Design of a Tunable, High‐performance Mixed Matrix Membrane Platform for Gas Separations
Abstract
Abstract Membrane technology offers substantial economic and environmental benefits for energy‐intensive chemical separations. Chabazite‐type zeolite, possessing a 3‐D channel system with molecular‐sieving windows, can be an ideal membrane material, but conditions to synthesize zeolite‐only membranes limit optimization strategies. Guided by advanced quantum chemistry calculations on inner‐pore molecular interactions, zeolite properties are tailored for different separations and optimized particles incorporated in polyimide at very high loadings. A membrane platform is thus created that largely outperforms state‐of‐the‐art membranes for a broad variety of industry‐relevant applications, that is, carbon capture, natural gas/biogas purification, hydrocarbon, helium and hydrogen recovery. Accurate size‐sieving of gas molecules is realized together with rational determination of optimal gas‐zeolite interactions. Crucial for industrial applications, these well‐tuned membranes displayed excellent non‐aging properties, high flexibility and higher mixed‐gas selectivities than ideal‐gas selectivities. Moreover, they performed even better at low CO 2 ‐partial pressure in CO 2 ‐removal and can be made humidity‐insensitive.
Article Details
Authors (20)
Xiaoyu Tan
Sven Robijns
Center for Sustainable Catalysis and Engineering KU Leuven Celestijnenlaan 200F Heverlee 3001 Belgium
Aran Lamaire
Center for Molecular Modeling Ghent University Tech Lane Ghent Science Park, Technologiepark 46 Zwijnaarde 9052 Belgium
Ruben Goeminne
Center for Molecular Modeling Ghent University Tech Lane Ghent Science Park Campus A, 9052 Zwijnaarde, Belgium
Niels De Witte
Department of Chemical Engineering Vrije Universiteit Brussel Pleinlaan 2 Brussels 1050 Belgium
Marcel Dickmann
Rhea Verbeke
Center for Membrane Separations, Adsorption, Catalysis, and Spectroscopy for Sustainable Solutions (cMACS), Faculty of Bioscience Engineering KU Leuven Celestijnenlaan 200F Leuven 3001 Belgium
Tom Van der Donck
Department of Materials Engineering KU Leuven Kasteelpark Arenberg 44 Leuven 3001 Belgium
Rodrigo de Oliveira Silva
Center for Membrane Separations, Adsorption, Catalysis, and Spectroscopy for Sustainable Solutions (cMACS), Faculty of Bioscience Engineering KU Leuven Celestijnenlaan 200F Leuven 3001 Belgium
Quanli Ke
Center for Sustainable Catalysis and Engineering Faculty of Bioscience Engineering KU Leuven KU Leuven; Celestijnenlaan 200F Leuven 3001 Belgium
Yun Li
Imran Aslam
Centre For Membrane Separations, Adsorption Catalysis and Spectroscopy for Sustainable Solutions (cMACS) KU Leuven Leuven Belgium
Cédric Van Goethem
Thibaut Donckels
Center for Sustainable Catalysis and Engineering Faculty of Bioscience Engineering KU Leuven KU Leuven; Celestijnenlaan 200F Leuven 3001 Belgium
Ricardo Helm
Institute for Applied Physics and Metrology University of the Bundeswehr Munich Werner‐Heisenberg‐Weg 39, München 85577 Neubiberg Germany
Dimitrios Sakellariou
Centre for Membrane Separations, Adsorption, Catalysis and Spectroscopy for Sustainable Solutions (cMACS)
Tom Van Assche
Department of Chemical Engineering Vrije Universiteit Brussel Pleinlaan 2 Brussels 1050 Belgium
Veronique Van Speybroeck
Center for Molecular Modeling, Ghent University, Technologiepark 46, 9052 Zwijnaarde, Belgium
Michiel Dusselier
Center for Sustainable Catalysis and Engineering KU Leuven Celestijnenlaan 200F Heverlee 3001 Belgium
Ivo F. J. Vankelecom
Division cMACS Faculty of Bioscience Engineering KU Leuven Celestijnenlaan 200F Leuven B‐3001 Belgium