JPH09313806A - Gas-liquid separator - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To easily separate a mixture of water and air by providing hydrophobic tubes of a hydrophobic porous membrane and hydrophilic tubes of a hydrophilic porous membrane each whose one face communicates with the outside of a body vessel and whose the other face communicates with the inside of the body vessel. SOLUTION: On both the end sides of the inside of a shell 11, tubesheets 12, 13 are coaxially fitted to the jacket pipe 11. In the inside of the shell 11 put between the tubesheets 12, 13, plural hydrophobic tubes each consisting of a hydrophobic porous membrane and plural hydrophilic tubes each consisting of a hydrophilic membrane are arranged. When a mixture 1 is caused to flow inside the shell 11, gas 3 which has contacted with the outer peripheral surface of the hydrophobic tubes 14 flows inside the hydrophobic tubes 14 and is recovered outside the shell 11 from one end of the hydrophobic tubes 14. On the other hand, liquid 2 which has contacted with the outer peripheral surface of the hydrophilic tubes 15 flows inside the hydrophilic tubes 15 and is recovered outside the shell 11 form one end of the hydrophilic tubes 15. That is, the hydrophobic tubes 14 sends out only the gas 3 from the mixture 1 outside the shell 11, and the hydrophilic tubes 15 send out only the water 2 from the mixture 1 outside the shell 11.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a gas-liquid separator for separating a mixture of water and gas, and is particularly effective when used in a weightless environment such as outer space.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional membrane-type gas-liquid separator used for separating a mixture of water and gas in a weightless environment such as outer space will be described below with reference to FIGS.

As shown in FIG. 9, inside the outer tube 31, a hydrophobic tube 32 made of a hydrophobic porous film made of a material such as polytetrafluoroethylene, polyethylene or polypropylene is coaxial with the outer tube 31. None fitted. At both ends of the hydrophobic tube 32 inside the outer tube 31, annular tube plates 33 are fitted coaxially with the outer tube 31, respectively, and these tube plates 33 connect the ends of the hydrophobic tube 32. I support each.

In such a gas-liquid separator, the outer tube 31
When the mixture 1 of water 2 and gas 3 is fed from one end of the inside of the outer tube 31, the hydrophobic tube 32 permeates the gas 3 while squeezing the water 2 of the mixture 1 as shown in FIG. Therefore, in the mixture 1 flowing in the outer jacket tube 31, the gas 3 permeates the hydrophobic tube 32 and is recovered outside through a recovery tube (not shown) that penetrates the outer jacket tube 31 and communicates with the outer jacket tube 31. On the other hand, the water 2 is collected from the other end of the outer tube 31 to be separated into the water 2 and the gas 3.

[0005]

However, in the gas-liquid separation device as described above, the feed pressure of the mixture 1 and the like must be appropriately adjusted according to the mixing ratio of the water 2 and the gas 3. The gas 2 inside may not be able to permeate the hydrophobic tube 32 and may be collected together with the water 2 from the other end of the outer tube 31. Therefore, when separating the water 2 and the gas 3 from the mixture 1, it is necessary to finely adjust the feed pressure and the like according to the mixing ratio and the like, and the work relating to the separation and recovery is very difficult. It was annoying.

Under the circumstances, there has been a strong demand for a gas-liquid separator which can easily separate a mixture of water and gas without depending on the mixing ratio of water and gas.

[0007]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a gas-liquid separator according to the present invention is a gas-liquid separator for separating a mixture of water and gas, and a main body into which the mixture flows. A container and a hydrophobic porous membrane provided on the main body container, one surface of which communicates with the outside of the main body container and the other surface of which communicates with the inside of the main body container; And a hydrophilic porous membrane having the other surface communicating with the outside of the main body container and the other surface communicating with the inside of the main body container.

In the above-mentioned gas-liquid separation device, the main body container is a cylindrical outer jacket tube, and a pair of partition plates provided on both end sides of the outer jacket tube and partitioning the inside and the outside of the outer jacket tube. And the hydrophobic porous membrane is disposed inside the outer tube sandwiched between the pair of partition plates, and one end of the hydrophobic porous membrane is supported by the partition plate through one of the partition plates. And the other end is a tubular type hydrophobic pipe, the hydrophilic porous membrane is disposed inside the outer tube sandwiched between the pair of partition plates, and one end of the other is disposed. It is characterized in that it is a hydrophilic tube having a tubular shape that penetrates the partition plate and is supported by the partition plate and has the other end closed.

In the above-described gas-liquid separation device, the outer tube is a double tube having an inner tube and an outer tube, and a refrigerant flows between the inner tube and the outer tube. To do.

[0010]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION A first embodiment of a gas-liquid separator according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. In addition,
FIG. 1 is a side sectional view showing its schematic structure, and FIG.
II-II line sectional view, FIG. 3 is a III-III line sectional view of FIG. 1, FIG. 4 is a IV-IV line sectional view of FIG. 1, FIG.
FIG.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, a tube plate 1 which is a disc-shaped pair of partition plates is provided on both ends inside the outer tube 11.
2, 13 are attached coaxially with the outer tube 11. Inside the outer tube 11 sandwiched between the tube plates 12 and 13, a hydrophobic porous membrane made of a material such as a fluororesin such as polytetrafluoroethylene or a polyolefin such as polyethylene or polypropylene is used. For the pipe 14, a material such as a hydrophilic polyolefin such as hydrophilic polyethylene or hydrophilic polypropylene, or a resin having a hydrophilic group composed of a highly hydrophilic polar group such as a hydroxyl group or a sulfone group such as polyvinyl alcohol or polysulfone is used. A plurality of hydrophilic tubes 15 made of a hydrophilic porous film are arranged at predetermined intervals in the radial direction while the longitudinal direction is along the longitudinal direction of the outer tube 11.

The hydrophobic tubes 14 are respectively supported by the tube sheet 12 so that one end, which is the end on the tube sheet 12 side, penetrates the tube sheet 12, and the end section on the tube sheet 13 side. The other ends are closed. On the other hand, the hydrophilic tubes 15 are respectively supported by the tube sheet 13 so that one end, which is the end on the tube sheet 13 side, penetrates the tube sheet 13, and at the end on the tube sheet 12 side. The other end is closed. That is, in the hydrophobic tube 14 and the hydrophilic tube 15, only the inner surface, which is one surface thereof, communicates with the outside of the outer tube 11, and only the outer surface, which is the other surface, is the outer tube 11.
Is in contact with the inside of.

The outer tube 1 sandwiched between the tube plates 12 and 13
Inside 1, there is provided a bearing member (not shown) for bearing the tubes 14 and 15 to the outer tube 11 so as to prevent radial vibration of the hydrophobic tube 14 and the hydrophilic tube 15. To the outer peripheral surface of the outer tube 11, a feeding means (not shown) for feeding the mixture 1 of water 2 and gas 3 into the outer tube 11 is connected.

In such a membrane-type gas-liquid separation device, the mixture 1 of water 2 and gas 3 is fed by the feeding means, and the tube sheet 1 is fed.
When the mixture 1 is flown into the outer tube 11 sandwiched between 2 and 13, of the mixture 1 that has flowed into the outer tube 11, the gas 3 that comes into contact with the outer peripheral surface of the hydrophobic tube 14 becomes the hydrophobic tube 14. Permeate into the inside of the hydrophobic tube 14, flow inside the hydrophobic tube 14, and are collected from the one end of the hydrophobic tube 14 outside the jacket tube 11. On the other hand, the water 2 that has come into contact with the outer peripheral surface of the hydrophilic tube 15 permeates into the hydrophilic tube 15, flows inside the hydrophilic tube 15, and is collected from the one end of the hydrophilic tube 15 to the outside of the outer tube 11. .

That is, as shown in FIG.
Permeates the gas 3 into the inside while sparsely displacing the water 2, and sends out only the gas 3 from the mixture 1 to the outside of the mantle tube 11. The hydrophilic tube 15 permeates the water 2 into the inside while sparsely separating the gas 3. Then, since only the water 2 is sent from the mixture 1 to the outside of the mantle tube 11, the mixture 1 sent to the inside of the mantle tube 11 is mixed with the water
Therefore, the mixed state of the gas 3 and the gas 3 will not be sent out of the mantle tube 11.

Therefore, even if the feed pressure of the mixture 1 is not finely adjusted according to the mixing ratio of the water 2 and the gas 3, the water 2 and the gas 3 in the mixture 1 can be fed at a constant feed pressure. Since it is possible to reliably separate and collect, the work relating to the separation and collection can be greatly simplified.

A second embodiment of the gas-liquid separator according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. Note that FIG. 6 is a side sectional view showing the schematic structure thereof. However, for the same parts as those of the above-described first embodiment, by using the same reference numerals as those of the above-mentioned first embodiment,
The description is omitted.

As shown in FIG. 6, the outer tube 21 is a double tube having an inner tube 21a and an outer tube 21b. A refrigerant supply port 21c for supplying a refrigerant 4 such as cooling water is provided between the inner tube 21a and the outer tube 21b on the outer peripheral surface of the outer tube 21 near the tube plate 2. Mantle tube 2
A coolant discharge port 21d for discharging the coolant 4 flowing between the inner pipe 21a and the outer pipe 21b to the outside is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the first pipe sheet 3 side.

As a result, the inner tube 21a of the outer tube 21
From the coolant supply port 21c between the outer pipe 21b and the outer pipe 21b.
Is supplied and circulated to the refrigerant outlet 21d, the mixture 1 flowing inside the inner tube 21a of the outer tube 21 can be cooled. Therefore, the water 2 in the gas 3 of the mixture 1
Can always be saturated, and the hydrophilic tube 15 can always be maintained in a wet state.

In other words, if the hydrophilic tube 15 is dry, the gas 3 will easily pass through the hydrophilic tube 15 (air-
It is particularly likely to occur when a mixture having a high gas-liquid separation ratio such as a steam system is processed), and stable gas-liquid separation becomes difficult. Therefore, it is necessary to keep the hydrophilic tube 15 always in a wet state. I made it possible.

Therefore, according to the present embodiment, not only the same effects as in the case of the above-described embodiment can be obtained, but also the hydrophilic tube 15 can be always maintained in a wet state, and thus the air- Even when processing a mixture having a high gas-liquid separation rate such as a steam system, the gas-liquid separation can be stably performed.

The mixture 1 flowing inside the outer tube 21
Can be saturated with a simple configuration,
It is not necessary to separately provide various devices such as a condenser, and the overall configuration of the device can be simplified and downsized.

It is to be noted that such a gas-liquid separation device is particularly effective when used in a weightless environment such as outer space, but, for example, even in the case where minute bubbles in water are removed under everyday environment. Can be applied.

In the hydrophilic tube 15 described above, based on the kind of the gas 3 and the feeding pressure of the mixture 1,
It is desirable to preset the porous membrane to have an optimal pore size and molecular weight cutoff.

[0025]

EXAMPLE An example based on the first embodiment of the gas-liquid separator according to the present invention will be described below. <Implementation Method> The operation was performed under the following conditions using the apparatus having the structure shown in FIGS. <Apparatus configuration> -Hydrophobic tube-material: polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) Pore diameter: 1 μm Tube inner diameter: 1 mm Surface area: 2 cm ² Hydrophilic tube-material: Polysulfone Fractionated molecular weight: 50000 Tube inner diameter: 1.2 mm Surface area: 20 cm ² <conditions> mixture - composition: water (0.1 vol%) and air (99.9vol%) feed pressure: 0.2 atm feed rate: 16000cm ³ / h <result> and recovering water air mix ratio of: 0% ・ Mixing rate of water in collected air: 0%

From the above, it was confirmed that the mixture of water and air can be easily and reliably separated and recovered.

An example based on the second embodiment of the gas-liquid separator according to the present invention will be shown below. <Apparatus Configuration> Hydrophobic-tube - Materials: polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) surface area: 10.7 cm ² · hydrophilic tube - Materials: hydrophilic polyethylene surface area: 10.2 cm ² <Conditions> mixture - air flow rate: 2.45 nm ³ / d water flow: 2.94Nm ³ /d(2.36kg/d) feed temperature: 60 ° C. feed pressure: 0.1 atm, cooling water - inlet temperature: 23 ° C. outlet temperature: 25 ° C. <result>& Bubbles in recovered water: None

From the above, it was confirmed that the air-steam mixture can be easily and surely separated and recovered with a simple and small apparatus configuration.

[0029]

According to the gas-liquid separation device of the present invention, water and gas in a mixture can be kept constant without finely adjusting the feed pressure of the mixture according to the mixing ratio of water and gas. Since it is possible to surely separate and collect with the feeding pressure of, the work relating to the separation and collection can be greatly simplified.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side sectional view showing a schematic structure of a first embodiment of a gas-liquid separator according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line II-II of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along the line III-III of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line IV-IV of FIG.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of an operation related to separation and collection.

FIG. 6 is a side sectional view showing a schematic structure of a second embodiment of the gas-liquid separator according to the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a side sectional view showing a schematic structure of a type used in an example based on the first embodiment of the gas-liquid separator according to the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken along line VIII-VIII in FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a side sectional view showing a schematic structure of a conventional gas-liquid separator.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of an operation relating to separation and recovery of a conventional gas-liquid separation device.

[Explanation of symbols] 1 mixture 2 water 3 gas 4 refrigerant 11 outer tube 12,13 tube plate 14 hydrophobic tube 15 hydrophilic tube 21 outer tube 21a inner tube 21b outer tube 21c refrigerant supply port 21d refrigerant discharge port

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Hiroaki Matsumoto 1-1-1, Wadasaki-cho, Hyogo-ku, Kobe-shi, Hyogo Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. Kobe Shipyard

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A gas-liquid separation device for separating a mixture of water and gas, the main body container into which the mixture flows, and the main body container, the one surface of which is connected to the outside of the main body container. , A hydrophobic porous membrane having the other surface communicating with the inside of the main body container, and provided on the main body container, one surface communicating with the outside of the main body container, the other surface inside the main body container A gas-liquid separation device comprising a hydrophilic porous membrane which is in communication with the gas-liquid separation device. 2. The main body container comprises a cylindrical outer tube, and partition plates which are provided on both end sides of the outer tube and which form a pair for partitioning the inside and the outside of the outer tube. A hydrophobic porous membrane is disposed inside the outer tube sandwiched between the pair of partition plates, and one end penetrates one partition plate and is supported by the partition plate while the other end is closed. A tubular hydrophobic tube, wherein the hydrophilic porous membrane is disposed inside the outer tube sandwiched between the pair of partition plates and one end penetrates through the other partition plate. The gas-liquid separation device according to claim 1, which is a tubular hydrophilic tube supported by the partition plate and having the other end closed. 3. The outer tube is a double tube having an inner tube and an outer tube, and a refrigerant flows between the inner tube and the outer tube. Gas-liquid separation device.