JP2009125642A - Method of manufacturing hollow fiber membrane module - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method of manufacturing a hollow fiber membrane module allowing very convenient manufacture with no special equipment and enabling uniform injection of a potting agent between hollow fiber membranes and between bundles of hollow fibers and the case. <P>SOLUTION: The method of manufacturing a hollow fiber membrane module comprises the step of attaching the opening of a bag 5 containing a potting agent 4 to the end of a cylindrical case 3' housing bundles 2 of hollow fibers, moving the inside potting agent 4 into the cylindrical case by applying a force externally to the bag 5, and hardening the potting agent 4. The hollow fiber membranes 1 themselves and bundles 2 of hollow fibers and the cylindrical case 3' are thereby fixed with one another, and in this state, the part of the bundles 2 adhered with the potting agent 4 is cut to make each hollow fiber membrane 1 open. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a method for producing a hollow fiber membrane module having main features in a method for forming a tube sheet of a hollow fiber membrane module, and in particular, can be produced very easily without requiring a special device, The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a hollow fiber membrane module that can uniformly inject a potting agent between hollow fiber membranes and between a hollow fiber bundle and a case.

  The hollow fiber membrane module is a hollow fiber bundle in which a plurality of hollow fiber membranes having selective permeability are bundled in a container having at least a mixed fluid inlet, a permeate fluid outlet, and a non-permeate fluid outlet. The inner space of the membrane and the outer space of the hollow fiber membrane are housed so as to be separated from each other.

Conventionally, for example, a method as shown in FIG. 5 is known as a method for producing a hollow fiber membrane module (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
In this method, as shown in FIG. 5A, a potting cup 103 is fitted to an end portion (lower end portion in the drawing) of a cylindrical case 102 in which a bundle 101 of hollow fiber membranes is stored. The end portion of the case 102 is formed with an adhesive blocking portion 102 a having a diameter slightly smaller than other portions, and this blocking portion is in close contact with the inner periphery of the cup 103.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 5B, the filling adhesive 104 is injected from the injection hole 108 formed in the side wall of the cup 103. The filling adhesive 104 is injected so as to close the lower end opening of the case 102. When the adhesive 104 is cured, the end of the hollow fiber bundle 101 is fixed to the end of the case.

After the adhesive is cured, as shown in FIG. 5 (c), a predetermined portion (AA cutting line) of the adhesive blocking portion 102a is cut. According to such a method, the hollow fiber membrane module without a burr | flash can be manufactured.
JP-A-5-84426

  As described above, in the conventional method for manufacturing a hollow fiber membrane module, the potting agent (filling adhesive) is injected from the injection hole of the mold after the mold (potting cup) is mounted. However, even in the method described in Patent Document 1, in order to prevent the generation of burrs, precise processing accuracy is required for the mold and the case.

  Highly accurate parts cannot be easily obtained by ordinary plastic injection molding. If it is made of metal, it is possible to increase the accuracy, but there is a problem that it is expensive. In some cases, auxiliary parts such as O-rings and packings are required, or special parts such as an adhesive blocking part are required, and work such as mounting and demounting is required. is necessary. In particular, when removing and reusing a metal mold, it is not easy to remove the mold after curing. For example, a mold release agent is required, and it is necessary to carefully clean the removed mold. There were many inconvenient points.

  Moreover, in the method of patent document 1, since a potting agent is inject | poured from the injection hole formed in the case side wall, a potting agent tends to be unevenly distributed. In particular, when the hollow fiber membranes are tightly bundled or the potting agent has a high viscosity, it is difficult to uniformly inject between each hollow fiber membrane and between the hollow fiber bundle and the case, There was room for improvement.

  The present invention has been made in view of the problems as described above, and the object thereof can be manufactured very easily without the need for a special apparatus, and between the hollow fiber membranes and the hollow fiber bundles. An object of the present invention is to provide a method for manufacturing a hollow fiber membrane module, in which a potting agent can be uniformly injected between cases.

In order to achieve the above object, the method for producing a hollow fiber membrane module of the present invention is a method for producing a hollow fiber membrane module in which a hollow fiber bundle in which a large number of hollow fiber membranes are assembled is fixed in a cylindrical case by a potting agent. ,
Attaching an opening of a bag containing a potting agent to the end of the cylindrical case in which the hollow fiber bundle is stored;
Applying an external force to the bag to move the potting agent inside to the end of the cylindrical case;
Curing the potting agent to fix the hollow fiber membrane and the hollow fiber bundle and the cylindrical case;
Cutting the portion where the hollow fiber bundle is fixed by the potting agent to open each hollow fiber membrane; and
It is characterized by including.

  According to the method for producing a hollow fiber membrane module of the present invention, the bag containing the potting agent is attached to the cylindrical case, and the potting agent is moved to the cylindrical case side by pressing the bag. The yarn bundle can be fixed. Further, according to such a method, the potting agent can be injected more uniformly as compared with the method of injecting the potting agent from the injection hole on the side wall of the cup as shown in FIG. Is possible.

  The method for producing a hollow fiber membrane module of the present invention may also use a bag whose opening is stretchable. Moreover, you may use the press for pressing a bag.

  The hollow fiber membrane module that can be produced by the production method of the present invention is a module for separating various fluid mixtures with a hollow fiber membrane having selective permeability, and for separating a gas mixture or a liquid mixture. It doesn't matter. Therefore, although not particularly limited, the method for producing a hollow fiber membrane module of the present invention is particularly suitable for producing a small hollow fiber membrane module for gas separation that is employed for dehumidification of air and the like. It is.

  According to the present invention, there is provided a hollow fiber membrane module that can be manufactured very simply without requiring a special device, and that a potting agent can be uniformly injected between each hollow fiber membrane and between a hollow fiber bundle and a case. A manufacturing method can be provided.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
(First embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing an example of a module manufactured by an embodiment of the hollow fiber membrane module manufacturing method of the present invention. The permeated fluid discharge port provided on the side wall of the case is described in the drawings of other embodiments, and is omitted in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 1, this hollow fiber membrane module 20 has a cylindrical case 3 (for example, made of resin) that is open at both ends, and a hollow fiber bundle 2 that is housed therein. The hollow fiber bundle 2 is a bundle of a plurality of hollow fiber membranes 1 and is accommodated along the longitudinal direction of the cylindrical case 3. The cylindrical case 3 is cylindrical as an example. Tube plates 12 in which the potting agent is cured are disposed at the openings at both ends of the cylindrical case 3, thereby closing both the openings.
Both ends of each hollow fiber membrane 1 penetrate each tube plate 12 in the thickness direction, and an opening (not shown) at the end is exposed to the outside.

  The hollow fiber membrane is not particularly limited, and a hollow fiber membrane formed of a material suitable for the separation object and separation conditions can be suitably used. For example, elastomer materials and glassy polymer materials such as polyolefin, polybutadiene, silicone resin, cellulosic polymer, polyamide, polysulfone, polyimide, polyetherimide, polyamideimide, polyetheretherketone, polyphenylenesulfide, polyarylate, polycarbonate Further, a ceramic material such as zeolite, a carbon material, a material obtained by partially carbonizing a polymer, a rigid polymer material such as cardo type polyimide, and a composite material including the material may be used. The kind of the hollow fiber membrane may be a porous membrane, a reverse osmosis membrane, or a gas separation membrane, and may be a symmetric membrane or an asymmetric membrane.

Next, a method for manufacturing the hollow fiber membrane module 20 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing one embodiment of the method for producing the hollow fiber membrane module of the present embodiment.
In the following description, words indicating directions such as “up and down” and “left and right” are used in accordance with the description of the drawings, but these directions do not limit the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 2A, a cylindrical case 3 'is prepared in the manufacturing method of the present embodiment. This cylindrical case 3 'is slightly longer than the final cylindrical case 3 (see FIG. 1), and flange portions 3a are formed at both upper and lower end portions of the outer peripheral surface.

Although the order is not particularly limited, in the manufacturing method of the present embodiment, first, the hollow fiber bundle 2 is stored in the cylindrical case 3 ′.
In this example, the cylindrical case 3 ′ is vertically placed, and the lower end of the hollow fiber bundle 2 slightly protrudes from the lower end opening of the case 3 ′.

Next, as shown in FIG. 2A, the opening 5a of the bag 5 containing the potting agent 4 before curing is attached to the lower end opening of the cylindrical case 3 '. At this time, the opening 5a is hooked at the flange portion 3a of the cylindrical case 3 '.
The potting agent 4 is not particularly limited and may be a thermoplastic resin (in this case, heating and cooling are required instead of curing). Further, it may be a thermosetting resin made of an epoxy resin or a urethane resin. In this thermosetting resin composition, a curing agent, a curing accelerator, a catalyst, and the like are suitably blended and cured by applying heat. In addition, it is preferably a chemically reactive resin made of a urethane resin. In this resin composition, a main agent and a curing agent are suitably blended and can be cured without particularly applying heat.

  The bag 5 may be a thin film (foil) such as paper, plastic, or metal, or may be made of a stretchable material such as rubber. In the case of a stretchable material, since the opening 5a can be stretched, there is an advantage that the opening 5a can be easily attached to the end of the cylindrical case by utilizing the stretchability.

The degree of elasticity (stretchability) of the opening 5a depends on the size of the cylindrical case 3 ', the size of the bag 5 and the like, and should not be particularly limited. In the injection step (details below), it is preferable that the potting agent has such a strength that it does not protrude from the mounting portion and generate burrs.
As a specific example, it is preferable that the opening 5a of the bag 5 is thicker than other portions. Thereby, even if it does not use a fastening jig etc., sufficient airtightness is maintained and generation | occurrence | production of a burr | flash can also be suppressed. Further, a sufficient tightening force may be obtained by folding back the opening 5a of the bag to increase the thickness.

  As is apparent from the above, the method of attaching the opening 5a is not particularly limited as long as the cylindrical case 3 'and the bag 5 are sealed. For example, the opening 5a (having elasticity) It is also possible to cover the end of the cylindrical case with a fastening tool (for example, a string or a band) from the outside.

  When the flange portion 3a is formed at the end of the cylindrical case 3 'as in the example of FIG. 2, there is an advantage that the opening 5a of the bag is difficult to come off.

Next, as shown in FIG. 2B, an external force is applied from the outside of the bag 5 to move the potting agent 4 to the end of the hollow fiber bundle in the cylindrical case 3 ′. The “external force” may be applied manually (such as a method of pressing by hand), or a jig or the like may be used.
By applying an external force to the bag 5, the bag 5 is shrunk, and the potting agent 4 in the bag is pushed into the cylindrical case 3 '.

By applying an external force substantially uniformly to the bag 5, the height of the interface 4a of the potting agent 4 can be made substantially constant. This means that the finally obtained tube sheet 12 (see FIG. 1) has a uniform thickness.
In order to apply external force substantially uniformly, for example, the lower side of the bag 5 may be pinched with fingers from both the left and right sides as shown by the arrows in FIG.

Thereafter, when the potting agent 4 is pushed to a predetermined position as shown in FIG. 2 (c), the bag 5 is then maintained in that state (shape) so that the position of the interface 4a of the potting agent does not move up and down. Harden.
Appropriate curing conditions are employed depending on the type and composition of the potting agent 4 and the presence or absence of a catalyst. A method of standing at room temperature may be used, or heat treatment may be performed as necessary. In general, the temperature is maintained within a range that does not deteriorate the separation performance of the hollow fiber membrane.

  When the potting agent 4 is cured by the above process, the vicinity of the lower end portion of the cylindrical case 3 ′ (the portion where the hollow fiber bundle is fixed by the potting agent 4) is then cut laterally along the AA cutting line. . Thereby, cylindrical case 3 ', potting agent 4, and the lower end vicinity of the hollow fiber bundle 2 are cut | disconnected simultaneously, and the lower end opening part of each hollow fiber membrane 1 will be in the state exposed outside.

Not the AA cutting line but the A′-A ′ cutting line below the flange portion 3a of the cylindrical case (the region below the flange portion 3a and above the lower end of the hollow fiber membrane 1) ) Can be cut, but there are the following advantages when cutting along the line AA. That is, when cut along the AA line, the flange portion 3a of the cylindrical case is cut off together, which is advantageous in that a step of removing the bag 5 is not necessary. Also, the cylindrical case 3 'is preferably processed together.
The cut bag 5 may be disposable, and the cut portion including the bag 5 may be discarded.

  Thereafter, the hollow fiber membrane module 20 as shown in FIG. 1 is finally produced by performing the same process as described above on the opposite end (the upper side in the figure) of the cylindrical case 3 '. .

  As described above, according to the manufacturing method of the present embodiment, the bag 5 containing the potting agent 4 is attached to the end of the cylindrical case 3 ′ and pressed to attach the potting agent 4 to the cylindrical case 3 ′. The hollow fiber bundle 2 can be fixed by a very simple process of moving to the side. Further, according to the method of moving the potting agent 4 using the bag 5 as in this embodiment, compared to the method of injecting the potting agent from the hole in the side wall of the cup as shown in FIG. The potting agent can be injected more uniformly, and the height of the interface 4a of the potting agent can be made constant (this makes the thickness of the tube plate 12 uniform).

(Second Embodiment)
FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing another example of an embodiment according to the method for manufacturing a hollow fiber membrane module of the present invention.
In the method described below, the potting agent 4 in the bag is pushed into the cylindrical case 3 ′ using the pressing device 25. The step of attaching the bag containing the potting agent, the step of curing the potting agent, and the step of cutting the case end are the same as described above.

As shown in FIG. 3, the pressing device 25 used in this method has a cylindrical guide 27 and a movable member 26 that can slide within the guide.
The cylindrical guide 27 is a resin cylinder as an example, and in this example, has the same diameter as the cylindrical case 3 '. However, the diameter of the cylindrical guide 27 may be larger or smaller than that of the cylindrical case 3 ′.

The movable member 26 is a columnar member, and reciprocates (slides) in the vertical direction along the longitudinal direction of the cylindrical case 3 ′ (cylindrical guide 27). The upper surface of the movable member 26 is a pressing surface 26 a for pressing the potting agent 4.
The term “slide” as used herein is not limited to the form in which the movable member 26 moves while the outer peripheral surface of the movable member 26 and the inner peripheral surface of the cylindrical guide 27 slide. A mode is also included in which the movable member 26 moves in a state in which a certain gap is opened between the inner peripheral surface of the cylindrical guide 27.

  An end plate 29 having a screw hole at the center is fitted on the base end side (near the lower end) of the cylindrical guide 27, and a screw 28 is passed through the screw hole. The tip of the screw 28 is connected to the back surface of the movable member 26, and the movable member 26 moves up and down by turning the screw 28.

  In the manufacturing method of this embodiment, as in the above embodiment, first, the bag 5 containing the potting agent 4 is attached to the lower end opening of the cylindrical case 3 ′. Next, in this state, the bag 5 is set inside the cylindrical guide 27 of the pressing device (near the upper end opening).

  Next, the screw 28 is turned to gradually move the movable member 26 toward the cylindrical case 3 'side. When the movable member 26 moves, the bag 5 and the potting agent 4 contained therein are pushed up by the pressing surface 26a of the member. When the pressing surface 26a is flat, the potting agent 4 can be pressed uniformly, and the potting agent is uniform between the hollow fiber bundles of the hollow fiber bundle and between the hollow fiber bundle and the case (of the obtained tube plate). It is advantageous in that it is injected with a uniform thickness.

  With the movable member 26 moved to a predetermined position (when the potting agent interface 4a is in a predetermined position), the potting agent is cured by, for example, standing, and thereafter, the hollow member is hollowed through the same steps as in the above embodiment. Complete the thread membrane module.

According to the manufacturing method of this embodiment as described above, even when the hollow fiber membranes 1 are tightly bundled and the viscosity of the potting agent is high, uniform injection of the potting agent can be facilitated.
Further, when the movable member 26 is slid using the screw 28 as in the present embodiment, the movable member 26 can be stopped at an arbitrary position. According to such a configuration, since the position of the movable member 26 can be fixed at a desired position without using a special fixing jig or the like, the position of the interface 4a of the potting agent can be accurately determined.

(Other embodiments)
An application example of the hollow fiber membrane module manufactured by the manufacturing method of the above embodiment will be described below with reference to FIG.
In the apparatus shown in FIG. 4, caps 8 and 9 are attached to both ends of the hollow fiber membrane module 20. The cap 8 shown on the left side of the figure is arranged on the inlet side, and has a mixed fluid inlet 8a at the center of the cap. The cap 9 on the opposite side is disposed on the outlet side and has a non-permeating fluid discharge port 9a at the center of the cap.

A permeated fluid discharge port 10 and a purge fluid introduction port 11 are formed on the side wall of the cylindrical case 3. The pipe connected to the non-permeating fluid discharge port 9 a branches in the middle, and one of them is connected to the purge fluid introduction port 11 via the flow rate adjusting valve 13. According to such a configuration, a part of the non-permeating fluid that has passed through the inside of the hollow fiber membrane and has flowed out of the downstream opening is again introduced into the cylindrical case 3 from the purge fluid inlet 11 through the pipe (in the hollow fiber membrane). Introduced on the outside). Thereby, the permeated fluid that has permeated through the hollow fiber membrane and accumulated in the case 3 is purged out of the case.
The hollow fiber membrane module 20 that can be manufactured by the manufacturing method of the present invention can be suitably used for such a dehumidifying module.

  As mentioned above, although the manufacturing method of the present invention has been described with some examples, the main feature of the manufacturing method of the present invention is a series of steps of fixing the end of the hollow fiber bundle to the end of the cylindrical case ( (See FIG. 2). Therefore, conventionally known methods can be appropriately employed for the other steps for manufacturing the hollow fiber membrane module and the other steps for manufacturing the apparatus as shown in FIG.

In addition to the hollow fiber membrane module 20 as shown in FIG. 1, the present invention can be applied to the manufacture of various hollow fiber membrane modules.
For example, a hollow fiber bundle made up of a large number of hollow fiber membranes stored in a cylindrical case may be a bundle of hollow fiber membranes cut to a certain length, or wound by a cassette removal device. It may be. Further, the hollow fiber bundle can be stored in the cylindrical case in various forms such as a linear shape, a U shape, and a spiral shape.

The cylindrical case or cap is not particularly limited as long as it has predetermined strength, airtightness, and pressure resistance, and can be formed of metal, plastic, fiber reinforced plastic, ceramics, or the like. Further, an adhesive, bolts and nuts, packings, and the like are used as necessary.
Furthermore, the hollow fiber membrane module of the present invention may be a hollow feed or a shell feed.

The following examples further illustrate the present invention. In addition, this invention is not limited to the following Example.
[Example 1]
As shown in FIG. 4, a polycarbonate cylindrical case having a total length of 100 mm, an outer diameter of 12 mm, and an inner diameter of 10 mm provided with a purge gas inlet, a permeate gas outlet, and a purge gas outlet was used. As the hollow fiber bundle, 300 polyimide asymmetric hollow fiber membranes having an outer diameter of 400 μm and an inner diameter of 300 μm were used. The open end of the hollow fiber membrane was sealed with an epoxy adhesive to prevent the penetration of the potting agent.

  As a potting agent, a polyurethane potting agent prepared by mixing 1.8 g of a polyisocyanate modified as a main agent and 1.2 g of a curing agent polyol was used. A synthetic rubber finger sack (manufactured by Suzuki Latex Co., Ltd.) having an inner diameter of 13.5 mm, a wall thickness of 0.16 mm, and a total length of 48 mm was used as the bag, and the potting agent was put therein.

  Attach the opening of the bag containing the potting agent to the end of the cylindrical case containing the hollow fiber bundle, and attach the bag at a position 5 mm from the container end so that the cylindrical case and the bag are in close contact with each other. The opening was folded into a roll and rounded.

  As the step of moving the potting agent, the bag is crushed by hand, the internal potting agent is moved to the end of the cylindrical case, and between the hollow fiber membranes of the hollow fiber bundle and between the hollow fiber bundle and the cylindrical case. The potting agent was moved in between. Then, when the potting agent thickness reached 15 mm from the container end, the bag was stopped from being crushed by hand, and the bag was fixed with tape so that the potting agent thickness was maintained, and left standing without deformation.

In this state, the potting agent was cured at room temperature to fix the hollow fiber bundles between the hollow fiber membranes and the hollow fiber bundles and the cylindrical case.
Also at the opposite end of the cylindrical case, the same method was used to fix the hollow fiber bundles between the hollow fiber bundles and the hollow fiber bundle and the cylindrical case in the same manner.

  Next, the hollow fiber bundle between the hollow fiber membranes and the end of the cylindrical case where the hollow fiber bundle and the cylindrical case are fixed are cut by a cutting cutter at a position 7 mm from the container end. Each hollow fiber membrane was opened. The opposite end was cut in the same manner.

  In this way, a module was obtained in which a hollow fiber bundle was housed in a cylindrical case and tube plates made of a hardened potting agent were formed at both ends. At both ends of this module, a cap with a mixed gas inlet and a cap with a non-permeate gas outlet are arranged so as to be airtight, and the flow rate is adjusted from a pipe communicating with the non-permeate gas outlet. Piping was arranged so that a part of the non-permeating gas was introduced into the purge gas inlet through the valve to obtain a dehumidifying hollow fiber membrane module (dehumidifying module).

[Example 2]
The example of the manufacturing method which moves a potting agent using the press shown in FIG. 3 was implemented.
In the step of moving the potting agent, the bag containing the potting agent was placed inside a cylindrical guide provided with a movable member. By moving the movable member, an external force was applied to the bag from the outside to move the potting agent to the end of the cylindrical case. Since the movable member is configured to be pushed in while being rotated by a screw, when the potting agent thickness reaches a predetermined amount, the screw is fixed at that position, and the pushing of the bag is stopped to set the interface of the potting agent. Could be kept in position. Thereafter, the same dehumidifying hollow fiber membrane module as in Example 1 was obtained by the same method as in Example 1.

It is sectional drawing which shows an example of the module manufactured by one form of the hollow fiber membrane module manufacturing method of this invention. It is sectional drawing which shows one form of the manufacturing method of the hollow fiber membrane module of this embodiment. It is sectional drawing which shows the example which moves a potting agent using a press. It is sectional drawing for demonstrating the usage example of a hollow fiber membrane module. It is sectional drawing for demonstrating the manufacturing method of the conventional hollow fiber membrane module.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Hollow fiber membrane 2 Hollow fiber bundle 3 Cylindrical case 3 'Cylindrical case 3a Flange part 4 Potting agent 4a Interface of potting agent 5 Bag 5a Opening part 8, 9 Cap 8a Mixed fluid inlet 9a Non-permeate fluid outlet 10 Permeation Fluid discharge port 11 Purge fluid introduction port 12 Tube plate 13 Flow rate adjusting valve 20 Hollow fiber membrane module 25 Presser 26 Movable member 26a Pressing surface 27 Cylindrical guide 28 Screw 29 End plate

Claims (4)

In the method for producing a hollow fiber membrane module in which a hollow fiber bundle in which a large number of hollow fiber membranes are assembled is fixed in a cylindrical case by a potting agent,
Attaching an opening of a bag containing a potting agent to the end of the cylindrical case in which the hollow fiber bundle is stored;
Applying an external force to the bag to move the potting agent inside to the end of the cylindrical case;
Curing the potting agent to fix the hollow fiber membrane and the hollow fiber bundle and the cylindrical case;
Cutting the portion where the hollow fiber bundle is fixed by the potting agent to open each hollow fiber membrane; and
A process for producing a hollow fiber membrane module, comprising: The opening of the bag has elasticity,
The method for manufacturing a hollow fiber membrane module according to claim 1, wherein, in the step of attaching the opening, the opening is attached to the end of the cylindrical case. In the step of moving the potting agent to the end of the cylindrical case, a pressing device having a cylindrical guide and a movable member slidable in the cylindrical guide is used.
The hollow fiber membrane module according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the movable member is moved toward the cylindrical case to push the potting agent in a bag into the cylindrical case. Production method.   The method for producing a hollow fiber membrane module according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the bag is made of rubber.

Images