Patent ID: 8388743

Claim:
A separation membrane module comprising: a hollow case having no gas permeability and including an inlet port and a plurality of discharge ports, a separation membrane arranged in the hollow case and capable of separating a particular component containing gas into a high concentration gas containing a particular component at a high concentration, and a low concentration gas containing the particular component at a low concentration, and a particular component concentration chamber and a particular component dilution chamber arranged in series in the hollow case, the particular component concentration chamber being capable of increasing concentration of the particular component by allowing permeation of the particular gas through the separation membrane and the particular component dilution chamber being capable of increasing concentration of the particular component by not allowing permeation of the particular gas through the separation membrane; wherein the hollow case includes a large diameter case and at least one small diameter case disposed within the large diameter case to form a plurality of spaces arranged in a radial direction within the hollow case, and at least one of the plurality of spaces arranged in the radial direction defines the particular component concentration chamber and at least one of the remaining spaces defines the particular component dilution chamber; and wherein the particular component concentration chamber and the particular component dilution chamber are configured such that only a gas containing the particular component and permeated through the separation membrane or only a gas containing the particular component not permeated through the separation membrane in one of the chambers disposed on an upstream side can flow into the other of the chambers; the number of the discharge ports is set to correspond to the number of gases to be separated and refined in the particular component concentration chamber and the particular component dilution chamber, so that the gases separated and refined in the particular component concentration chamber and the particular component dilution chamber are discharged separately.