Patent ID: 7404843

Claim:
A gas-separation assembly, comprising: (a) a plurality of tubes each having a longitudinal tube wall and a tube interior containing gas separation membranes; (b) a housing containing the tubes, the housing having a housing interior and comprising a feed end, a permeate end and a central portion between the ends; (c) a feed-end tube sheet mounted in the housing towards the feed end; (d) a permeate-end tube sheet mounted in the housing towards the permeate end; the tube sheets dividing the housing interior into three separate gas-tight spaces: (i) a feed gas space at the feed end, (ii) a permeate gas space at the permeate end, and (iii) a residue gas space in the central portion between the feed and permeate spaces, and in which the tubes are mounted in spaced-apart relationship with each other; the feed-end tube sheet having a plurality of feed openings that provide gas-transferring communication between the tube interior and the feed gas space; and the permeate-end tube sheet having a plurality of permeate openings that provide gas-transferring relationship between the membranes and the permeate end space; (e) a feed gas port at the feed end; (f) a permeate gas port at the permeate end; (g) a residue gas port in the central portion; (h) at least one aperture in each longitudinal tube wall enabling residue gas to flow from the tube interior to the residue gas space.