JPS6012081B2 - Manufacturing method of hollow fiber assembly - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a hollow fiber assembly using hollow fibers whose membrane walls have permselectivity for fluids.

Membrane separation is an operation that uses a permeable membrane that has selective permselectivity for fluids to separate some components from a fluid mixture consisting of multiple components, and its application fields include gas permeation, liquid permeation, dialysis, and limited There are methods such as external filtration and reverse osmosis, and specific application examples include seawater desalination, brine desalination, purification of various wastewaters, concentration of fruit juices, protein purification, oil-water separation, artificial Examples include kidneys and artificial older sisters.

Many proposals have been made for membrane separation bags using hollow fibers. For example, Taruko Sho 39-28625 has a structure in which hollow fibers are accommodated in parallel to the axial direction within a knot-shaped container.
Since the hollow fibers are arranged parallel to each other, contact between the hollow fibers occurs, and there is a momme point where the effective pus area is small.

In addition, because the direction of fluid flow and the arrangement direction of hollow fibers are parallel, the flow of fluid tends to become uneven, and locally there are parts where the flow velocity is abnormally low, which reduces the transmission ability of the rhombic pupil due to the concentration polarization phenomenon. There are drawbacks to doing so. Hakama Sekisho also has a machine in which a cylindrical hollow fiber assembly, formed by fixing hollow fibers in a thin porous material and winding it around a core tube, is housed in a cylindrical container. No. 47-8595.

Although this structure improves the uniformity of the flow of the processing fluid, it has the disadvantage that the packing density of the hollow fibers is reduced because a large number of porous substances are arranged between the hollow fiber layers. Furthermore, since the hollow fibers are arranged almost parallel to each other, scales occur behind each other, which inevitably reduces the effective area of pus. In addition, the assembling equipment for hollow fiber assemblies has become large-scale, and it is difficult to directly connect the paper fiber process for hollow fibers and the assembling process for hollow fiber assemblies. Furthermore, the Tsubaki Kosho 50-51 ball has a structure in which a hollow fiber is wound spirally around a hollow cylindrical body to form a hollow fiber layer, and a pressure-resistant arm is provided at the end of the hollow fiber layer. There is.

Although this method is preferred because it facilitates mechanization and automation of the assembly process of the hollow fiber assembly, it has the disadvantage that the length of the hollow fiber assembly in the citron direction cannot be increased very much. −
Generally, the length between the ends of the hollow fiber is limited by the pressure loss of the fluid flowing inside the hollow fiber.For example, in the case of reverse osmosis, the length of the hollow fiber cannot be processed even if it is increased beyond a certain limit. This results in little contribution to fluid permeability. Tokuko Showa 5
0-5153 has a structure in which a hollow fiber is spirally wound many times around a hollow cylindrical body, and if the length of the hollow fiber is limited, the length of the hollow fiber assembly in the surf direction will inevitably become smaller. Therefore, for a large-capacity treatment plant, a large number of 4-scale devices are connected by piping, which is not an economical method. The inventors of the present invention investigated various methods for arranging hollow fibers, forming hollow fiber layers, and molding resin walls in order to overcome the shortcomings of these methods. The present invention was achieved by discovering an industrial method for manufacturing a hollow fiber assembly having a relatively short yarn length and a large effective waist area.

That is, the present invention provides continuous hollow fibers having permselectivity for fluids, which are positioned on a filament baser that moves on the (i) plane so that the hollow fibers are mutually cross-stacked on the (i) plane. (ii) The hollow fibers are placed on a moving belt so as to be cross-stacked with each other to form a band-shaped hollow fiber laminate, and the core hollow fiber laminate is placed around the core tube. This is a method for manufacturing a columnar hollow fiber assembly constructed by winding the fibers into a columnar hollow fiber assembly.

The membrane separation apparatus of the present invention has the advantage that the length of the hollow fiber (the length between the closed ends) can be selected regardless of the length of the hollow fiber assembly in the crosswise direction. In the case of the present invention, since the method of arranging the hollow fibers can be freely selected, it is possible to design an efficient device according to the flow rate of the fluid flowing through the flow path in the hollow fibers. The present invention also provides an advantageous device structure for constructing large-sized hollow fiber assemblies.

For example, in the case of Japanese Patent Publication No. 50-5153, the length of the hollow fiber is extremely large compared to the length of the hollow fiber assembly in the sea bream direction.
In particular, as the diameter of the hollow fiber assembly increases, this neck direction becomes stronger, resulting in a disadvantage that the throughput is reduced due to the pressure loss of the fluid flowing through the flow path within the hollow fiber. On the other hand, in the waist separation device of the present invention, the length of the hollow fibers can be kept to a relatively small value corresponding to the length of the hollow fiber assembly in the ball direction. The decrease in processing capacity is small. In addition, the length of this hollow fiber can be set regardless of the diameter of the hollow fiber assembly, so even if the diameter of the hollow fiber assembly is increased, the total length of the hollow fiber Sekiguchi does not increase. The belly area can be used effectively. Furthermore, according to the method of the present invention, since the hollow fibers are arranged in a stacked manner so as to intersect with each other, there is no reduction in the effective membrane area due to contact between the hollow fibers as in a module in which the hollow fibers are arranged in parallel. That is, even when constructing a large hollow fiber assembly having a large diameter and axial length in all directions, the processing capacity does not decrease as in the prior art, and the waist area of the hollow fiber can be effectively utilized. The hollow fiber layer according to the method of the present invention is composed of a hollow fiber laminate in which hollow fibers are mutually cross-layered, and further, the hollow fiber laminate is tightly wound around a core tube to constitute the hollow fiber layer. There is.

Therefore, the hollow fiber layer may lose its shape due to the flow of fluid,
Since the density of the hollow fibers is not uneven, it is possible to maintain a uniform flow of fluid within the hollow fiber layer. Further, since the hollow fibers intersect with each other, the retention area of the processing fluid becomes smaller, and there is an advantage that the membrane area of the hollow fibers works effectively. Another advantage of the present invention is that the manufacturing process for the hollow fiber assembly is simple.

In other words, in order to manufacture a hollow fiber assembly using the method of the present invention, it is only necessary to have a hollow fiber shake-off bag and a winding device for the hollow fiber laminate, and a large-sized hollow fiber assembly can be manufactured with a relatively simple mechanism. can do. The hollow fiber used in the present invention has an outer diameter of 1
There are no particular limitations as long as the membrane has a diameter of 0 to 1000 microns, a hollow ratio of 3 to 80%, and the membrane has selective permselectivity for fluids.

Materials that make up the hollow fibers include cellulose ester,
Includes polyamides, polyesters, polyacrylonitrile, polypinyl chloride, etc. The membrane length of these hollow fibers may be homogeneous, microporous, anisotropic, etc., and the fiber method may be a melting method, a dry method, a wet method, or a combination of these methods. good. The core tube used in the present invention is generally a hollow tube with many holes, but it can also be a tube made of porous material such as metal, a net tube made of wire, or a fiber made of woven fibers. A tube or a hollow space having a slit in the mouse direction may be used, and in some cases, a solid rod-like body may also be used.

Generally, the dimensions of the core tube are 10 to 100 mm in diameter and 100 to 5000 mm in length. DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The method for manufacturing a hollow fiber assembly of the present invention will be specifically explained below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a specific example of the method for manufacturing a hollow fiber assembly of the present invention.

The hollow fibers 1 are brought together through feed rollers 2 and 3, passed through a rotating nozzle 4 rotating in the direction of the arrow, and are shaken off onto a flat surface 8 in a substantially circular shape. On the plane 8, six yarn basers 5 run almost parallel to each other.
is wound from each bobbin, and one of the weaving parts is fixed to a rotating core tube 6, is wound by the core tube 6, and moves to the right on a plane 8. The hollow fibers 1 shaken off onto the yarn smoother 5 move together with the yarn smoother to form a band-shaped hollow fiber laminate 9, and the hollow fiber laminate 9 is attached to a rotating core tube. 6 to form a hollow fiber layer 7 around the core tube 6. In this case, by regularly carrying out the traversing operation so that the hollow fibers 1 are closely aligned, and by applying sufficient tension to the yarn baser 5 and winding it into the core tube 6, a hollow fiber layer with a high hollow fiber filling rate is formed. can be created. The filament baser 5 is preferably a strong single yarn, but may be a multifilament, twisted yarn, or string-like body. Furthermore, a silk material or a nonwoven fabric can be used instead of the filamentous baser. In addition to the method shown in Fig. 1, there is a method for arranging the hollow fibers on a plane, for example, by supplying the hollow fibers to a conical fixed nozzle that widens at the end, and applying a swirling flow of air in the circumferential direction from the side of the nozzle. A method of configuring a circular or elliptical arrangement, a method of using a rotating nozzle and an air flow, a method of supplying the hollow fibers through a yarn guide, and adjusting the above-mentioned yarn guide according to the trajectory of the hollow fibers to be configured on a flat surface. A method of reciprocating motion, etc. can be used.

The hollow fibers may be supplied one by one, or may be supplied to a textbook or several dozen fibers at once. It is also possible to provide several nozzles or yarn guides for supplying hollow fibers and to arrange the hollow fibers from several locations. FIG. 2 shows another specific example of the method of winding the hollow fibers thrown onto a flat surface around the core tube.

The hollow fibers supplied by the same method as shown in FIG. 6 to form a hollow fiber layer 7.
The moving belt 10 moves in the direction of the arrow via rollers 11, 12, 13, and 14, and functions to move the hollow fiber laminate 9 and tightly wrap it around the core tube 6 with appropriate tension. . In this case, a mechanism for adjusting the position of the roller 12 according to an increase in the diameter of the hollow fiber layer 7 and a mechanism for adjusting the plexus force applied to the hollow fiber layer 7 can be provided. The present invention is not limited to the specific examples described above, but includes various modifications.

In addition to the patterns shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the patterns drawn by the hollow fibers when the hollow fibers are shaken off onto a flat surface can be, for example, the patterns shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. In this case, the hollow fibers may be piled up and shaken off to form a hollow fiber laminate consisting of several hollow fiber layers. The thus obtained hollow fiber assembly is fixed at one or both ends with a curable resin, and after sealing between each hollow fiber, it is cut in a plane almost perpendicular to the core tube, so that the hollow fibers touch the resin arm. Penetrate it with a fluidizing machine and close it.

The resin constituting the resin wall is preferably a fluid that is fluid before curing and becomes a hardened solid upon curing. Typical examples thereof include epoxy resin, silicone resin, polyurethane resin, polyester resin, and polyester acrylate. Examples include resins. The hollow fiber assembly fixed with resin is sufficiently sealed against the processing fluid, and the processing fluid does not pass between the hollow fiber and the resin wall where the hollow fiber penetrates the resin wall. It has a structure. In the hollow fiber assembly of the present invention, the volume fraction of the hollow fibers in the hollow fiber layer is 30 to 80%, and the thickness of the hollow fiber layer (i.e., the length from the outer periphery of the core tube to the outer periphery of the hollow fiber layer) is 30 to 80%. 300 mm, the length of the hollow fiber assembly is 100-5000 mm.

The above assembly is housed in a cylindrical container and functions as a pus separation device.

Hereinafter, a method for manufacturing a membrane separation device from the assembly of the present invention will be specifically explained in detail. FIG. 5 shows a perspective view of a hollow fiber assembly manufactured by the method shown in FIG. 1, in which a resin wall is provided to close the hollow fibers.

First, a hollow fiber layer 7 is formed around the core tube 6 by the manufacturing method shown in FIG. Form layers 15 and 16. When one resin layer 15 is cut along a plane substantially perpendicular to the core tube 6 to form the entrance end of the hollow fiber 1, a hollow fiber assembly as shown in FIG. 5 is bound. In this case, the core tube 6 is sealed on the resin layer 15 side and open on the resin layer 16 side, and the resin layer 15 is provided with a circle ring 17. FIG. 6 shows a sectional view of a membrane separation device in which the hollow fiber assembly shown in FIG. 5 is housed in a woven container.

The joint-shaped container is composed of a cylindrical body 27 and end plates 18 and 19. The end plates 18 and 19 have fluid inlets and outlets 20 and 21, respectively, and are supported by snap rings 22 and 23.
It is sealed by 25. Further, the resin layer 15 of the hollow fiber assembly is sealed to the inner surface of the cylindrical body 27 by the circle ring 17, and together with the annular body 26 and the end plate 18, constitutes a chamber communicating with the inside of the hollow fiber. To explain the flow of fluid when the membrane separation device shown in FIG. 5 is used for reverse osmosis operation, first, the fluid to be treated is supplied to the core tube 6, and flows into the hollow fiber layer 7 through the holes in the core tube 6. .

The fluid that has passed through the hollow fiber layer 7 passes through the gap between the hollow fiber layer 7 and the cylindrical body 27 and flows out from the fluid inlet/outlet 21 . In this case, the fluid to be treated can also be supplied to the fluid inlet/outlet 21 and discharged from the core tube 6. On the other hand, the fluid that has permeated inside the hollow fiber is taken out from the fluid inlet/outlet 20. Specific application examples of the membrane separation device comprising a hollow fiber assembly according to the present invention include separation of helium from natural gas, purification of hydrogen, gas permeation in oxygenators, etc., and separation of paraxylene from mixed xylene. Liquid permeation, oil-water machine, treatment of Kame coating wastewater, enzyme purification, ultrafiltration such as protein recovery from cheese whey, seawater desalination, brine desalination, wastewater purification, medical pure water from purified water. reverse osmosis, such as the production of, fruit juice concentration, etc.
Examples include dialysis such as in an artificial kidney, osmotic extraction and other separation operations such as concentration of wastewater with seawater, concentration operations, and dilution operations.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing one specific example of the method for manufacturing a hollow fiber assembly of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing another specific example of the method for manufacturing a hollow fiber assembly of the present invention, and FIG. and FIG. 4 is a simplified diagram showing an example of the pattern of hollow fibers shaken off in the method for producing a hollow fiber assembly of the present invention, and FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a hollow fiber assembly according to the method of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a sectional view of the pus separation device. Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 3 - Figure 4 Figure 5 Figure 6

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. Continuous hollow fibers having permselectivity for fluids are arranged so that the hollow fibers are cross-stacked with each other on the (i) surface and are positioned on the filament spacer that moves on the surface. (ii) placing the hollow fibers on a moving belt so as to cross-stack each other to form a belt-shaped hollow fiber laminate;
A method for manufacturing a hollow fiber assembly, which comprises winding the hollow fiber laminate around a core tube.