JP5232393B2 - Water purifier - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a water purifier.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a water purifier that performs membrane filtration through a pipe such as a water supply is known. In this type of water purifier, the membrane needs to be replaced every time the so-called membrane fouling, which is clogged, progresses, so the frequency of membrane replacement increases and the burden increases especially in areas where the water environment is not good. It was. Therefore, in recent years, in order to extend the life of the membrane, two filtration units are connected in parallel, and purified water discharged from one filtration unit is passed from the secondary side to the primary side of the membrane of the other filtration unit. In some cases, so-called backwashing is performed so that the blocking substance adhering to the primary side of the film is peeled off and washed (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
JP 11-137976 A

  However, in the conventional water purifier described above, when a part of the blocking substance attached to the primary side of the membrane is peeled off by backwashing, water flow by backwashing concentrates on this part. There is a problem that the occlusive substance cannot be sufficiently removed.

  In view of this, the present invention provides a water purifier that can sufficiently remove the blocking substance on the membrane surface and reduce the burden on the membrane.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the invention described in claim 1 is characterized in that a first filtering means for filtering raw water (for example, the first filtering means 5 in the embodiment) and a second filtering means (for example, in the embodiment). A second filtration means 6), a discharge flow path (for example, a discharge flow path 16 in the embodiment) provided in at least one of the first filtration means and the second filtration means, and the first Raw water supply passages (for example, raw water supply passages 7 and 8 in the embodiment) for selectively supplying the raw water to the filtration means and the second filtration means, the first filtration means and the second filtration It is obtained in any one of the main water purification flow path (for example, main water purification flow path 18 in embodiment) which discharges the purified water obtained from the means out of the system, and the first filtration means and the second filtration means. Clean water on the other Secondary side from the primary side can be Gyakudori water to a confluent channel (the confluent channel 17 and 26), provided in the raw water supply passage, and said first filtering means and said second filtering means And an ejector (for example, ejector 3 in the embodiment) that supplies air bubbles in a switchable manner.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, the first filtration means is a hollow fiber membrane (for example, the hollow fiber membrane 10 in the embodiment), the outer side of the hollow fiber constituting the hollow fiber membrane is the primary side, and the hollow The inside of the yarn is set to the secondary side.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, a sterilizing / cleaning agent (for example, the sterilizing / cleaning agent 41 in the embodiment) is added to the primary side of the second filtering means when performing the membrane cleaning of the first filtering means. And a sterilizing / cleaning agent adding means (for example, sterilizing / cleaning agent adding means 40 in the embodiment).

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the first filtration means and the second filtration means for membrane filtration of the raw water are connected in parallel, and the purified water discharged from the second filtration means is the secondary side of the first filtration means. In addition to performing the membrane cleaning of the first filtration membrane means by reversely passing water from the primary side to the primary side, the so-called scrubbing cleaning of the membrane of the first filtration means is further performed by mixing bubbles into the raw water of the water supply pipe with an ejector. It can be carried out. Therefore, compared with the case where only reverse water flow is performed as in the prior art, the membrane can be uniformly cleaned, and the burden on the membrane can be reduced.
Further, since the discharge flow path for discharging the raw water is connected to the first filtration means, the clogged material separated by the scrubbing cleaning of the membrane is quickly discharged out of the system. Adhering to the surface of the film can be reduced.

  According to the invention described in claim 2, for example, when the inner side of the hollow fiber is set to the primary side, the occluding substance peeled by scrubbing contacts the inner surface of the hollow fiber and adheres again to the inner side of the hollow fiber. However, since the outer surface of the hollow fiber is set to the primary side, the plugging material peeled off by scrubbing moves quickly toward the discharge tube, so the plugging material adheres to the hollow fiber again. Can be prevented.

  According to the third aspect of the present invention, the sterilizing / cleaning agent can be added by the sterilizing / cleaning agent adding means provided on the primary side of the second filtering means when the water is passed back to the first filtering means. Therefore, there is an effect that the membrane of the second filtration means and the membrane of the first filtration means can be sterilized and washed at the same time.

Hereinafter, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
In FIG. 1, the code | symbol 1 has shown the water purifier of this embodiment. This water purifier 1 is for purifying raw water, and river water, lake water, well water, industrial water, and the like are supplied as raw water through the water supply according to the area to be used. In addition, in this 1st Embodiment, although an example in which raw | natural water is supplied to the water purifier 1 with a water pressure is shown, for example, when the water pressure is insufficient or when it is unstable, the water purifier 1 The pressure may be increased by providing a pump in the previous stage.

  The water purifier 1 includes a main raw water supply channel 2 through which raw water flows from the outside. Raw water supply channels 7 and 8 are branched and connected to the main raw water supply channel 2, and an ejector 3 is interposed in the middle of the raw water supply channel 7. An air supply channel 4 is connected to the ejector 3, and air bubbles can be mixed into the raw water flowing through the raw water supply channel 7 by the ejector 3. Here, the air supply flow path 4 connected to the ejector 3 is provided with a first control valve V1, and by opening and closing the first control valve V1, it is possible to switch the presence / absence of bubbles. Yes. Furthermore, in order to increase the amount of air taken in from the first control valve V1, it is also possible to increase the amount of air using air supply means. The air supply means here refers to an air blower using positive pressure such as a compressor and a blower.

  Further, the raw water supply flow path 7 is connected to the first filtration means 5, and the raw water supply flow path 8 is connected to the second filtration means 6. A second control valve V2 is interposed in the raw water supply flow path 7, and the raw water supply flow path 7 can be opened and closed by the second control valve V2. Similarly, a third control valve V3 is also interposed in the raw water supply flow path 8, and the raw water supply flow path 8 can be opened and closed by the third control valve V3.

  The first filtration means 5 includes a casing 9, and a hollow fiber membrane 10 is accommodated in the casing 9. The hollow fiber membrane 10 is cut off from the raw water side which is the primary side and the purified water side which is the secondary side by a potting material 11 such as urethane resin, epoxy resin, polyolefin resin or the like disposed on the upper part of the casing 9. . The casing 9 includes an inlet port 12 at the lower portion and an outlet port 13 at the upper portion, and further includes a drain port 15 at a position slightly below the potting material 11 on the side wall 14 of the casing 9. Here, the inner surface of the hollow fiber membrane 10 is disposed closer to the outlet port 13 than the potting material 11, and the outer surface of the hollow fiber membrane 10 is disposed closer to the inlet port 12 and the drainage port 15 than the potting material 11. . Further, the raw water supply flow path 7 described above is connected to the inlet port 12.

  The drainage port 15 is for discharging the plugging substance peeled or eluted from the hollow fiber membrane 10 when the membrane of the hollow fiber membrane 10 is washed out of the system of the water purifier 1 together with the raw water on the primary side of the casing 9. The drainage port 15 is connected to a discharge channel 16 whose end is disposed outside the apparatus. Here, a fourth control valve V <b> 4 that opens and closes the discharge flow channel 16 is interposed in the discharge flow channel 16. The outlet port 13 is connected to a merging channel 17, and the end of the merging channel 17 is mergingly connected to a main water purification channel 18 that sends purified water. Here, as the plugging substance, floating substances such as iron rust that have reached the water purification apparatus 1 from the distribution reservoir, polysaccharides that are metabolites from microorganisms in the raw water, and sterilization with oxidizing action added in water purification facilities, etc. There are disinfection by-products by chemicals.

  On the other hand, the second filtering means 6, like the first filtering means 5, has a casing 22 provided with an inlet port 19, an outlet port 20 and a drainage port 21 respectively, and potting of urethane resin, epoxy resin, polyolefin resin or the like. A hollow fiber membrane 24 in which the purified water side and the raw water side are blocked by the material 23 is provided. The inner surface of the hollow fiber membrane 24 is disposed on the outlet port 19 side, and the outer surface of the hollow fiber membrane is disposed on the inlet port 19 and drain port 21 side. The second filtering means 6 is the same as the first filtering means 5 and is preferably made unusable by attaching a lid 25 to the drain port 21. When the first filtering means 5 is repeatedly used for a long time and the amount of purified water is reduced, the cover 25 of the drain port 21 is removed, the second filtering means 6 and the first filtering means 5 are replaced, Since the water purifier 1 can be used for a long period of time by attaching the lid 25 to the drain port 15 of the 1 filtration means 5, it is economical.

  Similar to the outlet port 13 of the first filtration means 5, the merging flow path 26 is connected to the outlet port 20 of the second filtering means 6, and the end of the merging flow path 26 sends the purified water to the main purified water flow path 18. Is connected to join. Further, a fifth control valve V <b> 5 that opens and closes the merge channel 26 is interposed in the merge channel 26.

  The main water purification channel 18 is a channel for sending out purified water, which is treated water of raw water, to the outside of the system of the water purification apparatus 1. The main water purification channel 18 is opened and closed in the middle of the main water purification channel 18. The 6th control valve V6 which performs is provided. In addition, the constant flow valve 27 which adjusts so that the flow volume of purified water may become fixed in the middle of the main water purification flow path 18 can also be attached.

  The first to sixth control valves V1 to V6 described above are connected to a control unit 28 that outputs a control command to the first to sixth control valves V1 to V6. The control unit 28 is connected to a pressure gauge or a flow meter (not shown). For example, when the raw water is passed through the first filtration means 5, the pressure on the secondary side of the first filtration means 5. This is detected when the flow rate does not reach the predetermined value, and it is determined that the fouling of the hollow fiber membrane 10 of the first filtration means 5 is proceeding, and the first to sixth control valves V1 to V6 are It is set so that the open / close state is switched to shift from the purification mode for treating raw water to the reverse cleaning mode for performing membrane cleaning and the air scrubbing mode. The progress of fouling may be set so as to be determined by elapsed time other than the flow rate and pressure. Here, the first to sixth control valves V1 to V6 can be automatically opened and closed by an open / close signal, and an electric valve, a solenoid valve, an air operated valve, or the like is used. In particular, it is desirable to use a solenoid valve from the viewpoint of economy.

  Next, the water purification mode, the backwash mode, and the air scrubbing mode will be described based on FIGS. 1 to 4, the first to sixth control valves V <b> 1 to V <b> 6 are in a closed state with black and an open state with white.

  First, when the use of purified water which is treated water is started, the control unit 28 is shown in FIG. 2 from the state where the first to sixth control valves V1 to V6 which are in the standby state are fully closed (see FIG. 1). As described above, the second control valve V2 and the sixth control valve V6 are opened, and the first control valve V1 and the third to fifth control valves V3 to V5 are shifted to the closed water control mode.

  By shifting to the water purification mode, the raw water that has flowed into the water purifier 1 flows from the main raw water supply channel 2 into the inlet port 12 of the first filtering means 5 via the raw water supply channel 7. Then, the raw water enters the casing 9 from the inlet port 12 and is filtered by being passed from the primary side to the secondary side of the hollow fiber membrane 10 by the pressure of the raw water.

  And the purified water obtained by filtering raw | natural water will be sent outside via the confluence | merging flow path 17 and the main purified water flow path 18 from the exit port 13 of the 1st filtration means 5. FIG. Here, the discharge flow rate of the purified water flowing through the main purified water flow path 18 is adjusted by the constant flow valve 27.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 3, when shifting to the backwash mode, the control unit 28 opens the third to fifth control valves V3 to 5 when the purified water is not used, and the first control valve The process shifts to the backwash mode in which V1, the second control valve V2, and the sixth control valve V6 are kept closed. In addition, the case where it transfers to the backwash mode said here is the accumulation time of the water purification mode of the water purifier 1, the completion time of the preset water purification mode, the time zone when the water purification is not used, or the main filtration unit 5 For example, when the fouling of the hollow fiber membrane 10 progresses and a decrease in the flow rate or pressure in the main water purification channel 18 is detected, it can be arbitrarily set.

  When shifting to the backwash mode, the raw water flowing into the water purifier 1 flows into the second filtration means 6 from the inlet port 19 via the main raw water supply flow path 2 and the raw water supply flow path 8, and the hollow fiber membrane 24. Filtered. Then, the purified water filtered by the second filtering means 6 is sent out from the outlet port 20 and flows into the first filtering means 5 from the outlet port 13 via the merging channel 26 and the merging channel 17. Thereafter, the purified water that has flowed into the first filtration means 5 is reversely passed from the secondary side of the hollow fiber membrane 10 toward the primary side, and at this time, the blockage adhering to the primary side surface of the hollow fiber membrane 10 The material is peeled off. Here, on the primary side of the hollow fiber membrane 10, a clogging substance floats and is mixed in the purified water, and the concentrated drainage that is the purified water in which this clogging substance is mixed is connected via the drainage port 15 and the discharge channel 16. It is discharged out of the system. The “concentration” of the concentrated drainage means that the concentration of the blocking substance in the purified water that has been passed back from the secondary side to the primary side of the first filtering means 5 is higher than that of normal raw water.

  Furthermore, in order to remove the blocking substance that cannot be removed in the above-described backwash mode, the air scrubbing mode is shifted to after the backwash mode. As shown in FIG. 4, the transition to the air scrubbing mode causes the first control valve V <b> 1, the second control valve V <b> 2, and the fourth control valve V <b> 4 to be opened by issuing a signal from the control unit 28, and This is performed by closing the third control valve V3, the fifth control valve V5, and the sixth control valve V6.

  When shifting to the air scrubbing mode, the raw water that has flowed into the water purifier 1 is first mixed with air microbubbles by the ejector 3 in the middle of the raw water supply flow path 7. The raw water mixed with the microbubbles flows into the first filtering means 5 from the inlet port 12 via the raw water supply flow path 7, and the bubbles in the raw water rise while diffusing from the inlet port 12. And uniformly dance on the primary surface of the hollow fiber membrane 10. As a result, the occluding substance remaining on the primary side of the hollow fiber membrane that could not be obtained in the backwash mode can be peeled off from the hollow fiber membrane 10. And the raw | natural water containing this obstruct | occluded substance is discharged | emitted out of the system as a concentrated wastewater from the drainage port 15 via the discharge flow path 16. FIG.

  Therefore, according to 1st Embodiment mentioned above, the 1st filtration means 5 and the 2nd filtration means 6 which carry out membrane filtration of raw | natural water are connected in parallel, and the purified water discharged from the 2nd filtration means 6 is 1st. In addition to performing reverse water flow from the secondary side to the primary side of the hollow fiber membrane 10 of the filtration means 5 to perform membrane cleaning of the first filtration means 5, the raw water flowing through the raw water supply flow path 7 by the ejector 3 Since the hollow fiber membrane 10 of the first filtration means 5 can be scrubbed and cleaned by mixing air bubbles with respect to the membrane, the membrane can be effectively and efficiently compared with the case of performing only reverse water flow. Since it can wash | clean, the burden of the further hollow fiber membrane 10 can be reduced.

  Further, since the discharge channel 16 for discharging the raw water is connected to the drain port 15 of the first filtration means 5, the clogging substance peeled off by the scrubbing cleaning of the hollow fiber membrane 10 is quickly discharged out of the system. Further, it is possible to reduce adhesion of the peeled blocking substance to the surface of the raw water supply channel 7 connected to the inlet port.

  Furthermore, when the inside of the hollow fiber membrane is set to the primary side (dirty side) and the outside is set to the secondary side (clean side), the occlusive substance peeled off by air scrubbing was formed in the tubular shape of the hollow fiber membrane. Although there is a high possibility that it will come into contact with the inner side surface and adhere again to the inner side surface of the hollow fiber membrane, it will be difficult for the occluding substance to be discharged to the outside of the hollow fiber membrane. By setting the side surface to the primary side, the clogging material peeled off by the air scrubbing is quickly detached from the hollow fiber membrane 10 by the water flow and moves toward the drainage port 15 side. It is possible to prevent the fouling of the film from adhering to the film.

  And since the drainage port 15 is formed in the side wall 14 of the 1st filtration means 5, the obstruction | occlusion substance peeled by air scrubbing or backwashing does not flow out from the inlet port 12 to the raw | natural water supply flow path 7 side. In addition, it is possible to prevent the clogged substances adhering to the raw water supply channel 7 and the main raw water supply channel 2 from adhering, and as a result, the frequency of maintenance can be reduced.

  Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. In the second embodiment, a configuration in which a sterilizing / cleaning agent is added to the inlet port 19 of the second filtering means 6 in the first embodiment described above is added. Therefore, the same reference numerals are assigned to the same parts, and the description of the overlapping parts is omitted.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the 1st filtration means 5 and the 2nd filtration means 6 are connected in parallel with the water purifier 1b. A sterilization / cleaning agent adding means 40 is connected to the raw water supply flow path 8 that connects the main raw water supply flow path 2 and the inlet port 19 of the second filtration means 6. More specifically, the sterilization / cleaning agent adding means 40 includes a storage tank 42 for storing a sterilization / cleaning agent (for example, hypochlorite such as sodium hypochlorite) 41. A pump (P) 43 for pumping the sterilizing / cleaning agent 41 and a check valve 44 are joined and connected to the raw water supply flow path 8 through a flow path 45 provided in the middle. Here, the check valve 44 restricts inflow of raw water in the direction from the raw water supply flow path 8 toward the pump 43.

  The pump 43 is connected to the control unit 28 and is driven and controlled by the control unit 28. When the pump 43 is driven based on the control command from the control unit 28, the sterilizing / cleaning agent 41 in the storage tank 42 is pumped to the raw water supply channel 8 through the channel 45, and the sterilizing / cleaning agent 41 is supplied to the raw water. To be added. In addition to the purification mode, backwash mode, and air scrubbing mode of the first embodiment described above, the control unit 28 can further execute a sterilization mode. In addition to the hypochlorite, the sterilizing / cleaning agent 41 described above includes, for example, ozone-containing water, hydrogen peroxide solution, potassium permanganate aqueous solution, sodium permanganate aqueous solution, etc. As long as it is transparent.

  The control unit 28 is for removing germs remaining on the hollow fiber membrane 10 after the blocking substance adhering to the surface of the hollow fiber membrane 10 is removed by, for example, the backwash mode or the air scrubbing mode. The mode is set to shift to the sterilization / cleaning mode. More specifically, as shown in FIG. 6, the control unit 28 closes the first control valve V1, the second control valve V2, and the sixth control valve V6 in order to shift to the sterilization / cleaning mode. -5 Control valves V3-5 are opened. Then, the pump 43 is driven and controlled, and the sterilizing / cleaning agent 41 is added to the raw water flowing through the raw water supply flow path 8.

  The raw water to which the sterilizing / cleaning agent 41 is added flows into the second filtration means 6 from the inlet port 19 and is passed from the primary side to the secondary side of the hollow fiber membrane 24, and then the outlet port 20. From the outlet port 13 and flows into the first filtering means 5. Then, after water is passed from the secondary side to the primary side of the hollow fiber membrane 10, it is discharged out of the system through the drainage port 15.

  That is, the raw water to which the sterilizing / cleaning agent 41 is added comes into contact with the inner surfaces of the raw water supply flow path 8, the second filtration means 6, the merge flow paths 17 and 26, the first filtration means 5, and the discharge flow path 16. The part will be sterilized and cleaned. Further, the control unit 28 keeps flowing the raw water for a while after stopping the pump 43 so that the sterilization / cleaning agent 41 does not remain in the system of the water purifier 1, and the sterilization / cleaning agent 41 remains. After a predetermined time, the sterilization / cleaning mode is terminated and the standby state, that is, the first to sixth control valves V1 to 6 are all closed.

  Therefore, according to the second embodiment described above, sterilization / cleaning is performed by the sterilization / cleaning agent addition means 40 provided on the primary side of the second filtration means 6 when water is passed back through the first filtration means 5. Since the agent 41 can be added, the hollow fiber membrane 24 of the second filtration means 6 and the hollow fiber membrane 10 of the first filtration means 5 can be sterilized simultaneously. As a result, the hollow fiber membrane 10 can be made more clean and the membrane burden can be further reduced.

  In each of the above-described embodiments, the case where the drainage port 15 is provided on the side wall 14 of the first filtering means 5 slightly below the potting material 11 is described. However, the present invention is not limited to this. In addition to the material 11 slightly below, an exit port may be provided slightly above the inlet port 12. By configuring in this way, even when the occlusive substance having a high specific gravity peels and sinks downward, the occlusive substance having a high specific gravity can be discharged slightly above the inlet port 12, that is, from the lower portion of the first filtering means 5.

  Moreover, although the case where the 1st filtration means 5 and the 2nd filtration means 6 were equivalent structures was demonstrated, when using the 2nd filtration means 6 only at the time of washing | cleaning of the 1st filtration means 5, for example, 2 The filtering means 6 may be replaced with a smaller one, and in this way, the water purifier 1 can be downsized.

Further, in each of the above-described embodiments, in the water purification mode, the configuration in which raw water is filtered only through the first filtration means 5 has been described. However, when the first filtration means 5 cannot be used for some reason. The purified water mode may be executed by passing water through the second filtration means 6.
In the above-described embodiment, the discharge flow path 16 is connected only to the first filtration means 5, but the discharge flow to the drain port 21 of the second filtration means 6 is the same as the first filtration means 5 described above. A path may be connected so that backwashing and air scrubbing can be performed in the second filtering means 6.

Moreover, although the case where air bubbles are mixed in the raw water by the ejector 3 has been described, the bubbles mixed in the raw water are not limited to air.
Furthermore, although each above-mentioned embodiment demonstrated the example which obstruct | occludes the control valve V6 during backwashing, even if it is during backwashing, a user uses the purified water processed by the 2nd filtration means 6. Therefore, the control valve V6 may be opened according to the user's request. In the case of such a configuration, the purified water is divided into the first filtering means 5 and the main purified water flow path 18, and the flow rate of the main purified water flow path 18 is reduced, so that the water pressure of the main raw water supply flow path 2 is pumped (see FIG. It is preferable to increase the pressure with a not-shown).

  Furthermore, as another aspect of the first embodiment described above, for example, an ejector may be interposed in the main raw water supply flow channel 2 as shown in FIG. With this configuration, since air bubbles can be selectively supplied to the first filtering unit 5 and the second filtering unit 6, air scrubbing can also be performed on the second filtering unit 6. As a result, the burden on the hollow fiber membrane 24 can be reduced.

It is a schematic block diagram of the water purifier in the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic block diagram equivalent to FIG. 1 at the time of the water purification mode in the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic block diagram equivalent to FIG. 1 at the time of the backwash mode in the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic block diagram equivalent to FIG. 1 at the time of the air scrubbing mode in the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic block diagram of the water purifier in the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic block diagram equivalent to FIG. 5 at the time of the sterilization mode in the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic block diagram equivalent to FIG. 1 in the other aspect of the 1st Embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 3 Ejector 5 1st filtration means 6 2nd filtration means 7, 8 Raw water supply flow path 10 Hollow fiber membrane 16 Discharge flow path 17, 26 Merge flow path 18 Main water purification flow path 40 Sterilizer addition means 41 Sterilizer

Claims (3)

First filtration means and second filtration means for filtering raw water;
A discharge channel provided in at least one of the first filtration means and the second filtration means;
A raw water supply passage for selectively supplying the raw water to the first filtering means and the second filtering means;
A main water purification flow path for discharging purified water obtained from the first filtration means and the second filtration means to the outside of the system;
A merging channel capable of reversely passing purified water obtained from either one of the first filtration means and the second filtration means from the other secondary side to the primary side;
An ejector that is provided in the raw water supply flow path and supplies air bubbles in a switchable manner between the first filtration means and the second filtration means ;
A water purifier comprising:   The first filtration means is a hollow fiber membrane, wherein the outer side of the hollow fiber constituting the hollow fiber membrane is set as a primary side, and the inner side of the hollow fiber is set as a secondary side. The water purifier of description.   The sterilizing / cleaning agent adding means for adding a sterilizing / cleaning agent to the primary side of the second filtering means when performing membrane cleaning of the first filtering means is provided. Water purification device.

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