KR20160137175A - Hollowfiber membrane moldule and hollowfiber membrane moldule housing therefor - Google Patents

Abstract

Disclosed is a hollow fiber membrane module. A hollow fiber membrane module according to an embodiment of the present invention comprises: a housing in which a hollow portion is formed, and both sides of which are open; a hollow fiber membrane which is disposed in the hollow portion; a potting part in which the hollow fiber membrane is potted, and which is inserted into one side of the housing; module caps in each of which an inflow port configured to receive raw water from the outside and a discharge port configured to discharge the raw water are formed, and which are coupled to both sides of the housing; and a plurality of drain ports which are formed along an outer circumferential surface of the housing, and which connect the hollow portion with an outside of the housing.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention [0001] The present invention relates to a hollow fiber membrane module and a hollow fiber membrane module housing for the hollow fiber membrane module,

The present invention relates to a hollow fiber membrane module and a hollow fiber membrane module housing for the same. More particularly, the present invention relates to a hollow fiber membrane module for filtering a part of organic matter, heavy metals, various bacteria and impurities by a method using hollow fibers, .

In general, membrane distillation is a process in which a phase change occurs on the surface of a hydrophobic polymer membrane, and steam is passed through the surface micropores of the membrane to condense and separate.

It can be used in a desalting process for separating and removing a nonvolatile material or a material having a relatively low volatility or can be used for separating organic materials having high volatility in an aqueous solution.

Since the concept of membrane distillation has been proposed in the 1960s, studies on membrane distillation have been carried out mainly in the United States, Europe, Japan, and Australia. In recent years, There is an active movement to replace the reverse osmosis process.

At present, the evaporation method and the reverse osmosis process which are used in pure water production and desalination processes have a disadvantage of requiring a lot of energy.

In particular, since the reverse osmosis method has a problem of contamination and fouling, it is operated not only because of the difficulty of operation management but also because it operates at a high pressure because many steps of pretreatment are carried out before use. It has a disadvantage that it takes time.

On the other hand, membrane distillation is operated at a lower pressure than that of ultrafiltration and reverse osmosis using a porous membrane, and is separated by the pressure difference of steam pressure.

In addition, by using the membrane distillation separation method, there is no entrainment of the conventional distillation method in separating and removing nonvolatile substances such as salt, and it is not necessary to use a filter or separation membrane operated at a high pressure.

In this membrane distillation process, direct contact membrane distillation (DCM), air layer membrane distillation (AGMD), collecting gas membrane distillation (SGMD), and vacuum membrane distillation (VMD) exist depending on the configuration.

Due to the advantages of the membrane distillation separation process, the desalination process using the membrane distillation method is emerging as one of the competitive methods in the production of drinking water all over the world because of the durability of the low-cost utility and separator.

Vacuum membrane distillation, one of the membrane distillation structures, is a constitutional method in which the thermal efficiency is increased and a high flux is obtained. A representative type of membrane module used for vacuum membrane distillation is a hollow fiber membrane module.

The hollow fiber membrane module uses a method in which a hollow fiber membrane is used by being ported to an outer housing, in which an inflow water flows into the hollow fiber membrane and water vapor passes through the hollow fiber membrane to move into the housing, Out-In is a typical method in which influent water is flowed and water vapor passes through the hollow fiber membrane and moves into the hollow fiber membrane.

Here, the hollowfiber membrane is formed of hollow or thin organic or inorganic filtration membranes, and is capable of separating fluids or solids due to various energy level differences such as internal and external pressure, osmotic pressure, gas partial pressure difference, etc. Separation membrane.

Generally, the outer diameter of 1mm or less is classified into a hollow fiber membrane. If it is larger than 1mm, it is divided into a tubular membrane.

These hollow fiber membranes are widely used in various water treatments (water treatment and sewage treatment, wastewater treatment), seawater desalination (pretreatment, reverse osmosis process, cleansing process, membrane distillation process), medicine and food concentration process and gas separation process.

  In addition, the hollow fiber membrane module can be configured in a compact form compared to a flat membrane or a wound membrane, thereby achieving maximum throughput while reducing footprint in many application processes.

However, in the conventional hollow fiber membrane module used for the vacuum film distillation as described above, the module configuration of the in-out cushion frequently causes water to be occluded in the housing.

Accordingly, there is a case where the submerged vessel can not be transferred to the outside of the housing and condensed and condensed inside the housing, and the case where the function of the hydrophobic hollow fiber membrane is lowered and the inflow water in the liquid state is permeated as it is.

Particularly, when the inflow water passes through the hollow fiber membrane as it is, serious defects are generated in the hollow fiber membrane module, and the water quality of the treated water is likely to deteriorate rapidly, so that the repair of the hollow fiber membrane module is urgently required.

In addition, when water is accumulated inside the housing and the hollow fiber membrane is immersed, the efficiency of the vacuum film distillation decreases. At this time, when the influent water passes through the hollow fiber membrane in a liquid state and becomes solid, contamination occurs outside the membrane.

Accordingly, it is necessary to periodically observe whether the water accumulates in the hollow fiber membrane module, and to discharge the water when it is high. It is judged whether the inflow water is caused by the treated steam or whether the inflow water passes through the membrane as it is, Should be.

However, the hollow fiber membrane module used for the vacuum membrane distillation has a disadvantage that it is difficult for the user to confirm whether the water is accumulated in the hollow fiber membrane module, that is, inside the housing.

In addition, it is difficult to judge whether condensed water vapor is present or not in the hollow fiber membrane module.

In addition, when the outside of the hollow fiber membrane is contaminated, it is troublesome to separate the hollow fiber membrane module from the pipe and then clean it.

The matters described in the background section are intended to enhance the understanding of the background of the invention and may include matters not previously known to those skilled in the art.

KR 10-2012-0038844A

The embodiments of the present invention are intended to provide a hollow fiber membrane module and a hollow fiber membrane module housing in which the inside of the housing can be visually observed from the outside.

In addition, the embodiment of the present invention is characterized in that a hollow fiber membrane module and a hollow fiber membrane module are provided for judging whether water vapor intruded into the housing is condensed or condensed without the decomposition of the housing, Thereby providing a module housing.

Also, an embodiment of the present invention is to provide a hollow fiber membrane module and a hollow fiber membrane module housing in which a washing operation is performed without separating the hollow fiber membrane from the housing when the hollow fiber membrane installed in the housing is washed.

A hollow fiber membrane module according to an embodiment of the present invention includes: a housing having a hollow portion inside and having both open sides; A hollow fiber membrane disposed on the hollow portion; A potting portion to which the hollow fiber membrane is potted and inserted into one side of the housing; And a module cap which is formed at each of an inlet port through which the raw water flows from the outside and a discharge port which discharges raw water introduced from the outside and is respectively connected to both sides of the housing; And a plurality of drain ports formed along the outer circumferential surface of the housing and connecting the hollow portion to the outside of the housing.

Further, in the hollow fiber membrane module according to the embodiment of the present invention, the drain port discharges the water accumulated on the hollow portion of the housing to the outside, and can inject and discharge the washing liquid to clean the hollow fiber membrane.

Further, in the hollow fiber membrane module according to the embodiment of the present invention, the drain port may include a first drain port formed on an outer circumferential surface of the housing; Second and third drain ports formed respectively with the first drain port therebetween; And fourth and fifth drain ports formed to face the second and third drain ports and the center of the housing.

Further, in the hollow fiber membrane module according to the embodiment of the present invention, the housing may be provided with a transparent window on the outer circumferential surface thereof.

Further, in the hollow fiber membrane module according to the embodiment of the present invention, the housing may be provided with a first sensor installed therein for sensing water accumulated on the hollow portion.

Further, in the hollow fiber membrane module according to the embodiment of the present invention, the first sensor may be a water level sensor.

Further, in the hollow fiber membrane module according to the embodiment of the present invention, the housing may be provided with a second sensor installed therein to grasp the property of the raw water accumulated on the hollow portion.

In addition, in the hollow fiber membrane module according to the embodiment of the present invention, the second sensor may be an electric conductivity sensor.

The hollow fiber membrane module housing according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a hollow fiber membrane module housing having a hollow fiber membrane inside and a module cap having inlet and outlet ports for discharging raw water and pure water from both sides, A case in which the hollow fiber membrane is provided and the module cap is coupled to the hollow fiber membrane; A drain port formed in plurality along the outer circumferential surface of the case and connected to the hollow portion; And a transparent window installed on an outer circumferential surface of the case to identify the inside of the case.

Further, in the hollow fiber membrane module housing according to the embodiment of the present invention, the drain port may include a first drain port formed on an outer circumferential surface of the case; Second and third drain ports formed respectively with the first drain port therebetween; And fourth and fifth drain ports formed to face the second and third drain ports and the center of the case.

Also, in the hollow fiber membrane module housing according to the embodiment of the present invention, the case may be provided with a water level sensor installed therein to sense the water accumulated on the hollow portion.

Also, in the hollow fiber membrane module housing according to the embodiment of the present invention, the case may be provided with an electric conductivity sensor which is installed in the case and recognizes the property of the raw water accumulated on the hollow part.

The embodiment of the present invention can visually confirm the state of the hollow fiber membrane installed on the hollow part through the transparent window provided on the case of the housing and the phenomenon of the water accumulating on the hollow part from the outside.

The embodiments of the present invention can also be applied to a case in which condensed water is condensed in the housing without the decomposition of the housing through the water level sensor and the electric conductivity sensor provided in the case of the housing and the plurality of drain ports And it is possible to discharge the water which is toughened to the outside.

Also, in the embodiment of the present invention, when the hollow fiber membrane installed in the housing is washed, the washing operation can be performed through a plurality of drain ports without separating the hollow fiber membrane from the housing.

In addition, effects obtainable or predicted by the embodiments of the present invention will be directly or implicitly disclosed in the detailed description of the embodiments of the present invention. That is, various effects to be predicted according to the embodiment of the present invention will be disclosed in the detailed description to be described later.

1 is a front view of a hollow fiber membrane module according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a partial cutaway view of a hollow fiber membrane module according to an embodiment of the present invention.
3 to 6 are operation diagrams of a hollow fiber membrane module according to an embodiment of the present invention.

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

It is to be understood, however, that the present invention is not limited to the illustrated embodiments, and that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. .

In order to clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present invention, parts not related to the description are omitted, and the same or similar components are denoted by the same reference numerals throughout the entire specification. In the following description, the names of the components are denoted by the first, second, etc. in order to distinguish them from each other because the names of the components are the same and are not necessarily limited to the order.

And throughout the specification, when an element is referred to as " comprising ", it means that it can include other elements as well, without excluding other elements unless specifically stated otherwise.

The hollow fiber membrane module according to an embodiment of the present invention is preferably used for vacuum membrane distillation (VMD) during various membrane distillation processes. If necessary, direct hollow membrane membrane (DCM), air layer membrane distillation (AGMD), capture gas membrane distillation (SGMD), and the like.

FIG. 1 is a front view of a hollow fiber membrane module according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a partial cutaway view of a hollow fiber membrane module according to an embodiment of the present invention.

1 and 2, a hollow fiber membrane module 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a housing 10, a hollow fiber membrane 20, a potting (not shown), a module cap 30, As shown in FIG.

Here, the hollow fiber membrane 20, the potting part, and the module cap 30 are well known in the art, so that a detailed description thereof will be simplified or omitted. 10), a drain port, and the like will be described.

The hollow fiber membrane 20 serves to separate pure water from raw water. The hollow fiber membrane 20 may be a polymer membrane or a ceramic membrane.

For example, it is possible to use polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF), polysulfone (PSF), polyether sulfone (PES), polyether lmide , PEI), polyimide (PI), or the like.

In addition, it is possible to use polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP) and polyamide (PA), cellulose acetate (CA), cellulose triacetate (CTA), alumina, zirconium (zirconium, Zr), and silicon oxide (SiO2).

The potting portion serves as an intermediary for coupling the hollow fiber membrane 30 and the housing 10 together. The hollow fiber membrane 20 is potted in the potting part and is detachably inserted into one end of the housing 10.

The module cap 30 is connected to both ends of the housing 10 and includes an inlet port 31 for introducing raw water from the outside into the inside of the housing 10 and a discharge port 31 for discharging pure water from the inside of the housing 10. And a module cap 30 on which the module cap 30 is formed.

The housing 10 is provided with a hollow fiber membrane 20 therein and the modular cap 30 is coupled to both ends of the housing 10 to supply raw water to the hollow fiber membrane 30 to separate the raw water.

The housing 10 includes a case 11, a drain port, and a transparent window 12.

The case 11 has a hollow portion 13 formed therein and a bundle of the hollow fiber membranes 20 is provided on the hollow portion 13. The module cap 30 is coupled to the opened end of the hollow portion 13.

At this time, the case 11 is preferably formed in a cylindrical shape, but it is not limited thereto, and may be formed in various forms such as a polygonal shape.

The drain port is formed along the outer circumferential surface of the case 11 so that the drain port is connected to the hollow portion 13 and communicates with the hollow portion 13 and is connected to the outside of the housing 10.

The first drain port 14 may be formed on the outer peripheral surface of the longitudinally middle portion of the case 11, 2 and the third drain ports 15 and 16 are formed on both end sides so as to be spaced apart from each other with the first drain port 14 therebetween.

The fourth and fifth drain ports 17 and 18 are formed to face the second and third drain ports 15 and 16 with the center of the case 11 interposed therebetween.

At this time, the first to fifth drain ports 14, 15, 16, 17, and 18 may be configured to join the pipes or to connect the nipples so as to protrude to the outside of the case 11, Thereby facilitating the connection with the external device through the piping.

Meanwhile, valves (not shown) may be installed in the first to fifth drain ports 14, 15, 16, 17, In this case, the installed valves may be solenoid valves of an on / off type, but the present invention is not limited thereto, and any number of solenoid valves can be applied as long as they are capable of opening and closing the ports by an electronic actuator.

The transparent window (12) is installed on the outer circumference of the case (11) so that the inside can be recognized. That is, the inside of the case 11, that is, the state of the hollow fiber membrane 20 provided in the hollow part 13 and the phenomenon of water accumulation on the hollow part 13 can be visually confirmed from the outside.

The transparent window 12 is formed in such a manner that a part of the case 11 is cut to form an insertion groove and is fitted in the formed insertion groove. A sealing material for maintaining the airtightness is interposed between the insertion groove and the transparent window 12 .

In this case, the transparent window 12 may be made of a synthetic resin material, a glass material, or the like, and all materials made of a transparent material may be included therein, and a plurality of transparent materials may be provided on the outer circumferential surface of the case 11.

The length of the transparent window 12 may be longer than the length of the case 11 along the left / right width direction of the case 11, Direction may be formed to be shorter than the length formed along the left / right width direction of the case 11.

According to this, electrons are effective for visually grasping the state of the hollow fiber membrane 20 provided in the hollow part 13, and the latter is effective for visually grasping the water on the hollow part 13.

In addition, the housing 10 may be provided with a first sensor S1 installed inside the case 11 to sense water accumulated on the hollow portion 13, And a water level sensor.

Furthermore, the housing 10 may be provided with a second sensor S2 installed inside the case 11 to detect the property of the raw water accumulated on the hollow portion 13. At this time, S2 may comprise an electrical conductivity sensor.

Since the first and second sensors S1 and S2 can be connected to the external integrated management system by incorporating the wireless transmission unit, even if the user does not check with the naked eye, water is accumulated in the case 11 of the housing 10 You can understand the nature of the enemy.

Accordingly, the state of the hollow fiber membrane module 1 can be confirmed remotely, and the time for maintenance of the hollow fiber membrane module 1 can be determined more conveniently.

Here, the integrated management system may be installed in a management center to be managed, and a smart phone or a tablet PC used by a manager while being portable may be used.

Since such an integrated management system is a well-known technology widely used in the art, a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

Hereinafter, the operation of the hollow fiber membrane module having the above-described structure will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4. FIG.

3 to 6 are operation diagrams of a hollow fiber membrane module according to an embodiment of the present invention.

3, the raw water is first introduced into the case 11 of the housing 10 through the inlet port 31 formed in the module cap 30 of one side, and the introduced raw water passes through the hollow fiber membrane 20 So that pure water is discharged through the discharge port 32 of the other module cap 30.

Through this operation, if a situation occurs in which water is caught in the case 11 of the housing 10, that is, on the hollow portion 13, the user can see through the transparent window 12 installed in the case 11, It can be confirmed that the hollow portion 13 is filled with water.

In this case, the user opens the first to fifth drain ports 14, 15, 16, 17, 18 formed in the case 11 to discharge the water to the outside of the hollow portion 13 .

At this time, as the case 11 of the housing 10 is vertically installed, as the water becomes solid on the lower hollow portion 13 of the case 11, the first to fifth drain ports 14, 17 and 18 are opened but the third and fifth drain ports 16 and 18 formed in the lower portion of the case 11 are opened to discharge the water.

4, when the case 11 of the housing 10 is horizontally installed, the fourth and fifth drain ports 17 and 18 are opened to discharge the water to the outside, and in the opposite direction, The first to third drain ports 14, 15 and 16 are opened and discharged when the case 11 of the casing 10 is installed.

Accordingly, water accumulated on the hollow portion 13 of the case 11 can be discharged to the outside without separating the case 11 of the housing 10, and the water is condensed in the housing 10 , And the case where the function of the hydrophobic hollow fiber membrane 20 is lowered and the raw water in the liquid state is directly permeated can be prevented.

On the other hand, if the user visually observes the contamination of the hollow fiber membrane 20 provided on the hollow part 13 through the transparent window 12, the user performs the cleaning operation of the hollow fiber membrane 20.

5, in this case, the first to fifth drain ports 14, 15, 16, 17, and 18 are connected through an external device and piping to which a washing liquid for washing the hollow fiber membrane 20 can be input, And the cleaning liquid is introduced into the hollow portion 13 of the case 11. [

At this time, when the case 11 of the housing 10 is installed vertically, the cleaning liquid is introduced into the hollow portion 13 of the case 11 through the first to third drain ports 14, 15, The cleaning liquid after the cleaning operation is discharged to the outside through the fourth and fifth drain ports (17, 18) formed on the opposite side.

6, when the case 11 of the housing 10 is horizontally installed, the cleaning liquid is introduced and discharged in the same manner as the case 11 of the housing 10 is installed vertically.

When the case 11 of the housing 10 is installed in the opposite direction, the cleaning liquid is introduced into the hollow portion 13 of the case 11 through the fourth and fifth drain ports 17 and 18, The cleaning liquid is discharged to the outside through the first to third drain ports (14, 15, 16) formed on the opposite side.

Accordingly, the washing operation can be easily performed without separating the hollow fiber membrane 20 from the housing 10 during the washing operation of the hollow fiber membrane 20.

In the above description, the user visually observes through the transparent window 12 the water inside the case 11 of the housing 10, that is, the hollow portion 13, or the contamination of the hollow fiber membrane 20 However, this may be confirmed by the integrated management system through the first and second sensors S1 and S2 as described above.

Further, by controlling the opening and closing operations of the first to fifth drain ports 14, 15, 16, 17, and 18 by utilizing the integrated management system, all items necessary for maintenance of the hollow fiber membrane module 1 can be remotely controlled You can do it.

While the present invention has been described with reference to exemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments, but, on the contrary, And all changes to the scope that are deemed to be valid.

1: hollow fiber membrane module 10: housing
11: Case 12: Transparent window
13: hollow part 14: first drain port
15: second drain port 16: third drain port
17: fourth drain port 18: fifth drain port
S1: first sensor S2: second sensor
20: hollow fiber membrane 30: module cap
31: inlet port 32: outlet port

Claims (12)

A housing having a hollow inside and having both open sides;
A hollow fiber membrane disposed on the hollow portion;
A potting portion to which the hollow fiber membrane is potted and inserted into one side of the housing; And
A module cap having an inlet port for introducing raw water from the outside and a discharge port for discharging raw water introduced from the outside and being respectively connected to both sides of the housing; ≪ / RTI >
A plurality of drain ports formed along the outer circumferential surface of the housing and connecting the hollow portion to the outside of the housing;
Further comprising a hollow fiber membrane module. The method according to claim 1,
The drain port
The hollow fiber membrane module according to the present invention is characterized in that the hollow fiber membrane module according to the present invention is a hollow fiber membrane module in which water is accumulated on a hollow portion of the housing and discharged and discharged. The method according to claim 1,
The drain port
A first drain port formed on an outer circumferential surface of the housing;
Second and third drain ports formed respectively with the first drain port therebetween; And
Fourth and fifth drain ports formed to face the second and third drain ports and the center of the housing;
Wherein the hollow fiber membrane module comprises a hollow fiber membrane module. The method according to claim 1,
The housing
And a transparent window for confirming the inside of the hollow fiber membrane module is provided on the outer circumferential surface. The method according to claim 1,
The housing
And a first sensor installed inside the hollow space to detect water accumulated on the hollow space. 6. The method of claim 5,
The first sensor
And a water level sensor. The method according to claim 1,
The housing
And a second sensor installed inside the hollow space to detect the property of the raw water accumulated on the hollow space. 8. The method of claim 7,
The second sensor
Wherein the hollow fiber membrane module comprises an electrical conductivity sensor. A hollow fiber membrane module housing having a hollow fiber membrane inside thereof and a module cap formed at both ends thereof with an inlet port and an outlet port for discharging raw water and discharging pure water,
A case in which the hollow fiber membrane is formed in the hollow part and the module cap is coupled to the hollow fiber membrane at both sides thereof;
A drain port formed in plurality along the outer circumferential surface of the case and connected to the hollow portion; And
A transparent window installed on an outer circumferential surface of the case to identify the inside thereof;
The hollow fiber membrane module housing comprising: 10. The method of claim 9,
The drain port
A first drain port formed on an outer peripheral surface of the case;
Second and third drain ports formed respectively with the first drain port therebetween; And
Fourth and fifth drain ports formed to face the second and third drain ports and the center of the case;
Wherein the hollow fiber membrane module housing comprises a hollow fiber membrane module housing. 10. The method of claim 9,
The case
And a water level sensor installed inside the hollow fiber membrane module for sensing the water accumulated on the hollow fiber membrane module. 10. The method of claim 9,
Wherein the case is provided with an electric conductivity sensor installed inside the case to detect the property of the raw water accumulated on the hollow portion.

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