A Comparison on Gas Separation between PES(polyethersulfone)/MMT (Na-montmorillonite) and PES/TiO2 Mixed Matrix Membranes

0376340 - ÚCHP 2013 RIV GB eng J - Journal Article
Liang, Ch.-Y. - Uchytil, Petr - Petričkovič, Roman - Lai, Y.-Ch. - Friess, K. - Šípek, M. - Reddy, M.M. - Suen, S.-Y.
A Comparison on Gas Separation between PES(polyethersulfone)/MMT (Na-montmorillonite) and PES/TiO2 Mixed Matrix Membranes.
Separation and Purification Technology. Roč. 92, MAY 18 (2012), s. 57-63. ISSN 1383-5866. E-ISSN 1873-3794
R&D Projects: GA ČR GCP106/10/J038
Grant - others:NSCT(TW) NSC:99-2911-I-005-002; NSCT(TW) NSC:99-2923-E-005-001-MY2
Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z40720504
Keywords : mixed matrix membrane * polyethersulfone membrane * sodium montmorillonite
Subject RIV: CB - Analytical Chemistry, Separation
Impact factor: 2.894, year: 2012

Polyethersulfone (PES)-based mixed matrix membranes (MMMs) with the incorporation of inorganic fillers of different shapes (lamellar Na-montmorillonite (MMT) clays and spherical TiO2 nanoparticles) were prepared in this study, and the resulting MMMs were characterized by TGA, DSC, XRD, SEM, and TEM. It was found that inorganic filler agglomeration became more serious at higher-filler-content MMMs. In the case of PES/MMT MMMs, both the CO2 and CH4 permeabilities increased significantly with the increasing filler content and consequently the gas selectivity was greatly reduced. At high MMT loadings (P10 wt.%), Knudsen diffusion became the predominant gas transport mechanism. A different trend was achieved in the case of PES/TiO2 MMMs. The CO2/CH4 selectivity increased from 24.5 (pure PES membrane) to a maximum value of 38.5 at 4 wt.% TiO2 MMM and then decreased with a further increase in TiO2 content (e.g. 17.3 for 20 wt.%). The formation of interface voids and membrane defects in MMMs contributed to the high gas permeabilities and low gas selectivity.
Permanent Link: http://hdl.handle.net/11104/0208767