Self-supported low pressure drop hollow fiber membrane panel and contactor module

A hollow fiber membrane panel, comprising:

• (a) a pair of layers of textile material, each of said layers of textile material being formed of interwoven strands of material and defining a supporting substrate;
• (b) a pair of layers of non-permeable material each encapsulating separately one of said supporting substrates defined by said layer of textile material, each of said non-permeable material layers having opposite external and internal sides;
• (c) a layer of filler material disposed between said interior sides of said layers of non-permeable material and said layers of textile material encapsulated by said layers of non-permeable material, said layer of filler material supporting said layers of non-permeable material with said respective layers of textile material encapsulated therein in a spaced relationship to one another so as to define a flow channel therebetween, said filler material being permeable to fluid flow through said flow channel;
• and
• (d) a multiplicity of hollow fibers of permeable material extending between and in generally transverse relationship to said layers of non-permeable material and textile material and said layer of filler material disposed between said layers of non-permeable material and textile material, each of said hollow fibers having a pair of spaced opposite end portions extending between said interwoven strands of said layers of textile material and an elongated portion extending between and interconnecting said opposite end portions, said opposite end portions of said hollow fibers being encapsulated by said respective layers of non-permeable material between said interwoven strands of said layers of textile material and open at said external sides thereof, said elongated portions of said hollow fibers having elongated internal bores providing flow communication between said open opposite end portions of said hollow fibers, said elongated portions of said hollow fibers extending through said layer of filler material and between said internal sides of said respective layers of non-permeable material and across said flow channel therebetween transversely to the direction of flow through said channel, the lengths of said elongated portions of said hollow fibers being substantially less than each of the length and width dimensions of said layers of non-permeable material.

A contactor module for use in low pressure gas-gas, gas-liquid and liquid-liquid mass transfer systems, said contactor module comprising;

• (a) a hollow housing having opposite end portions and opposite side portions extending between and interconnecting the opposite end portions;
• (b) an inlet port defined through one of the end portions and an outlet port defined through the other of the end portions of the housing;
• (c) an infeed port defined through one of the side portions and a discharge port defined through the other of the side portions of the housing;
• and
• (d) a hollow fiber membrane panel disposed in the housing, said hollow fiber membrane panel including
• (i) a pair of layers of textile material, each of said layers of textile material being formed of interwoven strands of material and defining supporting substrates,
• (ii) a pair of layers of non-permeable material each encapsulating separately one of said supporting substrates defined by said layers of textile material, each of said non-permeable material layers having opposite external and internal sides, and
• (iii) a multiplicity of hollow fibers of permeable material extending between and in generally transverse relationship to the layers of non-permeable material and said layers of textile material encapsulated by said layers of non-permeable material, each of said hollow fibers having a pair of spaced opposite end portions extending between said interwoven strands of said layers of textile material and an elongated portion extending between and interconnecting the opposite end portions, said opposite end portions of the hollow fibers being encapsulated by said respective layers of non-permeable material between said interwoven strands of said layers of textile material and being open at said external sides thereof, said opposite end portions of said hollow fibers being disposed in flow communication respectively with said infeed and discharge ports of said housing, said elongated portions of said hollow fibers extending between said internal sides of said respective layers of non-permeable material and having elongated internal bore providing flow communication between said open opposite end portions of said hollow fibers, the lengths of said elongated portions of said hollow fibers being substantially less than each of the length and width dimensions of said layers of non-permeable material, said layers of non-permeable material being supported in a spaced relationship to one another by said elongated portions of said hollow fibers so as to define a flow channel therebetween being disposed in flow communication respectively with said inlet and outlet ports of said housing, said elongated portions of said hollow fibers extend across aid flow channel and transversely to the direction of flow through said channel.

A hollow fiber membrane panel, comprising:

• (a) a pair of spaced layers of textile material;
• (b) a pair of layers of non-permeable material each encapsulating separately one of said layers of textile material and having opposite external and internal sides;
• and
• (c) a multiplicity of hollow fibers of permeable material having elongated internal bores providing flow communication therethrough, said hollow fibers having opposite end portions encapsulated by said respective layers of non-permeable material between said interwoven strands of said layers of textile material and being open at said external sides of said layers of non-permeable material, said hollow fibers also having elongated portions extending between said opposite end portions and between and in generally transverse relationship to said layers of textile material with said elongated internal bores therein providing flow communication between said open opposite end portions of said hollow fibers, said elongated portions also extending between said internal sides of said respective layers of non-permeable materials so as to support said layers of non-permeable material in a spaced relationship to one another and define a flow channel therebetween with said elongated portions of said hollow fibers extending across said flow channel and transversely to the direction of flow through said channel, the lengths of said elongated portions of said hollow fibers being substantially less than each of the length and width dimensions of said layers of non-permeable material;
• (d) said layers of textile material and said multiplicity of hollow fibers being formed by concurrently weaving pluralities of warp and weft strands to provide said pair of spaced layers of textile material and weaving a facing hollow fiber transversely with said warp and weft strands to provide said multiplicity of hollow fibers;
• (e) said layers of non-permeable material and said hollow fibers having said open opposite end portions being formed by applying a non-permeable adhesive material to said textile layers and adjacent portions of said hollow fibers and removing an outer portion of said adhesive material on each of said textile layers and said adjacent portions of said hollow fibers therewith so as to expose and open said opposite end portions of said hollow fibers between said interwoven strands of said layers of textile material at said external sides of said layers of non-permeable material.

A method of forming a hollow fiber membrane panel, comprising the steps of:

• (a) forming a pair of spaced layers of textile material of interwoven strands and a multiplicity of hollow fibers of permeable material having elongated internal bores providing flow communication therethrough, said hollow fibers extending about and between and in generally transverse relationship to said interwoven strands of said layer of textile material by concurrently weaving pluralities of warp and weft strands to provide said spaced layers of textile material and weaving a facing hollow fiber transversely with said warp and weft strands to provide said multiplicity of hollow fibers;
• and
• (b) forming a pair of spaced layers of non-permeable material by
• (i) applying a non-permeable adhesive material to said textile layers and adjacent portions of said facing hollows fibers so as to encapsulate separately each of said layers of textile material and adjacent opposite end portions of said hollow fibers between said interwoven strands of said layers of textile material such that elongated portions of said hollow fibers extending between said opposite end portions support said layers of non-permeable material in a spaced relationship to one another and define a flow channel therebetween with said elongated portions of said hollow fibers extending across said flow channel and transversely to the direction of flow through said channel, the lengths of said elongated portions of said hollow fibers being substantially less than each of the length and width dimensions of said layers of non-permeable material, and
• (ii) removing an outer portion of said non-permeable adhesive material and said adjacent portions of said hollow fiber therewith so as to expose and open said opposite end portions of said hollow fibers located between said interwoven strands of said layers of textile material at said external sides of said layers of non-permeable material.