Fabrication of polymer/fluoride-containing salts blend composite membranes for CO2 separation

Poly (N, N-dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate)-poly (ethylene glycol methyl ether methacrylate) (PDMAEMA-PEGMEMA) and cesium fluoride (CsF) were blended and used as the separation material of composite membranes. Hollow fiber composite membranes were fabricated by coating the blend on polysulfone (PSf) hollow fiber substrate. Introduction of fluorine ion improved the separation performance of the membrane. The concentration of coating solution was adjusted to obtain a membrane with high permeance. The composite membrane showed good performance with the CO2 permeance of 30.4 GPU (1 GPU = 10^-6 cm³(STP)/(cm²·s·cmHg)), and selectivities to CO2/N2, CO2/CH4, CO2/H2 and O2/N2 of 47.2, 37.6, 1.75 and 4.70, respectively. Potassium fluoride (KF), due to its low cost, was also used as a substitute of CsF to prepare composite membrane and the permeation data showed that CsF can be replaced by KF. The effect of operating temperature on the permeation properties of the composite membrane was also investigated.     

Preparation of composite poly（ether block amide） membrane for CO2 capture

In this study, a poly（ether block amide） （Pebax 1657） composite membrane applied for COa capture was prepared by coating Pebax 1657 solution on polyacrylonitrile （PAN） ultrafiltration membrane. Ethanol/water mixture was used as the solvent of Pebax and the effects of ethanol/water mass ratios and Pebax concentration on the permeation properties of composite membrane were studied. To enhance the com- posite membrane permeance, the gutter layer, made from reactive amino silicone crosslinking with potydimethylsiloxane （PDMS）, was de- signed. The influence of crosslinldng degree of the gutter layer on membrane performance was investigated. As a result, a Pebardamino- PDMS/PAN multilayer membrane with hexane resistance was developed, showing CO2 permeance of 350 GPU and CO2/N2 selectivity over 50. The blend of polyethylene glycol dimethyl ether （PEG-DME） with Pebax as coating material was studied to further improve the membrane performance. After being combined with PEG-DME additive, CO2 permeance of the final Pebax-PEG-DME/amino-PDMS/PAN composite membrane reached 400 GPU above with CO2/Na selectivity over 65.     

Preparation of composite poly(ether block amide)membrane for CO_2 capture

In this study, a poly(ether block amide)(Pebax 1657) composite membrane applied for CO2 capture was prepared by coating Pebax 1657 solution on polyacrylonitrile(PAN) ultrafiltration membrane. Ethanol/water mixture was used as the solvent of Pebax and the effects of ethanol/water mass ratios and Pebax concentration on the permeation properties of composite membrane were studied. To enhance the composite membrane permeance, the gutter layer, made from reactive amino silicone crosslinking with polydimethylsiloxane(PDMS), was designed. The influence of crosslinking degree of the gutter layer on membrane performance was investigated. As a result, a Pebax/aminoPDMS/PAN multilayer membrane with hexane resistance was developed, showing CO2 permeance of 350 GPU and CO2/N2 selectivity over50. The blend of polyethylene glycol dimethyl ether(PEG-DME) with Pebax as coating material was studied to further improve the membrane performance. After being combined with PEG-DME additive, CO2 permeance of the final Pebax-PEG-DME/amino-PDMS/PAN composite membrane reached 400 GPU above with CO2/N2 selectivity over 65.     

Matrimid®5218/PSf双层非对称中空纤维膜的制备及其气体分离性能研究

以商业化聚酰亚胺Matrimid®5218作为功能层材料, 聚砜作为支撑层材料, 采用共挤出法制备双层非对称中空纤维气体分离膜. 所制备的双层非对称中空纤维膜具有致密无缺陷的超薄皮层, 致密皮层厚度约为0.21 μm. 在25 ℃, 0.5 MPa下, CO2/CH4的选择性系数达51.39, CO2的渗透系数为46.29 GPU, O2/N2的选择性系数达到7.13, O2的渗透速率为6.38 GPU. 考察了温度和压力对膜的渗透系数和选择性系数的影响, 并考察了物理老化对膜性能的影响.     

Interfacially formed poly(N,N-dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate)/polysulfone composite membranes for CO2/N2 separation

Interfacially formed poly(N,N-dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate)/polysulfone (PDMAEMA/PSF) composite membranes were developed for CO₂/N₂ separation. A layer of PDMAEMA was deposited on a microporous PSF substrate by the solution coating technique, followed by crosslinking with p-xylylene dichloride (XDC) at the interface between the PDMAEMA solid layer and the crosslinking solution. The hydrophilicity and surface free energy of the membranes were analyzed by contact angle measurements with different probe liquids. The permselectivity of the membrane was shown to be affected by the PDMAEMA deposition time, interfacial crosslinking reaction time, and the PDMAEMA and XDC concentrations in the polymer coating solution and the crosslinking solution, respectively. The composite membrane showed a CO₂ permeance of 85 GPU and a CO₂/N₂ ideal separation factor of 50 at 23 °C and 0.41 MPa of CO₂ feed pressure.     

Effect of nickel deposition on hydrogen permeation behavior of mesoporous gamma-alumina composite membranes

Ni/alumina composite membranes were prepared and investigated for hydrogen separation at high temperature. alpha-Alumina-supported gamma-alumina composite membranes were prepared by soaking-rolling method. In order to improve H2 selectivity and permeance of the gamma-alumina membranes, Ni was deposited by a soaking process. As a result of a single gas permeation test of the Ni/alumina composite membranes, hydrogen permeance and H2/N2 selectivity at permeation temperature of 450 degrees C were 6.29 x 10(-7) mol/m2 s Pa and 5.2 which exceeded theoretical Knudsen selectivity. Contribution of surface diffusion was investigated by temperature dependence of H(2) permeance. The surface diffusion was observed at higher temperature above 250 degrees C. The Ni deposition on surface of the gamma-alumina composite membrane led to hydrogen permeation via Knudsen diffusion combined with surface diffusion, which gave high H2 selectivity exceeding the Knudsen diffusion mechanism.     

PREPARATION OF POLYVINYLIDENE FLUORIDE／POLYVINYL DIMETHYLSILOXANE COMPOSITE HOLLOW FIBER MEMBRANES AND THEIR SEPARATION PROPERTIES

Microporous polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) hollow fibre membranes were spun using the dry-wet phase inversion method. By means of dip-coating technique, a uniform coating with thickness of around 5-12μm of polyvinyl dimethylsiloxane (PVDMS) was formed on the surface of porous PVDF hollow fibers. The structural parameters of PVDF substrate membrane were estimated by gas permeation test. Using N2/O2 as the medium, the separation properties of PVDMS-PVDF composite hollow fiber membranes were also evaluated experimentally. The experimental data of both permeability and selectivity are in good agreement with the theoretical results predicted by the presented pore-distribution model, in order to obtain the compact composite membrane free of defects by the dip-coating technique, the thickness of PVDMS skin must be higher than 5μm.     

Formation of high-performance 6FDA-2,6-DAT asymmetric composite hollow fiber membranes for CO2/CH4 separation

We report that 6FDA-2,6-DAT polyimide can be used to fabricate hollow fiber membranes with excellent performances for CO₂/CH₄ separation. In order to simplify the hollow fiber fabrication process and verify the feasibility of 6FDA-2,6-DAT hollow fiber membranes for CO₂/CH₄ separation, a new one-polymer and one-solvent spinning system (6FDA-2,6-DAT/N-methyl-pyrrolidone (NMP)) with much simpler processing conditions has been developed and the separation performance of newly developed 6FDA-2,6-DAT hollow fiber membranes has been further studied under the pure and mixed gas systems.Experimental results reveal that 6FDA-2,6-DAT asymmetric composite hollow fiber membranes have a strong tendency to be plasticized by CO₂ and suffer severely physical aging with an initial CO₂ permeance of 300 GPU drifting to 76 GPU at the steady state. However, the 6FDA-2,6-DAT asymmetric composite hollow fibers still present impressive ultimate stabilized performance with a CO₂/CH₄ selectivity of 40 and a CO₂ permeance of 59 GPU under mixed gas tests. These results manifest that 6FDA-2,6-DAT polyimide is one of promising membrane material candidates for CO₂/CH₄ separation application.     

Fabrication of multi-layer composite hollow fiber membranes for gas separation

Using multilayer composite hollow fiber membranes consisting of a sealing layer (silicone rubber), a selective layer (poly(4-vinylpyridine)), and a support substrate (polysulfone), we have determined the key parameters for fabricating high-performance multilayer hollow fiber composite membranes for gas separation. Surface roughness and surface porosity of the support substrate play two crucial roles in successful membrane fabrication. Substrates with smooth surfaces tend to reduce defects in the selective layer to yield composite membranes of better separation performance. Substrates with a high surface porosity can enhance the permeance of composite membranes. However, SEM micrographs show that, when preparing an asymmetric microporous membrane substrate using a phase-inversion process, the higher the surface porosity, the greater the surface roughness. How to optimize and compromise the effect of both factors with respect to permselectivity is a critical issue for the selection of support substrates to fabricate high-performance multilayer composite membranes. For a highly permeable support substrate, pre-wetting shows no significant improvement in membrane performance. Composite hollow fiber membranes made from a composition of silicone rubber/0.1–0.5 wt% poly(4-vinylpyridine)/25 wt% polysulfone show impressive separation performance. Gas permeances of around 100 GPU for H₂, 40 GPU for CO₂, and 8 GPU for O₂ with selectivities of around 100 for H₂/N₂, 50 for CO₂/CH₄, and 7 for O₂/N₂ were obtained.     

二维材料膜在气体分离领域的最新研究进展

Two-dimensional (2D) materials, led by graphene, have emerged as nano-building blocks to develop high-performance membranes. The atom-level thickness of nanosheets makes a membrane as thin as possible, thereby minimizing the transport resistance and maximizing the permeation flux. Meanwhile, the sieving channels can be precisely manipulated within sub-nanometer size for molecular separation, such as gas separation. For instance, graphene oxide (GO) channels with an interlayer height of about 0.4 nm assembled by external forces exhibited excellent H₂/CO₂ sieving performance compared to commercial membranes. Cross-linking was also employed to fabricate ultrathin (< 20 nm) GO-facilitated transport membranes for efficient CO₂ capture. A borate-crosslinked membrane exhibited a high CO₂ permeance of 650 GPU (gas permeation unit), and a CO₂/CH₄ selectivity of 75, which is currently the best performance reported for GO-based composite membranes. The CO₂-facilitated transport membrane with piperazine as the carrier also exhibited excellent separation performance under simulated flue gas conditions with CO₂ permeance of 1020 GPU and CO₂/N₂ selectivity as high as 680. In addition, metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) with layered structures, if successfully exfoliated, can serve as diverse sources for MOF nanosheets that can be fabricated into high-performance membranes. It is challenging to maintain the structural and morphological integrity of nanosheets. Poly[Zn₂(benzimidazole)₄] (Zn₂(bim)₄) was firstly exfoliated into 1-nm-thick nanosheets and assembled into ultrathin membranes possessing both high permeance and excellent molecular sieving properties for H₂/CO₂ separation. Interestingly, reversed thermo-switchable molecular sieving was also demonstrated in membranes composed of 2D MOF nanosheets. Besides, researchers employed layered double hydroxides (LDHs) to prepare molecular-sieving membranes via in situ growth, and the as-prepared membranes showed a remarkable selectivity of ~80 for H₂-CH₄ mixture. They concluded that the amount of CO₂ in the precursor solution contributed to LDH membranes with various preferred orientations and thicknesses. Apart from these 2D materials, MXenes also show great potential in selective gas permeation. Lamellar stacked MXene membranes with aligned and regular sub-nanometer channels exhibited excellent gas separation performance. Moreover, our ultrathin (20 nm) MXene nanofilms showed outstanding molecular sieving property for the preferential transport of H₂, with H₂ permeance as high as 1584 GPU and H₂/CO₂ selectivity of 27. The originally H₂-selective MXene membranes could be transformed into membranes selectively permeating CO₂ by chemical tuning of the MXene nanochannels. This paper briefly reviews the latest groundbreaking studies in 2D-material membranes for gas separation, with a focus on sub-nanometer 2D channels, exfoliation of 2D nanosheets with structural integrity, and tunable gas transport property. Challenges, in terms of the mass production of 2D nanosheets, scale-up of lab-level membranes and a thorough understanding of the transport mechanism, and the potential of 2D-material membranes for wide implementation are briefly discussed.     

PEBAX®2533/PSf中空纤维复合膜制备及阻力性能

采用浸渍涂层法制备了聚醚共聚酰胺(PEBAX®2533)/聚砜(PSf)中空纤维复合膜. 考察了涂层液浓度、 温度和基膜预处理对复合膜结构、 阻力及渗透性能的影响, 并考察了操作压力对膜渗透性能的影响. 实验结果表明, 随着涂层液浓度的增加, 复合膜致密层厚度及阻力增大, 复合膜总阻力及支撑层阻力先增大后减小, CO2渗透速率先减小后增大, 分离系数增大. 随着涂层温度升高, 复合膜致密层厚度及阻力减小, 支撑层阻力增大, 复合膜总阻力先减小后增大, 分离系数和渗透速率先增大后减小. 经过预处理, 复合膜致密层厚度减小、 阻力大幅度减小, CO2渗透速率增大58%, 分离系数略有下降. 复合膜支撑层阻力过大, 尤其是支撑层的致密结构影响复合膜的塑化行为.     

Pebax/TSIL blend thin film composite membranes for CO_2 separation

In this study a thin film composite (TFC) membrane with a Pebax/Task-specific ionic liquid (TSIL) blend selective layer was prepared. Defect-free Pebax/TSIL layers were coated successfully on a polysulfone ultrafiltration porous support with a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) gutter layer. Different parameters in the membrane preparation (e.g. concentration, coating time) were investigated and optimized. The morphology of the membranes was studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), while the thermal properties and chemical structures of the membrane materials were investigated by thermo-gravimetric analyzer (TGA), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The CO₂ separation performance of the membrane was evaluated using a mixed gas permeation test. Experimental results show that the incorporation of TSIL into the Pebax matrix can significantly increase both CO₂ permeance and CO₂/N₂ selectivity. With the presence of water vapor, the membrane exhibits the best CO₂/N₂ selectivity at a relative humidity of around 75%, where a CO₂ permeance of around 500 GPU and a CO₂/N₂ selectivity of 46 were documented. A further increase in the relative humidity resulted in higher CO₂ permeance but decreased CO₂/N₂ selectivity. Experiments also show that CO₂ permeance decreases with a CO₂ partial pressure increase, which is considered a characteristic in facilitated transport membranes.     

Carbon Molecular Sieve Membrane Preparation by Economical Coating and Pyrolysis of Porous Polymer Hollow Fibers

Dip coating and pyrolysis processes are used to create multi‐layer asymmetric carbon molecular sieve (CMS) hollow fiber membranes with excellent gas separation properties. Coating of an economical engineered support with a high‐performance polyimide to create precursor fibers with a dense skin layer reduces material cost by 25‐fold compared to monolithic precursors or ceramic supports. CMS permeation results with CO₂/CH₄ (50:50) mixed gas feed show attractive CO₂/CH₄ selectivity of 58.8 and CO₂ permeance of 310 GPU at 35 °C.     

Highly hydrothermally stable microporous silica membranes for hydrogen separation

Fluorocarbon-modified silica membranes were deposited on gamma-Al2O3/alpha-Al2O3 supports by the sol-gel technique for hydrogen separation. The hydrophobic property, pore structure, gas transport and separation performance, and hydrothermal stability of the modified membranes were investigated. It is observed that the water contact angle increases from 27.2+/-1.5 degrees for the pure silica membranes to 115.0+/-1.2 degrees for the modified ones with a (trifluoropropyl)triethoxysilane (TFPTES)/tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) molar ratio of 0.6. The modified membranes preserve a microporous structure with a micropore volume of 0.14 cm3/g and a pore size of approximately 0.5 nm. A single gas permeation of H2 and CO2 through the modified membranes presents small positive apparent thermal activation energies, indicating a dominant microporous membrane transport. At 200 degrees C, a single H2 permeance of 3.1x10(-6) mol m(-2) s(-1) Pa(-1) and a H2/CO2 permselectivity of 15.2 were obtained after proper correction for the support resistance and the contribution from the defects. In the gas mixture measurement, the H2 permeance and the H2/CO2 separation factor almost remain constant at 200 degrees C with a water vapor pressure of 1.2x10(4) Pa for at least 220 h, indicating that the modified membranes are hydrothermally stable, benefiting from the integrity of the microporous structure due to the fluorocarbon modification.     

Continuous Porous Aromatic Framework Membranes with Modifiable Sites for Optimized Gas Separation

Continuous microporous membranes are widely studied for gas separation, due to their low energy premium and strong molecular specificity. Porous aromatic frameworks (PAFs) with their exceptional stability and structural flexibility are suited to a wide range of separations. Main-stream PAF-based membranes are usually prepared with polymeric matrices, but their discrete entities and boundary defects weaken their selectivity and permeability. The synthesis of continuous PAF membranes is still a major challenge because PAFs are insoluble. Herein, we successfully synthesized a continuous PAF membrane for gas separation. Both pore size and chemistry of the PAF membrane were modified by ion-exchange, resulting in good selectivity and permeance for the gas mixtures H₂/N₂ and CO₂/N₂. The membrane with Br^? as a counter ion in the framework exhibited a H₂/N₂ selectivity of 72.7 with a H₂ permeance of 51844 gas permeation units (GPU). When the counter ions were replaced by BF₄^?, the membrane showed a CO₂ permeance of 23058 GPU, and an optimized CO₂/N₂ selectivity of 60.0. Our results show that continuous PAF membranes with modifiable pores are promising for various gas separation situations.     

Tuning the Stacking Modes of Ultrathin Two-Dimensional Metal–Organic Framework Nanosheet Membranes for Highly Efficient Hydrogen Separation

Two-dimensional (2D) metal–organic framework (MOF) membranes are considered potential gas separation membranes of the next generation due to their structural diversity and geometrical functionality. However, achieving a rational structure design for a 2D MOF membrane and understanding the impact of MOF nanosheet stacking modes on membrane separation performance remain challenging tasks. Here, we report a novel kind of 2D MOF membrane based on [Cu₂Br(IN)₂]_n (IN=isonicotinato) nanosheets and propose that synergetic stacking modes of nanosheets have a significant influence on gas separation performance. The stacking of the 2D MOF nanosheets is controlled by solvent droplet dynamic behaviors at different temperatures of drop coating. Our 2D MOF nanosheet membranes exhibit high gas separation performances for H₂/CH₄ (selectivity >290 with H₂ permeance >520 GPU) and H₂/CO₂ (selectivity >190 with H₂ permeance >590 GPU) surpassing the Robeson upper bounds, paving a potential way for eco-friendly H₂ separation.     

Selective Permeation of CO2 Through Modified PVSA/PS Composite Membrane

Fixed carrier membranes are more favorable compared with the liquid membranes andion-exchange membranes, they can provide superior stability, high permeation rate andhigh selectivity1. Fixed carrier membrane for CO2 separation is a new research field,only…     

Metal–Organic Framework Crystal–Glass Composite Membranes with Preferential Permeation of Ethane

Metal–organic framework (MOF) glass is an easy to process and self-supported amorphous material that is suitable for fabricating gas separation membranes. However, MOF glasses, such as ZIF-62 and ZIF-4 have low porosity, which makes it difficult to obtain membranes with high permeance. Here, a self-supported MOF crystal–glass composite (CGC) membrane was prepared by melt quenching a mixture of ZIF-62 as the membrane matrix and ZIF-8 as the filler. The conversion of ZIF-62 from crystal to glass and the simultaneous partial melting of ZIF-8 facilitated by the melt state of ZIF-62 make the CGC membrane monolithic, eliminating non-selective grain boundaries and improving selectivity. The thickness of CGC membrane can be adjusted to fabricate a membrane without the need of a support substrate. CGC membranes exhibit a C₂H₆ permeance of 41 569 gas permeation units (GPU) and a C₂H₆/C₂H₄ selectivity of 7.16. The CGC membrane has abundant pores from the glassy state of ZIF-62 and the crystalline ZIF-8, which enables high gas permeance. ZIF-8 has preferential adsorption for C₂H₆ and promotes C₂H₆ transport in the membrane, and thus the GCG membrane exhibits ultrahigh C₂H₆ permeance and good C₂H₆/C₂H₄ selectivity.     

Effect of temperature on intrinsic permeation properties of 6FDA-Durene/1,3-phenylenediamine (mPDA) copolyimide and fabrication of its hollow fiber membranes for CO2/CH4 separation

We have determined the effect of temperature on intrinsic permeation properties of 6FDA-Durene/1,3-phenylenediamine (mPDA) 50/50 copolyimide dense film and fabricated high performance hollow fiber membranes of the copolyimide for CO₂/CH₄ separation. The hollow fiber membranes were wet-spun from a tertiary solution containing 6FDA-Durene/mPDA (PI), N-methyl-pyrrolidone (NMP) and tetrahydrofuran (THF) with a weight ratio of 20:50:30 at different shear rates within the spinneret. We observed the following facts: (1) the CO₂/CH₄ selectivity of the copolyimide dense film decreased significantly with an increase in temperature; (2) the performance of as-spun fibers was obviously influenced by the shear rate during spinning. For uncoated fibers, permeances of CH₄ and CO₂ decreased with increasing shear rate, while selectivity of CO₂/CH₄ sharply increased with shear rate until the shear rate reached 2169 s⁻¹ and then the selectivity leveled off; (3) After silicone rubber coating, permeances of CH₄ and CO₂ decreased, the selectivity of CO₂/CH₄ was recovered to the inherent selectivity of its dense film. Both the permeances and selectivity with increasing shear rate followed their same trends as that before the coating; (4) there was an optimal shear rate at which a defect-free fiber with a selectivity of CO₂/CH₄ at 42.9 and permeance of CO₂ at 53.3 GPU could be obtained after the coating; and (5) the pressure durability of the resultant hollow fiber membranes could reach 1000 psia at room temperature.     

P(AA-AMPS)–PVA/polysulfone composite hollow fiber membranes for propylene dehumidification

A series of composite hollow fiber membranes, poly(acrylic acid-co-2-acrylamido-2-methyl-1-propane sulfonic acid) (P(AA-AMPS))–poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) membranes as skin layers and polysulfone (PS) hollow fiber membranes as support layers, were prepared for dehumidification of propylene gas. The chemical and physical structures, including inter-components interaction, crystallinity, glass transition temperature and free volume of the membranes, were systematically characterized. Through the sorption experiments, it was found that the membrane exhibited a preferential sorption toward water, and initially the water sorption increased remarkably with P(AA-AMPS) content increasing, afterwards reached the zenith, then decreased rapidly. Dehumidification performance showed that the membrane containing 50 wt.% P(AA-AMPS) exhibited the highest permeance of 363 GPU and an infinite separation factor for 0.5 wt.% water in feed at 298 K. Permeance decreased considerably with increasing operating temperature, but increased considerably with increasing water content.