A hollow fiber membrane bundle configured to be used in an artificial lung and comprised of integrated hollow fiber membranes 31 has hollow portions through which a fluid passes. The hollow fiber membrane bundle is shaped as a cylinder body. In addition, the hollow fiber membrane 31 is tilted with respect to a central axis O of the cylinder body, is wound around the central axis O of the cylinder body, and satisfies the following conditions. An inner diameter d.sub.1 of the hollow fiber membrane 31 is equal to or smaller than 150 m, a tilt angle with respect to the central axis O of the cylinder body of the hollow fiber membrane 31 is equal to or smaller than 60, and a ratio D.sub.1/L of an outer diameter D.sub.1 of the cylinder body to a length L of the cylinder body is equal to or greater than 0.4.

A membrane separation type activated sludge treatment method according to an aspect of the present invention includes a step of performing biological treatment on waste water and a step of performing membrane separation on water having been treated in the biological treatment step. The membrane separation step employs a plurality of filtration modules including a plurality of hollow fiber membranes arranged adjacent to one another and oriented in one direction and a pair of holding members fixing both ends of the plurality of hollow fiber membranes, and a plurality of cleaning modules supplying air bubbles from beneath the filtration modules. An amount of treated water sucked by the filtration modules and an amount of air bubbles supplied by the cleaning modules are varied in response to variations in an inflow rate of the waste water in the biological treatment step.

A separation membrane module comprises a hollow module container, and an element unit which is housed in the module container. The element unit comprises a plurality of connected separation membrane elements each of which includes: a separation membrane for separating components of a substance flowing to the inside of the module container; and membrane bundle securing materials for securing both ends of the separation membrane. In the element unit, a flow channel for discharging the components separated by the separation membranes to the outside of the element unit is formed. Passage members though which the components separated by the separation membranes can pass toward the flow channel for discharging are disposed at connections between the plurality of separation membrane elements such that both end surfaces of each of the passage membranes are respectively in contact with the membrane bundle securing materials of the separation membrane elements adjacent thereto.

An ultra-filtration membrane assembly having an exterior housing having a housing; an ultra-filtration membrane provided within the housing, the ultra-filtration membrane being having a plurality of elongated filtration fibers arranged in a spiraled coil; and one or more filaments woven around the plurality of elongated filtration fibers thus binding each of the one or more adjacent elongated filtration fibers at a predetermined axial spacing from one another.

Hollow fiber cartridges and components and methods of their construction.

A device for mass transfer between blood and at least one gas/gas mixture, includes first and second chambers through which blood is able to flow and in each of which a respective plurality of mass-permeable hollow fibers are disposed around a respective axially extending core element, wherein a gas/gas mixture is able to flow through, and blood is able to flow around, the hollow fibers, wherein the second chamber follows the first chamber in the blood flow direction, wherein the first and second chambers are disposed next to one another, and in particular disposed spaced apart between the core element center axes thereof, and the two chambers have a connection in an axial end region by which the chamber volumes through which blood is able to flow are connected, and in particular are connected in the direction of the spacing.

A hollow fiber membrane module includes: a hollow fiber membrane bundle; a housing formed with a port for allowing a cleaning gas for the hollow fiber membrane bundle to inflow therethrough for accommodating the hollow fiber membrane bundle; and a diffuser having a receiving surface for receiving the cleaning gas having entered through the port, the receiving surface being formed with diffusion hole for diffusing the cleaning gas to the hollow fiber membrane bundle in housing. The diffuser includes a partition dividing a space under the receiving surface into an inner space and an outer space surrounding the inner space and permitting the cleaning gas having entered through the port to flow thereinto. The diffusion hole is arranged to allow at least a part of the cleaning gas flowing in the outer space to diffuse from the inner space to the hollow fiber membrane bundle.

An external-pressure type hollow fiber membrane module in which fouling is not likely to occur in a hollow fiber membrane at the time of filtering operation, and which exhibits excellent washability of the hollow fiber membrane is provided. The first end side and the second end side of a plurality of hollow fiber membrane bundles 60 are fixed with adhesive, together with an inner wall surface of the tubular housing 10 or an inner wall surface of the cap. The adhesive-fixed part of the first end side includes a plurality of raw water introduction holes 65 which are formed therethrough in a thickness direction. An external-pressure type hollow fiber membrane module in which the plurality of raw water introduction holes 65 include first group raw water introduction holes 66 formed at positions including central parts of the plurality of hollow fiber membrane bundles 60, respectively, and second group raw water introduction holes 67 formed between the plurality of hollow fiber membrane bundles 60 and between the plurality of hollow fiber membrane bundles 60 and the inner wall surface of the tubular housing 10.

Hollow fiber cartridges and components and methods of their construction.

A hollow fiber cartridge for a hollow fiber membrane degassing system, comprising a tube bundle of selectively permeable membrane tubes having inner channels, the bundle including two ends, and a tube sheet at each end of the tube bundle binding the ends of tube bundle. The tube sheets are configured to mount the tube bundle within a housing of the degassing system. The tube sheets are comprised of one or more of at least one Fluorosilicone, at least one Fluorocarbon, or at least one Polysulfide.