Modified Zeolite/Polysulfone Mixed Matrix Membrane for Enhanced CO2/CH4 Separation

In recent years, mixed matrix membranes (MMMs) have received worldwide attention for their potential to offer superior gas permeation and separation performance involving CO2 and CH4. However, fabricating defect-free MMMs still remains as a challenge where the incorporation of fillers into MMMs has...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Membranes (Basel) 2021-08, Vol.11 (8), p.630
Main Authors: Anbealagan, Lanisha Devi, Ng, Tiffany Yit Siew, Chew, Thiam Leng, Yeong, Yin Fong, Low, Siew Chun, Ong, Yit Thai, Ho, Chii-Dong, Jawad, Zeinab Abbas
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adsorption
Carbon dioxide
Caustic soda
CO2 separation
Elections
Emission analysis
Ethanol
Field emission microscopy
Fourier analysis
Fourier transforms
Gas permeation
Gas separation
Industrial gases
Infrared analysis
Infrared reflection
Investigations
Membranes
Methane
mixed matrix membranes (MMMs)
Penetration
Permeability
Polymers
Polysulfone
Polysulfone resins
Selectivity
silane modification
Sodium
Thermogravimetric analysis
X-ray diffraction
zeolite RHO
Zeolites
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Summary:In recent years, mixed matrix membranes (MMMs) have received worldwide attention for their potential to offer superior gas permeation and separation performance involving CO2 and CH4. However, fabricating defect-free MMMs still remains as a challenge where the incorporation of fillers into MMMs has usually led to some issues including formation of undesirable interfacial voids, which may jeopardize the gas separation performance of the MMMs. This current work investigated the incorporation of zeolite RHO and silane-modified zeolite RHO (NH2–RHO) into polysulfone (PSf) based MMMs with the primary aim of enhancing the membrane’s gas permeation and separation performance. The synthesized zeolite RHO, NH2–RHO, and fabricated membranes were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis, Fourier transform infrared-attenuated total reflection (FTIR-ATR), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and field emission scanning election microscopy (FESEM). The effects of zeolite loading in the MMMs on the CO2/CH4 separation performance were investigated. By incorporating 1 wt% of zeolite RHO into the MMMs, the CO2 permeability and ideal CO2/CH4 selectivity slightly increased by 4.2% and 2.7%, respectively, compared to that of a pristine PSf membrane. On the other hand, a significant enhancement of 45% in ideal CO2/CH4 selectivity was attained by MMMs incorporated with 2 wt% of zeolite NH2-RHO compared to a pristine PSf membrane. Besides, all MMMs incorporated with zeolite NH2-RHO displayed higher ideal CO2/CH4 selectivity than that of the MMMs incorporated with zeolite RHO. By incorporating 1–3 wt% zeolite NH2-RHO into PSf matrix, MMMs without interfacial voids were successfully fabricated. Consequently, significant enhancement in ideal CO2/CH4 selectivity was enabled by the incorporation of zeolite NH2–RHO into MMMs.
ISSN:2077-0375
2077-0375
DOI:10.3390/membranes11080630