WHAT IS MEMBRANE GAS SEPARATION?

A gas separation membrane is an interphase between two adjacent phases acting as a selective
barrier, regulating the transport of gases among gas mixtures.

Figure 1. Schematic of Membrane Gas Separation Process

A simple sketch of gas separation by membrane is provided in Fig. 1. The feed gets split into
permeate stream and an unpermeate stream also known as retentate. Depending upon the
application, either the permeate or retentate could be the final product. The membrane
preferably
allows one component of the feed stream to pass through it due to preferential interaction and
sorption combined with higher diffusivity of the same component owing to differences in
molecular size. The kinetic diameters of a few of the common gases along with their other
properties are provided in Table 1. The lower the kinetic diameter, the higher the diffusivity.
The development of a potential polymer is the key area of research in membrane
technology. The aim in the development of new membranes is to increase the permeability
and
selectivity or increasing the permeability without compromising the selectivity or enhancing
the
selectivity at constant permeability. Several researchers have been working to synthesize and
use
different varieties of membranes for separation of O2/N2from air, CO2/CH4 from landfill,
biogas
or natural gas, CO2/N2 in power plants, H2 recovery in ammonia manufacture or water gas
shift
reaction and even olefin–paraffin separation in refinery. Membranes can be prepared from
different polymers such as polycarbonates, polyimides, polyamides, polyetherimides, or
polysulfones by various techniques.

Membrane-based Gas Separation: Principle, Applications and Future Potential (PDF

Download Available). Available from:
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/265295121_Membrane-
based_Gas_Separation_Principle_Applications_and_Future_Potential [accessed Sep 14,
2017].