Modeling of CO2 mass transport across a hollow fiber membrane reactor filled with immobilized enzyme

The enzyme-based contained liquid membrane reactor to capture CO2 from the closed spaces is a very complicated process with large numbers of interdependent variables. A theoretical and experimental analysis of facilitated transport of CO2 across a hollow fiber membrane reactor filled with immobilized carbonic anhydrase (CA) by nanocomposite hydrogel was presented. CO2 concentration profiles in the feed gas phase and the membrane wall were achieved by numeric simulation. The effects of CO2 concentration, CA concentration, and flow rate of feed gas on CO2 removal performance were studied in detail, and the model solution agrees with the experimental data with a maximum deviation of up to 18.7%. Moreover, the effect of CO2 concentration on the required membrane areas for the same CO2 removal target (1 kg/day) was also investigated. This could provide real-world data and scientific basis for future development toward a final efficient CO2 removal device. (C) 2011 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 2012