Membrane separation device

Claim 1

A hollow fiber membrane device comprised of: (1) a plurality of non-woven hollow fiber membranes formed into at least one non-random bundle wherein the membranes are capable of separating at least one of the components from a liquid feed mixture; (2) at least one tubesheet comprised of a thermoplastic or thermoset material wherein the end(s) of the hollow fiber bundle(s) are embedded in the tubesheet(s); (3) at least one core wherein at least one non-woven hollow fiber bundle is wrapped in a spiral fashion about at least one core in such a manner that the non-woven hollow fiber bundle(s) is first formed and then wrapped spirally about the core(s) as a completed bundle(s) such that the fibers comprising the bundle(s) may expand and contract without substantial damage to the fibers; (4) a means for introducing the feed into the membrane device; (5) a means for removing the non-permeate from the membrane device; (6) a means for removing the permeate from the membrane device; and (7) a case which contains the hollow fiber bundle(s), core(s) and tubesheet(s) wherein the case allows the hollow fibers to expand and contract without substantial damage to the fibers, wherein there is substantial void volume within the case external to the hollow fiber bundle(s) which is nonuniformly distributed.