JP3272847B2 - Multiple bonding type hollow fiber membrane module - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a membrane module in which a plurality of hollow fiber membrane elements are assembled. More specifically, the present invention relates to a membrane module having improved installation volume efficiency, etc. The present invention relates to a multi-bond type hollow fiber membrane module that is easy to handle.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, hollow fiber membrane modules are used in various applications for membrane separation because a filtration membrane area within a certain volume is large and the apparatus can be miniaturized. In the hollow fiber membrane module, usually, a hollow fiber membrane bundle composed of a plurality of hollow fiber membranes is bonded and sealed between the hollow fiber membranes and the case housing with a resin or the like, and at least one end face of the hollow fiber membrane is opened. It is configured in a state. In addition, when a large amount of processing is performed using these hollow fiber membrane modules, a fluid is supplied to two or more hollow fiber membrane modules in parallel and used. As described above, in using two or more membrane modules in parallel, in the prior art, the membrane modules are connected to each other with a general piping material or a flexible tube, and several hollow fiber membrane modules are used in a large size. The hollow fiber membrane module is housed in one housing to increase the size. In Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 1-500649, a fluid is distributed in parallel to each membrane module through a port hole provided in a side surface of an end cap of a hollow fiber membrane module, and each end cap side face is processed into a planar shape. There is disclosed an example in which a hollow fiber membrane module is united by sandwiching a packing between adjacent end cap surfaces.

[0003]

Here, when a plurality of hollow fiber membrane modules are arranged and a plurality of hollow fiber membrane modules are connected by pipes, and fluids are supplied in parallel and used, pipes or pipes can be used. Preferably, the flexible tube is of a type that can be removed when replacing the membrane element. However, since a conventional union joint or flange joint is conventionally used to make the pipe or flexible tube detachable, the interval between adjacent membrane modules is increased, and the installation volume efficiency of the membrane modules is reduced. Further, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No.
According to the method disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H11-260, a high degree of precision is required for the degree of parallelism of the planar processing surface with respect to the housing and the degree of parallelism of the opposing planar processing surface of the cap alone. In addition, when mounting the cap on the upper and lower sides of the housing, errors may occur in the dimensions of the port surfaces of the upper and lower caps, or if there is an error in the parallelism, there is a possibility that the joint with the adjacent module may not fit, Advanced technology is required as compared to general manufacturing technology. In particular, the cost of manufacturing the cap increases due to the increase in processing accuracy. Furthermore, a tie-rod fastening is used as a method for joining adjacent modules. However, this structure requires a space for a through hole portion of the cap, which is another factor that increases the manufacturing cost of the cap. One.

[0004] On the other hand, in general, hollow fiber membrane modules are designed to be extremely compact in order to increase the efficiency of the installation volume. For this reason, those having the capacity equivalent to several membrane modules are integrated into a single module. Efforts have been made. However, the increase in size requires a new investment in manufacturing equipment accompanying an increase in size and weight, and a heavy-duty transport device and an installation fixture are required at the time of manufacture and installation at the time of transportation. Also, as a problem in using the multiple-bonded membrane module, it is necessary to replace the membrane module when a part of the hollow fiber bundle is broken or the like. It must be replaced, but in the case of a small multi-bonded membrane module, it is only necessary to replace the defective one. Under these circumstances, there is a strong demand for the development of an inexpensive multiple-bonded hollow fiber membrane module that is easy to handle in production or at the site of use, improves installation volume efficiency, and is inexpensive.

[0005]

Means for Solving the Problems The present inventors have made intensive studies to achieve the above object, and as a result, assembling a plurality of membrane elements made of a hollow fiber membrane manufactured according to the prior art into an integral end cap. The present invention has been completed by improving the efficiency of the installation volume, finding that the handling of each membrane element outer cylinder (hereinafter, referred to as a housing) can be facilitated by combining a short pipe.

That is, according to the present invention, a plurality of membrane elements comprising a hollow fiber membrane bundle are provided at both ends of the membrane element.
Assembled into one one- piece end cap , and
The end cap includes at least one fluid flow path
A plurality of combined hollow fiber membrane modules or a plurality of membrane elements each comprising a hollow fiber membrane bundle.
It is another object of the present invention to provide the above-described multi-bond type hollow fiber membrane module arranged in two rows. Also, a membrane consisting of a hollow fiber membrane bundle
An object of the present invention is to provide the above-described multiple-bonded hollow fiber membrane module in which three or more elements are arranged in parallel . In addition, they communicate with each other through the one-piece end cap
A plurality according to any of the above, having two channels not provided
Coupling hollow fiber membrane module was provided T-shaped port Makue
In T-shaped port interconnections method Remento outer cylinder (housing), connect the mutual T-shaped port with a short tube having the same outer diameter as the outer diameter of the port opening, O-ring and above connected by collar pressing this Any of the multiple connection type hollow fiber membrane modules described in any of the above , or the outside of the port opening of the T-shaped port is in a form capable of O-ring type connection, and the inside of the port opening is provided with a female pipe thread and threaded piping. The hollow fiber membrane module according to any one of the above, wherein the hollow fiber membrane module is connectable, or a T-shaped port of a membrane element outer cylinder (housing) provided with a T-shaped port.
In over preparative mutual connection, connecting the mutual T-shaped port with a short tube having substantially the same inner diameter as the outer diameter of the port opening, any of the above connecting by inserting across the O-ring
The present invention also provides a multiple-bonded hollow fiber membrane module according to the above.
Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail.

[0007] Any hollow fiber membrane used as a multiple-bond type hollow fiber membrane module according to the present invention can be mounted and used, and the pore size of the hollow fiber membrane is from several angstroms to several hundred µm in the reverse osmosis membrane region.
Any pore size can be used up to a rough filtration. Also, there is no limitation on the material, for example, cellulose acetate resins, polysulfone resins such as polyethersulfone and polysulfone, polyacrylonitrile resins, polyvinyl alcohol resins, and polyolefin resins such as polypropylene and polyethylene. resin,
Examples include a polyimide resin, a polyamide resin, a polymethyl methacrylate resin, a fluorine-containing resin, a cellulose resin, an AS resin, a ceramic, and the like. It may be a membrane. It can be appropriately selected according to the purpose of filtration.

The membrane element referred to in the present invention is a membrane element in which a plurality of hollow fiber membranes are bundled, inserted into a housing, and both ends or one end is sealed with a resin and then opened.
The size of the membrane element is not particularly limited, but the length is preferably 5 to 200 cm, more preferably 30 to 15 cm.
0 cm. The thickness of the hollow fiber membrane bundle loaded in one housing is preferably 1 to 30 cm, more preferably 5 to 20 cm. It is. The housing is preferably provided with a T-shaped port, if necessary, and is used for supplying or collecting permeated water or raw water in the case of treating water. In addition, the multiple-bonded hollow fiber membrane module referred to in the present invention is a module in which an integral end cap is attached to a membrane element and a flow path of permeated water or raw water between the membrane elements is connected by a combination of short pipes. Say.

The material of the housing, the integral end cap or the short pipe used in the present invention is not particularly limited.
For example, polysulfone resin, polyvinyl chloride resin, polyolefin resin such as polypropylene and polyethylene, acrylic resin, polymethyl methacrylate resin, polycarbonate resin, AS resin, fluorine such as 4-fluoroethylene resin and polyvinylidene fluoride Examples include a group-containing resin, iron, stainless steel, ceramics, glass, and the like, which can be appropriately selected according to the raw water to be supplied and the installation environment.

[0010] The multi-bond type hollow fiber membrane module of the present invention can be applied to applications in any fields.
For example, river water, lake water filtration, nuclear power generation, thermal power generation water filtration, condensate filtration, water sanitization, waste liquid filtration and recovery, food filtration, organic solvent filtration and separation, liquid degassing, liquid It can be used for various applications such as liquid extraction. Of these, membranes are particularly suitable for applications requiring periodic cleaning and sterilization, such as filtration of river water and lake water, filtration of clads (colloids and fine particle components), and sterilization of water. .

[0011]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, the present invention will be described more specifically with reference to the drawings, but the present invention is not limited to these.

(Embodiment 1) FIGS. 1 and 2 show an embodiment in which a plurality of membrane elements are connected in series and an integral end cap is mounted. FIG. 1 is a front view of a multiple-bonded hollow fiber membrane module of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a side view thereof. The plurality of membrane elements (5) are assembled in series to an integral end cap (6), which has a longitudinally extending channel (7). In the case of an internal pressure type hollow fiber membrane, the flow path serves as a raw water supply path or a concentrated water discharge path, and in the case of an external pressure type hollow fiber membrane, it serves as a permeated water discharge path. In the case where another pipe is connected from the outside to the flow path (7) of the penetrating fluid, it is connected to only one of the flow paths (7) located at both ends of the integral end cap and remains. One side is provided with a stopper (11) for closing the flow path. In addition, on the opening surface of each liquid pool (8),
The membrane element (5) is inserted and assembled, and the inside and outside of the multi-unit membrane module is sealed using an O-ring (9) between the membrane element (5) and the integral end cap (6). Further, the upper and lower end caps (6) are fixed to the membrane element (5) by tie rods (10). The housing (2) of the membrane element (5) is provided with a T-shaped port (4) near both ends, and a connecting short pipe (12) and an O-ring (14) are connected between the T-shaped ports (4) of the adjacent housing. , Collar (13).

The first feature of the connection structure of the present embodiment is that, compared with the prior art multi-bond type membrane module (FIG. 10),
The advantage is that the connection between ports of adjacent membrane elements can be kept simple and short. The second feature is that even if there is a slight shift in the center line of the adjacent T-shaped port, the shift can be absorbed by the O-ring (14) and the collar (13). Therefore, there is no danger of fluid leakage even if the overall mounting dimensional accuracy of the T-shaped port (4) of the housing is low. Incidentally, the port provided at both ends of the housing (2), hollow fiber membranes used becomes the supply passage or concentrated water discharge path for the raw water in the case of the external pressure type hollow fiber membrane, in the case of the inner pressure hollow fiber membrane permeate discharge channel Becomes The outer diameter of both ends of the T-shaped port (4) adopts a connection method using an O-ring, and a female thread for a pipe is provided on the inner side so that a threaded pipe can be formed as necessary. In a typical typical use of the T-shaped port in the present invention, the housings are connected by a connecting short pipe (12) or the like, and the end is connected to a pipe from outside using a female pipe thread inside the T-shaped port. Connecting. External connection of the pipe to the port is made only on one side of the T-shaped port located at both ends of the connected housing, and the flow path is closed using a stopper (16) on the other side.

(Embodiment 2) FIG. 3 shows an embodiment of a multiple connection type hollow fiber membrane module in which a plurality of membrane elements are bundled and connected to an integral end cap, and FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view of FIG. . In this embodiment, the integral end cap (6)
A flow path (7) for allowing a fluid to pass is provided substantially at the center of each liquid reservoir (8), and each end cap (6)
A branch flow path (7-1) leading to the liquid pool (8).
In the case of an internal pressure type hollow fiber membrane, the flow path serves as a raw water supply path or a concentrated water discharge path, and in the case of an external pressure type hollow fiber membrane, it serves as a permeated water discharge path. In addition, a closing plug (11) to be connected is provided in the flow path (7) of the penetrating fluid. Hereinafter, a method of assembling the membrane element (5) to the end cap (6), a method of fixing the membrane element (5) and the end cap (6) by the tie rod (10), and a method of forming the T-shaped port (4) of the adjacent membrane element. The connection method using the short pipe between them is the same as in the first embodiment.

(Embodiment 3) FIG. 5 shows an embodiment in which the membrane elements are connected in a bundle and an integral end cap is mounted. FIG. 6 is a plan view of the integral end cap of FIG.
6 shows a side view of the end cap of FIG. In this embodiment, the height of the end cap (6) is extended to a position covering the port (4-1) near both ends of the housing (2), and an O-ring (9) is provided across the port. .
On the other hand, a port (4-
By providing a fluid flow path (17) leading to 1),
The T-shaped port shown in the second embodiment and the connecting short pipe between them can be omitted. The end cap structure can be applied to the structure of the first embodiment.

(Embodiment 4) FIG. 8 shows a case where a plurality of individually formed end caps are provided with a common through hole, a pipe is penetrated through the through hole, and the end cap is integrally assembled with the pipe. It is. The end cap (6) is made independently for each membrane element.
(7) is a through hole, and (7-2) is a pipe for supplying or removing fluid, which penetrates through each end cap. (7-4) indicates a nut, and a plurality of end caps are connected by tightening the nut. Pipe (7
-2) serves as a flow path for supplying or removing a fluid in addition to the purpose of connecting a plurality of end caps, and the flow path (7-3) provided in the pipe is connected to the membrane element for the purpose. Can be done. (7-5) shows a sealing packing between the pipe (7-2) and the end cap (6).

(Installation Volume Efficiency) In supplying and using a fluid in parallel to a membrane element, a comparison is made between the present invention and a conventional membrane module in a case where four membrane elements are used. As for the height of the membrane module, the present invention and the prior art are almost the same, so the installation volume efficiency is compared with the installation area efficiency. In the case of the conventional technology, it is assumed that the ports of the housings are connected by a union. In, the width and depth is 0.89mx
0.31 m, and the area is required to be 0.28 m ² , whereas in Example 1, the dimensions and area are 0.6
9m × 0.25m = 0.17m ^2, and the conventional 61%
To decrease. Similarly, in Example 2, 0.33 m × 0.4
8m = 0.16m ^2, which is reduced to 57% of that of the prior art. In the third embodiment, 0.32m × 0.37m = 0.12m
^In Example ^2, it was reduced to 43% of the conventional technology, and in Example 4, as in Example 1, it was reduced to 61% of the conventional technology. In any case, the improvement of the installation volume efficiency according to the present invention was obtained.

[0018]

According to the present invention, since the T-shaped ports of each membrane element are connected by a combination of short pipes, the exchange of the membrane elements is easy, and the connecting portion is formed. Has mobility, it is easy to effectively prevent liquid leakage from each T-shaped port. In addition, heavy equipment for carrying and equipment for installation and installation are not required at the time of transportation at a manufacturing or installation site.
In addition, when the hollow fiber membrane is lost, the entire hollow fiber membrane does not need to be replaced as in the case of the large-sized membrane module, and only the necessary portion of the membrane element can be replaced, which is economical.
Furthermore, the installation volume efficiency of the membrane module can be improved unlike the combination of the conventional union joint or flange joint by mounting the integral type end cap.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view of a multiple-bonded hollow fiber membrane module according to the present invention in which a plurality of membrane elements are arranged in parallel and an integrated end cap is mounted.

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the multiple-bonded hollow fiber membrane module of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a front view of a multiple-bonded hollow fiber membrane module according to the present invention in which four membrane elements are assembled in a bundle and an integrated end cap is mounted.

FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view of the multiple-bonded hollow fiber membrane module of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a front view of a multiple-bonded hollow fiber membrane module according to the present invention in which a flow path between housings is provided in an end cap.

6 is a plan view of the integrated end cap of FIG.
Rotated by 0 °.

FIG. 7 is a side view of the end cap of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a front view of the multiple-bonded hollow fiber membrane module according to the present invention, in which each membrane element has a single end cap.

FIG. 9 is a partial side view of FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a conventional multiple-connection hollow fiber membrane module in which a plurality of membrane elements are connected in parallel.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Hollow fiber 2 Housing 3 Sealing material 4 T-shaped port 4-1 Housing port 5 Membrane element 6 End cap 7 Flow path 7-1 Branch flow path 7-2 Pipe 7-3 Flow path 7-4 Nut 7-5 Packing 7-6 Washer 8 Liquid pool 9 O-ring 10 Tie rod 11 Plug 12 Short pipe 12-1 Short pipe 13 Collar 14 O-ring 15 Snap ring 16 Plug 17 Flow path 18 Cheese joint 19 Union joint 20 Elbow joint 21 Nipple joint

Claims (7)

(57) [Claims] 1. A plurality of membrane elements formed of hollow fiber membrane bundle at both ends of the membrane elements, assembled to each one integral end cap and the end cap
There plurality linked hollow fiber membrane module characterized that you include a flow path of at least one fluid. 2. The multiple-bonded hollow fiber membrane module according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of the membrane elements comprising the hollow fiber membrane bundle are arranged in one or two rows. 3. The multiple-bonded hollow fiber membrane module according to claim 1, wherein three or more membrane elements each composed of a hollow fiber membrane bundle are arranged in parallel . 4. Mutually extending through an integral end cap.
The multiple-bond type hollow fiber membrane module according to any one of claims 1, 2 and 3, further comprising two flow paths not communicating with the hollow fiber membrane module. 5. A method for interconnecting T-shaped ports of a membrane element outer cylinder (housing) provided with T-shaped ports, wherein the T-shaped ports are connected to each other by a short pipe having the same outer diameter as the outer diameter of the port opening. The hollow fiber membrane module according to any one of claims 1, 2 and 3, wherein the hollow fiber membrane module is connected to the O-ring by a collar for holding the O-ring. 6. The T-shaped port has an O-ring type connection outside the port opening, and a female pipe thread provided inside the port opening to enable connection of threaded piping. Item 6. The multiple-bonded hollow fiber membrane module according to any one of Items 1, 2, 3, and 5. 7. A method of connecting T-shaped ports of a membrane element outer cylinder (housing) provided with T-shaped ports, wherein the T-shaped ports are connected to each other by a short pipe having an inner diameter substantially equal to the outer diameter of the port opening, according to any one of claims 1, 2 or 3 for coupling by inserting across the O-ring
Multiple-linked hollow fiber membrane module.