Hollow fiber membrane contactor for CO₂ capture: A review of recent progress on membrane materials, operational challenges, scale-up and economics

Membrane technology scientists proposed hollow fiber membrane contactors (HFMCs) as an alternative to conventional CO₂ absorption-desorption columns due to their promising advantages and outstanding performance for CO₂ capture. However, the HFMC systems suffer from wetting phenomena; hence, the HFMC studies focus on optimizing the membrane material, liquid absorber, and operating conditions. As scientists have addressed the wetting phenomenon with these solutions, new issues have emerged. In addition, the feedback loop between the lab and the industrial scale has been ignored. In this review, the characteristics of different HFMC systems based on their membrane types, including porous, dense, and composite (e.g., thin-film composite and mixed matrix) membranes, are compared to clarify their advantages and disadvantages. Also, the scale-up and economic conditions were discussed in terms of HFMC's feasibility to highlight the importance of the lab and industry loop. Furthermore, the future direction is stated to accelerate the HFMCs’ development and provide a clear strategy for achieving practical and theatrical CO₂ absorption through HFMCs.