CO2 Gas Transfer Through Hollow Fiber Membranes

Title: CO₂ gas transfer through hollow fiber membranes

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