The rheology of Torlon solutions and its role in the formation of ultra-thin defect-free Torlon hollow fiber membranes for gas separation

Fundamental understanding of the material science and rheological engineering to fabricate Torlon^® 4000T-MV and 4000TF hollow fiber membranes with an ultra-thin and defect-free dense-selective layer for gas separation has been revealed. We have firstly investigated the rheology of Torlon^® 4000T-MV and 4000TF dope solutions, and then determined the effect of temperature-correlated shear and elongational viscosities on the formation of Torlon^® fibers for gas separation. Interestingly, Torlon^® 4000T-MV and 4000TF possess different rheological characteristics: the elongational viscosity of Torlon^® 4000T-MV/NMP solution shows strain thinning, while Torlon^® 4000TF/NMP solution shows strain hardening. The balanced viscoelastic properties of dope solutions, which are strongly dependent on the spinning temperature, have been found to be crucial for the formation of a defect-free dense layer. The optimum rheological properties to fabricate Torlon^® 4000T-MV/NMP hollow fibers appear at about 48–50 °C, and the resultant fibers have an O₂/N₂ selectivity of 8.37 and an apparent dense layer thickness of 781 Å. By comparison, the best Torlon^® 4000TF fibers were spun at 24 °C with an O₂/N₂ selectivity of 8.96 and a dense layer of 1116 Å. The CO₂/CH₄ selectivity of the above two Torlon^® variants is 47 and 53.5, respectively.     

Gas–liquid membrane contactors for CO2 removal

In the present work we use a membrane contactor for the separation of CO₂ from CH₄ and we systematically investigate the influence of both the type of membrane and the different process parameters on the overall process performance (permeability and selectivity). This work is important because it reports real process performance data (permeances and selectivities) for the total process consisting of absorption and desorption under practical conditions using feed mixtures. Commercially available porous PP hollow fiber membranes and asymmetric PPO hollow fiber membranes have been applied and MEA was used as absorption liquid in the membrane contactor. The proposed approach allows us to identify the operating window and potential of the process. Although the performance of the PP membranes outperforms the performance of the PPO membranes in terms of productivity and selectivity, the PP fibers are extremely sensitive to only small variations in the feed pressure, resulting in severe performance loss. In addition to that, extremely high liquid losses are observed for the PP fibers especially at elevated temperatures. Factors that are significantly reduced when asymmetric PPO membranes with a dense, ultrathin top layer are used, which thus improves the performance and significantly increases the operating window and potential of the membrane contactor process.     

The role of additives on dope rheology and membrane formation of defect-free Torlon hollow fibers for gas separation

The high demands on high performance membranes for energy, water and life science usages provide the impetus for membrane scientists to search for a comprehensive understanding of membrane formation from molecular level to design membranes with desirable configuration and separation performance. This pioneering work is to elaborate the importance of polymer rheology on hollow fiber formation and reveal the integrated science bridging polymer fundamentals such as polymer cluster size, shear and elongational viscosities, molecular orientation, stress relaxation to membrane microstructure and separation performance for gas separation. Torlon^® poly(amide imide) was employed in this study with various solvent/nonsolvent additives. The effects of additives on polymeric cluster size, hydrogen bonding and dope rheology during the phase inversion have been examined. It is found that hydrogen bonding and strain-hardening characteristics play very important roles in dope rheology and membrane separation performance. Torlon^® possesses strong hydrogen bonds with NMP/water mixtures, the addition of a small amount of water enlarges polymer cluster size, strengthen molecular network (i.e., strain hardening) and facilitate macrovoid-free morphology. However, strong hydrogen bonding may retard chain unfolding during spinning, induce faster relaxation for highly oriented dense-selective skin, and thus reduce gas-pair selectivity. By adjusting dope chemistry and spinning conditions with balanced solubility parameters and dope rheology, we have developed defect-free Torlon^® hollow fiber membranes with an O₂/N₂ selectivity of 8.55 and an ultra-thin layer of 488 Å simply using water as the additive. Fibers spun from dopes containing other additives have the optimal O₂/N₂ selectivity varying from 7.69 to 9.97 at 25 ± 2 °C, and the dense layer thickness varying from 500 Å to 2000 Å. Their corresponding mixed-gas O₂/N₂ selectivity for compressed air varies from 7.12 to 9.00.     

Formation of integrally skinned asymmetric polysulfone gas separation membranes by supercritical CO2

Integrally skinned asymmetric polysulfone membranes were prepared from originally dense films inducing asymmetry by the formation of the porous layer adding to one side of the membranes chloroform and supercritical CO₂ (SCCO₂), and then allowing the SCCO₂ expansion to occur. The influence of the chloroform/polysulfone mass ratio (g CH₃Cl/g PSF), SCCO₂ density and depressurization rate over the thickness of both the porous and the dense skin layers, the morphology of the porous support and the pure O₂ and N₂ permeability and selectivity performance were studied.The results show that it is possible to induce a very-controlled asymmetry in a dense film following the procedure described in this work and as expected, the thickness of the porous layer increases while the dense skin layer decreases as the chloroform/polysulfone mass ratio increases. Images of the porous layer show that the average-pore size decreases at high SCCO₂ densities and slightly decreases with increasing the CO₂ depressurization rates. The O₂ and N₂ permeability coefficients, measured at 35 °C and 2 bar, for the polysulfone asymmetric membranes are practically the same of those determined in dense films, suggesting that the dense skins are essentially defect-free of pinholes.     

Supercritical CO2 improved phosphine imide reaction on peracetylated β-cyclodextrin

Supercritical CO₂ (sCO₂) was successfully used as solvent and reagent in the ‘one-pot’ phosphine imide reaction. In sCO₂ smooth conditions and with or without assistance of triphenylphosphine-bounded polymer, the reaction efficiently leads to the desired urea β-Cd compounds in a short time, bringing an interesting alternative for solving problems of OVC and hazardous reagent substitution in the synthesis of ureido-Cds and, by extension, of urea derivatives.     

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.     

分级中空结构BiOBr-Pt催化剂用于光催化CO2还原

以乙二醇为溶剂,聚乙烯吡咯烷酮为表面活性剂,通过一步溶剂热法合成了分级中空结构的BiOBr-Pt催化剂。合成的分级中空结构BiOBr-2h催化剂的比表面积为28.14 m²·g^-1,是对比样品BiOBr-1h的2倍,这种结构为催化反应提供更多的反应活性位点。此外,在催化剂中引入Pt增强了BiOBr的载流子传导速率,而且Pt可以作为电子陷阱捕获周围大量电子,有效抑制光生载流子的复合,从而提高CO₂还原的催化活性。光催化CO₂还原实验结果表明,BiOBr-Pt的主要产物为CO,产物选择性为99%,其CO产率达到了20.8 μmol·h^-1·g^-1,为原始BiOBr的2.1倍。这一结果说明,这种Pt负载且具有分级中空结构的催化剂可以有效地将CO₂转化为增值化学品。     

分级中空结构BiOBr-Pt催化剂用于光催化CO2还原

以乙二醇为溶剂,聚乙烯吡咯烷酮为表面活性剂,通过一步溶剂热法合成了分级中空结构的BiOBr-Pt催化剂。合成的分级中空结构BiOBr-2h催化剂的比表面积为28 m²·g^-1,是对比样品BiOBr-1h的2倍,这种结构为催化反应提供更多的反应活性位点。此外,在催化剂中引入Pt增强了BiOBr的载流子传导速率,而且Pt可以作为电子陷阱捕获周围大量电子,有效抑制光生载流子的复合,从而提高 CO₂还原的催化活性。光催化 CO₂还原实验结果表明,BiOBr-Pt 的主要产物为 CO,产物选择性为99%,其CO产率达到了20.8 μmol·h^-1·g^-1,为原始BiOBr的2.1倍。这一结果说明,这种Pt负载且具有分级中空结构的催化剂可以有效地将CO₂转化为增值化学品。     

A parametric study of CO2/N2 gas separation membrane processes for post-combustion capture

Capture of CO₂ from flue gases produced by the combustion of fossil fuels and biomass in air is referred to as post-combustion capture. Chemisorbent processes are considered to be the most feasible method and are already at an advanced stage of development, but gas separation membranes are attracting more and more attention as a possible alternative. This paper describes a detailed parametric study of mass and energy balances for a simulated single membrane process. Typical operating conditions (CO₂ concentration in the flue gas, pressure and temperature, etc.) together with the influence of the membrane quality (permeability, selectivity) and membrane area on membrane performance (CO₂ separation degree and CO₂ purity) are simulated over a wide range of parameters.     

Composite hollow fiber membranes for CO2 capture

Composite hollow fibers membranes were prepared by coating poly(phenylene oxide) (PPO) and polysulfone (PSf) hollow fibers with high molecular polyvinylamine (PVAm). Two procedures of coating hollow fibers outside and respective inside were investigated with respect to intrinsic PVAm solution properties and hollow fibers geometry and material.The influence of operating mode (sweep or vacuum) on the performances of membranes was investigated. Vacuum operating mode gave better results than using sweep because part of the sweep gas permeated into feed and induced an extra resistance to the most permeable gas the CO₂. The composite PVAm/PSf HF membranes having a 0.7–1.5 μm PVAm selective layer, showed CO₂/N₂ selectivity between 100 and 230. The selectivity was attributed to the CO₂ facilitated transport imposed by PVAm selective layer. The CO₂ permeance changed from 0.006 to 0.022 m³(STP)/(m² bar h) in direct correlation with CO₂ permeance and separation mechanism of the individual porous supports used for membrane fabrication. The multilayer PVAm/PPO membrane using as support PPO hollow fibers with a 40 nm PPO dense skin layer, surprisingly presented an increase in selectivity with the increase in CO₂ partial pressure. This trend was opposite to the facilitated transport characteristic behaviour of PVAm/porous PSf. This indicated that PVAm/PPO membrane represents a new membrane, with new properties and a hybrid mechanism, extremely stable at high pressure ratios. The CO₂/N₂ selectivity ranged between 20 and 500 and the CO₂ permeance from 0.11 to 2.3 m³(STP)/(m² bar h) depending on the operating conditions.For both PVAm/PSf and PVAm/PPO membranes, the CO₂ permeance was similar with the CO₂ permeance of uncoated hollow fiber supports, confirming that the CO₂ diffusion rate limiting step resides in the properties of the relatively thick support, not at the level of 1.2 μm thin and water swollen PVAm selective layer. A dynamic transfer of the CO₂ diffusion rate limiting step between PVAm top layer and PPO support was observed by changing the feed relative humidity (RH%). The CO₂ diffusion rate was controlled by the PPO support when using humid feed. At low feed humidity the 1.2 μm PVAm top layer becomes the CO₂ diffusion rate limiting step.     

CrOx/SiO2催化剂上丙烷在CO2气氛中脱氢反应的研究

采用XRD、UV-vis DRS、ESR和微分吸附量热等技术,考察了铬担载量分别为2.5、5和10wt%的CrO_x/SiO₂催化剂的结构、表面性质和氧化还原性能。结果表明,催化剂表面上存在多种Cr的氧化态和聚集形式。随着Cr担载量从2.5wt%到10wt%的逐渐增大,催化剂表面占主导地位的Cr物种由CrO₃单体转为多聚CrO₃和Cr₂O₃晶相。在CO₂气氛中催化剂对丙烷转化率和丙烯选择性的大小顺序为2.5wt%CrO_x/SiO₂>5wt%CrO_x/SiO₂>10wt%CrO_x/SiO₂,反应过程中的原位ESR和UV-visDRS测定结果表明,催化剂表面的反应活性中心为Cr⁵⁺,Cr⁵⁺可由催化剂预处理过程中Cr³⁺的氧化及丙烷反应过程中CrO₃单体的还原产生,在反应中CO₂可使Cr³⁺重新氧化为Cr⁵⁺.     

TiO_2纳米带光催化二氧化碳甲烷化

研究了在常温常压下TiO2纳米带光催化CO2催化加氢气反应。在紫外光照射下,二氧化碳的加氢还原产物为甲烷。利用高分辨TEM,XRD,UV-Vis DRS,低温氮吸附-脱附,TG等考察了催化剂与甲烷产率的构效关系。结果表明,在600℃焙烧时得到的双晶材料具有最佳的光催化活性。优异的光催化活性主要得益于TiO2双晶脱水纳米带(DNR Bicrystalline dehydratednanoribbon)。上面形成的纳米晶界能够提高催化剂在紫外区的光吸收能力,TiO2(B)和锐钛矿独特的双晶间隔结构也提高了界面电荷分离的效率。担载贵金属Pt显著地提高了反应速率。     

ZIF-67/CeO2催化CO2和甲醇直接合成碳酸二甲酯

采用沉淀法将ZIF-67负载到CeO₂上,制备了具有多重活性位点的非均相催化剂ZIF-67/CeO₂,并研究其催化CO₂和甲醇直接反应生成碳酸二甲酯(DMC)的性能。采用 X 射线衍射、N2吸附-脱附、傅里叶变换红外光谱和 X 射线光电子能谱研究了ZIF-67/CeO₂的各种理化性质。结果表明,ZIF-67的引入使ZIF-67/CeO₂催化剂产生更多的氧空位。在考察的ZIF-67/CeO₂系列催化剂中,0.3-ZIF-67/CeO₂(0.3为Co、Ce物质的量之比)在具有高的比表面积的同时还能保持介孔结构,具有丰富的酸碱位点,并且具有较高的CO₂吸附容量,表现出最好的催化性能。在反应温度为140℃、压力为4.5 MPa的条件下反应4 h,DMC收率可达到3.79 mmol_DMC·gcat^-1。     

ZIF-67/CeO2催化CO2和甲醇直接合成碳酸二甲酯

采用沉淀法将ZIF-67负载到CeO₂上,制备了具有多重活性位点的非均相催化剂ZIF-67/CeO₂,并研究其催化CO₂和甲醇直接反应生成碳酸二甲酯(DMC)的性能。采用X射线衍射、N₂吸附-脱附、傅里叶变换红外光谱和X射线光电子能谱研究了ZIF-67/CeO₂的各种理化性质。结果表明,ZIF-67的引入使ZIF-67/CeO₂催化剂产生更多的氧空位。在考察的ZIF-67/CeO₂系列催化剂中,0.3-ZIF-67/CeO₂(0.3为Co、Ce物质的量之比)在具有高的比表面积的同时还能保持介孔结构,具有丰富的酸碱位点,并且具有较高的CO₂吸附容量,表现出最好的催化性能。在反应温度为140℃、压力为4.5 MPa的条件下反应4 h,DMC收率可达到3.79 mmol_DMC·g_cat^-1。     

Preparation of “pore-fill” type Pd–YSZ–γ-Al2O3 composite membrane supported on α-Al2O3 tube for hydrogen separation

Mesoporous YSZ–γ-Al₂O₃ membranes were coated on α-Al₂O₃ (Ø2 mm) tube by dipping the α-Al₂O₃ support tube into mixed sol consists of nano-size YSZ and bohemite particles followed by drying and calcination at 600 °C. Addition of bohemite in YSZ sol helped a good adhesion and uniform coating of the membrane film onto α-Al₂O₃ support. The quality of the mesoporous YSZ–γ-Al₂O₃ membranes was evaluated by the gas permeability experiments. The number of defects was minimized when the γ-Al₂O₃ content became more than 40%. Addition of γ-Al₂O₃ inhibited the crystal growth of YSZ, sintering shrinkage and distortion stress. Increase of calcination temperature and time results in the increase of pore size and N₂ permeance. A hydrogen perm-selective membrane was prepared by filling palladium into the nano-pores of YSZ–γ-Al₂O₃ layer by vacuum-assisted electroless plating. Crystal growth of palladium was observed by thermal annealing of the membrane at 600 °C for 40 h. The Pd–YSZ–γ-Al₂O₃ composite membrane revealed improved thermal stability allowing long-term operation at elevated temperature (>500 °C). This has been attributed to the improved fracture toughness of YSZ–γ-Al₂O₃ layer and matching of thermal expansion coefficient between palladium and YSZ. Although fracture of the membrane did not occur, decline of H₂ flux was observed when the membrane was exposed in 600 °C. This has been attributed to the agglomeration of palladium particles by crystal growth and dense packing into the pore networks of YSZ–γ-Al₂O₃ by elevation of temperature.     

KIT-6负载CeO2催化CO2和甲醇合成碳酸二甲酯

采用不同老化温度(80、100、120和150℃)合成了一系列KIT-6载体,并通过浸渍法制备了相应的CeO_2/KIT-6催化剂。结合X射线衍射、N_2物理吸附、NH_3程序升温脱附、CO_2程序升温脱附、透射电子显微镜、傅里叶变换红外光谱和X射线光电子能谱等表征结果,详细考察了老化温度对KIT-6结构以及CeO_2/KIT-6催化剂直接催化CO_2和甲醇合成碳酸二甲酯(DMC)反应活性的影响。结果表明,不同老化温度下制备的KIT-6均保持其独特的三维孔道结构。随着老化温度升高,KIT-6比表面积先增大后减小,当老化温度为100℃时,KIT-6比表面积达到最大(683 m~2·g~(-1))。KIT-6较高的比表面积有利于提高CeO_2分散度,进而提高暴露的活性位点数量,催化活性随催化剂表面中等碱/酸性吸附位数量和Ce~(3+)含量的增加而逐渐提高。其中,CeO_2/100-KIT-6催化剂中CeO_2颗粒尺寸最小(5.9 nm),暴露的活性位数量最高,催化活性最佳。随后,考察了反应温度和压力对CeO_2/100-KIT-6催化活性的影响。随着反应温度提高,催化活性先升高后降低,当反应温度为140℃时,催化活性最高;且催化活性随反应压力的提高而逐渐增加。在反应温度为140℃、压力为6.8 MPa条件下,催化剂经6次循环后,DMC收率由15 mmol·g_(CeO_2)~(-1)逐渐降低至2.8 mmol·g_(CeO_2)~(-1),原因归结为反应过程中CeO_2纳米颗粒发生团聚,使暴露出的活性位数量减少。     

PEG modified poly(amide-b-ethylene oxide) membranes for CO2 separation

In the present work, membranes from commercially available Pebax^® MH 1657 and its blends with low molecular weight poly(ethylene glycol) PEG were prepared by using a simple binary solvent (ethanol/water). Dense film membranes show excellent compatibility with PEG system up to 50 wt.% of content. Gas transport properties have been determined for four gases (H₂, N₂, CH₄, CO₂) and the obtained permeabilities were correlated with polymer properties and morphology of the membranes. The permeability of CO₂ in Pebax^®/PEG membrane (50 wt.% of PEG) was increased two fold regarding to the pristine Pebax^®. Although CO₂/N₂ and CO₂/CH₄ selectivity remained constant, an enhancement of CO₂/H₂ selectivity (∼11) was observed. These results were attributed to the presence of EO units which increases CO₂ permeability, and to a probable increase of fractional free-volume. Furthermore, for free-volume discussion and permeability of gases, additive and Maxwell models were used.     

Syngas production in a novel perovskite membrane reactor with co-feed of CO2

Partial oxidation of methane（POM） co-fed with CO₂ to syngas in a novel catalytic BaCo_0.6Fe_0.2Ta_0.2O_3-δ oxygen permeable membrane reactor was successfully reported.Adding CO₂ to the partial oxidation of methane reaction not only alters the ratio of CO/H₂,but also increases the oxygen permeation flux and CH₄ conversion.Around 96%CH₄ conversion with more than 93%CO₂ conversion and 100%CO selectivity is achieved,which shows an excellent reaction performance.A steady oxygen permeation flux of 15 mL/（cm² min） is obtained during the 100-h operation,which shows good stability as well.     

负载型CuO/TiO2催化剂催化CO2加氢制甲醇

采用浸渍法制备了CuO/TiO₂负载型催化剂,并将其用于CO₂加氢制甲醇反应。重点考察了铜的负载量对催化剂性能的影响,并对其物化性能和催化性能之间的关系进行了讨论。结果发现,随着铜负载量的增加,催化剂中金属铜的比表面先增加后减小,当铜的负载量为10%（质量百分数）时达到最大值。催化剂的表面碱性位数量随铜含量的增加持续减小,中等碱位和强碱位的强度下降。当铜的负载量不高于10%时,CO₂的转化率与铜的比表面积呈线性关系。甲醇选择性与催化剂的表面碱位性质有关,过强的碱性位会降低甲醇选择性。     

PAMAM dendrimer composite membrane for CO2 separation: Formation of a chitosan gutter layer

A poly(amidoamine) (PAMAM) dendrimer composite membrane with an excellent CO₂/N₂ separation factor was developed in-situ. The In-situ Modification (IM) method was used to modify the surface of commercial porous membranes, such as ultrafiltration membranes, to produce a gas selective layer by controlling the interface precipitation of the membrane materials in the state of a received membrane module. Using the IM method, a chitosan layer was prepared on the inner surface of a commercially available ultrafiltration membrane as a gutter layer, in order to affix PAMAM dendrimer molecules on the porous substrate. After chitosan treatment, the PAMAM dendrimer was impregnated into the gutter layer to form a PAMAM/chitosan hybrid layer. The CO₂ separation performance of the resulting composite membrane was tested at a pressure difference of 100 kPa and a temperature of 40 °C, using a mixed CO₂ (5 vol%)/N₂ (95 vol%) feed gas. The PAMAM dendrimer composite membrane, with a gutter layer prepared from ethylene glycol diglycidyl ether and a 0.5 wt% chitosan solution of two different molecular weight chitosans, revealed an excellent CO₂/N₂ separation factor and a CO₂ permeance of 400 and 1.6 × 10⁻⁷ m³ (STP) m⁻² s⁻¹ kPa⁻¹, respectively. SEM observations revealed a defect-free chitosan layer (thickness 200 nm) positioned directly beneath the top surface of the UF membrane substrate. After PAMAM dendrimer treatment, the hybrid chitosan/PAMAM dendrimer layer was observed with a thickness of 300 nm. XPS analysis indicated that the hybrid layer contained about 20–40% PAMAM dendrimer.