JP2011036752A - Reverse osmosis membrane module and water purification system incorporating the same therein - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a reverse osmosis membrane module capable of suppressing clogging thereof by microorganisms, and to provide a water purification system capable of being used always. <P>SOLUTION: The reverse osmosis membrane module 1 is provided with a reverse osmosis membrane 11 formed in a bag shape, a permeated-water-side spacer 12 disposed on the inner face of the reverse osmosis membrane 11, and a supplied-water-side spacer 13 disposed on the outer face of the reverse osmosis membrane 11. An antibacterial and antifungal agent is blended in the supplied-water-side spacer 13 of the reverse osmosis membrane module 1. When a faucet 7 is closed, the antibacterial and antifungal agent blended in the supplied-water-side spacer 13 is eluted into water remaining in the set place of the supplied-water-side spacer 13. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a reverse osmosis membrane module and a water purification system incorporating the same.

  Conventionally, as a water purification system, residual chlorine in raw water sent from the raw water tank is removed with an activated carbon filter, then softened by water softening means, and the softened raw water is filtered through a reverse osmosis membrane module to produce purified water. It is known that the purified water is temporarily stored in a purified water tank, taken out from the purified water tank and used (for example, see Patent Document 1).

  In this Patent Document 1, a chemical tank for cleaning and disinfecting a reverse osmosis membrane module and a purified water tank is provided in a water purification system, and microorganisms are sterilized by cleaning and disinfecting the reverse osmosis membrane module with a chemical solution. It is suppressed from being blocked by microorganisms.

JP 2004-8958 A

  However, in such a conventional water purification system, it is necessary to clean the inside of the pipe after using the chemical solution, which requires a lot of work for the cleaning work. Moreover, since it is necessary to suspend a water purification system at the time of use of chemical | medical solution and washing | cleaning after use, there existed a problem that it was not able to always use.

  Then, an object of this invention is to obtain the water purification system which can always be used while obtaining the reverse osmosis membrane module which can suppress easily that a reverse osmosis membrane is obstruct | occluded by microorganisms.

  In invention of Claim 1, the reverse osmosis membrane formed in the bag shape, the permeated water side spacer arrange | positioned inside the said reverse osmosis membrane, and the water supply side spacer arrange | positioned outside the said reverse osmosis membrane And a reverse osmosis membrane module that separates the feed water introduced into the water supply side spacer into permeated water and concentrated water, characterized in that the water supply side spacer is mixed with an antibacterial / antifungal agent. And

  In the invention of claim 2, a reverse osmosis membrane formed in a bag shape, a permeated water side spacer disposed inside the reverse osmosis membrane, and a water supply side spacer disposed outside the reverse osmosis membrane A reverse osmosis membrane module for separating the feed water introduced into the water supply side spacer into permeated water and concentrated water, wherein the water supply side spacer is formed of a translucent member, and the water supply side A UV lamp for irradiating the spacer with ultraviolet rays is provided.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the reverse osmosis membrane module according to the second aspect, an optical fiber is used as the translucent member.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the reverse osmosis membrane module according to any one of the first to third aspects, the reverse osmosis membrane module includes the permeated water side spacer on the inner side of the reverse osmosis membrane. The water supply side spacer is arranged outside the reverse osmosis membrane, and the open side end of the bag-like reverse osmosis membrane is fixed so as to communicate with the inside of the water collection tube. And the outermost periphery is water-tightly covered with a waterproof membrane, and a first lid having a supply port is attached to one end of the water collecting pipe, and a permeate discharge port and concentrated water are attached to the other end. It is formed by attaching a second lid having a discharge port.

  The invention according to claim 5 is characterized in that the reverse osmosis membrane module according to any one of claims 1 to 3 is incorporated into a water purification system.

  According to the invention of claim 1, since the antibacterial / antifungal agent was blended in the water supply side spacer disposed outside the bag-like reverse osmosis membrane, in a state where water stagnated in the reverse osmosis membrane module, The antibacterial / antifungal agent blended in the water supply side spacer is eluted in the water remaining in the arrangement of the water supply side spacer. Then, the eluted antibacterial / antifungal agent suppresses the growth of microorganisms in the water supply side spacer, and the microorganisms propagated in the water supply side spacer can be bacteriostatic. Therefore, it becomes possible to easily suppress the reverse osmosis membrane from being blocked by microorganisms.

  According to the invention of claim 2, the water supply side spacer disposed outside the bag-like reverse osmosis membrane is formed of a translucent member, and the UV lamp for irradiating the water supply side spacer with ultraviolet rays is provided. Then, the ultraviolet rays irradiated from the UV lamps spread through the translucent member of the water supply side spacer to the wide area of the water supply side spacer. As a result, the microorganisms that have propagated in the water supply side spacer can be bacteriostatic by ultraviolet rays, and the growth of microorganisms in the water supply side spacer formed outside the bag-like reverse osmosis membrane can be suppressed. Therefore, it becomes possible to easily suppress the reverse osmosis membrane from being blocked by microorganisms.

  According to the invention of claim 3, by using an optical fiber as the translucent member, it is possible to increase the transmittance of the ultraviolet rays irradiated from the UV lamp, so that the ultraviolet rays can be spread over a wider range of the water supply side spacer. And the bacteriostatic efficiency of the water supply side spacer can be further enhanced.

  According to the invention of claim 4, the permeated water side spacer is arranged inside the reverse osmosis membrane and the water supply side spacer is arranged outside the reverse osmosis membrane, and the open side end portion of the bag shaped reverse osmosis membrane Is wrapped around the water collecting pipe in a state of being fixed so as to communicate with the inside of the water collecting pipe, and the outermost periphery is water-tightly covered with a waterproof film, and a supply port is formed on one end side of the water collecting pipe. The reverse osmosis membrane module is formed into a water purification system by forming a reverse osmosis membrane module by attaching a second lid body having a permeate discharge port and a concentrated water discharge port to the other end. It can be easily incorporated.

  According to invention of Claim 5, the water purifying system which can be always used can be obtained.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view in which a part of the reverse osmosis membrane module according to the first embodiment of the present invention is broken and developed. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the assembly procedure of the main part of the reverse osmosis membrane module shown in FIG. 1 in order from (a) to (c). FIG. 3 is an overall configuration diagram illustrating an example of a water purification system in which a reverse osmosis membrane module is incorporated. FIG. 4 is a perspective view in which a part of the reverse osmosis membrane module according to the second embodiment of the present invention is broken and developed.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Note that similar components are included in the following embodiments. Therefore, in the following, common reference numerals are given to those similar components, and redundant description is omitted.

(First embodiment)
As shown in FIG. 3, the reverse osmosis membrane module 1 according to the present embodiment is incorporated in a water purification system P that produces purified water from raw water.

  Specifically, the water purification system P used in the present embodiment is mainly used as an apparatus for purifying domestic drinking water, and includes a first pre-filter 2A, a first activated carbon filter 2B, and a second pre-filter. A pretreatment device 2 comprising a filter 2C, a pump 3 disposed between the first pre-filter 2A and the first activated carbon filter 2B, the reverse osmosis membrane module 1, the water purification tank 4, and a second And an activated carbon filter 5.

  And the tap water (raw water) introduce | transduced into the water purification system P via the piping Pa is pressurized with the pump 3, after a coarse dust is removed with the 1st pre-filter 2A (about 5um), the 1st It is sent to the activated carbon filter 2B, where residual chlorine is removed, and fine particles are removed by the next second pre-filter 2C (about 1 um), and the raw water is pretreated.

  The supplied water that has been pretreated is supplied from the primary flow path 6a of the on-off valve 6 to the water supply port 1a of the reverse osmosis membrane module 1, and the permeated water (purified water) filtered by the reverse osmosis membrane module 1 is discharged from the permeated water. It is fed from the outlet 1b to the pipe Pb through the secondary side flow path 6b of the on-off valve 6. The pipe Pb is branched into a path leading to the water purification tank 4 and a path leading to the second activated carbon filter 5 and the faucet 7. The purified water treated by the reverse osmosis membrane module 1 is supplied to the water purification tank 4. In addition, water is supplied from the faucet 7 through the second activated carbon filter 5. On the other hand, the concentrated water that has not been filtered by the reverse osmosis membrane module 1 is discharged from the concentrated water discharge port 1c through the pipe Pc.

  In addition, a pressure switch 8 is provided in the pipe Pb, a check valve 9 is provided in the secondary flow path 6b of the on-off valve 6, and a throttle valve 10 is provided in the pipe Pc.

  And by setting it as this structure, the water purification system P operate | moves as follows.

  First, when the faucet 7 is closed, the purified water in the pipe Pb is supplied to the purified water tank 4 and at the same time the water pressure in the path rises. When the water pressure reaches a certain level, the pressure switch 8 detects and the pump 3 stops. When the pump 3 is stopped in this way, the secondary side flow path 6b of the on-off valve 6 is maintained at a high pressure by the check valve 9, but the water pressure in the primary side flow path 6a is discharged to the pipe Pc for discharging concentrated water. Therefore, the water pressure gradually decreases. When the pressure difference between the secondary flow path 6b and the primary flow path 6a of the on-off valve 6 reaches a predetermined value, the valve provided inside the open / close valve 6 is pushed by the pressure of the secondary flow path 6b. Thus, the primary flow path 6a is blocked.

  Next, when the faucet 7 is opened, the water stored in the water purification tank 4 is supplied, so that the water pressure in the secondary flow path 6b of the on-off valve 6 and the pipe Pb is lowered, and the pressure is constant. When the pressure falls below the water pressure, the pressure switch 8 detects this and the pump 3 operates. Moreover, when the pressure of the secondary side flow path 6b falls, the on-off valve 6 opens the one side flow path 6a, and the water supplied through the pretreatment device 2 is supplied to the water supply port 1a of the reverse osmosis membrane module 1. The purified water discharged from the permeate discharge port 1b is supplied from the faucet 7 through the secondary side flow path 6b and the pipe Pb. In this way, by configuring the water purification system P so that the pump 3 is activated and stopped by opening and closing the faucet 7, the water purification system P is always ready to supply purified water.

  Here, the reverse osmosis membrane module 1 is configured as shown in FIG. That is, the reverse osmosis membrane module 1 is configured to filter water through a reverse osmosis membrane 11, and as this reverse osmosis membrane 11, generally known RO membranes (Reverse Osmosis Menbrane) or NFs called nanofilters are used. A membrane (Nanofiltration Membrane) or the like can be used. The reverse osmosis membrane 11 is not limited to the RO membrane and the NF membrane as long as it has a property of permeating water and not permeating impurities other than water such as ions and salts.

  In the present embodiment, the reverse osmosis membrane module 1 is used in a state where the reverse osmosis membrane 11 is wound. Specifically, the reverse osmosis membrane 11 is formed in a bag shape in which only the center side to be wound is opened, and a net-like permeated water side spacer 12 is provided inside the bag-like reverse osmosis membrane 11. While being disposed, a net-like water supply side spacer 13 is disposed outside the bag-like reverse osmosis membrane 11. The reverse osmosis membrane 11 is bonded and fixed to the water collection pipe 14 so that the open end of the reverse osmosis membrane 11 communicates with the inside of the water collection pipe 14 disposed at the center. At this time, as shown in FIG. 1, the reverse osmosis membrane 11, the permeated water side spacer 12 and the water supply side spacer 13 are laminated alternately.

  The entire outermost periphery of the reverse osmosis membrane 11 in which the permeated water side spacer 12 and the water supply side spacer 13 are arranged is wound around the water collecting pipe 14 with a waterproof membrane 15 in a watertight manner.

  Here, based on FIG. 2, the outline of the manufacturing method of the reverse osmosis membrane module 1 is demonstrated. FIGS. 2A to 2C show a process of winding the reverse osmosis membrane 11, the permeated water side spacer 12 and the water supply side spacer 13 around the water collection pipe 14.

  First, as shown in FIG. 2 (a), the two reverse osmosis membranes 11 are placed on the side of the water collecting pipe 14 with the permeate side spacers 12 sandwiched between the two reverse osmosis membranes 11 formed in a band shape. The removed three peripheral edges are bonded together in a bag shape with the adhesive A, and the two reverse osmosis membranes 11 and the permeated water side spacer 12 are pressed as shown in FIG.

  On the other hand, as shown to Fig.2 (a), the slit 14a which inserts the open | release side of the reverse osmosis membrane 11 formed in the bag shape in the outer periphery of the water collecting pipe 14 is formed in the axial direction of the water collecting pipe 14, As shown in FIG. 2B, the open-side ends of the reverse osmosis membrane 11 and the permeated water side spacer 12 pressed into the slit 14a are fitted and bonded.

  Then, as shown in FIG. 2 (c), a water supply side spacer 13 is attached to the outside of the bag-like reverse osmosis membrane 11, and these are wound around the water collection pipe 14. Thereafter, the outermost periphery is water-tightly covered with the above-described waterproof film 15 (see FIG. 1). In FIG. 2, one set of the reverse osmosis membrane 11, the permeated water side spacer 12, and the water supply side spacer 13 is shown. However, as shown in FIG.

  In this way, the reverse osmosis membrane module 1, the permeated water side spacer 12 and the water supply side spacer 13 are wound and covered with the waterproof membrane 15, so that the reverse osmosis membrane module 1 as a whole is shown in FIG. It is formed in a cylindrical shape centered on the water collection pipe 14.

  And the 1st cover body 16 which formed the supply port 1a is attached to one end (front side in FIG. 1) of the water collecting pipe 14, and the permeated water discharge port is connected to the other end (back side in FIG. 1). A second lid 17 having 1b and a concentrated water discharge port 1c is attached.

  The first lid 16 is formed with a closed portion 16a that closes one end of the water collecting pipe 14 at the center, and the supply port 1a is formed radially around the closed portion 16a. Thus, the supply port 1a is formed in a radial shape so that the entire circumference on one end side of the water supply side spacer 13 is communicated with the supply port 1a.

  The second lid 17 has a permeate discharge port 1b communicating with the other end of the water collecting pipe 14 at the center, and a concentrated water discharge port 1c formed radially around the permeate discharge port 1b. ing. Thus, the concentrated water discharge port 1c is formed in a radial shape so that the entire circumference on the other end side of the water supply side spacer 13 is communicated with the concentrated water discharge port 1c.

  The function of the reverse osmosis membrane module 1 having such a configuration is as follows.

  First, when the supply water pretreated by the pretreatment device 2 is introduced from the supply port 1a, the supply water is supplied to the entire circumference of one end side of the water supply side spacer 13 with a constant pressure, and then the water supply side spacer 13 is supplied. Then, it moves in the direction of the concentrated water discharge port 1c. While the supply water moves through the water supply side spacer 13, water excluding impurities in the supply water permeates the reverse osmosis membrane 11. Then, the permeated water (purified water) that has passed through the reverse osmosis membrane 11 is collected in the water collecting pipe 14 through the permeated water side spacer 12 in the bag-like reverse osmosis membrane 11, and moves inside the water collecting pipe 14. And discharged from the permeate discharge port 1b. On the other hand, the concentrated water containing impurities that have not permeated through the reverse osmosis membrane 11 is discharged from the concentrated water discharge port 1 c through the water supply side spacer 13. In addition, the permeated water side spacer 12 and the water supply side spacer 13 are provided to form a gap between the wound reverse osmosis membranes 11 and secure a flow path.

  Here, in this embodiment, an antibacterial / antifungal agent is blended in the water supply side spacer 13 into which the supply water is introduced from the supply port 1a. Specifically, the water supply side spacer 13 is formed in a net shape using an antibacterial metal such as silver or copper, or a material such as polyester or polypropylene kneaded with an antifungal agent (TBZ). On the other hand, the water-permeable side spacer 12 is formed in a net shape with a material such as polyester that does not contain an antibacterial / antifungal agent.

  Thus, by mixing the water supply side spacer 13 with the antibacterial / antifungal agent, the water supply side spacer 13 is kneaded when the faucet 7 is closed and the flow of water in the path of the water purification system P is stagnant. The contained antibacterial / antifungal agent elutes in the water remaining in the arrangement of the water supply side spacer 13.

  As described above, according to the reverse osmosis membrane module 1 of the present embodiment, the antibacterial / antifungal agent is blended in the net-like water supply side spacer 13 disposed outside the bag-like reverse osmosis membrane 11. When the water is stagnant in the reverse osmosis membrane module 1, that is, when the faucet 7 is closed, the antibacterial / antifungal agent blended in the water supply side spacer 13 is eluted in the water remaining in the arrangement of the water supply side spacer 13. Is done. And the microorganisms propagated by the water supply side spacer 13 can be bacteriostatically while the microorganisms propagated by the water supply side spacer 13 are suppressed by the eluted antibacterial / antifungal agent. Therefore, it becomes possible to easily suppress the reverse osmosis membrane 11 from being blocked by microorganisms.

  In addition, since the antibacterial / antifungal agent does not permeate the reverse osmosis membrane 11, the antibacterial / antifungal agent can be prevented from being mixed into the purified water, and can be used immediately without draining even immediately after water supply. Therefore, it is possible to prevent water from being wasted.

  In addition, according to the present embodiment, the permeated water side spacer 12 is arranged inside the reverse osmosis membrane 11 and the water supply side spacer 13 is arranged outside the reverse osmosis membrane 11 to form a bag-like reverse osmosis membrane 11. The open end of the water collecting pipe 14 is fixed so as to communicate with the inside of the water collecting pipe 14 and is wound around the water collecting pipe 14, and the outermost periphery is covered with a waterproof membrane 15 in a watertight manner. A reverse osmosis membrane module is attached by attaching a first lid 16 having a supply port 1a to the second end and a second lid 17 having a permeate discharge port 1b and a concentrated water discharge port 1c at the other end. 1 is formed, the reverse osmosis membrane module 1 can be formed into a cylindrical shape and can be easily incorporated into the water purification system P.

  Moreover, if the reverse osmosis membrane module 1 concerning this embodiment is integrated in the water purification system P, it will become unnecessary to wash | clean the reverse osmosis membrane module 1 using a chemical | medical solution etc., and the water purification system P which can always be used can be obtained. it can.

  By the way, an antibacterial agent has not been conventionally used for the spacer on the water supply side, and the main reason is that a synthetic membrane aromatic polyamide is generally used as a material for the reverse osmosis membrane. This is because this aromatic polyamide is vulnerable to high concentrations of chlorine compounds and oxidants and may cause material deterioration. In addition, since reverse osmosis membranes are often used for industrial purposes, it can be mentioned that it is cheaper to periodically clean the spacers than the cost of adding an antibacterial agent to the spacers.

  In addition, as an antibacterial / antifungal agent, it is preferable to use a silver-based antibacterial agent and an antifungal agent (TBZ) that act at a relatively low concentration in a non-oxidizing system, and by containing them in the water supply side spacer 13, It is possible to suppress the performance deterioration due to the blockage of the reverse osmosis membrane 11 due to bacterial propagation while making maintenance of chemical cleaning unnecessary. Moreover, the water purification system can be used not only as a home water purification system P but also as an industrial water purification system.

(Second Embodiment)
As shown in FIG. 4, the reverse osmosis membrane module 1A according to the present embodiment is basically formed in a bag shape and wound as in the reverse osmosis membrane module 1 of the first embodiment. 11, a net-like permeate-side spacer 12 disposed inside the bag-like reverse osmosis membrane 11, and a net-like water-supply-side spacer 13 disposed outside the bag-like reverse osmosis membrane 11, have. And the permeated water produced | generated when the supply water supplied from the water supply side spacer 13 permeate | transmits the reverse osmosis membrane 11 is guide | induced to the permeated water discharge port 1b along the permeated water side spacer 12, On the other hand, reverse osmosis. The supply water that does not pass through the membrane 11 becomes concentrated water and is led to the concentrated water discharge port 1c.

  Here, this embodiment is mainly different from the first embodiment in that the water supply side spacer 13 is formed of a translucent member and the water supply side spacer 13 is provided with a UV lamp 20 for irradiating ultraviolet rays. It is in. Furthermore, in this embodiment, an optical fiber is used as the translucent member.

  In the present embodiment, the UV lamp 20 is arranged so that ultraviolet rays are applied to the water supply side spacer 13 formed of an optical fiber. For example, one or a plurality of UV lamps 20 are provided so as to be in contact with each of the wound water supply side spacers 13, and the UV lamps 20 are wound together with the water supply side spacers 13 so that the ultraviolet rays are formed by optical fibers. It arrange | positions so that the side spacer 13 may be irradiated. At this time, the terminals 20a and 20b of the UV lamp 20 are projected from the water supply port 1a of the first lid 16, and the terminals 20a and 20b and each UV lamp 20 are electrically connected. Yes.

  As described above, the UV lamp 20 is disposed so as to be in contact with each of the wound water supply side spacers 13, and the water supply side spacer 13 is formed of an optical fiber that is a translucent member. Can be spread over a wide range through the optical fiber of the wound water supply side spacer 13.

  Also according to this embodiment described above, the same operations and effects as those of the first embodiment can be achieved.

  Moreover, according to this embodiment, while forming the net-like water supply side spacer 13 arrange | positioned on the outer side of the bag-like reverse osmosis membrane 11 with a translucent member, UV which irradiates the water supply side spacer 13 with an ultraviolet-ray Since the lamp 20 is provided, the ultraviolet light irradiated from the UV lamp 20 passes through the optical fiber (translucent member) of the water supply side spacer 13 and spreads over a wide area of the water supply side spacer 13. As a result, the microorganisms that have propagated in the water supply side spacer 13 can be bacteriostatic by ultraviolet rays, and the propagation of microorganisms in the water supply side spacer 13 formed outside the bag-like reverse osmosis membrane 11 can be suppressed. Therefore, it becomes possible to easily suppress the reverse osmosis membrane 11 from being blocked by microorganisms.

  Moreover, according to this embodiment, since the transmittance | permeability of the ultraviolet-ray irradiated from UV lamp 20 can be raised by using an optical fiber as a translucent member, a ultraviolet-ray is spread over the water supply side spacer 13 more widely. The bacteriostatic efficiency of the water supply side spacer 13 can be further enhanced.

  The preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described above, but the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications can be made. For example, the reverse osmosis membrane module according to the first and second embodiments can be incorporated into other water purification systems.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1, 1A reverse osmosis membrane module 1a Water supply port 1b Permeated water discharge port 1c Concentrated water discharge port 12 Permeated water side spacer 13 Water supply side spacer 20 UV lamp P Water purification system

Claims (5)

A reverse osmosis membrane formed in a bag shape, a permeated water side spacer disposed inside the reverse osmosis membrane, and a water supply side spacer disposed outside the reverse osmosis membrane. A reverse osmosis membrane module for separating introduced feed water into permeate and concentrated water,
A reverse osmosis membrane module, wherein an antibacterial and antifungal agent is blended in the water supply side spacer. A reverse osmosis membrane formed in a bag shape, a permeated water side spacer disposed inside the reverse osmosis membrane, and a water supply side spacer disposed outside the reverse osmosis membrane. A reverse osmosis membrane module for separating introduced feed water into permeate and concentrated water,
A reverse osmosis membrane module, wherein the water supply side spacer is formed of a translucent member, and a UV lamp for irradiating the water supply side spacer with ultraviolet rays is provided.   The reverse osmosis membrane module according to claim 2, wherein an optical fiber is used as the translucent member.   In the reverse osmosis membrane module, the permeated water side spacer is arranged inside the reverse osmosis membrane and the water supply side spacer is arranged outside the reverse osmosis membrane, and the open side end of the bag shaped reverse osmosis membrane Wrapped around the water collecting pipe in a state of being fixed so as to communicate with the inside of the water collecting pipe, and the outermost periphery was covered with a waterproof film in a watertight manner, and a supply port was formed on one end side of the water collecting pipe It is formed by attaching a 1st cover body and attaching the 2nd cover body in which the permeated water discharge port and the concentrated water discharge port were formed in the other end. The reverse osmosis membrane module according to claim 1.   A water purification system comprising the reverse osmosis membrane module according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

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