A COMPARISON OF OPTIMAL INTERNALLY STAGED PERMEATOR AND EXTERNAL TWO-STAGE MODULE DESIGNS FOR O₂ ENRICHMENT FROM AIR

Abstract

We present a performance comparison of internally staged permeator (ISP) and external two-stage module designs for oxygen enrichment from air. Design and operational parameters were selected to maximize product recovery. Theoretically, the optimized external two-stage design performs almost as well as the optimal ISP design; the optimal ISP configuration (co-counter design) gives slightly higher product recovery but requires more membrane area than the optimal external two-stage design. Experimental performance measurements of the external two-stage design are in good agreement with theoretical predictions.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

The authors acknowledge partial support of this work by the National Science Foundation through grant CTS-9408414.