JPS63256102A - Hollow yarn module - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To easily discharge the filtrate leaked out into a housing by positioning one end of a hollow yarn-shaped membrane group substantially flush with or above the lowermost part of the outlet of the housing. CONSTITUTION:Both ends of the hollow yarn 1 are fixed by a resin adhesive 2 for sealing and housed in the housing 4. The lowermost part 20 of the outlet 11 from the housing 4 is positioned at a part 22 of the periphery of the outlet of the inside surface 10. Alternatively, the part 22 of the periphery of the outlet of the inside surface 10 can be positioned above the lowermost part 20, as long as the discharge of the filtrate from the outlet 11 from the housing 4 is not disturbed. In either case, the filtrate 21 is easily discharged from the housing 4 through the outlet 11 without being retained on the inside surface 10 of the resin adhesive 2.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a hollow fiber module intended for liquid treatment. More specifically, the present invention relates to a hollow fiber module for liquid filtration processing that removes and separates some of the components in various suspensions and solutions.

[Prior Art] With the recent progress in synthetic polymer chemistry, polymer membranes of various materials, pore sizes, and structures have been developed, and filtration separation and processing modules using these have been studied and developed. This module has various structures, but it can basically be divided into two types: those using flat membranes and those using hollow fiber membranes. Those using hollow fiber membranes have a simple structure and can provide a large filtration membrane area per unit volume, so they are the mainstream in separation and processing modules for demolding.

The structure of a hollow fiber module is such that the ends of a group of hollow fiber filtration membranes are fixed in a cylindrical housing with a resin adhesive for sealing, and the hollow fibers are held open at their end surfaces. The resin adhesive also serves as a fixed seal between the hollow fiber group and the housing. A port is formed in the wall of the casing to primarily discharge liquid from within the casing or allow liquid to flow into the casing.

Now, when filtration methods are classified by the method of filtration, they can be divided into vertical filtration, in which the stock solution is filtered perpendicularly to the surface of the filter material, and cross-flow filtration, in which the stock solution is filtered while forming a flow parallel to the surface of the filter material. However, in cross-flow filtration, a flow is formed along the surface of the filter material, so that the removed substances are less likely to accumulate on the surface of the filter material, and clogging that occurs on the surface of the filter material can be reduced. In a hollow fiber module, filtration separation is performed on the inner or outer surface of the hollow fiber membrane, but when performing the above-mentioned cross-flow filtration, the inner surface of the hollow fiber membrane is generally used. This is due to the fact that the flow path is maintained uniformly and that the introduction and discharge of the stock solution is easy. In this case, the stock solution is introduced through one opening of the hollow fiber, flows inside it, and flows out through the other opening. During this time, a part of the stock solution passes through the membrane and comes out as a treated solution, that is, a filtrate, into a compartment (filtrate side) formed by the outside of the hollow fiber, the resin adhesive, and the housing. The obtained filtrate is discharged from a port provided in the housing and used or discarded depending on various purposes. In addition, hollow fiber modules can basically perform filtration regardless of whether they are installed vertically or horizontally, but it is important to ensure that the stock solution flows uniformly through each hollow fiber, and that operations such as washing brimming and liquid discharge are easy. Due to the relationship, it is generally used vertically.

By the way, it is desirable that the capacity of the aforementioned compartment be as small as possible and that there is little residual liquid, because this allows the generated filtrate to be recovered without waste and also facilitates the cleaning operation of the module.

This is especially important for medical hollow fiber modules that are used to treat body fluids such as blood, and plasma exchange therapy, which is attracting attention as a treatment for various diseases including immune diseases, is particularly important. This is an extremely important point for hollow fiber modules used in plasma purification methods, and hollow fiber modules used in donor pheresis, which collects plasma from healthy individuals for the production of plasma preparations used in these treatments. be. If the capacity of this part is large and the structure allows liquid to remain, a large amount of briming liquid such as physiological saline used for cleaning and filling the module during use will remain, diluting the filtered plasma. Furthermore, since a large amount of valuable plasma remains at the end of the process, a sufficient collection operation is required.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, when using conventional hollow fiber modules, the outlet of the port provided on the housing wall from the housing is located at a higher position than the inner surface of the housing of the resin adhesive. Because of this, liquid pools occur here, causing the dilution problem mentioned above,
Also, at the end of the game, it is necessary to perform VS rough collection operations,
A problem has arisen in that it is difficult to perform automatic separation and recovery operations using mechanical equipment.

[Means for Solving the Problem] Therefore, the present inventors have developed a method that makes it possible to easily discharge the filtrate without performing such complicated operations when using conventional hollow fiber modules. As a result of various studies on the structure of a hollow fiber module that can perform automatic separation processing operations using mechanical equipment, etc., we found that the ends of the hollow fiber membrane group are fixed with a resin adhesive for sealing, and that In a hollow fiber module configured such that a hollow fiber membrane opening is exposed on the outer surface of at least one end of a group of hollow fiber membranes, the wall of the casing constituting the casing of the module. A group of hollow fiber membranes having at least one port formed in a part thereof for the purpose of discharging liquid from inside the housing or reducing the flow of liquid into the housing, and fixed with the resin adhesive. When one end is placed downward (i),
At least a part of the periphery of the outlet of the lower port from the casing on the inner surface of the casing of the resin adhesive on the lower side is aligned with the f& of the outlet of the port from the casing. It was discovered that the filtrate leaking into the casing can be easily drained by configuring the casing to be located substantially at the same level as or higher than the lower part, leading to the present invention.

[For 1 yen] The present invention will be explained in detail below with reference to the drawings.

Figure 1 shows an example of a basic cross-sectional view of the hollow fiber module, where the hollow fiber 1 and both ends are sealed with resin adhesive 2.
3 indicates a hollow fiber opening, 4 indicates a housing, and 5 indicates a port. The stock solution is introduced from one of the hollow fiber openings 3, passes through the hollow fiber 1, and flows out from the other hollow fiber opening. While flowing through the hollow fiber 1, a part of the stock solution is filtered and flows out as a filtrate into the compartment 6 formed by the outside of the hollow fiber 1, the inside surface of the resin adhesive 2, and the inside of the casing 4, and flows through the port 5. More is discharged to the outside.

It is possible to discharge the generated filtrate with at least one port 1-5, but it is preferable to provide three or more ports because it will be difficult to handle the discharge operation after use. It is desirable to form a relationship. When filtration is being performed, the upper bow is usually doweled, and liquid or gas is introduced into the housing from here when performing filtrate collection and cleaning operations. Of course, it is also possible to discharge the filtrate from both ports during filtration. Moreover, there is no problem in providing more ports in the housing as needed.

By the way, in conventional hollow fiber modules, as shown in Fig. 2, the outlet part 11 from the housing of the lower port 13 for discharging the filtrate is located at a higher position than the inner surface 10 of the resin adhesive when in use. A liquid pool 12 had formed.9 Therefore, in order to drain it, a complicated operation such as completely overturning the module was required. FIG. 3 shows a partially enlarged view of a cross section near the port part of the embodiment of the present invention, and a shows the lowest part 20 of the outlet part 11 from the casing, and a part of the inner surface 10 around the outlet part. 22, and b refers to the area around the outlet of the inner surface 10 within the range that does not substantially prevent the filtrate from being discharged from the outlet 11 of the housing. Part 22 is the lowest part 2
0, the resulting filtrate 21 does not remain on the inner surface 10 of the resin adhesive 2 and easily flows out of the outlet 1 from the housing.
1 and is discharged. The outlet part 11 of the housing essentially means the part where the inside of the housing 4 and the inside of the port 5 touch, but this part is tapered as shown in FIG. 4a, and as shown in FIG. 4b. When it is rounded, it means the part where each change ends when viewed from the inside of the casing, that is, the part A in the figure. FIG. 5 shows a partially enlarged view of a cross section near the port portion of another embodiment, in which the port 5 is connected to the housing 4.
It is formed parallel to the It is clear that even in this case, the filtrate can be easily drained.

The inner surface 10 is usually not perfectly flat and has some irregularities, but if it is substantially flat, it will hardly hinder the discharge of the filtrate.

Further, in order to further enhance the effect of the present invention, it is desirable that the inner surface 10 is substantially horizontal, and more preferably, it is inclined in a downward direction toward the exit portion 11 from the housing. This is because by doing so, the filtrate leaking from the hollow fibers does not remain on the inner surface 10 but is guided to the outlet 11 from the casing and is quickly discharged. Incidentally, even if the surface of the resin adhesive is inclined downward in the direction opposite to the port, the module of the present invention may be used by inclining the module in advance in a direction that cancels out the inclination. This allows the liquid to be easily guided from the port housing to the outlet portion 11, and subsequently discharged in the same manner. In conventional modules, as mentioned above, the outlet 11 from the port housing is at a higher position than the inner surface 10 during use, and a liquid pool 12 is created here, so it is necessary to completely overturn the module to drain it. Therefore, it was not possible to drain the liquid in the same condition as when it was used.

As shown above, in the module of the present invention, the filtrate is easily discharged in the state in which it is used, so there is no need for a special discharge operation, and automatic operation using mechanical devices etc. It becomes easier to do.

[Example] The effects of the present invention will be specifically explained below using Examples.

Example 4,800 porous hollow fiber membranes made of polypropylene with an inner diameter of 200 μm and an outer diameter of 300 μm were bundled together, and a polyurethane resin was used in a cylindrical case made of polycarbonate to form a membrane with an effective membrane area of 0.25 m” in Figure 1. A hollow fiber module with the basic structure shown was fabricated.After filling the filtrate side with 50ml of distilled water, the device was stood vertically and the water was discharged from the lower port.At this time, the liquid was poured onto the lower resin adhesive. Almost no residue was observed.The structure near the lower port was as shown in Figure 3.

Comparative example A commercially available hollow fiber module was manufactured by Pro Co., Ltd.
When the filtrate side was similarly filled with 501 distilled water and discharged using a 25 plasma separator (membrane area: 0.25 rn"), liquid remained on the resin adhesive below.

When the recovery operation was performed, about 4 ml remained.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, according to the present invention, the filtrate can be easily discharged under normal usage conditions without any special discharge operation, and the filtrate can be discharged automatically using a mechanical device or the like. A hollow fiber module capable of performing separation and recovery operations can be provided. In particular, the effect is remarkable when adopted in situations where it is undesirable for filtrate to remain in the housing.Furthermore, if the hollow fiber module of the present invention is adopted for medical applications, especially for plasma separation and processing. , the added value of the effect of the present invention is significantly improved.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a basic sectional view of a hollow fiber module, Fig. 2 is a partially enlarged view of a cross section near a port of a conventional hollow fiber module, and Fig. 3 a and b are a cross section near a port of an embodiment of the present invention. It is a partially enlarged view. Similarly, FIGS. 4a and 4b are partially enlarged views of a cross section near the port portion of an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 5 is a partially enlarged view of a cross section near the port portion of another embodiment. 1--Hollow fiber 11-Exit part 2- from the housing
111 resin adhesive 12-liquid reservoir 3-111 hollow fiber opening 13-lower port 4---1 housing 2
〇-Lowest part 5---Port 21-Filtrate 6-
111 Compartment 22-Part around the exit 10-Inner surface

Claims (6)

[Claims] (1) The ends of the hollow fiber membrane group are fixed with a resin adhesive for sealing, and the hollow fiber membrane opening is exposed on the outer surface of at least one end of the adhesively fixed hollow fiber membrane group. A hollow fiber module configured to have at least a part of the purpose of discharging a liquid from within the housing or flowing a liquid into the housing into a wall of the housing that constitutes a housing of the module. When one end of the hollow fiber membrane group fixed with the resin adhesive is located below, the inner surface of the casing of the resin adhesive on the lower side , configured such that at least a portion of the periphery of the exit portion of the lower port from the casing is located substantially at or above the lowest part of the exit portion of the port from the casing; A hollow fiber module characterized by: (2) The hollow fiber module according to claim 1, wherein the surface of the resin adhesive is substantially flat. (3) The casing of the module is cylindrical, and ends of the hollow fiber membrane group fixed with the resin adhesive are formed at both ends of the casing of the module. Or the hollow fiber module described in Section 2. (4) The hollow fiber membrane openings are exposed on the outer surfaces of both ends of the adhesively fixed hollow fiber membrane group, as claimed in claims 1 to 3. Hollow fiber module described in. (5) The hollow fiber module according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the hollow fiber module has two or more ports, and one port is located above the other port. (6) The hollow fiber module according to claims 1 to 5, wherein the hollow fiber module is a medical module for treating body fluids such as blood.