Hollow fiber membrane module

• US 20040178136A1
• Filed: 08/11/2003
• Published: 09/16/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 11/05/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Asahi Kasei Kabushiki Kaisha (Asahi Kasei Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Asahi Kasei Kabushiki Kaisha (Asahi Kasei Corporation)
• Inventors: Ishibashi, Yuzuru, Taniguchi, Tohru
• Granted Patent: US 7,160,455 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 210/321.79
• CPC Class Codes: B01D 2321/04 Backflushing
• CPC Class Codes: B01D 2321/168 Use of other chemical agents
• CPC Class Codes: B01D 63/02 Hollow fibre modules
• CPC Class Codes: B01D 63/021 Manufacturing thereof
• CPC Class Codes: B01D 63/022 Encapsulating hollow fibres
• CPC Class Codes: B01D 63/023 Encapsulating materials
• CPC Class Codes: B01D 63/0233 forming the bundle
• CPC Class Codes: B01D 63/024 with a single potted end
• CPC Class Codes: B01D 63/031 Two or more types of hollow fibres within one bundle or within one potting or tube-sheet
• CPC Class Codes: B01D 65/02 Membrane cleaning or sterilisation ; Membrane regeneration
• CPC Class Codes: C02F 1/444 by ultrafiltration or microfiltration
• CPC Class Codes: C02F 1/78 with ozone C02F1/4672 takes precedence

Abstract

A hollow fiber membrane module comprising a module housing, a hollow fiber membrane bundle comprising a plurality of hollow fiber membranes, at least one end portion of the bundle being fixed on the housing through a flexible potting material, and a rib or ring embedded in the potting portion, the rib or ring being fixed on an inner wall of the housing, and the rib or ring being embedded in the potting portion without directly contacting the hollow fiber membrane, and the filtration method using the same. The hollow fiber membrane module can maintain a practical pressure resistance.

Claims

1. A hollow fiber membrane module comprising a module housing;

a hollow fiber membrane bundle comprising a plurality of hollow fiber membranes, at least one end portion of the bundle being fixed on the housing; and

a rib or ring, at least one part of the rib or ring being embedded in a potting portion fixing the end portion of the hollow fiber membrane in the housing with a potting material in the state where a hollow portion thereof is open, wherein the potting material is a flexible material, the rib or ring is fixed on an inner wall of the housing or integrally molded with an inner wall of the housing, and the rib or ring is embedded in the potting portion without directly contacting the hollow fiber membrane.

2. The hollow fiber membrane module according to claim 1, wherein a filling layer consisting of the potting material and having a thickness of at least 1 mm exists between the rib or ring and the hollow fiber membrane.

3. The hollow fiber membrane module according to claim 2, wherein the thickness of the filling layer is not less than 2 mm.

4. The hollow fiber membrane module according to claim 1, wherein a fixing device is arranged outside the end face of the potting portion on the side of openings of the hollow fiber membrane substantially without sealing the end of the openings.

5. The hollow fiber membrane module according to claim 4, wherein the fixing device comprises a frame portion and a partition portion, and the cross-section of the partition portion perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the hollow fiber membrane module has a shape selected from the group consisting of cross shape, lattice shape, radial shape, honeycomb shape and combined shape of cross or radial shape and circular shape.

6. The hollow fiber membrane module according to claim 4, wherein a groove for an O-ring is arranged on the fixing device.

7. The hollow fiber membrane module according to claim 1, wherein the ring is arranged in parallel to the end face of the potting portion.

8. The hollow fiber membrane module according to claim 1, wherein R-processing is applied to the external angle portion of the ring.

9. The hollow fiber membrane module according to claim 1, wherein the module is equipped with both the rib and the ring, and the rib is fixed on the inner wall of the housing through the ring and the rib is fixed directly on the inner wall of the ring or molded integrally with the ring.

10. The hollow fiber membrane module according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the potting material has an JIS-A hardness after curing of 25 to 90.

11. The hollow fiber membrane module according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the hollow fiber membrane is fixed on the housing without directly contacting the inner wall of the housing at the potting portion.

12. The hollow fiber membrane module according to claim 11, wherein a filling layer consisting of the potting material and having a thickness of at least 1 mm exists between the inner wall of the housing and the hollow fiber membrane in the potting portion.

13. An external pressure filtration method comprising supplying a raw water from an outer surface of a hollow fiber membrane bundle and collecting a filtered water from an inner surface of the bundle by using the hollow fiber membrane module according to any one of claims 1 to 9.