JPS6233523A - Fluid separating element and fluid separator using said element - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To surely adhere and seal a supporting plate and separating membrane of a fluid element and to reduce the amt. of an adhesive agent by adhering and sealing the same while the end of a spacer for passing permeating fluid is held inserted to the inside of an adhesive zone. CONSTITUTION:The spacer 5 for passing the permeating fluid is superposed on the supporting plate 2 and further a selective permeable membrane 1 is held superposed and in this state the circumference thereof is adhered and sealed by an adhesive agent. The greater part of the end of the inside spacer of such element is positioned on the inside of a belt-like region 6 where the adhesive agent exists. The greater part of the outside circumferential end 7 of the inside spacer 5 is preferably positioned to the region of 1/4 from the inside end of the belt-like region for the adhesive agent. The penetration of the film is obviated and a good result in the practicable use is obtd. in case the outside circumferential end 7 of the spacer 5 is not positioned on the side inner than the inside end of the adhered part.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] Field of Application> The present invention relates to membrane separation technology. More specifically, the present invention provides a fluid separation element that can be used to separate a fluid with an increased concentration of a specific component from a fluid mixture, and a fluid separation device containing the same. Particularly, the present invention provides an oxygen enrichment element suitable for obtaining oxygen-enriched air with a high degree of oxygen retrieval from the atmosphere, and an oxygen enrichment device containing the element.

<Prior Art> In recent years, membrane separation technology has made remarkable progress in the fields of reverse osmosis, ultrafiltration, dialysis, etc., and membrane modules of hollow fiber type, flat plate type, spiral type, etc. are used depending on the purpose. The present invention is an improvement of a fluid separation element constituting a flat membrane module and a fluid separation device using the same.

In general, for a flat module, a spacer for passing the permeated fluid is placed on the support plate, and a spacer for passing the fluid is placed on top of the spacer.
What is used is a so-called fluid separation element, which is composed of stacked layers, stacked in multiple layers with spacers for passage of raw material fluid interposed therebetween. Here, it is very formal to completely seal the support plate and the fluid separation membrane ° so as not to reduce the separation efficiency. Up until now, methods have been used such as inserting a sealing backing and compressing and fixing it for sealing, or adhesive. A method of adhesive sealing using an adhesive was used. However, the method of using a sealing backing has the disadvantage that it is difficult to create an incomplete seal, and the method of adhesive-sealing using an adhesive has the disadvantage that it adheres with the inserted spacer for passage of permeate, which makes it difficult to form a seal with the back surface of the membrane. There is a problem in that adhesion is difficult and the width of the adhesive spread tends to be uneven, and if it is too narrow, a sealing failure occurs, and if it is too wide, the effective membrane area decreases, and improvements have been strongly desired.

<Objective of the Invention> The object of the present invention is to improve the drawbacks of such a conventional fluid separation device using a flat module. More specifically, it is necessary to ensure the adhesive seal between the support plate and the separation membrane in the fluid separation element, to reduce the hanging of the adhesive used, and to make the width of the adhesive layer relatively uniform and narrow. The purpose is to improve the following.

<Structure of the Invention> As a result of intensive research to achieve the above object, the present inventors have found that, instead of arranging a spacer for passing the permeated fluid over the entire surface of the adhesive layer as in the conventional method, the spacer is placed inside the adhesive zone. It has been found that it is effective to adhesively seal the end of the spacer with the end inserted into the spacer, and has arrived at the present invention.

That is, the present invention provides a fluid separation element comprising a permselective membrane capable of selectively permeating a specific component from a fluid mixture, a support plate, a spacer for passing a permeate located between the permselective membrane and the support plate, and a permeate outlet. a fluid separation element characterized in that a majority of the spacer end is disposed within an adhesive zone adhesively sealed around the permselective membrane to the support plate by an adhesive; A number of fluid separation elements each having a permselective membrane capable of selectively permeating components, a support plate, a spacer for passing a permeate located between the permselective membrane and the support plate, and a permeate outlet are connected to a source made of a compressible member. Modules arranged in a stacked manner via fluid passage spanners,
means for supplying a fluid mixture onto the surface of the selectively permeable membrane; means for making the pressure in the inner space of the element lower than the pressure in the outer space; and means for extracting the fluid that has passed through the selectively permeable membrane from the inner space of the element. In a fluid separation device having a fluid separation device, most of the end of the spacer for passing the permeate fluid is disposed within an adhesive zone formed by adhesively sealing the periphery of the permselective membrane of the fluid separation element to the support plate using an adhesive. The present invention provides a fluid separation device characterized by:

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

First, the fluid separation element of the present invention has a structure in which a permeated fluid passes through a support plate 2, as shown in FIG. 1 (plan view of the element) and FIG. (Since it is located inside the element, it is also referred to as an inner spacer below.)
5 and the permselective membrane 1 on top of it, the periphery of the selectively permeable membrane 1 is sealed with an adhesive, and the distribution of the adhesive and the end 7 of the inner spacer 1 are adjusted to a specific position. It is characterized by being in a relationship. That is, most of the ends of the inner spacer in the element are located inside the band-like region 6 where the adhesive is present, and more preferably are substantially located in the inner half region of the band-like region of the adhesive. Particularly preferably, the adhesive strip is located substantially in a quarter area from the inner end of the band-shaped area of the adhesive. Here, "substantially" means that most of the outer circumferential end 7 of the inner spacer is located within the region specified as above. Note that it is better if the outer circumferential end 7 of the inner spacer is not located inside the inner end of the adhesive part.
This is preferable for practical use since there is no sinking of the membrane.

Further, in the fluid separation element of the present invention, as exemplified by the permeated fluid outlet 3 in FIG. A permeate outlet is provided which communicates with the external space for removal from the space.

Further, a preferred embodiment of the fluid separation element of the present invention, as illustrated in FIG. By attaching a compressible member to a part of the selectively permeable membrane surface at the adhesive part as a spacer for passage of raw material fluid (hereinafter also referred to as an outer spacer because it is placed on the outside of the element) 4. be. If the thickness of the adhesive layer 13 at the adhesive part is uniform, an external spacer made of a non-compressible material can be used, but if an external spacer made of a compressible material is used, the thickness of the adhesive layer is uniform. Needless to say, even in the case of non-uniform thickness, there is an advantage that a stable module can be easily obtained in which the elements are laminated in multiple layers.

Such a compressible member is, for example, soft natural rubber.

Silicone rubber, soft styrene/butadiene rubber, soft rubber such as chloroprene rubber, foam rubber, urethane foam, vinyl foam, polystyrene foam,
Examples include soft foams such as polyethylene foam, soft sponges such as phenol resin sponges and urea resin sponges, cork, and felt. Among them, those preferably used as the compressible member of the present invention include chloroprene rubber, 7 ohm chloroprene rubber, polystyrene foam, and polyethylene foam.

The outer spacer may be attached to the membrane surface in any manner, such as using double-sided tape or a silicone adhesive (4-a in FIG. 1).

Further, in a preferred embodiment of the fluid separation element of the present invention, the thickness of the layer made only of the adhesive material in the portion of the adhesive portion 6 where the inner spacer 2 is not present is in a range of 0.5 to 1.5 times the thickness of the inner spacer. , particularly preferably substantially equal to the thickness of the inner spacer. By satisfying these conditions, the change in thickness at the inner edge of the bonded portion and the outer circumferential edge of the spacer is small, and the permselective membrane layered on the inner spacer is able to form the spacer during use. When pressed against a surface, unevenness is less likely to occur on the membrane surface, and it is possible to operate stably over a long period of time while maintaining the membrane performance.

The selective permeation 101 used in the fluid separation element of the present invention may be of any type as long as it can selectively permeate a specific component from a liquid or gas mixture. Specific shapes thereof include those consisting only of a flat membrane having selective permeation performance, and those in which the flat membrane having selective permeation performance is molded on another sheet-like porous base material. For example, as a specific example of an oxygen selectively permeable membrane that selectively permeates oxygen from the air, an ultra-thin membrane made of a polyolefin such as poly4-methylpentene-1 or a copolymer of it with other polyolefins, vinylsilane, allylsilane, etc. Examples include a laminated film in which 1-a is laminated on a porous polysulfone 1-c formed on a nonwoven fabric or woven fabric 1-c, or on a flat porous polypropylene membrane.

The support plate of the present invention maintains the form of an element and has the function of separating the internal space from the external space in an air-tight or liquid-tight manner. The element of the present invention may also have a structure in which an internal spacer and a permselective membrane are laminated and adhesively molded on both sides of a support plate, in which case the performance of the support plate is mainly determined by the form of the element. It will be retained. Branch IA
Specific examples of the support in the case of a temporary one side with an internal spacer and a membrane laminated and adhesively molded include aluminum plates, duralumin plates, metal plates such as iron plates, polypropylene plates, hard PVC plates, FR-PET plates, Examples include plastic plates such as unsaturated polyester plates, and the surface thereof may be flat or uneven. Specific examples of the support in the case where both sides of the support plate are laminated and adhesively molded include a support plate in which at least a portion of the inside of the support plate is hollowed out to the extent that the shape of the element can be maintained, Suanless wire mesh, polypropylene porous. Examples include boards.

Furthermore, the inner side container of the present invention is not particularly limited as long as it is a sheet-like member in which a space through which permeated fluid can flow is formed, and a net-like member is a preferable example thereof.

Such a net material is preferably one having a rough, uneven shape, and the net material may be made of either plastic or metal, but plastic is preferable from the viewpoint of weight reduction.

In the case of Plus Deck, it is preferable to use something with firmness, and the feed may be polypropylene or polyethylene terephthalate, for example. Nylon etc. can be given. Examples of commercially available net materials include Vexar from Qupont and Net 1 from Tokyo Polymer.

The thickness of this inner spacer is 0.3 to 3 m.
m is preferable, and 0.5-2 mm is more practically desirable.

In addition, in the fluid separation membrane i~ of the present invention, when the surface of the inner spacer has large irregularities and pressure is applied from the outside to the selectively permeable membrane surface during fluid separation, the membrane deforms to a shape corresponding to the irregularities and is damaged. In order to prevent this, it is preferable to further insert a sheet-like porous material between the spacer and the membrane, if necessary. Specific examples of such sheet-like porous materials include polyethylene terephthalate and polypropylene.

Non-woven fabric made of Nurron, etc. (AI), polypropylene.

Examples of the cellulose ester 1 include porous membranes made of regenerated cellulose and the like.

The element in the present invention is provided with an outlet for taking out the concentrated fluid obtained by passing through the permeable membrane on one or both sides. It is necessary to select an outlet with a cross-sectional area and length that causes almost no pressure loss at that part.Especially when using both sides of the support plate, an outlet that is shared by both sides should be selected so that there is no pressure loss on the membrane surface. In contrast, compared to the case where each outlet is set up, the number of outlet ports can be halved, and the number of collecting pipes that collect the concentrated fluid from the outlet ports can also be reduced. The feature of C is that it is easy to use.

The outer periphery of the element, except for the outlet, is sealed to prevent fluid leakage. In other words, the structure is such that the supply fluid mixing section and the concentrated fluid that has passed through the membrane do not mix.

As the contact agent used in the contact part 6 of the element of the present invention, any agent may be used as long as it can adhesively seal the back surface of the support plate and the selectively permeable membrane. When selecting such an adhesive, consider the operability when preparing the adhesive, the operability and adhesion when applying the prepared adhesive, adhering and solidifying each member, and sealing, and the ease with which the obtained element is stored. The durability of the adhesive is important when using a fluid separation device. In particular, when the permselective membrane is laminated on a porous membrane as described above, it is necessary to select an adhesive that can easily penetrate into the porous membrane to ensure a secure adhesive seal. There is. Furthermore, in order to improve the adhesion retention on the support plate surface, it is also effective to use a support plate with minute irregularities formed on the support plate surface.

The fluid separation device of the present invention is characterized by using a module in which a large number of the above-mentioned fluid separation elements are stacked together via an outer spacer, and further a raw material fluid mixture is supplied to the module, and a used fluid separation device is further supplied to the module. means for discharging the fluid mixture, means for maintaining the pressure inside the element lower than the pressure outside the element, and conduit means for removing the fluid that has passed through the membrane from the interior of the element through a fluid outlet for collection and use. .

For example, in the case of a model oxygen enrichment device for separating oxygen-enriched air from air in a gas separation device, as illustrated in FIG. A module in which a large number of elements are stacked and arranged with an external spacer 4 sandwiched between the elements 20, and an atmosphere C is taken in from the outside, and the atmosphere is supplied to the external space of the niremen 1- in the module, so that the membrane surface is exposed to the atmosphere. and a blowing means 18 for discharging the spent air whose oxygen content has been lowered by 1 degree to the outside of the device, and a blower means 18 for maintaining the inner space of the element in a reduced pressure state and passing the oxygen-enriched air through the membrane. 10. Vacuum pump means for extracting oxidized air from within the element. and conduit means for collecting oxygen-enriched air from within each element and communicating it to the oxygen-enriched air A outlet in the apparatus.

The oxygen enrichment device also includes a cooling means 12 for cooling the oxygen enriched air when water is also concentrated during membrane permeation. 13. Means for separating water droplets formed in the oxygen-enriched air by its cooling; 13. A depressurizing means such as an orifice for making the cooling means function more effectively; 14. Water retention means 11 for retaining and vaporizing moisture from the water separation means 13 on the surface of the cooling means through a conduit 17; Preferably, means 15 for adjusting the flow rate of the oxygen-enriched air A to be used and means 16 for measuring the flow rate are provided.

Note that B indicates surplus oxygen-enriched air.

In such an M element enrichment device, in order to minimize the i11 degree polarization on the membrane surface of each element constituting the module and maintain the separation efficiency close to the original membrane performance, the flow rate of the atmosphere sent to each membrane surface is adjusted to The amount of enriched air is 5 times or more, preferably 10 times or more, and more preferably 30 times or more. That is, it is necessary to circulate as uniformly as possible a considerable amount of air in each passageway between the elements in the 7 joules. Therefore, it is desirable to make the spacing between each element as uniform as possible, which is formed by the outer spacer 4 provided between the elements. In the present invention,
By using the compressible outer spacer in addition to the improved adhesive seal configuration described above, it is extremely easy to assemble the module while maintaining appropriate uniformity of spacing between each element. became. Furthermore, the third
For convenience, the figure shows a case in which the outer spacer 4 is located in a direction perpendicular to the flow of oxygen-enriched air inside the element 20, but as shown in FIG. It is preferable to use the external spacer 4 because it allows the atmosphere to flow countercurrently with the flow of oxygen-enriched air, thereby increasing the separation efficiency.

The fluid separation element and fluid separation device of the present invention are advantageously used for oxygen enrichment as described above, but can also be used to enrich gases such as helium gas and hydrogen gas by appropriately selecting the performance of the selectively permeable membrane. It can also be used for the separation of liquid mixtures such as concentration separation, reverse osmosis, ultrafiltration, and paper separation.

A more detailed explanation will be given below with reference to examples.

However, the present invention is not limited to this example in any way.

Examples 1 and 2 Comparative Example 1.2 As shown in Fig. 2, aluminum plate 2 (thickness 1aw, 250
a*X 500m), polypropylene net 5 (thickness 0.5m+, 1
4 meshes) and apply epoxy adhesive 6 in a band shape with a coating width of about 10 am and a thickness of about 0.5#III so as to have the positional relationship shown in Table 1, and then separately apply polyethylene terephthalate nonwoven fabric 1. -C (thickness 230μ.

Oxygen selective permeation using a polysulfone porous 1g1-b film formed on a polysulfone porous film 1g1-b (fabric weight ffl 180g/Td) as a base material and having a poly 4-methylpentene-1 polar 3J film 1-a (with oxygen selective permeability) on its surface. Membrane 1 was adhered to the adhesive-applied area while being pressed so that the adhesive penetrated to the back surface of the extremely thin poly-4-methylpentene-1 membrane to solidify the adhesive to obtain an oxygen-enriched element.

The adhesion assimilation was performed with a capillary-shaped enriched air outlet inserted at one location in the adhesion zone of each element.

Table 1 shows the results of examining the state of each element thus obtained after adhesion.

That is, when the method of Example 1.2 was carried out, the adhesion between the permeable membrane and the adhesive was good, and there was no gas leakage between the boundary layers.
The surface of the permeable membrane at the curved portion between the inner spacer end and the adhesive zone was smooth and good with no irregularities. Comparative example 1
In this case, the width of the adhesive taken up by the inner spacer (net) expanded, and there were some parts where the adhesive was not sufficiently adhered to the permeable membrane, making it impossible to obtain a stable adhesive state.

In Comparative Example 2, the adhesion state was good, but because a groove was inevitably formed between the inner spacer end and the adhesive zone, the permeable membrane surface was depressed and the permeable membrane was damaged during gas suction action (gas permeation). This caused a gas leak. Furthermore, since there is no effect of fixing the inner spacer with adhesive, the inner spacer may be displaced, resulting in a large dent in the film surface. As mentioned above, Example 1.2 was the optimal method.

Example 3 On the membrane surface of the adhesive zone on two opposite sides along the longitudinal direction of the element obtained in Example 1, compressible chloroprene foam sketches (width 10111111.thickness 5#I) were applied as outer spacers. ) was adhered with a silicone adhesive, an oxygen enrichment module was prepared by stacking 30 sheets, and an oxygen enrichment device as shown in FIG. 3 was assembled. Air flow within the module in this device was good, the adhesive seals on each element were retained for a long time, and the membrane surface was not damaged.

<Effects of the Invention> The fluid separation element of the present invention and the fluid separation device using the same can ensure a more reliable seal by adopting a specific adhesive seal form, and in particular, the width of the adhesive band can be made relatively uniform. It is easy to make the film narrow and narrow, and it also has the advantage of reducing the amount of adhesive used and increasing the effective membrane area as much as possible. Furthermore, when combined with a compressible outer spacer, there is an advantage that when a large number of elements are stacked to form a module, it can be easily assembled while keeping the spacing between each element relatively uniform. Furthermore, in the present invention, there is little damage to the membrane surface near the adhesive seal portion, and long-term durability can be maintained.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 schematically shows a plan view of a fluid separation element according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 shows α in FIG.
A cross-sectional view showing the vicinity of the element end (adhesive part) in the -α' plane. Further, FIG. 3 shows an oxygen enrichment device as an embodiment of a fluid separation device using the fluid separation element of the present invention. Patent applicant: Teijin Co., Ltd. Engraving of the grand drawing (no changes to the content) Procedure device (method) November 13, 1985, Director General P. 1, Patent application for displaying the case 1986- No. 171010 2, Title of invention Fluid separation element and fluid separation device using the same 3,
Relationship with the case by the person making the amendment Patent applicant: 1-11 Minamihonmachi, Higashi-ku, Osaka (300), Teijin Ltd. representative, Okamoto Sashibe 4, agent, 2-1-1-5 Uchisaiwai-cho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, order for amendment Date October 29, 1985 6, Drawing subject to amendment 7, Contents of amendment

Claims (4)

[Claims] (1) A fluid separation element comprising a permselective membrane capable of selectively permeating a specific component from a fluid mixture, a support plate, a permeate passage spacer located between the permselective membrane and the support plate, and a permeate outlet, A fluid separation element characterized in that the spacer end is largely disposed within an adhesive zone adhesively sealed around the permselective membrane to the support plate by means of an adhesive. (2) The fluid separation element according to claim 1, wherein a part of the permselective membrane surface on the adhesive portion is provided with a compressible member. (3) The thickness of the layer consisting only of the adhesive in the part of the adhesive part where the spacer for passing fluid through is not present is in the range of 0.5 to 1.5 times the thickness of the spacer. Fluid separation element as described in Section. (4) A large number of fluid separation elements equipped with a permselective membrane capable of selectively permeating a specific component from a fluid mixture, a support plate, a spacer for passing the permeate located between the permselective membrane and the support plate, and a permeate outlet. are arranged in a stacked manner through spacers for passage of raw material fluid made of compressible members; means for supplying a fluid mixture onto the permselective membrane surface; In a fluid separation device having a means for lowering the permselective membrane and a means for taking out the fluid that has passed through the permselective membrane from the inner space of the element, the periphery of the permselectively membrane of the fluid separation element is adhesively sealed to the support plate with an adhesive. A fluid separation device characterized in that most of the end portion of the spacer for passing the permeate fluid is disposed within the adhesive zone.