Method for gas separation using helically wound hollow fibers permeable membrane cartridge

Claim 1

A gas separation process for the separation of at least one fast gas component from a feed gas mixture containing such fast gas component and at least one other gaseous component in a permeator module containing a helically wound hollow fiber cartridge, said process comprising: (a) passing the feed gas mixture to the permeator module so as to pass through the bores of the hollow fibers in said helically wound hollow fiber cartridge from a first feed end thereof, all of the hollow fibers in said permeable membrane cartridge being essentially of uniform length; (b) recovering said fast gas component that permeates the hollow fibers as a permeate stream on the outer, permeate side of said hollow fibers, said permeate stream being passed from the permeator module in a permeate flow direction that is countercurrent to the direction of the feed gas mixture flow within the bores of the hollow fibers; and (c) recovering a raffinate stream from the permeator module, said raffinate stream leaving the bores of the hollow fibers through a second, exit end thereof opposite the feed end thereof, said raffinate stream passing in a flow direction that is cocurrent to the direction of feed gas mixture flow within the bores of the hollow fibers, thereby maintaining (i) significant radial mixing of the permeate stream on the outer, permeate side of the hollow fiber permeable membrane cartridge and (ii) essentially no axial mixing on either (a) the outer permeate side or (b) in the bores of said hollow fiber permeable membrane cartridge.