Research Progress in Gas Separation Using Hollow Fiber Membrane Contactors

Abstract

In recent years, gas–liquid membrane contactors have attracted increasing attention. A membrane contactor is a device that realizes gas–liquid or liquid–liquid mass transfer without being dispersed in another phase. The membrane gas absorption method combines the advantages of chemical absorption and membrane separation, in addition to exhibiting high selectivity, modularity, and compactness. This paper introduces the operating principle and wetting mechanism of hollow membrane contactors, shows the latest research progress of membrane contactors in gas separation, especially for the removal of carbon dioxide from gas mixtures by membrane contactors, and summarizes the main aspects of membrane materials, absorbents, and membrane contactor structures. Furthermore, recommendations are provided for the existing deficiencies or unsolved problems (such as membrane wetting), and the status and progress of membrane contactors are discussed.

Research and Development Journey and Future Trends of Hollow Fiber Membranes for Purification Applications (1970–2020): A Bibliometric Analysis

“…Some potential emerging topics related to main keywords such as “HFM”, “hollow fibers”, “gas separation”, “water treatment”, “membrane contactor”, “membrane fouling” and “MBR” have been listed in Table 4 . The contents of Table 4 demonstrate that the most recent and emerging trends in HFM research areas from the present work are in accordance with the research trends reported in various HFM-related literature reviews by various authors [ 5 , 59 , 60 , 61 ].…”

“…Some potential emerging topics related to main keywords such as "HFM", "hollow fibers", "gas separation", "water treatment", "membrane contactor", "membrane fouling" and "MBR" have been listed in Table 4. The contents of Table 4 demonstrate that the most recent and emerging trends in HFM research areas from the present work are in accordance with the research trends reported in various HFM-related literature reviews by various authors [5,[59][60][61]. The membrane types and processes that appeared most frequently in recent years include mixed matrix membranes, ceramic membranes, sweeping gas membranes, membrane distillation, forward osmosis, DCMD, photocatalytic degradation, pressure retarded osmosis, hydrophobic modification, dual-layer HFM, superhydrophobic, zeolite membranes, nickel membranes and air gap distillation.…”

Innovative Gas-Liquid Membrane Contactor Systems for Carbon Capture and Mineralization in Energy Intensive Industries

“…The benefits of employing hollow fiber membrane contactors in this type of application come from their distinct characteristics (i.e., large specific contact area, precisely controlled pore size, etc.) [ 29 , 30 ]. Although only a few experimental studies have been published so far, these revealed that membrane-based precipitation of carbonates offers an ideal route for mineralization with controllable morphological and structural properties of the generated particles.…”

Polymeric Membranes for O2/N2 Separation

“…Among the membrane materials, carbon-, inorganic-, polymer-, polymer-inorganic composite-based are noteworthy [4]. However, membrane-based gas transportation is nothing new, researchers are trying to develop this process for hundreds of years [5]. Usually, there are two types of membrane available such as porous membrane and non-porous or tight membrane.…”