Mathematical models of hollow-fibre and spiral-wound membrane modules are presented in this paper. The models are developed from rigorous mass, momentum and energy balances and can be used to describe a generic membrane separation. This is in contrast to most existing models which are typically process specific and are only valid within a limited operating range. The generality of the new approach is demonstrated by application to gas separation, pervaporation, and reverse osmosis case studies. Simulation results for these systems show excellent agreement with experimental data. (C) 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.