Patent Application
20120118824
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a water treatment apparatus and a water treatment method in which a reverse osmosis membrane is used. More specifically, the present invention relates to a water treatment apparatus having water treatment means by a reverse osmosis membrane and suspended substance removal means serving as pretreatment of the water treatment means, and to a water treatment method that can be implemented by using the water treatment apparatus.
2. Description of the Background Art
A reverse osmosis (RO) membrane is a semipermeable membrane including ultrafine pores each having a diameter of approximately 0.1 to 0.5 nm. By bringing raw water in which impurities such as salt are dissolved into contact with one side of this reverse osmosis membrane and bringing pure water into contact with the other side, osmotic pressure is generated and the pure water permeates the reverse osmosis membrane to the raw water side. When a pressure exceeding the osmotic pressure is applied to the raw water side, however, water molecules in the raw water selectively pass through the reverse osmosis membrane to the pure water side and the pure water from which the impurities such as salt are removed can be obtained. Thus, a water treatment system in which the reverse osmosis membrane is used as means for removing the impurities such as salt from the raw water has been employed and widely applied to desalination treatment such as seawater desalination as well as other recycling of groundwater, discharged water and water.
In many cases, the raw water of the water treatment system in which the reverse osmosis membrane is used includes a suspended substance formed of coarse particles. Thus, in order to prevent contamination of the reverse osmosis membrane caused by the suspended substance, pretreatment means for removing the suspended substance from the raw water is typically provided before treatment means by the reverse osmosis membrane. This pretreatment means includes sand filtration, filtration by using a membrane having pores larger than the pores of the reverse osmosis membrane, for example, microfiltration (MF) or ultrafiltration (UF) or a combination thereof, and the like.
Sand filtration herein refers to a method for removing a suspended substance by guiding raw water to a filter bed that is provided with a filtering material formed of layers of sand (Anthracite, silica sand and the like) and support gravel, and passing the raw water through the filtering material. Microfiltration refers to a method for removing a suspended substance by passing raw water through a microfiltration membrane including pores each having a diameter of approximately 100 nm (0.1 μm) or more and less than 1000 nm (1 μm). Ultrafiltration refers to a method for removing a suspended substance by passing raw water through an ultrafiltration membrane including pores each having a diameter of approximately 1 to 100 nm.
Specifically, the water treatment system in which the reverse osmosis membrane is used and the pretreatment means is provided can include a system of filtering, by the reverse osmosis membrane, water pretreated by one or two stages or more of sand filtration (referred to as reverse osmosis membrane filtration), a system of filtering, by the reverse osmosis membrane, water pretreated by microfiltration or ultrafiltration, and further, a method obtained by combining the aforementioned pretreatment methods, for example, a system of filtering, by the reverse osmosis membrane, water pretreated by microfiltration or ultrafiltration after sand filtration (Fukuoka District Waterworks Agency, “Mechanism of Desalination,” [online], [searched on Jul. 17, 2009], Internet <URL: http://www.f-suiki.or.jp/seawater/facilities/mechanism.php>), and the like.
The above sand filtration, however, has problems such as the need for large installation area because the filter bed is used, and the need for high installation cost because large-scale engineering works are required for installation. In addition, in the sand filtration, only particles in the suspended substance each having a diameter of approximately 1 μm or more can be removed, and smaller particles cannot be removed. Thus, a flocculant must be added to sufficiently remove the suspended substance, which leads to an increase in treatment cost.
On the other hand, in the pretreatment by microfiltration or ultrafiltration, small particles can be removed and the suspended substance can be sufficiently removed. There is, however, a problem of low flow rate (flux) per unit membrane area. Accordingly, the membrane area must be increased to obtain large amount of treatment. As a result, an apparatus (module) that performs microfiltration or ultrafiltration must be increased in size or the number of the apparatus must be increased, which causes a problem of an increase in installation cost.
In seawater, there is approximately 1 to several ppm of an adhesive substance called TEP (transparent exopolymer particles), which is secreted outside a cell by plankton and microbes. TEP includes saccharide as the main ingredient and are deformable particles each having a particle size of approximately 1 to 200 μm. Since organic particles such as TEP deform, the organic particles are not sufficiently removed by sand filtration. In addition, when the organic particles are directly filtered by the microfiltration membrane or ultrafiltration membrane, the organic particles adhere to the membrane surface and spread out, which causes fouling (clogging) of the microfiltration membrane or ultrafiltration membrane.
The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems of the conventional art. In other words, an object of the present invention is to provide a water treatment apparatus and a water treatment method in which a reverse osmosis membrane is used, wherein large installation area is not required and the treatment flow rate (flux) per unit membrane area is high. Conversely, the object of the present invention is to provide a water treatment apparatus and a water treatment method, wherein the same amount of treatment can be achieved in smaller facilities, and thus, the installation cost can be reduced. Further, the object of the present invention is to provide a water treatment apparatus and a water treatment method, wherein a suspended substance and organic particles such as TEP can be sufficiently removed without the need for adding a flocculant.
As a result of a study to solve the above problems, the inventors of the present invention have found that by using a filtration membrane (hereinafter referred to as an LF membrane) having an average pore diameter of 1 μm or more to perform pretreatment as the former stage of microfiltration (hereinafter referred to as “MF”) or ultrafiltration (hereinafter referred to as “UF”) in a water treatment apparatus (system) for filtering, by means of a reverse osmosis membrane, water pretreated by MF or UF, large installation area becomes unnecessary, large amount of treatment can be obtained with small facilities, and a suspended substance and organic particles such as TEP can be sufficiently removed by the pretreatment without the need for adding a flocculant. As a result, the inventors of the present invention have accomplished the present invention.
In other words, the above objects are achieved by a water treatment apparatus (claim 1), comprising: first membrane filtration means in which a filtration membrane having an average pore diameter of 1 μm or more is used; second membrane filtration means for treating water filtered by the first membrane filtration means, by using a microfiltration membrane (hereinafter referred to as “MF membrane”) or ultrafiltration membrane (hereinafter referred to as “UF membrane”); and reverse osmosis membrane filtration means for treating water filtered by the second membrane filtration means.
In this water treatment apparatus, raw water (liquid to be treated) is first supplied to the first membrane filtration means and passes through the LF membrane. The liquid treated by the first membrane filtration means passes through the second membrane filtration means in which the MF membrane or UF membrane is used. The liquid treated by the second membrane filtration means is further supplied to the reverse osmosis membrane filtration means. In the first membrane filtration means, the LF membrane removes coarse particles having a size equal to or larger than the size corresponding to the average pore diameter of the LF membrane from the raw water, and also captures organic particles such as TEP. As a result, a suspended substance and the organic particles such as TEP in the raw water are reduced. Furthermore, when the liquid passes through the MF membrane or UF membrane, fine particles in the suspended substance and the organic particles such as TEP are removed. The suspended substance and the organic particles such as TEP are sufficiently removed before the liquid is supplied to the reverse osmosis membrane filtration means.
Since the LF membrane has an average pore diameter of 1 μm or more, the flow rate (flux) per unit membrane area can be increased as compared with that of the MF membrane or UF membrane. Conversely, a desired amount of treatment can be obtained with smaller facilities.
Furthermore, since the LF membrane removes the coarse particles of the suspended substance in the liquid to be treated and efficiently captures the organic particles such as TEP, clogging of the MF membrane or UF membrane serving as the subsequent stage is suppressed.
The average pore diameter of the filtration membrane such as the LF membrane herein refers to the pore diameter determined by the bubble point method (airflow method). Specifically, this pore diameter refers to diameter d (μm) indicated by the following expression, assuming that P (Pa) represents an IPA bubble point value (pressure) measured based on ASTM F316 by using isopropyl alcohol, y represents the surface tension (dynes/cm) of the liquid, and B represents the capillary constant. It is noted that the same is also applied to the average pore diameter of the MF membrane, the UF membrane and the like.
d=4Bγ/P
The smaller the average pore diameter of the LF membrane is, the smaller particles can be removed, and the rate of removing the suspended substance and the organic particles such as TEP in the pretreatment is enhanced. On the other hand, the smaller the average pore diameter of the LF membrane is, the smaller the flow rate (flux) per unit membrane area is. Accordingly, the optimum pore diameter is selected in consideration of the flow rate (flux) per unit membrane area as well as the desired rate of removing the suspended substance and the organic particles such as TEP.
In addition, the first membrane filtration means in which the LF membrane is used does not require large installation area, and the installation area can be significantly decreased as compared with the installation area in the case of sand filtration. In particular, by using, as the first membrane filtration means, a hollow fiber membrane module formed of the LF membrane, the installation area can be further decreased. In addition, the facilities cost for installation can be significantly lowered as compared with the facilities cost in the case of sand filtration.
In other words, the following effects are achieved according to this method:
In other words, the MF membrane or UF membrane has a problem of low flow rate (flux) per unit membrane area and the membrane area must be increased to obtain the same amount of treatment. By performing the treatment by the LF membrane before MF or UF, the filtration load of the MF membrane or UF membrane can be reduced and the area of the MF membrane or UF membrane required to obtain the same amount of treatment can be decreased because the LF membrane removes relatively coarse particles in the suspended substance and the content of the organic particles such as TEP is also reduced. Since the area of the LF membrane required to obtain this effect is normally much smaller than the overall area of the MF membrane or UF membrane, the overall area of the membrane can be reduced even in consideration of the need for the LF membrane. As a result, the size of the apparatus (module) and the number of the apparatus can be decreased and the installation cost can be reduced.
The invention according to claim 2 is directed to the water treatment apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the above LF membrane is a hydrophobic polymer membrane that is not subjected to hydrophilicizing processing.
When the LF membrane is a polymer membrane (hydrophobic polymer membrane) made of a hydrophobic material such as a polytetrafluoroethylene (hereinafter referred to as PTFE) membrane, the compatibility with the liquid to be treated such as seawater becomes low and the treatment flow rate (flux) per unit membrane area becomes low. When the MF membrane or UF membrane is a hydrophobic polymer membrane such as a PTFE membrane, this problem is more prominent. Accordingly, a polymer membrane (hydrophilic polymer membrane) made of a hydrophilic material such as polyether sulfone (PES) and polysulfone (PS) is preferable to enhance the treatment flow rate (flux). However, even when the hydrophobic polymer membrane such as a PTFE membrane that is excellent in mechanical strength and chemical resistance is used, the treatment flow rate (flux) can be enhanced by a method for treating the LF membrane, MF membrane or UF membrane with a hydrophilic liquid or by hydrophilicizing processing for hydrophilicizing the material that configures the LF membrane, MF membrane or UF membrane. Accordingly, when the hydrophobic polymer membrane is used, performing this treatment or processing is preferable.
The method for treating the LF membrane, MF membrane or UF membrane with a hydrophilic liquid can include a method for bringing the LF membrane, MF membrane or UF membrane into contact with hydrophilic alcohol and covering a surface of the membrane (including the inside of the pores) with the hydrophilic alcohol before passing the liquid to be treated through the membrane. The hydrophilic alcohol can include ethanol, propanol and the like, and isopropanol, in particular, is preferably used. The method for bringing the LF membrane, MF membrane or UF membrane into contact with the hydrophilic alcohol can include a method for passing the hydrophilic alcohol through the LF membrane, MF membrane or UF membrane, a method for immersing the LF membrane, MF membrane or UF membrane in the hydrophilic alcohol, and the like. In addition, when the LF membrane, MF membrane or UF membrane is a PTFE membrane, the method of hydrophilicizing processing for hydrophilicizing the material that configures the membrane can include, for example, a method for bridging a surface of the PTFE membrane with a hydrophilicizing compound such as vinyl alcohol.
As described above, the hydrophilic polymer membrane or the hydrophobic polymer membrane that is subjected to hydrophilicizing processing is preferably used as the LF membrane, MF membrane or UF membrane to enhance the treatment flow rate (flux) per unit membrane area. On the other hand, the hydrophobic polymer membrane that is not subjected to hydrophilicizing processing is preferably used as the LF membrane to suppress a decrease over time in treatment flow rate (flux). Claim 2 corresponds to a preferable manner thereof.
The inventors of the present invention have found, as a result of their study, that when the hydrophobic polymer membrane that is not subjected to hydrophilicizing processing is used as the LF membrane, a decrease over time in treatment flow rate (flux) can be further suppressed. In other words, when the hydrophobic polymer membrane that is not subjected to hydrophilicizing processing is used as the LF membrane, a decrease over time in treatment flow rate (flux) during the filtration operation can be made smaller than a decrease over time in treatment flow rate (flux) during the filtration operation when the hydrophilic polymer membrane or the hydrophobic polymer membrane that is subjected to hydrophilicizing processing is used as the LF membrane, although the treatment flow rate (flux) at the start of filtration may decrease.
By providing the LF membrane at the former stage of the MF membrane or UF membrane, a decrease over time in treatment flow rate (flux) caused by clogging of the MF membrane or UF membrane can be suppressed. Depending on the type of the liquid to be treated, however, a decrease over time in treatment flow rate (flux) is not sufficiently prevented in some cases even when the LF membrane is provided. This problem appears, for example, when the liquid to be treated has high content of the organic particles such as TEP. Even in this case, when the hydrophobic polymer membrane that is not subjected to hydrophilicizing processing is used as the LF membrane, the effect of preventing a decrease over time in treatment flow rate (flux) caused by clogging of the MF membrane or UF membrane is significant and the effect of preventing a decrease over time is further enhanced. It is noted that the hydrophobic polymer membrane can include a polyvinylidene fluoride (PVdF) membrane, a polyethylene (PE) membrane and the like, in addition to the PTFE membrane.
The invention according to claim 3 is directed to the water treatment apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the above MF membrane or UF membrane is a hydrophilic polymer membrane or a hydrophobic polymer membrane that is subjected to hydrophilicizing processing. As described above, in order to enhance the treatment flow rate (flux), the polymer membrane (hydrophilic polymer membrane) made of a hydrophilic material is preferably used as the MF membrane or UF membrane, or the hydrophilicizing processing for hydrophilicizing the material that configures the MF membrane or UF membrane is preferably performed.
The invention according to claim 4 is directed to the water treatment apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the LF membrane is a PTFE membrane.
The invention according to claim 5 is directed to the water treatment apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the LF membrane is a polyvinylidene fluoride membrane or a polyethylene membrane.
The material of the LF membrane is not particularly limited if the material allows formation of uniform pores each having an average pore diameter of 1 μm or more and has a mechanical strength sufficient enough to withstand applied pressure during filtration, backwash using a liquid passing through the membrane, and the like. The material preferably used can include PTFE, fluorine resin such as a polyvinylidene fluoride membrane, polyethylene, and the like. In particular, PTFE is excellent in mechanical strength, and in addition, allows easy formation at high porosity of uniform pores each having an average pore diameter in the range of 2 to 5 μm. Furthermore, PTFE is excellent in chemical resistance. Therefore, PTFE is used more preferably.
The invention according to claim 6 is directed to the water treatment apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the LF membrane is a filtration membrane having an average pore diameter of 1 μm or more and less than 10 μm. Although the upper limit of the average pore diameter of the LF membrane is not particularly limited, the effect of removing the suspended substance and reducing the organic particles such as TEP is considered to become insufficient if the average pore diameter exceeds 10 μm. Therefore, the average pore diameter of less than 10 μm is preferable. Furthermore, the LF membrane that can be readily manufactured has an average pore diameter of approximately 5 μm or less. On the other hand, the LF membrane having an average pore diameter of 2 μm or more is preferable in order to obtain high treatment flow rate (flux) per unit membrane area. Thus, the LF membrane having an average pore diameter of 2 μm or more and 5 μm or less is more preferable.
The invention according to claim 7 is directed to a water treatment method, including: a rough filtration step for filtering raw water by an LF membrane (filtration membrane having an average pore diameter of 1 μm or more); a precise filtration step for filtering the water filtered in the rough filtration step, by an MF membrane or UF membrane; and a reverse osmosis membrane treatment step for treating the water filtered in the precise filtration step, by a reverse osmosis membrane. The invention according to claim 7 is obtained by interpreting the invention according to claim 1 from the method aspect. Filtration by the LF membrane (rough filtration step) and filtration by the MF membrane or UF membrane (precise filtration step) are as described above. In addition, the LF membrane, the MF membrane and the UF membrane used in this method are also as described above.
The invention according to claim 8 is directed to the water treatment method according to claim 7, wherein the LF membrane is a hydrophobic polymer membrane that is not subjected to hydrophilicizing processing. The invention according to claim 8 is obtained by interpreting the invention according to claim 2 from the method aspect. As described above, the hydrophobic polymer membrane that is not subjected to hydrophilicizing processing is preferably used as the LF membrane to suppress a decrease over time in treatment flow rate (flux).
According to the present invention, the treatment flow rate (flux) per unit membrane area can be increased, and thus, a desired amount of treatment can be obtained with small facilities. In addition, large installation area is not required, and the installation area can be significantly decreased as compared with the installation area in the case of sand filtration. Furthermore, addition of the flocculant is not required. Therefore, the running cost of a water treatment system in which the water treatment apparatus and the water treatment method of the present invention are used can be lowered.
The foregoing and other objects, features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of the present invention when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
Next, a mode for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The scope of the present invention, however, is not limited to this mode, and various modifications can be made within a range where the contents of the present invention are not lost.
First, as shown by a solid arrow in
The structure of the first membrane filtration means is not particularly limited, and in order to enhance handling and physical durability of the membrane, for example, an element having a flat membrane structure in which a flat LF membrane is sandwiched between the frames can be used. In order to further increase the area of the filtration membrane in the same apparatus size, however, an element including a hollow fiber LF membrane is preferably used.
A membrane preferably used as the LF membrane, that is, a membrane made of PTFE and including uniform pores each having a diameter in the range of 2 to 5 μm, can be manufactured, for example, by manufacturing PTFE powders by emulsion polymerization, mixing this PTFE powders with a part of PTFE powders obtained by suspension polymerization, shaping this powder mixture into a membrane, heating and melting the powder mixture, and then, drawing the obtained membrane. When the PTFE powders obtained by suspension polymerization is not mixed, it is difficult to manufacture a membrane having an average pore diameter in the range of 2 to 5 μm and having excellent mechanical strength by drawing. The mixing ratio of the PTFE powders obtained by suspension polymerization is appropriately adjusted in consideration of the desired average pore diameter and the mechanical strength.
In order to provide the mechanical strength, a composite membrane obtained by combining the above porous membrane having an average pore diameter of 1 μm or more and a porous body having larger pores can also be used as the LF membrane. In addition, a rubbery polymer such as polybutadiene, ethylene-propylene rubber and neoprene rubber can be used as the material of this porous body.
It is noted that during use of the filtration membrane such as the LF membrane, a suspended substance enters and clogs the pores, which causes a decrease in filtration flow rate and an increase in filtration pressure. Therefore, it is required to clean the membrane at appropriate times to clean and remove the suspended substance that clogs the pores. Accordingly, the first membrane filtration means in which the LF membrane is used preferably includes means for cleaning and removing the suspended substance that clogs the pores by passing the raw water through the membrane.
As a method for cleaning the filtration membrane, a cleaning method by passing gas through the filtration membrane in the direction opposite to the liquid flow during filtration (air backwash), a cleaning method by backwash in which water is passed through the filtration membrane in the direction opposite to the liquid flow during filtration (hereinafter referred to as “backwash using a liquid passing through a membrane”), a method for cleaning the membrane by injecting a chemical solution (chemical solution cleaning), a cleaning method by applying an ultrasonic wave to the membrane (ultrasonic cleaning), and the like are known.
Chemical solution cleaning has problems such as long time required for cleaning, the need for waste liquid treatment, and the need for the cost of the chemical solution. Chemical solution cleaning also has a safety problem depending on the type of the chemical solution. Therefore, a cleaning method without using the chemical solution is desired. Backwash using a liquid passing through a membrane does not have such problems and is excellent in cleaning efficiency. Therefore, backwash using a liquid passing through a membrane is widely employed. Since the LF membrane has an average pore diameter of 1 μm or more, the LF membrane has a feature of easily cleaning and removing the suspended substance that adheres to the membrane surface or enters and clogs the pores of the membrane, by backwash using a liquid passing through a membrane.
This feature of easy cleaning is prominent particularly when backwash using a liquid passing through a membrane is combined with ultrasonic cleaning. In other words, by performing backwash using a liquid passing through a membrane and ultrasonic cleaning on the LF membrane at the same time, clogging of the pores can be sufficiently removed, which allows recovery of the filtration flow rate to the same level as the level at the start of the filtration step. This cleaning is performed specifically by bringing the LF membrane into contact with the liquid used for cleaning (normally, water that does not include a suspended substance), applying a differential pressure to the above liquid to generate the flow in the direction opposite to the flow during filtration, and at the same time, applying an ultrasonic wave to the LF membrane through the liquid that is in contact with the above LF membrane.
The first membrane filtration means in the example of
As described above, by combining backwash using a liquid passing through a membrane with ultrasonic cleaning, the effect of easy cleaning becomes particularly prominent. As a result, sufficient cleaning is possible, chemical cleaning can be eliminated, or the load caused by chemical cleaning can be reduced. Therefore, preferably, ultrasonic oscillation means is provided in the first membrane filtration means and an ultrasonic wave is applied concurrently with backwash using a liquid passing through a membrane.
After backwashing, the water including the suspended substance that has passed through the LF membrane is discharged as backwash discharged water as shown by the broken arrow in the figure.
As shown by the solid arrow in the figure, the water that has flown out of the first membrane filtration means is injected by a pump P3 into second membrane filtration means in which an MF membrane or UF membrane is used, and passes through the MF membrane or UF membrane in the second membrane filtration means. As a result, fine particles in the suspended substance are removed. The step performed here corresponds to a precise filtration step in claim 7.
The second membrane filtration means is normally configured by a membrane element in which the MF membrane or UF membrane is used, a pressure-resistant container and the like. Provision of the second membrane filtration means allows sufficient removal of the suspended substance and the organic particles such as TEP by pretreatment, even without the use of a flocculant.
In many cases, the MF membrane is operated at a working pressure of 200 kPa or less, and the UF membrane is operated at a working pressure of 300 kPa or less.
Although not particularly limited, the MF membrane or UF membrane includes a polyacrylonitrile porous membrane, a polyimide porous membrane, a PES porous membrane, a polyphenylene sulfide sulfone porous membrane, a PTFE porous membrane, a PVdF porous membrane, a polypropylene porous membrane, a polyethylene porous membrane, and the like. In particular, the PTFE porous membrane is excellent in mechanical strength, chemical resistance and the like, and thus, the PTFE porous membrane is preferable. The PTFE porous membrane can also be used as a composite membrane similarly to the above LF membrane.
As shown by the solid arrow in the figure, the water that has flown out of the second membrane filtration means is injected by a pump P5 into reverse osmosis membrane filtration means, and passes through a reverse osmosis membrane. As a result, dissolved salts and the like are removed. The step performed here corresponds to a reverse osmosis membrane filtration step in claim 7.
The reverse osmosis membrane filtration means is normally configured by a reverse osmosis membrane element, a pressure-resistant container and the like. The working pressure of the reverse osmosis membrane filtration means is normally in the range of 0.1 to 15 MPa, and is appropriately selected depending on the type and the like of the liquid to be treated. In the case of seawater desalination or when industrial wastewater and the like are used as raw water, the reverse osmosis membrane filtration means is used at a relatively high pressure. A polymer material such as acetylcellulose-based polymer, polyamide, polyester, polyimide, and vinyl polymer is typically used as the material of the reverse osmosis membrane. In addition, as for the structure of the reverse osmosis membrane, an asymmetric membrane having a dense layer at least on one side of the membrane and including fine pores having a pore diameter which gradually increases from the dense layer to the inside of the membrane or to the other side surface, and other composite membranes can be used.
As shown by the solid arrow in the figure, the water that has flown out of the reverse osmosis membrane filtration means is obtained as the treated liquid that does not include the suspended substance and impurities such as salt, and is used for various applications.
In the example of
Similarly to the LF membrane, a hollow fiber membrane, a flat membrane and the like can be used as any of the MF membrane or UF membrane in the second membrane filtration means and the reverse osmosis membrane in the reverse osmosis membrane filtration means.
In any of the first membrane filtration means, the second membrane filtration means and the reverse osmosis membrane filtration means, a plurality of membrane modules each including the membrane element may be normally provided in parallel in order to obtain large treatment flow rate. In addition, the plurality of membrane modules may be provided in series in order to remove the suspended substance, salts and the like more completely.
P1 and P2 (corresponding to P1 and P2 in
First, a pressure is applied to the raw water by pump P1, and the pressurized raw water is fed through a pipe 11, valve B1 and a pipe 13 to raw water side 3 of hollow fiber membrane module 1. At this time, ultrasonic vibrators 21 and 22 are not in operation.
The raw water fed to raw water side 3 is under pressure by pump P1, and thus, the raw water passes through hollow fiber membrane 5 (the LF membrane) due to the differential pressure as shown by the bold arrow in
In the case of cleaning the LF membrane by backwash using a liquid passing through a membrane, and the like, the orientation of valves B1 and B2 is changed, pump P2 is operated instead of pump P1, a pressure is applied to the water for backwash by pump P2, and the pressurized water for backwash is fed through a pipe 15, valve B2, pipe 14, and filtered water extracting portion 4 of hollow fiber membrane module 1 to the hollow portion in hollow fiber membrane 5. Since this water for backwash is under pressure, the water for backwash passes from filtered water extracting portion 4 through hollow fiber membrane 5 to raw water side 3. At this time, the suspended substance that clogs the pores of hollow fiber membrane 5 is washed out.
Furthermore, concurrently with this washout, ultrasonic oscillator 23 as well as ultrasonic vibrators 21 and 22 are operated and an ultrasonic wave is applied to hollow fiber membrane 5. As a result, the suspended substance that clogs the pores of hollow fiber membrane 5 can be washed out more sufficiently, and by brief cleaning, the inside of the pores of hollow fiber membrane 5 can achieve a condition similar to a condition at the start of filtration (little clogging).
The cleaning water (also including the suspended substance that has clogged the pores) that has passed through hollow fiber membrane 5 passes through raw water side 3 of hollow fiber membrane module 1 and pipe 13. Furthermore, since the orientation of valve B1 has been changed, the cleaning water passes through valve B1 and a pipe 12 and is discharged as the backwash discharged water.
Although the first membrane filtration means in which the LF membrane is used has been described above, the flow of the liquid to be treated and the water for backwash in the second membrane filtration means and the reverse osmosis membrane filtration means is similar to the flow in the first membrane filtration means.
Comparing
It is noted that when sand filtration is performed in the pretreatment, an extensive filter bed is required (for example, the facilities described in Non-Patent Literature 1 have the capability of desalinating 50,000 tons per day of seawater having a turbidity of 0.1 NTU, while the area of the filter bed required for sand filtration in the pretreatment exceeds 10,000 m2). Accordingly, it is clear that the installation area of the facilities in
As is clear from
Maishima Seawater (seawater obtained at Osaka port in Osaka prefecture:
seawater including 2 ppm of plankton, 4 ppm of TEP, 1 ppm of organic suspended substance, and 3 ppm of inorganic suspended substance is assumed as average water to be treated) was filtered at a working pressure of 50 kPa by using a filtration system 1, 2 or 3 that will be described below.
It is noted that the shape, configuration and material of the LF membrane and the MF membrane used in the filtration systems 1 to 3 are as follows:
The following facts are clear from
Maishima Seawater (seawater obtained at Osaka port in Osaka prefecture) was filtered at a working pressure of 50 kPa by using a filtration system 4 or 5 that will be described below.
It is noted that the hydrophobic PVdF membrane, the hydrophobic PTFE membrane and the hydrophilic MF membrane used in the filtration systems 4 and 5 are as follows:
Both of the filtration system 4 and the filtration system 5 are two-stage water treatment systems, and the filtration system 4 is the same as the filtration system 5 in that filtration by using the hydrophilic MF membrane is performed at the second stage. The filtration system 4 is, however, different from the filtration system 5 in that the filtration membrane used at the first stage is the hydrophobic PVdF membrane in the filtration system 4, whereas the filtration membrane used at the first stage is the hydrophobic PTFE membrane in the filtration system 5. As shown in
The excellent effects when the hydrophobic PTFE membrane (that is not subjected to hydrophilicizing processing) is used at the first stage of the multistage water treatment system are described in the above Experimental Data 5 and the like. The result in
Shimizu seawater (seawater obtained at Shimizu port in Shizuoka prefecture) was filtered at a working pressure of 50 kPa by using a filtration system 6 or 7 that will be described below.
It is noted that the hydrophobic LF membrane used in the filtration system 6 is the same as the hydrophobic LF membrane (POREFLON TB-2311200: trade name) used in Experimental Data 5, and the hydrophobic PVdF membrane used in the filtration systems 6 and 7 is the same as the hydrophobic PVdF membrane used in Experimental Data 6.
The filtration system 6 is the same as the filtration system 7 in that the hydrophobic PVdF membrane is used in both cases. The filtration system 6 is, however, different from the filtration system 7 in that filtration by using the hydrophobic LF membrane (hydrophobic PTFE membrane) is performed at the former stage in the filtration system 6, whereas one-stage treatment by using the hydrophobic PVdF membrane is performed without the treatment at the former stage in the filtration system 7. As shown in
Experimental Data 5 (comparison between the filtration system 2 and the filtration system 1) also shows that the treatment at the former stage by using the hydrophobic PTFE membrane allows suppression of a decrease over time in filtration flow velocity. In the filtration system 2 in Experimental Data 5, however, filtration by using the hydrophilic membrane is performed at the second stage. On the other hand, in the present experiment, filtration by using the hydrophobic membrane is performed at the second stage. In other words, the present experiment shows that the effect of suppressing a decrease over time in filtration flow velocity can be achieved even when the hydrophobic filtration membrane is used at not only the first stage but also the second stage.
Although the present invention has been described and illustrated in detail, it is clearly understood that the same is by way of illustration and example only and is not to be taken by way of limitation, the scope of the present invention being interpreted by the terms of the appended claims.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009-183582 | Aug 2009 | JP | national |
| 2009-270926 | Nov 2009 | JP | national |
This is a continuation of application Serial No. PCT/JP2010/063003 filed Aug. 2, 2010, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | PCT/JP2010/063003 | Aug 2010 | US |
| Child | 13297706 | US |
