Hollow fiber membrane

Hollow fiber membranes (HFMs) are a class of artificial membranes containing a semi-permeable barrier in the form of a hollow fiber. Originally developed in the 1960s for reverse osmosis applications, hollow fiber membranes have since become prevalent in water treatment, desalination, cell culture, medicine, and tissue engineering.[1] Most commercial hollow fiber membranes are packed into cartridges which can be used for a variety of liquid and gaseous separations.

Schematic diagram of a hollow fiber membrane, including a view of the membrane module and call outs for a cross section (top right), membrane transport (bottom left) and partial pressure of the solute. Modified by authors from [2]
SEM cross-section of a polysulfone hollow fiber membrane fabricated by nonsolvent-induced phase separation.
Extrusion of nascent hollow fiber membrane polymer solution through the annulus of a spinneret.
An example dry-jet wet spinning hollow fiber fabrication system in operation.
An example of a hollow fiber membrane cartridge.
  1. ^ Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems (Eolss): v.1 : Desalination and Water Resources (Desware): Membrane Processes. Oxford: EOLSS Publishers Co Ltd. 2010. ISBN 978-1-84826-877-7.
  2. ^ Oh, Jinwoo; Fix, Andrew J.; Ziviani, Davide; Braun, James E.; Warsinger, David M. (2024). "Design optimization of hollow fiber membranes for passive air dehumidification in drying applications". Energy Conversion and Management. 302. Elsevier BV: 118097. doi:10.1016/j.enconman.2024.118097. ISSN 0196-8904.