9560908 Pinnau This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project focuses on the development of high-performance membranes for the separation of carbon dioxide/hydrogen mixtures. This separation is performed on a massive scale in every refinery as part of the production process for hydrogen. Current best technologies are amine absorption or pressure swing adsorption, both expensive, energy-intensive processes. The membranes to be developed are based on rubbery, highly hydrophilic polyether-polyamide block copolymers. Preliminary data show that the membranes are exceptionally selective for the separation of polar/nonpolar gas mixtures such as carbon dioxide/hydrogen. The Phase I project will be the first quantitative evaluation of the gas transport properties of polyether-polyamide block copolymers for this industrially important application. To demonstrate the feasibility of the approach, the new polymers will be made into thin-film composite membranes on a laboratory scale. Phase II, if successful, will develop techniques to make thin-film composite membranes and modules on a commercial scale, and evaluate the modules in pilot scale systems. High-performance, hydrophilic rubbery polymers that exhibit higher selectivity and higher gas permeability than conventional hydrophobic polymers could have a significant impact on many polar/nonpolar gas separation applications, such as the removal of carbon dioxide from hydrogen. Availability of these novel polymers in thin-film composite membranes and modules would dramatically improve the process economics and make membrane systems competitive with conventional separation methods in these applications.
