JP2011136276A - Hollow yarn membrane module and manufacturing method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a hollow yarn membrane module which can inhibit the running-dry of a potting agent during manufacturing under such a construction that the end part of a hollow yarn bundle can be fixed to the end part of a cylindrical case by the potting agent. <P>SOLUTION: The hollow yarn membrane module 1 is of such a construction that the end part of the hollow yarn bundle 2 obtained by aggregating a plurality of the hollow yarn membranes 5, is fixed to the end part of the cylindrical case 3 by the potting agent. Further, in the neighborhood of the end part of the hollow yarn bundle, an O-ring 20 is set in place as a member for regulating the size of the hollow yarn bundle 2. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a hollow fiber membrane module and a method for manufacturing the same, and in particular, in a configuration in which the end of a hollow fiber bundle is fixed to the end of a cylindrical case with a potting agent, the potting agent can be prevented from overflowing during manufacturing. The present invention relates to a hollow fiber membrane module that can be produced and a method for producing the same.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing a configuration of a conventional general hollow fiber membrane module.
As shown in FIG. 6, this module 101 includes a hollow fiber bundle 102 in which a number of hollow fiber membranes having selective permeability are bundled, and a cylindrical case 103 in which the hollow fiber bundle 102 is accommodated. Each end of the bundle 102 is fixed to each end of the cylindrical case 103 by a potting agent (tube sheet) 112.

  As a manufacturing method of such a hollow fiber membrane module 101, for example, a method described in Patent Document 1 (Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2009-125642) is known. According to this manufacturing method, the potting agent 112 is filled from the end of the case with the hollow fiber bundle 102 placed in the cylindrical case 103, and the potting agent is cured. Thereby, the hollow fiber bundle 102, the cylindrical case, and 103 (and the hollow fiber membranes) are fixed.

JP2009-125642A

By the way, in the case of a method of filling a fluid potting agent as in the manufacturing method of Patent Document 1, a problem of so-called “liquid rising” of the potting agent may occur particularly when the viscosity of the potting agent is low. That is, like the portion indicated by reference symbol A in FIG. 6, a phenomenon in which the potting agent is sucked along the inner wall of the case 103 may occur due to capillary action. When such “liquid rise” occurs, there is a possibility that the outlets 110 and 111 for the purge gas are blocked by the potting agent.
Further, even when “liquid overflow” does not occur, the gap between the hollow fiber bundle 102 and the case 103 becomes small due to the surface tension of the potting agent (particularly in the vicinity of the inlets 110 and 111), and the purge gas hardly flows. There is also a problem of becoming. Further, when the gap between the hollow fiber bundle 102 and the case 103 is small, there is a problem that the purge gas does not flow uniformly into the hollow fiber bundle and the purge gas is short-passed.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and its purpose is to prevent the potting agent from rising during manufacture in a configuration in which the end of the hollow fiber bundle is fixed to the end of the cylindrical case with the potting agent. It is an object of the present invention to provide a hollow fiber membrane module that can be prevented and a method for manufacturing the same.

The gist of the present invention is as follows.
1. A hollow fiber membrane module in which an end of a hollow fiber bundle in which a plurality of hollow fiber membranes are assembled is fixed to an end of a cylindrical case by a potting agent,
A hollow fiber membrane module, characterized in that a member for regulating the thickness of the hollow fiber bundle is provided near the end of the hollow fiber bundle.

  According to such a configuration, the “member for regulating the thickness of the hollow fiber bundle” is provided near the end of the hollow fiber bundle (that is, near the position where the potting agent is filled), and at that position, the hollow fiber bundle is hollow. The thickness of the bundle is partially reduced, and a gap is secured between the hollow fiber bundle and the cylindrical case. As a result of ensuring the gap as described above, the capillary phenomenon hardly occurs, and the potting agent is prevented from rising.

2. 2. The hollow fiber membrane module according to 1 above, wherein the member that regulates the thickness is a ring attached to the hollow fiber bundle.
The “ring” may be any ring that can limit the thickness of the hollow fiber bundle, and may be a stretchable ring or a non-stretchable ring.

3. 3. The hollow fiber membrane module according to 2 above, wherein the ring is a stretchable O-ring.

4). The hollow fiber membrane module according to 2 or 3 above, wherein an outer peripheral portion of the ring is in close contact with an inner surface of the cylindrical case.
According to such a configuration, the potting agent about to flow into the inside of the cylindrical case can be blocked by the ring, so that the potting agent can be prevented from rising more reliably.

5. The barrel of the cylindrical case is provided with an inlet for introducing purge gas and an outlet for discharging purge gas,
The hollow fiber according to any one of the above 1 to 4, wherein the member that regulates the thickness is provided on an end side of the inlet and / or the outlet and in the vicinity of the inlet and / or the outlet. Membrane module.
According to such a configuration, a gap between the hollow fiber bundle and the cylindrical case is secured in the vicinity of the purge gas inlet / outlet, so that the purge gas can uniformly flow through the hollow fiber bundle (refer to the drawings for details). And will be described later).
Here, “near” means that a gap formed by providing “a member that regulates the thickness” is close to the degree at which the gap is formed at the inlet and / or outlet.

6). A method for producing a hollow fiber membrane module in which an end of a hollow fiber bundle in which a plurality of hollow fiber membranes are assembled is fixed to an end of a cylindrical case by a potting agent,
Placing the hollow fiber bundle into the cylindrical case;
Attaching a ring near the end of the hollow fiber bundle;
Filling a potting agent into an end of the cylindrical case in which the hollow fiber bundle is placed;
Curing the potting agent to fix between the hollow fiber membranes and the hollow fiber bundle and the cylindrical case;
A process for producing a hollow fiber membrane module, comprising:

7). 7. The method for producing a hollow fiber membrane module according to 6 above, wherein the ring is an O-ring made of a stretchable material.

  As described above, according to the present invention, the hollow fiber membrane module capable of preventing the potting agent from overflowing during production in the configuration in which the end of the hollow fiber bundle is fixed to the end of the cylindrical case with the potting agent, and its A manufacturing method can be provided.

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 a figure which shows the process of manufacturing the module of FIG. It is a figure which shows the process of manufacturing the module of FIG. It is a figure which expands and shows the B section of FIG.3 (d). It is a figure which shows the other form of the hollow fiber membrane module of this invention. It is a figure which shows the conventional general hollow fiber membrane module.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing an example of a module manufactured by an example of the hollow fiber membrane module manufacturing method of the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the hollow fiber membrane module 1 includes a cylindrical case 3 having both ends opened, and a hollow fiber bundle 2 housed therein. The hollow fiber bundle 2 is a bundle of a plurality of hollow fiber membranes 5 and is disposed along the longitudinal direction of the cylindrical case 3.

  The cylindrical case 3 is cylindrical as an example. Tube plates 12a and 12b in which a potting agent is cured are formed at openings at both upper and lower ends of the cylindrical case 3, and each opening is closed. The end of each hollow fiber membrane 5 penetrates each tube plate 12 in the thickness direction and is exposed to the outside, so that gas flows from one end of each hollow fiber membrane 1 to the inside of the membrane. It is fed in and discharged from the other end.

  In addition, the hollow fiber membrane 5 itself is not specifically limited, What was formed with the material suitable for the isolation | separation target object and isolation | separation conditions can be used suitably. 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.

As an example, a hollow fiber membrane having an inner diameter of 280 μm and an outer diameter of 410 μm can be used.
The number of hollow fiber membranes is as follows as an example.
Case inner diameter φ10 mm: 340 Case inner diameter φ18 mm: 960 Case inner diameter φ26 mm: 1960

The hollow fiber bundle 2 is formed by, for example, winding a hollow fiber membrane wound around a bobbin around a polygonal rewinding jig and cutting one side of a hollow fiber membrane composed of a large number of wires wound around the jig. It can be molded (for example, see Japanese Patent Publication No. 7-106302). In the hollow fiber bundle 2 at this time, the hollow fiber membranes 5 are arranged substantially parallel to the longitudinal direction of the cylindrical case 3.
Further, the hollow fiber membrane 5 is traversed with an appropriate winding angle θ of 0 ° <θ <90 ° on the core shaft by controlling the rotation speed and traverse speed of the core shaft by a traverse winding machine (not shown). The hollow fiber membrane bundle 3 having a plurality of layers can be formed by winding it in a shape and then removing the core.

  A thermoplastic resin can be used as the potting agent (in this case, heating and cooling are required instead of curing). Alternatively, 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, the main agent and the curing agent are suitably blended and can be cured without particularly applying heat.

Referring to FIG. 1 again, the barrel portion of the cylindrical case 3 is provided with an inlet 10 for taking in purge gas and an outlet 11 for discharging the purge gas. The inlet 10 is located near the tube sheet 12a, and the outlet 11 is located near the tube sheet 12b.

  The purge gas inlet 10 and the purge gas outlet 11 may be one or plural. In a small module, an orifice may be provided at the purge gas inlet 10 as a purge gas control valve. In that case, the number of purge gas inlets 10 is preferably one.

  Members (O-rings 20a and 20b) for regulating the thickness of the hollow fiber bundle 2 are provided inside the cylindrical case 3 and slightly inside the tube plates 12a and 12b. Specifically, an O-ring 20a is disposed between the tube plate 12a and the inlet 10, and an O-ring 20b is disposed between the tube plate 12b and the outlet 11.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the hollow fiber bundle 2 is thin at a portion where O-rings 20 a and 20 b (hereinafter simply referred to as “O-ring 20”) are attached. Thereby, gaps Sa and Sb are formed in the vicinity of the O-ring 20 (here, Sa represents a gap inside the O-ring, and Sb represents a gap outside the O-ring).

  As will be described later, the O-ring 20 also plays a role of blocking the potting agent at the time of manufacture and preventing the liquid from rising. Although not limited, the outer peripheral portion of the O-ring 20 may be in close contact with the inner surface of the cylindrical case 103. In this case, it is possible to more effectively prevent the potting agent from rising later.

  The cross-sectional shape of the O-ring 20 is not limited to a circle, and may be a rectangle or a polygon. The material of the O-ring 20 is not particularly limited, and may be, for example, silicone rubber.

The arrangement position of the O-ring is as follows as an example (distance from the case end).
Case inner diameter φ10mm: 9mm on the purge gas inlet side and 10mm on the purge gas outlet side (structure is asymmetric vertically)
Case inner diameter φ18mm: 12mm (structure is vertically symmetrical)
Case inner diameter φ26mm: 8mm or 12mm (structure is vertically symmetrical)

Next, a method for manufacturing the hollow fiber membrane module 1 will be described with reference to FIGS.
In this example, as shown in FIG. 2 (a), a substantially cylindrical case 33 is prepared as a whole, and the final cylindrical case as shown in FIG. 3 is obtained (details below).

First, a bundle of hollow fibers made up of a plurality of hollow fiber membranes 5 is prepared, and the bundle is inserted into the case 33 as shown in FIG. 2A, and then the bundle is trimmed at both ends of the case 33. . In this state, the entire length of the hollow fiber bundle 2 is such that both ends of the bundle 2 come out from both ends of the case 33.
In order to perform the subsequent manufacturing process with good workability, and to prevent the potting agent used in the subsequent process from being sucked into the hollow fiber and sealing the hollow fiber, the bundle 2 Each end of is sealed with sealing portions 7a and 7b.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 2 (b), O-rings 20 a and 20 b are attached to both ends of the hollow fiber bundle 2.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 3C, the O-rings 20 a and 20 b are pushed into the case 33 with a plastic spatula (not shown), for example. Specifically, the O-ring 20 is pushed to the vicinity of the purge gas inlets 10 and 11.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 3 (d), a potting agent is filled from each end of the case 33. The method of filling the potting agent is not limited, but for example, a method as described in Patent Document 1 may be used.

Specifically, this method
The step of attaching the opening of the bag containing the potting agent to the end of the cylindrical case containing the hollow fiber bundle, and applying the force from the outside to the bag, the inner potting agent is attached to the end of the cylindrical case. And the step of curing the potting agent to fix the space between the hollow fiber membranes and the hollow fiber bundle and the cylindrical case.
In the step of curing the potting agent, an appropriate curing step is employed depending on the type and composition of the potting agent. A method of standing at room temperature may be used, or a heat treatment may be performed.

According to the manufacturing method of the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, the gap Sa is formed in the vicinity of the O-ring 20 (opening side), and the capillary phenomenon is less likely to occur in this portion. Compared with the conventional configuration in which Sa does not exist, the potting agent does not easily rise.
Even if the potting agent flows into the O-ring 20, the potting agent does not enter the interior beyond the O-ring 20, so that the potting agent does not block the purge gas inlet / outlet (10).

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 4, a gap Sb is formed on the inner side (lower side) of the O-ring 20, so that the gas entered from the purge gas inlet 10 is good between the hollow fiber bundle 2 and the case 3. As a result, the purge gas can be uniformly supplied to the hollow fiber bundle 2.

  Referring to FIG. 3 again, after the potting agent is cured, the case 33, the potting agent, and the hollow fiber bundle 32 are cut at the positions of the broken lines L1 and L2 in FIG. Thereby, the hollow fiber membrane module 1 as shown in FIG. 1 is obtained.

As mentioned above, although one form of this invention was demonstrated, this invention is not limited to what was mentioned above, It can change suitably.
For example, as an alternative to the O-ring 20, rubber bands, threads (for example, cotton threads, hollow fibers, nylon threads), metal wires, tubes (for example, nylon tubes), adhesive tapes, and the like may be used. However, in the case of an O-ring, work such as tying a thread is unnecessary, which is advantageous in terms of workability. In addition, the O-ring has a variety of standard diameters, and therefore has the advantage of being easy to select.

As the hardness of the O-ring, a durometer hardness of about 30 HS to 90 HS can be used. In particular, 50HS is preferable because it is relatively soft and is difficult to damage the hollow fiber membrane and has good workability.
The color of the O-ring is not particularly limited, but may be a color such as red or black, or may be a translucent color.

The wire diameter of the O-ring can be about φ0.5 mm to φ2.5 mm, but is preferably about φ1.5 mm considering the general product size of the module. As an example, the following is preferable.
Case inner diameter φ10 mm: Identification number S6 (wire diameter φ1.5 mm, inner diameter φ5.5 mm, outer diameter φ8.5 mm)
Case inner diameter φ18 mm: Identification number S10 (wire diameter φ1.5 mm, inner diameter φ9.5 mm, outer diameter φ12.5 mm)
Case inner diameter φ26 mm: Identification number P18 (wire diameter φ2.4 mm, inner diameter φ17.8 mm, outer diameter φ22.6 mm)

  The “member for regulating the thickness of the hollow fiber bundle” is not limited to a ring or the like for tightening the hollow fiber bundle, and as shown in FIG. 5, as shown in FIG. The convex part 35 may be sufficient. The convex part 35 can press down a part of the hollow fiber bundle 2 similarly to the ring 20 shown in FIG. 1, thereby forming the gaps Sa and Sb. As a result, as in the above embodiment, the potting agent can be prevented from overflowing (effect of the gap Sa), and the gas can be flowed well in the vicinity of the inlet / outlet of the purge gas (effect of the gap Sb).

The following examples further illustrate the present invention. In addition, this invention is not limited to the following Example.
〔Example〕
As shown in FIG. 1, a polycarbonate cylindrical case having a purge gas inlet and a purge gas outlet and having a total length of 100 mm, an outer diameter of 12 mm, and an inner diameter of 10 mm was used. As the hollow fiber bundle, a bundle of 340 polyimide asymmetric hollow fiber membranes having an outer diameter of 400 μm and an inner diameter of 300 μm was used.
After inserting the hollow fiber bundle into the cylindrical case as shown in FIG. 2 (a), the open end of the hollow fiber membrane was sealed with an epoxy adhesive to prevent the penetration of the potting agent.

Next, as shown in FIG. 2B, semi-transparent silicone rubber O-rings 20a and 20b having a nominal number S6 and a hardness of 50 Hs were attached to both ends of the hollow fiber bundle.
Next, as shown in FIG. 3C, the O-rings 20a and 20b were pushed into the case 33 with a plastic spatula (not shown), for example. The O-ring 20a was pushed to a position 9 mm from the case end, and the O-ring 20b was pushed to a position 10 mm from the case end.
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.

  As the step of moving the potting agent, the potting agent is moved to the end of the cylindrical case, and the potting agent is injected between the hollow fiber membranes of the hollow fiber bundle and between the hollow fiber bundle and the cylindrical case. Moved. Then, when the potting agent was in contact with the O-rings 20a and 20b, the potting agent thickness was maintained, and the potting agent was allowed to stand 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).

  When humid air of 25 ° C., pressure of 0.7 MPa, and dew point of −5.5 ° C. was supplied to the mixed gas inlet of this dehumidifying module at a flow rate of 22.1 NL / min, dry air having a dew point of −21 ° C. was supplied from the dry air outlet. was gotten.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Hollow fiber membrane module 2 Hollow fiber bundle 3 Cylindrical case 5 Hollow fiber membrane 7a, 7b Sealing part 10, 11 Entrance / exit 12a, 12b Tube sheet 20a, 20b O-ring Sa, Sb Gap 35 Protrusion part

Claims (7)

A hollow fiber membrane module in which an end of a hollow fiber bundle in which a plurality of hollow fiber membranes are assembled is fixed to an end of a cylindrical case by a potting agent,
A hollow fiber membrane module, characterized in that a member for regulating the thickness of the hollow fiber bundle is provided near the end of the hollow fiber bundle.   The hollow fiber membrane module according to claim 1, wherein the member for regulating the thickness is a ring attached to the hollow fiber bundle.   The hollow fiber membrane module according to claim 2, wherein the ring is an O-ring made of a stretchable material.   The hollow fiber membrane module according to claim 2 or 3, wherein an outer peripheral portion of the ring is in close contact with an inner surface of the cylindrical case. The barrel of the cylindrical case is provided with an inlet for introducing purge gas and an outlet for discharging purge gas,
The hollow according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the member that regulates the thickness is provided on an end side of the inlet and / or the outlet and in the vicinity of the inlet and / or the outlet. Yarn membrane module. A method for producing a hollow fiber membrane module in which an end of a hollow fiber bundle in which a plurality of hollow fiber membranes are assembled is fixed to an end of a cylindrical case by a potting agent,
Placing the hollow fiber bundle into the cylindrical case;
Attaching a ring for regulating the thickness of the hollow fiber bundle near the end of the hollow fiber bundle;
Filling a potting agent into an end of the cylindrical case in which the hollow fiber bundle is placed;
Curing the potting agent to fix between the hollow fiber membranes and the hollow fiber bundle and the cylindrical case;
A process for producing a hollow fiber membrane module, comprising:   The manufacturing method of the hollow fiber membrane module of Claim 6 whose said ring is an elastic O-ring.

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