METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR EXTRACTING A SOLUTE FROM A FLUID USING DENSE GAS AND A POROUS MEMBRANE

摘要

A method and system (10) for extracting a solute from a fluid or a dense gas may include a dense gas supply (12) and a gas supply line (48) for delivering a dense gas to a pressure equalization chamber (122) and to a pressurizable module (16) containing a bundle of porous hollow fibers. The system (10) also may include a fluid supply (14) and fluid supply line (40) for delivering a fluid to the chamber (122) and to the module (16). The chamber (122) includes a floating diaphragm (26) and serves to substantially equalize the pressure of the fluid and dense gas so that the pressure on both sides of the membranes in the module (16) is essentially the same. At least one of the fluid and dense gas contains a solute to be extracted, while the other one serves as an extracting medium. Solute extraction is driven by the concentration gradient of the solute across the membrane.