KR930008318Y1 - Household water purifying apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

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Description

Household water treatment equipment

1a and 1b are schematic longitudinal cross-sectional views of a cartridge for a water purifier according to the prior art in which activated carbon and a hollow fiber membrane (ultrafiltration membrane) are mixed.

2a and 2b are schematic cross-sectional views of a hollow fiber membrane for a water purifier according to the prior art including an air filter.

3 is a schematic overall configuration diagram of a domestic water treatment apparatus according to the present invention.

4 is a graph showing the instantaneous flow rate and the accumulated flow rate in the hollow fiber membrane cartridge of the embodiment and the comparative example in the present invention.

* Explanation of symbols for main parts of the drawings

2: primary filter 3: activated carbon cartridge

4: hollow fiber membrane cartridge 5: selector valve

6: discharge water flow control valve 7: on-off valve

8: general useable water outlet 9: water purification outlet

10: discharged water 41: supply water inlet

42 outlet water 43 permeate outlet

The present invention relates to a water treatment apparatus, in particular a domestic water treatment apparatus, which enables a water purification operation, a partial water purification operation, and a washing operation.

As the industry develops, the quantitative increase of various pollutants is rapidly spreading, and water quality problems for drinking water used as drinking water are seriously raised.

In particular, contamination by organic matters such as various bacteria, which are likely to be contained in domestic tap water, is serious. The cause of this is caused by the infiltration of organic matter or the microorganisms in the collection tank due to the aging of the water supply pipes from the purified water to the homes. Due to the contamination, the human body is harmed by various infectious bacteria and bacteria such as cholera, typhoid fever, dysentery, etc., and it is unpleasant when drinking by smell and taste caused by these pollutants.

In order to remove various contaminants in the drinking water, household water treatment devices using activated carbon, ion exchange resin cartridges or cartridges thereof are used.

Activated carbon cartridge removes impurities, odors, pigments, and bacteria by molecular adsorption of activated carbon. Especially, it has excellent function of removing residual chlorine for disinfection. Therefore, drinking water containing more organic matter than water that is not purified water, and if you stop using it for a while, various bacteria grow in the water purifier cartridge, causing many problems in use.

In addition, the ion-exchange resin cartridge has a heavy metal removal function to remove and remove metal ions in water by substitution adsorption, but it is pointed out as a problem that bacteria and other residual chlorine removal functions such as E. coli are not removed.

In order to solve this problem, a household water purifier of a method in which a hollow fiber membrane cartridge capable of removing various organic materials, such as dust, debris, suspended matter and various bacteria, and an activated carbon cartridge having a residual chlorine removal function are mixed.

The type of separation membrane used here is classified into reverse osmosis membrane, ultrafiltration membrane or microfiltration membrane according to the pore size. The reverse osmosis membrane type cartridge having a pore structure of 0.001 micrometer or less has excellent water purification performance, but all metal ions, etc. Since it does not penetrate, it also removes various minerals contained in tap water, and in order to purify water, the amount of purified water at the outlet is only about 20% compared to the amount of raw water at the cartridge inlet. Expensive pumping equipment and purified water have a factor of up to 0.5 mm / min.

In addition, the cartridge using the microfiltration membrane has a pore size in a range of 0.3 micrometers or more, so that floating matters, dust, and debris can be removed, but various bacteria can pass through as it is, and thus, there is no effect for removing bacteria.

The cartridge using the ultrafiltration membrane has a hole structure of at least 0.001 micrometers, and more effectively, 0.005 to 0.1 micrometers, so that various suspended matters, dusts, and bacteria cannot pass through. It is the most effective way, and the mineral component is permeable as it is most effective as a cartridge for household water purifier.

However, the cartridge 23 using the ultrafiltration membrane and the active amount according to the prior art (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 64-7907 and US Pat. No. 4,636,307) has a water flow of raw water as shown in FIGS. Since the feed inlet 21 enters through the activated carbon 22, passes through the hollow fiber membrane 25 bound with the adhesive 24, and the permeate outlet 26 is purified, tap water having a high content of various organic substances in the region In the case of water purification or long-term use, various organic substances that did not penetrate into the surface of the separation membrane (ultrafiltration membrane) are gradually attached and the hole structure is blocked, and the flow of water is rapidly reduced, thus bringing a limit on the total water purification amount. There is a problem that the life of the cartridge is shortened. In addition, if water is passed through the cartridge at the start of use and the faucet is locked, air bubbles are filled in the cartridge due to capillary action. Therefore, even if the water faucet is opened at the next use, the pressure in the cartridge may interfere with water permeation. It is.

In order to make up for this drawback, as shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, a plurality of so-called wicks, which may serve as air filters made of a hydrophobic polymer, for example, polypropylene, are included between the bundles of hollow fiber membranes. A cartridge using a hollow fiber membrane that provides a function of removing air is used (US Pat. No. 4,636,307). However, such an air filter has an inner diameter and an outer diameter that are different from those of a hollow fiber membrane having a water purification function. In addition, since the hole size, which plays a very important role in the bacteria removal performance, is different from the body hollow fiber membrane, there is a possibility that the bacteria removal efficiency is reduced, and there is a disadvantage in that a process of including a wick in the bundle of the hollow fiber membranes during cartridge manufacturing is added. In addition, there is a high possibility of causing scratches on the surface of the hollow fiber membrane when handling the hollow fiber membrane bundle for inserting the wick.

Therefore, the present invention is effective in removing various organic substances, that is, bacteria and bacteria, which are the main pollutants of drinking water in consideration of the above-mentioned problems, and can extend the life of the used cartridge according to the degree of contamination according to the region, and at the same time, It is an object of the present invention to provide a water purifier that does not generate air in a cartridge without the aid of a filter, and an object of the present invention is to connect a primary filter, an activated carbon cartridge, and a hollow fiber membrane cartridge to purify the water by selectively adjusting a valve. This is achieved by a water treatment mechanism that enables partial water purification operation and washing operation.

The water treatment device of the present invention is effective in removing primary filters for removing various suspended matters and debris contained in tap water, activated carbon cartridges for removing current chlorine and odor, and various bacteria. It has a form of discharge inlet and permeate outlet which can discharge the feed water inlet and a part of the feed water in order to prolong and provide more sanitary household water at the same time. It has a backwash function to effectively remove various organic substances and bacteria deposited on the hollow fiber membrane by providing a selection valve that selectively connects the water flow from the tap to the feed water inlet and the permeate outlet. A certain length of circuit is formed between the water outlet and the water purifier tap It is characterized by the triple structure of mixing the hollow fiber membrane (ultrafiltration membrane) cartridge which can block the air that can enter the outside by installing the closed valve to regulate the flow of monastic water.

As the primary filter used herein, a precision filtration membrane having a separation hole structure made of fibrous auxiliary cloth, a polymer material and a ceramic material having a range of 1 to 10 micrometers can be used.

The activated carbon cartridge may be used alone or as a suitable mixture of activated carbon itself and silver activated carbon coated with activated carbon, cobalt sand and the like in order to control the growth of various bacteria.

Examples of the material of the hollow fiber membrane cartridge include polyolefin resins such as polypropylene and polyethylene, cellulose acetates, cellulose resins, cellulose resins such as cellulose triacetate, fluorine resins, amide resins, polysulfones, and the like. It can be made of polyethersulfone-based resin, etc., and it has a flat shape as a separation membrane having a hole in which the size of the separation hole structure on the outer surface of the hollow fiber membrane is in the range of 0.005 to 0.1 micrometer, more preferably from 0.0005 to maximum 0.5 micrometer. The separation membrane which consists of a hollow fiber membrane bundle which consists of a mold | type or a hollow fiber shape can be used. The water flow rate at this time should be in the range of 1 to 3 liters per minute based on the water pressure of 0.5 to 1.2 (kg / ㎠).

According to the purified water treatment mechanism of the present invention, the following purified water, partial water purification, and washing operations are possible by operating the selector valve.

① Purification operation: Primary filter → Activated carbon cartridge → Feed water inlet of hollow fiber membrane cartridge → Permeate outlet of hollow fiber membrane cartridge → Provide purified water through purified water outlet ② Partial purification operation: Primary filter → Activated carbon cartridge → General household water General use water is provided through the outlet. ③ Cleaning operation: Backwash the hollow fiber membrane by flowing it through the primary water → activated carbon cartridge → permeate outlet of hollow fiber membrane cartridge → discharge water outlet of hollow fiber membrane cartridge.

Referring to the present invention in more detail with reference to the drawings, as shown in Figure 3, the water purification system according to the present invention is the primary filter (2), activated carbon cartridge (3), feed water inlet (41) and discharge outlet ( 42) and the permeate outlet 43 may be formed of a hollow fiber membrane cartridge 4 and the valves (5, 6, 7) that the feed water inlet and the permeate outlet are externally connected.

Referring to the water purification operation in the apparatus of the above-described configuration, the monastic water (1) is the primary filter (2) is filtered out of various floats and debris, etc. in the activated carbon cartridge (3) of the current chlorine and odor sources of substances and organic substances Some of the suspended solids, organics and bacteria are removed by adsorption and removal to the feed water inlet 41 of the hollow fiber membrane cartridge 4 by the operation of the selector valve 5. When it passes from the outer surface of the hollow fiber membrane to the inner surface, it is finally completely filtered out of the hollow fiber membrane cartridge 4 and exits through the permeation outlet 43.

In addition, the water purification system filters the various suspended matters and debris from the primary filter (2) and the adsorption and removal of some of the substances and organic substances that are residual chlorine and odor source in the activated carbon cartridge (3) of the selection valve (5) By operation, it is possible to obtain the partially purified water by directing it to the general commercially available outlet 8, and thus the partially purified water is water which has been removed to some extent through the primary filter and the activated carbon cartridge. It can be sanitary when used as household water, such as cleaning, and increases the life of water purification system.

After the use of the filter for a period of time or after a long period of use or reuse, the partially purified water passing through the primary filter 2 and the activated carbon cartridge 3 is removed to remove various organic substances and bacteria adsorbed on the surface of the hollow fiber membrane. The operation of (5) guides the permeate outlet 43 of the hollow fiber cartridge so that it comes out from the inside of the hollow fiber to the outside, and backwashes various pollutants attached to the outside, and then the washing wastewater is opened by the on / off valve 6. By flowing in the direction of the discharge water outlet 42 there is an economic advantage to extend the life of the hollow fiber membrane, there is an advantage that can supply more satellite water. When purifying pollutants after backwashing, it is better to discharge the purified water to some extent.

In addition, one of the features of the present invention is the internal pressure that hinders light transmission during reuse because bubbles flow into the inner surface of the hollow fiber membrane by capillary action when the water purifier is reused after the initial use, that is, after passing water. In order to prevent the water, a constant length connection circuit is formed between the on-off valve 7 and the cartridge permeate outlet 43, which control the opening and closing of the tap water toward the purified water outlet 9, so that bubbles are introduced into the hollow fiber membrane outside. It can be prevented to maintain the original water permeability of the hollow fiber membrane cartridge when reused. With such an effect, there is an advantage that the process of inserting the wick or the air filter into the hollow fiber membrane bundle according to the prior art can be omitted.

The following describes in more detail how to use the water purification device composed of the present invention.

First, the water purification system is connected to the faucet (1), and the valve of the faucet is always kept open, and when the general use water is used, the selector valve (5) is adjusted to the general use water outlet (8) to pass through the primary filter and the activated carbon filter. That is, it is possible to use purified water as compared to raw water, and when not using general useable water, it is necessary to close the on / off valve 7 which moves the selector valve 5 in the water purification direction, that is, in the direction of the feed water inlet 41. In this state, when the on-off valve 7 is opened, purified water can be supplied.

After using for a certain period of time or closing the on-off valve (7) for the first time during daily use, open the discharge water flow control valve (6), then adjust the selector valve (5) in the cleaning direction, that is, the permeate outlet (43) direction On the lower surface of the faucet 1, the water passing through the primary filter 2 and the activated carbon cartridge 3 passes through the outer surface of the hollow fiber membrane through the permeation outlet 43 and then inside the hollow fiber membrane outer surface or hollow fiber membrane hole. Exerts a function to wash the contaminants such as various organic substances deposited and the washed water is discharged through the discharge water outlet (42).

The effects of the present invention are summarized as follows.

1) By controlling the flow of water by simple operation of the selection valve, the hollow fiber membrane cartridge is backwashed to prevent the inflow of various contaminants deposited on the outside of the hollow fiber membrane to supply purified water and to prolong the life of the cartridge. Can be.

2) By opening and closing the flow of monastic water at the cartridge permeate outlet, it can block the inflow of external air to maintain the permeation performance during reuse, eliminating the process of inserting the wick or air filter required for cartridge manufacturing according to the prior art. have.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in more detail by way of non-limiting examples.

Example 1

Manufactured by wet and dry spinning method, the inner diameter of the polysulfone hollow fiber membrane 3000 bundles is 200cm, the outer diameter is 400㎛ and the separation hole structure is formed on the outer surface of the hollow fiber membrane. After filling the cylindrical case having the feed water inlet and outlet outlet in the vertical direction, fix both ends of the hollow fiber membrane with adhesive, cut the excess hollow fiber membrane, and assemble the head with the permeate outlet to manufacture the hollow fiber membrane cartridge. .

At this time, the water permeation rate of the cartridge showed a value of 2.5 to 3.0 liters per minute based on normal water pressure.

After connecting the manufactured hollow fiber membrane cartridge, the primary filter and the activated carbon filter made of polypropylene nonwoven fabric in the same way as in the third method, the flow rate of the purified water outlet was adjusted to 10% of the feed water flow rate. The change is shown in FIG. 4, and the water quality was measured by the water quality test method (Compensation Quantity 841) using the permeated water as the test liquid when the total water permeation amount was 2500 liters. The results are shown in Table 1 below.

Example 2

In the same manner as in Example 1, the purified water outlet of the hollow fiber membrane cartridge was blocked, and the selection valve was adjusted toward the permeate outlet of the hollow fiber membrane cartridge. (See FIG. 4), and the effect of water quality measurement (see Table 1).

Comparative Example 1

In the same manner as in Example 1, the outlet of the hollow fiber membrane cartridge was blocked, and the change of the instantaneous water permeation rate according to the total permeation was measured (see FIG. 4), and the water quality measurement result was measured (see Table 1).

The reason for showing a result different from that of Example 1 is that in Example 1, the outlet amount of the organic matter adhering to the surface of the hollow fiber membrane can be reduced by opening the outlet, but in Comparative Example 1, the outlet outlet is blocked, so that it is the same as in Example 1. No effect could be obtained.

Comparative Example 2

The hollow fiber membrane prepared as in Example 1 was subjected to the primary filter (polypropylene) as in the conventional method, and then the net permeation rate according to the total permeation rate was obtained by using the hollow fiber membrane cartridge containing activated carbon and an air filter. The change was measured (see Figure 1), and the water quality measurement results were measured (see Table 1).

Claims (1)

In the household water treatment apparatus in which the activated carbon cartridge 3 of the primary filter 2 connected to the monastery water and the hollow fiber membrane cartridge 4 are sequentially connected, the hollow fiber membrane cartridge 4 is supplied with the feed water inlet 41 and the feed water. The hollow fiber-like hollow fiber membrane is filled in a case having an outlet outlet 42 and a permeate outlet 43 capable of discharging a portion thereof, and the feed water inlet 42 and the permeate outlet 43 are Externally connected to the useable outlet (8), supply water inlet and permeate outlet of the hollow fiber membrane cartridge to selectively discharge the flow of water purified from the activated carbon cartridge (3) to the outside without supplying the hollow fiber membrane cartridge A connectable selector valve (5) is installed and the flow of water passing through the primary filter and activated carbon cartridge by the operation of the selector valve (5) is passed through the hollow fiber membrane cartridge feed water inlet (41) through the permeate outlet (43). Ha Backwashing function of the hollow fiber membrane through the water purification function and the permeated water outlet 43 of the hollow fiber membrane cartridge, and through the outlet water outlet 42, and the useable outlet 8 which discharges the hollow fiber membrane cartridge to the outside without supplying A partial water purifying function is selectively performed, and an on-off valve 6 for opening and closing the flow of water from the discharge outlet 42 is provided, and a circuit having a predetermined length is provided between the permeate outlet 43 and the purified water outlet 9. At the same time, the on / off valve 7 is installed to control the flow of the monastic water with the on / off valve 7 so that the water is always filled in the hollow fiber membrane, thereby preventing the air from outside from entering the hollow fiber membrane. A household water treatment apparatus characterized by the above.