title: Bendable Zeolite Membranes: Synthesis and Improved Gas Separation Performance.
abstract: Separation and sequestration of CO2 emitted from fossil energy fueled electric generating units and industrial facilities will help in reducing anthropogenic CO2, thereby mitigating its adverse climate change effects. Membrane-based gas separation has the potential to meet the technical challenges of CO2 separation if high selectivity and permeance with low costs for large-scale manufacture are realized. Inorganic zeolite membranes in principle can have selectivity and permeance considerably higher than polymers. This paper presents a strategy for zeolite growth within the pores of a polymer support, with crystallization time of an hour. With a thin coating of 200-300 nm polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) on the zeolite-polymer composite, transport data for CO2/N2 separation indicate separation factors of 35-45, with CO2 permeance between 1600 and 2200 GPU (1 GPU = 3.35 × 10(-10) mol/(m(2) s Pa)) using dry synthetic mixtures of CO2 and N2 at 25 °C. The synthesis process results in membranes that are highly reproducible toward transport measurements and exhibit long-term stability (3 days). Most importantly, these membranes because of the zeolite growth within the polymer support, as contrasted to conventional zeolite growth on top of a support, are mechanically flexible.
authors.forename: Bo
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: W S Winston
authors.initials: WS
authors.lastname: Ho
authors.affiliation: §National Energy Technology Laboratory, US Department of Energy, 626 Cochran Mill Road, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15236, United States.
authors.forename: Jose D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Figueroa
authors.forename: Prabir K
authors.initials: PK
authors.lastname: Dutta