JP2010194423A - Deaerator - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a deaerator which can easily change the deaeration treatment amount of liquid at a low cost, occupies a small space, and facilitates installation of vacuum piping. <P>SOLUTION: The deaerator 100 includes a deaerator unit 101 comprising a reducing chamber 110 having openings 111, 112 disposed in two sites, a first sealing member 102 provided with a vacuum suction opening 102a to seal the opening 111, and a second sealing member 103 for sealing the opening 112. The number of arranged deaeration units can be increased and decreased according to the deaeration treatment amount of liquid. As a result, it is structured that one vacuum chamber is provided with one vacuum suction opening, whereby the installation of the vacuum piping can be simplified and the occupation space can be made small, and it is structured that the number of the arranged deaeration units can be easily increased and decreased, whereby coping with a change in the deaeration treatment amount of liquid can be easily performed without requiring time and labor, and cost. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&amp;INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a liquid deaeration device.

  Conventionally, a gas permeable tube is accommodated in a decompression chamber as one of degassing devices for degassing dissolved gas in a liquid, and both ends of the gas permeable tube are provided with a liquid inlet and a liquid provided in the decompression chamber. Some are connected to the outlet. According to this degassing device, the vacuum inside the vacuum chamber is vacuumed from the vacuum suction port provided in the vacuum chamber, and the liquid is introduced into the gas permeable tube from the liquid inlet, so that the dissolved gas in the liquid is discharged. Can be deaerated to discharge the liquid from the liquid outlet.

  In the deaeration device having such a configuration, in order to increase the flow rate of the deaeration liquid and to improve the performance of the deaeration process, for example, the gas permeable tube in the decompression chamber is lengthened or the number of tubes is increased. There is a need. However, when the tube length is increased, there is a problem that the pressure loss in the tube increases. On the other hand, if the number of tubes is increased, an increase in pressure loss can be avoided, but if the number of tubes is simply increased, there is a risk that a fusion failure may occur when the tube ends are fused, and liquid leakage may occur. There is a risk of adversely affecting the vacuum suction in the decompression chamber.

  Therefore, dozens of predetermined number of gas permeable tubes are bundled at both ends to form a tube bundle, one tube bundle is accommodated in one decompression chamber, and both ends of the tube bundle are connected to a liquid inlet and a liquid outlet. There has been proposed a deaeration device connected to (see Patent Document 1). A plurality of deaeration devices are arranged in parallel, and the liquid inlets of each deaeration device are connected in parallel and the liquid discharge ports are connected in parallel to increase the flow rate of the deaeration liquid and to improve the performance of the deaeration process. Can be planned. However, in this parallel type deaeration device, it is necessary to connect the vacuum suction port of each deaeration device in parallel, so it takes time to handle the vacuum pipes, and the decompression chambers are also individually required. There is a problem that becomes larger. Therefore, as a deaeration device that solves such a problem, a plurality of liquid inlets and liquid outlets are provided in a decompression chamber, a plurality of tube bundles are accommodated in one decompression chamber, and both ends of each tube bundle are connected to each liquid stream. An integrated deaeration device connected to the inlet and each liquid discharge port has been proposed (see Patent Document 2).

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-57946 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-28307

  In the integrated deaeration device described in Patent Document 2 described above, when the amount of liquid that exceeds the maximum throughput of the deaeration device has to be deaerated, or the amount of liquid deaeration is reduced. In this case, prepare a number of similar degassing devices with different maximum throughputs, select the necessary degassing devices from these degassing devices, and connect them in parallel to the original degassing devices, or It needs to be replaced with a device. For this reason, it is necessary to store and manage a large number of deaeration devices having different maximum processing amounts, which causes a problem of labor and cost.

  The present invention has been made in view of the various problems as described above, and its purpose is to easily and inexpensively change the amount of liquid deaeration, to occupy a small space, and to easily remove vacuum piping. To provide a Qi device.

  In order to achieve the above object, in the deaeration device of the present invention, a liquid inlet, a liquid outlet, a decompression chamber provided with two openings, one end is connected to the liquid inlet, and the other is connected to the liquid inlet. A deaeration unit having a gas permeable tube connected to a liquid discharge port and housed in the decompression chamber; a vacuum suction port; a first sealing member for sealing one of the openings; and the other A second sealing member that seals the opening, and the vacuum chamber is vacuum-sucked from the vacuum suction port to depressurize and flow from the liquid inlet to the liquid outlet through the gas permeable tube. A degassing device for degassing the liquid, wherein the number of degassing units can be increased or decreased based on the degassing amount of the liquid. Said chamber The degassing units are arranged in parallel so that the mouths face each other, the openings facing each other are in close contact with each other, and one of the openings on both sides of the degassing units arranged in parallel is the first sealing member. The other is sealed with the second sealing member, the liquid inlets of the decompression chambers are connected in parallel, and the liquid outlets are connected in parallel.

  According to this deaeration device, since one vacuum suction port is provided in one decompression chamber, the vacuum suction ports of the deaeration devices are connected in parallel as in the conventional parallel type deaeration device. There is no need, and the handling of the vacuum piping can be simplified, and there is no need for individual decompression chambers as in the conventional parallel type deaeration device, and the occupied space can be reduced. . In addition, since the number of deaeration units can be easily increased or decreased, there is no need to store and manage a large number of deaeration devices having different maximum throughputs as in the conventional integrated deaeration device, Even if the amount of liquid deaeration is changed, it can be easily handled without labor and cost.

  In the deaeration device of the present invention, the gas permeable tube is characterized in that a thin tube is disposed on the outer periphery. As a result, the gas permeable tube can be prevented from being bent and can be prevented from being damaged due to interference between adjacent gas permeable tubes.

It is a section top view of the deaeration device concerning the embodiment of the present invention. (A), (B) is the cross-sectional side view and cross-sectional top view of the deaeration unit which comprise the deaeration apparatus of FIG. (A), (B) is sectional drawing which shows the connection example of the coupling of the deaeration apparatus of FIG.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. The embodiments described below do not limit the invention according to the scope of claims, and all combinations of features described in the embodiments are not necessarily essential to the establishment of the present invention. Absent.

  1 is a cross-sectional plan view of a deaeration device according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS. 2A and 2B are a cross-sectional side view and a cross-sectional plan view of a deaeration unit constituting the deaeration device of FIG. FIGS. 3A and 3B are cross-sectional views showing connection examples of joints of the deaeration device of FIG. As shown in FIG. 1, the deaeration device 100 includes a plurality (five in this example) of deaeration units 101 and two covers (first and second sealing members) 102 and 103. The deaeration unit 101 includes a decompression chamber 110 formed in a hollow rectangular parallelepiped shape and a terminal portion of a plurality (91 in this example) of gas-permeable hollow fiber bodies 121 so that the cross section has a honeycomb structure. And a gas permeable tube 120 bundled together. In the deaeration apparatus 100, five deaeration units 101 are arranged in close contact with each other, and covers 102 and 103 are arranged on both sides thereof to be in close contact with each other. It has become the composition.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the decompression chamber 110 is formed of, for example, a resin such as polypropylene (PP) so that two opposing side surfaces become openings 111 and 112. A packing groove 112 a into which a packing material 104 such as an O-ring is fitted is formed on the end surface of one opening 112. Thus, when the plurality of decompression chambers 110 are arranged in parallel and the end face of the opening 111 of the adjacent decompression chamber 110 and the end face of the opening 112 are brought into close contact with each other, the tightness of the contact face is provided by the packing material 104. be able to.

  A liquid inlet 113 and a liquid outlet 114 are formed on the upper surface of the decompression chamber 110. Joints 115 and 116 for parallel connection are inserted into the liquid inlet 113 and the liquid outlet 114. The joints 115 and 116 are formed in a T shape by a fluororesin such as tetrafluoroethylene-perfluoroalkyl vinyl ether copolymer (PFA), for example, and the upper ends are formed so that they can be connected in parallel. It is formed in L shape (refer FIG. 1), and only the upper one end is formed so that connection is possible. Male screws 115 a and 116 a are screwed into the insertion ends of the joints 115 and 116, nuts 117 and 118 are screwed together, and cap nuts 122 and 123 connected to the gas permeable tube 120. Screwed together via a packing material 124 such as an O-ring and a flange 125. Thereby, when the joints 115 and 116 and the gas permeable tube 120 are connected, the packing material 124 can provide the airtightness of the connecting portion.

  As a method of connecting the joints 115 and 116 in parallel, as shown in FIG. 3 (A), the upper end surfaces of the adjacent joints 115 and 116 are brought into close contact with each other and the tight outer peripheral portions are joined by welding 115b and 116b over the entire circumference. There is a method of connecting the joints 115 and 116 in parallel. Further, as shown in FIG. 3 (B), cylindrical recesses 115c and 116c and packing grooves 115d and 116d into which a packing material 105 such as an O-ring is fitted are formed at upper ends of the joints 115 and 116, respectively. There is a method in which joints 115 and 116 are connected in parallel by forming cylindrical convex portions 115e and 116e that can be fitted into the concave portions 115c and 116c at the other upper end of 116. Accordingly, when the joints 115 and 116 of the adjacent decompression chambers 110 are arranged in parallel and the joints 115 and 116 of the adjacent decompression chambers 110 are connected in parallel, the joints 115 and 116 are made airtight by the welds 115b and 116b or the packing material 105. Can do.

  The gas permeable tube 120 is formed by bundling a plurality of gas permeable hollow fiber bodies 121 made of, for example, a fluororesin such as PFA so that the cross section thereof has a honeycomb structure at the terminal portion, and the outer circumference of the bundle of hollow fiber bodies 121 Is covered with a thin tube 126 made of PFA. Furthermore, both ends of the hollow fiber body 121 bundle are welded by heat welding, and the cap nuts 122 and 123, the flange 125, and the packing material 124 are inserted into the both ends. For example, the hollow fiber body 121 having an inner diameter of 0.45 mm, an outer diameter of 0.6 mm, and a length of 900 mm is used.

  The thin-walled tube 126 can prevent the hollow fiber body 121 from being bent, and can prevent the hollow fiber body 121 from being damaged by the interference of the adjacent gas permeable tubes 120. Further, the thin-walled tube 126 is formed with a slit in the shape of a broken line in the longitudinal direction, thereby ensuring the deaeration performance of the hollow fiber body 121. Instead of the thin tube 126, a thin tape or thin sheet made of PFA may be used. The gas permeable tube 120 is housed in a coiled state in the decompression chamber 110, and both ends of the tube are connected to the insertion ends of the joints 115 and 116, respectively.

  The cover 102 is formed in a rectangular plate shape using, for example, a resin such as PP, and a vacuum suction port 102a is provided in the lower portion. A packing groove 102b into which a packing material 106 such as a ring is fitted is formed. Thereby, when the surface of the cover 102 and the end surface of the opening 111 of the decompression chamber 110 are brought into close contact with each other, the airtightness of the joint surface can be provided by the packing material 106. The cover 103 is formed in a rectangular plate shape using a resin such as PP, for example. The bolts and nuts that fasten the cover 102, the plurality of deaeration units 101, and the cover 103 are made of a metal such as stainless steel or a resin such as polyetheretherketone (PEEK).

  This deaeration device 100 is assembled in the following procedure. First, the joints 115 and 116 are inserted into the liquid inlet 113 and the liquid outlet 114 of the decompression chamber 110, and the nuts 117 and 118 are screwed into the male screws 115a and 116a at the insertion ends of the joints 115 and 116, and fastened. Thereby, the joints 115 and 116 can be fixed to the decompression chamber 110. Then, the gas permeable tube 120 is wound into a coil shape, and the cap nuts 122 and 123 at both ends of the tube having the packing material 124 are screwed into the male screws 115a and 116a at the insertion ends of the joints 115 and 116, and fastened. Thereby, the gas permeable tube 120 can be accommodated in the decompression chamber 110 while ensuring airtightness. The above procedure is repeated for the required number of decompression chambers 110.

  Next, the packing material 104 is fitted into the packing groove 112 a of the opening 112 of each decompression chamber 110, and the packing material 106 is fitted into the packing groove 102 b of the cover 102. And each decompression chamber 110 is formed so that the opening 111 and the opening 112 are in close contact with each other and T-shaped joints 115 and 116 (the decompression chamber 110 at the right end in FIG. 1 is an L-shaped joint 115 and 116). Are arranged in parallel so that the upper ends of the two are in close contact with each other. Then, the packing groove 102b side surface of the cover 102 is brought into close contact with the opening 111 of the decompression chamber 110 at the left end of FIG. 1, and the cover 103 is brought into close contact with the opening 112 of the decompression chamber 110 at the right end of FIG. Finally, a bolt (not shown) is inserted from the cover 102 side, penetrated from each deaeration unit 101 to the cover 103, and a nut (not shown) is screwed and fastened. And the adhesion outer peripheral part of the upper end surface of adjacent joint 115,116 is joined by welding 115b, 116b etc. over the perimeter. Thus, the assembly of the deaeration device 100 is completed.

  In the deaeration device 100 having such a configuration, the liquid flowing into each gas permeable tube 120 from each liquid inlet 113 is depressurized in the integrated decompression chamber 110. While passing through the inside, the dissolved gas is degassed and discharged from each liquid outlet 114. According to this deaeration device 100, since the gas permeable tube 120 arranged in the deaeration unit 101 has a structure in which a plurality of gas permeable hollow fiber bodies 121 are bundled, the tube length is increased. In comparison, the membrane area per unit volume can be widened, the pressure loss can be reduced, the flow rate of the degassing treatment liquid can be increased, and the performance of the degassing treatment can be improved.

  Furthermore, since one vacuum suction port 102a is provided in one decompression chamber 110, there is no need to connect the vacuum suction ports of the respective degassing devices in parallel as in the conventional parallel type degassing device, The handling of the vacuum piping can be simplified, and the decompression chamber is not required individually as in the conventional parallel type deaeration device, and the occupied space can be reduced. In addition, since the number of arrangement of the deaeration units 101 can be easily increased or decreased, it is not necessary to store and manage a large number of deaeration devices having different maximum throughputs unlike the conventional integrated deaeration device. Even if the amount of liquid deaeration is changed, it can be easily handled without trouble and cost.

  In addition, although the decompression chamber 110 of the embodiment of the present invention is formed in a rectangular parallelepiped shape, it may be formed in a cylindrical shape.

  The deaeration device of the present invention can be applied to any device as long as the device requires degassed liquid. For example, the present invention can also be applied to a liquid deaeration device used in a coating device for a photoresist on a semiconductor wafer, a developing device, and a liquid crystal manufacturing device. In particular, it has a great effect when applied to a device that requires high-accuracy deaeration performance.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Deaeration apparatus, 101 Deaeration unit, 102,103 cover, 102a Vacuum suction port, 110 Depressurization chamber, 111,112 opening part, 113 Liquid inflow port, 114 Liquid discharge port, 115,116 Joint, 120 Gas permeability Tube, 121 Hollow fiber body, 126 Thin-walled tape

Claims (2)

A liquid inlet, a liquid outlet, and a decompression chamber provided with two openings, and one end connected to the liquid inlet and the other end connected to the liquid outlet and housed in the decompression chamber. A degassing unit having a gas permeable tube;
A first sealing member provided with a vacuum suction port and sealing one of the openings;
A second sealing member that seals the other opening,
A deaeration device that depressurizes the vacuum chamber from the vacuum suction port to depressurize the liquid flowing from the liquid inlet to the liquid outlet through the gas permeable tube. ,
The number of the degassing units can be increased or decreased based on the amount of degassing treatment of the liquid, and when there are a plurality of degassing units, the degassing is performed so that the openings of the decompression chambers face each other. Units are arranged in parallel, the opening portions facing each other are in close contact, one of the openings on both sides of the deaeration unit arranged in parallel is sealed with the first sealing member, and the other is sealed with the second sealing member. A degassing apparatus characterized in that it is sealed, and the liquid inlets of each decompression chamber are connected in parallel and the liquid outlets are connected in parallel.   The degassing device according to claim 1, wherein a thin-walled tube is disposed on an outer periphery of the gas permeable tube.

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