CTS-9408414 University of Toledo G. Glenn Lipscomb The research deals with mass transfer in hollow membrane modules, particularly the effect of flows external to the fiber bundle. Hollow fiber membranes are being used increasingly in a variety of separation processes such as filtration, reverse osmosis, dialysis, gas purification, and pervaporation. Theory will be developed to predict the shell-side velocity fields. In particular, the effects of parameters such as fiber packing uniformity and module dimensions on the fluid residence time distribution will be determined. The model will be extended to include simultaneous mass transfer from fiber lumen to the shell. The theoretical results will be verified using hollow fiber artificial kidneys. The proposed research is expected to lead to improved designs of large-scale membrane modules based on engineering principles rather than trial-and-error experiments. An understanding of mass transfer and its effective control are necessary for wide scale application of membrane separations important to biotechnology, water treatment and hence civil infrastructure, environment and manufacturing.
