Aging-resistant carbon molecular sieve membrane derived from pre-crosslinked Matrimid® for propylene/propane separation

Despite the well-recognized potential of carbon molecular sieve (CMS) membranes for olefin/paraffin separation, its gradual performance degradation has been the main bottleneck to reach commercialization. Particularly, the structural transformation of CMS membranes has recently been identified as an...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of membrane science 2021-10, Vol.636, p.119555, Article 119555
Main Authors: Kim, Seong-Joong, Kim, Jeong F., Cho, Young Hoon, Nam, Seung-Eun, Park, Hosik, Park, You-In
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aging
Carbon molecular sieve membrane
Crosslinking
Gas separation
Matrimid
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Summary:Despite the well-recognized potential of carbon molecular sieve (CMS) membranes for olefin/paraffin separation, its gradual performance degradation has been the main bottleneck to reach commercialization. Particularly, the structural transformation of CMS membranes has recently been identified as an additional challenge to be resolved. Herein, we systematically studied the aging phenomenon under nitrogen and helium atmosphere, as well as the aging of CMS membranes during propylene separation under oxygen-free dry conditions. In order to minimize this structural transformation, the shift of carbon structure must be prevented by fastening the chains. We implemented a pre-crosslinking step on Matrimid® polymer precursors with various contents of crosslinking agent prior to pyrolysis to establish firm networks, resulting in a remarkable improvement of long-term stability nearly 18-fold when tested in long-term (500 h) at 7 barg and 50 °C. Moreover, it was found that there exists an optimal pre-crosslinking density of CMS membrane for aging suppression. [Display omitted] •The aging phenomenon of CMS membrane occurred during long-term operation.•The propylene permeance was reduced nearly 98% below the initial permeance.•A pre-crosslinking step was introduced onto Matrimid® precursor of CMS membrane prior to pyrolysis.•The CMS membrane derived from pre-crosslinked Matrimid® preserved the propylene permeance down to 33%.•The CMS membrane derived from excessively pre-crosslinked Matrimid® led to the acceleration of the aging.
ISSN:0376-7388
1873-3123
DOI:10.1016/j.memsci.2021.119555