Classifications

• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B01—PHYSICAL OR CHEMICAL PROCESSES OR APPARATUS IN GENERAL
  • B01D—SEPARATION
  • B01D63/00—Apparatus in general for separation processes using semi-permeable membranes
  • B01D63/02—Hollow fibre modules
  • B01D63/021—Manufacturing thereof
  • B01D63/0231—Manufacturing thereof using supporting structures, e.g. filaments for weaving mats
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B01—PHYSICAL OR CHEMICAL PROCESSES OR APPARATUS IN GENERAL
  • B01D—SEPARATION
  • B01D63/00—Apparatus in general for separation processes using semi-permeable membranes
  • B01D63/02—Hollow fibre modules
  • B01D63/021—Manufacturing thereof
  • B01D63/0232—Manufacturing thereof using hollow fibers mats as precursor, e.g. wound or pleated mats
• • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
  • F28—HEAT EXCHANGE IN GENERAL
  • F28D—HEAT-EXCHANGE APPARATUS, NOT PROVIDED FOR IN ANOTHER SUBCLASS, IN WHICH THE HEAT-EXCHANGE MEDIA DO NOT COME INTO DIRECT CONTACT
  • F28D1/00—Heat-exchange apparatus having stationary conduit assemblies for one heat-exchange medium only, the media being in contact with different sides of the conduit wall, in which the other heat-exchange medium is a large body of fluid, e.g. domestic or motor car radiators
  • F28D1/02—Heat-exchange apparatus having stationary conduit assemblies for one heat-exchange medium only, the media being in contact with different sides of the conduit wall, in which the other heat-exchange medium is a large body of fluid, e.g. domestic or motor car radiators with heat-exchange conduits immersed in the body of fluid
  • F28D1/04—Heat-exchange apparatus having stationary conduit assemblies for one heat-exchange medium only, the media being in contact with different sides of the conduit wall, in which the other heat-exchange medium is a large body of fluid, e.g. domestic or motor car radiators with heat-exchange conduits immersed in the body of fluid with tubular conduits
• • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
  • F28—HEAT EXCHANGE IN GENERAL
  • F28F—DETAILS OF HEAT-EXCHANGE AND HEAT-TRANSFER APPARATUS, OF GENERAL APPLICATION
  • F28F21/00—Constructions of heat-exchange apparatus characterised by the selection of particular materials
  • F28F21/06—Constructions of heat-exchange apparatus characterised by the selection of particular materials of plastics material
  • F28F21/062—Constructions of heat-exchange apparatus characterised by the selection of particular materials of plastics material the heat-exchange apparatus employing tubular conduits
• • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
  • F28—HEAT EXCHANGE IN GENERAL
  • F28D—HEAT-EXCHANGE APPARATUS, NOT PROVIDED FOR IN ANOTHER SUBCLASS, IN WHICH THE HEAT-EXCHANGE MEDIA DO NOT COME INTO DIRECT CONTACT
  • F28D21/00—Heat-exchange apparatus not covered by any of the groups F28D1/00 - F28D20/00
  • F28D2021/0019—Other heat exchangers for particular applications; Heat exchange systems not otherwise provided for
  • F28D2021/005—Other heat exchangers for particular applications; Heat exchange systems not otherwise provided for for medical applications
• • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
  • F28—HEAT EXCHANGE IN GENERAL
  • F28D—HEAT-EXCHANGE APPARATUS, NOT PROVIDED FOR IN ANOTHER SUBCLASS, IN WHICH THE HEAT-EXCHANGE MEDIA DO NOT COME INTO DIRECT CONTACT
  • F28D21/00—Heat-exchange apparatus not covered by any of the groups F28D1/00 - F28D20/00
  • F28D21/0015—Heat and mass exchangers, e.g. with permeable walls
• • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
  • F28—HEAT EXCHANGE IN GENERAL
  • F28F—DETAILS OF HEAT-EXCHANGE AND HEAT-TRANSFER APPARATUS, OF GENERAL APPLICATION
  • F28F2255/00—Heat exchanger elements made of materials having special features or resulting from particular manufacturing processes
  • F28F2255/02—Flexible elements
• • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
  • F28—HEAT EXCHANGE IN GENERAL
  • F28F—DETAILS OF HEAT-EXCHANGE AND HEAT-TRANSFER APPARATUS, OF GENERAL APPLICATION
  • F28F2260/00—Heat exchangers or heat exchange elements having special size, e.g. microstructures
  • F28F2260/02—Heat exchangers or heat exchange elements having special size, e.g. microstructures having microchannels

Definitions

• the invention relates to a hollow fiber mat with a first layer of hollow fibers and a second layer of hollow fibers.
• the invention also relates to a module comprising at least one hollow fiber mat as mentioned before with a first layer of hollow fibers and a second layer of hollow fibers.
• Hollow fiber mats are used in a wide range of applications. Typical applications are for the exchange of fluid-fluid materials, gas-gas materials, fluid-gas materials, or gas-fluid materials and any combination of exchanging materials as mentioned before.
• the hollow fibers are hollow fiber membranes.
• An example of a gas-fluid material exchange application is the use of a hollow fiber mat with hollow fiber membranes in a blood oxygenator device for heart surgeries.
• Another application of hollow fiber mats is the use in heat exchanging applications, wherein in such applications the hollow fiber mat does not comprise hollow fiber membranes, only hollow fibers.
• An example of a heat exchanging application is the use of such hollow fiber mats for blood temperature control during heart surgery.
• the different between hollow fibers and hollow fiber membranes is, that a hollow fiber membrane is a class of synthetic membranes containing a semi-permeable barrier in the form of a hollow fiber and a hollow fiber does not contain a semi-permeable barrier.
• An oxygenation membrane, preparation method thereof and oxygenation assembly is known from CN 112 007 519 A.
• an oxygenation membrane which comprises at least two membrane layers consisting of a plurality of hollow fiber membrane filaments, different membrane layers are laminated to form a laminated membrane layer, and any one hollow fiber membrane filament in the membrane layer is partially overlapped with the projection of at least one hollow fiber membrane filament in the adjacent membrane layer in the laminating direction.
• the membrane layer comprises an inclined membrane layer, connecting lines of the edges of all the hollow fiber membrane filaments at the same end in the inclined membrane layer are straight lines, and at least one section of the hollow fiber membrane filaments or the extending lines of the hollow fiber membrane filaments and the straight lines form acute angles.
• the invention aims to provide the oxygenation membrane which is higher in gas exchange efficiency and better in oxygenation effect, a preparation method of the oxygenation membrane and an oxygenation assembly.
• a method for producing a microchannel bundle heat exchanger and use of a microchannel bundle heat exchanger is known from DE 10 2020 105 454 Al. Described is a method for producing a microchannel bundle heat exchanger from a number n > 2 of heat exchanger mats, wherein - each of the heat exchanger mats is produced by providing a multiplicity of tubular microchannels introducing the microchannels into a weaving device and weaving the tubular microchannels with a plurality of warp wires in the weaving device, and - at least one heat exchanger package of the microchannel bundle heat exchanger is formed from the number n > 2 of heat exchanger mats, wherein the heat exchanger mats are arranged one above the other and are connected to one another at least in sections, characterized in that at least some of the heat exchanger mats are arranged one above the other in such a way that the tubular microchannels of adjacent heat exchanger mats enclose an angle with one another which is greater than 0 ° and less than 180 °.
• the method for the treatment of fluid feedstreams comprises the steps of providing at least one wafer comprising a central area providing a plurality of members arranged in a plurality of layers and peripheral support means encompassing the central area, arranged axially in a module having first and second ports; a plurality of separate bore fluid chambers generally encompassing the peripheral support means and communicable with the members within the central area, and a plurality of separate bore fluid ports communicable with the bore fluid chambers; directing the feedstream through the first port and over the wafer; and transferring materials between the central area in the wafer and the feedstream.
• Treatment of the feedstreams includes contact with layers of hollow fibers, non-porous hollow tubes (309), porous hollow tubes coated with membrane material and transverse sheet membrane sleeves.
• a fluid treatment apparatus is described in EP 0 345 983 Bl.
• a fluid treating apparatus of hollow fiber type can prevent channeling or stagnation of the fluid which flows inside it by specifying the densities of the hollow fibers (3) and the warps (4) forming a hollow fiber sheet and the laminating conditions for laminating the hollow fiber sheets to form a laminate (A) which is to be housed in a housing (1).
• a hollow fiber mat made of hollow fibers as weft threads is known from US5, 143,312.
• This known hollow fiber mat has two single-layers made of hollow fibers. In preparation of a mat, each single-layer is shifted and after the shifting the single-layers are staked to each other.
• hollow fiber mat bundle for example for the use in a blood oxygenator, it is essential to have a hollow fiber mat made of two layers, one layer laid on top of the other layer.
• the use of hollow fiber mat bundles made of two separated manufactured layers which are connected to each other is advantageous because of a better positioning of the mats to each other and with that a better positioning of the hollow fibers of the different layers to each other.
• the hollow fiber mat will be wound to a bundle and the bundle will be integrated into the blood oxygenator.
• the two separate layers of hollow fibers are placed on top of each other. Before the layers are placed on top of each other, each layer is shifted. Shifted means that the run of the hollow fibers in each layer is not essentially straight anymore. The run of the hollow fibers in each layer is changed to be more S-shaped and the runs of the hollow fibers in each layer are reversed. This means that the angles of the hollow fibers in both layers are laid crossed with the opposing angles on the top of each other. The hollow fibers of the first layer and the second layer have intersections with each other.
• the hollow fibers can sometimes slip out of place and with that undesired slippage the offset of the hollow fibers in both layers becomes uneven or is no longer present when the two layers of hollow fibers are wound to a bundle.
• the slipping can occur because there is not a reliable connection of the hollow fibers of the first layer and second layer.
• the operational performance of a device containing a fiber bundle can be reduced (for example operational performance of a blood oxygenator device).
• Another issue with current devices is that the orientation or the position of the ends of the hollow fibers at the borders of the layers of hollow fibers can be irregular (i. e., uneven).
• the reason for this irregular orientation of the ends of the hollow fibers is that the hollow fibers slip out of the position of placement during the shifting process, as described above. This can result in manufacturing problems in the processing of the hollow fiber mats or the bundles of hollow fiber mats into a device for example a blood oxygenator.
• the irregular orientation of the ends can for example lead to problems during a potting process.
• the undesirable outcome is that devices with lower or irregular quality and/or performance are produced.
• a nonuniform or uneven positioning of the hollow fibers in the mats or in a device that contains mats can result in devices with unpredictable or uneven performance. Uneven positioning of the hollow fibers in a device can lead to sub-areas of a mat having different cross-sectional orientations of hollow fibers. This result is undesirable, because it can cause variable, unpredictable flow rates and dwell times inside a device. For example, in a blood oxygenator device the exchange of the gas will be uneven and/or variable if the relative positions of the hollow fibers are not consistent in the hollow fiber mats. The uneven or unintended positioning of hollow fibers in a hollow fiber mat can result in a decrease in or inconsistent performance of the device.
• the parallel orientation of all hollow fibers at the ends makes further productions steps difficult, for example if a bundle is made of these hollow fibers.
• the parallel orientated ends of the hollow fibers are laying onto each other, because the hollow fibers slide beside each other during bundling. If this happens the potting of the ends of the hollow fibers becomes difficult, because a required error-free and bubbles free potting is a challenge and can lead to quality issues. Error-free and bubble free potting means that the material of the potting is regular and has not bigger or uneven holes inside the potting material.
• a current method that sometimes works to solve these potting issues as described is to do a potting with higher energy to fill the gaps between the hollow fibers, for example to use higher centrifugal force.
• higher centrifugal force can cause a higher stress to the hollow fibers in the area where the potting is in contact with the hollow fibers.
• a complete or partial compression of hollow fibers can occur which stops or significantly diminishes the performance due to reduced cross sectional area of the hollow fibers.
• Another solution that has been used to avoid the issues described before is to increase the thickness of the potting layer.
• a thicker potting layer is undesirable because it reduces the active available surface area of the hollow fibers again resulting in lower operational performance.
• a further issue of the positioning of the ends of the hollow fibers as described before is that the diameter of the bundle can be inconstant.
• the diameter at the ends of the bundles can be smaller than the diameter in the middle part of the bundle. This difference in diameters can happen due to the sliding of the ends of the hollow fibers as described before.
• This reduction of the diameter can lead to a shunt flow in that area of the bundle where the diameter is smaller or rather in the area where the distance between the housing of module and the bundle inside the module is bigger.
• Such a shunt flow leads to a reduction of the performance of the entire device/module.
• a hollow fiber mat having a main axis and comprising:
• the hollow fibers of the first layer are arranged essentially parallel to each other and the hollow fibers of the second layer are arranged essentially parallel to each other, wherein the hollow fibers of the first layer form a plurality of intersections with the hollow fibers of the second layer; and wherein the hollow fibers of the first layer and the hollow fibers of the second layer are connected with each other by warp threads at selected intersections, wherein the hollow fibers of each layer form a first angle with the main axis of 5° to 90°, preferably 40° to 90° and more preferably 50° to 85°.
• the present disclosure provides improved hollow fiber mats with increased stability during handling, shipping, transport, storage, and use.
• the hollow fiber mats of the present disclosure also provide more consistent performance in operation due to increased consistency in the relative positioning of the hollow fibers and the hollow fiber intersections in a mat.
• Hollow fiber mats of the description can be prepared without the step of shifting the two layers of hollow fibers. Because a shifting step is not needed, the undesired slippage of the hollow fibers out of the desired relative positions in a mat as described before is prevented or significantly reduced.
• a loss of the offset between the hollow fibers in the two layers of a hollow fiber mat during handling, shipping, transport, and use is also minimized or prevented with hollow fiber mats of the disclosure.
• a loss of offset between the hollow fibers in the two layers of hollow fiber means that the two layers of the hollow fibers no longer have the same (i. e., original) relative position to each. It is desired that the hollow fibers in each layer stay in their positions relative to each other and to the fibers in the adjacent layer in the manufacturing process and during further processing steps. Maintaining fiber positioning in mats of the present disclosure results in devices with more consistent and reproducible performance when used.
• Another advantage of the hollow fiber mat of the present disclosure versus the prior art is that the ends of the hollow fibers of each layer are evenly positioned across the edges of a mat. This even positioning helps to improve potting and the resulting operational flow performance of devices. An even positioning means that the hollow fibers in each layer will have an essentially constant distance between each other.
• Connections at selected intersections can include connections at a plurality of intersections in a mat.
• the connections can occur for at least 10 %, 20 %, 30 %, 40 %, 50 %, 60 %, 70 %, 80 %, 90 %, or 95 % of the total number of intersections in a mat.
• connections are formed at a majority of the intersections in a mat.
• the present disclosure provides hollow fiber mats with enhanced dimensional stability.
• the connection of hollow fibers by a warp thread at the intersection of hollow fibers from each layer of hollow fibers provides a stable connection between the layers.
• Each connection increases stability between the layers of a mat. Mats with increased stability are easier to handle and have increased performance, because the relative positioning of hollow fibers is maintained.
• angles formed at the intersections between the hollow fibers of the first layer and the hollow fibers of the second layer are greater than or equal to five degrees. Intersection angles of 5 degrees or greater minimize the contact area between intersecting fibers, and as a result maximizes the hollow fiber surface area that can be used for an exchange of gas or fluid. In operation, a reduced area of contact between the fibers can result in greater performance of individual hollow fibers, hollow fiber mats, and devices containing hollow fiber mats.
• At least 80 %, 90 %, or 95 % of the angles formed at the intersections between the hollow fibers of the first layer and the hollow fibers of the second layer in a mat are greater than or equal to five degrees.
• one or more hollow fibers of the first layer and one or more hollow fibers of the second layer are connected with each other by warp threads at selected intersections.
• the number of hollow fibers of the first layer and the number of the hollow fibers of the second layer are connected with each other by warp threads that are same or different.
• the advantage of using more hollow fibers in the layers of the hollow fiber mat is better performance.
• the hollow fiber mat according to the present disclosure comprises layers with a cross section wherein the cross section has an elliptic design or an oval design.
• a noncircular cross section of the hollow fiber is helpful to produce hollow fiber mats with a lower thickness. Examples for such applications are hollow fiber mats with special requirements.
• Such a special requirement can be a special thickness of the whole hollow fiber mat in context with a special dimension length of the hollow fiber mat for devices with special requirements regarding the dimensions.
• the hollow fiber mat according to the present disclosure comprises more than two layers with hollow fibers.
• the advantage of having more than two hollow fiber layers in the hollow fiber mat, for example, beside the first hollow fiber layer and the second hollow fiber layer, a third hollow fiber layer, is that the outer surface area of the hollow mat increases which may result in a higher performance of the hollow fiber mat.
• area is defined as a certain size of the hollow fiber mat, length by width.
• the hollow fibers of the first layer form a quadrilateral mesh structure, including a rectangular, quadratic, rhombic, parallelogram etc. mesh structure with the hollow fibers of the second layer, wherein the intersections of the hollow fibers of the first layer and the hollow fibers of the second layer represent comers of the quadrilateral mesh structure.
• This structure in the hollow fiber mat with a first layer and a second layer can provide a hollow fiber mat with a reduced area of contact between the intersecting hollow fibers.
• An overall reduction in the area of contact for intersecting fibers results in an increase in the surface area of a mat that is available for material exchanges or heat exchanges in devices.
• the hollow fiber mat of the present disclosure comprises hollow fibers of the first layer that form a second angle with the hollow fibers of the second layer of 10° to 175°, preferably 80° to 170°, more preferably 100° to 170°, wherein the main axis is the bisecting line of the second angle.
• the hollow fiber mat according to the present disclosure comprises warp threads that connect the hollow fibers of the first layer to the hollow fibers of the second layer with a knotless knitted structure at selected intersections. Connection of the hollow fibers of the first layer to the hollow fibers of the second layer by means of a knotless knitted structure at points of connection provides a stable and durable mat structure.
• the knotless knitted structure is designed such that the hollow fibers of the first and second layers are connected with each other without major deformations or compressions. Connections without major deformations of compressions at the point of connection are important because deformation and/or compression of the hollow fibers can reduce the inner cross section of the hollow fibers. Reduction in the inner cross sections can result in a reduction of the performance of the hollow fiber mat.
• a reduction of the inner cross section of the hollow fibers can potentially reduce the flow rate of a medium through the hollow fibers.
• a reduction of the inner cross section of the hollow fibers can cause an undesired pressure drop that reduces the effectiveness of the hollow fibers.
• the present disclosure provides a device (e. g., a blood oxygenator device) with warp thread connections of intersecting hollow fibers.
• the warp thread connections provide stability to the hollow fiber mat component of the device without causing undue compression of the connected hollow fibers.
• the warp thread connections can be knotless kitted structures that are introduced into the hollow fiber mat by a knotless knitting process.
• the hollow fiber mat according to the present disclosure comprises a main axis that is essentially parallel to the warp threads.
• the warp threads are oriented towards the direction of the production of the hollow fiber mat in the production machine; thus, the main axis indicates the direction of the production of the hollow fiber mat.
• the main axis is an imaginary axis that runs parallel to the warp threads and crosses the intersections of the hollow fibers of the first layer and the hollow fibers of the second layer of the hollow fiber mat.
• the hollow fiber mat according to the present disclosure has a distance between the warp threads and the distance is 4 mm to 100 mm, preferably 4 mm to 50 mm or more preferably 4 mm to 25 mm.
• the distance between two warp threads can be the same in the whole hollow fiber mat. However, the distance between two warp threads can be different during the runs of two warp threads and the distance between two other warp threads can variate as well.
• the points of connection of the hollow fibers of the first layer and second layer at the intersection enable a reliable connection between the hollow fibers of the first layer and with the hollow fibers of the second layer and with that a reliable connection of the hollow fibers of the hollow fiber mat.
• a variation of the distances between the warp threads can supply a variation of the quantity of points of connections between the hollow fibers.
• the knotless knitted structure provides a hollow fiber mat with a reliable structure on one side and on the other side a hollow fiber mat wherein the variable portion of the outer surface of the hollow fibers are open accessible and not covered by a warp thread or covered by another fiber. The more open the outer surface of the hollow fibers in the hollow fiber mat is, the better the performance of the hollow fiber mat becomes.
• the material exchange or the heat exchange by the hollow fiber mat is happened by the outer surface of the hollow fibers.
• the points of connectionby a warp thread are leading to a covering of the outer surface of the hollow fibers and with that to a reduction of the performance of the hollow fiber mat.
• the hollow fiber mat according to the present disclosure has a more rigid structure.
• the risk of moving of the hollow fibers means a change in the distance between the hollow fibers, in a weaved hollow fiber mat is relevant higher and with that the risk of a contact between hollow fibers and with that a reduction of performance of the hollow fiber mat.
• the hollow fiber mat according to the present disclosure comprises hollow fibers with a ring-shaped cross section with an outer diameter of 50 pm to 4.000 pm, preferably 80 pm to 3.500 pm, more preferably 100 pm to 2.000 pm, most preferably 140 pm to 500 pm and inner diameter of 30 pm to 3.500 pm and the hollow fibers comprise a fiber wall with a thickness of 10 pm to 750 pm, preferably 30 pm to 300 pm.
• Hollow fibers with a ring-shaped cross section typically exhibit good flow through the inside of the hollow fiber around the mat of hollow fibers.
• the dimensions of the hollow fibers can be adjusted to meet the requirements of the application for the use of the hollow fiber mat. Based on the intended application, the appropriate dimensions of the hollow fibers can be selected for an optimized device with high performance made of the hollow fiber mat according to the present disclosure.
• the hollow fiber mat according to the present disclosure comprises hollow fibers with a cross section wherein the cross section has an elliptic design or an oval design.
• a non-circular cross section of the hollow fiber is helpful to produce hollow fiber mats with a lower thickness.
• hollow fiber mats with special requirements such a special requirement can be a special thickness of the whole hollow fiber mat in context with a special dimension length of the hollow fiber mat for devices with special requirements regarding the dimensions.
• the hollow fiber mat according to the present disclosure comprises hollow fiber membranes in the mat with pores in the fiber wall, wherein the pores have a size of 0,002 pm to 100 pm, preferably 0,02 pm to 20 pm, more preferably 0,05 pm bis 2 pm.
• hollow fiber membranes with the above-mentioned features enables to use such a hollow fiber mat in material exchanging processes, for example in blood treatment processes like dialysis or in an oxygenator during a heart surgery, to add oxygen to the blood and to take out carbon dioxide from the blood.
• Other applications for the use of a hollow fiber mat according to the present disclosure are the use in devices for other filtration processes. For example, in hemofiltration, in filtration processes of liquids or membrane distillation, for example of water. Examples of liquids are water, beer, wine, juice, or other beverages.
• the hollow fiber mat according to the present disclosure comprises different kinds of hollow fibers.
• a hollow fiber mat is made of hollow fibers made from different polymeric materials or wherein the hollow fibers in the hollow fiber mat have different diameters.
• the hollow fiber mat comprises hollow fibers and hollow fiber membranes.
• the hollow fiber mat comprises any combinations of hollow fibers and hollow fiber membranes in at least one layer, each layer can comprise hollow fibers and hollow fiber membranes.
• the hollow fibers and/or hollow fiber membranes in one or more layers of the hollow fiber mat can be made from different diameters and different cross sections and made from different polymeric materials.
• the hollow fiber mat according to the present disclosure comprises hollow fibers and additional fibers with a solid cross section.
• the advantage to add fibers with a solid cross section is, that the strength of the hollow fiber mat can thus be increased. This effect can be helpful to produce hollow fiber mats according to the present disclosure for applications where higher stability of the hollow fiber mat is needed.
• the hollow fiber mat according to the present disclosure comprises hollow fibers made of polymeric material, such as for example polysulfone, polyether-sulfone, polypropylene (PP), polymethylpenten (PMP), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyamide (PA), silicone, PTFE, fluoropolymers or any combinations of these materials and/or the warp threads comprise polymeric material, such as for example polyester, polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyamide (PA) or any combinations of these materials.
• the aforementioned materials are suitable to produce hollow fibers. Hollow fiber mats according to the present disclosure allow the production of devices with high performance hollow fiber mats.
• Warp threads made of the aforementioned materials are very suitable to connect the hollow fibers at the points of connection of the hollow fiber mats.
• the advantage of using these materials for the warp thread is, that the connection is tight enough, so that the hollow fibers are not slipping at the point of connection.
• Other materials of suitable performance can also be used in this context.
• the hollow fiber mat according to the present disclosure comprises hollow fibers made of polymeric material, wherein the structure of the hollow fibers is a laminated structure.
• the hollow fiber comprises at least two laminated layers of different polymeric materials.
• This laminated structure of hollow fibers in a hollow fiber mat has the advantage that the hollow fiber is more resistant to mechanical factors of influence.
• a typical method to produce hollow fibers with a laminated structure is co-extrusion, this means a production of hollow fibers by simultaneous extrusion of at least two layers of different polymeric materials.
• the hollow fiber mat according to the present disclosure comprise warp threads out of polymeric material, preferably polyester, polyethylene terephthalate, polyamide, polypropylene, or any combinations of these materials.
• the warp thread can be made from multi-filaments or monofilaments.
• a warp thread made from multi-filaments is a warp thread that comprises a plurality of filaments, preferably those filaments are twisted around each other or textured.
• a warp thread made from monofilaments is a warp thread composed of a single untwisted filament.
• the hollow fiber mat according to the present disclosure comprises hollow fibers of the first layer and the hollow fibers of the second layer that are in contact with each other at points of intersection of the hollow fibers. If the hollow fibers are not connected to each other at the point of contact by a warp thread, it is possible that they can move relative to each other. This has the effect that a greater outer surface of the hollow fibers with no contact to another hollow fiber leads to a higher performance of the hollow fibers and with that to a hollow fiber mat with a higher performance. Then the device has a better performance with a hollow fiber mat according to the present disclosure.
• the hollow fiber mat according to the present disclosure comprises hollow fibers in one layer that have a distance to the adjacent hollow fiber in the same layer of 100 pm to 1.000 pm, preferably 120 pm to 800 pm, more preferably 150 pm to 500 pm, most preferably 200 pm to 400 pm.
• This specific distance between the hollow fibers in the same layer enables the production of devices comprising hollow fiber mats according to the present disclosure with high performance.
• the different mediums in the applications for example liquids or gases, need different gaps or distances between each hollow fibers in one layer. This dependent not only from the different mediums, its dependents as well from the thickness or the outer diameter of the hollow fibers.
• the distance between the hollow fibers in one layer can vary.
• the hollow fibers in one layer are orientated side by side and they are fixed by the warp threads.
• the fixing of the hollow fibers by the warp threads enables that the hollow fibers can’t slip to each other in a bigger range and the distance between the hollow fibers doesn’t vary too much. This leads to the hollow fibers in one hollow fiber layer staying in their position to each other.
• essentially parallel means that the distance between at least two hollow fibers in the hollow fiber layer does not vary by more than one time the outer diameter of the hollow fibers in one hollow fiber layer of the hollow fiber mat.
• the hollow fiber mat according to the present disclosure comprises the warp threads (20) having a linear density of 10 dtex to 250 dtex, preferably 15 dtex to 150 dtex, more preferably 20 dtex to 100 dtex, according to DIN 60905 (version from 1985) and wherein the warp thread comprises at least one yam with at least one filament.
• Warp threads with such a linear density have a high enough stability to reliably connect the hollow fibers at the points of connection and are tearproof enough so that the warp threads do not crack during a tighten in the manufacturing process.
• An example for a warp thread is, DiolenTM 33F24 from TWD Fibres GmbH, Deggendorf, Germany.
• the warp threads are flexible enough to loop around the hollow fibers at the points of connection. Too thick filaments inside the warp thread may decrease the flexibility of the warp thread and this may lead to problems in the manufacturing process of the hollow fiber mats. Too thick warp thread may build up too much the thickness of the hollow fiber mat at the point of connection and this could lead to problems that the hollow fiber mat is too thick for the use in particular devices and with that we can’t reach the desired fiber distance in the hollow fiber mat. It is better to use more flexible warp threads, because a more flexible warp thread leads to a more reliable connection of the hollow fibers at the point of connection.
• More than one warp threads with such a linear density enables a (high enough stability for a reliable) reliably connection of the hollow fibers at the points of connection and are tearproof enough so that the warp threads do not crack during a tighten in the manufacturing process.
• the hollow fiber mat according to the present disclosure comprises warp threads, wherein the warp thread can have a strap-shaped cross section or have a noncircular cross section.
• the advantage of using a strap-shaped or noncircular warp thread is that such a warp thread can reduce the distance between the layers of the hollow fiber mat when the hollow fiber mat is wound into a bundle.
• a hollow fiber mat bundle comprises at least one hollow fiber mat according to the present disclosure, wherein the at least one hollow fiber mat is wound to form the bundle.
• the advantage of making a hollow fiber mat bundle from a hollow fiber mat is that such a bundle can be used in a device (for example, for an oxygenator device) with high consistent performance and a small manufacturing size. In some cases, a bundle format can provide compact devices that are simple and of less cost.
• a hollow fiber mat bundle comprises a plurality of hollow fiber mats according to the present disclosure, wherein the hollow fiber mats are staked onto each other to form the bundle.
• the advantage of stacking a hollow fiber mat bundle from the hollow fiber mat according to the present disclosure is that such a bundle allows for devices (for example for an oxygenator device) with high performance and small manufacturing size.
• the production of these devices can be simple and low cost.
• the handling will be simpler by stacking hollow fiber mats according to the present disclosure in comparison with stacking single layers, with single layers the handling will be 100 % higher, because the device made by single layers, will comprise 100 % more single layers, instead of using hollow fiber mats with two layers inside.
• Stacked bundles made of single layers are having a reset of 90° from layer to layer.
• the stacked bundles made of hollow fiber mats according have a better performance, because a reset of 90° from hollow fiber mat to hollow fiber mat leads to a structure wherein the medium which flows through the bundle must flow a more complex way and leads to a higher swirling of the medium and increase the performance of the bundle.
• a module comprises at least one hollow fiber mat bundle according to the present disclosure, wherein the module is used for the exchange of material, preferably the exchange of fluid-to- fluid materials, fluid-to-gas material, or gas-to-gas material.
• material preferably the exchange of fluid-to- fluid materials, fluid-to-gas material, or gas-to-gas material.
• the module comprises at least one hollow fiber mat bundle according to the present disclosure, wherein the module is a heat exchanger or a blood oxygenator or any combination of these kinds of modules.
• Heat exchangers comprising at least one hollow fiber mat bundle according to the present disclosure can be used for different heat or temperature exchanging processes.
• An example for these temperature exchanging processes is the control of the temperature of the blood during heart surgeries.
• the fluid inside the hollow fibers can cool down or heat up the blood outside of the hollow fibers or the other way around, the fluid outside of the hollow fiber affects the temperature of the blood inside the hollow fibers.
• This control of the temperature as explained before is not limited to blood as a fluid.
• the temperature of other fluids can be controlled as well by such a module.
• a control of the temperature can be from gases inside of the hollow fibers and outside of the follow fibers, furthermore an affectation of the temperature of fluids and gases are also technical feasible.
• a hollow fiber mat for an oxygenator comprises at least one hollow fiber mat with pores in the fiber wall of the hollow fiber membranes.
• a module according to the present disclosure has a high performance, this means a high temperature exchanging and/or a high material exchanging in relation to the size of the module.
• the advantage of using hollow fiber mats according to the present disclosure is, that the reproducibility of the hollow fiber mats according to the present disclosure is higher than hollow fiber mats made by other manufacturing technologies and so it is possible to produce devices, for example oxygenators, with fiber mats according to the present disclosure having a high performance and a constant/reproductible performance.
• a module can comprise different functions, for example material exchange and temperature exchanging, for example in an oxygenator, such a module including at least one hollow fiber bundle for a temperature exchanging process and with at least one hollow fiber bundle for a material exchanging process.
• Fig. 1 is a schematical drawing of a section of the hollow fiber mat according to the present disclosure
• Fig. 2 is a schematical drawing of a larger section of the hollow fiber mat of Fig. 1;
• Fig. 3 is a schematical drawing of a smaller section of the hollow fiber mat of Fig. 1 and
• Fig. 4 is a schematical drawing from the rear side of a further section of the hollow fiber mat of Fig. 1.
• Fig 1 is a schematical drawing of a section of a hollow fiber mat 10 according to the present disclosure.
• the hollow fiber mat 10 comprises a first layer 11 and a second layer 21.
• the first layer 11 comprises hollow fibers 15.
• the second layer 21 comprises hollow fibers 25.
• the first layer 11 is positioned in front of the second layer 21.
• a plurality of hollow fibers 15 form the first layer 11 , wherein the hollow fibers 15 are arranged essentially parallel to each other.
• a plurality of the hollow fibers 25 form the second layer 21, wherein the hollow fibers 25 are also arranged essentially parallel to each other.
• the hollow fibers 15 of the first layer 11 and the hollow fibers 25 of the second layer 21 are oriented in different directions and as a result they form a plurality of intersections 30.
• two hollow fibers are connected at a point of connection 35.
• a warp thread 20 connects a hollow fiber 15 of the first layer 11 and a hollow fiber 25 of the second layer 21.
• Fig. 1 shows that not at all intersections 30 of the hollow fibers 15 of the first layer 11 and the hollow fibers 25 of the second layer 21 are connected by a warp thread 20.
• the section of the hollow fiber mat 10 in Fig. 1 shows thirteen intersections 30, wherein at eight intersections 30 of hollow fibers 15 of the first layer 11 and hollow fibers 25 of the second layer 21 are connected by the warp threads 20 (point of connection 35).
• the first layer 11 and the second layer 21 of hollow fibers 15, 25 of the hollow fiber mat 10 builds a quadrilateral, in particular rectangular mesh structure 27.
• the intersections of the hollow fibers 15 of the first layer 11 and the hollow fibers 25 of the second layer 21 represent comers of the quadrilateral mesh structure 27.
• Fig 2 is a schematical drawing of a larger section of the hollow fiber mat 10 of Fig 1, a main axis 40 is added to this drawing.
• the main axis 40 is arranged parallel to the orientation of the warp thread 20 in the hollow fiber mat 10.
• the hollow fiber mat 10 shown in Fig. 2 has a point of connection 35 in every second line of intersections 42, wherein a line of intersections 42 is defined as the intersections lying next to each other in the same direction as the main axis 40.
• the section of the hollow fiber mat 10 shown in Fig. 2 comprises six lines of intersections 42.
• the spacing between two warp threads 20 is the distance 22.
• Fig. 3 is a schematical drawing of a smaller section of the hollow fiber mat 10 of Fig. 1 with two angles being added.
• a first angle 50 is added between the first layer 11 of hollow fibers 15 and the main axis 40.
• a second angle 55 is added between the first layer 11 of hollow fibers 15 and the hollow fibers 25 of the second layer 21.
• the first angle 50 is essentially the same for all hollow fibers 15 of the first layer 11 and main axis 40, because the hollow fibers 15 of the first layer 11 are arranged essentially parallel to each other.
• the second angle 55 between all hollow fibers 15 of the first layer 11 and all hollow fibers 25 of the second layer 21 is essentially the same for all intersecting fibers 15, 25, because the hollow fibers 15 of the first layer 11 are arranged essentially parallel to each other and the hollow fibers 25 of the second layer 21 are arranged essentially parallel to each other as well.
• All hollow fibers 15, 25, the hollow fibers 15 of the first layer 11 and the hollow fibers 25 of the second layer 21 of the fiber mat 10, comprise a fiber wall 45.
• the fiber wall 45 builds the outer structure of the hollow fibers 15, 25 in a hollow fiber mat 10.
• the fiber wall 45 builds the inner cross section 46 of the hollow fiber 15, 25.
• the hollow fibers 15, 25, the hollow fibers 15 of the first layer 11 and the hollow fibers 25 of the second layer 21, have an inner section 46.
• the inner section 46 of the hollow fibers 15, 25 may have a noncircular design, for example an oval or an elliptical design, not shown in Fig. 3.
• Fig. 4 is a schematical drawing of a further section of the hollow fiber mat 10 of Fig. 1, wherein the points of connection 35 formed by warp threads 20 are not yet tightened. The run of the warp thread 20 are visible because the warp threads 20 are not tightened.
• the rear view of the fiber mat 10 shows that the hollow fibers 25 of the second layer 21 are positioned in front of the hollow fibers 15 of the first layer 11.
• the hollow fibers 15, 25 are not connected by a weave structure. There is also the possibility to connect the hollow fibers 15, 25 in one intersection 30 by more than one warp thread 20, not show in the figure.
• the run of the warp threads 20 shown in Fig. 4 is only an example.
• the run of the warp thread 30 can be different, for example with more enlacements around the hollow fibers 15, 25, not shown in the figure. Also not shown in the figure is that a use of more than one warp thread, for example a double warp thread, can be used to connect the hollow fibers in one intersection.

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• 2024
  • 2024-01-17 EP EP24701081.2A patent/EP4651976A1/de active Pending
  • 2024-01-17 CN CN202480008013.5A patent/CN120548215A/zh active Pending
  • 2024-01-17 WO PCT/IB2024/050454 patent/WO2024154072A1/en not_active Ceased

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