JPS62102814A - Gas permeable membrane cell - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain a gas-permeable membrane cell less in pressure drop and excellent in separation efficiency wherein a flow path of a separated gas is formed on a rugged face by making the surface of a membrane face side of supporting material for a permselective membrane a smooth face and making the other surface the rugged face having plural projected parts. CONSTITUTION:The inside of a gas-permeable membrane cell is decompressed through a takeout port 5 by using a decompression means such as a vacuum pump. Thereby pressure difference is caused in the inner and outer sides of the cell via a permeable membrane 1 and a separated gas is permeated in the inside of the cell. The separated gas is passed through a permeable sheet 2 and a supporting material 3 and passed through a flow path which is formed between a reinforcing plate 4 and the supporting material 3 by means of the projected parts of the supporting material 3 and taken out to the outside of the cell through a takeout port 5. An obstacle present in the flow path of the separated gas is only the projected parts 3b provided on the supporting material and when using a material having sufficient strength in the projected parts 3b, the supporting material can be made small in such degree that the efficiency of the cell is not marred and the gas permeable membrane cell having more excellent efficiency is obtained.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of Industrial Application The present invention relates to a gas permeable membrane cell for concentrating a specific gas in a mixed gas by a portion 1a using a permeable membrane.

Conventional technology In recent years, polymer membranes have been used to separate oxygen-enriched gas, nitrogen-enriched gas, or hydrogen gas from mixed gases.
Various methods of concentration have been attempted. In particular, oxygen-enriched gases are used as a means of energy saving for combustion, and for medical purposes, for the treatment of respiratory diseases.

Conventionally, several methods have been attempted to separate a specific gas from a mixed gas using a gas permeable membrane cell. For example, there is one described in US Pat. No. 3,332,216. The above-mentioned conventional gas permeable membrane cell will be explained below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 5 is a sectional view of a conventional gas permeable membrane cell. FIG. 6 1 is a partially cutaway perspective view of the gas permeable membrane cell. In FIG. 6, 1 is a gas permeable membrane that selectively separates the mixed gas, 2 is a breathable sheet that protects the membrane 1 and allows the branch gas to pass through, 5 is an outlet for taking out the branch gas from the cell, and 6 is a gas permeable membrane that selectively separates the mixed gas. The permeable membrane 1
This is a wire mesh that supports the gas and allows the separated gas to pass through. The operation of the gas permeable membrane cell composed of the above-mentioned formation elements will be explained below.

First, the inside of the cell is depressurized from the inlet/outlet 5 using a depressurizing means such as a vacuum pump, or the entire cell is placed in a pressure vessel and pressurized. As a result, a pressure difference is created between the inside and outside of the cell through the permeable membrane 1, and a separated gas is obtained within the cell, and this separated gas is discharged from the outlet 5 to the outside of the cell.

Problems to be Solved by the Invention However, in the configuration as described above, if the permeation coefficient of the permeation membrane is large, or the membrane area of one cell is large, and the flow rate of separated gas is large, the wire mesh 6 cannot be used as the permeation membrane. When the separated gas passes through the space within the cell that supports and forms the cell, the wire mesh acts as a resistance, causing a large pressure loss, which significantly impairs the efficiency of the cell.

In view of the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides a gas permeable membrane cell that has high separation efficiency even when used as a membrane with a large amount of permeation.

Means for Solving the Problem In order to achieve this object, the gas permeable membrane cell of the present invention comprises a permeable membrane for selectively separating a mixed gas, a porous support material for supporting this membrane, and a permeable membrane for selectively separating a mixed gas. The supporting material has a smooth surface on the permeable membrane side and an uneven surface having a plurality of protrusions on the opposite surface.

1. Due to the above-described configuration, a flow path for the divided gas is formed between the protrusions on the uneven surface of the supporting material and the opposing supporting material or reinforcing plate, so when the flow rate of the separated gas is large, Also, a gas permeable membrane cell with low pressure loss and high separation efficiency can be obtained.

EXAMPLE An example of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a gas permeable membrane cell in one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a partially cutaway perspective view of the gas permeable membrane cell of this embodiment, and the same parts as in FIGS. 6 and 6 are given the same numbers. Figures 3 and 4
The figure is a perspective view showing an example of the shape of the support member 3 of this embodiment.

In the figure, 1 is a gas permeable membrane that selectively separates the mixed gas into layers, 2 is a breathable sheet that protects the pattern and allows the separated gas to pass through, and 3 supports the membrane and forms a flow path for the separated gas. The supporting material has a smooth surface on the permeable membrane side and a plurality of protrusions 3b provided at equal intervals on the other side. is in contact with the reinforcing plate 4 at its top, and forms a flow path for separated gas between the supporting member 3 and the reinforcing plate 4.

Further, this support member 3 is provided with a plurality of ventilation holes 32L. This example has a shape as shown in FIG. 3, and has a thickness of 1.27ri including the protrusion! , 1Q mesh polyethylene molded net was used, but there are no restrictions on the material as long as it can withstand pressure, such as ceramic, sintered metal, resin foam, etc. Further, the height of the protrusion can be arbitrarily determined to be an optimal dimension with little loss depending on the flow rate of the branch gas.

4 is a reinforcing plate for preventing deformation of the cell, and 6 is an outlet for taking the separated gas out of the cell.

The operation of the gas permeable membrane cell configured as described above will be explained. First, the pressure inside the gas permeable membrane cell is reduced from the outlet 5 using a pressure reducing means such as a vacuum pump. This creates a pressure difference between the inside and outside of the cell via the permeable membrane 1, and the separated gas permeates into the cell. This separated gas passes through the breathable sheet 2 and the support material 3, passes through the flow path formed between the reinforcing plate 4 and the support material 3 by the protrusion of the support material 3, and exits the cell from the outlet 5. taken out. It will be explained in more detail how the present embodiment heats the mixed gas more efficiently and without damaging the permeable membrane 1 compared to the conventional gas permeable membrane cell. In FIG. 1, the separated gas separated by the permeable membrane 1 passes through the air-permeable sheet 2, then through the ventilation hole 3a provided in the support member 3, and then passes between the reinforcing plate 4 and the membrane support part 3c by the protrusion 3b. The liquid is taken out of the cell from the outlet 6 through a flow path 3d formed in the . In conventional gas permeable membrane cells, as shown in Figure 5, a wire mesh is present throughout the entire thickness of the flow path, creating a large resistance when the separated gas passes through, significantly reducing the efficiency of the cell. become.

However, according to this embodiment, the only obstacle in the flow path is the protrusion 3b provided on the support member. If this protrusion 3b is made of a material with sufficient strength, it can be made thin enough to not impair the efficiency of the cell, and a more efficient gas permeable membrane cell can be obtained.

Further, when the flow rate of the separated gas is large due to the large permeation flow rate of the permeable membrane 1 or the large membrane area, in the conventional gas permeable membrane cell, the wire diameter of the wire gauze is increased in order to make the flow path larger. Alternatively, a method was used to enlarge the cross-sectional end of the flow channel by layering wire mesh in two or three layers, but with this method, the wire mesh is present throughout the entire thickness of the flow channel, so the separated gas There was a large resistance when the cell passed through the cell, impairing the efficiency of the cell. However, according to this embodiment, by increasing the height of the protrusion 3b of the support member 3, it is possible to easily enlarge the flow path without impairing the efficiency of the cell. In addition, in the conventional gas permeable membrane cell, the permeable membrane 1 is made of wire mesh @
Since the membrane is supported by a wire mesh, the pressure difference between the inside and outside of the cell causes the membrane to be greatly deformed along the shape of the wire mesh, and there is a high possibility that it will be damaged.

However, in this embodiment, since the membrane support part 3C supports the permeable membrane 1 on a flat surface, no damage to the pattern occurs.In addition, in the case of a thin film that is more easily damaged, the diameter of the vent hole 3a is made smaller.
Alternatively, it is possible to eliminate the deformation of the membrane and prevent its damage by eliminating the ventilation holes and using a breathable material such as open-cell resin foam that is breathable and has sufficient strength for the membrane support part 3C. It is possible. In this example, a polyethylene molded net was used as the support material 3, so the reinforcing plate 4 was required, but if the support material 3 has sufficient strength and the cells do not deform, the reinforcing plate 4 is not required. Opposing support material 3
By taking a shape that matches the @ margin of the protrusion,
A flow path is formed, and the object of the present invention can be fully achieved.

As described above, according to this embodiment, one side of the support material 3 that supports the gas permeable membrane is made smooth and the other side is made uneven with protrusions, thereby reducing loss according to the flow rate of separated gas. It becomes possible to secure a flow path, and since the membrane is supported on the smooth surface side, it becomes possible to further reduce damage to the membrane. In addition to the shape of the protrusion 3b shown in FIG. 3 used in this embodiment, various shapes such as the shape shown in FIG. 4 can be considered. In addition, in this example, a method of separation using reduced pressure was explained, but the entire cell was placed in a pressure vessel,
Needless to say, it can also be used in a method of separating by pressurization.

Effects of the Invention As described in E, the present invention includes a permeation device for selectively dividing a mixed gas, a supporting material for supporting this membrane, and an outlet for taking out the gas separated by the permeation membrane. By making the surface of the support material on the transparent A pattern side a smooth surface, and making the opposite surface an uneven surface with protrusions of a diagonal, even when the flow rate of gas is large, It provides a transparent model cell with less loss of personnel, and its practical effects are great.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

1 is a g-plane view of a gas permeable membrane cell according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a partially cutaway perspective view of the cell of this embodiment, and FIGS. FIG. 5 is a sectional view of a conventional gas permeable membrane cell, and FIG. 6 is a partially cutaway perspective view of the cell of this conventional example. 1... Gas permeable membrane, 2... Breathable sheet, 3...
...Supporting material, 3&...Vent hole, 3b...Protrusion,
3C・, membrane support part, 3d... channel, 6... outlet. l～～-1 Lai 4 @ Product Figure 3 Broom 4 Figure 5 Figure 6

Claims (1)

[Claims] A permeable membrane that selectively separates a mixed gas, a porous support material that supports this membrane, and an outlet that takes out the gas separated by the permeable membrane, the surface of the support material facing the permeable membrane being A gas permeable membrane cell characterized by having a smooth surface and an uneven surface having a plurality of protrusions on the opposite side.