Device for increasing or decreasing the oxygen content of air, and method of producing and of operating it

摘要

A device for increasing or decreasing the oxygen content of the air to be fed to a consuming unit, in particular a combustion chamber, has a large number of hollow fibres with a microporous wall arranged parallel to one another in a housing, the said hollow fibres having a very thin semipermeable membrane on the inner or outer peripheral surface. Mutually opposite end walls of a housing are penetrated by ends of the hollow fibres, these ends being sealed at their outer periphery. An outlet collecting chamber or two mutually opposite outlet collecting chambers (16, 17) should extend along a housing side wall (21, 22) extending parallel to the hollow fibres. In this way, it is possible to accommodate very large membrane areas in a relatively small space and accordingly to treat large quantities of air as required for the operation of an internal combustion engine or a furnace. Combustion temperatures of 2000 DEG C and above can be achieved here. To reduce the content of nitrogen oxides in the exhaust gas, the cooling of the exhaust gas should be effected more slowly in a first temperature range than in a subsequent temperature range. IMAGE