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Project

High-performance membranes for separation of key industrial gas streams

Membrane-based gas separation (GS) is considered a promising technology for CO2 removal/capture and purification of olefin/paraffin streams. This project aims at improving two key aspects of membrane development. A first objective entails the design of CO2 and olefin-selective membranes with exceptional performance. Two systematic research approaches are proposed to reach this goal: (i) the tunable epoxy-ether chemistry is applied as a versatile platform for the development of poly(epoxyether) GS membranes. These membranes are very attractive for CO2 separations as a result of their ethylene oxide content, highly cross-linked nature (making them chemically robust) and their limited thickness (<200 nm); (ii) advanced metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) and ionic liquids (ILs) will constitute the core of a novel class of highly olefin-selective membranes. The selected MOFs and ILs are specifically equipped to achieve good olefin/paraffin selectivity as they make use of the strong size sieving ability of the MOF and facilitated transport properties of the IL for selective olefin targeting. A second objective is to test the performance of these membranes under realistic, industrial conditions to identify their true potential and gain fundamental insights in plasticization and physical ageing phenomena that are a major roadblock for membrane commercialization. Overall, this should result in membranes with exceptional performance and excellent stability under industrial conditions.

Date:1 Nov 2021 →  1 Mar 2023
Keywords:Membrane-based CO2 and olefine/paraffin separation
Disciplines:Powder and particle technology, Membrane technologies, Separation technologies, Carbon capture engineering, Environmental engineering design