KR101959000B1 - Membrane system with electrode and measuring method for fouling using thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to an electrode-integrated separator system capable of measuring the degree of fouling, fouling or fouling of a separator in real time, and a method for measuring fouling of a separator using the same. More particularly, An input signal generator 200 electrically connected to the electrode 110 to apply an input signal to the electrode 110 and an input signal generator 200 electrically connected to the electrode 110, And an output signal measuring unit 300 for measuring an output signal from the other electrode when the input signal generating unit 200 applies an input signal to one electrode.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD [0001] The present invention relates to an electrode-integrated separator system and a method for measuring fouling of a separator using the same.

The present invention relates to an electrode-integrated separator system and a method for measuring fouling of a separator using the same, and more particularly, to an electrode-integrated separator system capable of measuring the degree of fouling of a separator, the type of fouling, And a method for measuring fouling of the membrane using the same.

Membranes are used extensively from simple experimental scale to large-scale industrial processes, depending on the social needs such as high purity, high-functional materials production and global environmental protection. Unlike the distillation process which repeats vaporization and condensation, the membrane separation process uses only about 20 to 30% energy compared to the same process as the distillation process because it is a simple physical-mechanical separation operation.

The principle of the membrane separation process is to separate and remove impurities in the fluid by passing the fluid through the membrane using the membrane as a filtration agent. Such membrane separation is classified into various types according to the material of the membrane, the shape of the module, and the filtration method, but the membrane is characterized by fouling (contamination) of the membrane as it is used for a long time. The fouling of the membrane means that the solute in the feed fluid supplied to the membrane leads to the membrane pore closure according to the blocking of the membrane. When the membrane fouling occurs, the filtration function of the membrane deteriorates. Since the degradation of the filtration function is directly proportional to the energy consumption, the advantage of the membrane process is drastically reduced. Therefore, a process of periodically removing or cleaning the filter is required according to the filtration degree of the separation membrane, which leads to a disadvantage of an increase in production cost due to the improvement of the overall system operation cost and complicated design. Therefore, a system that can operate without medium / long separation membrane performance is recognized as a future core technology in industrial competitiveness of price competition.

No technology has been available to measure fouling in real-time at the actual mass-production level, not at the laboratory level. At the laboratory level, there are ways to monitor real-time fouling as well as optical methods, as well as the introduction of various physicochemical techniques that are already known. However, in actual mass production, the membrane has the structure of a flat membrane or a hollow fiber membrane, and in the case of a flat membrane, it occupies more than 80% of the membrane market. That is, in order to highly integrate the flat membrane, it has a spiral type or flat membrane laminate type structure, which can not be achieved by the optical measurement method.

Currently, fouling in a mass production facility is a real-time fouling monitor technology that detects changes in energy consumption due to a simple increase in pressure. In this case, fouling occurs in many parts. Ultrafiltration, mircofiltration, etc., can be reversed to some extent by performing a back-chain process. However, in the case of a membrane having a very dense structure such as a nanoparticle membrane and a reverse osmosis membrane, Treatment methods should be introduced. However, in such a state, the performance of the separator changes non-permanently, so that it is continuously operated without having a high transmittance in the initial state. As a result, the total production cost (energy consumption) increases sharply in the whole system due to the increase in load due to fouling and the increase in chemical treatment capacity.

In recent patents, we have reported a real-time fouling measurement technique which is different from the conventional method. For example, it is a method to utilize the electric potential that is generated between the separators and the streaming potential that appears when they are transmitted. This technology is a spontaneous electrical signal generated by a unique physical barrier called the flow of the aqueous solution and the separation membrane in which the ions are dissolved, and a very large fluctuation range occurs due to the external state, the state of the separation membrane, and the like. Particularly, since the voltage generated by these physical phenomena is low, the fluctuation due to the change in ion concentration and the amount of permeation acts more largely than the phenomenon due to fouling, and the direct relationship between these and the fouling factor It is impossible in itself. However, recently, Korean Patent No. 10-1462565 (" Method for Monitoring Real Time Membrane Contamination Potential for Reverse Osmosis Membrane of Seawater Desalination System and Seawater Desalination System Having Real Time Membrane Contamination Monitoring Function, ", Apr. 1, 2014, Prior Art 1) A method using the above-mentioned electric conductivity is disclosed. The same method as in the prior art 1 has an effect of measuring the degree of fouling of the membrane in real time but it is not possible to know the type of fouling occurring in the membrane and the degree of fouling according to the position of the membrane can not be measured , Only the degree of fouling of the single separation membrane can be measured, and the degree of fouling of each separation membrane can not be measured in a module having a plurality of separation membranes coupled thereto.

Korean Patent No. 10-1462565 (" Method for Monitoring Real Time Membrane Contamination Potential for Reverse Osmosis Membrane of Seawater Desalination System and Seawater Desalination System Having Real Time Membrane Contamination Potential Monitoring Function ", 2014.12.04.)

Therefore, the electrode-integrated separator system according to the present invention and the method for measuring the fouling of the separator using the same have been devised to solve the above-mentioned problems. Thus, the electrode-integrated separator system according to the present invention and the fouling measurement method using the same Is an electrode-integrated membrane system capable of measuring the degree of fouling of a membrane in real time, measuring the type of fouling occurring in the membrane, measuring the degree of fouling depending on a specific position of the membrane, and And to provide a method for measuring fouling of a separation membrane.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, there is provided an electrode-integrated separator system including a separation membrane (100) having at least two electrodes (110) formed on different surfaces thereof, An input signal generating unit 200 for applying an input signal to the electrode 110 and an input signal generator 200 electrically connected to the electrode 110 to apply an input signal to one electrode of the input signal generating unit 200, And an output signal measuring unit 300 for measuring a signal.

The plurality of electrodes 110 are connected in parallel to the input signal generator 200 and the output signal controller 300, respectively.

The input signal generating unit 200 may further include a monitoring unit 400 for continuously applying an input signal and continuously displaying an output signal corresponding to the input signal measured by the output signal measuring unit 300 .

In addition, the separation membrane 100 is characterized in that a plurality of the separation membranes 100 are modularized.

The method for measuring fouling of a separation membrane according to the present invention is a method for measuring fouling using the electrode-integrated separation membrane system, comprising: a first step of applying an input signal to one of the two or more electrodes (110) A second step of measuring an output signal from an electrode other than the electrode to which the signal is applied, and a third step of analyzing the output signal.

In the first step, the frequency and the amplitude of the input signal are adjusted and applied to the electrode 110.

In the second step, the output signal from the electrode 110 formed at a position to be measured by the user is measured.

According to the electrode-integrated separator system and the method for measuring the fouling of the separator using the same according to various embodiments of the present invention as described above, an electrical signal is applied to an electrode formed integrally with the separator in real time, The fouling degree of the separation membrane can be measured in real time.

According to the present invention, an electrode is formed at various positions of a separation membrane, and an electrical signal is applied to different electrodes, whereby the degree of fouling of the separation membrane can be measured.

Further, according to the present invention, there is an effect that the type of fouling occurring in the separation membrane can be measured by analyzing the output signal of the electrical signal applied to the electrode.

1 is a schematic view of the present invention.
2 is a graph of an input signal and an output signal according to the type of fouling.
3 is a graph of an input signal and an output signal according to different kinds of fouling.
4 is another embodiment of the separator of the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a view of a module according to the present invention. FIG.

Hereinafter, an electrode-integrated separator system according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of an electrode-integrated separator system according to the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the electrode-integrated separator system according to the present invention includes a separator 100, an input signal generator 200, 300).

The separation membrane 100 is configured to filter the supply water in the same manner as the separation membrane described in the background art. At least two electrodes 110 are formed on the surfaces at different positions. In use, 10 is immersed in the solution 20 filled in the inside thereof.

The electrode 110 is installed to apply an electric signal and the conductive wire 120 connected to the electrode 110 as shown in FIG. 1 is also connected to the surface of the separator 100, Respectively. The electrode 110 and the lead 120 may be integrated with the separator 100 by chemical bonding.

At least two electrodes 110 are formed. That is, when an electric signal, that is, an input signal is applied to one electrode 110a, the other electrode 110b measures an electric signal, that is, an output signal transmitted through the surface of the electrode 110a and the separator. In FIG. 1, two electrodes 110a and 110b, an input signal and an output signal transmitted through the two electrodes 110a and 110b are shown.

As shown in FIG. 1, the input signal generator 200 is electrically connected to the electrode 110 to apply an input signal to the electrode 110. The input signal generator 200 and the electrode 110 are electrically connected to each other through the lead 120. An input signal applied to the electrode 110 is an AC signal having frequency and intensity or amplitude. In order to apply the input signal to the electrode 110 in the input signal generating unit 200, a reference electrode is required, and the electrode is positioned inside the solution.

1, the output signal measuring unit 300 is electrically connected to the electrode 110 so that when the input signal generating unit 200 applies an input signal to one electrode, . 1, when the input signal generator 200 applies an input signal to the electrode 110a located on the left side of FIG. 1, the input signal passes through the electrode 110a, To the electrode 110b positioned on the right side along the surface of the electrode 110b. The output signal applied to the electrode 110b is measurable by the output signal measuring unit 300. [ That is, the input signal is transmitted along the surface of the separation membrane 100 during the application of the input signal to the electrode 110b. At this time, depending on the type of fouling or the degree of fouling formed on the surface of the separation membrane 100, And the output signal measuring unit 300 can determine the type and degree of fouling formed in the separation membrane 100 by measuring the modulated input signal, that is, the output signal.

The input signal generating unit 200 continuously applies the input signal to the electrode 110a and the output signal measuring unit 300 receives the input signal modulated through the electrode 110a and the surface of the separator 100 The output signal measured by the output signal measuring unit 300 can be measured by a separate monitoring unit 400 (not shown). The monitoring unit 400 can measure the type and degree of fouling of the separation membrane 100 in real time, The user can more easily measure the degree and type of fouling of the separation membrane 100 in real time.

Examples in which the input signal and the output signal vary depending on the type of fouling are shown in FIGS. 2 shows an input signal and an output signal when fouling due to calcium salt occurs on the surface of the separation membrane 100, and FIG. 3 shows a case where fouling due to humic acid (humic acid) The input signal and the output signal are shown. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the input signal of FIG. 2 is relatively small in frequency, and the input signal of FIG. 3 is large in frequency as compared to FIG. In this way, input signals of different intensity and frequency may be required depending on the type of fouling, which can be found through experiments. Fouling factors can be heavy metals and rare metals, and can be monitored and matched to actual water quality conditions.

The electrode 110 may have various embodiments depending on the position and the number of the electrodes 110, one of which is shown in FIG. 4, nine electrodes are formed on the surface of the separator 100 in three rows and three columns, and are connected to the lead 120 respectively. The user connects the input signal generating unit 200 and the output signal measuring unit 300 to all the electrodes 110 shown in FIG. 4, applies an input signal to a specific electrode according to a user's selection, Which will be described with reference to FIG. 4, as a specific example.

Referring to FIG. 4, the input signal generator 200 is connected to the lead 120 connected to the leftmost electrode 110c, and the electrode 110d positioned above the electrode 110c and the output signal The generator 300 is connected to the wire 120. When the input signal is applied to the input signal generator 200, the input signal is transmitted to the output signal generator 300 through the electrode 110c, the surface of the separation membrane 100, and the electrode 110d. Modulated to become an output signal. Since the output signal is modulated between the electrode 110c positioned at the lower left and the electrode 110d located above the input signal, analysis of this output signal indicates the degree of fouling between the electrode 110c and the electrode 110d, The type can be measured. That is, as shown in FIG. 4, a plurality of electrodes 110 are formed on the surface of the separator 100 by patterning, and a user applies an input signal to a specific electrode as needed, The fouling of the separator 100 with respect to a specific position can be measured by measuring an output signal with respect to the input signal.

4, only two of the leads connected to the plurality of electrodes 110 are connected to the input signal generator 200 and the output signal measurer 300, but all the electrodes are connected to the input signal generator 200 and the output signal And may be connected in parallel with the measuring unit 300. An input signal may be applied only to a specific electrode through a device such as a multiplexer and a demultiplexer and an output signal may be measured only by a specific electrode.

The electrode 110 may be formed on the surface of the separation membrane 100 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, or may be formed on both sides of the separation membrane 100 at the same time.

5 is a sectional view of the separation membrane 100 according to another embodiment of the present invention in which a plurality of separation membranes 100 are arranged to be spaced apart from each other in parallel and through a coupling hole 500, In this case, if a plurality of electrodes are attached to the surface of each separation membrane forming the module, the degree and kind of fouling of the entire module can be measured while measuring the degree and type of fouling of each separation membrane. That is, the electrodes 110 in FIG. 5 have three-dimensional coordinates according to the position of the separation membrane 100 and the position on the surface of the separation membrane 100, and the user can utilize the three- The fouling can be measured according to the position of the surface of the separation membrane 100 and the separation membrane 100.

In all embodiments including the above-described embodiments, the output signals measured by the output signal measuring unit 300 are converted into a database on a pattern-by-pattern basis, and analyzed according to the pressure, flow rate, flow rate, This is possible.

As a result, it is possible to estimate and know the timing and extent of washing and pretreatment of the separation membrane by measuring and using the type and degree of fouling of the separation membrane in real time through the construction of the present invention as described above, thereby effectively operating the separation membrane system.

Hereinafter, a method for measuring fouling of a separation membrane according to the present invention will be described in detail.

The method for measuring fouling of a separation membrane according to the present invention uses the above-described electrode-integrated separation membrane system, and comprises a first step, a second step and a third step.

The first step is a first step of applying an input signal to one of the plurality of electrodes 110. As described above, since the intensity and frequency of the input signal required can be changed according to the type of fouling, input signals of different intensities and frequencies are selected according to the type of the feed water, the use time of the separation membrane 100, To the electrode (110).

The second step is a step of measuring an output signal from an electrode other than the electrode to which the electric signal is applied in the first step. When the number of electrodes is two or more, the electrode to be measured in the second step is determined. However, if the number of electrodes is greater than the number of electrodes, the user can select a desired one of the plurality of remaining electrodes to measure an output signal, The fouling can be measured at a particular position of the fouling body.

The third step is a step of analyzing the output signal. The input signal and the output signal are analyzed in consideration of pressure, flow rate, flow rate, type and time of fluid, And measuring the fouling or analyzing the results such as the fouling change of the separation membrane 100 according to various factors.

100: membrane
110: electrode
120: lead
200: input signal generating unit
300: output signal measuring unit
400: Monitoring section
500:

Claims (7)

A separation membrane (100) having at least two electrodes (110) formed on the surface at different positions;
An input signal generator 200 for applying an input signal to the electrode 110; And
An output signal measuring unit 300 for measuring an output signal of the input signal generated by the input signal generating unit 200 from the electrode 110;
, ≪ / RTI &
The electrode 110 is formed on the same side of the single separation membrane 100,
The plurality of electrodes 110 formed on the separation membrane 100 are connected to the input signal generator 200 and the output signal measurement unit 300 in parallel and electrically,
When the input signal generator 200 applies an input signal to a specific electrode, the output signal measurer 300 measures an output signal of the input signal at an electrode other than the electrode to which the input signal is applied, Wherein the fouling of the specific portion of the electrode assembly (100) is measured.
delete 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the input signal generator (200)
The input signal is continuously applied,
Further comprising a monitoring unit (400) for continuously displaying an output signal corresponding to the input signal measured by the output signal measuring unit (300).
The method of claim 1, wherein the separation membrane (100)
And a plurality of the electrodes are modularized.
A method for measuring fouling of a separation membrane using an electrode-integrated separation membrane system according to any one of claims 1, 3, and 4,
A first step of applying an input signal to one of the two or more electrodes 110;
A second step of measuring an output signal from an electrode other than the electrode to which the electric signal is applied in the first step; And
A third step of analyzing the output signal;
Wherein the fouling of the membrane is measured.
6. The method of claim 5, wherein the first step comprises:
Wherein the frequency and amplitude of the input signal are adjusted and applied to the electrode (110).
6. The method of claim 5, wherein the second step comprises:
Wherein an output signal from the electrode (110) formed at a position intended to be measured by a user is measured.

Images