Gas transport property of polyallylamine–poly(vinyl alcohol)/polysulfone composite membranes

Polyallylamine (PAAm) was synthesized by free radical polymerization and characterized by Fourier transform infrared resonance (FT-IR) spectroscopy, hydrogen nuclear magnetic resonance (¹H NMR) spectroscopy and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The composite membranes were prepared by using PAAm–poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) blend polymer as the separation layer and polysulfone (PSF) ultrafiltration membranes as the support layer. The surface and cross-section morphology of the membrane was inspected by environmental scanning electron microscopy (ESEM). The gas transport property of the membranes, including gas permeance, flux and selectivity, were investigated by using pure CO₂, N₂, CH₄ gases and CO₂/N₂ gas mixture (20 vol% CO₂ and 80 vol% N₂) and CO₂/CH₄ gas mixture (10 vol% CO₂ and 90 vol% CH₄). The plots of gas permeance or flux versus feed gas pressure imply that CO₂ permeation through the membranes follows facilitated transport mechanism whereas N₂ and CH₄ permeation follows solution–diffusion mechanism. Effect of PAAm content in the separation layer on gas transport property was investigated by measuring the membranes with 0–50 wt% PAAm content. With increasing PAAm content, gas permeance increases initially, reaches a maximum, and then decreases gradually. For CO₂/N₂ gas mixture, the membranes with 10 wt% PAAm content show the highest CO₂ permeance of about 1.80 × 10⁻⁵ cm³ (STP) cm⁻² s⁻¹ KPa⁻¹ and CO₂/N₂ selectivity of 80 at 0.1 MPa feed gas pressure. For CO₂/CH₄ gas mixture, the membranes with 20 wt% PAAm content display the highest CO₂ permeance of about 1.95 × 10⁻⁵ cm³ (STP) cm⁻² s⁻¹ KPa⁻¹ and CO₂/CH₄ selectivity of 58 at 0.1 MPa feed gas pressure. In order to explore the possible reason of gas permeance varying with PAAm content, the crystallinity of PVA and PAAm–PVA blend polymers was measured by X-ray diffraction (XRD) spectra. The experimental results show an inverse relationship between crystallinity and gas permeance, e.g., a minimum crystallinity and a maximum CO₂ permeance are obtained at 20 wt% PAAm content, indicating that the possibility of increasing CO₂ permeance with PAAm content due to the increase of carrier concentration could be weakened by the increase of crystallinity.     

Modified poly(phenylene oxide) membranes for the separation of carbon dioxide from methane

Two types of poly(phenylene oxide) (PPO) membranes were prepared: one by chemical modification through sulfonation using chlorosulfonic acid and another by physical incorporation with a heteropolyacid (HPA), viz., phosphotungstic acid. These membranes were tested for the separation of CO₂/CH₄ mixtures. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and X-ray diffraction techniques were used to confirm the modified structure of PPO as well as to understand its interactions with gaseous molecules. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to investigate the membrane morphology. Thermal stability of the modified polymers was assessed by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), while the tensile strength was measured to evaluate their mechanical stability. Both chemical and physical modifications did not adversely affect the thermally and mechanical stabilities. Experiments with pure CO₂ and CH₄ gases showed that CO₂ selectivity (27.2) for SPPO increased by a factor of 2.2, while the PPO–HPA membrane exhibited 1.7 times increase in selectivity with a reasonable permeability of 28.2 Barrer. An increase in flux was observed for the binary CO₂/CH₄ mixture permeation with an increasing feed concentration (5–40 mol%) of CO₂. An enhancement in feed pressure from 5 to 40 kg/cm² resulted in reduced CO₂ permeability and selectivity due to the competitive sorption of methane. Both the modified PPO membranes were found to be promising for enrichment of methane despite exhibiting lower permeability values than the pristine PPO membrane.     

Gas transport properties of poly(ethylene oxide-co-epichlorohydrin) membranes

Gas permeation properties of crosslinked membranes prepared from a series of poly(ethylene oxide-co-epichlorohydrin) (P(EO/EP)) copolymers with different contents of ethylene oxide are determined by using the constant-volume and pressure-increase method. In addition to the chemical composition, the transport properties are related to the main characteristics of copolymers like the glass transition temperature, crystallinity and crosslinking ratio. Permeation measurements of He, H₂, N₂, O₂, CO₂ and CH₄ show that the permeabilities are nearly constant up to an EO content of about 75–80 mol%, then increase rapidly up to a maximum around 90 mol% of EO in the copolymers. The same behavior is observed for the diffusion coefficient and the CO₂ sorption coefficient. The presence of an optimal EO composition is explained by the competition between crystalline and amorphous EO sequences. The copolymers present very high CO₂ permeability and selectivity respect to other permanent gases even in gas mixtures and under high pressures.     

Systematic investigation of the effects of temperature and pressure on gas transport through polyurethane/poly(methylmethacrylate) phase-separated blends

Polyurethane (PU) and polyurethane–poly(methylmethacrylate) (PMMA) blend membranes were used in gas separation studies. The effects of blend composition, temperature, and pressure on the permeability, diffusivity, and solubility of CO₂, H₂, O₂, CH₄, and N₂ were investigated. The separation factors of some gas pairs were also evaluated. Positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy was applied to assess free volume changes as a function of blend composition and temperature. Free volume size increases by approximately 30% with increasing temperature from 10 to 40 °C for all blends studied. The permeability of all gases decreases by approximately 55% with the addition of 30 wt% of PMMA. The permeation process is governed by diffusion, except that of CO₂. In relation to the behavior of gas transport as a function of temperature, some important observations are (i) CO₂ presents the lowest permeation activation energy value (28 kJ/mol), and (ii) gas pair selectivity increases at low temperatures and is high for gas pairs that present differences in permeation activation energies as high as 15 kJ/mol for the CO₂/CH₄ gas pair. Furthermore, the study with pressure variations shows that: (i) at elevated pressure, the PU and the blend membrane permeability to CO₂ and H₂ increases by approximately 35%, and (ii) oxygen-to-nitrogen selectivity increases with pressure as a consequence of the decrease in the permeability to nitrogen in the case of the 30%-PMMA blend.     

Surface modification of mesoporous membranes by fluoro-silane coupling reagent for CO2 separation

The potential of hybrid organic–inorganic membranes for separating organic molecules from air, based on solubility selective mechanism, was evaluated. Alumina and titana membranes with average pore size near 4 nm were surface modified using trimethoxysilane fluorinated coupling reagent. The permeabilities to helium, nitrogen, methane, ethane, propane, butane and carbon dioxide were evaluated at feed pressures lying between (1.5 × 10⁵ and 3.5 × 10⁵ Pa) 1.5 and 3.5 bar and permeate outlet near 1 × 10⁵ Pa (1 bar). The permeabilities of the grafted membranes generally decreased by about two to three orders of magnitude compared with the untreated membranes. The CO₂/N₂ permselectivity increased significantly in the case of the TiO₂ grafted membrane. The membranes performances were compared and the TiO₂ grafted membrane exhibits higher permselectivity and permeability, so that, it is a good candidate for CO₂ to N₂ separation and CO₂ to hydrocarbon separation.     

Gas permeability in rubbery polyphosphazene membranes

The synthesis, characterization, and gas permeability of 10 new polyphosphazenes has been studied. Additionally, the first gas permeation data has been collected on hydrolytically unstable poly[bis-(chloro)phosphazene]. Gases used in this study include CO₂, CH₄, O₂, N₂, H₂, and Ar. CO₂ was the most permeable gas through any of the phosphazenes and a direct correlation between the T_g of the polymer and CO₂ transport was noted with permeability increasing with decreasing polymer T_g. To a lesser degree, permeability of all the other gases studied also yielded increases with decreasing polymer T_g. The trend observed for these new polymers was further supported by published data for other phosphazenes. Furthermore, permeability data for all gases were found to correlate to the gas condensability and the gas critical pressures, except for hydrogen, suggesting that the nature of the gas is also a significant factor for permeation through rubbery phosphazene membranes. Ideal separation factors () for the CO₂/H₂ and CO₂/CH₄ gas pairs were calculated. For CO₂/CH₄, no increase in was observed with decreasing T_g, however increases in were noted for the CO₂/H₂ pair.     

Poly(N,N-dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate)–poly(ethylene oxide) copolymer membranes for selective separation of CO2

A series of copolymers containing ether oxygen groups and amino groups were prepared based on N,N-dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate (DMEMA) and polyethylene glycol methyl ether methyl acrylate (PEGMEMA). The effect of PEGMEMA content in the copolymer on density, free volume, mechanical performance, and H₂, CO₂, N₂ and CH₄ gas transport properties of the copolymer was determined. Free volume was characterized using the polymer density and group contribution theory. The permeability of the copolymer to CO₂ is high, and both the CO₂/N₂ and CO₂/H₂ selectivities are high. For example, the permeability coefficient of PDMAEMA–PEGMEMA-90 (“90” represents the weight percent of PEGMEMA) to CO₂ is 112 Barrer and the CO₂/N₂ and CO₂/H₂ selectivity coefficients are 31 and 7, respectively. The effect of the temperature on gas transport properties was also determined. Finally, the potential application of the copolymer membranes for CO₂/light gases separation was explored.     

A new apparatus and procedure for gas permeability measurements on water-swollen gel membranes

An improved apparatus for the measurement of gas permeability through water-swollen gel membranes is described. The apparatus is fitted with a water bubble chamber and a water reservoir to prevent evaporation of water from the swollen membranes. Permeabilities to O₂ and N₂ of two kinds of poly (vinyl alcohol) (PVA) membranes and cationically modified PVA membranes with a swelling ratio of 0.3–0.8 were measured. It was found that the introduction of charged groups at 3.5 mol/100 mol monomer units into the PVA membranes with the above swelling ratio range does not significantly alter the permeability of the membranes to the gases. The permeability values are independent of the upstream pressure up to 4.6 atm.     

Supported carbon molecular sieve membranes based on a phenolic resin

The preparation of a composite carbon membrane for separation of gas mixtures is described. The membrane is formed by a thin microporous carbon layer (thickness, 2 μm) obtained by pyrolysis of a phenolic resin film supported over a macroporous carbon substrate (pore size, 1 μm; porosity, 30%). The microporous carbon layer exhibits molecular sieving properties and it allows the separation of gases depending on their molecular size. The micropore size was estimated to be around 4.2 Å. Single and mixed gas permeation experiments were performed at different temperatures between 25°C and 150°C, and pressures between 1 and 3.5 bar. The carbon membrane shows high selectivities for the separation of permanent gases like O₂/N₂ system (selectivity≈10 at 25°C). Gas mixtures like CO₂/N₂ and CO₂/CH₄ are successfully separated by means of prepared membranes. For example, the membrane prepared by carbonization at 700°C shows at 25°C the following separation factors: CO₂/N₂≈45 and CO₂/CH₄≈160.     

密胺苯二醛多孔聚合物/聚二甲基硅氧烷混合基质膜的制备及气体分离性能

以溶液复合成膜法制备了密胺苯二醛多孔聚合物(MA)/聚二甲基硅氧烷(PDMS)混合基质膜,利用扫描电镜(SEM)表征了混合基质膜的形貌。考察了不同MA用量下MA/PDMS混合基质膜的气体分离性能,结果表明,MA的加入可以在提高PDMS膜渗透系数的同时提高CO_2气体分离选择性;随着混合基质膜中MA含量的增加,混合基质膜的渗透系数均明显提高,气体分离选择性则先增大后减小。双组分混合气体分离测试结果表明,MA/PDMS(1.2%(w,质量分数))混合基质膜对CO_2/N_2和CO_2/CH_4的分离选择性分别是19.2和6.0,CO_2的渗透系数达到8100Barrer,均高于纯PDMS膜。MA/PDMS(1.2%(w))混合基质膜对CO_2/N_2混合气的分离性能突破了Robeson上限。     

Gas permeation through PSF-PI miscible blend membranes

The permeation rates of He, H₂, CO₂, N₂ and O₂, are reported for a series of miscible polysulfone-polyimide (PSF-PI) blend membranes synthesized in our laboratory. For gases which do not interact with the polymer matrix (such as He, H₂, N₂ and O₂), gas permeabilities in the miscible blends vary monotonically between those of the pure polymers and can be described by simple mixture equations. In the case of CO₂, which interacts with PI, blend permeabilities decrease somewhat, compared to pure PSF and PI. This, however, is accompanied by a two-fold improvement in the critical pressures of plasticization vs. polyimide. Permselectivities of CO₂/N₂ and H₂/CO₂ in the blends deviate from mixing theory predictions, in contrast to selectivities of gas pairs which do not interact with PI. Differential scanning calorimetry measurements of pure and PSF/PI blend membranes show one unique glass transition temperature, supporting the miscible character of the PSF/PI mixture. Optical micrographs of the blend membranes clearly indicate perfect homogenization and no phase separation. Frequency shifts and absorption intensity changes in the FTIR spectra of the blends, as compared with those of the pure polymers, indicate mixing at the molecular level. This compatibility in mixing PSF and PI, results essentially in a new blend polymer material, suitable for the preparation of gas separation membranes. Such membranes combine satisfactory gas permeation properties, reduced cost, advanced resistance to harsh chemical and temperature environments, and improved tolerance to plasticizing gases.     

A photocatalytic membrane reactor for VOC decomposition using Pt-modified titanium oxide porous membranes

Porous titanium oxide membranes with pore sizes in the range of 2.5–22 nm were prepared by a sol–gel procedure, and were applied for decomposition of methanol and ethanol as model volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in a photocatalytic membrane reactor, where oxidation reaction occurs both on the surface and inside the porous TiO₂ membrane while reactants are permeating via one-pass flow. Methanol was completely photo-oxidized by black-light irradiation to CO₂ when methanol at a concentration of 100 ppm was used at a feed flow rate of 500 × 10⁻⁶ m³/min, but the conversion decreased when the MeOH concentration in the feed was increased. Pt-modification was carried out by photo-deposition, and led to a decrease in pore diameter. Using Pt-modified membranes, a nearly complete oxidation of methanol up to 10,000 ppm at a feed flow rate of 500 × 10⁻⁶ m³/min was observed. Thus, such membranes would be effective for purifying a permeate stream after one-pass permeation through the TiO₂ membranes. The decomposition of ethanol is also discussed.     

Metal doped silica membrane reactor: Operational effects of reaction and permeation for the water gas shift reaction

In this work, we investigate the performance of metal (Cobalt) doped silica membranes in a membrane reactor (MR) configuration for the low temperature water gas shift (WGS) reaction. The membranes were hydrostable and showed activated transport even after 2 weeks exposure to steam. High CO conversions resulted in the H₂ and CO partial pressures in the reaction chamber moving in opposite directions, thus favouring H₂/CO separation to treble (5–15) from 150 to 250 °C. On the other hand, the separation of H₂/CO₂ remained relatively low (2–4) as the driving force for diffusion or partial pressure of these gases remained equal in the reaction chamber irrespective of the extent of conversion. Below approximately 40% CO conversion, the MR is ineffective as the H₂ driving force for permeation was so low that H₂/CO selectivity was below unity. Operating under equilibrium limited conversion (space velocities 7500 h⁻¹) conditions, very high conversions in excess of 95% were observed and there were no significant advantages of the MR performance over the packed bed reactor (PBR). However, for higher throughputs (space velocities 38000 and 75000 h⁻¹) conversion is affected by the reaction rate, and relatively enough H₂ is removed from the reactor through the membrane. Increasing temperature to 250 °C as a function of the space velocity (75000 h⁻¹) allowed for the CO conversion in the MR to shift up to 12% as compared to the PBR.     

Unsupported palladium alloy foil membranes fabricated by electroless plating

It is desirable to create thin (<25 μm), unsupported, defect-free palladium and palladium alloy foils in a cost-effective manner in order to study intrinsic material properties exclusive of support effects. We have developed a novel technique for producing unsupported palladium films by electroless plating upon mirror-finished stainless steel supports followed by mechanical removal. High quality pure palladium films as thin as 7.2 μm were produced. Single gas steady state permeation experiments were performed using hydrogen and nitrogen to examine permeability and selectivity. The pure palladium membranes showed hydrogen permeabilities comparable to cold-rolled unsupported foils, and high H₂/N₂ selectivity. Palladium-copper membranes were prepared by sequential electroless plating of copper onto palladium foils followed by in situ annealing. The annealing process produces films of desired composition with permeabilities comparable to those in the literature. The annealing process does not appear to produce defects in the film, and the membranes thus produced have performed 15 days without increased leak rates.     

Novel CO2 selectively permeating membranes containing PETEDA dendrimer

Pentaerythrityl tetraethylenediamine (PETEDA) dendrimer was synthesized from pentaerythrityl tetrabromide and ethylenediamine. Its molecular structure was characterized by elemental analysis, Fourier transform infrared resonance (FT-IR) and hydrogen nuclear magnetic resonance (¹H NMR) spectroscopy. The composite membranes for selectively permeating CO₂ were prepared by using PETEDA-PVA blend polymer as the active layer and polyethersulfone (PES) ultrafiltration membrane as the support layer and their permselectivity was tested by pure CO₂ and CH₄ gases and the gas mixture containing 10 vol.% CO₂ and 90 vol.% CH₄, respectively. For pure gases, the membrane containing 78.6 wt% PETEDA and 21.4 wt% PVA in the blend has a CO₂ permeance of 8.14 × 10⁻⁵ cm³ (STP) cm⁻² s⁻¹ cmHg⁻¹ and CO₂/CH₄ selectivity of 52 at 143.5 cmHg feed gas pressure. While feed gas pressure is 991.2 cmHg, CO₂ permeance reaches 3.56 × 10⁻⁵ cm³ (STP) cm⁻² s⁻¹ cmHg⁻¹ and CO₂/CH₄ selectivity is 19. For the gas mixture, the membrane has a CO₂ permeance of 6.94 × 10⁻⁵ cm³ (STP) cm⁻² s⁻¹ cmHg⁻¹ with a CO₂/CH₄ selectivity of 33 at 188.5 cmHg feed gas pressure, and a CO₂ permeance of 3.29 × 10⁻⁵ cm³ (STP) cm⁻² s⁻¹ cmHg⁻¹ with a CO₂/CH₄ selectivity of 7.5 at a higher feed gas pressure of 1164 cmHg. A possible gas transport mechanism in the composite membranes is proposed by investigating the permeating behavior of pure gases and the gas mixture and analyzing possible reactions between CO₂/CH₄ gases and the PETEDA-PVA blend polymer. The effect of PETEDA content in the blend polymer on permselectivity of the composite membranes was investigated, presenting that CO₂ permeance and CO₂/CH₄ selectivity increase and CH₄ permeance decreases, respectively with PETEDA content. This is explained by that with increasing PETEDA content, the carrier content increases, and the crystallinity and free volume of the PETEDA-PVA blend decrease that were confirmed by the experimental results of X-ray diffraction spectra (XRD) and positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy (PALS).     

Pd encapsulated and nanopore hollow fiber membranes: Synthesis and permeation studies

New types of supported Pd membranes were developed for high temperature H₂ separation. Sequential combinations of boehmite sol slip casting and film coating, and electroless plating (ELP) steps were designed to synthesize “Pd encapsulated” and “Pd nanopore” membranes supported on -Al₂O₃ hollow fibers. The permeation characteristics (flux, permselectivity) of a series of unaged and aged encapsulated and nanopore membranes with different Pd loadings were compared to those of a conventional 1 μm Pd/4 μm γ-Al₂O₃/-Al₂O₃ hollow fiber membrane. The unaged encapsulated membrane exhibited good performance with ideal H₂/N₂ separation factors of 3000–8000 and H₂ flux 0.4 mol/m² s at 370 °C and a transmembrane pressure gradient of 4 × 10⁵ Pa. The unaged Pd nanopore membranes had a lower initial flux and permselectivity, but exhibited superior performance with extended use (200 h). At the same conditions the unaged 2.6 μm Pd nanopore membrane had a H₂ flux of 0.16 mol/m² s and separation factor of 500 and the unaged 0.6 μm Pd nanopore membrane had a H₂ flux of 0.25 mol/m² s and separation factor of 50. Both nanopore membranes stabilized after 40 h of operation, in contrast to a continued deterioration of the permselectivity for the other membranes. An analysis of the permeation data reveals a combination of Knudsen and convective transport through membrane defects. A phenomenological, qualitative model of the synthesis and resulting structure of the encapsulated and nanopore membranes is presented to explain the permeation results.     

Sol-gel polyimide-silica composite membrane: gas transport properties

The effect of introduction of silica particles prepared by the sol-gel technique on the gas transport properties of a polyimide film was studied. The sorption and permeation of N₂, O₂, CO₂, H₂ and CH₄ were studied and correlated with morphological changes in the polymer structure. From sorption isotherms, we observed that the composite membrane presents higher solubility coefficients than the polyimide one. The solubility coefficient ratio between the composite and the polyimide is about 1.5–2.0. The isotherms were analyzed in terms of the dual mode sorption. The Henry's coefficient and the Langmuir's affinity and saturation constants were obtained allowing to calculate the Langmuir to Henry concentration ratios as function of the gas pressure. These ratios decrease until zero within a certain pressure range as long as the Langmuir's mode is acting and they are higher for the polyimide membrane when compared with the composite one. This study was completed with calorimetric measurements during the sorption. The gas interaction energy in kJ/mol decreases within the same pressure range as previously described. The measured energies are higher for the polyimide film when compared with the composite one because the polyimide membrane presents a stronger energetic effect caused by a higher Langmuir's contribution. From permeation studies at 3.15⁵ Pa, the composite membrane showed higher permeability coefficients and permselectivities than the polyimide one. All these results were explained, taking into account the difference on the imidization degree of both membranes and the morphological changes which may be induced by the silica nodules in the organic/inorganic interphases.     

Tertiary amine-mediated synthesis of microporous carbon membranes

Microporous carbon membranes were prepared on an -alumina support by a pyrolysis of cationic tertiary amine/anionic polymer composites. The precursor solutions contain a thermosetting resorcinol/formaldehyde (RF) polymer and a cationic tertiary amine. Three types of cationic tertiary amines with different chain lengths were used, such as tetramethlammonium bromide (TMAB), tetrapropylammonium bromide (TPAB) and cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB). A porous structure was produced by a decomposition of the amine and the resulting pores assisted the further gasification of the RF polymer at high temperature. The carbon/alumina membranes have thin and continuous carbon top layers with a thickness of 1 μm. Gas permeation tests were performed using single gases of CO₂, O₂, N₂, CF₄, n-C₄H₁₀ and i-C₄H₁₀, as well as binary mixtures of CH₄/n-C₄H₁₀ and N₂/CF₄ at different temperatures between 23 and 150 °C. The carbon membrane prepared using TMAB showed separation factors higher than 650 for the CH₄/n-C₄H₁₀ mixtures and higher than 8100 for the N₂/CF₄ mixture. From the permeation of pure gases with different molecular sizes, the pore sizes of the carbon membrane prepared using TMAB, TPAB and CTAB are estimated to be 4.0, 5.0 and larger than 5.5 Å, respectively, indicating that the micropore size of the carbon membranes is controllable by using different amines.     

Membrane purification of Cl2 gas: I. Permeabilities as a function of temperature for Cl2, O2, N2, H2 in two types of PDMS membranes

Permeability (P) of Cl₂, O₂, N₂ and H₂ was measured in polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) composite membranes with two different degrees of cross-linking. The permeability was measured in the low pressure range (1–3 bar absolute) over a fairly large temperature range 35–120°C. The functionalities of the membranes were compared on the basis of permeation rate and ability to separate the gases Cl₂–O₂. These results are part of an extensive survey where perfluorinated and carbon membranes are also included (not reported here). The purpose of the project is to develop an industrial membrane with high permselectivity for either O₂ or Cl₂ (depending on the type of membrane) at temperatures preferably above 70°C. Process conditions are set in an industrial project. The PDMS membranes are good candidates for this separation, having a high permeation rate for Cl₂ and a selectivity of Cl₂/O₂ in the range of 8–25 depending on temperature. Durability of the PDMS membranes in this aggressive environment is found to be very dependent on process conditions and on how the material is polymerized and cured. For documentation of durability, various silicones were tested; these results are to be reported separately.     

Formation of cellulose acetate membranes using a supercritical fluid assisted process

Microporous cellulose acetate membranes have been prepared from polymer–acetone solutions using a supercritical fluid phase inversion process in which CO₂ acts as the non-solvent. Series of experiments were performed at various polymer concentrations, temperatures and pressures. The structure of the resulting membranes was analysed using scanning electron microscopy. We operated with polymer concentrations ranging between 5 and 40% (w/w) in acetone obtaining different pore dimensions and membrane structures. Increasing the percentage of polymer in the solution, the structure of the membranes changed from beads-like structure to cellular structure. Polymer concentration also influenced the mean diameter of the pores that ranged from 2 to 50 μm for polymer concentrations from 40 to 5% (w/w). We also tested membrane formation pressures between 100 and 200 bar and at temperature between 45 and 65 °C. Pressure influences the change in membrane structure from cellular to beads-like, whereas temperature has a minor influence on pore size: both the effects can be partially related to CO₂ density. Cellulose acetate membrane formation mechanisms have also been discussed.