CO2 Transfer Through Hollow Fiber Membranes

Studies on absorption of CO₂ into an aqueous solution using hydrophobic microporous hollow fiber membranes (HFM) were performed. Several modules were constructed that ranged in interfacial surface area from 466 to 1397 m²/m³. The membrane modules were operated in a sealed-end, parallel flow configuration.  Correlations for predicting the overall mass transfer coefficient for three different operating pressures were developed using the experimental data. The data were corrected using a theoretical correlation designed to predict the axial concentration profile within each fiber. The use of HFM for CO₂ transfer could significantly improve the biomass growth rate for algal biofuel production.