JPH0576593U - Liquid purification cartridge - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [PROBLEMS] The present invention provides a liquid purification apparatus in which a liquid always passes through three components in the order of a filtration element, a liquid purification section, and a filtration element, and has a shorter overall length and a reduced volume of the apparatus. It is an object of the present invention to provide a liquid purification cartridge having a structure that is space-saving and that can be obtained. [Constitution] In the liquid purification cartridge of the present invention, a second filter element using a porous filter medium is installed inside a first filter element using a porous filter medium, and A liquid purification unit is installed so as to be sandwiched between the second filtration elements, the first filtration element, the liquid purification unit, the second filtration element in this order or the second filtration element, A liquid flow path is configured so that the liquid flows in the order of the liquid purification unit and the first filter element.

Description

[Detailed description of the device]

[0001]

[Industrial applications]

 The present invention relates to a liquid purification cartridge comprising a filter element using a porous filter medium for removing suspended substances such as fine particles in various liquids, and a liquid purification unit for removing various dissolved substances in liquids. In particular, the present invention relates to a liquid purification cartridge which can be preferably used for purifying drinking water such as tap water using a hollow fiber filtration membrane as a porous filtration material.

[0002]

[Prior Art]

 2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a filtration separation method using a porous filtration material has been widely used to remove fine particles contained in a liquid and suspended substances such as microorganisms. In particular, microfiltration using a filtration membrane has come to be widely applied to various uses because excellent filtration membranes have been produced due to the progress of polymer chemistry in recent years.

Among the filtration membranes, the hollow fiber filtration membrane has a macaroni-like shape different from that of a flat plate-shaped filtration membrane, and since the filtration membrane itself has a shape that supports its own structure, It does not require a complicated membrane support and can simplify the structure of the filter element, and has the freedom to easily configure various shaped elements. Further, it has excellent characteristics such that the filtration area per unit volume of the filtration element can be increased as compared with the case of using a flat plate-shaped filtration membrane.

As seen in the increase in pollution of tap water sources due to the progress of urbanization in recent years, the generation of offensive odors and offensive odors and the generation of chlorine compounds such as trihalomethane due to chlorination, the water quality of waterways has been remarkably reduced in recent years. It's becoming a problem. In addition, if pollution of the elevated tank storage is added due to the increase in the number of apartments, it must be said that there is a very serious problem for the water quality and safety of the water supply. Due to the increasing pollution of tap water, households, etc. have installed a cleaning device individually at the tap to improve the quality of tap water as drinking water. Suspended substances such as chlorine, chlorine and trihalomethane and dissolved substances are being removed. These purifiers have various structures, but those equipped with a porous filter medium and a liquid purifier that removes dissolved substances in water, such as activated carbon, ceramics, and various natural minerals in the hollow fiber filter membrane described above. A combination of various purifying materials such as ion exchange resin and so on is widely used.

[0005]

[Problems to be solved by the device]

 Purification devices using hollow fiber filtration membranes that are currently on the market place a hollow fiber filtration membrane after a purification material that removes chlorine and dissolved substances. This arrangement not only prevents the removal of fine particles in tap water and the outflow of the purification material itself, but also prevents the outflow of microorganisms that are likely to grow in the purification material portion where chlorine etc. are removed. To do so.

However, such an arrangement can prevent the outflow of microorganisms themselves, but cannot prevent the outflow of microorganism-derived eluates, odors, and the like. In addition, the performance of the purification material deteriorates rapidly due to the growth of microorganisms attached to the surface of the purification material in the purification material portion and the adhesion and accumulation of fine particles and colloidal substances contained in tap water on the purification material. There is a problem such as.

As a means for solving such a problem, the present inventors have found that it is effective to install a mechanism for preventing invasion of microorganisms before and after a liquid purification section using a purification material. Thus, a filtration device as shown in Japanese Patent Application No. 60-228410 was obtained. As a mechanism to prevent invasion in this device, it is extremely effective to use a filter element having micropores through which microorganisms cannot pass, particularly a filter element using a hollow fiber filter membrane, in that a smaller purification device can be configured. Met.

However, a filter element using a hollow fiber filtration membrane is generally formed in a column shape elongated in the length direction of the hollow fiber filtration membrane. This is because the filter element using the hollow fiber filtration membrane is configured by adhering and fixing the end of the hollow fiber filtration membrane with resin or the like so as to have the opening of the hollow fiber filtration membrane, so that the effective membrane area is the same. In order to obtain a hollow fiber filtration membrane, it is inevitable to increase the number of hollow fibers in order to produce a hollow fiber filtration membrane that is short in the length direction. This is because the ratio of the length of the resin fixing part becomes large and the waste becomes large. In order to effectively use the hollow fiber filtration membrane, it is necessary to set up a structure that uses the hollow fiber filtration membrane for a long time.

Therefore, in order to effectively use the hollow fiber filtration membrane, a filtration element having a long structure is produced, and by using this method, the filtration elements and the liquid purification section are simply overlapped with each other. If a purification device with a structure in which filtration elements are installed in front and back is set, the total length of the device becomes long, and there is a problem that the installation location is limited. For example, there was a problem that they would not enter even if they tried to install it under the sink or on the shelf in front of the sink.

The present invention solves the above problems and uses a porous filter medium, in particular, a hollow fiber filter membrane, to obtain a liquid purification device having a shorter overall length and a reduced volume of the device. The purpose is to provide a cartridge.

[0011]

[Means for Solving Problems]

 As described above, the structure of the liquid purifying cartridge in which the liquid always passes through the three constituent elements in the order of the filtering element, the liquid purifying section, and the filtering element, and the overall height is low and the space is not wasted Have been able to complete the present invention through various trial manufactures and studies. That is, the liquid purification cartridge of the present invention has a structure in which the second filtration element using the porous filtration material is installed inside the first filtration element using the porous filtration material. When the cross section of the first filtration element and the second filtration element is seen, the liquid purification section is sandwiched between the first filtration element and the second filtration element, and the first filtration element, the liquid purification section, and The liquid flow path is configured so that the liquid flows in the order of the second filter element, or in the order of the second filter element, the liquid purifying unit, and the first filter element. By doing so, the height of the cartridge for liquid purification can be reduced by installing filtering elements before and after the liquid purification unit to prevent deterioration of purification performance due to microbial contamination of the liquid purification unit and accumulation of fine particles. In addition, it is possible to obtain a smaller cartridge with a small total volume.

[0012]

[Action]

 Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing an example of a liquid purification cartridge of the present invention, in which a filtration element using a hollow fiber filtration membrane and granular activated carbon are used in a liquid purification section. The first filter element 1 is formed by arranging hollow fiber filtration membranes 4a in an annular shape and fixing the ends thereof with a fixing member 5a so that the whole shape is cylindrical. The fixing member 5a is liquid-tightly fixed to the tubular structure 2 provided outside the first filtering element 1 and the partition structure 3a provided inside. The fixing member 5a is provided with the opening of the hollow fiber filtration membrane 4a, and the filtrate outflow portion 6a of the first filtration element 1 is formed. A second filtration element 7 using a hollow fiber filtration membrane 4b is installed inside the first filtration element 1.

The end of the hollow fiber filtration membrane 4b of the second filtration element 7 is fixed by a fixing member 5b, the opening of the hollow fiber filtration membrane 4b is formed in the fixing member 5b, A filtrate outflow portion 6b is formed. A partition structure 3b is installed outside the second filtering element 7, and a fixing member 5b is fixed in a liquid-tight manner inside the partition structure 3b. A liquid purification unit 9 filled with activated carbon 8 is formed between the partition structure 3a and the partition structure 3b.

A cap body 10a is installed on the filtrate outflow side of each filter element, and the cap body 10a is liquid-tightly connected to the cylindrical structure 2 and the partition structure 3b. A communication flow passage 11a that communicates between the filtrate outflow portion 6a of 1 and the liquid purification portion 9 and a liquid flow passage 12 that communicates from the filtrate outflow portion 6b of the second filtration element 7 to the outside of the liquid purification cartridge are formed. There is. Further, a cap body 10b is liquid-tightly connected to the partition structure 3a, and a communication channel 11b is formed which connects the liquid purification section 9 and the second filtration element 7.

The undiluted solution 15 is filtered from the outside of the hollow fiber filtration membrane 4a of the first filtering element 1 and flows out from the filtrate outflow portion 6a as a primary filtrate 16 from which fine particles and the like have been removed. Next, the primary filtrate 16 is introduced into the liquid purification section 9 through the communication channel 11a, and while flowing there, various components dissolved by the activated carbon 8 are removed. Then, it passes through the communication channel 11b, is introduced into the second filtration element 7, exits from the filtrate outflow portion 6b, passes through the liquid channel 12, and flows out from the purified solution outlet 17 as the final purified solution 18.

It is also possible to set the outflow direction of the final purification liquid 13 with respect to the stock solution 10 to be opposite. In FIG. 2, a portion corresponding to the partition wall structure 3b shown in FIG. 1 has a double structure, and this portion is configured as a communication passage 20 up to the second filtration element 7. The second filtering element 7 is liquid-tightly fixed inside the partition structure 3c via the fixing member 5b. A flange-shaped protruding portion 21 is formed on the partition wall structure 3c, and the partition wall structure 3a is liquid-tightly connected via the protruding portion 21. A partition structure 3d is installed between the partition structure 3a and the partition structure 3c. The activated carbon 8 is filled between the partition structure 3d and the partition structure 3a to form a liquid purification section 9. A cap body 10c is installed on the filtrate outflow side of the first filtration element 1. The cap body 10c is liquid-tightly connected to the cylindrical structure 2 and the partition structure 3d, and the communication channel 11c is Has been formed. The partition structure 3d and the partition structure 3c function as a communication channel 20. On the filtrate outlet side of the second filter element 7, a cap body 10d is liquid-tightly connected and a liquid flow path 12 communicating with the outside of the cartridge is formed.

After the introduced undiluted solution 15 is filtered by the first filtration element 1, the obtained primary filtrate 16 passes through the communication channel 11c and the liquid purification section 9, and then is provided on the partition structure 3d. After passing through the slit portion 22, the purified liquid 23 is introduced into the communication channel 20. The purified liquid 23 that has passed through the communication passage 20 is filtered by the second filter element 7, passes through the liquid passage 12 as the final purified liquid 18, and flows out to the outside.

Further, in the above example, the activated carbon 8 is filled between the partition structure 3a and the partition structure 3d to form the liquid purification unit 9, but the activated carbon 8 is filled between the partition structure 3c and the partition structure 3d. The same effect can be obtained even if the liquid purification section is used as the liquid purification section and a communication flow path is provided between the partition structure 3a and the partition structure 3d.

As described above, in the present invention, one filter element, the liquid purification section, and the other filter element are arranged substantially in series with respect to the flow of liquid, but the actual structures are different from each other. Are configured in parallel. Furthermore, instead of the usual conceivable configuration in which each filter element and the liquid purification section are individually arranged and connected with each other by a flow path, the inside of the first filter element is connected as described above. The child-like structure is adopted. By doing so, the hollow fiber filtration membrane length of the filtration element can be set long, the membrane can be effectively used, and the height of the entire liquid purification cartridge can be reduced. Furthermore, since there is no wasted space in the structure, the total volume can be reduced.

It is desirable that the filtrate outflow portion of each filter element is installed facing the downstream side with respect to the liquid flow. This is because if the filtrate outflow portion is on the upstream side, accumulation of fine particles or the like will block the opening portion of the hollow fiber filtration membrane provided there, increasing the risk that the membrane will not be used effectively.

1 and 2, the liquid flows in the order of the first filter element 1, the liquid purifying unit 9, and the second filter element 7, but the reverse structure is also possible. That is, a stock solution inlet is provided on the side of the second filter element so that the liquid flows in the order of the second filter element, the liquid purification section, and the first filter element. In this case as well, it is desirable that the filtrate outflow portion is installed facing the downstream side with respect to the flow of liquid.

The first filtering element 1 is integrally formed between the cylindrical structure 2 and the partition structure 3a so as to have a substantially cylindrical shape. A large number of filter elements having a columnar shape as described above are prepared in advance, and a plurality of the filter elements are annularly arranged between the cylindrical structure 2 and the partition wall structure 3a to be liquid-tightly fixed. It is also possible to exert its function. In this case, the area as the first filter element can be easily changed by changing the number of the filter elements, and it becomes easy to manufacture the liquid purification cartridge corresponding to the usage situation.

It should be noted that it is necessary to configure the fixing members of the first and second filtration elements so that they are in the same direction as shown in FIG. 1, and especially that the filtrate outflow portion is on the same plane. It is possible to fabricate a fixing member for the end of the hollow fiber filtration membrane of the child, fix each filter element to a cylindrical structure or each partition wall structure, and simultaneously form the filtrate outflow portion. Therefore, it is more preferable. The end of the hollow fiber filtration membrane is usually fixed by filling a fixing member such as a resin between the hollow fiber filtration membranes and solidifying it, but in order to realize a dense filling without liquid leakage, When filling the fixed member, centrifugal filling operation using centrifugal force by rotation is performed. This is because a predetermined time is required for this operation, and reducing the number of times of this filling operation is extremely advantageous in improving the efficiency of manufacturing the liquid purification cartridge.

The partition structure can be used in any shape as long as it is configured to obtain the function of the liquid purification cartridge described above, but basically, the shape of the first filter element 1 is used. It is desirable to have a cylindrical shape that matches the above. As the cylindrical structure of this partition structure, various cylindrical structures such as an elliptical shape and a polygonal cross-sectional shape can be used, including a cylindrical shape. It is desirable that the center of each partition structure is substantially the same when the cross section of the purification cartridge is viewed. By doing so, the flow of liquid becomes uniform and efficient purification can be carried out. When the centers are different, there is a high possibility that a non-uniform portion will occur in the fluid flow, and in particular, the liquid flow in the liquid purification section 9 will become uneven and the purification effect will be reduced.

Forming a fixing member at the end of various porous filter media including the hollow fiber filtration membrane, and fixing the filter element via this fixing member means connecting the shapes of the formed fixing members. It is possible to implement a shape that is suitable for the part to be fixed (in this case, the cylindrical structure or the wall shape of each partition structure), without being much affected by the type and shape of the porous filter material used. It is preferable in that the shape of the filter element can be freely set.

The size of the fine pores of the porous filter medium used in the present invention more reliably and effectively embodies the purpose of preventing microbial contamination of the purification device for purifying drinking water such as tap water. In particular, it is preferable that the substantial pore size is 0.45 μm or less, which is considered to prevent the passage of general microorganisms. However, when applied to the filtration of liquids that do not cause problems related to microbial contamination, for example, when fine particles or impurities in a solution such as alcohol are removed by filtration and adsorption, the desired fine particles to be removed A micropore having a size corresponding to the size can be appropriately used.

As the liquid purifying section, those having various principles and functions can be used depending on the purifying purpose, but in particular, a purifying material having adsorption and decomposition functions for various dissolved substances in the stock solution, for example, various natural minerals. In addition, ceramics, activated carbon, ion exchange resin and the like are preferable. Further, as the shape of these purifying materials, various ones such as granular or fibrous may be used depending on the use conditions and the required liquid purifying cartridge structure. As the granular material, those having a size of ASTM 140 mesh or more, and particularly having a particle size in the range of about 30 to 100 mesh can be preferably used. If it becomes fine particles (powder) with a size of 140 mesh or less, the surface area of the purification material increases, so the purification performance per unit weight generally increases, but the resistance to liquid passage increases and the conditions of use and liquid purification part There is a drawback that there are many limiting factors for the flow channel shape.

When activated carbon is used as the purifying material, fibrous ones can be used more suitably. The fibrous activated carbon has the advantage that the surface area per unit weight is larger than that of the granular material and the liquid passage resistance is extremely small, and the structure of the liquid purification cartridge can be made smaller.

[0029]

【Example】

 Embodiment 1 FIG. 3 shows an embodiment in which a purifying device for purifying tap water is constructed by using the liquid purifying cartridge of the present invention, which has the basic constitution shown in FIG. 1 using a hollow fiber filtration membrane. The liquid purification cartridge is installed in a housing 27 composed of a base 25 and a cover 26. The base 25 and the cover 26 are liquid-tightly fixed by a stopper 29 via an O-ring 28.

The liquid purifying cartridge 24 is liquid-tightly and detachably connected to the connecting portion 35 of the base 25 at the portion of the purifying liquid outlet 17 of the cap body 10a by the O-ring 31. The tap water 37 is introduced into the housing 27 through the tap water inlet 30 provided in the base 25, rises as a flow path between the cover 26 and the cylindrical structure 2, and reaches the first filtration element 1. After being filtered by the first filtration element 1, the purification mechanism 9 rises to reach the second filtration element 7, and the final purification liquid 18 filtered by the second filtration element 7 is the purification liquid outlet 17 and the flow. It sequentially passes through the passage 36 and flows out of the housing 27.

In this example, a polypropylene hollow fiber filtration membrane having an outer diameter of 450 μm and an average pore diameter of 0.2 μm was used, and the filtration area of the first filtration element was 2.5 m 2, and the filtration area of the second filtration element was 2.5 m 2. A filter with a filtration area of 1 m2 and 500 g of granular activated carbon with an average particle size of 60 mesh was prepared. The size of the liquid purification cartridge was 28 cm in height and 13 cm in maximum diameter (volume occupied by the liquid purification cartridge). Was about 3.7 liters). The height of the entire purification system including the housing was 33 cm, which was large enough to be installed under a sink.

On the other hand, as a comparative example, using the same hollow fiber filtration membrane and activated carbon as above in the same area and weight, a liquid purification cartridge having a structure in which the filtration element and the liquid purification unit are simply overlapped and connected was manufactured. The purification device used had a height of more than 60 cm and was difficult to install under the sink in the kitchen.

Example 2 A fibrous activated carbon was used as the purification material, and a hollow fiber filtration membrane having the same filtration area as in Example 1 was used to produce a liquid purification cartridge having the structure shown in FIG. As activated carbon, fibrous activated carbon manufactured by Osaka Gas Co. (A-15: 55 g) was used. In this embodiment, the volume of the liquid cleaning section could be reduced, and the height of the liquid cleaning cartridge could be 28 cm as in the first embodiment, and the outer diameter could be reduced to 12 cm. (The volume occupied by the liquid purification cartridge is about 3.1 liters)

Sodium hypochlorite was added to tap water to prepare water having a residual chlorine concentration of 2 ppm, and a comparison experiment of chlorine removal performance with Example 1 using granular activated carbon was conducted. Although 60 m3 of water was continuously flowed at a water flow rate of 5 liters per minute, both had a chlorine removal rate of 90% or more at this point, and there was no difference in removal performance.

The liquid purification cartridge of the present invention has been described above based on an example in which a hollow fiber filtration membrane is used as the porous filtration material and activated carbon is used as the liquid purification section. With respect to objects, various application examples can be adopted without departing from the gist of the invention.

[0036]

[Effect of the device]

 As described above, by using the liquid purification cartridge of the present invention, there is no deterioration of purification performance due to contamination of microorganisms in the liquid purification section and accumulation of fine particles in the undiluted solution. Thus, it is possible to obtain a liquid purifying apparatus which can be installed in the liquid purifier having a short total length and a reduced volume.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partial cross-sectional view showing an example of a liquid purification cartridge of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a partial cross-sectional view showing another example of the liquid purification cartridge of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a partial cross-sectional view showing an embodiment of a purifying apparatus using the liquid purifying cartridge of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 1st filtration element 2 Cylindrical structure 3a, 3b, 3c, 3d Partition wall structure 4a, 4b Hollow fiber filtration membrane 5a, 5b Fixing member 6a, 6b Filtrate outflow part 7 Second filtration element 8 Activated carbon 9 Liquid Purification unit 10a, 10b, 10c, 10d Cap body 11a, 11b, 11c, 20 Communication channel 12 Liquid channel 15 Undiluted solution 16 Primary filtrate 17 Purification solution outlet 18 Final purification solution 21 Projection part 22 Slit part 23 Purification liquid 24 Liquid Purification cartridge 25 Base 26 Cover 27 Housing 28, 31 O-ring 29 Stopper 30 Tap water inlet 35 Connection part 36 Flow path 37 Tap water

Continuation of the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁵ Identification number Office reference number FI technical display location C02F 1/42 A 9/00 Z 8515-4D

Claims (4)

[Scope of utility model registration request] 1. A first filter element using a porous filter medium and a second filter element using a porous filter medium are installed inside the first filter element, and the first filter element is provided. A liquid purification unit is installed so as to be sandwiched between a filtration element and the second filtration element, and the first filtration element, the liquid purification unit, the second filtration element in this order, or the second filtration. A liquid purifying cartridge, wherein a liquid flow path is configured so that the liquid flows in the order of the element, the liquid purifying unit, and the first filtering element. 2. The cartridge for fluid purification according to claim 1, wherein the porous filter medium is a hollow fiber filter membrane. 3. The liquid cleaning cartridge according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a cleaning material such as activated carbon, ion exchange resin, or ceramics is used in the liquid cleaning section. 4. The liquid cleaning cartridge according to claim 3, wherein the cleaning material has a fibrous shape.