Patent ID: 6165253
Filing Date: 2000-12-26
Classification: B01D,Y02A

Abstract:
A volatile solute-transfer system for transferring a volatile solute from a gas-feed mixture to a liquid absorbent, the solute-transfer system comprising:(a) an absorption module;(b)) a porous membrane located within and connected to the absorption module, the porous membrane being wettable by the liquid absorbent, the porous membrane dividing the absorption module into a gas feed chamber and a liquid absorbent chamber, the absorption module having a gas-feed mixture inlet port and a gas-feed mixture outlet port which communicate with the gas-feed chamber and a liquid absorbent inlet port and a liquid absorbent outlet port which communicate with the liquid absorbent chamber, in which the absorption module contains a pressure difference control means for maintaining a difference between a gas pressure of the gas-feed mixture in the gas feed chamber and a liquid pressure of a liquid absorbent in the liquid absorbent chamber substantially within a predetermined pressure range so that an interface between the gas-feed mixture and the liquid absorbent is substantially immobilized at the membrane, to effectively prevent the formation of a dispersion of gas-feed mixture and liquid absorbent in either chamber on opposing sides of the membrane;(c) a regeneration module; and(d) a nonporous membrane that is permeable to the volatile solute located within and connected to the regeneration module, the nonporous membrane dividing the regeneration module into a liquid absorbent chamber and a vacuum atmosphere or sweep vapor chamber, the regeneration module having a liquid absorbent inlet port and a liquid absorbent outlet port which communicate with the liquid absorbent chamber and a vacuum outlet port or sweep vapor outlet port which communicates with the vacuum or sweep vapor chamber.