GAS ABSORPTION IN A HOLLOW FIBER DEVICE

The absorption of S0² and NH³ from air and air/CO ² streams was studied for the first time in a certain novel hollow fiber mass transfer device, for various inlet gas compositions, liquid compositions, gas flow rates, and liquid flow rates. The gas and liquid flows were countercurrent. Analyses of the amounts of S0²and NH³ absorbed demonstrate that the hollow fiber unit has a relatively small membrane resistance and is an effective gas scrubbing device. Additionally, it offers a large interfacial area per unit volume, and avoids flooding problems entirely     

Microporous hollow fibres for carbon dioxide absorption: Mass transfer model fitting and the supplying of carbon dioxide to microalgal cultures

A method of supplying CO₂ to photosynthetic algal cultures was developed based on mass transfer measurements of CO₂ through microporous hydrophobic hollow fibres for various gas and liquid flow rates. A mathematical model was derived to describe the mass transfer. The designed hollow fibre module led to overall mass transfer coefficient values ranging from 1·26 × 10⁻³ to 2·64 × 10⁻³ cm s⁻¹. Higher efficiencies of the CO₂ transmission were obtained at high liquid flow rates and low gas flow rates. The use of microporous hydrophobic hollow fibres enabled an enhancement of the carbon dioxide transfer per area of membrane surface by a factor of 10, in comparison to operation with silicone tubing. The hollow fibre module was operated in an external bypass to a 1 dm³ microalgae culture vessel. In this system the algal growth pattern was similar to that obtained with a control culture where CO₂ was bubbled. However, the dissolved oxygen concentration was always lower in the vessel in which CO₂ was supplied by the module. © 1998 SCI.     

Characteristics of microfiltration of suspensions with inter‐fiber two‐phase flow

Injecting air into hollow fibers and tubular membranes has been proved to be effective in order to control flux decline caused by concentration polarization and particle deposition. This paper presents a study of the characteristics of filtration with inter‐fiber two‐phase flow. The enhancement of flux by bubbling, the effect of the total superficial velocity and gas and liquid velocities, the effect of fiber spacing and orientation, and the concept of critical flux were investigated. A specially designed crossflow hollow fiber cell connected to a light microscope and video‐camera system has been used to monitor particle deposition on the fibers. The results showed that injecting air could enhance the permeate flux and control the deposition of particles on the membrane fibers. Changes in the hydrodynamics of two‐phase flow considerably affected the filtration resistance caused by reversible fouling but was ineffective for the resistance caused by irreversible fouling. The extent of deposition was mainly controlled by the flux level in the range of wall shear rates examined. A critical flux of about 10 dm³ m⁻² h⁻¹ was identified through direct observation of particle deposition on fibers. This value correlated with the flux at which the irreversible fouling became negligible. These results should be significant for optimizing the operation of submerged membrane bioreactor wastewater systems in which bubbling is used as a hydrodynamic technique to improve the performance of the membrane process. © 2000 Society of Chemical Industry     

Absorption of SO<Subscript>2</Subscript> using PVDF hollow fiber membranes with PEG as an additive

In this study, removal of SO₂ from gas stream was carried out by using microporous polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) asymmetric hollow fiber membrane modules as gas-liquid contactor. The asymmetric hollow fiber membranes used in this study were prepared polyvinylidene fluoride by a wet phase inversion method. Water was used as an internal coagulant and external coagulation bath for all spinning runs. An aqueous solution containing 0.02 M NaOH was used as the absorbent. This study attempts to assess the influence of PEG additive, absorbent flow rate, SO₂ concentration, gas flow rate and gas flow direction on the SO₂ removal efficiency and overall mass transfer coefficient. The effect of liquid flow rate on SO₂ removal efficiency shows that at very low liquid flow rate, the NaOH available at the membrane surface for reacting with SO₂ is limited due to the liquid phase resistance. As liquid flow rate is above the minimum flow rate which overcomes the liquid phase resistance, the SO₂ absorption rate is controlled by resistance in the gas phase and the membrane. The SO₂ absorption rate with inlet SO₂ concentration was sharply increased by using hollow fiber membranes compared to a conventional wetted wall column because the former has higher gas liquid contacting area than the latter. The mass transfer coefficient is independent of pressure. When the gas mixture was fed in the shell side, the removal efficiency of SO₂ declined because of channeling problems on the shell side. Also, the addition of PEG in polymer dopes increased SO₂ removal efficiency. This work was presented at the 6 ^th Korea-China Workshop on Clean Energy Technology held at Busan, Korea, July 4–7, 2006.     

Separation of Hydrazine from Air by Wetted Wire Column

Hydrazine vapor is hazardous and should be removed from air. Several methods have been suggested for this purpose. Gas absorption by a packed‐bed column (PBC) is a conventional method. Due to some disadvantages of the PBC, the wetted‐wire column (WWC) was introduced as a new contact device. In this paper, the performance of the WWC was studied and compared with the PBC under the same conditions of gas and liquid volume flow rates. The ranges of the gas and liquid flow rates were 0–100 L min^–1 and 0–2.5 L min^–1, respectively. The results showed that the pressure drop in the WWC was much smaller than in the PBC. Moreover, the removal efficiency of hydrazine from air is quite comparable in the WWC and the PBC.     

Heat transfer in co-current vertical two-phase flow

Heat transfer in co-current two-phase upflow and downflow of air–water has been investigated in a 25.8 mm electrically heated vertical pipe at 172.3 kPa for water mass velocities of 54 to 172 kg/m²s and gas flow rates of 0 to 1.322 × 10⁻² m³/s. It was found that although the injection of air in the liquid flow increased the two-phase heat transfer coefficients significantly for both systems, upflow coefficients were generally higher than those for downflow for the same liquid flow rate. This could have important implications in the design of some chemical reactors and heat engineering processes. Changes in heat transfer rates were found to occur at the flow pattern transition boundaries. Two-phase heat transfer coefficients were well correlated by an expression based on dimensional analysis for both upflow and downflow.     

New froth behaviour observations and comparison of experimental sieve tray entrainment data with existing correlations

A thorough understanding of the hydrodynamics in tray columns is required to optimise column and tray design for specific operating capacities and conditions. Liquid transported by the rising gas to the tray above, defined as entrainment, is one way of measuring the tray column capacity limit. Entrainment correlations available in the literature have been developed with predominantly air/water data, because of the limited availability of non-air/water data. In this work an experimental setup was constructed to measure entrainment, tray pressure drop and weeping for various gas and liquid systems. The experimental entrainment data for three systems, namely air/water, air/ethylene glycol and air/silicone oil, is compared to existing correlations. The effect of liquid physical properties on entrainment under flow factors ranging from 1.6 kg^0.5/(m^0.5 s), for a 415 mm tray spacing to 4.0 kg^0.5/(m^0.5 s) for a 615 mm tray spacing within a liquid flow range of 2.9–112 m³/(h m) was observed. The experimental results showed a somewhat complex dependency of entrainment on liquid physical properties. At gas flow factors of 2.2 kg^0.5/(m^0.5 s) for the 415 mm tray spacing, entrainment reached a maximum in the froth regime and then decreased with increasing liquid rates. Notably, the liquid viscosity – not included in previously developed correlations – significantly influences the entrainment behaviour. Existing entrainment correlations agree better with the air/water data than with the air/ethylene glycol or air/silicone oil data.     

Structure of K2Co3-loaded activated carbon fiber and its deodorization ability against H2S gas

Coal tar pitch containing finely dispersed KOH was spun centrifugally, followed by stabilization through heating to 330°C under a (1:1) mixture of air and CO₂ and carbonization/activation by heating to 850°C under CO₂. The activated carbon fiber obtained possessed of a specific surface area of 491 m²g⁻¹ and contained ca. 2% of K as K₂CO₃ over the peripheral region of fiber. The fiber showed high deodorization ability against 30 ppm of H₂S gas in air at ambient temperature. H₂S gas did not diffuse to the most interior parts of the fiber and was oxidized around outer regions of the fiber. Elemental sulphur was deposited in the fiber after H₂S absorption. The deodorization mechanism was discussed. The role and action of the K₂CO₃ supported was explained.     

Fabrication of ultrathin La0.6Sr0.4Co0.2Fe0.8O3-δ hollow fibre membranes for oxygen permeation

An ultrathin La_0.6Sr_0.4Co_0.2Fe_0.8O_3-δ (LSCF) hollow fibre membrane for enhanced oxygen permeation flux was fabricated using a wet spinning/sintering method. The membrane exhibits a highly asymmetric structure comprising of a very thin dense outer layer supported by finger-like structures that are fully open on the inner surface. Oxygen permeation measurements were conducted using sweep gas as an operating mode. Effects of operating temperatures and flow rates of the sweep gas on the oxygen permeation fluxes were investigated in details. The highest oxygen permeation flux, i.e. 0.096 cm³/cm² s (5.77 cm³/cm² min) was obtained from the ultrathin hollow fibre membrane at 1323 K (1050 °C) and the sweep gas flow rate of 2.42 cm³/s. The results indicate that the oxygen permeation flux obtained is much higher (4.9-11.2 times) than that obtained from conventional LSCF hollow fibre membranes mainly due to the reduced thickness of the membrane as well as the porous surface on the permeate side. In addition, despite a very thin dense layer, the LSCF hollow fibre membrane possessed a reasonable mechanical strength (113.22 MPa).     

Hydrogen separation at elevated temperatures using metallic nickel hollow fiber membranes

Nickel is a cheaper metallic material compared to palladium membranes for H₂ separation. In this work, metallic Ni hollow fiber membranes were fabricated by a combined phase inversion and atmospheric sintering method. The morphology and membrane thickness of the hollow fibers was tuned by varying the spinning parameters like bore liquid flow rate and air gap distance. H₂ permeation through the Ni hollow fibers with N₂ as the sweep gas was measured under various operating conditions. A rigorous model considering temperature profiles was developed to fit the experimental data. The results show that the hydrogen permeation flux can be well described by using the Sieverts’ equation, implying that the membrane bulk diffusion is still the rate‐limiting step. The hydrogen separation rate in the Ni hollow fiber module can be improved by 4–8% when switching the co‐current flow to the countercurrent flow operation. © 2017 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 63: 3026–3034, 2017     

Gas absorption of carbon dioxide in a hollow fiber contained liquid membrane absorber

Experiments on the absorption of CO₂ into a hollow fiber contained liquid membrane absorber were performed. The feed gas was a mixture of CO₂ and N₂, absorbent liquid was 2-amino-2-methyl-l-propanol and the hollow fiber was a microporous hydrophobic polytetrafluoroethylene membrane. Outlet concentration of CO₂ from the absorber decreased as absorbent concentration increased, gas flow rate increased and were held constant for speed of agitation, but had a maximum value in the range of inlet concentration of CO₂ from 5 to 40 mole%. The reaction rate constant obtained for CO₂-amine system was 231 I/mol · s at 25 °C using a flat stirred vessel, and the membrane-side-mass-transfer coefficient was 1.217 × 10⁻⁵ mol/cm² · s · atm in CO2/N2-amine system. A diffusion model based on mass transfer with fast-reaction was proposed to predict the performance of the absorber.     

Absorption of carbon dioxide by the absorbent composed of piperazine and 2-amino-2-methyl-1-propanol in PVDF membrane contactor

This paper tests the performance of microporous polyvinylidinefluoride (PVDF) hollow fiber in a gas absorption membrane process (GAM) using the aqueous solutions of piperazine (PZ) and 2-amino-2-methyl-1-propanol (AMP). Experiments were conducted at various gas flow rates, liquid flow rates and absorbent concentrations. Experimental results showed that wetting ratio was about 0.036% when used with the aqueous alkanolamine solutions, while that was 0.39% with aqueous piperazine solutions. The CO₂ absorption rates increased with increasing both liquid and gas flow rates at N_Re < 20. The increase of the PZ concentration showed an increase of absorption rate of CO₂. The CO₂ absorption rate was much enhanced by the addition of PZ promoter. The resistance of membrane was predominated as using a low reactivity absorbent and can be neglected as using absorbent of AMP aqueous solution. The resistance of gas-film diffusion was dominated as using the mixed absorbents of AMP and PZ. An increase of PZ concentration, the resistance of liquid-film diffusion decreased but resistance of gas-film increased. Overall, GAM systems were shown to be an effective technology for absorbing CO₂ from simulated flue gas streams, but the viscosity and solvent-membrane relationship were critical factors that can significantly affect system performance.     

Surface modification of Kevlar 149 fibers by gas plasma treatment

Kevlar 149 fibers have been surface treated with NH₃-, 0₂-, or H₂O-plasm to modify the fiber surfaces. SEM (scanning electron microscopy) is used to characterize the surface topography of fibers etched by gas plasmas. The chemical compositions and functional groups of the fiber surfaces are identified by ESCA (electron spectroscopy for chemical analysis) and SSIMS (static secondary ion mass spectroscopy), respectively. The contact angle of water on modified PPTA [poly(p-phenylene terepbthalamide)] film prepared from using Kevlar 149 fibers is also used to investigate the wettability. The results show that the etching abilities of gas plasmas are dependent on the type of gas used for plasma treatments. The contact angle data indicate that all the three gas plasma treatments are effective in rendering the surface of PPTA more hydrophilic. The ESCA analysis results show that the surface compositions of plasma-treated fibers are highly dependent on the type of gas used and treatment time. Changes in surface compositions of fibers treated by NH₃-, O₂-, and H₂O-plasma are observed. Increasing nitrogen and oxygen contents are observed for the NH₃-plasma treatment, and the O₂- and H₂O-plasma treatments, respectively. Furthermore, the incorporation of amino groups into fiber surfaces by NH₃-plasma treatment and the extensive damage of the aromatic ring and the polymer backbone by H₂O-plasma and O₂-piasma are evidenced by SSIMS.     

Characterization of hollow fiber membranes in a permeator using binary gas mixtures

We have studied the CO₂/CH₄ mixed gas permeation through hollow fiber membranes in a permeator. An approach to characterize the true separation performance of hollow fiber membranes for binary gas mixtures was provided based on experiments and simulations. Experiments were carried out to measure the retentate and permeate flow rates and compositions at each outlet. The influences of pressure drop within the hollow fibers, non-ideal gas behavior in the mixture and concentration polarization were taken into consideration in the mathematics model. The calculation results indicate that the net influence of the non-ideal gas behavior, competitive sorption and plasticization yields the calculated CO₂ permeance in a mixed gas permeator close to that obtained in pure gas tests. Whereas the CH₄ permeance is higher in the mixed gas tests than that in the pure gas tests, as the plasticization caused by CO₂ dominates the permeation process. As a result, the CO₂/CH₄ mixed gas selectivity is smaller than those obtained in pure gas tests at equivalent pressures.The calculated membrane performance shows little changes with stage cut if the effect of concentration polarization is accounted for in the calculation. The integration method developed in this study could provide more accurate characterizations of mixed gas permeance of hollow membranes than other estimation methods, as our model considers the roles of non-ideal gas behavior and concentration polarization properly.     

Autotrophic deodorization of hydrogen sulfide in a biotrickling filter

The removal of hydrogen sulfide (H₂S) from airstreams was studied in a biotrickling filter (BTF) packed with plastic Pall rings operating with counter‐current flows of the air and liquid streams. Experiments were performed at different inlet H₂S concentrations, air and/or liquid volumetric flow rates, and sulfate concentrations in the recirculating liquid to check their effect on the performance of the BTF. Conversion of H₂S never dropped below 80% at the highest concentration and reached 100% at low concentrations. A maximum removal rate of 22.5 g H₂S m^?3 reactor h^?1 was observed with 100% removal efficiency. The shortest empty bed retention time studied at which complete H₂S removal was observed was around 11 s. Conversion of H₂S was found to slightly increase as the liquid flow rate decreased and as the air flow rate increased. Copyright © 2005 Society of Chemical Industry     

Evaluation of a hollow fiber oxygenator for use in bubble—free mammalian cell bioreactors

The oxygen transfer capabilities of a hollow fiber oxygenator for intended use in bubble-free aerated bioreactors have been evaluated experimentally. The oxygenator (480 mL), which is the main component of an artificial heart/lung unit used routinely in cardiopulmonary bypass procedures, was assessed for use in a recycle stream to determine if the oxygen requirements in bubble-free hybridoma cell bioreactors could be supported on a large scale. Oxygen transfer to simulated medium in a 15 L bioreactor was found to depend primarily on the liquid recirculation rate (1 to 5 L/min) and was not seriously affected by the air flowrate in the oxygenator (0.5 to 15 L/min). Based on the experimentally determined mass transfer coefficient across the membrane, it was found that the oxygenator could support a 100 L fermentor at an average cell density of 2xl0⁶ cells/mL with a specific uptake rate of 4.8 mgO₂/(10⁹ cells - h).Furthermore, if oxygen enriched air were to be used in the oxygenator, a single unit could support cell densities beyond 8xl0⁶cells/mL in a 100 L working volume fermentor.     

Hollow fiber supported liquid membrane process for the separation of NH3 from aqueous media containing NH3 and CO2

A hollow fiber supported liquid membrane (SLM) process was investigated experimentally and theoretically for the separation of NH₃ from aqueous solutions containing NH₃ and CO₂. DTPA and D2EHPA were used as carriers and n-decanol was used as a diluent in this process. The membrane stripping experiments, as well as the extractive equilibrium experiments, indicate that DTPA is a better carrier than D2EHPA in relation to the increase in the NH₃ stripping rate. The influence of operating conditions, such as flow rate, the ratio of NH₃ to CO₂, and carrier concentration, on the membrane stripping rate were examined. The experimental data demonstrate that the NH₃ stripping rate by an SLM process is not significantly influenced by the amount of CO₂ present, as is that by the supported gas membrane. To predict the stripping of NH₃ from solutions containing NH₃ and CO₂, a mathematical model incorporating chemical equilibria and Nernst–Planck diffusion was developed to describe the mass transport. The experimental data suggested that the SLM process can effectively strip NH₃ from aqueous solutions containing NH₃ and CO₂.     

Investigations on the ability of di‐isopropanol amine solution for removal of CO2 from natural gas in porous polymeric membranes

In this study, capture of CO₂ and H₂S from natural gas mixture using porous polymeric membranes has been investigated numerically to assess the capacity of a novel absorbent, di‐isopropanol amine (DIPA), in CO₂ removal. Diffusion of acid gases through porous polymeric membranes was simulated by employing CFD techniques and considering a gas feed stream, a porous membrane and a reaction medium. For solving conservation equations, finite element method was applied to calculate the rate of CO₂ and H₂S absorption in the membrane. The type of membrane in this work is a hollow‐fiber module. According to the modeling results, a high H₂S removal can be achieved by DIPA absorber. Moreover, CO₂ was captured from natural gas in an efficient manner in low gas/liquid flow rates. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 55:598–603, 2015. © 2014 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Evaluation of a rotating packed bed equipped with blade packings for methanol and 1-butanol removal

Absorption removal of methanol and 1-butanol from gaseous streams with water was investigated in the RPB equipped with blade packings. The removal efficiency (E) of methanol and 1-butanol was found to increase with the RPB speed and the liquid flow rate but decrease with the gas flow rate. Also, the overall volumetric gas-side mass transfer coefficient (K_Ga) for methanol and 1-butanol absorption was observed to increase with the RPB speed, the gas flow rate, and the liquid flow rate. According to the obtained dependence of K_Ga on the gas and liquid flow rates, the mass transfer in methanol and 1-butanol absorption was observed to be controlled primarily by the gas-side mass transfer. Furthermore, the height of a transfer unit (HTU) for methanol and 1-butanol absorption decreased with the RPB speed and the liquid flow rate but increased with the gas flow rate. The obtained results demonstrated that mass transfer efficiency of the RPB equipped with blade packing was comparable to that of a hollow fiber absorber. Consequently, the RPB equipped with blade packings has a great potential in the removal of alkanols from the exhausted gases.     

CO2 removal by single and mixed amines in a hollow‐fiber membrane module—investigation of contactor performance

This work investigates CO₂ removal by single and blended amines in a hollow‐fiber membrane contactor (HFMC) under gas‐filled and partially liquid‐filled membrane pores conditions via a two‐scale, nonisothermal, steady‐state model accounting for CO₂ diffusion in gas‐filled pores, CO₂ and amines diffusion/reaction within liquid‐filled pores and CO₂ and amines diffusion/reaction in liquid boundary layer. Model predictions were compared with CO₂ absorption data under various experimental conditions. The model was used to analyze the effects of liquid and gas velocity, CO₂ partial pressure, single (primary, secondary, tertiary, and sterically hindered alkanolamines) and mixed amines solution type, membrane wetting, and cocurrent/countercurrent flow orientation on the HFMC performance. An insignificant difference between the absorption in cocurrent and countercurrent flow was observed in this study. The membrane wetting decreases significantly the performance of hollow‐fiber membrane module. The nonisothermal simulations reveal that the hollow‐fiber membrane module operation can be considered as nearly isothermal. © 2014 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 61: 955–971, 2015