Gas−liquid mass transfer has been studied theoretically in a
microprous hollow fiber membrane
module operated under partially wetted conditions in the laminar flow
regime. Dissolved oxygen
removal has been used as an example for the simulation study. The
mathematical model
developed consists of nonlinear partial differential equations and is
solved using the orthogonal
collocation technique. The effect of membrane wetting pressures on
the overall mass transfer
performances of the module has been examined. The results indicate
that under partially wetted
operating mode, a maximum overall mass transfer coefficient is
attainable with respect to the
water velocity, which is completely different from the results obtained
under both wetted and
nonwetted conditions where the overall mass transfer coefficient is
generally increased with
water velocity. The phenomena of partial wetting of the membrane
may provide an explanation
to the observation that the overall mass transfer coefficient is
increased to a maximum value
and then is decreased with water velocity in a gas−liquid
contactor.
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