JPH01307408A - Hollow yarn filter module - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent a decrease in the water permeability per unit area of a membrane even when the number of the hollow yarns to be provided is increased by fixing a spacer having a strut vertical to a filtrate supply pipe to the pipe to prevent the dislocation of the non-fixed part of the hollow yarn. CONSTITUTION:The spacer 7 having 4 struts 8 almost vertical to the filtrate supply pipe 6 is fixed to the pipe in the hollow yarn filter module. Since the hollow yarns 3 in the module are divided into several bundles by a strut 8, the dislocation of the non-fixed part (effective filter membrane part) of the hollow yarn in the module is prevented. Consequently, water to be treated can be easily sent to the hollow yarn at the internal center of the module, and all the hollow yarns can be uniformly and efficiently used even when the number of hollow yarns is increased. In addition, even when the deposit is formed on the outer surface of the hollow yarn, all the hollow yarns are hardly fixed and integrated by the presence of the spacer 7, and the function can be easily restored by bubble cleaning, etc.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to a hollow fiber filtration module, and particularly to a large-sized hollow fiber filtration module in which a large number of hollow fibers are arranged.

(Conventional technology) Hollow fiber filtration membranes have excellent filtration functions, so they have traditionally been used in water purifiers, etc. for producing high-purity industrial water, drinking water, sterile water for medical use, etc. It's here.

Conventionally, most of the structures of filtration modules equipped with hollow fiber filtration membranes used in water purifiers include hollow fibers in a cylindrical body in a U-shape or in a filament shape with one end sealed. It had a structure in which the opening end was fixed to a fixing member made of polyurethane or the like while maintaining the frontage state.

The use of hollow fiber filtration modules to treat large amounts of water on an industrial scale has been addressed by increasing the number of hollow fibers or by increasing the length of the hollow fibers.

However, when the number of hollow fibers per unit area is increased,
Up to a certain point, the amount of water treated will increase in proportion to the number of installed hollow fibers, but if the installation density of hollow fibers becomes too high, the resistance to passage of the water to be treated to the center of the bundle of hollow fibers will increase.
It becomes impossible to increase the amount of water treated in proportion to the number of installed pipes. - On the other hand, even if the length of the hollow fiber is increased, the membrane area increases and the water treatment amount can be increased. In this case, the flow path resistance inside the hollow fiber becomes rate-determining.
It was not possible to increase the amount of water treated.

However, there are times when it is required to treat a large amount of water using a hollow fiber filtration module that is as compact as possible, and in such cases, the hollow fiber filtration module with the above structure cannot handle the problem. Ta.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems of the hollow fiber filtration module, the present applicant has provided a filtrate collecting chamber at one end of the module, and a mechanism for making the filtrate in this filtrate collecting chamber join the filtrate collected at the other end. A hollow fiber filtration module with a new structure equipped with a filtrate feeding pipe was proposed under patent application No. 59-100571.
No. 59-100572.

These hollow fiber filtration modules served the purpose of treating large amounts of water with a module that was as compact as possible.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

However, even in the above module, when increasing the number of hollow fibers to make the module larger, the water permeability becomes difficult to increase in proportion to the increased number of hollow fibers.
Furthermore, it has been found that when the filtration function of the hollow fiber deteriorates with use, the degree of functional recovery decreases even if a functional recovery treatment is performed. This tendency was more pronounced in the case of large-sized modules in which the number of hollow fibers in the module exceeded 10,000.

The object of the invention is to provide a module of the type mentioned above.
Even if the number of hollow fibers is increased, the water permeability per unit membrane area hardly decreases, and the filtration function recovery treatment for clogging of the filtration membrane can be effectively carried out using the same simple method as before. An object of the present invention is to provide a hollow fiber filtration module.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a hollow fiber filtration module that efficiently utilizes the entire hollow fiber filtration membrane, and as a result is compact, requires less installation area of the module, and has a sturdy structure.

[Means to solve the problem]

That is, the hollow fiber filtration module of the present invention includes two annular members, a large number of hollow fibers arranged substantially linearly between the annular members, and a plurality of hollow fibers that are fixed to the inner surface of the annular member and that connect both open ends of the hollow fibers. a fixing member that focuses and fixes the water while maintaining an open state; a partition member that forms a filtrate collecting chamber on one of two water collecting surfaces formed by the open end surface of the hollow fiber and the fixing member; In a hollow fiber filtration module in which a filtrate sending pipe for sending the filtrate collected in the filtrate collecting chamber to the other water collecting surface is disposed passing through the center of the fixing member, the hollow fiber In order to prevent uneven distribution of the installation position of the non-fixed part of the filtrate, a spacer having four or more pillars that are substantially perpendicular to the filtrate feed pipe is fixed to the filtrate feed pipe. Features.

[Preferred mode for carrying out the invention]

Hereinafter, the hollow fiber filtration module of the present invention will be explained in more detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing one embodiment of the hollow fiber filtration module of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 1, the hollow fiber filtration module of the present invention basically includes two annular members 1 and 1', a fixing member 2, a large number of hollow fibers 3, and a filtrate collection chamber 4. It is composed of a partition member 5, a filtrate feeding pipe 6, and a spacer 7. In addition to these, various members may be attached as desired.

The annular member 1 functions as a support member for supporting the entire hollow fiber filtration module when it is installed in a water purifier, and typically has a ring shape, but may have a cross section such as a rectangle. The module may have any shape, and the shape of its outer peripheral surface may take various shapes depending on the manner in which the module is installed in the water purifier. The other annular member l° functions as a base member for forming the filtrate collection chamber 5. The inner surface of the annular member l, 1° is filled and fixed with a fixing member 2 which functions as a partition member between the water to be treated and the purified water in order to fix the hollow fiber 3 and function as a filtration membrane. .

A large number of hollow fibers 3 are fixed to the fixing member 2 with their open ends kept open at the water collection surface. The fixing member 2 is generally formed by solidifying a liquid resin such as polyurethane, epoxy resin, unsaturated polyester resin, or silicone resin.

Note that the water collection surface as used in the present invention refers to a fixed member where a large number of open ends gather when the water to be treated permeates from the outside of the hollow fiber 3 to the hollow part and is discharged to the open end through the hollow part. Basically, there are two at each end of the module.

In the hollow fiber filtration module of the present invention, as shown in FIG. It is not placed in a fixed position, but rather with a certain amount of slack. That is, the arrangement position of the effective filtration membrane portion of the hollow fiber is not completely fixed within the module, but has a certain degree of freedom. The number of hollow fibers can be up to about 100,000.

Further, a partition member 5 is joined to one of the annular members 1°, and a filtrate collection chamber 4 for collecting filtrate is formed by this partition member 5 on the water collection surface. A filtrate feeding pipe 6 for feeding the filtrate collected in the filtrate collecting chamber 4 and joining it with the filtrate obtained at the other water collecting surface is fixed inside the two annular members 1.1'. The fixing members 2 are joined to each fixing member 2. The filtrate feeding pipe 6 also functions as a joining member that integrates the two hollow fiber membrane fixing parts to form a hollow fiber filtration module.

It is appropriate that the filtrate feeding tube 6 is fixedly disposed at the center of each fixing member as shown in FIG. 1, and usually has an inner diameter that is 10 times or more the inner diameter of the hollow fiber. It is appropriate that the

The hollow fiber filtration module of the present invention includes spacers 7 that serve to appropriately distribute and position the non-fixed portions (effective filtration membrane portions) of the hollow fibers within the module without making them unevenly distributed. is fixedly disposed on the filtrate feed pipe 6. FIG. 2 is an enlarged view showing an example of one aspect of the spacer, FIG. 2a is a plan view thereof, and FIG. 2b is a cross-sectional view taken along line A--A. This spacer 7 has a shape having at least four struts 8 that are substantially perpendicular to the filtrate feed tube 6. Usually, the struts 8 are fixed to a ring portion 9 fixed to the filtrate feed tube 6. The hollow fibers are divided into several bundles by these struts 8. The struts 8 may have any cross-sectional shape as long as they do not have sharp irregularities that could damage the hollow fibers, and may have various protrusions 10 or circular shapes that help prevent uneven distribution of the hollow fibers. ring! 1, etc., ie, the strut 8 does not have to be entirely perpendicular to the filtrate feed pipe.

FIGS. 3 to 5 are plan views showing other embodiments of such a spacer.

The number of columns arranged in the spacer 7 is usually 4 to 1.
There are about 6 pieces. Further, although a plurality of spacers 7 may be provided per module, the number is usually 1 to 5, preferably 1 to 3. If there is only one, it is appropriate to attach it to the center of the filtrate feed pipe 6.

When such a spacer 7 is provided in the hollow fiber filtration module of the present invention, the hollow fibers in the module are physically dispersed into several bundles by the supports of the spacer, so that the outer surface of the hollow fibers is Even when deposits adhere to the module, it is difficult for the entire hollow fiber to stick together.
The filtrate flows easily to the hollow fibers located in the vicinity of the filtrate feeding pipe, and as a result, all of the large number of hollow fibers arranged in the module can be used uniformly and efficiently.

In addition, if the hollow fiber filtration module becomes clogged due to use, generally air bubbles are supplied from below the module and the air bubbles are applied to the hollow fibers to vibrate the hollow fibers.
A cleaning method is used to remove deposits on the surface of the hollow fibers. However, as the number of hollow fibers increases, the hollow fibers become more likely to be fixed and integrated with each other via deposits attached to the hollow fiber surfaces. Furthermore, when this was stuck and integrated with the central filtrate sending pipe, it was difficult to restore the filtration function sufficiently by the above-mentioned function restoration treatment. However, when a spacer is provided, even if deposits adhere to the surface of the hollow fiber, the physical action of the spacer prevents the entire hollow fiber from becoming integrated, so even the above-mentioned functional recovery treatment method is not effective. , function can be restored relatively easily.

In the hollow fiber filtration module of the present invention, a support member 12 having rigidity for fixing the installation position of the filtrate feeding pipe 6 within the fixing member 2 is attached so as to be joined to the annular member 1, lo. 6a and 6b are a plan view and a cross-sectional view taken along the line B-B showing an example of an embodiment of the support member 4, in which the filtrate feeding pipe 6 and the annular members 1, 1'
At the same time, it has a gap 15 that allows the hollow fiber 3 to be placed in the fixing member. The joint portion 13 has a sufficient length t so as to perform the function of fixing the installation position of the filtrate feed pipe 6 and to prevent stress transmitted from the filtrate feed pipe 6 from being applied to the fixing member 2 as much as possible. The support member 4 preferably has a cylindrical shape.
It is appropriate to manufacture it from hard resin or metal. It is preferable that the support member 4 is disposed on both of the two fixing members, but even if it is disposed only in the annular member 1 on the side that does not have the filtrate collecting chamber 5, the support member 4 and the filtrate feeding pipe 6 Considerable effectiveness in preventing peeling is observed.

FIG. 7 shows an example in which three hollow fiber filtration modules according to another aspect of the present invention are connected in series.

As shown in this figure, the hollow fiber filtration module of the present invention can also be used as a module assembly with a length of several meters by connecting a plurality of them in series.

That is, in this example, the filtrate collection chamber 16 of the first module (the one on the left) and the second module (the one in the center)
Similarly, the filtrate collection chamber 17 of the second module and the water collection surface 19 of the third module (the one on the right) are connected. In each of these modules, except for the partition members 20 to 22, each module is basically of the same shape, and each of the partition members 20, 21 of the first and second modules is While it serves as a connecting member for connecting the modules, only the partition member 22 of the third module serves only the function of forming the original filtrate collecting chamber 23. Therefore, by configuring each partition member to be detachable, it is possible to configure a single module or a module assembly by changing only the shape of the partition member in completely identical modules. be.

In this example, in order to make each module bilaterally symmetrical and the same shape, the connecting member 24 for connecting this module assembly to the water purifier is connected to the annular member 2 of the first module.
It is detachably connected to 5. Further, although spacers are not shown in FIG. 7 for the sake of simplicity, each module is provided with one or more spacers as in the case of FIG. 1.

The annular member, filtrate piping, etc. that constitute the hollow fiber filtration module of the present invention can be made of any material as long as it has mechanical strength and durability, but does not emit harmful gases when incinerated. It is preferably made of a hydrocarbon resin that can be completely combusted without any heat, and polycarbonate, polystyrene, ABS resin, etc. are particularly preferred.

Various materials can be used as the hollow fibers 3 in the hollow fiber filtration module of the present invention, such as hollow fiber filtration membranes made of various materials such as cellulose, polyolefin, polysulfone, polyvinyl alcohol, and PMMA. Can be used. However, polyolefin porous hollow fiber membranes have excellent durability and excellent filtration performance. Among these, membranes that are suitable for filtering fine colloidal substances and that can withstand external forces applied during backwashing, which is usually used as a function recovery operation for clogging of filtration membranes, are particularly preferred. Examples of such hollow fiber membranes include polyethylene porous hollow fibers (polyethylene hollow fiber EHF, trade name, manufactured by Mitsubishi Rayon).

[Effects of the Invention] According to the hollow fiber filtration module of the present invention, the utilization efficiency of the hollow fibers in the module as a filtration membrane is high;
A modular unit with a simple structure is provided.

Further, even if the number of hollow fibers disposed in the module is increased, the filtration capacity can be increased in accordance with the increase in the number of hollow fibers by providing spacers, and the function recovery process can be easily performed. Furthermore, since the module is compactly constructed, it is possible to save the installation area, and from a structural perspective,
It is possible to provide a highly industrial water purifier that is economical in terms of assembly and processing.

[Example] Hereinafter, the present invention will be explained in more detail based on Examples.

Example 1 and Comparative Examples 1 to 2 A hollow fiber filtration module (Comparative Example 1) having the same structure as that shown in FIG.
), a larger version of this same shape (Comparative Example 2), and a larger version with a spacer attached. Three types of hollow fiber filtration modules were manufactured. Table 1 shows the dimensions of each part of each module. In addition, as a spacer, use 8 pillars with an outer diameter of 8 mm and a length of 60 mm.
One ring having the shape shown in FIG. 2 and arranged radially with respect to the present ring was attached to the center of the filtrate feeding pipe.

In addition, each module is equipped with polyethylene porous hollow fiber EH
F-410C (manufactured by Mitsubishi Rayon ■) was used as the hollow fiber.

Using these three types of modules, 80% by weight of amorphous iron
A simulated wastewater prepared by dispersing and dissolving a simulated cladding consisting of 20% by weight of Fe20S in ion-exchanged water to a concentration of 20ppm was prepared at an initial pressure difference of 0.6 at 870m2, and the load per membrane area of the hollow fiber was 8g/m''. The filtration process was performed so that the flow rate of the filtrate was kept constant until the temperature reached 100 nm, and the increased differential pressure at that time was determined.

Next, the filtration process using the simulated wastewater is stopped, and the secondary side (
A pressure of 87 cm was applied to the inside of the module from the purified water collection side) to cause the filtrate to flow backwards, and the operation of applying air bubbles to the hollow fibers from below the module was continued for 30 minutes, until the membrane surface of the hollow fibers The crud attached to the module was washed and removed.Then, using the same simulated wastewater again, the initial differential pressure was measured when the filtration process was started at the same filtrate flow rate, and the rate of increase with respect to the initial differential pressure of each new module was determined. .

These results are also shown in Table 1.

Table 1 Il: Measured after immersing in ethanol and replacing with pure water m'/
hr at O, 5 to 87cm”, 25℃

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing an embodiment of the hollow fiber filtration module of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is an enlarged view showing an embodiment of the spacer. FIG. 2a is a plan view thereof, and FIG. A-
It is a sectional view cut along the A line. 3 to 5 are plan views of various spacers attached to the hollow fiber filtration module of the present invention. FIG. 6 is an enlarged view showing an example of one aspect of the support member used in FIG. 1, and FIG. 6a is a plan view thereof;
FIG. 6b is a cross-sectional view taken along line B-B. FIG. 7 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a module assembly formed by connecting three hollow fiber filtration modules in series according to another embodiment of the present invention. 1.1', 25: Annular member 2: Fixed member 3: Hollow fiber 4.16.1? , 23: Filtrate collection chamber 5. 20-22: Partition member 6: Filtrate feed pipe 7: Spacer 8 = Support
9: Ring portion lO: Protrusion l Bicircular ring 12: Support member +3. +4: Joint part 15:
Gap 24: Connection member t: Length of joint Patent applicant Mitsubishi Rayon Co., Ltd.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1) two annular members, a large number of hollow fibers arranged substantially linearly between the annular members, and fixed to the inner surface of the annular members,
A filtrate collection chamber is formed on one of two water collection surfaces formed by a fixing member that collects and fixes both open ends of the hollow fibers while keeping them open, and the open end surface of the hollow fibers and the fixing member. A hollow fiber filtration comprising: a partition member for transporting the filtrate; and a filtrate transport pipe for transporting the filtrate collected in the filtrate collection chamber to the other water collection surface passing through the center of the fixing member. In the module, a spacer having four or more struts substantially perpendicular to the filtrate feed pipe is fixed to the filtrate feed pipe in order to prevent uneven distribution of the unfixed portion of the hollow fiber. A hollow fiber filtration module characterized by comprising: 2) The partition member is configured to be connectable to the annular member on the side of the hollow fiber filtration module according to claim 1 that does not have the filtrate collection chamber, and the filtrate collection chamber is connected to the another annular member of the hollow fiber filtration module according to claim 1. A hollow fiber filtration module formed by a water collection surface of the module. 3) A plurality of hollow fiber filtration modules according to claim 1,
A hollow fiber filtration module connected body connected in the state described in claim 2.