JP2010269235A - Method of producing refined water and apparatus for producing the refined water - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method of producing refined water and an apparatus for producing refined water for improving the sterilization effect of micro-organism and moreover efficiently producing refined water. <P>SOLUTION: The refined water producing apparatus 10 includes: an MF (microfiltration) membrane 18 and an RO (reverse osmosis) membrane 22 in which raw water is permeated in order; and an EDI device (electric regeneration type ion exchange device) 23 which makes the permeated water which has permeated the MF membrane and RO membrane to pass therethrough. Further, the refined water producing apparatus 10 is further provided with a heat-exchanger 16 which is arranged on the preceding stage of the MF membrane 18 and heats the raw water such that water to be treated from the passage of the MF membrane 18 until the completion of passage through the EDI device 23 keeps a temperature of 50°C to 90°C. Accordingly, sterilization using hot water and the processing of producing refined water can be performed at the same time. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a method for producing purified water and purified water production apparatus for obtaining purified water.

  Purified water is water that is widely used in the field of manufacturing pharmaceuticals and cosmetics, hospitals, and the like, and the Japanese Pharmacopoeia has various requirements such as manufacturing method, storage method, and water quality standards. In this Japanese pharmacopoeia, purified water is called pharmaceutical water together with water for injection, and the elimination of microorganisms is required as a common requirement for pharmaceutical water.

  That is, since the water for injection is a raw material water for an injection that is directly injected into the human body, a sterile condition is required. On the other hand, although purified water is not required to be aseptic, it is required to prevent microbial contamination so as not to cause significant contamination by microorganisms.

  Therefore, for example, a water treatment apparatus has been proposed in which a plurality of ultraviolet sterilizers are disposed in the water passage of treated water to suppress the growth of microorganisms such as bacteria (see, for example, Patent Document 1). However, in the case of this water treatment device, although the propagation of the microorganism can be suppressed in the process of passing the ultraviolet sterilizer, the microorganism starts to propagate in the latter stage of the ultraviolet sterilizer, so that it is difficult to perform effective sterilization. It has become.

  Further, it is known that purified water can be produced by an apparatus having the same configuration as that of a pure water production apparatus including an ion exchange resin tower, a reverse osmosis membrane, an electric regeneration type ion exchange apparatus, and the like. When such an apparatus is applied to the production of purified water, sterilization treatment for preventing microbial contamination includes a sterilization method using chemicals and a sterilization method using hot water.

  The method using chemicals is sterilized using a formalin solution or sodium hypochlorite solution, while the method using hot water is sterilized using hot water at 100 ° C. or lower. Here, in both cases of the sterilization method using the above-described chemical and the sterilization method using hot water, when actually performing the sterilization treatment, the production of purified water is temporarily stopped and then the sterilization treatment is started. After completion, intermittent treatment such as resuming the production of purified water was performed.

JP-A-9-94562

  However, in such a sterilization treatment, it is extremely difficult to continuously maintain the inside of the purified water production apparatus in a sterilized state in which microorganisms are less likely to live. That is, as described above, the purified water production apparatus having the same apparatus configuration as the pure water production apparatus has a complicated equipment configuration in the apparatus main body. With the passage of time, microorganisms living in the system begin to grow, which makes it difficult to ensure an appropriate sterilized state.

  In addition, when applying either sterilization with chemicals or sterilization with hot water, every time the sterilization process is completed, a process for removing the chemical solution and a process for cooling the hot water are required. Furthermore, in this case, a dedicated tank or the like for circulating the system while temporarily storing the chemical solution or hot water is also required. In particular, in the case of a process for cooling hot water, it is necessary to make the temperature gradient of the cooling process as gentle as possible in order to prevent damage to each component in the apparatus body due to a rapid temperature change. For this reason, there is a need to provide a dedicated circulation water passage including the above-described dedicated tank and the heat removal dedicated to the heat removal.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and provides a method for producing purified water and an apparatus for producing purified water that can efficiently produce purified water while enhancing the sterilizing effect of microorganisms. With the goal.

  In order to achieve the above object, a method for producing purified water according to the present invention is a method for producing purified water comprising sequentially passing raw water through a microfiltration membrane and a reverse osmosis membrane and passing the permeated water through an ion exchange device. A heat exchanger is disposed in front of the microfiltration membrane, and the raw water is heated so that the water to be treated from the microfiltration membrane to after passing through the ion exchange device has a temperature of 50 ° C. or higher. And

  In the present invention, raw water heated to a temperature of 50 ° C. or higher is permeated in the order of a microfiltration membrane and a reverse osmosis membrane, and this permeated water is passed through an ion exchange device while maintaining a temperature of 50 ° C. or higher. The treated water (purified water) that has been effectively sterilized can be continuously obtained in the subsequent stage of the ion exchange device. That is, the propagation of microorganisms is suppressed on the path through which hot water heated to a temperature of 50 ° C. or higher flows, whereby purified water can be produced while always maintaining stable temperature conditions for preventing microbial contamination. . Here, when it is necessary to perform sterilization of microorganisms more reliably, it is desirable that the temperature of the water to be treated from the microfiltration membrane to after passing through the ion exchange device is 60 ° C. or higher.

  In the present invention, since the sterilization treatment with hot water and the treatment for producing purified water can be performed simultaneously (continuously), the sterilization treatment and the production treatment for purified water are performed individually (intermittently), for example, A process for removing the chemical solution or a process for cooling the hot water becomes unnecessary. In addition, for example, the necessity of making the temperature gradient of the cooling process as gentle as possible to prevent damage to each component in the device body due to a sudden temperature change, which was necessary for the cooling process of the hot water, is eliminated. can do. Accordingly, there is no need to provide a circulating water passage including a tank dedicated to heat removal, and further, for example, an ultraviolet germicidal lamp, and the equipment configuration in the purified water manufacturing apparatus main body can be simplified.

  Here, examples of the ion exchange device described above include a mixed bed type ion exchange resin tower and an electric regeneration type ion exchange device. In the purified water production method of the present invention, a second heat exchanger is disposed downstream of the ion exchange device, and a supply path of raw water supplied to the heat exchanger upstream of the microfiltration membrane is provided in the first step. By arrange | positioning so that it may pass through 2 heat exchangers, while removing the said to-be-processed water, you may make it heat the said raw | natural water with the said heat removed. In this case, the heat exchange efficiency can be improved and the heating source can be saved, and the water to be treated (purified water) to be used by the user after the ion exchange device can be substantially cooled.

  Moreover, in this invention, it replaces with such an ion exchange apparatus, the 2nd reverse osmosis membrane is arrange | positioned, and the temperature of the to-be-processed water after passing through the said 2nd reverse osmosis membrane from the microfiltration membrane is 50 degreeC or more. The raw water may be heated so that Further, in place of the reverse osmosis membrane and the ion exchange device, a cation resin tower and an anion resin tower are arranged, and water to be treated from the microfiltration membrane to after passing through the cation resin tower and the anion resin tower is 50. You may heat the said raw | natural water so that it may become a temperature more than degreeC. Even when these structures are applied, the sterilizing effect of microorganisms can be suitably obtained as described above.

  Furthermore, the method for producing purified water according to the present invention includes from the microfiltration membrane to after passing through the ion exchange device, from the microfiltration membrane to after passing through the second reverse osmosis membrane, or from the microfiltration membrane to the cationic resin. The raw water may be heated so that the water to be treated reaches a temperature of 50 ° C. or higher and 90 ° C. or lower until after passing through the tower and the anion resin tower. In this case, the manufacturing method of the present invention can be realized by applying equipment including a microfiltration membrane and an ion exchange device that ensure heat resistance of 90 ° C. or higher.

  Moreover, the purified water production apparatus of the present invention is a purified water production apparatus comprising at least a microfiltration membrane and a reverse osmosis membrane that sequentially permeate raw water, and an ion exchange device that allows permeated water that has passed through these membranes to pass therethrough. And a heat exchanger that is disposed upstream of the microfiltration membrane and that heats the raw water so that the water to be treated from the microfiltration membrane to after passing through the ion exchange device has a temperature of 50 ° C. or higher. It is characterized by.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the manufacturing method of purified water and the manufacturing apparatus of purified water which can manufacture purified water efficiently can be provided, improving the bactericidal effect of microorganisms.

The figure which shows the structure of the purified water manufacturing apparatus which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention functionally. The figure which shows the structure of the purified water manufacturing apparatus which concerns on the 2nd Embodiment of this invention functionally.

Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
[First Embodiment]
A purified water production apparatus 10 according to this embodiment is an apparatus for obtaining purified water in which the number of viable bacteria, which is a required level of the Japanese Pharmacopoeia, is suppressed to 100 CFU / mL or less, and includes a raw water tank 12 and a raw water pump 14. The heat exchanger 16, the MF (Micro Filtration) membrane 18, the high-pressure pump 19, the deionizer 21, the purified water tank 25, and the water passage connecting the devices in the manufacturing apparatus main body. A water treatment channel 27, a steam supply unit 15, and temperature sensors 17 and 24 are provided.

  The deionization device 21 is a device that performs deionization of the permeated water that has passed through the MF membrane 18. And an EDI device (electric regenerative ion exchange device) 23 as an ion exchange device arranged on the side.

  The raw water tank 12 is a tank that temporarily stores raw water to which, for example, tap water is applied. The raw water pump 14 sends the raw water stored in the raw water tank 12 to the heat exchanger 16 side. On the other hand, the steam supply unit 15 supplies heated steam to the heat exchanger 16 side. The heat exchanger 16 is disposed in front of the MF membrane 18 and heats the raw water before passing through the MF membrane 18.

  Examples of the MF membrane 18 include those having a pore diameter of 0.1 μm to 10 μm, and block passage of substances larger than the pore diameter, such as suspended substances and ultrafine particles. The MF membrane 18 has a wide variety of shapes such as a hollow fiber shape (hollow fiber membrane), a pleated type (convolution type), a tubular type, a wound fiber type, and a flat membrane type. Applicable. The MF membrane 18 may be a replaceable cartridge type as a security filter that prevents the RO membrane 22 from being clogged.

The high-pressure pump 19 allows raw water heated when passing through the heat exchanger 16 to pass through the MF membrane 18 and the RO membrane 22 in order, and further generates a fluid force for passing the permeated water through the ion exchange device. . Feed amount of water by the high-pressure pump 19 is, for example, 0.5m ³ / h~100m ³ / h.

  The RO membrane 22 is configured by applying, for example, a polyamide-based composite membrane or the like, and can filter even a finely soluble substance such as an ionic molecule. The EDI device 23 arranged at the rear stage of the RO membrane 22 includes an ion exchange membrane and an ion exchange resin, and performs ion exchange while continuously regenerating the ion exchange resin using a direct current.

  The purified water tank 25 is disposed in the subsequent stage of the EDI device 23 (deionization device 21), and is a tank for storing treated water that has passed through the EDI device 23, that is, purified water. The purified water production apparatus 10 is provided with a purified water delivery pump for sending purified water in the purified water tank 25, a use point where purified water sent to the purified water delivery pump is used, and the like. Yes. The purified water production apparatus 10 is also provided with a purified water circulation path for returning the purified water sent out by the purified water delivery pump and passed through the use point back into the purified water tank 25 again.

  Here, in the purified water production apparatus 10 of the present embodiment, the water to be treated (purified water sent out from the EDI apparatus 23 until passing through the EDI apparatus 23 from the MF film 18 via the high pressure pump 19 and the RO film 22). The raw water is heated by the heat exchanger 16 so that the temperature of) becomes 50 ° C. or higher and 90 ° C. or lower.

  That is, in the purified water production apparatus 10 of this embodiment, the temperature sensor 17 detects the temperature of the raw water immediately after passing through the heat exchanger 16, while the temperature sensor 24 is treated water immediately after passing through the EDI apparatus 23. Detect the temperature. Furthermore, the steam supply unit 15 described above is based on the detection results of the temperature sensors 17 and 24 (the temperature at which the water to be treated from the MF membrane 18 to after passing through the EDI device 23 becomes a temperature of 50 ° C. or more and 90 ° C. or less. The temperature of the heating steam to be supplied to the heat exchanger 16 side is controlled by calculating the gradient.

  Further, in the purified water production apparatus 10, the MF membrane 18, the high pressure pump 19, the RO membrane 22, the EDI device 23, the purified water tank 25, and the water treatment flow path 27 have a heat resistance of at least 90 ° C. or more. ing. The water treatment flow path 27 is composed of a heat-resistant vinyl chloride pipe, a stainless pipe (for example, a multi-tubular stainless tube), or the like.

  Therefore, in the purified water production apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment, raw water heated to a temperature of 50 ° C. or higher and 90 ° C. or lower is permeated in the order of the MF membrane 18 and the RO membrane 22, and permeated water within this temperature range is passed. Furthermore, since purified water is obtained by passing through the EDI device 23, the sterilization process using hot water and the process for producing purified water can be performed simultaneously (continuously). More specifically, on the water channel through which heated water of 50 ° C. or higher flows, purified water having a viable cell count that satisfies the required level of the Japanese Pharmacopoeia can be produced. Thereby, according to the purified water manufacturing apparatus 10, purified water can be manufactured efficiently, improving the bactericidal effect of microorganisms.

[Second Embodiment]
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 2, the same constituent elements as those included in the purified water production apparatus 10 shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 2, in addition to the configuration of the purified water production apparatus 10 of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the purified water production apparatus 30 of the present embodiment further includes a heat exchanger (second heat exchange). Vessel) 31 and a raw water supply path 32 having heat resistance of 90 ° C. or higher.

  That is, as shown in FIG. 2, the heat exchanger 31 is arranged at the subsequent stage of the EDI device 23 that is an ion exchange device. On the other hand, the raw water supply path 32 is a raw water supply path that is supplied to the heat exchanger (first heat exchanger) 16 in front of the MF membrane 18 via the raw water tank 12 and the raw water pump 14. It arrange | positions in the position which passes through the exchanger 31 (2nd heat exchanger) main body (and arrange | positions in the front | former stage of the purified water tank 25). Thereby, while removing the to-be-processed water sent out from the EDI apparatus 23, it becomes possible to heat raw | natural water with the said heat removed.

  Therefore, according to the purified water production apparatus 30 of the present embodiment, the heat exchange efficiency can be improved, so that the power of the steam supply unit 15 that is a heating source can be saved and used by the user in the subsequent stage of the ion exchange apparatus. The water to be treated (purified water) to be treated can be cooled to a temperature range lower than the temperature range of 50 ° C. or higher and 90 ° C. or lower.

  The present invention has been specifically described with reference to the first and second embodiments. However, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. . For example, instead of the deionization device 21 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 having the RO membrane 22 and the EDI device 23, the second reverse structure having the same structure disposed in the subsequent stage of the RO membrane 22 and the RO membrane 22. A deionization apparatus provided with a osmosis membrane may be applied, and a deionization apparatus in which a cation resin tower and an anion resin tower are arranged may be applied instead of the deionization apparatus 21.

  Further, instead of the deionization apparatus 21, a deionization apparatus including an RO membrane 22 and a mixed bed type ion exchange resin tower (MB: mixed bed) disposed at the subsequent stage of the RO membrane 22 may be used. is there. Even in the case of using these deionizers, the raw water is heated so that the water to be treated from the MF membrane 18 after passing through the individual deionizers has a temperature of 50 ° C. or higher and 90 ° C. or lower. The sterilizing effect can be suitably obtained.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10,30 ... Purified water manufacturing apparatus, 12 ... Raw water tank, 14 ... Raw water pump, 15 ... Steam supply part, 16, 31 ... Heat exchanger, 17, 24 ... Temperature sensor, 18 ... MF membrane, 19 ... High pressure pump, DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 21 ... Deionization apparatus, 22 ... RO membrane, 23 ... EDI apparatus, 25 ... Purified water tank, 27 ... Water treatment flow path, 32 ... Raw water supply path.

Claims (9)

In a method for producing purified water comprising sequentially passing raw water through a microfiltration membrane and a reverse osmosis membrane, and passing the permeate through an ion exchange device,
A heat exchanger is disposed in front of the microfiltration membrane, and the raw water is heated so that the water to be treated from the microfiltration membrane to after passing through the ion exchange device has a temperature of 50 ° C. or higher. A method for producing purified water.   The method for producing purified water according to claim 1, wherein the ion exchange device is a mixed bed type ion exchange resin tower or an electric regeneration type ion exchange device.   A second heat exchanger is disposed downstream of the ion exchange device, and a raw water supply path to be supplied to the heat exchanger upstream of the microfiltration membrane is disposed so as to pass through the second heat exchanger. 3. The method for producing purified water according to claim 1, wherein the raw water is heated with the heat removed while removing the water to be treated.   A second reverse osmosis membrane is disposed instead of the ion exchange device, and the raw water is heated so that the water to be treated from the microfiltration membrane to after passing through the second reverse osmosis membrane has a temperature of 50 ° C. or higher. The method for producing purified water according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein:   In place of the reverse osmosis membrane and the ion exchange device, a cation resin tower and an anion resin tower are arranged, and the water to be treated from the microfiltration membrane to after passing through the cation resin tower and the anion resin tower is 50 ° C. or more. The method for producing purified water according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the raw water is heated to a temperature.   From the microfiltration membrane to after passing through the ion exchange device, from the microfiltration membrane to after passing through the second reverse osmosis membrane, or from the microfiltration membrane to after passing through the cation resin tower and the anion resin tower, The method for producing purified water according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the raw water is heated so that treated water has a temperature of 50 ° C or higher and 90 ° C or lower. In a purified water production apparatus comprising at least a microfiltration membrane and a reverse osmosis membrane that sequentially permeate raw water, and an ion exchange device that allows permeate to pass through these membranes,
A heat exchanger that is disposed in front of the microfiltration membrane and that heats the raw water so that the water to be treated from the microfiltration membrane to after passing through the ion exchange device has a temperature of 50 ° C. or higher. A device for producing purified water.   8. The apparatus for producing purified water according to claim 7, wherein the ion exchange device is a mixed bed type ion exchange resin tower or an electric regeneration type ion exchange device.   A second heat exchanger disposed downstream of the ion exchange device, and a supply path that is disposed so as to pass through the second heat exchanger and that supplies raw water to the heat exchanger upstream of the microfiltration membrane The apparatus for producing purified water according to claim 7 or 8, wherein the raw water is heated with the heat removed while removing the water to be treated.

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