Patent ID: 8114199

Claim:
A membrane dryer comprising: a shell having an inner tube and an outer tube; a bundle of hollow fibers supported in the shell between the inner and outer tubes; first plugs, one at each end of the bundle, that seals the space between the hollow fibers and the inner and outer tubes to form a sweep air space; a dryer air inlet into the hollow fibers between the inner and outer tubes and a sweep air outlet from the inner tube being at a first end of the shell; a dryer air outlet into the hollow fibers between the inner and outer tubes and a sweep air inlet from the inner tube being at a second end of the shell; the inner tube having a first set of circumferential openings into the sweep air space adjacent the first end of the shell and a second set of circumferential openings into the sweep air space adjacent the first end of the shell; and a second plug in the inner tube between the first and second set of openings.