Absorption of CO₂ in a transverse flow hollow fiber membrane module having a few wraps of the fiber mat

An experimental study of gas-liquid contacting was conducted to determine the mass-transfer performance characteristics of hollow fiber devices that employ transverse liquid flow over microporous hydrophobic fibers present in a mat wrapped around a central feeder tube. Gas flow was through the fiber lumen; water was employed to absorb CO₂ from pure CO₂ and from a mixture of CO₂-N₂. The results are characteristics of the local crossflow mass transfer due to the limited number of wraps of fiber layers. A correlation for mass-transfer coefficient was developed and compared with correlations from the literature.