing was obtained. About this hollow fiber membrane module, a dye (methyl violet aqueous solution) is injected into the module, and 132 Kpa, which is 2.0 times the internal pressure of 66 Kpa, which is a working pressure when the hollow fiber membrane module is used for artificial dialysis, is used. When added, no leakage of the dye was observed outside the annular elastic body, that is, in the vicinity of the welded portion 10 in FIGS. 1 and 2, and it was confirmed that the liquid tightness of the partition wall and the header, and the partition wall and the main body case was maintained. did it.

  The hollow fiber membrane module of the present invention is particularly suitable and useful for blood purification, hemodialysis, water filtration, plasma separator and the like. Further, the present invention is not limited to the hollow fiber membrane module, but can be applied to the case where the container and the lid are liquid-tightly fixed by pressing the annular elastic body, but the application range is limited to these. Not a thing

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS It is 1st embodiment of the hollow fiber membrane module in this invention, and is a sectional side view which illustrates the whole hollow fiber membrane module. It is a fragmentary sectional view which illustrates the edge part of the hollow fiber membrane module shown in FIG. It is sectional drawing which shows an example of embodiment of the cyclic | annular elastic body 11 in this invention shown in FIG. It is a schematic side view which illustrates an ultrasonic welding apparatus. It is a fragmentary sectional view which illustrates the edge part of the hollow fiber membrane module which concerns on a prior art. It is a fragmentary sectional view which shows another aspect of the cyclic | annular elastic body 11 in this invention. It is a fragmentary sectional view which shows another aspect of the cyclic | annular elastic body 11 in this invention. It is a top view which concerns on an example of embodiment of the cyclic | annular elastic body 11 in this invention shown in FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Process liquid inlet port 2 Process liquid outlet port 3 Main body case 4 Hollow fiber membrane bundle 5 Bulkhead 6 Processed liquid inlet port 7 Processed liquid outlet port 8 Header 9 Header 10 Ultrasonic welding part 11 Annular elastic body 12 Groove part 13 Horn 14 Actuator 15 Vibrator 16 Oscillator 17 Receiver 101 Ultrasonic welded part of header 102 Ultrasonic welded part of main body case A Melted part length B Groove part width C Groove part depth D Radial line width of annular elastic body E Height of annular elastic body

Claims (9)

  A hollow fiber membrane bundle, a main body case for storing the hollow fiber membrane bundle, a partition wall for fixing the hollow fiber membrane bundle to an inner wall of the end of the main body case, and a liquid to be treated attached to the end of the case opening In a hollow fiber membrane module comprising a header having an inlet or a lead-out port and an annular elastic body provided on the inner surface of the header, the annular elastic body is a part of a contact surface with the header inner surface or the partition wall. A hollow fiber membrane module comprising an annular groove in at least one of the contact surfaces.   2. The hollow fiber membrane module according to claim 1, wherein the annular elastic body includes annular grooves on both a contact surface with the inner surface of the header and a contact surface with the partition wall.   A hollow fiber membrane bundle, a main body case for storing the hollow fiber membrane bundle, a partition wall for fixing the hollow fiber membrane bundle to an inner wall of the end of the main body case, and a liquid to be treated attached to the end of the case opening In a hollow fiber membrane module comprising a header having an inlet or a lead-out port and an annular elastic body provided on the inner surface of the header, a part of a contact surface of the header with the annular elastic body, or the partition wall A hollow fiber membrane module comprising an annular groove on at least one part of a contact surface with an annular elastic body.   The hollow fiber membrane module according to any one of claims 1 to 3, which is obtained by integrally fixing the main body case and the header by ultrasonic welding.   The hollow fiber membrane module according to any one of claims 1 to 4, which is used for blood purification.   A hollow fiber membrane bundle, a main body case for storing the hollow fiber membrane bundle, a partition wall for fixing the hollow fiber membrane bundle to an inner wall of the end of the main body case, and a liquid to be treated attached to the end of the case opening In a method of manufacturing a hollow fiber membrane module comprising a header having an inlet or a lead-out port and an annular elastic body provided on the inner surface of the header, a part of the contact surface with the inner surface of the header or contact with the partition wall A method for producing a hollow fiber membrane module, comprising: using an annular elastic body having an annular groove on at least one of the surfaces; and integrally fixing the main body case and the header by ultrasonic welding.   The method for producing a hollow fiber membrane module according to claim 6, wherein the annular elastic body includes annular grooves on both a contact surface with the header inner surface and a contact surface with the partition wall.   A hollow fiber membrane bundle, a main body case for storing the hollow fiber membrane bundle, a partition wall for fixing the hollow fiber membrane bundle to an inner wall of the end of the main body case, and a liquid to be treated attached to the end of the case opening In a method of manufacturing a hollow fiber membrane module comprising a header having an inlet or a lead-out port and an annular elastic body provided on the inner surface of the header, an annular groove is formed in a part of a contact surface with the annular elastic body. A method for producing a hollow fiber membrane module, comprising using at least one of a header or a partition provided, and integrally fixing the main body case and the header by ultrasonic welding. The method for producing a hollow fiber membrane module according to any one of claims 6 to 8, wherein the hollow fiber membrane module is used for blood purification.

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