JP6018949B2 - Membrane module - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a membrane module.

  For example, in the medical field such as blood purification therapy and plasma exchange therapy, the water treatment field such as water purification and water quality adjustment, and the filtration process such as virus removal in the manufacturing process of plasma fractionation products and biopharmaceuticals, etc. A membrane module incorporating a separation membrane is used.

  Some membrane modules of this type have, for example, a cylindrical body in which a hollow fiber membrane is accommodated, and a lid that is fitted to the outer periphery of the opening of the cylindrical body and closes the opening. The cylindrical body and the lid are each provided with a nozzle for flowing in and out of the liquid. Further, a seal member for preventing leakage of liquid is provided between the end face of the cylindrical body and the inner face of the lid (see Patent Document 1). Note that the U-ring described in Patent Document 1 has a U-shaped opening surface directed outward.

  And at the time of the process using the said membrane module, a liquid is made to flow in into a membrane module from a nozzle, a hollow fiber membrane is allowed to pass through, and it discharges | emits from another nozzle.

JP-A-2-59026

  By the way, at the time of processes such as the filtration process, the liquid pressure in the membrane module rises and a large pressure is applied to the inner surface of the membrane module. At this time, the lid of the membrane module is bent outward and deformed. In particular, in the case of a large membrane module, a large force is applied because the internal pressure receiving area is large, and the degree of deformation of the lid of the membrane module is large. Further, when the cylindrical body and the lid of the membrane module are made of synthetic resin, the shape is easily deformed by pressurization.

  When a large force is applied to the lid portion of the membrane module, the lid body bends outward and deforms and floats. At this time, a gap is formed between the sealing member and the end surface of the tubular body of the membrane module or the inner surface of the lid, and the sealing performance between the tubular body and the lid is reduced. In particular, in the case of a large module, the amount of bending of the lid is large, and the sealing performance between the cylindrical body and the lid is remarkably lowered. Further, when the cylindrical body and the lid of the membrane module are made of synthetic resin, the shapes of the cylindrical body and the lid are mutually deformed, and a gap is formed between the seal member and the end surface of the cylindrical body or the inner surface of the lid. It is easy to be done and the sealing performance is likely to deteriorate.

  This invention is made | formed in view of this point, and it aims at maintaining the sealing performance between a cylindrical body and a cover body also when a high pressure is added in a membrane module.

The present invention that achieves the above-described object includes a membrane module having a cylindrical body in which one or both ends of the membrane are accommodated, and a lid body that is fitted on the outer periphery of the opening of the cylindrical body and closes the opening. The cylindrical body and the lid are made of synthetic resin, and a seal ring having a U-shaped cross section is provided between an end surface of the opening of the cylindrical body and the inner surface of the lid. The U-shaped opening of the seal ring is directed toward the central axis of the cylindrical body, and the outer peripheral surface of the seal ring is located on the opposite side of the U-shaped opening and has an outwardly convex arcuate portion; A flat surface connected to the arc-shaped portion and extending linearly from the arc-shaped portion toward the end on the U-shaped opening side in the cross section, the flat surface opening the U-shaped opening when no load is applied The lid extends in front of the U-shaped opening of the seal ring. In which protrusion protruding from the inner surface is formed.

  According to the present invention, since the U-shaped opening of the seal ring is directed to the central axis side of the cylindrical body, when the pressure in the membrane module rises, pressure is applied to the U-shaped opening side of the seal ring, and the seal The ring U-shaped opening is deformed in the opening direction. Therefore, the seal ring can maintain contact with the end surface of the opening of the cylindrical body and the inner surface of the lid body by changing the shape according to the deformation of the accommodated space. At this time, due to the shape in which the U-shaped opening of the seal ring is directed toward the central axis of the cylindrical body, the adhesiveness can be further strengthened by using the force received by pressurization. As a result, even when a large pressure is applied to the membrane module, the seal ring can be kept in contact with the end surface of the cylindrical body and the inner surface of the lid, and high sealing performance between the cylindrical body and the lid can be maintained. .

  A corner may be formed at an end on the U-shaped opening side of the outer peripheral surface of the seal ring that contacts the inner surface of the lid and the end surface of the cylindrical body.

  The inner surface of the U-shaped opening of the seal ring may have flat surfaces that face each other.

  The crushing rate of the seal ring may be 10% to 33%.

In the above membrane module, the seal ring may have an inner diameter of 100 mm or more.

  According to the present invention, even when a high pressure is applied to the membrane module, the sealing performance between the cylindrical body and the lid can be maintained, so that the reliability of the membrane module can be improved.

It is sectional drawing which shows the outline of a structure of a membrane module. It is an enlarged view of a seal ring peripheral part. It is sectional drawing of a seal ring. It is sectional drawing of a membrane module in case a cover body has a header and a fixing nut. It is sectional drawing of the seal ring which has a corner | angular part in an outer peripheral surface.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is an explanatory view of a longitudinal section showing an outline of the configuration of the membrane module 1 according to the present embodiment. In addition, in this specification and drawing, about the component which has the substantially same function structure, duplication description is abbreviate | omitted by attaching | subjecting the same code | symbol.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 1, the membrane module 1 includes a cylindrical body 10 that accommodates the hollow fiber membrane A in the axial direction, and a lid body 11 that is fitted on the outer periphery of the opening of the cylindrical body 10 and closes the opening. have.

  Both ends of the hollow fiber membrane A are fixed to the inner peripheral surfaces of both ends of the cylindrical body 10 by a potting agent B.

  A first nozzle 20 that communicates with the primary side (inside the membrane) of the hollow fiber membrane A of the cylindrical body 10 is provided at the center of the lid body 11. In addition, two second nozzles 21 communicating with the secondary side (the outside of the membrane) of the hollow fiber membrane A are provided on the side wall of the cylindrical body 10. For example, one second nozzle 21 is provided in the vicinity of both end portions of the cylindrical body 10.

  On the outer peripheral surface of both end portions of the cylindrical body 10, a helical screw portion 40 that is screwed with a screw portion 60 of the lid 11 described later is provided.

  The inner surface of the lid 11 includes, for example, a first inner surface 50 that faces the outer peripheral surface of the end portion of the cylindrical body 10, a second inner surface 51 that faces the end surface 10 a of the opening of the cylindrical body 10, and A third inner surface 52 is provided in this order from the opening side of the lid body 11 to the first nozzle 20 side, which is separated from the end surface 10a of the cylindrical body 10 and connected to the inner peripheral surface of the first nozzle 20. ing.

  The first inner surface 50 is formed with a screw portion 60 that is screwed with the screw portion 40 of the cylindrical body 10. By screwing the screw portion 60 of the lid body 11 and the screw portion 40 of the cylindrical body 10, the lid body 11 can be rotated and fitted and fixed to the cylindrical body 10. For example, as shown in FIG. 2, the second inner surface 51 has a contact portion 70 that contacts the end surface 10 a of the cylindrical body 10 on the outer side, and accommodates a seal ring 80 (described later) on the inner side. The seal accommodating portion 71 is provided.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the third inner surface 52 forms an internal space C that communicates the primary side of the first nozzle 20 and the hollow fiber membrane A.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the seal accommodating portion 71 of the second inner surface 51 of the lid body 11 is provided with a seal ring 80 having a U-shaped cross section having elasticity. The seal ring 80 has a U-shaped opening directed toward the central axis P of the cylindrical body 10.

  A corner 91 is formed at the end of the outer peripheral surface 90 of the seal ring 80 on the U-shaped opening side. Further, two flat surfaces 93 that face each other and intersect at an acute angle are formed on the inner surface 92 of the U-shaped opening of the seal ring 80. The outer peripheral surface 90 opposite to the U-shaped opening of the seal ring 80 is formed in an arc shape like the O-ring.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the seal ring 80 is 1.5 times or more the distance D (shown in FIG. 2) between the end surface 10a of the cylindrical body 10 and the second inner surface 51 of the lid body 11 when no load is applied. It has a height H. Further, the crushing rate of the seal ring 80 when accommodated in the seal accommodating portion 71 is 10% to 33%. Here, the crushing rate is a percentage (%) obtained by dividing the crushing length (HD) of the seal ring 80 by the height H of the seal ring 80.

  The membrane module 1 is a large membrane module in which the seal ring 80 has an inner diameter of 100 mm or more.

  When performing the filtration process using the membrane module 1 configured as described above, for example, the first nozzle 20 is connected to the filtrate supply pipe of the circuit for filtration process, and the second nozzle is connected to the filtrate discharge pipe. A nozzle 21 is connected. Then, the filtrate stock solution is supplied from the first nozzle 20 into the membrane module 1, passes through the hollow fiber membrane A, is filtered, and is discharged from the second nozzle 21.

  According to the present embodiment, since the U-shaped opening of the seal ring 80 is directed toward the central axis P of the cylindrical body 10, the filtrate stock solution is supplied into the membrane module 1 and the pressure in the membrane module 1 is increased. In this case, pressure is applied from the inner space C side toward the U-shaped opening side of the seal ring 80 as shown in FIG. When this pressure is large, the seal ring 80 is deformed in the direction of opening the U-shaped opening. As a result, even if a large pressure is applied to the inside of the membrane module 1 and the lid body 11 is deformed to the outside, the surface 10a of the cylindrical body 10 and the second inner surface 51 of the lid body 11 are increased in distance. And the contact with the end surface 10a of the cylindrical body 10 and the 2nd inner surface 51 of the cover body 11 is maintained. As a result, a high sealing performance between the cylindrical body 10 and the lid body 11 can be maintained.

  Moreover, in the said embodiment, since the corner | angular part 91 is formed in the edge by the side of the U-shaped opening of the outer peripheral surface 90 of the seal ring 80, the end surface 10a of the seal ring 80, the cylindrical body 10, and the cover body 11 are formed. It is difficult for the filtrate in the internal space C to flow between the second inner surface 51 and the second inner surface 51. Therefore, it is possible to effectively prevent the filtrate in the internal space C from leaking outside the sealing 80.

  Further, since the inner surface 92 of the U-shaped opening of the seal ring 80 has the flat surfaces 93 facing each other, the pressure applied from the inner space C side is effectively changed to the pressure in the direction in which the U-shaped opening opens, The U-shaped opening of the sealing 80 can be expanded. Thereby, the sealing performance between the cylindrical body 10 and the lid body 11 is further improved.

  The seal ring 80 has a height H that is 1.5 times or more the distance D between the end surface 10a of the cylindrical body 10 and the second inner surface 51 of the lid 11 when no load is applied. As a result, even if the lid 11 is lifted by the internal pressure, the seal ring 80 is extended, so that no gap is formed between the seal ring 80 and the end surface 10a of the cylindrical body 10 or the second inner surface 52 of the lid 11. High sealing performance can be secured.

  Since the crushing rate of the seal ring 80 is 10% to 33%, the seal ring 80 and the end surface 10a of the cylindrical body 10 and the second inner surface 51 of the lid body 11 are in close contact with each other, further leaking filtrate. Can be suppressed. In addition, the cross section of the seal ring 80 is circular, and the crushing rate of a general O-ring is 10% to 25%.

  The seal ring 80 has an inner diameter of 100 mm or more, and the membrane module 1 is a large membrane module. The large membrane module has a large pressure receiving area of the membrane module 1 during processing, and when internal pressure is applied during filtration processing, a large force is applied to the inside, so that the deformation amount and the floating amount of the lid 11 also increase. . For this reason, in a large membrane module, in particular, a gap between the sealing member and the end surface of the cylindrical body or the inner surface of the lid body is likely to be formed, and the sealing performance is likely to deteriorate. According to this Embodiment, even if it is this large sized membrane module 1, the high sealing performance between the cylindrical body 10 and the cover body 11 is securable.

  The tubular body 10 and the lid 11 of the membrane module are made of synthetic resin. A member made of a synthetic resin is easily deformed when a large pressure is applied, a gap between the members is easily formed, and a sealing property is easily deteriorated. According to the present embodiment, even a membrane module having a cylindrical body 10 and a lid 11 of a membrane module made of a synthetic resin can ensure high sealing performance between the cylindrical body 10 and the lid 11. .

  When sterility is required for the membrane module, it may be shipped after being sterilized with high-temperature and high-pressure steam after assembly. In this case, the lid member is fitted into the tubular body with the sealing member interposed therebetween, and even if the sealing performance is ensured at that time, the compression set of the sealing member increases due to exposure to high temperature, and the tubular body. And the pressing force against the lid is reduced. As a result, the sealing performance between the cylindrical body and the lid body is degraded. According to the present embodiment, since the U-shaped opening of the seal ring 80 pushes and expands when pressure is applied, high sealing performance can be maintained even if the compression set of the seal member is increased due to exposure to high temperatures.

  In addition, when a leak test after sterilization was performed, when an O-ring was used for the seal ring of the cylindrical body 10 and the lid body 11, leakage occurred in 8 out of 16 samples of the membrane module. Further, when a seal ring having a U-shaped cross section similar to that of the present invention and having a U-shaped opening directed to the outside opposite to the central axis P side is used, the end face 10a of the cylindrical body 10 and the lid The seal ring was pushed outward into the gap generated in the contact portion 70 of the body 11, and one of the corner portions 91 fell, and leakage occurred in six of the 16 samples of the membrane module. When the seal ring 80 with the U-shaped opening toward the central axis P side was used as in the present invention, there was no leakage in all 40 membrane module samples. The leak test is performed by first filling the entire membrane module shown in FIG. 1 with water, sealing one nozzle 20 and two nozzles 21 and pressurizing with 0.5 MPa water from the remaining nozzles 20. This was performed by confirming water leakage from the screw portion in which the body 10 and the lid 11 were screwed together.

  In the above embodiment, the lid body 11 is integrally formed by a single member. However, the lid body 11 may be formed by a plurality of members to disperse distortion and lifting due to internal pressure. For example, as shown in FIG. 4, a lid 11 is attached to the opening of the tubular body 10 and closes the opening, and a substantially cylinder that surrounds the outer periphery of the header 100 and fixes the header 100 to the tubular body 10. A fixed nut 101 may be provided. In such a case, the header 100 includes the first nozzle 20 in the center. A seal housing portion 71 is provided on the inner surface 52 of the header 100, and a seal ring 80 is provided between the inner surface 52 of the header 100 and the end surface 10 a of the tubular body 10. On the inner surface of the fixing nut 101, a screw portion 60 that is screwed with the screw portion 40 of the cylindrical body 10 is formed. In such a case, distortion and lifting of the header 100 are suppressed by the fixing nut 101, and the sealing performance between the tubular body 10 and the lid body 11 is further improved.

  In the seal ring 80 described in the above embodiment, the outer peripheral surface 90 on the side opposite to the U-shaped opening has an arc shape, but the outer peripheral surface 90 on the side opposite to the U-shaped opening has a corner 110 as shown in FIG. And the corner 110 may be a right angle.

  The preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above with reference to the accompanying drawings, but the present invention is not limited to such examples. It is obvious for those skilled in the art that various modifications or modifications can be conceived within the scope of the idea described in the claims, and these naturally belong to the technical scope of the present invention. It is understood.

  The membrane of the membrane module 1 in the above embodiment is the hollow fiber membrane A, but other separation membranes to which the present invention can be applied include a flat membrane type, a spiral type, a pleat type, and a tubular type. Can be used. In addition, the membrane module 1 in the above embodiment is not particularly limited in its use, but the present invention can be applied to medical fields such as blood purification therapy and plasma exchange therapy, water purification and water quality adjustment, for example. The present invention may also be applied to a membrane module that performs filtration processing such as virus removal in the water treatment field, plasma fractionation preparation, biopharmaceutical manufacturing process, and the like.

  The present invention is useful in maintaining the sealing performance between the cylindrical body and the lid body even when a high pressure is applied in the membrane module.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Membrane module 10 Tubular body 10a End surface 11 Lid 51 Second inner surface 80 Seal ring A Hollow fiber membrane P Center axis

Claims (5)

A membrane module having a cylindrical body in which one or both ends of the membrane is accommodated and a lid body that is fitted on the outer periphery of the opening of the cylindrical body and closes the opening,
The cylindrical body and the lid body are made of synthetic resin,
A seal ring having a U-shaped cross section is provided between the end face of the opening of the cylindrical body and the inner surface of the lid body,
The U-shaped opening of the seal ring is directed toward the central axis of the cylindrical body ;
The outer peripheral surface of the seal ring is connected to the arcuate portion that is located on the opposite side of the U-shaped opening and protrudes outward, and to the end of the U-shaped opening from the arcuate portion in the cross section. And has a flat surface extending linearly toward the U-shaped opening side when no load is applied,
A membrane module in which a convex portion protruding from the inner surface of the lid is formed in front of the U-shaped opening of the seal ring .   The membrane module according to claim 1, wherein a corner portion is formed at an end on the U-shaped opening side of an outer peripheral surface of the seal ring that is in contact with an inner surface of the lid and an end surface of the cylindrical body.   The membrane module according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the inner surface of the U-shaped opening of the seal ring has flat surfaces facing each other. The membrane module according to claim 1 , wherein a crushing rate of the seal ring is 10% to 33%. The membrane module according to claim 1 , wherein the seal ring has an inner diameter of 100 mm or more.

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