KR101998875B1 - Outer housing for particle counter and ultrapure producing system having the same - Google Patents

Abstract

An outer housing for a particle counter and an ultrapure water production system having the same are disclosed. The ultrapure water production system according to an embodiment of the present invention is to produce ultrapure water from pure water. The system comprises: a particle counter for checking the number of particles included in the ultrapure water produced by the system; and an outer housing accommodating the particle counter therein.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD [0001] The present invention relates to an outer casing for a particle counter and an ultra pure water production system having the same.

The present invention relates to an enclosure for a particle counter and an ultrapure water production system having the same and, more particularly, to an enclosure for improving measurement reliability of a particle counter and an ultrapure water producing system having the enclosure.

Ultrapure water is an extremely purified water with no impurities and is mainly used as feed water in high value-added industries.

Technology for producing ultra-pure water is considered to be an essential technology in the semiconductor industry, pharmaceutical industry, and power generation industry, and the equipment and equipment market is growing with the growth of the semiconductor industry.

As the industry develops, especially as the semiconductor industry becomes more sophisticated and integrated, the water quality standards for ultrapure water production are also gradually increasing. In recent years, it is required that the resistivity is larger than 18.2 MΩ, the total organic carbon (TOC) is less than 1 ppb, and the number of particles per unit volume is less than 0.3 ea / ml.

As shown in FIG. 1, generally, ultrapure water is produced through a pretreatment process, a pure water process, and an ultrapure water process.

Here, the pretreatment process is a process for removing organic substances, chlorine, solids and the like from the raw water supplied from the raw water tank. The pure water process is a process for producing pure water by removing ions, organic substances and the like from raw water subjected to a pretreatment process. It is a process to produce ultra pure water with high purity by removing ions, organic matter and particles from pure water produced through pure water process.

Among the management items of ultrapure water, there are organic matters, inorganic matters, ions, and particles. Among these management items, particles are considered to be particularly difficult to process, measure and evaluate.

In order to measure the number of particles contained in the ultrapure water produced in the ultrapure water, a particle counter of a light scattering type which irradiates a sample to be measured with 532 nm light is usually provided.

The measurement accuracy of the particle counter is influenced by external factors such as humidity, temperature, cleanliness, and internal factors such as bubbles in the liquid. In the conventional ultrapure water production system, the particle counter is affected by the factors listed above The reliability of the measurement accuracy can not be shown.

Disclosure of Invention Technical Problem [8] The present invention has been made in order to solve the problems of the prior art described above, and it is intended to provide a method for improving the measurement accuracy of a particle counter provided in the ultrapure water production system.

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an ultrapure water production system for producing ultrapure water from pure water, comprising: a particle counter for checking the number of particles contained in ultrapure water produced through the system; And an enclosure for receiving the particle counter therein.

The ultra pure water production system may further include a high purity nitrogen supply unit for supplying high purity nitrogen to the enclosure.

The enclosure may include an air outlet for discharging the inside air to the outside.

The air discharge unit may include a fan for blowing air in the enclosure out of the enclosure.

The air discharge unit may further include a filter installed on an air flow path extending out of the enclosure through the fan to filter foreign substances entering the enclosure from the outside.

The ultra pure water production system includes a humidity sensor installed in the enclosure; A dust sensor installed in the enclosure; And a control unit for controlling the operation of the high-purity nitrogen supply unit and the fan based on the humidity sensor and the detection data of the dust sensor.

Said enclosure comprising: an enclosure body; A door for opening / closing one side of the enclosure main body; And a sealing member provided at a contact portion between the enclosure main body and the door.

The ultrapure water production system includes a branch pipe line for particle inspection for supplying a part of ultrapure water to the particle counter for particle inspection; And a pressure control valve installed in the branch pipe line for particle inspection.

The ultrapure water production system includes a final ultrafiltration module; And a membrane membrane module (MEMS) module connected to the upstream end of the final ultrafiltration membrane module.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a particle counter for receiving high-purity nitrogen from a high-purity nitrogen supply unit for removing moisture and dust therein by accommodating therein a particle counter for inspecting the number of particles in an inspection object, Provide a housing for the enclosure.

The particle counter enclosure may include an air discharging portion for discharging the inside air to the outside.

The air discharge unit may include a fan for blowing air in the enclosure out of the enclosure.

The air discharge unit may further include a filter installed on an air flow path extending out of the enclosure through the fan to filter foreign substances entering the enclosure from the outside.

FIG. 1 is a view showing processes generally applicable to ultrapure water production.
2 is a view showing an ultrapure water production system according to an embodiment of the present invention.
3 is a view showing detailed configurations of a pre-processing unit according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a view illustrating a membrane module according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG.
5 is a view showing a high-purity nitrogen supplier according to embodiments of the present invention.
6 and 7 are views showing an enclosure according to an embodiment of the present invention.
8 is a view showing a particle counter according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the drawings.

1. Overall composition of ultrapure water production system

2 is a view showing an ultrapure water production system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The ultrapure water production system according to an embodiment of the present invention includes an ultrapure tank 10, a pretreatment unit 20, a membrane membrane degasifier module 30, a final ultrafiltration module 30, A resistivity meter 50, a pressure control valve 60, a particle counter 70, a TOC meter 80, a controller 90, an enclosure 100, and a high purity nitrogen supplier 200.

The ultrapure water production system includes a first piping line L1 and is connected to the ultrapure water tank 10, the pre-processing unit 20, the desulfurization membrane module 30, the final ultrafiltration membrane module 40, and a resistivity meter 50 are sequentially connected.

The ultrapure water production system includes a second pipeline (branch pipe line for particle inspection) L2 branched from the first pipeline L1 at the downstream end side of the resistivity meter 50 and connected to the particle counter 70 And a pressure regulating valve 60 is provided on the second piping line L2.

The ultrapure water production system includes a third piping line L3 connecting the downstream end of the particle counter 70 to the ultrapure water tank 10.

The ultrapure water production system includes a fourth pipe line L4 branched from the first pipe line L1 and connected to the TOC meter 80. [

The ultrapure water production system includes a fifth piping line L5 connecting the downstream end of the TOC meter 80 to the ultrapure water tank 10.

The ultrapure water production system includes a sixth piping line L6 and a seventh piping line L7 branched from the first piping line L1. The sixth pipe line L6 is provided with a first valve V1 for opening and closing the sixth pipe line L6. The seventh pipe line L7 is connected to the ultrapure water tank 10 and the seventh pipe line L7 is provided with a second valve V2 for opening and closing the line.

The ultrapure water production system also includes an eighth piping line L8 branched from the seventh piping line L7 at the upstream end side of the second valve V2 and an eighth piping line L8 branched from the seventh piping line L7 at the upstream end side of the second valve V2. A third valve V3 is provided.

The ultrapure water tank 10 functions to store pure water and recovered ultrapure water produced through a pure water process. This will be described in detail as follows.

Pure water produced in the pure water process which precedes the ultra pure water process by the ultra pure water production system of this embodiment is supplied to the ultra pure water tank 10.

On the other hand, when the first and third valves V1 and V3 are closed and the second valve V2 is opened, the ultrapure water produced through the ultrapure water production system of the present embodiment is passed through the seventh pipe line L7 And is returned to the ultrapure water tank (10).

The ultrapure water passing through the particle counter 70 and the ultrapure water passing through the TOC measuring device 80 are collected into the ultrapure water tank 10 through the third and fifth piping lines L3 and L5, respectively.

The water discharged from the ultrapure water tank 10 becomes ultrapure water by the water quality improvement process by the pre-processing unit 20 and the final ultrafiltration membrane module 40 disposed along the first pipeline L1.

3, the preprocessing section 20 may include a heat exchanger 21, an ultraviolet oxidation device 22, an anion exchange resin module 23, and a mixed ion exchange resin module 24.

The heat exchanger 21 is configured to control the supply temperature of the ultrapure water in accordance with the requirements of the user. The ultraviolet oxidation apparatus 22 is configured to oxidize, decompose and remove organic substances present in a small amount by using strong ultraviolet rays having a strong wavelength of 180 nm. The anion exchange resin module 23 and the mixed ion exchange resin module 24 are configured to remove the organic matter and carbon dioxide generated in the ultraviolet oxidation apparatus 22. [

On the other hand, the final ultrafiltration membrane module 40 is configured to remove ultrafine contaminants that are ultimately present before ultrapure water is supplied to maintain ultrapure water quality.

The water quality of the ultrapure water generated through the final ultrafiltration membrane module 40 is monitored in real time through the resistivity meter 50, the particle counter 70 and the TOC meter 80.

The resistivity meter 50 measures the resistivity of the ultrapure water. Based on the measurement results, the resistivity meter 50 can determine whether the ion content of the ultrapure water satisfies the reference value. The particle counter 70 has a configuration for counting the number of particles included in the ultrapure water by size and can determine whether the particle content in the ultrapure water satisfies the reference value based on the measurement result. The TOC measuring device 80 is configured to measure the amount of total organic carbon (TOC) contained in the ultrapure water. Based on the measurement result, it is possible to determine whether or not the organic matter content in the ultrapure water satisfies the reference value.

The data measured from the resistivity meter 50, the particle counter 70 and the TOC meter 90 are transmitted to the controller 90. The controller 90 compares the transmission data with the preset reference values, It is determined whether the water quality satisfies all of the criteria of the ion content, the particle content, and the organic content.

If it is determined that the ultrapure water is less than the reference water quality, the controller 90 closes the second and third valves V2 and V3 and opens the first valve V1 to discard the ultrapure water that is below the reference level.

If it is determined that the ultrapure water satisfies the reference water quality and the ultrapure water supply is requested from the use place, the control unit 90 closes the first and second valves V1 and V2 and opens the third valve V3, And supplies it to the use place.

If it is determined that the ultrapure water satisfies the reference water quality but the ultrapure water supply request is not received from the user, the controller 90 closes the first and third valves V1 and V3 and opens the second valve V2 The ultrapure water is sent to the ultrapure water tank (10) and recovered. The ultrapure water recovered into the ultrapure water tank 10 through this process is mixed with the pure water supplied from the pure water process, and the water quality improvement process is again performed through the pre-processing unit 20 and the ultrafiltration membrane module 40.

The desiccant membrane module 30, the pressure control valve 60, the enclosure 100, and the high-purity nitrogen supply unit 200 are components for improving the measurement accuracy of the particle counter 70 described above.

These configurations 30, 60, 100, and 200 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 4 to 8. FIG.

2. particle  Configuration and action to improve measurement accuracy of counter

2-1. Demolding membrane Membrane  The module (30)

The membrane membrane module (30) is a structure for removing the dissolved gas present in the ultrapure water. Dissolved oxygen (DO) is a representative example of the dissolved gas to be removed, and carbon dioxide (CO ₂ ) and nitrogen (N ₂ ) are also objects to be removed.

These dissolved gases are typical internal factors that degrade the measurement accuracy of the particle counter 70. The dissolved gas can be removed by the membrane membrane module 30 to improve the accuracy of the particle counter 70.

As shown in FIG. 2, the membrane membrane module 30 may be connected to the upstream end of the final ultrafiltration membrane module 40 in the first pipeline L1. That is, the membrane membrane module 30 may be disposed between the pre-processing unit 20 and the ultrafiltration membrane module 40 described above. Alternatively, the membrane membrane module 30 may be connected to the downstream end of the final ultrafiltration membrane module 40.

An embodiment of the membrane membrane module 30 is shown in FIG.

The membrane membrane module 30 according to the embodiment of FIG. 4 includes a module body 35, a gas inlet pipe 31, a gas outlet pipe 32, a water inlet pipe 33 and a water outlet pipe 34 And a plurality of hollow-fiber type gas separation membranes 38 are arranged in the module body 35.

The water flowing into the module body 35 through the water inlet pipe 33 flows toward the water discharge pipe 34 through the gas separation membrane 38 and flows into the gas inlet pipe 31 The gas (for example, nitrogen) introduced into the module body 35 flows through the space outside the gas separation membrane 38 toward the gas discharge pipe 32.

At this time, the dissolved gas in the water (for example, oxygen, carbon dioxide, nitrogen) flowing in the gas separation membrane 38 passes through the gas separation membrane 38 by the partial pressure difference between the gas separation membrane 38 and the gas separation membrane 38, (32).

In the example of FIG. 4- (b), water flows into the gas separation membrane 38, but conversely, gas (nitrogen) flows into the gas separation membrane 38 and water flows through the space outside the gas separation membrane 38 have.

2-2. Pressure regulating valve (60)

The pressure regulating valve 60 is installed on the second pipe line L2 corresponding to the branch pipe line for particle inspection and thereby the air pocket is generated in the ultra pure water flowing along the second pipe line L2 . When an air pocket is generated, the amount of dissolved gas in the ultrapure water to be measured increases, so that the accuracy of the particle counter 70 is lowered. Therefore, it is important to prevent the occurrence of air pockets.

The pressure regulating valve 60 regulates the ultrapure water to flow at a constant pressure (for example, 2.1 bar) higher than the reference value along the second pipeline line L2, Air pockets are prevented from being generated at bent portions or curved portions.

2-3. The enclosure 100 and high purity nitrogen Supplier (200)

Referring to Figs. 6 and 7, the enclosure 100 is configured to accommodate the particle counter 70 therein. In this embodiment, the enclosure 100 is described as merely accommodating the particle counter 70, but the enclosure 100 may additionally accommodate the TOC meter 80.

The enclosure 100 provides an accommodation space for the particle counter 70 that is shielded from the outside, thereby preventing the accuracy of the particle counter 70 from being degraded by external factors such as dust, moisture, and the like.

As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the enclosure 100 according to one embodiment may have a substantially hexahedral box-shaped casing structure. The enclosure 100 may also have a structure including an enclosure main body 110, a door 120 for opening and closing one side thereof, and a shelf 150 for the particle counter 70.

7, a sealing member 140 may be provided at a contact portion between the enclosure main body 110 and the door 120. As shown in FIG. For example, the sealing member 140 may be a rubber packing so that external air is prevented from entering the inside of the enclosure 100 through the gap between the door 120 and the enclosure main body 110.

The display unit 130 is provided on the outer surface of the enclosure 100. As shown in FIG. 6, for example, the display unit 130 may be provided on the front surface of the door 120. The display unit 130 displays data such as temperature, humidity, and dust in the enclosure 100. The display unit 130 may be used as a touch panel to input user-set values such as temperature, humidity, etc. in the enclosure.

The high purity nitrogen is introduced into the enclosure 100 from the high purity nitrogen supply unit 200 in order to maintain the space in the enclosure 100 at an appropriate temperature, humidity and cleanliness to ensure the accuracy of the particle counter 70.

The enclosure 100 is provided with an air discharge unit 300 so that air existing in the enclosure 100 when high purity nitrogen is introduced into the enclosure 100 from the high purity nitrogen supply unit 200 flows through the air discharge unit 300 And is discharged to the outside. Thus, the air in the enclosure 100 is replaced by high-purity nitrogen, so that moisture and dust in the enclosure 100 can be removed.

The air outlet 300 includes a housing 305 and a fan 310 disposed therein. The fan 310 serves to discharge the air in the enclosure 100 out of the enclosure 100. The air outlet 300 may also include a filter 320. The filter 320 is positioned on the air discharge passage by the fan 310 and blocks foreign matter in the air or air from entering the enclosure 100 from the outside through the flow passage.

Although not shown, a sensor such as a temperature sensor, a humidity sensor, and a dust sensor may be provided in the enclosure 100. Here, the dust sensor is a sensor for measuring the amount of dust present in the air in the enclosure 100.

The data sensed by these sensors are transmitted to the control unit 90. The control unit 90 controls the operations of the high purity nitrogen supply unit 200 and the fan 310 based on the transfer data. For example, the control unit 90 operates the high-purity nitrogen supply unit 200 and the fan 310 when at least one of the humidity and the dust amount exceeds the reference value based on the humidity and the dust amount detected through the humidity sensor and the dust sensor 310 may be controlled in a manner that replaces air in enclosure 100 with high purity nitrogen.

8, the particle counter 70 described above may have a structure including an outer casing 71, a measurement cell 72, a light delivery portion 73, and a scattered light sensor 74. [ Light of 532 nm, for example, is supplied to the measurement cell 72 through which the ultrapure water to be inspected passes through the light delivery unit 73, and scattered light received from the measurement cell 72 is detected through the scattered light sensor 74 , And the number of particles present in the ultrapure water to be inspected can be calculated by size by analyzing the detected scattered light.

Moisture and dust present inside the particle counter 70 having such a structure will degrade the accuracy of the scattered light sensor 74 and accordingly the accuracy of the particle counter 70 will be degraded.

According to the present invention, by placing a particle counter 70 in an enclosure 100 providing a closed space and supplying high purity nitrogen into the enclosure 100, Thereby preventing the presence of dust or moisture above the reference value. Therefore, it is possible to effectively prevent the particle counter 70 from degrading in accuracy due to the influence of external factors such as moisture and dust.

FIG. 5 shows two embodiments of the high-purity nitrogen supply unit 200. FIG.

The high purity nitrogen supply unit 200 includes a compressor 211, an oil separator 212, an air filter 213, an air cooler 214, an air drier 212, A nitrogen generator 216, a heat exchanger 217, and a regulator 218. The nitrogen generator 215 may be a nitrogen generator,

The air introduced through the compressor 211 is supplied to the nitrogen generator 216 to generate nitrogen.

The oil separator 212 is configured to remove the oil component introduced into the air passing through the compressor 211. The air filter 213 filters the dust in the air to be supplied to the nitrogen generator 216. The air cooler 214 and the air dryer 215 are configured to remove moisture in the air to be supplied to the nitrogen generator 216. The air cooler 214 removes moisture in the air through condensation through air cooling, The air dryer 215 removes moisture in the air through adsorption means (e.g., zeolite). The heat exchanger 217 and the regulator 218 are configured to regulate the temperature and pressure of the nitrogen produced by the nitrogen generator 216, respectively.

The high purity nitrogen supply unit 200 includes a nitrogen tank 231, a dustproof filter 232, a heat exchanger 233, and a regulator 234 .

The nitrogen tank 231 is a tank in which the degenerated nitrogen is stored. The dust-proof filter 232 is configured to filter dust in the nitrogen supplied from the nitrogen tank 231. The heat exchanger 217 and the regulator 218 are configured to regulate the temperature and pressure of the nitrogen produced by the nitrogen generator 216, respectively.

3. particle  Verify the accuracy of the counter

Detailed condition
Particles (Dogs / ml)
Comparative Example
- more than 10
Invention Example 1

- Application of MDG (30)
3.72 ~ 2.48 Invention Example 2
- Application of MDG (30)
- Apply pressure control valve (60)
1.32 ~ 0.8 Inventive Example 3
- Application of MDG (30)
- Apply pressure control valve (60)
- Enclosure (100) application
0.4 ± 0.1

[Table 1] summarizes the test results verifying the accuracy improvement effect of the particle counter 70 according to the present invention.

As shown in Table 1, the first embodiment of the present invention is applied to only the membrane membrane module 30 (MDG), and the second embodiment of the present invention includes the membrane membrane module 30 and the pressure control valve 60 The membrane module 30, the pressure control valve 60, and the enclosure 100 are applied to the third embodiment of the present invention.

In the comparative example, all of the other conditions are the same, but neither the membrane membrane module 30, the pressure regulating valve 60 nor the enclosure 100 are applied.

In the case of Embodiments 2 and 3 where the pressure regulating valve 60 was applied, the pressure of the ultra pure water flowing into the particle counter 70 was adjusted to about 2.1 bar. In the case of the comparative example and the first embodiment in which the pressure control valve 60 is not applied, the pressure of the ultra pure water flowing into the particle counter 70 was measured to be about 0.3 bar.

As is summarized in Table 1, when neither the membrane membrane module 30, the pressure regulating valve 60 nor the enclosure 100 is applied (Comparative Example), the particles measured by the particle counter 70 The number of particles measured by the particle counter 70 is significantly reduced in the embodiments of the present invention.

This difference in the number of particle counts is not due to a change in the number of actual particles but to the configuration of the present invention 30, 60, 100 (for avoiding the influence of internal factors or external factors that degrade the accuracy of the particle counter 70 Is applied, the effect of such internal or external factors is reduced, which improves the accuracy of the particle counter 70.

From this it can be seen that according to embodiments of the present invention, the accuracy of the particle counter 70 is greatly improved.

10: UPW tank
20:
30: Membrane membrane module (MDG)
40: Final ultrafiltration membrane module (UF)
50: Resistivity meter
60: Pressure regulating valve
70: Particle counter
80: TOC meter
90:
100: enclosure
140: Sealing member
200: High purity nitrogen supply part
300:
310: Fan
320: Filter

Claims (13)

As an ultrapure water producing system for producing ultrapure water from pure water,
A particle counter (70) for inspecting the number of particles contained in the ultrapure water produced through the system;
An enclosure 100 for accommodating the particle counter 70 therein; And
And a high-purity nitrogen supply unit (200) for supplying high-purity nitrogen to the enclosure (100)
The enclosure 100 includes an air discharge unit 300 for discharging internal air to the outside and the air discharge unit 300 includes a fan 310 for blowing air in the enclosure 100 out of the enclosure 100 In addition,
The ultra pure water production system
A humidity sensor installed in the enclosure 100;
A dust sensor installed in the enclosure 100; And
And a control unit (90) for controlling operation of the high purity nitrogen supply unit (200) and the fan (310) based on detection data of the humidity sensor and the dust sensor
Ultra pure water production system.
delete delete delete The method according to claim 1,
The air discharge unit 300 includes a filter 320 installed on an air flow path that extends out of the enclosure 100 through the fan 310 to filter foreign substances entering the enclosure 100 from the outside Included
Ultra pure water production system.
delete The method according to claim 1,
The enclosure (100)
An enclosure main body 110;
A door 120 for opening / closing one side of the enclosure main body 110; And
And a sealing member (140) provided at a contact portion between the enclosure main body (110) and the door (120)
Ultra pure water production system.
The method according to claim 1,
A branch pipeline (L2) for particle inspection for supplying a part of ultrapure water to the particle counter for particle inspection; And
And a pressure control valve (60) installed in the particle inspection line (L2)
Ultra pure water production system.
The method according to claim 1,
Final ultrafast module (40); And
And a membrane membrane module (30) connected to the upstream end side of the final ultrafiltration membrane module (40)
Ultra pure water production system.
delete delete delete delete

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