JP3359049B2 - Apparatus for manufacturing porous pipe whose surface is selectively plasma-treated, and porous pipe manufactured by this manufacturing apparatus - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for selectively plasma-treating the surface of a porous pipe by performing plasma processing on a porous pipe by changing the distribution of atmospheric pressure in a vacuum vessel. The present invention relates to an invention of a manufactured porous pipe.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As an effective mixing apparatus for obtaining a mixture of plural kinds of fluids, a mixing apparatus using a porous pipe made of a porous member (porous material) is known. . The configuration of a general mixing apparatus using a porous pipe is as shown in FIG.
1, a press-fitting chamber 13a is formed between the porous pipe 11 and the casing 13.

In the above-described mixing apparatus, oil is press-fitted into the press-fitting chamber 13a from outside.
The inside of the porous pipe 11 is a mixing chamber, into which water is guided by a pump 15.
The raw material water is stored in the tank 17, and the water in the tank 17 is guided to the mixing chamber 13 b by the pump 15, and the water transmitted through the mixing chamber 13 b is returned to the tank 17 again.

In such a mixing apparatus, the press-fitting chamber 1
The oil pressurized into 3a penetrates the porous pipe 11 and is supplied to the mixing chamber 13b. Here, the porous pipe 11
Since the porous material has fine pores having a diameter of several microns, the oil permeating the porous pipe 11 is supplied as fine particles to the water in the mixing chamber 13b as shown in FIG. become. Since a predetermined flow is formed in the mixing chamber 13b by the pump 15,
The oil that has permeated the porous pipe will be immediately dispersed in the water. In this way, the oil becomes a dispersoid,
A mixture using water as a dispersion medium is formed.

[0005]

In a mixing apparatus using such a porous pipe 11, the characteristics (for example, the size of the particles) of the fine particles formed in the mixture are determined by the characteristics of the fluid fine particles that have permeated. Many of the porous pipes 11 have been subjected to a surface treatment in order to obtain a mixture having desired properties, since the porous pipes 11 are also affected by the ease of peeling from the inner wall of the porous material.

However, the surface of the porous pipe is not only the outer wall and the inner wall, but also the surface of the fine pores (hereinafter, referred to as the pore wall) is the surface of the porous pipe. It is an important factor to decide. Therefore, in performing the surface treatment of the porous pipe, it is necessary to perform all the surface treatments on the outer wall, the inner wall, and the hole wall of the porous pipe. Further, in performing the surface treatment, it is necessary not only to perform the surface treatment, but also to be able to freely form a hydrophilic or hydrophobic portion on the surface of the porous pipe.

However, the outer wall, inner wall,
It has been difficult to obtain a porous pipe having desired characteristics by performing surface treatment by freely controlling the distribution of a hydrophilic portion or a hydrophobic portion over the entire pore wall surface.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a porous pipe manufacturing apparatus capable of easily obtaining a porous pipe having a hydrophobic portion or a hydrophilic portion in a desired portion. Is to do.

[0009]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention regulates the pressure near the inner wall, hole wall and outer wall of a porous pipe in a vacuum vessel into which a small amount of gas has been introduced. Then, by generating plasma in the vacuum vessel in a state where the pressure is adjusted, plasma is selectively generated on each of the inner wall, the hole wall, and the outer wall surface of the porous pipe. A porous pipe is formed by plasma processing.

That is, in the apparatus for manufacturing a porous pipe according to the present invention, a vacuum vessel accommodating a porous pipe having one end closed, exhaust means for discharging gas from the vacuum vessel and from the porous pipe, Gas inlet means for introducing gas into the porous pipe from the other end of the porous pipe, pressure adjusting means for adjusting the pressure inside and outside the porous pipe, and plasma generating means for bringing the gas in the vacuum vessel into a plasma state are provided. Then, by adjusting the pressure near the inner wall, the hole wall, and the outer wall of the porous pipe, the location where plasma is generated is adjusted, and the surfaces of the inner wall, the hole wall, and the outer wall of the porous pipe are selectively plasma-treated. It is characterized by. Note that this plasma processing characteristic of the present invention is defined as selective plasma processing.

Further, when the inside of the vacuum vessel is evacuated, the gas is directly discharged from the inside of the vacuum vessel as described above, while the gas is indirectly discharged from the inside of the porous pipe through a porous wall. Conversely, the gas may be directly discharged from the porous pipe and the gas may be discharged indirectly from the vacuum vessel. That is, a vacuum vessel accommodating a porous pipe having one end closed, exhaust means for discharging gas from inside the porous pipe and from the vacuum vessel, gas introducing means for introducing gas out of the porous pipe, and the porous pipe Pressure adjusting means for adjusting the internal and external pressures, and plasma generating means for converting the gas in the vacuum vessel into a plasma state, the inner wall of the porous pipe
The plasma generation site is adjusted by adjusting the pressure near the hole wall and the outer wall, and the surface of the porous pipe is selectively subjected to plasma processing.

Further, in the above-described manufacturing apparatus, a moving means for moving the porous pipe or the plasma generating means in the vertical direction is included, and the porous pipe and the plasma generating means are moved relatively in the vertical direction. Is characterized in that the entire surface is uniformly and selectively plasma-treated.

[0013]

In the apparatus and method for manufacturing a porous pipe according to the present invention having the above-described structure, the plasma generation location is adjusted by adjusting the pressure near the inner wall, hole wall, and outer wall of the porous pipe. As a result, the surfaces of the inner wall, the hole wall, and the outer wall of the porous pipe are selectively plasma-treated. In this manner, it is possible to selectively perform the plasma processing on the inner wall, the hole wall, and the outer wall of the porous pipe, so that the porous pipe or the like in which only the inner wall (or the hole wall and the outer wall) is plasma-treated can be used. Initially, it is possible to manufacture a porous pipe that has been subjected to a desired plasma treatment from the inner wall to the outer wall.

Here, by changing the type of gas used in the plasma processing, the wall surface of the porous pipe after the processing can be made hydrophilic or hydrophobic (lipophilic). The inner part is a hydrophobic part or a hydrophobic part.
It is possible to create a porous pipe having a desired distribution over the outer wall. In addition, by performing selective plasma processing while relatively moving the porous pipe and the plasma generating means in the vertical direction, it is possible to perform uniform plasma processing uniformly over the entire surface of the porous pipe.

A porous pipe in which a hydrophilic portion or a hydrophobic portion has a desired distribution from the inner wall to the outer wall can satisfactorily disperse a dispersoid in a dispersion medium. That is, when a hydrophilic dispersoid is dispersed in a hydrophobic dispersoid, the dispersoid is more easily dispersed when the wall surface at which the dispersion occurs is hydrophobic. Conversely, when the dispersoid is hydrophobic, the dispersoid is more easily dispersed in the dispersoid if the wall surface on which the dispersion occurs is hydrophilic.

By changing the distribution of the hydrophilic portion and the hydrophobic portion over the inner wall to the outer wall,
The easiness of dispersion of the dispersoid in the dispersion medium and the characteristics of the resulting mixture, that is, the size of the particle size of the dispersoid, the manner of uniforming the particle size of the dispersoid, and the like are adjusted.

[0017]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a view showing a configuration of an apparatus for manufacturing a porous pipe according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

The porous pipe manufacturing apparatus 2 according to the present embodiment
1, a porous pipe 11 is installed in a vacuum vessel 23, and the vacuum vessel 23 is evacuated by vacuum pumps 25 and 27. The upper part of the porous pipe 11 is fixed by an upper fixing part 29, and the lower part is fixed by a lower fixing part 31. An adjusting plug 33 for closing the end of the porous pipe 11 is provided in the lower fixing portion 31. A valve is provided on the adjusting plug 33, and a controller 49 connected thereto controls the open / close state of the valve of the adjusting plug 33.

A movable rotary shaft 34 is provided on the upper fixed portion 29, and the movable rotary shaft 34 is connected to a driving device 35. The driving device 35 includes an up-down driving device 35a (not shown) and a rotary driving device 35b (not shown). The driving of the up-down driving device 35a causes the porous pipe 11 to move in the up-down direction. Moving and rotating drive 35b
Is driven to rotate the porous pipe 11.

A flow pipe 37 is provided inside the rotary shaft 34, and the flow pipe 37 allows the porous pipe 1 to be used.
1 and supply of gas into the porous pipe 11 can be performed. Further, the vacuum vessel 23 is provided with an exhaust hole 39 and an introduction hole 41, and the vacuum pumps 25 and 27 evacuate the vacuum vessel 23 from the exhaust hole 39. A predetermined kind of gas is supplied from the hole 41 by a gas supply device 43.

An electrode 45 is provided on the vacuum vessel 23, and a plasma is formed in the vacuum vessel 23 by a radio wave supplied from a radio wave generator 47 connected to the electrode 45. ing.

Here, a three-way cock 51 is installed in the apparatus, and when the three-way cock 51 is in a state as shown in FIG. 1, gas is supplied into the porous pipe 11 and Evacuation is performed from the inside of the vacuum vessel 23, whereby the porous pipe 11 is
Gas is exhausted from inside to outside. On the other hand, three-way cock 5
When 1 is set to a state like 51b, the vacuum container 2
Gas is supplied to the inside of the porous pipe 3 and exhaust is performed from the inside of the porous pipe 11, whereby the gas in the vacuum vessel 23 is exhausted from the inside of the porous pipe 11 through the porous wall.

When the gas supplied from the gas supply device 43 is a hydrophilic gas such as O ₂ , H ₂ O or NH ₃ or a mixed gas of hydrophilic gases such as air, the porous gas after the plasma treatment is used. The surface of the pipe 11 has hydrophilicity. On the other hand, when a lipophilic gas such as CH ₄ or C ₂ F ₆ or a mixed gas thereof is introduced into the vacuum vessel 23 to perform plasma processing, the surface of the porous pipe 11 has hydrophobicity. .

However, in this case, in order to properly perform the plasma processing, the pressure when the discharge is performed needs to be 1 to 10 Pascal. According to experiments,
The conditions at this time are a discharge output of 100 to 200 W, a discharge voltage of 1000 to 1600 V, and a discharge frequency of 13.5.
6 MHz, and the discharge time was 1 minute to 5 minutes. However, in any case, it is known that good plasma processing cannot be performed unless the discharge pressure is between 1 and 10 Pascal. Hereinafter, this range will be referred to as an optimum pressure range.

A characteristic of the porous pipe manufacturing apparatus according to the present embodiment is that a predetermined amount of the porous pipe 11 is controlled by controlling the outputs of the vacuum pumps 25 and 27 and the amount of gas supplied from the gas supply device 43. The goal is to keep the surface in the optimal pressure range. When plasma is formed in the vacuum vessel 23, the surface of the porous pipe 11 in this optimum pressure range is effectively subjected to plasma processing. The point where the surface treatment of the porous pipe 11 is performed can be controlled. This is defined as selective plasma treatment of the porous pipe 11 in the present application.

Further, in the porous pipe manufacturing apparatus according to the present embodiment, the pressure gradient inside and outside the porous pipe 11 is controlled by appropriately controlling the exhaust from the vacuum vessel 23 and the supply of gas into the vacuum vessel 23. By forming, it is possible to easily control the formation point of the optimum pressure range. That is, the porous pipe manufacturing apparatus of the present application is characterized in that the selective plasma processing of the porous pipe 11 can be easily performed. In addition,
By controlling the open / close state of the valve of the adjusting plug 33 by the controller 49, fine adjustment of the pressure gradient formed inside and outside the porous pipe 11 is performed.

The graph shown in FIG. 2 (a) shows the pressure of the inner wall side, the inside wall, and the outer wall side of the porous pipe 11 when gas is supplied into the porous pipe 11 and the gas is exhausted from the vacuum vessel 23. It is a graph which showed a change. In this case, exhaust is performed from the outer wall side, and gas is supplied from the inner wall side, so that the inner wall side has a higher pressure than the outer wall side. Since a large number of fine holes are present in the wall of the porous pipe, gas flows out from the inside of the porous pipe 11 (FIG. 3A), and the pressure gradually decreases from the inner wall side to the outer wall side. A pressure gradient is formed in the porous pipe 11 wall.

Here, 1 to 10 surrounded by a chain line
The optimum pressure range is between Pascals, but when plasma is formed in the vacuum vessel 23, the plasma processing is performed on the wall surface within the optimum pressure range.

Therefore, as shown in the graph α of FIG.
If the pressure on the inner wall side is kept within the optimum pressure range, the plasma processing is performed on the inner wall surface, and the plasma processing is not performed on other portions. On the other hand, if the pressure on the inner wall side is made larger than 10 Pascal and the air pressure on the outer wall side is made smaller than 1 Pascal and the inside of the wall is controlled within the optimum pressure range as shown in the graph β, The plasma treatment is performed on the hole wall surface. Further, if the pressure on the outer wall side is controlled to be within the optimum pressure range as shown in the graph γ, the outer wall surface can be subjected to the plasma processing.

When the pressure is controlled as shown in the graph δ, the inside and the outer wall are kept within the optimum pressure range, and the plasma treatment is not performed only on the inner wall surface, but is performed on the hole wall surface and the outer wall surface. Will be done. Similarly, by appropriately adjusting the pressure difference between the inner wall and the outer wall, for example, it is possible to obtain a porous pipe in which the surface of the hole wall is about half and the entire inner wall is plasma-treated. By appropriately adjusting the pressure difference between the inner wall and the outer wall in this manner, a porous pipe having a desired position subjected to plasma processing can be manufactured. The fine adjustment at this time is performed by controlling the opening and closing of the valve of the adjusting plug 33.

Here, FIG. 2 (b) is a graph showing the pressure change (pressure gradient in the wall) of the high viscosity gas and the low viscosity gas. In this graph, graph A represents a change in gas having a low viscosity, and a steep change occurs in the wall. On the other hand, the graph B shows the pressure change of the gas having a relatively large viscosity, and the pressure change in the wall is more gradual than the graph A.

FIG. 2C is a diagram showing a pressure change when the gas is supplied from the inside of the porous pipe 11 to the vacuum vessel 23 when the gas is exhausted from the inside of the porous pipe 11. In this case, FIG.
As shown in (b), gas flows from the outside of the porous pipe 11 to the inside of the porous pipe 11, and the pressure gradually changes in the wall through the fine holes. Here, if the outer wall portion is controlled to be within the optimum pressure range as shown in the graph α of FIG. 2A, the outer wall portion 57 shown in FIG. Become. In addition, if the control is performed so as to be within the optimum pressure range in the wall as indicated by β in FIG. 2A, the surface of the hole wall 58 is subjected to the plasma processing. Furthermore, if the control is performed so that the inner wall portion is within the optimum pressure range as indicated by γ in FIG. 2A, the surface of the inner wall 59 is subjected to plasma processing. Also in this case, by appropriately adjusting the pressure difference between the inner wall and the outer wall, it is possible to appropriately adjust the position of the surface on which the plasma processing is to be performed. Here, the manufacturing apparatus operates in a method as shown in FIG.

First, when a porous pipe is installed in S101, exhaust is performed from the inside of the vacuum vessel 23 or the inside of the porous pipe 11 (S102). Then, in this state, a hydrophilic gas or a lipophilic gas is supplied (S1).
03), the pressure difference between the inside and outside of the porous pipe 11 is adjusted (S104), and after that, a voltage is applied to the electrode 45 to perform plasma processing (S105). Here, the adjustment of the atmospheric pressure in S104 is a characteristic step in the present embodiment, and the surface of the porous pipe 11 to be subjected to the plasma processing can be adjusted by the adjustment method at this time. As described above, the controller 49 controls the opening and closing of the valve provided in the adjusting plug 33 to perform a minute adjustment of the pressure difference between the inside and the outside of the porous pipe 11.

The electrode 45 installed in the vacuum vessel 23 may be wound in parallel as shown in FIG. 1, but may be spirally wound as shown in FIG. 5, for example. Even so, good results can be obtained.

The vertical drive unit 35 in the drive unit 35
By driving a and moving the porous pipe 11 in the vertical direction, uniform selective plasma processing is performed. Therefore, when the formation position of the optimum pressure range is adjusted so as to form a hydrophobic portion in the entire inner wall portion and half of the hole wall portion, the porous pipe 11 is simultaneously moved in the vertical direction, whereby the porous pipe 11 A hydrophobic portion is formed evenly over the entire inner wall portion and half of the hole wall portion. By moving the porous pipe 11 in the vertical direction in this manner, uniform selective plasma processing is performed. At the same time, by rotating the porous pipe 11,
The selective plasma processing can be performed more uniformly. In order to perform the uniform selective plasma processing as described above, instead of moving the porous pipe 11 in the vertical direction by the vertical driving device 35a, the electrode 45 for generating plasma may be moved in the vertical direction. Good.
That is, if the porous pipe 11 and the electrode 45 are relatively moved in the vertical direction, uniform porous plasma processing of the porous pipe 11 can be performed.

The porous pipe 11 can be made of various porous materials, for example, ceramics and metal, and among them, porous silica glass is most suitable. Among them, those produced from shirasu glass, which is an abundant volcanic product (shirasu) in southern Kyushu, are preferred. This porous silica glass is first added with lime and boric acid and melted at 1300 ° C. to synthesize a base glass which is a base of the porous glass. Then, after forming this as a raw material for a pipe adapted to the final purpose of use, a heat treatment is performed at about 600 to 700 ° C. to change the composition of the glass to release the raw materials CaO and B ₂ O ₃ , that is, Generate a stratification. Since this layer is easily dissolved in an acid, if the heat-treated product is treated with an acid, it is eluted to obtain a porous glass having countless fine cells. The porous silica glass thus obtained is very suitable as a raw material for forming the porous pipe according to the present invention because its pores and the like can be easily controlled in the treatment. The porous pipe 11 formed in this manner is hydrophilic because it is glassy, and becomes more hydrophilic by plasma treatment with a hydrophilic gas. It is possible to form a hydrophobic portion on the surface.

[0038]

As described above, in the present invention,
It is possible to easily obtain a porous pipe having a desired size of a hydrophilic portion and a hydrophobic portion uniformly on a desired surface of an outer wall, a hole wall, and an inner wall.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a porous pipe manufacturing apparatus according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a graph for explaining the relationship between optimal pressure and pressure control.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a porous pipe and a flow direction of gas.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a method for manufacturing a porous pipe according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing another configuration of the electrode of the apparatus for manufacturing a porous pipe according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a mixing apparatus using a conventional porous pipe.

FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the mixing device using a porous pipe.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 Porous pipe 21 Porous pipe manufacturing device 23 Vacuum container 25, 27 Vacuum pump 33 Adjustment plug 34 Rotating shaft 35 Drive device 37 Flow pipe 39 Exhaust hole 41 Inlet hole 43 Gas supply device 45 Electrode 47 Electromagnetic wave generation device 49 Controller 51 Three-way Cock 57 Outer wall 58 Hole wall 59 Inner wall

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (58) Field surveyed (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) B01J 19/08 C03C 23/00

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] A vacuum vessel for accommodating a porous pipe having one end closed; exhaust means for discharging gas from the vacuum vessel and from the inside of the porous pipe; and a gas from the other end of the porous pipe into the porous pipe. Gas introduction means, pressure adjustment means for adjusting the pressure inside and outside the porous pipe, and plasma generation means for bringing the gas in the vacuum vessel into a plasma state; and An apparatus for manufacturing a porous pipe, comprising: adjusting a pressure in the vicinity of an outer wall to adjust a plasma generation location; and selectively performing plasma processing on the surfaces of an inner wall, a hole wall, and an outer wall of the porous pipe. 2. A vacuum vessel accommodating a porous pipe having one end closed, exhaust means for discharging gas from the porous pipe and from the vacuum vessel, and gas introducing means for introducing gas out of the porous pipe. Pressure adjusting means for adjusting the pressure inside and outside the porous pipe; and plasma generating means for converting the gas in the vacuum vessel into a plasma state, wherein the pressure near the inner wall, hole wall, and outer wall of the porous pipe is adjusted. The apparatus for producing a porous pipe according to claim 1, wherein a plasma generating portion is adjusted by the above-described method, and the surfaces of the inner wall, the hole wall, and the outer wall of the porous pipe are selectively plasma-treated. 3. The manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a moving means for moving the porous pipe or the plasma generating means in a vertical direction, while relatively moving the porous pipe and the plasma generating means in a vertical direction. An apparatus for manufacturing a porous pipe, wherein uniform selective plasma processing is performed over the entire surface of the porous pipe. 4. A porous pipe manufactured by the apparatus for manufacturing a porous pipe according to claim 1, 2 or 3.