Flat membrane element and regeneration method thereof

• US 7,992,724 B2
• Filed: 03/20/2009
• Issued: 08/09/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 01/06/2006
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hitachi Plant Technologies Limited (Hitachi, Ltd.)
• Inventors: Noto, Kazuhiko, Fujimoto, Takashi, Tagashira, Tatsuaki, Hatanaka, Mitsuru, Takemura, Kiyokazu
• Primary Examiner(s): KURTZ, BENJAMIN M
• Application Number:
  US12/382,654
• Publication Number:
  US 20090202746A1
• Time in Patent Office: 872 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 210/490
• CPC Class Codes: B01D 2313/04 Specific sealing means
• CPC Class Codes: B01D 2321/00 Details relating to membrane cleaning, regeneration, sterilization or to the prevention of fouling
• CPC Class Codes: B01D 63/081 Manufacturing thereof
• CPC Class Codes: B01D 65/003 Membrane bonding or sealing
• CPC Class Codes: B01D 65/02 Membrane cleaning or sterilisation ; Membrane regeneration

Abstract

To reuse support plate and to fix a membrane sheet by the same method both in a new product manufacturing and in regeneration. In a flat membrane element including a deposit fixed portion formed by lapping a membrane sheet performing solid-liquid separation onto a support plate supporting the membrane sheet and by emitting a laser to a circumferential edge of the membrane sheet to deposit fix the member sheet onto the support plate, and making an inside of the membrane sheet surrounded by the deposit fixed portion be a solid-liquid separating area; an embrocation having laser absorption property is applied on the surface of the membrane sheet of the deposit fixed portion. At the time of regeneration, such a portion of the membrane sheet that corresponds to the solid-liquid separating area is cut off and, after that, a new membrane sheet is lapped on the embrocation and the new membrane sheet and the embrocation are deposit fixed by a laser.

Claims

1. A regeneration method of a flat membrane element having an old membrane sheet lapped onto a support plate wherein a circumference of the old membrane sheet is laser deposited onto the support plate, the method comprising:

covering a laser deposited portion on the old membrane sheet with an embrocation having laser absorption property to protect the laser deposited portion against an external environment, the embrocation comprising a pigment;

cutting off the old membrane sheet inside the laser deposited portion;

lapping a new membrane sheet onto the embrocation; and

performing a laser deposition on the new membrane sheet to regenerate the membrane element.

2. The regeneration method according to claim 1,

wherein the laser deposited portion of the new membrane sheet is covered by an additional embrocation having laser absorption property.

3. The regeneration method according to claim 1, wherein a space having the same thickness as the old membrane sheet and the embrocation is formed between the new membrane sheet and the support plate.

4. The regeneration method according to claim 1, wherein the pigment is carbon black.