KR890003448B1 - Hollow-fiber filter module - Google Patents

Abstract

The hollow-fiber filter module includes two annular members (1,1'), plurality of hollow fiber (3) for filtration which are arranged in linear shape between the members (1,1'), two fixing members (2), each being attached on the inside surface of the annular members (1,1'), which fit and fix the hollow fiber with both side ends being open, compartment member (5) defining a filtrate-gathering chamber (4) on one (10) of two outletfaces forming by both side end openings of the hollow fibers (3), and one or more filtrate conduit (6) for introducing the filtrate gathered in the filtrate-gathering chamber (4) toward the other outlet face.

Description

Hollow fiber filtration module

1 is a partially cut-away schematic plan view of a hollow fiber filtration module of an embodiment of the present invention.

2 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a hollow fiber filtration module assembly formed by connecting three used fiber filtration modules in series in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention.

3 is a plan view of the reinforcing ring that may be used in combination in the hollow fiber filtration module of the present invention as needed.

4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line A-A of FIG.

* Explanation of symbols for main parts of the drawings

1: annular member 2: fixing member

3: hollow fiber 4: filtrate collection chamber

5: partition member 6: filtrate conduit

7: support member

The present invention relates to hollow fiber filtration modules for use in water purifiers. Since hollow fiber filtration membranes have excellent filtration capability, they have been used in, for example, conventional water purifiers for producing high purity industrial water, beverages, and pharmaceutical sterilized water. Conventional filtration modules, which have a hollow fiber filtration membrane and are used for water purifiers, have hollow fibers for filtration arranged in a U-shape in a cylindrical housing, or one end is closed, e.g. It is attached to a urethane fixing member and the other end is arranged in the form of an unsealed string. When these hollow fiber filtration modules are used to treat very large amounts of water on an industrial scale, the steps that can be taken in the prior art have been to increase the number or length of hollow fibers contained in the modules.

When the number of hollow fibers per unit area is increased, the water production increases in proportion to the number of hollow fibers used. However, if the installation density of the hollow fiber is increased too much, the water passage in the hollow fiber inside will have a large resistance, so that it cannot increase in proportion to the number of hollow fibers using the amount of water produced. On the other hand, when the length of the hollow fiber increases, the amount of water produced increases with the increase in the treated film area.

However, the relationship between the inner diameter of the hollow fiber and the performance of the filtration membrane indicates that when the length exceeds a specific system, the resistance in the pores of the hollow fiber becomes a limiting factor, and the production of water cannot be increased. Nevertheless, there may be a need to treat large amounts of water using hollow fiber filtration modules with as compact a design as possible. In such a case, it is impossible to use the hollow fiber filtration module of the prior known type.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a hollow fiber filtration module suitable for use in industrial water purifiers, having a completely new structure that can overcome the above-mentioned disadvantages.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a hollow fiber filtration module having a compact structure that enables the entire hollow fiber filtration membrane to be used efficiently.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a hollow fiber filtration module that has a strong assembly structure and can also be used in the form of an assembly consisting of a plurality of hollow fibers connected in series to reduce the space occupied by them.

In accordance with the present invention, (a) two annular members, (b) a plurality of filtration hollow fibers arranged in a completely straight line between these annular members, and (c) these hollow fibers are bound together with their open ends. Two fixing members respectively attached to the inner surface of the annular member for fixing, and (d) a partition for forming a filtrate collection chamber above one of the two outlet surfaces defined by the two open ends of these hollow fibers. There is provided a hollow fiber filtration module composed of a member and (e) one or more filtrate conduits for directing the filtrate collected in the filtrate collection chamber to the other outlet face.

Next, the hollow fiber filtration module of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

As shown in FIG. 1, the filtration module of the present invention is basically an annular member 1 and 1 ', a fixing member 2, a plurality of hollow fibers 3 used for filtration, filtrate It consists of the partition member 5 and filtrate conduit 6 which form the collection chamber 4. In addition, the support member 7 and other suitable members may be selectively provided. The annular member 11 has a function of a support that serves to support the entire module when installing the hollow fiber filtration module in the water purifier. The annular member 1 may have a rectangular or other cross-sectional shape, although the annular shape is typical. Moreover, the outer periphery may take many forms, depending on how this module is installed in the water purifier. The other annular member 1 'functions as a support for forming the filtrate collection chamber 4. On each inner surface of each of the annular members 1 and 1 ', a partition serves between the water to be purified and the purified water obtained in order to fix the hollow fiber 3 and to allow the hollow fiber to function as a filtration membrane. Fixing member 2 is coupled to. A plurality of hollow fibers 3 having both ends open by the fixing member 2 are fixed in a straight state. These fixing members can be made of a material selected from, for example, polyurethane, epoxy resin, unsaturated polyester resin and silicone resin.

In the hollow fiber filtration module of the present invention, the outlet surfaces 9 and 10 are limited by both open ends of the hollow fiber 3.

One annular member 1 'attaches the partition member 5 to form a filtrate collection chamber 4 above the outlet surface 10 for collecting the filtrate obtained. In order to guide the filtrate collected in the filtrate collection chamber 4 to the outlet surface 9 formed by the other opening end of the hollow fiber 3 and to combine it with the filtrate obtained therefrom, two fixing members 2 Each filtrate conduit 6 extends through almost the center. This filtrate conduit 6 also functions as a connecting member for connecting and securing the two annular members 1 and 1 'to form a hollow fiber filtration module. Alternatively, a plurality of filtrate conduits may be provided. Although the inner diameter of the filtrate conduit 6 depends on how many pieces it is provided, it is usually 10 times larger than the inner diameter of the hollow fiber 3. In addition, as shown in FIG. 1, a cylindrical support member 7 is provided to protect the hollow fibers 3 and to prevent them from becoming entangled. To assist the function of connecting members 1 and 1 '.

When the support member 7 is in the form of a cylinder, it is necessary to provide the support member with a hole 8 which serves as a water passage. Alternatively, it is also possible to combine the two annular members 1 and 1 ', the cylindrical support member 7 and the partition member 5 together to form one structure. It is to be noted that the support member 7 is not limited to a cylindrical shape, but may adopt various forms including several columns.

In the hollow fiber filtration module of the present invention having the above-described structure, the filtrate conduit 6 is located through the fixing member 2, so that the outside of the outlet face is located on the side without the filtrate collection chamber 4. Only one filtrate discharge site per module needs to be provided. Therefore, in the hollow fiber filtration module unit, in which several hollow fiber filtration modules are combined as one, the number of connections between the unit and the module can be reduced by half. In addition, in the case of the hollow fiber for filtration purposes, the relationship between the inner diameter of the hollow fiber and the permeability of the filtration membrane generally indicates that the inherent permeability of the hollow fiber is doubled at a lower magnification as the length thereof increases. In more detail, for example, when the normal planar membrane area is doubled, the permeability is also doubled under the same operating conditions. However, in the case of hollow fibers, the permeability cannot be doubled because the area of the membrane is doubled.

In fact, the permeability is somewhat different depending on the relationship between the hollow fiber geometry (inner diameter) and permeability, but is less than twice. In this case, as the length of the hollow fiber increases, the degree to which the number decreases is more severe. In the hollow fiber filtration module of FIG. 1, in which the hollow fiber 3 is arranged in a straight line with both ends open, the hollow fiber filtration module of FIG. 1 is comparable to that of the hollow fiber filtration module using the hollow fiber of the same length in which one end is sealed. It is possible to reduce the length of the hollow fiber, which causes the reduction, to 1/2. This results in an increase in permeability per unit area of the filtration membrane.

In addition, when the hollow fibers arranged in a straight line are appropriately laid down, an appropriate space can be obtained between the hollow fibers 3 located in the filtration zone. Therefore, the water to be treated can be easily reached to the hollow fiber located at the center of the hollow fiber filtration module, and as a result, it is possible to uniformly and effectively use all the hollow fibers 3 constituting the hollow fiber filtration module. do. Therefore, all the hollow fibers included in the hollow fiber filtration module of the present invention having the above-described structure can be effectively used, and as a result, the hollow fiber filtration module of a compact design can be minimized by minimizing the space occupied by these module units. To provide a module.

2 shows a hollow fiber filtration module manufactured by connecting three hollow fiber filtration modules in series according to another embodiment of the present invention. As shown in this figure, a plurality of hollow fiber filtration modules according to the present invention may be used in the form of hollow fiber filtration modules having a length of several meters by connecting in series.

In detail, in the illustrated embodiment, the filtrate collection chamber 20 of the first module (located on the left side) is connected to the outlet face 23 of the second module, and the filtrate collection of the second module is performed. The chamber 21 is connected in the same way to the outlet face 24 of the third module (located on the right side).

Essentially, these three hollow fiber filtration modules are identical in structure except for the kinmeal members 17 to 19. In other words, the partition members 17 and 18 of the first and second modules also function as connecting members for connecting the respective modules to adjacent modules, while the partitions of the third module The member 19 only serves the primary function of forming a filtrate collection chamber. Therefore, when the partition members 17 to 19 are detachably attached, the hollow fiber filtration modules having the same structure may be used alone or in the form of an assembly configured by connecting a plurality of them in series. Furthermore, in the above embodiment in which each module is configured symmetrically, an installation member 25 for fixing the module assembly to the water purifier is detachably connected to the annular member 11 of the first module.

As described above, although several filtrate conduits may be provided, it is more preferable to provide only one filtrate conduit as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 for the sake of simplicity of the module structure. However, since the filtrate conduits are disposed through the center of the fixing member attached to the inner surface of each annular member located at the other end of the module, the vibrations and / or stresses generated during the transportation, installation, and use of these modules are not related to the filtrate conduits. Concentration on the joints between the fastening members results in cases where these joints are separated. As a result, the partition member may not be able to perform its function as a partition, and in severe cases, the module itself may be damaged.

Such a situation was found to increase more significantly as the module size increased or the number of modules connected in series increased.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, these problems are solved by using a reinforcing ring 26 attached to each of the annular members 11 to 16.

3 is a plan view showing an embodiment of the reinforcing ring 26, and FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line A-A of FIG. The reinforcing ring 26 has protrusions 27 and 28 for attaching to the filtrate conduit and the annular member, respectively, as well as an opening 29 provided for placing the hollow fiber therein. The number of the openings 29 may be provided as many as necessary if there are two or more. However, it is more preferable to have three to five openings for production convenience.

The projections 27 are more preferably made into a cylindrical shape having a length (1) sufficient to maintain the position of the filtrate conduit in the fixing member as well as to minimize the stress transmitted from the filtrate conduit to the fixing member. Do. Since the purpose of the reinforcing ring 26 is to minimize the stress transmitted to the fixing member along the filtrate conduit passage as described above, the reinforcing ring 26 is made of a material selected from hard resin and metal. desirable.

The reinforcing ring 26 is preferably attached to both annular members of the hollow fiber filtration module. However, only one reinforcing ring attached to the annular member located on the side without the filtrate collection chamber is used to separate the fixing member from the filtrate conduit. It has the effect of significantly preventing separation.

The various members (for example, annular member and filtrate conduit, etc.) constituting the hollow fiber filtration module of the present invention may be made of any material as long as they have sufficient mechanical strength and durability. However, these materials are preferably made of a hydrocarbon resin that does not emit toxic gases during combustion. In addition, it is preferable to use polycarbonate, polystyrene, and ABS resin.

The hollow fiber 3 used as the filtration membrane in the hollow fiber filtration module of the present invention may be composed of hollow fibers made of various materials including, for example, cellulose, polyolefin, polysulfone, polyvinyl alcohol and PMMA. However, hollow fibers made of porous polyolefin membranes are preferred because of their excellent durability and filtration performance. Particularly preferred hollow fibers are suitable for the purpose of filtration separation of fine colloidal particles, and can withstand the external pressure imposed by backwashing which is commonly used as a process for restoring the filtration function by regenerating clogged filtration membranes, and thus the filtration capacity. These are hollow fibers that can be recycled.

Examples of such used fibers include polyethylene hollow fibers sold by Mitsubishi Rayon Kabushiki Kaisha as trademarks of "E.H.F" as polyethylene hollow fibers. As described above, the present invention provides a hollow fiber filtration module which can efficiently use a hollow fiber filtration membrane, and can easily build a module unit having a simple and durable structure in a short time and can be easily assembled.

In conclusion, the present invention enables the construction of a hollow fiber filtration module unit with a simple design, thereby reducing the space occupied by these units, and consequently economical due to its compact structure and ease of assembly. It was possible to provide a water purifier suitable for the purpose.

Claims (7)

Two annular members (1) (1 '), a plurality of filtration hollow fibers (3) arranged in a straight line between these annular members, two for binding and fixing the hollow fiber with both ends open Two fixing members 2 attached to the inner surface of the annular member 1, 1 'of the filtrate, and one of the two outlet surfaces formed by the openings at both ends of these hollow fibers. Compartment member (5) forming the collection chamber (4), and one or more filtrate conduits (6) for directing the filtrate collected in the filtrate collection chamber (4) to the other outlet surface. Hollow fiber filtration module, characterized in that. 2. A hollow fiber filtration module according to claim 1, characterized in that the filtrate conduit (6) is fixed by the fixing member (2) in the same manner as the hollow fibers (3). 2. The hollow fiber filtration module according to claim 1, wherein a support member (7) for connecting and supporting the two annular members (1) (1 ') is additionally disposed in the longitudinal direction. 4. The hollow fiber filtration module according to claim 3, wherein the support member (7) consists of a cylindrical member having a hole formed in the side wall. 2. The hollow fiber filtration according to claim 1, wherein a reinforcing ring for maintaining the position of the filtrate conduit 6 in the fixing member 2 is attached to at least one annular member 1, 1 '. Module. 2. The partition member (5) according to claim 1, wherein the partition member (5) is arranged to connect with the annular member of the filtration module for connection with another hollow fiber filtration module which is located on the side without the filtrate collection chamber (4). And a filtrate collection chamber (4) formed by the partition member (5) and the adjacent exit face (9) of the other hollow fiber filtration module. Two annular members (1) (1 '), a plurality of filtration hollow fibers (3) arranged in a straight line between these annular members, annular for binding and fixing the hollow fiber with both ends open Two fixation members 2 attached to the inner surfaces of the members 1 and 1 ', and the filtrate is collected above the outlet face 10 of one of the two outlet faces formed by the openings at both ends of these hollow fibers. A partition member 5 forming the chamber 4 and one or more filtrate conduits 6 for directing the filtrate collected in the filtrate collection chamber 4 to the other outlet face. It consists of a plurality of hollow fiber filtration modules, the partition member (5) of one hollow fiber filtration module is connected to the annular member of the other hollow fiber filtration module to be located on the side not having the filtrate collection chamber (4) The partition member 5 and the hollow fiber to be connected Hollow fiber filtration module, characterized in that the plurality of hollow fiber filtration modules are connected in series by a connection method to form a filtrate collection chamber (4) by the adjacent outlet surface (9) of the filtration module Assembly.

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