H
Hollow Fiber Membrane Module
Joerg Balster
Evonik Fibres 6mbH, Schverfling, Austria
Synonyms
Hollow fiber membrane; Hollow fiber module
The hollow fiber membrane module as well as a
capillary membrane module assembles as shell-
and-tube heat exchanger. It consists of a large
number of hollow fibers assembled in a module,
as shown schematically in Fig. 1 (Scholz
et al. 2011; Mulder 1997).
The free ends of the fibers are potted with
agents such as epoxy resins, polyurethanes, sili-
cone rubber, thermoplastics, thermosets, or inor-
ganic cements. In some cases, they can also be
fused by heating. The difference between hollow
fiber modules and capillary modules is a matter of
dimensions while the module concepts are the
same (Scholz et al. 2011; Mulder 1997).
Hollow fibers consist of a porous, nonselective
support layer (about 200 mm) and an active layer
(<40 nm). The active layer is the actual mem-
brane, but due to its small thickness, it must be
supported by a thicker layer in order to obtain
mechanical strength, to withstand the pressure
difference between feed to permeate side
(Scholz et al. 2011).
# Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2014
E. Drioli, L. Giorno (eds.), Encyclopedia of Membranes,
DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-40872-4_1583-2
The hollow fiber membranes are self-
supporting. Two types of module arrangement
can be distinguished: (i) where the feed passes
through the bore of the hollow fiber (lumen)
whereas the permeate is collected on the outside
of the hollow fibers (Fig. 1 “Inside Feed”) and (ii)
where the feed enters the module on the shell side
of the hollow fibers (external) and the permeate
passes into the fiber bore (Fig. 1 “Outside Feed”).
The choice between the two concepts is mainly
based on the application where parameters such
as pressure, pressure drop, type of membrane
available, etc. are important. Depending on the
concept chosen, asymmetric hollow fibers are
used with their skin on the inside or on the outside
(Mulder 1997).
The hollow fiber module is the configuration
with the highest packing density, which can attain
values of 30,000 m2/m3 (Scholz et al. 2011). The
typical properties and dimensions of hollow fiber
membrane modules are summarized in Table 1
(Melin and Rautenbach 2007):
The advantages of hollow fiber modules are
the following (Melin and Rautenbach 2007):
• Highest packing density and membrane area
to module volume ratio
• Cheapest manufacturing costs
The disadvantages are the following:
2 Hollow Fiber Membrane Module

Hollow Fiber Membrane

Module, Inside Feed
Fig. 1 Schematic of a
hollow fiber module with
the feed on the inside of the Retentate
Feed
fiber (bore side feed) and
the feed on the outside of
the fibers (shell side feed)
(Taken from Scholz et al.,
2011)
Permeate

Outside Feed Feed

Permeate

Permeate

Retentate

Hollow Fiber Membrane Module, Table 1 Properties of hollow fiber modules (Taken from Scholz et al., 2011)
Hollow fiber module
Structure Self-supporting
Active layer Inner/outer diameter
Feed Lumen/shell side
Inner diameter 40–250 mm
Outer diameter 80–400 mm
Packing density <10,000 m2/m3
Allowed pressure 100 bar shell side; 15 bar lumen side
Applications GP, RO, DL

• Mostly laminar flows (increased mass transfer References

limitations)
• Lower pressure resistance Baker RW (2002) Future directions of membrane
gas-separation technology. Ind Eng Chem Res
41:1393–1411
Up to 80 % of the commercial gas separation Melin T, Rautenbach R (2007)
membranes are being formed into hollow fiber Membranverfahren – Grundlagen der Modul- und
modules (Baker 2002). Anlagenauslegung. Springer, Berlin
Mulder M (1997) Basic principles of membrane technol-
ogy, 2nd edn. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht
Scholz M, Wessling M, Balster J (2011) Design of mem-
brane modules for gas separations. In: Drioli E (ed)
Membrane engineering for the treatment of gases:
gas-separation problems with membranes. RSC Pub-
lishing, Cambridge UK, p 5