(147a) New Design for Hollow Fiber Membrane Module: Feasibility Study Based on Computational Fluid Dynamic Simulations

Hollow fiber membrane modules are extensively used for hemodialysis, which is a medical procedure for the removal of uremic toxins such as urea and creatinine from the blood of patients with kidney disorders. Currently used hollow fiber membrane modules used for hemodialysis consist of a cylindrical shell within which a bundle of hollow fiber membranes is housed. The influent fluid is distributed to the fiber bundle through an inlet header (also called an arterial port), while the effluent fluid is collected from the fiber bundle through an effluent header (also called a venous port). One of the main problems with cylindrical hollow fiber membrane modules is flow non-uniformity, which could exist in the inlet and outlet headers, within the fibers, as well as on the shell side of the module. Flow non-uniformity can lead to several problems such as poor clearance of toxins, flow jetting into fibers close to the center of the device, high convective flow (or ultrafiltration) leading to membrane fouling, creation of zones of high shear rates where blood cells could by lysed, and creation of stagnation zones where blood clots could form. Some of these challenges could be addressed through design improvements aimed at improving flow uniformity. In this presentation, we discuss a new design for a hollow fiber membrane module which incorporates advanced flow distribution and collection features. The feasibility of using this module for hemodialysis is analysed by performing computational fluid dynamic (CFD) simulations. These simulations are used to examine the effects of design improvements on tracer dispersion, flow uniformity, velocity distribution and shear rate profiles. While the membrane module discussed in this presentation was primarily designed for use in hemodialysis, its features could be utilized to design efficient membrane modules for other applications such as ultrafiltration, microfiltration, membrane distillation, pervaporation, and membrane crystallization.