PERTURBATION SOLUTION OF HOLLOW-FIBER MEMBRANE MODULE FOR PURE GAS PERMEATION

This study presents an analytic solution for permeation of a pure gas in a hollow-fiber module, based on regular perturbation method. It is assumed that pressure drop due to frictional loss should be proportion al to velocity, and that mass transfer be mainly convective with the p ermeation through the fiber membrane. Four governing equations are cha racterized by five parameters depending on the design specifications a nd operating conditions of the module. When the parameter characterizi ng pressure drop is small, regular perturbation method is capable of p roviding the analytic solution. Compared with numerical simulation, th e analytic solution is found to be sufficiently precise when the param eter is far less than the other parameters characterizing the mass tra nsfer and pressure difference between permeate and reject streams. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V.