Abstract:
A porous membrane of vinylidene fluoride resin, including a 10 μm-thick portion contiguous to one surface thereof which comprises network resin fibers having an average diameter of at most 100 nm and shows a porosity A1 of at least 60% as measured by a focused ion beam-scanning electron microscope, and showing a surface pore size of at most 0.3 μm on said one surface thereof. The porous membrane has a treated water side surface layer showing a small surface pore size suitable for water filtration treatment and formed of extremely thin network resin fibers giving an extremely high porosity, thus showing an excellent minute particle-blocking performance and also extremely good anti-soiling resistance and regeneratability. The porous membrane is produced by a process including: melt-extrusion of a composition obtained by adding to vinylidene fluoride resin of a large molecular weight a relatively large amount of a polyester plasticizer which is mutually soluble with the resin and provides the resultant mixture with a crystallization temperature that is substantially identical to that of the vinylidene fluoride resin alone to form film, followed by cooling from one side of the film to solidify the film, extracting the plasticizer and stretching the membrane after the extraction while partially wetting a surface portion thereof.
Abstract:
The object of the invention is to provide: a screen-like object made of hollow fibers, a method of manufacturing a hollow fiber bundle, a cylindrical module of hollow fiber membrane, and an immersion type module of hollow fiber membrane wherein the hollow fibers are easy to bundle while keeping fiber-to-fiber intervals. The screen-like object made of hollow fibers includes: porous hollow fibers 10 disposed parallel at even intervals, tapes 26 for tying together the hollow fibers respectively at both ends of the hollow fibers, and a water-soluble tape for tying together the hollow fibers at a position apart from both ends of the hollow fibers across the hollow fibers. The method of manufacturing a hollow fiber bundle includes: the steps of forming a screen-like object made of hollow fibers, sealing one end or both ends of the hollow fibers, winding up the screen-like object made of hollow fibers so as to bundle the hollow fibers, forming pottings for integrally securing both ends, respectively, of the wound-up screen-like object, and cutting the potting together with the hollow fibers along a plane at right angles to the hollow fibers to cut off a sealed end and to open the hollow fibers.
Abstract:
A composition is formed by blending a vinylidene fluoride resin having a relatively high molecular weight and an improved crystallinity represented by a difference Tm2−Tc of at most 32° C. between an inherent melting point Tm2 and a crystallization temperature Tc of the resin with a plasticizer and a good solvent for vinylidene fluoride resin, and the composition is melt-extruded into a hollow fiber-form. The hollow fiber-form extrudate is then cooled to be solidified from an outside thereof by introduction into cooling medium and subjected to extraction of the plasticizer and stretching, thereby forming a hollow fiber porous membrane of vinylidene fluoride resin characterized by co-presence of crystal oriented portion and crystal non-oriented portion recognizable by X-ray diffraction method. The resultant hollow fiber porous membrane of vinylidene fluoride resin has micro-pores of appropriate size and distribution, is excellent in mechanical strength represented by tensile strength and elongation at break and is useful as a water microfiltration membrane.
Abstract:
A hollow-fiber porous membrane comprising a hollow-fiber form of vinylidene fluoride resin and satisfying the following properties (A) and (B), is provided as a hollow-fiber porous membrane of vinylidene fluoride resin having an average pore size and a further uniform pore size distribution (A) and a large water permeation rate regardless of good efficiency of blocking minute particles (bacteria) (B), as represented by: (A) a ratio Pmax (1 m)/Pm of at most 4.0 between a maximum pore size Pmax (1 m) measured at a test length of 1 m according to the bubble point method and an average pore size Pm of 0.05-0.20 μm measured according to the half dry method; and (B) a ratio F (L=200 mm, v=70%)/PM2 of at least 3000 (m/day·μm2), wherein the ratio F (L=200 mm, v=70%)/Pm2 denotes a ratio between F (L=200 mm, v=70%) which is a value normalized to a porosity v=70% of a water permeation rate F (100 kPa, L=200 mm) measured at a test length L=200 mm under the conditions of a pressure difference of 100 kPa and a water temperature of 25° C. and a square Pm2 of an average pore size Pm. The hollow-fiber porous membrane is produced by a process, comprising: subjecting a stretched hollow-fiber porous membrane of vinylidene fluoride resin to at least two stages of relaxation treatment in a non-wetting environment.
Abstract:
Monofilaments comprising resin compositions which contain 1% by mass or more of a comonomer component (for example, hexafluoropropylene), have an intrinsic viscosity of 1.3 dl/g or more and a melting point of 165° C. or higher and contain a PVDF-based resin. Owing to the above composition and physical properties, the crystallinity and elastic modulus of the PVDF-based resin are altered. As a result, an appropriate flexibility can be imparted to the monofilaments while preventing deterioration in the mechanical properties.
Abstract:
A porous membrane of vinylidene fluoride resin, comprising a substantially single layer membrane of vinylidene fluoride resin having two major surfaces sandwiching a certain thickness, including a dense layer that has a small pore size and governs a filtration performance on one major surface side thereof, having an asymmetrical gradient network structure wherein pore sizes continuously increase from the one major surface side to the other opposite major surface side, and satisfying conditions: (a) the dense layer includes a 5 μm-thick portion contiguous to the one major surface showing a porosity A1 of at least 60%, (b) the one major surface shows a pore size P1 of at most 0.30 μm, and (c) the porous membrane shows a ratio Q/P14 of at least 5×104 (m/day·μm4), wherein the ratio Q/P14 denotes a ratio between Q (m/day) which is a value normalized to a whole layer porosity A2=80% of a water permeation rate measured at a test length L=200 mm under the conditions of a pressure difference of 100 kPa and a water temperature of 25° C., and a fourth power P14 of the pore size P1 on the one major surface. The porous membrane is produced through a process including: extruding a melt-kneaded mixture of a vinylidene fluoride resin and a plasticizer through a die into a form of a film, followed by cooling, to form a solidified film; and extracting the plasticizer to recover a porous membrane; wherein the plasticizer is mutually soluble with the vinylidene fluoride resin at a temperature forming the melt-kneaded mixture and further satisfies properties: (i) giving the melt-kneaded mixture with the vinylidene fluoride resin with a crystallization temperature Tc′ (° C.) which is lower by at least 6° C. than a crystallization temperature Tc of the vinylidene fluoride alone, (ii) giving the cooled and solidified product of the melt-kneaded mixture a crystal melting enthalpy ΔH′ (J/g) of at least 53 J/g per weight of the vinylidene fluoride resin as measured by a differential scanning calorimeter (DSC), and (iii) the plasticizer alone showing a viscosity of 200 mPa-s-1000 Pa-s at a temperature of 25° C. as measured according to JIS K7117-2 (using a cone-plate-type rotational viscometer).
Abstract:
The object of the invention is to provide: a hollow fiber bundle, a method of manufacturing the hollow fiber bundle, a cylindrical module of hollow fiber membrane, and an immersion type module of hollow fiber membrane wherein the hollow fibers are easy to apply scrubbing while maintaining specified intervals among the hollow fibers. A hollow fiber bundle bundling porous hollow fibers, including; hollow fibers 10 that are open at one side end and closed at the other side end; and a closed side potting 60 and an open side potting 50 plate shaped at right angles to the hollow fibers for securing the hollow fibers, in which through holes 30 are disposed on a circumference, the hollow fibers are bundled in a cylindrical shape inside the through holes and disposed with a specified circumferential interval adjacent each other in a circumferential direction and with a specified radial interval adjacent each other in a radial direction, the hollow fibers are bundled outside the through holes disposed at specified peripheral intervals wherein the hollow fibers are disposed with a specified peripheral interval adjacent each other in a peripheral direction in the shape surrounding the outside of the through holes and with a specified peripheral right angle interval adjacent each other in a right angle to the periphery.
Abstract:
A hollow-fiber porous membrane, comprising a hollow fiber-form porous membrane in a network texture of vinylidene fluoride resin showing a pore size distribution in a direction of its membrane thickness including an outer surface-average pore size P1 as measured by a scanning electron microscope and a membrane layer-average pore size P2 as measured by half-dry method giving a ratio P1/P2 of at least 2.5. The hollow-fiber porous membrane is excellent in long-term water filtration performance including efficiency of regeneration by air scrubbing. The hollow-fiber porous membrane is produced through a process, wherein a mixture of vinylidene fluoride resin, a plasticizer and a good solvent for vinylidene fluoride resin, is melt-extruded in a hollow-fiber film and cooled and formed into a solidified film within a cooling medium containing at least a certain proportion of a good solvent for vinylidene fluoride resin.
Abstract:
An object of the present invention is to provide a potting agent that enables the reduction of crawling and ensures sufficient penetration between the porous hollow fibers in stationary potting. The potting agent of the present invention is a potting agent for fixing an end portion of a porous hollow fiber group composed of a plurality of porous hollow fibers, and contains a resin material and a filler. The content of the filler is equal to or less than the content of the filler at a rising point of a variation curve of viscosity of the potting agent to filler content.
Abstract:
A composition is formed by blending a vinylidene fluoride resin having a relatively high molecular weight and an improved crystallinity represented by a difference Tm2−Tc of at most 32° C. between an inherent melting point Tm2 and a crystallization temperature Tc of the resin with a plasticizer and a good solvent for vinylidene fluoride resin, and the composition is melt-extruded into a hollow fiber-form. The hollow fiber-form extrudate is then cooled to be solidified from an outside thereof by introduction into cooling medium and subjected to extraction of the plasticizer and stretching, thereby forming a hollow fiber porous membrane of vinylidene fluoride resin characterized by co-presence of crystal oriented portion and crystal non-oriented portion recognizable by X-ray diffraction method. The resultant hollow fiber porous membrane of vinylidene fluoride resin has micro-pores of appropriate size and distribution, is excellent in mechanical strength represented by tensile strength and elongation at break and is useful as a water microfiltration membrane.