Oxygen transfer performance of a membrane oxygenator composed of crossed and parallel hollow fibers

Abstract

We have evaluated the mass transfer performance of four commercially available membrane oxygenators in which the blood path is external to and approximately perpendicular to the fiber bundle. Water flowed outside the hollow fibers as an oxygen carrier medium and substitution for blood, and nitrogen gas flowed inside the hollow fibers. The oxygen transfer rates in the membrane oxygenators were measured, and their mass transfer coefficients were obtained. When we analyzed the mass transfer performance using the theory of heat transfer across tube banks, the Sherwood numbers were obviously divided into two regions; one was the data for parallel hollow fibers, and the other was the data for crossed hollow fibers. This indicates that the mass transfer performance of the membrane oxygenator is attributable to the hollow fiber arrangement namely, parallel and crossed hollow fibers, in the same manner as that for heat transfer across tube banks (staggered and in-line bank). New mass transfer correlations have been developed for the membrane oxygenators composed of parallel hollow fibers and crossed hollow fibers. These mass transfer correlations may be used as a guide for the design of a new and efficient membrane oxygenator.