JPH05161829A - Method for assembling hollow yarn membrane module - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent the generation of fine particles, the elution of a resin, inferior sealing or the insufficient creeping of a curable resin, in the assembling of a hollow yarn membrane module, by injecting a sealant in the hollow opening parts of hollow yarn membranes using an injector. CONSTITUTION:A large number of hollow yarn membranes are gathered to form a bundle Y and a sealant such as an oligomer or a polymer is injected in the hollow opening parts of the hollow yarn membranes of both end parts of the formed bundle Y using an injector such as a disposable plastic syringe. Whereupon, the sealant is mainly supplied to the hollow opening parts and substantially prevented from adhering to the outer surfaces of the hollow yarn membranes. Thereafter, the gaps between the hollow yarn membranes and the gaps between the hollow yarn membranes and a case are sealed with a curable resin by centrifugal molding. By this sealing, a hollow yarn membrane module of good quality generating no leakage can be assembled.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method for assembling a hollow fiber membrane module for fluid separation, and more specifically, it first seals hollow openings at both ends of a bundle of a large number of hollow fiber membranes with a sealing material. Then, by using a curable resin by centrifugal molding, the gap between the hollow fiber membranes at both ends of the bundle and the gap between the hollow fiber membrane and the case are sealed, and then the hollow fiber membrane sealed by the curable resin. The present invention relates to a method for assembling a hollow fiber membrane module in which both ends of a bundle made of is cut to open the hollow portion of the hollow fiber membrane.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Recently, a hollow fiber membrane module for fluid separation has come to play an active role especially in applications requiring high cleanliness, such as supplying ultrapure water for semiconductor production. Therefore, the module is also required to have a structure in which fine particles do not exist or are generated, the amount of elution from constituent members such as a case and a membrane is small, and there is no dead space that causes generation of bacteria. For that purpose, it is necessary to build quality in such a way that the above problems can be cleared even in the manufacturing stage. As a general method for manufacturing a hollow fiber membrane module, the hollow openings at both ends of a bundle composed of a large number of hollow fiber membranes are first sealed with a sealing material, and then the hollow openings are made by using a curable resin by centrifugal molding. After sealing the space between the fiber membranes and the space between the hollow fiber membranes and the case, cut the bundles of hollow fiber membranes in the curable resin-encapsulated parts at both ends of the fiber bundle and without the sealing material. Then, there is a method of opening the hollow portion of the hollow fiber membrane. In the present specification, the operation of closing the hollow openings at both ends of the bundle of hollow fiber membranes is called a sealing operation, the sealing material is called a sealing material, and the hollow fiber membrane using a curable resin by centrifugal molding is used. It will be distinguished from the sealing of the gap between the space and the case.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 50-151775 discloses a method of using gypsum to seal the hollow openings at both ends of a hollow fiber membrane bundle. After the completion of the stop, unless the plaster in the gap between the hollow fiber membranes is removed, the resin cannot enter the space between the hollow fiber membranes, resulting in poor adhesion. On the other hand, if the particles are removed, the fine particles of gypsum may remain in the case and become dust after the module is molded.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 58-16816 discloses a method in which mercury is used to seal the hollow openings at both ends of a hollow fiber membrane bundle. In this method, mercury remains and is used. There is a risk of elution inside. On the other hand, JP-A-53
No. 22164, a method in which a small amount of a curable resin is first used to seal the hollow openings at both ends of the hollow fiber membrane bundle, and then the curable resin is injected into the gaps between the hollow fiber membranes and the case. Is disclosed. In this method, since the adhesive between the hollow opening sealing material and the hollow fiber membranes and the case are the same, the above-mentioned problems such as elution do not occur, but when a resin having a high viscosity is used, the hollow fiber There is a possibility that the resin does not sufficiently wrap around between the membranes, causing leakage or creating dead space.

The following proposals have been made to solve the problem. In Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2-214527, a jig having a protrusion is inserted in advance in the bundle of hollow fiber membranes in order to accelerate the flow of resin between the hollow fiber membranes, and then a sealing material for the hollow openings is formed. As a method, after the hollow opening of the hollow fiber membrane bundle is sealed with a resin, the jig is pulled out and the curable resin is continuously injected and sealed from the hole through which the projection is removed.

Further, in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 59-115702, similarly, in order to accelerate the flow of resin between the hollow fiber membranes, a special jig having a resin injection port is previously prepared in the hollow fiber membrane bundle. There is disclosed a sealing method in which the hollow opening portion of the hollow fiber membrane bundle is sealed with a resin as a hollow opening sealing material and then the curable resin is continuously injected from the injection port.

[0007]

However, in these methods, the hollow fiber membranes are pushed up when the jig is inserted between the hollow fiber membranes, and the hollow openings are poorly plugged. Since the resin may not get in and the number of resin injection ports cannot be increased so much, the sealing resin may not sufficiently flow into the gap between the hollow fiber membranes and may leak from both ends.

The present inventors have made intensive efforts, but arrived at the present invention by changing their ideas.

[0009]

Means for Solving the Problems The present invention is directed to the generation of fine particles, elution of resin, etc. generated in the sealing step as described above.
This was done to solve problems such as poor sealing and insufficient curability of the curable resin. The present invention seals hollow fiber membrane hollow openings at both ends of a bundle composed of a large number of hollow fiber membranes with a sealing material, and then a gap between the hollow fiber membranes at both ends of the bundle and the hollow fiber membrane and the case. After the gap between and is sealed with a curable resin by centrifugal molding, both ends of the bundle of hollow fiber membranes sealed with the curable resin are cut to open the hollow portion of the hollow fiber membrane. In the method for assembling a hollow fiber membrane module, the filling material is injected into the hollow opening of the hollow fiber membrane by using an injector, which is a method for assembling the hollow fiber membrane module.

The present invention will be described below. There is no restriction on the material of the hollow fiber membrane. Any known polymer may be used, such as a single polymer, a polymer blend, a composite such as coating, and an inorganic material. There are no restrictions on the pore size, air permeability, and surface chemical properties of the hollow fiber membrane. It may be impregnated with glycerin or the like, or may be dried in some cases.

The diameter of the hollow opening of the hollow fiber membrane, that is, the inner diameter is
Since an injector is used as the method for injecting the sealing material, it is preferably 0.3 mm or more due to the restrictions of the diameter of the injector and the viscosity of the sealing material. About 1 mm to 10 mm is more preferable because various injectors and sealing materials can be selected. In the present invention, when the injector is used, the sealing material is mainly supplied to the hollow opening, and the sealing material is substantially not attached to the outer surface of the hollow fiber membrane. However, the sealing material may be absorbed by the membrane wall of the hollow fiber membrane.

The same epoxy resin that seals the gap between the hollow fiber membranes and the gap between the hollow fiber membrane and the case is preferably used as the sealing material because problems such as elution can be avoided. Materials such as oligomers and polymers such as polyglycol, silicone rubber solutions, and quick-drying adhesives may be used depending on the severity of elution in the application of the membrane module.

As the injector, there may be mentioned a method in which an injection needle is directly inserted into or in contact with the hollow opening of the hollow fiber membrane as shown in FIG. 1 to inject the sealing material. It is also possible to attach directly to the opening from a tube of a quick-drying adhesive or the like. Each hollow fiber membrane may be injected one by one, or if the hollow fiber membranes are positioned relative to each other, it is possible to set a plurality of injection needles or the like at the corresponding positions to simultaneously stop the injection.

The present invention is more effective if the sealing material is simultaneously injected into the hollow openings of a large number of hollow fiber membranes, or even if the sealing materials are individually injected one by one. One of the methods is to position each hollow fiber membrane in the bundle of hollow fiber membranes in advance and set the injector positioned at a position corresponding to the hollow opening of each hollow fiber membrane.
Another preferred method is to fix the bundle of hollow fiber membranes, observe the end face with a camera and take it into an image processing device, and by image analysis, consider the hollow fiber membranes as two concentric circles and set the coordinates of the center of the inside circles to all hollows. There is a method of calculating the hollow opening of the fiber membrane and setting the injector at the coordinates of the hollow opening of each hollow fiber membrane.

[0015]

EXAMPLES Hereinafter, the present invention will be described more specifically.

[0016]

Example 1 Inner diameter 3.5 mm, outer diameter 5.3 mm, length 3
76 20-mm polyethylene hollow fiber membranes were bundled into a bundle having a diameter of 55 mm, and the bundle was placed in a module case having an inner diameter of 60 mm and a length of 290 mm. A fast-curing epoxy resin was used to stop each hollow portion at both ends of 76 hollow fiber membranes with a disposable plastic syringe having an outer diameter of 3.5 mm and an inner diameter of 2 mm. Sealing was possible in about 5 minutes, and no resin adhered to the outer circumference of the hollow fiber membrane. After standing in this state to cure the epoxy resin for sealing, centrifugal adhesion was performed with the epoxy resin. When cut to a predetermined length, all hollow portions of the hollow fiber membrane were open, and partition walls were formed of epoxy resin between the hollow fiber membranes.

[0017]

Comparative Example 1 The same end face of the same hollow fiber membrane bundle as used in Example 1 was coated with a quick-curing epoxy resin using a flat knife, and a sealing resin was put in the hollow opening of the hollow fiber membrane. After semi-curing, the sealing resin that entered between the hollow fiber membranes was rubbed by hand to remove it. During this time, 40 minutes were required. Subsequently, the hollow fiber membranes and the gap between the hollow fiber membranes and the case were centrifugally adhered by an adhesive epoxy resin. When the hollow fiber membrane was cut at a predetermined length, all the hollow portions of the hollow fiber membrane were open, but there was a portion between the hollow fiber membranes in which the adhesive epoxy resin did not enter. It is probable that the loosening was insufficient and the epoxy resin for adhesion could not enter.

[0018]

[Example 2] Inner diameter 5 mm, outer diameter 9 mm, length 320 mm
As shown in FIG. 2, the polyethylene hollow fiber membranes 14 of No. 2 are positioned in pairs of 2, 3, 4, 3 and 2 to form a bundle Y,
It was fixed on the carriage D as shown in FIG. Outer diameter 3.5 mm, inner diameter 2 at the position corresponding to the hollow opening of each hollow fiber membrane
A total of 14 syringes T each having a mm opening were set and fixed on the carriage E. The end portion P of the piston of each syringe is connected to a common operating rod C, and when C is moved back and forth, the pistons of all syringes move. After pulling the operation rod C and sucking the quick-curing epoxy resin into each syringe, the carriage E moves on the rail R. When the sensor S detects that the tip of the syringe has reached the hollow fiber membrane opening, the carriage E stops and the operating rod C is pushed to simultaneously inject epoxy resin into the hollow openings of the 14 hollow fiber membranes to stop the hollow fiber membranes. did. No resin adhered to the outer circumference of the hollow fiber membrane. The opposite end of the hollow fiber membrane was also sealed in the same manner. After leaving the epoxy resin in this state to cure, the hollow fiber membrane bundle was inserted into the case and centrifugal adhesion was performed with the epoxy resin. When cut to a predetermined length, all hollow portions of the hollow fiber membrane were opened, and partition walls were formed of epoxy resin between the hollow fiber membranes.

[0019]

[Example 3] Inner diameter 3.5 mm, outer diameter 5.3 mm, length 3
76 20-mm polyethylene hollow fiber membranes were bundled into a bundle having a diameter of 55 mm. The hollow fiber membrane bundle was fixed to the stage L in FIG. The end face was observed by the CCD camera M and taken into the image processing device. The hollow fiber membrane was regarded as two concentric circles by image analysis, and the coordinates of the center of the inner circle were calculated for all hollow openings of the hollow fiber membranes. A small amount of resin injection device J was moved to the coordinates of the hollow opening of each hollow fiber membrane, and a fast-curing epoxy resin was injected into the hollow opening of each hollow fiber membrane through a mouth having an outer diameter of 3.5 mm and an inner diameter of 2 mm. This operation was performed on all hollow fiber membranes. No resin adhered to the outer circumference of the hollow fiber membrane. After standing in this state to cure the epoxy resin for sealing, centrifugal adhesion was performed with the epoxy resin. When cut to a predetermined length, all hollow portions of the hollow fiber membrane were open, and partition walls were formed of epoxy resin between the hollow fiber membranes.

[0020]

According to the present invention, there is provided a method for assembling a hollow fiber membrane module, which is free from problems such as generation of fine particles, elution of resin and the like, defective sealing, and insufficient curling of curable resin.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a process of injecting a sealing material into hollow fiber membranes one by one using an injector in one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a hollow fiber membrane bundle positioned in a second embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a device in which positioned injectors simultaneously inject a sealing material into the hollow openings of the positioned hollow fiber membrane bundle in Example 2.

FIG. 4A is a diagram showing a process in Example 3 in which an end surface of a hollow fiber membrane bundle is captured by a camera and image processing is performed to calculate the coordinates of the hollow openings of each hollow fiber membrane. (B) is a figure which shows the process of moving an injector to the coordinate and injecting a sealing material.

[Explanation of symbols]

 I Device Plastic Syringe Y Hollow Fiber Membrane Bundle D Hollow Fiber Membrane Bundle Fixing Cart T Syringe E Syringe Group Fixing Cart P Piston C Operating Rod R Cart Moving Rail S Sensor L Hollow Fiber Membrane Bundle Fixing Stage M Camera J Micro Resin Injection Device

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A hollow fiber membrane hollow opening at both ends of a bundle of a large number of hollow fiber membranes is sealed with a sealing material, and then a gap between the hollow fiber membranes at both ends of the bundle and a hollow fiber. After the gap between the membrane and the case is sealed with a curable resin by centrifugal molding, both ends of the bundle of hollow fiber membranes sealed with the curable resin are cut, and the hollow portion of the hollow fiber membrane is cut. A method for assembling a hollow fiber membrane module, wherein a filling material is injected into a hollow opening portion of the hollow fiber membrane by using an injector.