Surface Of Hollow Fiber Membrane Research Articles

Preparation of polyamide/polyacrylonitrile composite hollow fiber membrane by synchronous procedure of spinning and interfacial polymerization

In this investigation, a new concept for fabrication polyamide (PA)/polyacrylonitrile (PAN) composite hollow fiber membrane by using a triple orifice spinneret was explored. Tetraethylenepentamine (TEPA) and trimesoyl chloride (TMC) were used as the monomers of aqueous solution and acid chloride solution, respectively. The PAN dope, TEPA solution and TMC solution were pumped into the outermost, middle and inner channel of the triple orifice spinneret, respectively, and then co-extruded into water from the outlet of the spinneret simultaneously. The PA layer then was formed on the lumen surface of the synchronous wet-spun PAN hollow fiber membrane. SiO2 was added into the dope to increase the hydrophilicity of the dope. The resultant PA/PAN composite hollow fibers were characterized by using FTIR-ATR, SEM, light transmission, contact angle and positron annihilation spectroscopy (PAS). The effects of SiO2 content, TEPA concentration, as well as the TEPA solution flow rate on the properties and pervaporation performances of resultant PA/PAN composite hollow fibers were investigated. The PA layer was completely attached to the lumen surface of the resulted hollow fibers through the spinning and interfacial polymerization synchronous procedure. The pervaporation performances with 419 g/m2h of permeation flux and 96.6 wt% of water content in permeate of the 90 wt% aqueous isopropanol solution at 25 °C can be obtained through the synchronous fabricated PA/PAN composite hollow fiber membrane which was fabricated by the 18 wt% PAN dope containing 5 wt% SiO2, 1 ml/min of 14 wt% TEPA solution and 2 ml/min of 1 wt% TMC solution.

Surface Characterization by X–Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy of Polyethersulfone Hollow Fiber Membranes Modified with Surface Modifying Macromolecules

Novel charged–surface modifying macromolecules (cSMMs) were synthesized and incorporated into polyethersulfone(PES) hollow fiber membranes for water separation application. The macromolecules were synthesized with diisocynate, polypropylene oxide and poly(ethylene glycol)–hydroxybenzene sulfonate (PEG–HBS). In this study, the surface of polyethersulfone hollow fiber membranes prepared by the phase inversion method was modified using 1 wt.% of SMM and 22 wt.% PES concentration in the polymer casting solution. The effect of cSMM on PES hollow fiber membrane modification was investigated. Elemental analysis shows enrichment of oxygen and sulfone on the modified PES membrane bulk properties. In addition, the glass transition temperature confirms the miscibility of the cSMM in PES. Important relations between surface characteristics due to SMM modification with the PES membrane for water separation performance with respect to XPS characterization also highlighted.

Evaluation of blood adsorption onto dialysis membranes by time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry and near-field infrared microscopy.

Blood adsorption onto the inside surface of hollow fiber dialysis membranes was investigated by means of time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (TOF-SIMS) and near-field infrared microscopy (NFIR) in order to evaluate the biocompatibility and permeability of dialysis membranes. TOF-SIMS is useful for the imaging of particular molecules with a high spatial resolution of approximately 100nm. In contrast, infrared spectra provide quantitative information and NFIR enables analysis with a high spatial resolution of less than 1μm, which is close to the resolution of TOF-SIMS. A comparison was made of one of the most widely used dialysis membranes made of polysulfone (PSf), that has an asymmetric and inhomogeneous pore structure, and a newly developed asymmetric cellulose triacetate (ATA) membrane that also has an asymmetric pore structure, even though the conventional cellulose triacetate membrane has a symmetric and homogeneous pore structure. As a result, it was demonstrated that blood adsorption on the inside surface of the ATA membrane is more reduced than that on the PSf membrane. Graphical abstract Analysis of blood adsorption on inside surface of hollow fiber membrane.

Improvement of separation performance by fluid motion in the membrane module with a helical baffle

Abstract Pressure-driven membrane filtration processes such as microfiltration and ultrafiltration are still hindered by concentration polarization and membrane fouling. Generally in these filtration processes, concentration polarization causes decline of permeate flux and rejection, and fouling leads to permeate flux decline with the increase of rejection. The use of high shear stress for cross flow filtrations has long been considered one of the most efficient methods for overcoming these problems. However, circumferential fluid motion of the hollow fiber membrane surface is also important to avoid formation of a high concentration layer on the surface. In this study, ultrafiltration of humic acid aqueous solution using a polyethersulfone hollow fiber membrane was selected as a model case, and a membrane module with a helical baffle installed around the membrane was used. With the insertion of the baffle, normalized permeate flux and rejection became higher than those without the baffle at the wide range of the feed flow rate. In order to identify the cause of the improvement, CFD simulation was conducted for different baffle geometries. Swirling flow motion generated by the helical baffle around the membrane became more dominant with the lower aperture ratio of the cross sectional area, and there existed the optimum value for the swirling flow generation in terms of the variation of the helical baffle pitch length. The intensity of this fluid motion was characterized by Swirl number and it was found out that high separation performance was obtained at the high Swirl number.

The preparation of polyamide/polyacrylonitrile thin film composite hollow fiber membranes for dehydration of ethanol mixtures

Abstract In this study, Polyamide (PA)/polyacrylonitrile (PAN) thin-film composite (TFC) hollow fiber membranes were fabricated to investigate the dehydration performances of ethanol mixtures by pervaporation. Amine monomers (ethylenediamine (EDA), 1, 6-hexanediamine (HDA), diethylenetriamine (DETA), and tetraethylenepentamine (TEPA)) with difference number of functional groups or chain length were selected to react with trimesoyl chloride (TMC) to prepare a PA dense thin-film onto the surface of asymmetric PAN hollow fiber membranes by way of interfacial polymerization. Attenuated total reflection infrared spectroscopy (FTIR-ATR), scanning electron microscope (SEM), atomic force microscope (AFM), light transmission, contact angle and positron annihilation spectroscopy (PAS) were used to characterize the physicochemical properties, morphologies and microstructure of the PA thin layer. The pervaporation performances of aqueous ethanol solution showed the permeation flux decreased while water content in permeate increased with increasing number of amine groups. The effects of monomer concentration and reaction time on the pervaporation performances of aqueous ethanol solution through TEPA-TMC/PAN TFC hollow fiber membranes were also investigated. A 342.0 ± 22.3 g/m 2 h permeation flux and 97.6 ± 0.3 wt.% water content in permeate were obtained for the pervaporation of 90 wt.% aqueous ethanol solution at 25 °C through the PA/PAN TFC hollow fiber membrane which was fabricated by immersing PAN hollow fiber membrane into 2 wt.% TEPA aqueous solution for 1 min and then contacting 1 wt.% TMC solution for 0.5 min.

The resilience of carbonic anhydrase enzyme for membrane-based carbon capture applications

A microbial carbonic anhydrase was immobilized onto the surface of hollow fiber membranes to enhance the absorption rate of carbon dioxide into an aqueous 30wt% potassium carbonate solvent at pH 10–12. The performance of the immobilized enzyme was investigated over long time frames to determine the suitability of this approach for post-combustion carbon capture. The immobilized enzyme was able to maintain activity for up to 80 days at 25°C even when initially exposed to pH 12, however lost activity rapidly when exposed to such high pH at 50°C and subsequently was completely deactivated within 4 days. The effect of sulfur dioxide and nitric oxide that are present in post-combustion flue gas streams was investigated by contacting enzyme immobilized onto flat planar membrane coupons directly with the dry gases and with solutions containing the anions associated with the gases, namely sulfate, sulfite, nitrate and nitrite. The immobilized enzyme maintained at least 80% of its activity even in the presence of 200mM of these anions or 500ppm of the dry gases. Our findings indicate that the enzyme is not significantly affected by these toxic gases or their associated anions. Rather, the combination of high pH and ionic strength of the solvent at a high absorption temperature causes a reduction in the enzyme activity and affects the performance of the absorption process.

Fabrication of super-hydrophobic polypropylene hollow fiber membrane and its application in membrane distillation

The main aim of the current study is to prepare super-hydrophobic polypropylene hollow fiber membranes. However, polypropylene hollow fiber membrane surface is very smooth and difficult to attach silica particles. To solve this problem, a method including combined use of silica particles and polypropylene solution is used to preparation the super-hydrophobic coatings. The collosol mixed by the silica particles and PP particles were coated to the membrane surface. Then the membrane was modified by 1H,1H,2H,2H-Perfluorooctyltriethoxysilane (POTS) that exhibited a super-hydrophobic surface with a static water contact angle of 157°. Surface elemental analyses of membrane were characterized by XPS and surface analyses (FT-IR, FESEM, AFM, contact angle measurements and MIP). In addition, membrane distillation experiments of NaCl solutions were carried out in unmodified and modified polypropylene hollow fiber membrane. The results indicated that, compared with the untreated membranes, the modified membranes had higher flux and rejection.

Fabrication of a super-hydrophobic polyvinylidene fluoride hollow fiber membrane using a particle coating process

Membranes with outstanding anti-wetting property are essential for membrane distillation (MD) applications. In this work, a hydrophobization treatment for porous polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) hollow fiber membranes using an etching method combined with an ultrafiltration coating process was developed to achieve this desired property. PVDF particle was subjected to an etching process to coarsen its surface. Etched PVDF particles were subsequently dispersed in a dispersant with a specific PVDF-dissolving capacity and then coated onto the PVDF hollow fiber membrane surface via ultrafiltration to construct a super-hydrophobic surface with a micro/nanostructure. After this process, the super-hydrophobic PVDF hollow fiber membrane with the surface contact angle of 163.8°was obtained, and the coating layer on the membrane surface was exceedingly stable. Moreover, the membrane pores were not blocked by the coating layer. The optimal etching conditions for the PVDF particles were as follows: solubility parameter of the etchant, 25.6 (J/cm3)1/2; etching time, 60min at 25°C. A super-hydrophobic surface with a stable particles coated layer is achieved in an optimal coating condition (solubility parameter of the dispersant, 25.87 (J/cm3)1/2; PVDF particles coated, 18.0g/m2). The direct contact membrane distillation (DCMD) experiments showed that after the surface modification process, the hydrophobicity of the membrane was significantly enhanced. In addition, the anti-wetting property of the membrane improved, the time for membrane to be wetted through the channel increased from 40 to 180min, the pure water DCMD flux increased from 26.0 to 29.9kgm−2h−1, and the critical wetting depth increased from 19.5 to 35.7µm.

Preparation of PVDF hollow fiber membranes with high adsorption performance by one-step physical coating and chemical cross-linking

ABSTRACTIn this paper, PVDF hollow fiber membrane with high adsorption performance was prepared by coating polyvinyl alcohol on the surface of commercial PVDF hollow fiber ultrafiltration membrane and initiating partial hydroxyl acetalization. The modification effect was studied by scanning electron microscopy, infrared spectroscopy, contact angle test and organic dye adsorption capacity test. The results show that the polyvinyl alcohol is effectively fixed on the surface of PVDF hollow fiber membrane with polyvinyl alcohol used as coating agent to initiate partial acetalization reaction in the presence of glutaraldehyde and acid catalyst. The pure water contact angle of PVDF hollow fiber membrane decreases from 76.20° to 57.56°, which greatly improves the of PVDF hollow fiber membrane. The incorporation of the coating and cross-linked structure results in a decrease in the micro-porous permeability of the modified PVDF hollow fiber membrane. The adsorption performance of PVDF hollow fiber membrane modified by hydrophilic coating and cross-linked for organic dye Rhodamine B is significantly improved.

Polydimethylsiloxane/postmodified MIL‐53 composite layer coated on asymmetric hollow fiber membrane for improving gas separation performance

ABSTRACTComposite layer containing postmodified MIL‐53 (P‐MIL‐53) was exploited to be coated on as‐fabricated asymmetric hollow fiber membrane for improving gas separation performance. The morphology and pore size distribution of P‐MIL‐53 particles were characterized by SEM and N2 adsorption isotherm. The EDX mapping and FTIR spectra were performed to confirm the presence of P‐MIL‐53 deposited on the outer surface of hollow fiber membranes. The results of pure gas permeation measurement indicated that incorporation of P‐MIL‐53 particles in coating layer could improve permeation properties of hollow fiber membranes. By varying coating times and P‐MIL‐53 content, the membrane coated with PDMS/15%P‐MIL‐53 composite by three times achieved best performance. Compared to pure PDMS coated membrane, CO2 permeance was enhanced from 29.96 GPU to 40.24 GPU and ideal selectivity of CO2/N2 and CO2/CH4 also increased from 23.28 and 26.95 to 28.08 and 32.03, respectively. The gas transport through composite membrane was governed by solution‐diffusion mechanism and CO2 preferential adsorption of P‐MIL‐53 contributed to considerable increase of CO2 solubility resulting in accelerated permeation rate. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2017, 134, 44999.

Hg selective adsorption on polypropylene-based hollow fiber grafted with polyacrylamide

A novel polypropylene hollow fiber membrane with a new function of selective adsorption of mercury ions in aqueous solutions was successfully prepared. The surface of the polypropylene hollow fiber membrane was initially modified with polydopamine by surface polymerization, and subsequently grafted with polyacrylamide (PAM) polymer brush via the surface initiated atom transfer radical polymerization (SI-ATRP) technique (thereafter named as PP-PAM). This study investigated the adsorption performance of Hg(II) ions by PP-PAM and the effect of various influencing factors on Hg(II) ion adsorption. The experiment indicated that the Hg(II) adsorption capacity of the PP-PAM increased with the increase of the pH, and the Hg(II) adsorption kinetics was consistent with the pseudo-second-order kinetic model. The adsorption isotherm followed the Langmuir model, with the maximum adsorption capacity calculated to be 0.854 mmol/g for Hg(II) ions. The adsorption study in multi-component system indicated that PP-PAM preferentially adsorbs Hg(II) over Pb(II) ions, with significant adsorption capacity difference of the two heavy metal ions. This study provided an efficient method for the preparation of the adsorptive polypropylene hollow fiber membrane, which expands its application for the selective removal of heavy metal ions.

Construction of antifouling lumen surface on a poly(vinylidene fluoride) hollow fiber membrane via a zwitterionic graft copolymerization strategy

Abstract Construction of PVDF hollow fiber membranes with antifouling lumen surfaces is of great interest and significance for many industrial applications because the inside-out filtration mode allows good control over module hydrodynamics. For the first time, a zwitterionic polymer was immobilized on the lumen surface of a PVDF hollow fiber membrane via thermal-induced graft copolymerization with an objective to render the PVDF membrane antifouling. The graft copolymerization consists of two steps: ozone-assisted surface pre-activation and grafting of sulfobetaine methacrylate (SBMA). The grafting density and chain length were systematically optimized by manipulating the operational parameters, e.g. ozone treatment and grafting duration. The resultant membranes were studied with respect to their structure, morphology, ultrafiltration (UF) performance, while their fouling behaviors were evaluated by flux recovery ratio and the resistance-in-series model. In comparison to the pristine one, the composite membranes exhibited superior fouling resistance for a 2-h filtration of a 2.0 wt% bovine serum albumin (BSA) solution. Especially, the irreversible fouling-induced resistance was prominently reduced from 53% to 15% due to the outstanding hydration capacity of the polySBMA polymer. Consequently, the flux recovery ratio ( FRR ) increased significantly from 47% to 85%, suggesting the promising prospect of the zwitterion-grafted PVDF hollow fiber membranes for their antifouling properties. Most importantly, the improvement in antifouling was achieved without sacrificing flux or rejection efficiency. This work may provide useful insights about lumen surface nano-structuring of the inner-selective hollow fiber membranes.

Evapoporometry adaptation to determine the lumen-side pore-size distribution (PSD) of hollow fiber and tubular membranes

Determining the pore-size distribution (PSD) of ultrafiltration membranes is crucial in assessing their properties. Evapoporometry (EP) characterizes the PSD based on evaporating a volatile wetting liquid from the membrane pores that permits determining the pore diameter using the Kelvin equation. EP has been applied in prior studies to determining the PSD for flat sheet and the outer surface of hollow fiber (HF) membranes. This paper adapts EP to characterizing the PSD on the lumen side of HF membranes. This required sealing the HFs to ensure that evaporation occurred only from the lumen side. A model was developed to determine the required membrane sample and test-cell dimensions. EP characterization based on remeasurements of a PES/PVP single-bore HF gave mass-based and flow-based average pore diameters of 106.2±1.6nm and 157.8±4.3nm, respectively, the latter of which was closer to the flow-based average pore diameter of 140nm determined by liquid-displacement porometry. No pores were found larger than 300nm, which was consistent with the known rejection properties. EP characterization based on remeasurement of a PES multi-bore HF gave mass-based and number-based average pore diameters of 26.6±0.6nm and 14.0nm, respectively, with 90% of the pores being smaller than 20nm, which was consistent with the known rejection properties. This study underscores the importance of understanding the basis for the PSDs obtained using different characterization methods and viewing the PSD in the form most useful to assess the relevant properties for a particular application.

Janus hollow fiber membrane with a mussel-inspired coating on the lumen surface for direct contact membrane distillation

Membrane distillation is a thermally driven separation process that is widely applied in desalination and wastewater treatment. Hydrophobic membranes with high mass transfer and low heat transfer are desirable in conventional direct contact membrane distillation (DCMD). In this work, we reported a facile method to fabricate Janus hollow fiber membranes with asymmetric wettability for DCMD. The hydrophilic polydopamine/polyethyleneimine coating was deposited onto the lumen surface of hydrophobic polypropylene hollow fiber membrane, and the hydrophilic layer thickness could be easily adjusted by the deposition time. During the DCMD test, the Janus membrane showed an improved permeate flux with the increasing deposition time and operation temperature, and the flux improvement was up to 120% for the Janus membrane deposited for 6h with 80°C feed. On the other hand, the Janus membrane also exhibited a high salt rejection and good long-term stability in saline feed desalination with a deposition time of 2 or 4h. Moreover, this research provides us a facile method to fabricate Janus membranes for other applications.

Numerical analysis of hollow fiber membranes for desalination

Water desalination by reverse osmosis hollow fiber membrane has been widely used to produce fresh water. This work numerically characterizes flux performance of the membrane, concentration polarization and potential fouling sites in the reverse osmosis desalination module containing hollow fiber membranes arranged in an inline and staggered configuration. Steady k-ω SST turbulence model is utilized to study membrane performance. An accurate membrane flux model, the solution-diffusion model, is employed. Hollow fiber membrane surface is treated as a functional boundary where the rate of water permeation is coupled with local concentration along the membrane surface. The rate of water permeation increases and concentration polarization decreases as the feed flow rate is increased. Hollow fiber membranes in the staggered geometry perform better than those in the inline geometry. It is proven by the present study that desalination modules containing hollow fiber membranes should be designed and optimized by careful consideration of their configurations. It is demonstrated here that flows in the hollow fiber bank becomes strongly time dependent at high flow rates and that transient effects could profoundly influence hollow fiber membrane flux performance and characterization of concentration polarization.

Control of membrane fouling with the addition of a nanoporous zeolite membrane fouling reducer to the submerged hollow fiber membrane bioreactor

ABSTRACTThe membrane fouling control via the addition of nanoporous zeolite membrane fouling reducer (Z-MFR) to the submerged membrane bioreactor (MBR) was investigated. Using scanning electron microscopy/energy-dispersive X-ray (SEM/EDX) analysis techniques, the characteristics of fouling on a hollow fiber membrane surface were also analyzed. The addition of Z-MFR to the MBR led to the adsorption of foulants and the flocculation of mixed liquor suspended solids (MLSSs), which resulted in substantially enhancing the membrane filterability. The critical flux values obtained from the sewage mixed liquors of 3400 mg L−1 at the effective dosage rate of 0.03 mg Z-MFR mg−1 MLSS was 85 L m−2 h−1 (LMH), which was enhanced by 42%. The transmembrane pressure (TMP) variation under the operating conditions of 30 LMH with 3500 mg MLSS L−1 showed that the addition of Z-MFR extended the time required to reach the critical flux of 0.32 bar by 2.6-fold longer than the control. Thus, due to the hybrid functions of adsorbing foulants and precipitating colloidal substances with the addition of Z-MFR, a decrease in the foulant amount and an improvement of sludge flocculation have been attained simultaneously. As a result, the membrane fouling control was achieved effectively with the addition of the Z-MFR.

Effect of hydrophobic modification on carbon dioxide absorption using porous alumina (Al2O3) hollow fiber membrane contactor

Porous alumina (Al2O3) hollow fiber membranes were successfully prepared using phase inversion spinning and sintering technique. Hydrophilic surface of porous Al2O3 hollow fiber membrane was modified with a fluoroalkylsilane (FAS) solution that was used as hydrophobic agent for treating the surface of Al2O3 hollow fiber membranes. The unmodified and modified porous Al2O3 membranes were characterized using scanning electron microscopy, mercury porosimetry, gas permeation testing equipment, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, and the contact angle analyzer. The hydrophobicity of the porous Al2O3 hollow fiber membrane increased with increasing FAS coating time. The effect of the FAS coating on the CO2 absorption performance was also investigated. As a result, the CO2 absorption flux decreased with increasing FAS coating time. In particular, these experiments revealed that 2h coating was sufficient to obtain an optimal hydrophobic protection against the wetting process of the Al2O3 hollow fiber membrane pores. In addition, the best performance for CO2 absorption flux was achieved with the Al2O3 hollow fiber membrane modified for 2h coating. The maximum CO2 absorption flux of surface modified Al2O3 hollow fiber membrane was 6.022×10−3mol/m2s with a liquid flow rate of 50ml/min at room temperature. Finally, a 50-hours-long stability test demonstrates that the modified porous Al2O3 hollow fiber membranes are stable and promising for membrane contactors.

Thin-film-composite hollow-fiber membranes for water vapor separation

Polyethersulfone (PES) hollow fiber membranes were prepared using the phase inversion technique. The surface of the PES hollow fiber membranes consisted of thin film composite polymer membranes. These membranes were prepared by interfacial polymerization using four different aqueous phase monomers: 1,3-benzenedithiol (BDT), m-phenylenediamine (MPD), 1,3,5-benzenetrithol (BTT), and piperazine (PIP). The organic phase monomer, trimesoyl chloride (TMC), was used to produce the covalent organic polymers. Different types of aqueous monomers (with a number of reactive groups) and their structures were optimized to achieve maximum gas permeation efficiency and water vapor/N2 selectivity. All prepared membranes were fully characterized using different analytical techniques. Among all of the prepared thin film composite (TFC) membranes the one prepared with the 1,3-benzenedithiol monomer (TFC-HF-1) exhibited superior results as water vapor permeance 2054 GPU, and the water vapor/N2 selectivity 119. The prepared membrane substrates and TFC membranes were characterized by chemical structure, morphology and separation performance. Overall, the membranes exhibited good performance over the entire investigated range of operating conditions.

Surface monofunctionalized polymethyl pentene hollow fiber membranes by plasma treatment and hemocompatibility modification for membrane oxygenators

The hemocompatibility of polymethyl pentene (PMP) hollow fiber membranes (HFMs) was improved through surface modification for membrane oxygenator applications. The modification was performed stepwise with the following: (1) oxygen plasma treatment, (2) functionalization of monosort hydroxyl groups through NaBH4 reduction, and (3) grafting 2-methacryloyloxyethyl phosphorylcholine (MPC) or heparin. SEM, ATR-FTIR, and XPS analyses were conducted to confirm successful grafting during the modification. The hemocompatibility of PMP HFMs was analyzed and compared through protein adsorption, platelet adhesion, and coagulation tests. Pure CO2 and O2 permeation rates, as well as in vitro gas exchange rates, were determined to evaluate the mass transfer properties of PMP HFMs. SEM results showed that different nanofibril topographies were introduced on the HFM surface. ATR-FTIR and XPS spectra indicated the presence of functionalization of monosort hydroxyl group and the grafting of MPC and heparin. Hemocompatibility evaluation results showed that the modified PMP HFMs presented optimal hemocompatibility compared with pristine HFMs. Gas permeation results revealed that gas permeation flux increased in the modified HFMs because of dense surface etching during the plasma treatment. The results of in vitro gas exchange rates showed that all modified PMP HFMs presented decreased gas exchange rates because of potential surface fluid wetting. The proposed strategy exhibits a potential for fabricating membrane oxygenators for biomedical applications to prevent coagulation formation and alter plasma-induced surface topology and composition.

Preparation, characterization and laboratory-scale application of modified hydrophobic aluminum oxide hollow fiber membrane for CO2 capture using H2O as low-cost absorbent

The objective of this work was to apply the modified hydrophobic metal oxide hollow fiber membrane in a laboratory-scale gas–liquid membrane contacting process for CO2 capture applications using H2O as low-cost absorbent at room temperature. With this aim, the porous aluminum oxide (α-Al2O3) hollow fiber membranes were prepared by a phase inversion spinning technique and a sintering method. In order to render the hydrophilic surface of prepared Al2O3 hollow fiber membrane without changing its physical properties, a fluoroalkylsilanes (FAS) film was used. The fluoroalkylsilanized Al2O3 hollow fiber membrane surface was studied by performing thermal gravimetric analysis (TG), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffractometer (XRD). In addition, the hydrophobicity nature of modified Al2O3 hollow fiber membrane surfaces was measured by water drop contact angle test and break through pressure measurement. This work, for what we believe to be the first time, has successfully realized a room-temperature laboratory-scale gas–liquid membrane contactors using a single fluoroalkylsilanized Al2O3 hollow fiber membrane for CO2 capture. According to the experimental results, the correlations between water and gas flow rate, and CO2 mass transfer through the modified hydrophobic Al2O3 hollow fiber membranes are given. In addition, a comparative review was made between our modified hydrophobic aluminum oxide and traditional polymeric hollow fiber membrane for application in the field of CO2 absorption in water. The results indicated that studied fluoroalkylsilanized Al2O3 hollow fiber membrane may be possible candidates for the development of new gas–liquid membrane contactors for CO2 capture.