Gas transfer process with hollow fiber membrane

Abstract

A process which comprises allowing a liquid to contact with the inside of a microporous hollow fiber and a fluid to contact with the outside, thereby allowing the gaseous components contained in both fluids to transfer between said liquid and said fluid. For use in the process, the inner diameter of the hollow fiber should be 50 to 5,000.mu. and the wall membrane should have an average micropore diameter of 0.01 to 0.5.mu., a porosity of 10 vol.-% or more, a micropore surface area of 5 m.sup.2 /g or more, and an oxygen permeability of 10.sup.-6 cm.sup.3 (STP).multidot.cm/cm.sup.2 .multidot.sec.multidot.cmHg or more. In cases where the liquid is water or a liquid substance with aqueous medium, the process can be used effectively in artificial lung units or the like by using a hollow fiber of a polyolefin or a fluorinated polyolefin.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.