Experimental Study of Flow Mechanics in a Hollow-Fiber Membrane Module for Plasma Separation

Abstract

Flow characteristics that control the performance of a hollow-fiber membrane module are investigated experimentally. The test fluid used is pure water, and the velocity at the entrance and at the exit of the bundle of fibers, the pressure loss and the transmembrane pressure are measured. It becomes clear that Hagen-Poiseuille’s law is almost applicable to the flow in respective fibers and that Darcy’s law is applicable to permeation through the membrane. In addition, impulse response tests are carried out and some information concerning dead space in the shell side and stagnation of liquid in an entrance cap is obtained. On the basis of the results, a simple model concerning the flow mechanism in the module is proposed and is confirmed to be appropriate.