Hollow fibre membrane contactor (HFMC) technology has been developed for CO₂ absorption primarily using synthetic gas, which neglects the critical impact that trace contaminants might have on separation efficiency and robustness in industrial gases. This study, therefore, commissioned a demonstration-scale HFMC for CO₂ separation at a full-scale anaerobic digester facility to evaluate membrane integrity over six months of operation on real biogas. The CO₂ capture efficiency identified using real biogas was benchmarked at comparable conditions on synthetic gas of an equivalent partial pressure, and an equivalent performance identified. Two HFMC were subsequently compared, one with and one without a pre-treatment stage that targeted particulates, volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and humidity. Similar CO₂ separation efficiency was again demonstrated, indicating limited impact within the timescale evaluated. However, gas phase pre-treatment is advised in order to ensure robustness in the long term. Over longer-term operation, a decline in CO₂ separation efficiency was observed. Membrane autopsy identified shell-side deposition, where the structural morphology and confirmation of amide I and II groups, indicated biofouling. Separation efficiency was reinstated via chemical cleaning, which demonstrated that proactive maintenance could minimise process risk.

中文翻译：

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展示工业规模的工业中空纤维膜接触器性能，用于污水处理厂的沼气升级

已开发出中空纤维膜接触器（HFMC）技术，主要使用合成气吸收CO ₂，它忽略了痕量污染物可能对工业气体中分离效率和耐用性产生的关键影响。因此，这项研究委托一台示范规模的HFMC在全规模厌氧消化池设施中进行CO ₂分离，以评估在实际沼气运行六个月后的膜完整性。一氧化碳₂在相当的条件下，以等效分压的合成气作为基准，对使用真实沼气确定的捕集效率进行了基准测试，并确定了等效的性能。随后对两种HFMC进行了比较，一种有和没有预处理，针对的是微粒，挥发性有机化合物（VOC）和湿度。再次证明了相似的CO ₂分离效率，表明在所评估的时间范围内影响有限。但是，建议进行气相预处理，以确保长期稳定。在长期运行中，CO ₂下降观察到分离效率。膜尸检确定了壳侧沉积物，其中的结构形态和酰胺I和II基团的确证表明存在生物污垢。通过化学清洗可以提高分离效率，这表明主动维护可以最大程度地降低过程风险。