JPH0133191Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] This invention is a high-performance, compact, and easy-to-carry device that can easily perform precision filtration of water that may be contaminated with bacteria, water that contains pollutants such as colloids, or permanent water. Regarding type water purifiers.

It has long been pointed out that the quality of tap water has deteriorated.
Securing drinking water is a particularly serious issue in overseas travel destinations and disaster-stricken areas. Anyone who has traveled overseas has suffered from diarrheal symptoms more than once due to drinking water, and the causes can be broadly divided into bacteria and other microbial causes, and impurities such as water hardness. In the case of the former in particular, there is a risk of infection not only by pathogenic Escherichia coli but also by infectious diseases such as Shigella, Vibrio cholerae, and Salmonella typhi, and boiled water is not safe because of contamination in the container or handling. Moreover, when it comes to ice, there is an extremely high probability of bacterial contamination.

Furthermore, in recent years, tap water has been found to contain organic substances such as phthalate esters and various ions such as Ca and Mg.

Therefore, there is a high demand for the removal of bacteria from drinking water, and more preferably for the removal of dissolved impurities, even in Japan, and there is a particular need for overseas travelers and business travelers to maintain their health overseas. be.

Conventional water purifiers that use activated carbon are connected directly to a tap to adsorb and remove impurities and substances that cause unpleasant odors in tap water; water purifiers that soften hard water using ion-exchange resin-packed towers; Alternatively, there are known pure water production devices that purify water using reverse osmosis, etc., but those that use activated carbon absorb chlorine, a bactericidal component in tap water, and are used in purifiers that do not lose their bactericidal effect. This method has the disadvantage that bacteria and the like proliferate and contaminate the water that is supposed to be purified.

Ion exchange resins only remove ions from water, but cannot remove bacteria and nonionic impurities, and as mentioned above, there is a risk that bacteria and the like will proliferate within the purification device.

Furthermore, purifying water with an activated carbon purifier or an ion exchange resin packed tower requires tap water pressure or a pump, and purified water cannot be obtained anywhere. Furthermore, the reverse osmosis method requires large equipment and high pressure generating means, and purified water cannot be easily obtained.

Under these circumstances, the inventors of the present invention previously proposed a combination of a pressurized container having a bellows structure and a precision filter connected to its outlet as a simple water purifier (Utility Application No. 113582/1982). However, although this is suitable for obtaining one or two cups of purified water at a time,
If you try to increase the capacity so that you can obtain more water at once, for example, if you use a normal bellows-type presser made of plastic or the like and fill the presser with water, the presser will deform due to the water pressure. It has been found that the preferred capacity does not work satisfactorily.

Furthermore, the various simple water purifiers that have been proposed in the past are devices that have the purpose of purifying water in lakes, swamps, ponds, and rivers where bacteria are breeding during emergencies such as earthquakes and other disasters. However, the current situation is that no consideration is given to the risk of river water spilling from the mouth of the container and contaminating the purified water outlet, which should be clean, when filling the container with water.

Furthermore, conventional water purifier modules using porous hollow fiber membranes are formed only from hydrophilic membranes, and if gas gets mixed in, the mixed gas will not easily pass through at normal pressures such as 1 kg/ ^cm2 . Instead, gas accumulates on the membrane surface, which impedes water permeation and reduces the overall filtration efficiency of the membrane.

In partial filtration type membrane modules, mixed gas may exit the system along with the unfiltered liquid, but in total filtration type membrane modules, gas mixed in the module cannot exit the system, and a large amount of gas If this happens, the water can become almost impossible to filter, and it has been difficult to find countermeasures.

As a countermeasure to this, deaerate the liquid in advance to prevent gas from entering the liquid. The liquid in the filter is made to flow from top to bottom so that mixed gas does not accumulate at the top and interfere with the filtration of the liquid.
It is possible to remove the mixed gas from the system by installing a gas reservoir and a gas removal pot on the upper inlet side, but the method of degassing the gas in the liquid in advance requires a large tank or a vacuum. The method that requires a pump or the like and stores the mixed gas upward has the disadvantage that the filtration efficiency decreases when a large amount of gas is mixed. The method of installing a gas reservoir and a gas removal pot is that if the gas reservoir is made large, the capacity of the module will be large compared to the amount of liquid to be processed, and the dead space will also become large. It is difficult to apply it to a simple water purifier because it requires the frequent labor of having to remove the water.

Therefore, the inventors of the present invention have conducted studies with the aim of providing a simple water purifier that eliminates the above-mentioned drawbacks, and have arrived at the present invention.

That is, the present invention includes a container 1 having an opening at the top,
It consists of a lid 3 that can seal the opening of the container, and a purifier 2 that is removably connected to the inside of the container. The purifier 2 is attached to the inside of the container so as to be able to communicate with the inside, and the purifier 2 has an opening formed inside the porous hollow fiber membrane having a hydrophobic portion 12 on at least a part of the membrane surface and a hydrophilic porous hollow fiber membrane 11. It consists of a U-shaped tube with one end kept open and fixed with a potting material, or a tube with a bundle of porous hollow fibers sealed at the other end, so that the purifier 2 can be removed from the container 1. This is a simple water purifier.

The simple water purifier of this invention has a container size of 300ml or more.
A capacitor having a capacity of about 5 is preferably used. The container housing is preferably rigid since the inside thereof is slightly pressurized, and is preferably corrosion resistant. Plastics such as polycarbonate, polystyrene, AS resin, ABS resin, MMA resin, or materials made of corrosion-resistant metal are preferably used.

As the porous hollow fiber membrane having a hydrophobic portion on at least a portion of the membrane surface used in the present invention, polyolefin-based, fluorocarbon-based, polyester-based, EVA-based, polyamide-based, etc. can be used. Hydrophilic porous hollow fiber membranes include cellulose-based, PVA-based, or hydrophobic porous hollow fiber membranes described above that have been temporarily made hydrophilic with alcohols, surfactants, etc., or those that have hydrophilic monomers grafted onto the surface. Various hydrophilic porous hollow fiber membranes can be used, such as those made permanently or semi-permanently hydrophilic by coating with a hydrophilic polymer. Furthermore, it is preferable that the porous hollow fiber membrane can also block pyrogen. When a polyolefin-based porous hollow fiber membrane is used, organic substances such as phthalate esters can be removed. As a method for forming a porous hollow fiber bundle consisting of a porous hollow fiber membrane having a hydrophobic portion on at least a part of the membrane surface and a hydrophilic porous hollow fiber membrane, the above-mentioned hydrophobic porous hollow fiber membrane can be used. and a hydrophilic porous hollow fiber membrane may be bundled together. For example, after the hydrophobic porous hollow fiber membranes, which have been made entirely hydrophilic in advance, are bundled and housed inside a housing to form a module, the hollow A portion of the yarn bundle may be made hydrophobic again. The distribution state of the hydrophobic parts within the porous hollow fiber bundle may be uniform, or the hydrophobic parts may be island-like or striped. It is more preferable that it is arranged at least in part. This is because in a hollow fiber module, the density of the hollow fiber bundle is normally higher at the center than at the outer periphery, and gas tends to accumulate between the outer periphery of the hollow fiber bundle and the outer cylinder, so the hydrophobic portion is located around the outer periphery of the hollow fiber bundle. This is because it is easier for gas to escape if it is located in the lower part. Further, the hydrophobic portion may be located either above or below, but since gas has a lower specific gravity than liquid, it is preferable that the hydrophobic portion be located at the top when assembled into a module. Therefore, when a method is adopted in which a hydrophobic hollow fiber membrane is made hydrophilic and then partially restored to hydrophobicity, it is preferable to hydrophobize only the focusing and fixing portion and the vicinity of the focusing and fixing portion.

For example, a method for partially hydrophobicizing a hydrophobic hollow fiber membrane is to place a module using a porous hollow fiber membrane with the focused and fixed part facing upward, and then use gravity to release water from inside the module. Drain the water by allowing it to fall naturally, then place the module so that the focusing and fixing part faces up, add alcohol, for example, to the extent that the entire porous hollow fiber membrane is sufficiently wet, and then add 1 kg/cm of alcohol to the upper side. You can use a method of blowing compressed air at a pressure of about ² . The alcohol then enters the porous hollow fiber membrane,
It mixes with the water in the membrane and exits the system through the porous hollow fiber membrane, causing air to enter the membrane and dry and hydrophobize that part of the membrane. The alcohol is made hydrophobic through the hollow fiber membrane from the point of least resistance, that is, near the focusing and fixing part, and at the same time, the focusing and fixing part is also made hydrophobic. The ratio of the hydrophobic portion to the total membrane area can be adjusted by pressurizing air, time for permeation, etc.

Furthermore, a hydrophobic portion 1 is provided on at least a portion of the membrane surface.
As a method of disposing a porous hollow fiber membrane having 2 only on at least a part of the outer periphery of the hollow fiber bundle, a hydrophobic porous hollow fiber membrane may be disposed around a hydrophilic hollow fiber bundle, and At the time of partial hydrophobization, the hollow fiber bundle may be made relatively dense and only the peripheral portion may be hydrophobized. The ratio of the hydrophobic portion to the entire hollow fiber membrane depends on the viscosity of the aqueous liquid to be treated and the amount of gas present in the liquid, but is preferably 0.2 to 10%. Even if it is 10% or more, the gas removal effect will not increase much, and in fact, the hydrophilic membrane portion that filters the aqueous liquid will decrease accordingly, which is not preferable. If it is less than 0.2%, it is not preferable because the gas removal effect is not sufficient.

The area of the porous hollow fibers as a membrane is preferably about 0.1 to 1 m ² .

Any pressurizing device can be used as long as it can easily manually pressurize the inside of the container, but it is used in blood pressure measuring devices. So-called rubber balls are preferably used because they have a check valve and a pressure release mechanism, are easy to pressurize and release, and are easily available in large quantities. The pressure relief mechanism is a mechanism that can be operated when pressure is needed to relieve the pressure inside the container and return it to the same pressure as the outside pressure.

The present invention will be described in more detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 shows one embodiment of the simple water purifier of the present invention, and FIG. 2 shows another embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing one embodiment of the lid, pressurizing device, and purified water outlet of the simple water purifier of the present invention.

Figures 4 and 5 show modules according to embodiments of the present invention; Figure 4 shows a U-shaped porous hollow fiber bundle, and Figure 5 shows a module housing a porous hollow fiber bundle with the other end closed. It is. In the figures, A and C are plan views, and B and D are longitudinal cross-sectional views, with some parts missing.

In the figure, 1 is a container, 2 is a purifier, and 3 is a container 1
, 4 is a pressurizing device, 5 is a porous hollow fiber membrane, 6 is activated carbon and/or ion exchange resin, 7 is a porous hollow fiber support and fixing part, 8 is a purified water outlet pipe, 9
10 is a pressure relief mechanism, 10 is a check valve, 11 is a hydrophilic porous hollow fiber membrane, and 12 is a hydrophobic portion of the porous hollow fiber membrane. In Figures 4 and 5, hydrophobic portion 1
2 is painted black, but this does not indicate that it is blocked or colored, but is simply to distinguish it from the hydrophilic membrane portion.

Figure 1 shows an example in which the purifier 2 has a container 1 protruding outside, and in this case, a side pipe 14 is attached to the lower side of the container 1.
The end thereof is removably connected to the lower inlet of the purifier 2.

It is preferable that the side pipe 14 has an opening/closing mechanism or a valve that opens only when the purifier 2 is installed, so that the water in the container does not leak when the purifier 2 is removed.

The opening provided at the top of the container 1 should be wide-mouthed so that in case of an emergency, water can be pumped from rivers, ponds, lakes and marshes into a suitable container, or a container can be poured in to create cooling water for making water-split whiskey, etc. is preferred.

The lid 3 is capable of sealing this opening, and the lid 3 has a hole, and a pressurizing device 4 is inserted into the hole airtight.
is attached.

FIG. 2 shows an example in which the purifier 2 is housed within the container 1.

The position of the side pipe 14 in FIG. 1 and the position of the lower inlet of the purifier in FIG. 2 are preferably close to the bottom of the container in order to make effective use of the water in the container when the water to be purified is clean.

However, if the water contains dirt or sedimentary suspended matter, such as water from a pond or river, there is a risk that these will accumulate at the bottom of the container and clog the side pipe or lower inlet of the purifier, so keep the water 5 mm to 2 cm away from the bottom of the container. Preferably.

Although it is possible to prepare types with different heights from the bottom of the container 1 for each purpose, it is preferable to use one water purifier so that the height from the bottom can be changed according to the water quality. . For example, in the case of FIG. 1, a method can be adopted in which a plurality of side pipes having different heights from the bottom are provided and the purifier 2 is connected to the side pipes at an appropriate height depending on the water quality. In the example shown in FIG. 2, for example, the periphery of the insertion hole of the lid 3 for inserting and supporting the purifier is made of an elastic material such as rubber, and the frictional resistance between the rubber and the tube of the purifier 2 allows the purifier 2 to be moved freely. It can be fixed in position and maintain airtightness even when pressurized during water purification.Furthermore, a screw thread is provided at a predetermined part on the outside of the purifier cylinder to fit the purifier insertion hole in the lid 3. The position from the bottom may be set arbitrarily by cutting the screw and adjusting the screw-in level.

The purifier 2 consists of a porous hollow fiber membrane having a hydrophobic portion 12 on at least a part of the membrane surface inside, and a hydrophilic porous hollow fiber membrane 11. It consists of a U-shaped tube that is bundled and fixed with a potting material such as urethane, or a tube that has a porous hollow fiber bundle whose other end is sealed.

When water flows into the purifier 2 from the bottom to the top, the mixed gas moves upward through the gap between the hollow fiber bundle and the outer cylinder, which has a relatively large gap, rather than between the hollow fibers, which have a small gap. During this time, the water passes through the membrane through the hydrophobic portion 12 and is discharged to the outside of the purifier 2. The gas that has reached the top of the purifier 2 also passes through the membrane at the hydrophobic portion 12 around it and is discharged to the outside of the purifier 2.

A pre-filter may be provided at the side pipe inlet in FIG. 1 and at the lower inlet of the purifier in FIG. 2 to prevent dirt and the like from entering the purifier.

Furthermore, in the example shown in FIG. 1, the prefilter may be a bag of approximately the same size as the internal volume of the container, which is in close contact with the inner wall surface of the container at the container lid, and in the example shown in FIG. It may also be a bag that encloses at least a portion of the purifier including the purifier.

Typically, once a hydrophilic porous hollow fiber membrane dries, the pore shape changes and water permeability often decreases.
Furthermore, hydrophobic porous hollow fiber membranes such as polyolefins made hydrophilic with alcohol or the like return to hydrophobicity upon drying, and may become impermeable to water under some pressure.

Therefore, in order to prevent water from leaking out and drying the porous hollow fiber membrane when the purifier 2 is removed, a check valve is preferably provided at the lower inlet of the purifier.

The simple water purifier of the present invention can remove bacteria, etc. by simply allowing water to pass through a bundle of porous hollow fiber membranes 5 provided in the purifier 2, but in order to improve odor, taste, etc., activated carbon and/or The ion exchange resin 6 may be placed inside the purifier 2. Activated carbon and ion exchange resin may be put in a partition with a filter etc. in the part of the purifier 2 cylinders where there is no porous hollow fiber membrane 5, but activated carbon and ion exchange resin may be placed in cloth bags or in purifier 2 respectively. It may be placed in a cylinder that has an outer diameter that is the same as or smaller than the inner diameter of the cylinder, has upper and lower surfaces that freely allow water to pass through, and has many micropores that do not allow most of the activated carbon or ion exchange resin to pass through.

As the ion exchange resin used, it is preferable to use at least a cation exchange resin in order to remove metal ions. Furthermore, activated carbon whose surface is coated with an antibacterial or bactericidal substance such as silver chloride is preferably used in order to suppress the proliferation of bacteria within the purifier. Activated carbon and ion exchange resin are not limited to granular forms, but may be, for example, fibrous forms.

The purified water outlet pipe 8 at the upper part of the purifier 2 preferably has a tip facing sideways or downwards. Further, it is preferable that the end of the purified water outlet pipe 8 and the pressurizing device 4 are removable for convenience when carrying.

The lower part of the purifier 2 can be made removable so that activated carbon and/or ion exchange resin, if used, can be replaced and the hollow fiber membrane can be cleaned.

As shown in FIG. 3, the end of the purified water outlet pipe 8 and the pressurizing device 4 can also be taken out from the side of the lid 3.

In the water purifier of the present invention, water to be purified is poured into the container from the opening of the container 1, the lid 3 is closed, the purifier 2 is attached, and the pressure device 4 is repeatedly compressed to heat the inside of the container 1 to the required degree. When pressed, the water is preferably prefiltered to remove large debris, sand, etc.
Clean water passes through the lower inlet 13 of the purifier 2, with odor and taste components preferably adsorbed by activated carbon or ion exchange resin, and from which contaminants such as bacteria and colloids, and more preferably pyrogene, are removed by porous hollow fibers. It can be used for drinking, cooking, etc.

As mentioned above, the present invention removes bacteria, pyrogen, etc., easily obtains purified water without unpleasant odors, tastes, etc., and can be easily carried when traveling overseas or evacuating in the event of a disaster. Water that is not suitable for drinking, such as lake water, pond water, or water that has been stored for a long time, can be easily made drinkable.Also, even if air gets into the purifier, the air can be purified through the hydrophobic part of the membrane. Because the water exits outside the vessel, there is no reduction in filtration efficiency, and the operation is simple, making it a particularly effective water purifier in practice.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 shows one embodiment of the simple water purifier of the present invention, and FIG. 2 shows another embodiment. FIG. 3 is a view showing one embodiment of the lid, pressurizing device, and purified water outlet of the simple water purifier of the present invention. Figures 4 and 5 are examples of purifiers used in the present invention, with Figure 4 showing a U-shaped hollow fiber bundle, and Figure 5 showing a module housing a hollow fiber bundle with the other end closed. . A and C in the diagram
is a plan view, and B and D are longitudinal cross-sectional views with some parts missing. 1: Container, 2: Purifier, 3: Lid for opening of container 1, 4: Pressurizing device, 5: Porous hollow fiber membrane, 6: Activated carbon and/or ion exchange resin, 7: Porous hollow fiber support Fixed part, 8: Purified water outlet pipe, 9: Pressure release mechanism, 10: Check valve, 11: Hydrophilic porous hollow fiber membrane, 12: Hydrophobic portion of the porous hollow fiber membrane.

Claims (1)

[Claims for Utility Model Registration] 1. Consisting of a container 1 having an opening at the top, a lid 3 capable of sealing the opening of the container, and a purifier 2 detachably connected to the inside of the container, Lid 3
A pressurizing device 4 with a check valve and a pressure release mechanism is attached to the container so as to be able to communicate with the inside of the container, and the purifier 2 is equipped with a porous hollow fiber having a hydrophobic portion 12 on at least a part of the membrane surface inside. It has a U-shaped porous hollow fiber bundle consisting of a membrane and a hydrophilic porous hollow fiber membrane 11, the end of which is bundled and fixed with a potting material while keeping the open end open, or the other end is sealed. This simple water purifier consists of a cylinder and a purifier 2 is removable from a container 1. 2. A porous hollow fiber membrane having a hydrophobic portion 12 on at least a portion of the membrane surface is disposed on at least a portion of the outer periphery of the hollow fiber bundle, and the center portion of the hollow fiber bundle is substantially made of hydrophilic porous hollow fibers. A simple water purifier according to claim 1, characterized in that it consists of only a membrane. 3 The membrane area of the hydrophobic portion 12 is the total membrane area.
2. A simple water purifier according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the concentration is 0.2 to 10%. 4. Utility model registration claim 1, wherein the porous hollow fiber membrane having a hydrophobic portion 12 on a part of the membrane surface is hydrophobic only in the focusing fixing portion and the vicinity of the focusing fixing portion, The simple water purifier according to item 2 or 3. 5. The simple water purifier according to claim 1 or 2 of the utility model registration claim, characterized in that the purifier 2 further contains activated carbon and/or ion exchange resin. 6. The simple water purifier according to claim 1, 2, or 5, characterized in that a check valve is provided at the lower inlet of the purifier 2.