Hollow fiber forward osmosis membrane modules

forward osmosis hollow fiber module

Hollow fibre modules made from hollow fibre forward osmosis membranes

Hollow fibre module summary

Packing density up to 1600 m2/m3
Advantage ideally suitable for high volume applications due to high packing density and resulting small module footprint
Disadvantage prone to fouling / membrane clogging at low concentrations of fouling agents

Detailed description

forward osmosis hollow fiber module
Image from pentair.com

Hollow fibre modules are basically tubular modules with very high packing densities (see the table below), and are used extensively for large-volume water treatment applications, such as desalination of seawater via reverse osmosis processes, where a small module footprint is essential for the economical viability of the given membrane installation. Hollow fibre membranes are prone to fouling and clogging due to their small internal diameters. This is also the case for forward osmosis hollow fibre membranes and therefore usage for industrial water treatment is limited to applications where waste water streams contain low concentrations of fouling agents. Such applications include:

  1. Desalination
  2. Downstream waste water processing steps

 

Parameter Value
Hollow fibre length 1m
Hollow fibre wall thickness 0,2mm
Hollow fibre inner diameter 1mm
Hollow fibre inner area 0,0031m2
Inner diameter of module 90mm
Number of hollow fibres in module 3227***
Internal volume of module 0,0064m3
Active area per module 10m2
Packing density 1600

*** See engineeringtoolbox.com for an online calculation tool of how many small circles fit into a large circle

Please follow the links below for more information on forward osmosis module design possibilities:

  1. Plate and frame forward osmosis membrane modules
  2. Spiral wound forward osmosis membrane modules
  3. Tubular forward osmosis membrane modules

6 thoughts on “Hollow fiber forward osmosis membrane modules

  1. superacer says:

    Excuse me, I would like to know this price of Hollow fibre modules for FO process. I need it for my project calculation in order to find economic analysis. Thank you.

    • Christian Døring says:

      Dear Superacer,

      I am representing Aquaporin, where we have developed Hollow Fibers for FO. For more information please visit our homepage at aquaporin.com or you can contact me directly at cdl@aquaporin.dk. I will be happy to help you with HFFO for your project.

      All the best
      Christian Døring

    • Mark Perry says:

      Hi John,

      I don’t know of any forward osmosis modules that are capable of replacing the one from Koch you’ve linked to.

      Kind Regards

      Mark

  2. AYYADURAI SENTHILKUMAR says:

    hi,
    I am looking for a small HF module for cellulose acetate composition please quote me
    Regards,
    A.Senthilkumar.

    • Mark Perry says:

      Hi Senthilkumar,

      Did you try reaching out to Aquaporin? They have small HF modules based on TFC membranes. I’m not sure where you can purchase small HF modules made from cellulose acetate. Perhaps from Toyobo?

      Kind Regards

      Mark

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