阅读说明：本技术 过滤膜模块及过滤处理方法 (Filtration membrane module and filtration treatment method ) 是由 榎村真一 吉住真衣 于 2018-06-21 设计创作，主要内容包括：一种过滤膜模块及过滤处理方法,能够提高在过滤处理时的一次侧流路的离心分离效果、在反洗时的外环状流路的沿着膜元件的外周面的区域的离心分离效果,一面抑制在过滤处理时及反洗时附着物质向膜面的堆积一面使过滤效率及清洗效率提高。过滤膜模块具备膜元件和筒状的外壳,所述膜元件具备处于空心筒状的过滤面的外侧的一次侧流路,所述筒状的外壳被配置在该膜元件的外侧。在一次侧流路内配置流动调整器。在膜元件和外壳之间的作为外环状流路的二次侧流路内配置反洗用流动调整器。流动调整器和反洗用流动调整器由螺旋状翅片等构成,以便在沿着过滤面或膜元件的外周面的区域中发挥离心分离功能。(A filtration membrane module and a filtration treatment method, which can improve the centrifugal separation effect of a secondary side flow path at the time of filtration treatment and the centrifugal separation effect of a region along the outer peripheral surface of a membrane element of an outer annular flow path at the time of backwashing, and a side inhibits deposition of an adhering substance onto a side of the membrane surface at the time of filtration treatment and at the time of backwashing, thereby improving the filtration efficiency and the cleaning efficiency, the filtration membrane module is provided with a membrane element having a secondary side flow path outside a hollow cylindrical filtration surface and a cylindrical housing disposed outside the membrane element, a flow regulator is disposed in the secondary side flow path, a backwashing flow regulator is disposed in the secondary side flow path as an outer annular flow path between the membrane element and the housing, and the flow regulator and the backwashing flow regulator are constituted of a spiral fin or the like so as to exhibit the centrifugal separation function in the region along the filtration surface or the outer peripheral surface of the membrane element.)

1, kinds of filtration membrane modules each having a hollow cylindrical filtration surface for pressure-feeding a treatment fluid to a secondary-side flow path and for filtration treatment by cross-flow,

the secondary side flow path is outside the filtering surface of the hollow cylinder,

a flow regulator was disposed in the secondary side flow path of the filtration membrane module,

the flow regulator is configured to change the flow of the treatment fluid in the secondary side flow path passing through the filtration membrane module without driving the flow regulator, and to perform a centrifugal separation function on the treatment fluid flowing along the filtration surface in the secondary side flow path.

2. The filtration membrane module of claim 1,

the filtration membrane module comprises a membrane element having at least tubular flow paths defined by hollow cylindrical filtration surfaces, and a cylindrical housing disposed outside the membrane element,

the secondary side flow path is constituted by an outer annular flow path between the membrane element and the inner peripheral surface of the housing,

the tubular flow path forms a secondary side flow path to perform a cross-flow filtration treatment,

the flow adjuster is constituted by a helical fin disposed in the outer annular flow path.

3. The filtration membrane module of claim 1,

the filtration membrane module is an external pressure type filtration membrane module, which comprises membrane elements having at least tubular flow paths defined by hollow tubular filtration surfaces and a tubular housing disposed outside the membrane elements,

the secondary side flow path is constituted by an outer annular flow path between the membrane element and the inner peripheral surface of the housing,

the tubular flow path constitutes the secondary-side flow path, and the filtration treatment of external pressure cross flow is performed,

the flow adjuster is a helical fin laid in the outer annular flow path, guides the flow of the processing fluid passing through the outer annular flow path in a helical manner, and is configured such that a centrifugal force acts on the processing fluid passing through the outer annular flow path.

4, kinds of filtration membrane modules each of which is an internal pressure type filtration membrane module for performing internal pressure type crossflow filtration treatment and which comprises a membrane element and a cylindrical casing,

the membrane element is provided with at least tubular flow paths defined by hollow cylindrical filter surfaces,

the cylindrical housing is disposed outside the membrane element,

the internal pressure type filtration membrane module is configured such that a pressurized treatment fluid is passed through the tubular flow path, and is configured such that a cleaning fluid is passed through the membrane element from the outer peripheral surface of the membrane element to the tubular flow path when backwashing is performed in an outer annular flow path between the membrane element and the inner peripheral surface of the housing,

the internal pressure type filtering membrane module is characterized in that,

a backwashing flow regulator disposed in the outer annular flow path,

the backwash flow regulator is a backwash flow regulator which changes the flow of the cleaning fluid passing through the outer annular flow path without driving the backwash flow regulator,

the internal pressure type filtration membrane module is configured to exhibit a wall surface fluid acceleration function of increasing a flow rate in a region along the outer peripheral surface of the membrane element in the outer annular flow path in the cleaning fluid, by changing a flow of the cleaning fluid passing through the outer annular flow path by the backwashing flow regulator, compared with a flow rate in a region along the outer peripheral surface in a case where the backwashing flow regulator is not provided.

5. The filtration membrane module according to claim 5, wherein the backwashing flow adjuster is a spiral fin laid in the outer annular flow path.

6, filtration treatment methods, characterized by using the filtration membrane module according to any of claims 1 to 5 to perform a crossflow filtration treatment of the treatment fluid for at least or more of concentration, purification, solute replacement, pH adjustment, conductivity adjustment, fine particle washing, fine particle surface treatment, and classification of the treatment fluid.

7/ A filtration method for filtering the treatment fluid containing a plurality of particles having different particle diameters by using the filtration membrane module according to claim 3,

the filtration processing method includes a process in which, when the processing fluid is caused to pass through the outer annular flow path, a centrifugal force against particles having a large particle diameter is larger than a centrifugal force against particles having a small particle diameter among the particles, and the particles having a large particle diameter move to the shell side and are separated from the membrane element, so that it is difficult to prevent the particles having a small particle diameter from passing through the membrane element,

the filtration treatment method performs a crossflow filtration treatment of the treatment fluid for at least or more of concentration, purification, solute replacement, pH adjustment, conductivity adjustment, fine particle cleaning, fine particle surface treatment, and classification of the treatment fluid.

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a filtration membrane module and a filtration treatment method, and particularly to a filtration membrane module and a filtration treatment method suitable for a cross-flow filtration treatment method using a ceramic filter.

Background

Ceramic filters are precision filtration devices using ceramic membranes as filters, and filtration membranes such as MF membranes (Micro filtration) to UF membranes (Ultra filtration) and NF membranes (Nano filtration) having a pore size of several μm are used for filtration treatment by selecting the type and mesh size depending on the physical properties of the object to be treated and the object (patent documents 1 to 6).

The purpose of the filtration treatment is separation, concentration, purification, solute replacement, pH adjustment, conductivity adjustment, fine particle cleaning, fine particle surface treatment, classification, and the like of the object to be treated, and filtration of the waste liquid contributes to reduction of waste and environmental protection.

, filtration is roughly classified into a full-capacity filtration system and a cross-flow filtration system, and a ceramic filter is generally operated by cross-flow.

The crossflow filtration method is a method in which the filtration membrane surface can be constantly washed by establishing a flow substantially parallel to the membrane surface, and is a method in which the surface suppresses deposition of attached substances such as suspended substances and colloids in the treatment fluid on the filtration membrane surface to block the mesh surface, and filtration is performed.

Thus, since the cross-flow filtration system is a system in which the surfaces inhibit clogging of the screen surface and perform filtration, it is known that the higher the membrane surface flow rate (the flow rate of the area along the membrane surface of the filtration membrane in the flow of the treatment fluid), the more the deposition of adherent substances onto the membrane surface is inhibited .

However, as the flow rate on the membrane surface increases, the pressure resistance of the circulation path needs to be increased, and as a high-output pump facility is required, the facility cost increases, and not only the energy consumption and the operation cost required for the operation increase. Therefore, at present, filtration treatment is carried out by designing an economical membrane surface flow rate in accordance with the relationship with the required treatment amount and the cleaning effect.

More specifically, the ceramic filter has a substantially cylindrical shape as a whole, and has a configuration in which a plurality of tubular flow paths are penetrated in the cylindrical shape, and filtration is performed by passing a pressurized treatment fluid from the end side to the other end side of the tubular flow path.

However, as described above, the fluid flowing through the tubular flow path has a higher flow velocity on the center side thereof and a lower flow velocity (membrane surface flow velocity) on the outer side having the filtering surface. Therefore, even if the average flow velocity of the fluid in the tubular flow path is simply increased, the membrane surface flow velocity cannot be effectively increased, and energy is not effectively utilized.

In addition, in the case of a slurry containing fine particles, since the fine particles form aggregates, it is difficult to wash the object to be cleaned contained in the aggregates.

The crossflow filtration method is a method in which filtration is performed with surfaces and surfaces inhibited from clogging, but when used to some extent, deposits accumulate on pores and the like, and clogging is caused, and therefore, backwashing is performed to pass a cleaning fluid through a tubular flow path from the outside to the inside of a ceramic filter, thereby eliminating clogging.

As shown in patent document 7, a rotary filter plate type filter has been proposed which employs a cross flow filtration system and can efficiently remove solid components continuously for a long period of time, and the filter described in patent document 7 is a filter including pair disk-shaped cavity plates fixed to a rotary shaft and scrapers disposed in a filter chamber and fixed to a housing for scraping off cake layers deposited on pair filter surfaces of filter plates, and it is difficult to apply such a dynamic removal means to a filter membrane module including a hollow cylindrical filter membrane which performs filtration treatment by cross flow by feeding a treatment fluid under pressure to the side.

Patent documents 8 and 9 disclose inventions relating to a filtration membrane module including a hollow cylindrical filtration surface for pressure-feeding a treatment fluid to the secondary side and performing filtration treatment by crossflow, the filtration membrane module including a flow adjuster disposed in the secondary side flow path, the flow adjuster being a flow adjuster that changes the flow of the treatment fluid passing through the secondary side flow path without driving itself, and being configured to impart a circumferential component of the secondary side flow path to the flow of the treatment fluid passing through the secondary side flow path.

In patent document 8, for example, a member in which a plate body called a rotating element is twisted into a spiral shape is provided in a module, and although an effect of generating turbulence is described, the centrifugal separation effect is not given to a treatment fluid. Patent document 9 describes a case where a spiral member called a "turbulence-inducing body" is held by a support pipe to forcibly and automatically impart turbulence to an inflow liquid. However, there is no description that the "turbulence inducer" held by the support pipe provides a centrifugal separation effect to the influent.

Prior art documents

Patent document

Patent document 1: japanese laid-open patent publication No. 11-057355

Patent document 2: international publication No. 99/056851 booklet

Patent document 3: japanese patent laid-open publication No. 2006-263517

Patent document 4: japanese laid-open patent publication No. 2006-263640

Patent document 5: international publication No. 13/147272 booklet

Patent document 6: japanese patent laid-open publication No. 2014-184362

Patent document 7: japanese patent laid-open publication No. 2011-016037

Patent document 8: japanese Kokai publication Sho-52-133238

Patent document 9: japanese Kokai publication Sho-52-49353

Disclosure of Invention

Problems to be solved by the invention

The present invention addresses the problem of providing types of filtration membrane modules and filtration processing methods that, when the processing conditions for the filtration processing (the secondary-side flow path in the filtration membrane module, and the flow path in the outer annular flow path between the membrane element and the inner peripheral surface of the housing, and the conditions for the filtration processing such as the flow path length, flow rate, fluid pressure, fluid density, and viscosity) are set to be the same, can improve the centrifugal separation effect and membrane surface flow rate (the flow rate of the region along the membrane surface of the filtration membrane in the flow of the processing fluid) as compared with conventional filtration apparatuses and filtration methods, and can inhibit the deposition of adherent substances on the surface of the membrane surface on the surface, thereby improving the filtration efficiency.

The present invention also provides kinds of filtration membrane modules and filtration processing methods capable of reducing energy consumption required for filtration processing.

The present invention addresses the problem of providing types of filtration membrane modules and filtration treatment methods that, when the treatment conditions during backwashing are set to be the same, can improve the centrifugal separation effect and membrane surface flow rate (the flow rate in the region along the outer peripheral surface of the membrane element in the flow of the treatment fluid) on the outer peripheral surface of the membrane element and can improve the efficiency of backwashing treatment, as compared to conventional filtration devices and filtration methods.

The present invention also provides types of filtration membrane modules and filtration methods capable of reducing the energy consumption required for backwashing.

Means for solving the problems

The present invention is filtration membrane modules including a hollow cylindrical filtration surface for pressure-feeding a treatment fluid to a secondary side flow path and performing filtration treatment by cross flow, wherein the secondary side flow path is outside the filtration surface of the hollow cylindrical filtration surface, and a flow regulator is disposed in the secondary side flow path of the filtration membrane module, the flow regulator being configured to change the flow of the treatment fluid passing through the secondary side flow path of the filtration membrane module without driving the flow regulator itself, and to exert a centrifugal separation function on the treatment fluid flowing along the filtration surface in the secondary side flow path.

The present invention can be implemented as a filtration membrane module suitable for crossflow filtration treatment, and is applicable to a filtration membrane module including a membrane element including at least tubular flow paths defined by a hollow cylindrical filtration surface, and a cylindrical casing disposed outside the membrane element, wherein the secondary flow path is constituted by an outer annular flow path between the membrane element and an inner peripheral surface of the casing, and a secondary flow path is constituted by the tubular flow path, and the crossflow filtration treatment is performed, in this case, the flow adjuster is a helical fin laid in the tubular flow path, and the flow adjuster is configured to exert a centrifugal separation function on a treatment fluid in a region along the filtration surface in the secondary flow path.

The present invention can be implemented as a filtration membrane module suitable for external pressure crossflow filtration treatment, and can be applied to an external pressure filtration membrane module including membrane elements and a cylindrical housing, the membrane elements including at least tubular flow paths defined by hollow cylindrical filtration surfaces, the cylindrical housing being disposed outside the membrane elements, the secondary flow path being constituted by an outer annular flow path between the membrane elements and an inner circumferential surface of the housing, and the secondary flow path being constituted by the tubular flow path to perform external pressure crossflow filtration treatment.

The spiral fin may be a spiral fin in which a tube or a round bar is formed into a coil shape, or a spiral fin in which a belt-like flat plate is formed into a screw (auger) shape.

When the present invention is applied to an internal pressure type filtration membrane module for performing internal pressure crossflow filtration treatment, the present invention can be implemented as a filtration membrane module including a backwashing flow regulator disposed in the outer annular flow path. The backwash flow regulator is a backwash flow regulator which changes the flow of the cleaning fluid passing through the outer annular flow path without driving the backwash flow regulator,

the internal pressure type filtration membrane module may be configured to exhibit a wall surface fluid acceleration function of increasing a flow rate in a region along the outer peripheral surface of the membrane element in the outer annular flow path in the cleaning fluid by changing a flow of the cleaning fluid passing through the outer annular flow path by the backwash flow regulator, compared to a flow rate in a region along the outer peripheral surface without the backwash flow regulator.

The backwash flow adjuster may be implemented as a helical fin laid in the outer annular flow path. The spiral fin of the backwash flow regulator may be a spiral fin in which a pipe or a round bar is formed into a coil shape, or a spiral fin in which a belt-shaped flat plate is formed into a screw (auger) shape.

Further, the present invention provides filtration treatment methods, wherein the filtration treatment method is characterized by using the filtration membrane module according to any item described above to perform a crossflow filtration treatment of the treatment fluid for at least or more of concentration, purification, solute replacement, pH adjustment, conductivity adjustment, fine particle washing, fine particle surface treatment, and classification of the treatment fluid.

In the case of applying the present invention to the filtration process of external pressure crossflow, a process is performed in which, when the process fluid is caused to pass through the outer annular flow path, the process fluid does not have a turbulent flow but flows in the axial direction of the -th-order flow path, so that the centrifugal force with respect to the particles having a large particle diameter is larger than the centrifugal force with respect to the particles having a small particle diameter among the particles, and the particles having a large particle diameter are moved to the outer shell side and separated from the membrane elements, whereby the passage of the particles having a small particle diameter through the membrane elements is hardly obstructed.

ADVANTAGEOUS EFFECTS OF INVENTION

The present invention provides types of filtration membrane modules and filtration treatment methods that can increase the flow rate on the membrane surface, suppress the deposition of adhering substances on the membrane surface on surfaces, and improve the filtration efficiency on surfaces, as compared to conventional filtration devices and filtration methods.

The present invention also provides types of filtration membrane modules and filtration methods that can reduce the energy consumption required for filtration.

The present invention provides types of filtration membrane modules and filtration treatment methods that can increase the membrane surface flow rate on the filtration surface of a membrane element and can improve the efficiency of backwashing treatment, compared to conventional filtration devices and filtration methods.

The present invention also provides types of filtration membrane modules and filtration methods that can reduce the energy consumption required for backwashing.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a circuit diagram of a filtration apparatus to which filtration membrane modules according to th to third embodiments of the present invention are applied.

Fig. 2(a) is a main part cross-sectional explanatory view of a filtration membrane module to which embodiments to third embodiments of the present invention are applied, (B) is a main part cross-sectional view showing a relationship between components of the filtration membrane module in the case of internal pressure cross-flow filtration, and (C) is a main part cross-sectional view showing a relationship between components of the filtration membrane module in the case of external pressure cross-flow filtration.

Fig. 3(a) is a main part sectional explanatory view of a filtration membrane module according to a second embodiment of the present invention, and (B) is a main part sectional explanatory view of a filtration membrane module according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 4 is an explanatory cross-sectional view of a main part of a filtration membrane module relating to an th embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 5 is an explanatory cross-sectional view of a main part of a filtration membrane module relating to a third embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 6 is a circuit diagram of a filtration apparatus to which a filtration membrane module according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention is applied.

Fig. 7(a) is a main part cross-sectional explanatory view of a filtration membrane module according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention, and (B) is a main part cross-sectional explanatory view showing a modification of the filtration membrane module according to the embodiment.

Fig. 8(a), (B), (C), and (D) are main-part cross-sectional views showing modifications of the spiral fins of the filtration membrane module according to the embodiment.

Fig. 9 is a perspective view showing a modification of the membrane element of the filtration membrane module according to this embodiment.

Fig. 10 is a graph showing the particle size distribution of PLGA particles.

Detailed Description

In order to implement the mode of the invention

(internal pressure Cross flow filtration treatment)

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

The crossflow filtration treatment is roughly classified into an internal pressure crossflow filtration treatment in which a pressurized treatment fluid is introduced into a membrane element having a tubular flow path as a secondary side flow path inside and a filtrate generated by the filtration treatment is passed through a secondary side flow path outside, and , the external pressure crossflow filtration treatment is a treatment method in which a tubular flow path inside the membrane element is used as a secondary side flow path, the outer side of the membrane element is used as a secondary side flow path, the treatment fluid is introduced into a secondary side flow path outside, and the filtrate generated by the filtration treatment is passed through a secondary side flow path inside the membrane element, and a support 19 including a filtration membrane constituting a filtration surface of the membrane element and supporting the filtration membrane is provided on a surface where the membrane element and the secondary side flow path are in general, the support 19 is configured not to hinder the treatment by the filtration membrane, more specifically, in the case of the internal pressure crossflow filtration treatment, as shown in fig. 2(B), the inner wall surface of the tubular flow path of the membrane element is provided along the outer wall surface of the membrane element, as shown in fig. 2.

The present invention can be applied to both filtration processes, but three embodiments ( th to third embodiments) of the filtration apparatus suitable for the internal pressure cross-flow filtration process are shown with reference to fig. 1 to 5, and an embodiment of the filtration apparatus suitable for the external pressure cross-flow filtration process is shown with reference to fig. 6 and later.

(outline of filtration apparatus)

First, referring mainly to fig. 1, an outline of a filtration apparatus suitable for an internal pressure cross flow filtration process will be described, and a circuit diagram shown in fig. 1 is a diagram showing examples of a basic configuration of an apparatus for performing a filtration process on various process fluids such as a fine particle dispersion liquid, and can be implemented by adding various modifications such as using a plurality of filtration membrane modules 11 or using an agitation device, and the filtration apparatus is provided with a filtration membrane module 11 and a process liquid tank 55 connected to a secondary side inlet 51 of the filtration membrane module 11 via a liquid feed pump 56, and the process fluid in the process liquid tank 55 is pressure-fed into the filtration membrane module 11 by the liquid feed pump 56, and the filtration membrane module 11 is provided with a housing 12 and a membrane element 13, and the pressure-fed process fluid passes through a secondary side flow path 14 (see fig. 2(a)) in the membrane element 13, and is returned from a secondary side outlet 52 to the process liquid tank 55 via a return valve 61, and the process liquid or the like supplied from a liquid supply source 57 may be supplied from a liquid supply source 57 in addition to the process fluid or the number of the process liquid supply source may be changed to the liquid supply source, and the amount of the liquid supplied to the filter liquid supply source, and the liquid supply may be changed accordingly.

The treatment fluid fed under pressure passes through the secondary-side flow path 14 in the membrane element 13, and thereby performs a cross-flow filtration treatment, which may be passes, but may be a filtration treatment repeatedly performed by a circulation path connecting the filtration membrane module 11 and the treatment liquid tank 55, and the filtrate generated by the filtration treatment is discharged to the outside of the membrane element 13, and is discharged from the secondary-side discharge port 54 provided in the housing 12 to the filtrate discharge destination 59 via the filtrate valve 62.

The processing fluid after the filtration processing is discharged from a path provided at an appropriate position of the circulation path to the processed object discharge destination 58.

The above is a circuit and a flow of fluid used in a normal filtration process, but in the case of cleaning the membrane element 13, a cleaning fluid (organic solute, cleaning fluid, pure water, etc.) from the cleaning fluid supply source 60 is pressure-fed to the secondary side inlet 53 provided in the housing 12 through the cleaning fluid valve 63, the cleaning fluid introduced into the housing 12 is introduced from the outer peripheral surface of the membrane element 13 to the secondary side flow path 14 inside, and is discharged from the secondary side inlet 51 and secondary side outlet 52 to the process liquid tank 55, etc., and the cleaning fluid may be circulated, although not shown.

(outline of filtration membrane Module 11)

Next, referring mainly to fig. 2, a schematic of the filtration membrane module 11 will be described, the filtration membrane module 11 includes membrane elements 13 and a tubular casing 12 disposed outside the membrane elements 13, the membrane elements 13 include at least (four in fig. 2) secondary side flow paths 14 as tubular flow paths defined by a hollow tubular filter surface 15, both ends of the membrane elements 13 are connected to the secondary side inlet 51 and the secondary side outlet 52, respectively, and are connected to an external circuit via the secondary side inlet 51 and the secondary side outlet 52, and a pressurized treatment fluid is introduced into the secondary side flow path 14 from the secondary side inlet 51, and a treatment fluid after cross-flow filtration treatment is discharged from the secondary side outlet 52.

The filtration membrane constituting the filtration surface 15 is mainly made of ceramic materials such as alumina, zirconia, and titania, but may be made of stainless steel, glass, polyethylene, tetrafluoroethylene, polypropylene, cellulose acetate, polyacrylonitrile, polyimide, polysulfone, and polyether sulfone, which are organic membranes such as MF membrane (microfiltration), UF membrane (Ultrafiltration), and NF membrane (Nano filtration), and the like, and the types and sizes of these membranes are selected depending on the physical properties of the object to be treated and the purpose of filtration treatment , and are used for filtration treatment.

The support member 19 for supporting the filtration membrane of the filtration surface 15 is typically a porous ceramic material, but may be a stainless steel or porous resin hose, the housing 12 is a hollow cylindrical body made of a material having liquid tightness and pressure resistance, such as metal or synthetic resin, and the space between the inner wall of the housing 12 and the outer wall of the membrane element 13 is a portion constituting the secondary flow path 16 as an outer annular flow path, and although not shown, both ends of the housing 12 and the membrane element 13 are supported by support members, and filtration membrane modules 11 are constituted including other constituent members such as the secondary inlet 53 and the secondary outlet 54 provided in the housing 12.

Fig. 2(B) is a diagram showing the relationship among the filtration membrane module 11, the housing 12, the membrane elements 13, , the secondary-side flow path 14, the filtration surface (filtration membrane) 15, the secondary-side flow path 16, and the support 19 in the internal pressure cross flow filtration process, and fig. 2(C) is a diagram showing the relationship among the elements in the external pressure cross flow process.

In the present invention, the flow regulator 17 shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 is disposed in the secondary side flow path 14, the backwash flow regulator 18 shown in FIG. 5 is disposed in the secondary side flow path 16 which is an outer annular flow path, and the flow regulator 17 and the backwash flow regulator 18 may be used in combination with or may be implemented by disposing only the side.

(embodiment : refer to FIG. 4)

The flow adjuster 17 according to this embodiment is implemented as a static mixer 21, the static mixer 21 is a structure in which a plurality of elements 22 each having a rectangular blade twisted by 180 degrees are arranged in the axial direction of the -side flow path 14, and the elements 22 are arranged alternately in the direction of twisting right and left elements, and when the flow adjuster 17 is applied, the stirring, mixing, and dispersing action by the dividing action and the reversing action of the fluid are effective, but the function of converting the fluid by the elements 22 is important, that is, when the flow direction of the treatment fluid changes along the streamline-shaped surface of the twisted surface of the element 22, a flow rotating in the axial direction is generated in the treatment fluid, whereby the fluid flowing through the center portion of the tubular -side flow path 14 in the treatment fluid moves to the inner peripheral surface, and the fluid flowing through the inner peripheral surface is pushed by the fluid thus moved to the center portion, and as a result, the fluid becomes a flow rotating flow in the semicircular cross section partitioned by the elements 22, and the left element 22 and the right element 22 are arranged alternately in the direction of the filter element 15, and the left element 22 and the right element 22 are arranged alternately in the flow path 15.

The example in which the stirring, mixing, and dispersing action by the fluid dividing action and the inversion action are effective includes a case where the treatment fluid is a slurry containing fine particles, in the case of the slurry, since the fine particles form aggregates, it is difficult to remove the target substance contained in the aggregates by filtration, but the stirring, mixing, and dispersing action described above is effectively exerted to promote the removal of the target substance contained in the aggregates by filtration.

The static mixer 21 may be provided over the entire length of the secondary side flow path 14, may be provided at the portion, or may be provided intermittently, the structure in which the static mixer 21 is disposed in the secondary side flow path 14 may be exemplified by a structure in which both ends or the end of the static mixer 21 are fixed to support members at both ends of the filtration membrane module 11, and a structure in which both ends or the end of the static mixer 21 are directly or indirectly supported at both ends or the end of the membrane element 13, and the outer periphery of the element 22 may be in contact with or fixed to the filtering surface 15 of the secondary side flow path 14, or may be configured to be spaced at intervals of .

(second embodiment: refer to FIG. 3(A))

The flow conditioner 17 according to this embodiment is implemented as the helical fin 31, the helical fin 31 is a structure in which spirally revolves on plane in the axial direction of the secondary side flow path 14, and the helical fin 31 has a fluid acceleration function of increasing the flow velocity in the region along the filter surface 15 in the secondary side flow path 14 along the helical flow path defined by the helical fin 31, and also has a classification effect of causing large fine particles to preferentially migrate in the direction of the filter surface and small fine particles to migrate in the direction away from the filter surface by exerting the effect of centrifugal force in the helical flow, and as a result, there is an advantage that the handling ability of the filter itself is increased since clogging is hardly caused, and the direction of the twist of the helical fin 31 may be a right-handed helix or a left-handed helix, or both helices may be helices changing in the axial direction of the secondary side flow path 14, or a plurality of helical fins 31 may be provided, and a multilayer helix structure having two or more layers may be formed.

The spiral fin 31 may be provided over the entire length of the secondary side flow path 14, may be provided at the portion, or may be provided intermittently, and the structure in which the spiral fin 31 is disposed in the secondary side flow path 14 may be exemplified by a structure in which both ends or ends of the spiral fin 31 are fixed to support members at both ends of the filtration membrane module 11, or a structure in which both ends or ends of the spiral fin 31 are directly or indirectly supported at both ends or ends of the membrane element 13, and further, the outer periphery of the spiral fin 31 may be in contact with or fixed to the filter surface 15 of the secondary side flow path 14, or may be configured to be spaced at intervals of .

(other embodiment of the flow regulator 17: FIG. 3(B))

The flow regulator 17 may be implemented in a form other than the static mixer 21 and the helical fin 31 as long as it is configured to increase the flow velocity in the region along the filter surface 15 in the secondary side flow path 14, and may be implemented, for example, in a form in which a round rod or a round tube 32 is inserted into the secondary side flow path 14 to establish a flow in which the fluid flowing through the central portion of the secondary side flow path 14 moves to the region along the filter surface 15 in the secondary side flow path 14.

However, since these round rods or round tubes are configured to change the flow direction of the fluid, they become resistance to the flow, and therefore, the flow velocity of the entire process fluid is reduced by the resistance, and as a result, it is possible to set the diameter and number of the round rods or round tubes while considering points, which are not necessarily configured to reduce the flow velocity of the region along the filtering surface 15 in the secondary flow path 14.

Although not shown, for example, an inclined plate or a cone may be provided on a support rod extending in the axial direction of the secondary side flow path 14, and a flow in which the fluid flowing through the central portion of the secondary side flow path 14 moves to the region along the filtering surface 15 in the secondary side flow path 14 may be established, but since these static mixer 21, helical fin 31, inclined plate and cone are configured to change the flow direction of the fluid, they become resistance to the flow, and therefore the flow velocity of the entire process fluid decreases due to the resistance, and as a result, it is appropriate to perform the process by setting the values, the magnitudes, and the number of the shape, the inclination angle, and the lead angle thereof while considering points which are not structures in which the flow velocity of the region along the filtering surface 15 in the secondary side flow path 14 becomes low instead.

(third embodiment: refer to FIG. 5)

The third embodiment relates to the structure of the embodiment of the backwashing flow conditioner 18, in this example, the backwashing flow conditioner 18 is implemented as a spiral fin 41, the spiral fin 41 is a structure in which spirally revolves in a direction facing the axial direction of the secondary flow path 16 as an outer annular flow path, and the cleaning fluid for backwashing becomes a spiral flow flowing along the spiral flow path defined by the spiral fin 41, and exhibits a wall surface fluid acceleration function capable of increasing the flow velocity in the region along the outer peripheral surface of the membrane element 13 in the secondary flow path 16.

The structure in which the spiral fins 41 are disposed in the secondary-side flow path 16 may be exemplified by a structure in which both ends or ends of the spiral fins 41 are fixed to support members at both ends of the filtration membrane module 11, a structure in which both ends or ends of the spiral fins 41 are directly or indirectly supported at both ends or ends of the housing 12 or the membrane element 13, and the outer periphery of the spiral fins 41 may be in contact with or fixed to the outer peripheral surface or inner peripheral surface of the secondary-side flow path 16, or may be a structure in which the spiral fins are spaced at intervals of .

The backwash flow regulator 18 may be implemented in a form other than the spiral fin 41 as long as it is configured to increase the flow velocity in the region along the outer peripheral surface of the membrane elements 13 in the secondary-side flow path 16, and for example, it may be configured to provide a member such as an inclined plate on a support rod extending in the axial direction of the secondary-side flow path 16 or a protrusion inclined at the inner peripheral surface of the housing 12 to establish a flow in which the fluid flowing through the central portion of the secondary-side flow path 16 moves to the region along the outer peripheral surface of the membrane elements 13 in the secondary-side flow path 16.

(external pressure Cross flow filtration treatment)

Next, an outline of a filtration apparatus suitable for the external pressure cross-flow filtration process will be described with reference to fig. 6 and 7.

The circuit diagram shown in fig. 6 is a diagram showing an example of of a basic configuration of an apparatus for performing a filtration process on various process fluids such as a fine particle dispersion, and can be implemented by adding various modifications such as using a plurality of filter membrane modules 111 or using an agitation apparatus, as in the case of the internal pressure crossflow filtration process described above.

As shown in fig. 7(a) and (B), each of the filtration apparatuses includes a filtration membrane module 111, the filtration membrane module 111 includes a casing 112 and membrane elements 113, an outer annular flow path between the casing 112 and the membrane elements 113 is an secondary-side flow path 114, and a tubular flow path inside the membrane elements 113 is a secondary-side flow path 116.

The treatment liquid tank 155 is connected to the secondary inlet 151 of the filtration membrane module 111 via the liquid feeding pump 156, and the treatment fluid in the treatment liquid tank 155 is pressure-fed into the filtration membrane module 111 by the liquid feeding pump 156, the pressure-fed treatment fluid passes through the secondary flow path 114 as an outer annular flow path between the housing 112 and the membrane element 113, and is returned from the secondary outlet 152 to the treatment liquid tank 155 via the return valve 161, and the treatment fluid and the like are supplied from the liquid supply source 157 to the treatment liquid tank 155 as needed.

In the case where particles that may cause aggregation or sedimentation are contained in the processing fluid, it is also preferable to dispose the stirring device 153 in the processing liquid tank 155 and stir the processing fluid in the processing liquid tank 155 in order to suppress aggregation or sedimentation.

The liquid supplied from the liquid supply source 157 may be a cleaning liquid or a diluent other than the processing fluid, or may be a liquid supplied from a plurality of supply sources to the processing liquid tank 155 through different paths. The presence or absence of supply of the liquid from the liquid supply source 157 and the type and amount of the liquid can be changed according to the purpose of filtration and the like.

The pressure-fed processing fluid passes through secondary side channel 114, and thus cross-flow filtration processing is performed using the outer peripheral surface of membrane element 113 as filtration surface 115, and this filtration processing may be passes, but it may be a filtration processing repeatedly performed by a circulation path connecting filtration membrane module 111 and processing liquid tank 155. the filtrate generated by the filtration processing is discharged to the inside of membrane element 113, and discharged from secondary side discharge port 154 connected to secondary side channel 116 as a tubular channel to filtrate discharge destination 159 through filtrate valve 162, and the processing fluid after the filtration processing is discharged from a channel provided at an appropriate position in the circulation path to processing object discharge destination 158.

The above description is of a circuit and a flow of fluid used in a normal filtration process, but in the case of cleaning the membrane element 113, a cleaning fluid (organic solute, cleaning liquid, pure water, etc.) from the cleaning liquid supply source 160 is pressure-fed to the secondary side flow path 116 of the filtration membrane module 111 through the cleaning liquid valve 163, the cleaning fluid introduced into the filtration membrane module 111 flows out from the inner peripheral surface of the secondary side flow path 116, which is a tubular flow path, of the membrane element 113 to the outer peripheral surface of the membrane element 113, and is discharged from the primary side inlet 151 and primary side outlet 152 to the treatment liquid tank 155, etc. through the primary side flow path 114.

(outline of filtration membrane Module 111)

Next, referring to fig. 7, the outline of the filtration membrane module 111 will be described, the filtration membrane module 111 including membrane elements 113 and a tubular casing 112 disposed outside the membrane elements 113, an outer annular flow path between the inner peripheral surface of the tubular casing 112 and the membrane elements 113 constituting secondary side flow paths 114, and at least (four in fig. 2) tubular flow paths penetrating the membrane elements 113 constituting secondary side flow paths 116.

Both ends of the filtration membrane module 111 are connected to the secondary inlet 151 and the secondary outlet 152, respectively, and are connected to an external circuit via the secondary inlet 151 and the secondary outlet 152, whereby the pressurized treatment fluid is introduced into the secondary flow path 114 from the secondary inlet 151, and the treatment fluid after cross-flow filtration treatment is discharged from the secondary outlet 152.

The membrane element 113 constituting the filter surface 115 may be a membrane element similar to a filter membrane subjected to internal pressure crossflow filtration, and the support supporting the filter membrane may be a porous ceramic material, but may be a stainless steel or porous resin hose.

The housing 112 is a hollow cylindrical body and is made of a material having liquid-tightness and pressure-resistance, such as metal or synthetic resin.

Although not shown, both ends of the housing 112 and the membrane element 113 are supported by support members, and filtration membrane modules 111 are formed including other components such as an inlet port and an outlet port provided in the housing 112.

(flow regulator 117)

In the present invention, the flow regulator 117 shown in fig. 7 is disposed inside the secondary flow path 114 at .

The flow adjuster 117 according to this embodiment is implemented as a spiral fin 131, and the spiral fin 131 is a structure in which spirally revolves on a plane in the axial direction of the secondary flow path 114, and the spiral fin 131 itself changes the flow of the treatment fluid flowing in the axial direction of the secondary flow path 114 without driving (changes the flow so as to give a circumferential component), and thus, the treatment fluid flowing along the spiral flow path defined by the spiral fin 131 becomes a spiral flow, and a centrifugal force acts, and as a result, large fine particles relatively shift in the direction toward the outer side in the radial direction (i.e., in the direction away from the filter surface 115), and small fine particles relatively shift in the direction toward the inner side in the radial direction (i.e., in the direction close to the filter surface 115) in , and therefore, a treatment is promoted in which only the particles having a small particle diameter in the treatment fluid are allowed to pass through the filter surface 115 toward the secondary flow path 116, and in , only the particles having a large particle diameter in the treatment fluid are allowed to remain in the , and thus, the treatment module 111 is advantageously applied to the treatment fluid.

(comparison of the Effect of the flow conditioner)

In the internal pressure crossflow filtration processes according to the th to third embodiments described above, the process fluid is introduced into the secondary-side flow path 14 as a tubular flow path in the membrane element 13, and centrifugal force acts on the process fluid by a spiral flow generated by the spiral fin 31 in the tubular flow path.

When solid-liquid separation is performed on the treatment fluid, the particles of the solid component in the treatment fluid are not passed through the membrane element 13, and only the liquid component is passed through the membrane element 13 and moved to the secondary-side flow path 16.

At this time, when the centrifugal force acts, relatively large particles relatively approach the filtering surface 15 of the inner wall surface of the tubular flow path, and relatively small particles relatively move away from the filtering surface 15 of the inner wall surface of the tubular flow path. Here, since the relatively small particles are relatively close in size to the filter openings of the filter surface 15 and cause clogging of the filter surface 15, by relatively separating them from the filter surface 15, clogging of the filter surface 15 can be suppressed.

On the other hand, , in the case of the classification processing involving the separation of solids from solids in the processing fluid, it is necessary to perform an operation for passing only small particles through the filter surface 15 and not passing large particles through the filter surface 15 in order to perform the screening, however, in the case of performing the internal pressure cross flow filtration processing, when the centrifugal force acts on the processing fluid as described above, relatively large particles relatively approach the filter surface 15 of the inner wall surface of the tubular flow path and relatively small particles relatively separate from the filter surface 15 of the inner wall surface of the tubular flow path.

In contrast, in this embodiment relating to the external pressure cross-flow filtration process, the filtering surface 115 is located inside of the secondary side flow path 114, and as a result, contrary to the case of the internal pressure cross-flow filtration process described above, when centrifugal force acts on the process fluid, relatively large particles migrate relatively to the outside of the secondary side flow path 114, which is an outer annular flow path, relatively far away from the filtering surface 115, and relatively small particles migrate relatively to the inside of the secondary side flow path 114, relatively close to the filtering surface 115.

( relationship between flow rate and stage size of the Secondary side channel 114)

When the filtration membrane module 111 according to this embodiment is used for fractionation, it is preferable to perform the fractionation by changing the flow rate of the secondary side flow path 114 ( secondary side flow rate) according to the target fractionation size.

As described above, by generating a spiral flow in the secondary side flow path 114, centrifugal force is applied to particles contained in the treatment fluid, and therefore, the classification speed is increased by setting the flow rate to be larger than the classification size to move to the flow path outside (the shell side). for example, when particles of 15 μm or less are classified (removed) using the membrane element 113 having a mesh size of 15 μm, it is preferable to calculate from the experimental results and the centrifugal force that about 10L/min (about 0.72m/sec when the flow rate is converted from the cross-sectional area between the coils for the liquid flowing between the coils and the coil), and when the secondary side flow rate is increased by , it shows a tendency that particles of 15 μm or less (particularly, particles of 10 to 15 μm) which are supposed to pass (are supposed to be screened) through the filter surface 115 of the membrane element 113 excessively pass through the filter surface 115, and the flow rate of the particles discharged from the secondary side flow path 116 is increased by 39 (in the example, it is preferable to adjust the classification flow rate of the flow rate of 39592, 3875B, and the flow rate of the flow path 114B 64B, and thus, it is preferable to compare with the classification example, 3875, and the classification example, and the flow rate of the example, 3875B.

(form of spiral fin 131)

Specifically, the fin shown in fig. 7(a) may be configured such that two fins, a small diameter portion 132 having a small diameter and a large diameter portion 133 having a large diameter, are arranged in a non-continuous manner in the cross-sectional shape, and the small diameter portion 132 is arranged inside the large diameter portion 133, so that, in the cross-sectional shape of the spiral fin 131 along the axis of the secondary-side flow path 114, when the cross-sectional shape is divided into two regions, i.e., a region close to the filter surface 115 and a region far from the filter surface 115, the cross-sectional area is smaller in the close region than in the far region, and a sufficient flow path area can be secured in the region close to the filter surface 115, and the flow path area is restricted in the region far from the filter surface 115, so that the entire process fluid can be brought into close proximity to the filter surface 115, thereby improving the process efficiency.

The direction of twist of the spiral fin 131 may be right-handed spiral or left-handed spiral, or both may be changed in the axial direction of the secondary flow path 114 at . the spiral fin 131 may be provided in plural, and may have a multilayer spiral structure of two or more layers.

For example, the spiral fin 131 may be disposed in contact with the housing 112 and the membrane element 113 as shown in fig. 8(a), may be disposed at a position close to the inner peripheral surface of the housing 112 as shown in fig. 8(B), may be disposed at a position close to the outer peripheral surface of the membrane element 113 as shown in fig. 8(C), or may be disposed at a position close to the inner peripheral surface of the housing 112 at the side of and disposed at a position close to the outer peripheral surface of the membrane element 113 at the side of when the multilayer spiral structure is formed as shown in fig. 8 (D).

The spiral fins 131 may be provided over the entire length of the secondary side flow path 114, may be provided in the portion , or may be provided intermittently.

The structure in which the spiral fins 131 are arranged in the secondary-side flow path 114 can be exemplified by a structure in which both ends or ends of the spiral fins 131 are fixed to support members at both ends of the filtration membrane module 111, a structure in which both ends or ends of the spiral fins 131 are directly or indirectly supported to both ends or ends of the membrane element 113, and the inner periphery of the spiral fins 131 may be in contact with or fixed to the filter surface 115 of the secondary-side flow path 114, or may be spaced apart by a small amount from the , but it is more preferable to be spaced apart by a small amount from the , and similarly, the outer periphery of the spiral fins 131 may be in contact with or fixed to the casing 112, or may be spaced apart by a small amount from the .

(backwashing)

The membrane element 113 can be backwashed conventionally for the main purpose of eliminating clogging.

In the case of cleaning, the cleaning fluid from the cleaning fluid supply source 160 flows out from the inner peripheral surface of the secondary flow path 116, which is a tubular flow path, of the membrane element 113 to the outer peripheral surface of the membrane element 113, and is discharged through the secondary flow path 114, whereby particles clogging the pores of the membrane element 113 are discharged to the secondary flow path 114, and clogging is eliminated.

(relationship between secondary side discharge amount and classification efficiency)

In addition, , since the classification speed is increased as the secondary discharge amount is increased, but clogging is likely to occur in the filter surface 115, there is a need to increase the number of backwashing operations, and even if the initial amount of particle penetration is large, the amount of particle penetration as a whole is small, and finally the classification time is long in the case where the amount of particle penetration is large, there is a case where the amount of particle penetration is large in the early stage.

Therefore, it is preferable to adjust the secondary-side discharge amount in consideration of the overall classification efficiency.

(modification of Membrane element 113)

The membrane element 113 can be implemented by various modifications, and in addition to the number and size of the secondary flow paths 116, the membrane element 113 can be implemented by changing the cross-sectional shape of the membrane element 113 to a pleat type cross-sectional shape having a plurality of pleats as shown in fig. 9, thereby increasing the filtration area.

(modification of filtration membrane Module 111)

The flow adjuster 117 may be implemented in a form other than the spiral fin 131 as long as it can generate a centrifugal force by generating a spiral flow in the process fluid, and for example, may be implemented in a form in which a component for moving the fluid flowing through the -side flow path 114 in the circumferential direction is added, such as an inclined plate or a cone provided in a space extending in the axial direction of the -side flow path 114.

(filtration method)

The filtration membrane module of the present invention is applicable to a cross-flow filtration treatment method for various purposes such as concentration, purification, solute replacement, pH adjustment, conductivity adjustment, fine particle washing, fine particle surface treatment, classification, and the like of a treatment fluid, as in the case of the conventional filtration membrane module, in both the internal pressure cross-flow filtration treatment and the external pressure cross-flow filtration treatment. As described above, the MF membrane, UF membrane, NF membrane, and the like can be selected and implemented according to the purpose, the type, and the state of the treatment fluid, and the circuit of the filtration device can be changed and implemented. For example, in a treatment for the purpose of concentration of a treatment fluid, a cross-flow filtration treatment can be performed through a circulation path without supplying a cleaning liquid or the like to a treatment liquid tank during the treatment, and the invention related to the applicant of the present application can be applied to the treatment for the purpose of pH adjustment and conductivity adjustment of the treatment fluid, and the invention related to japanese patent No. 6144447 and japanese patent No. 6151469 can be implemented.