Study of the Effect of Inorganic Particles on the Gas Transport Properties of Glassy Polyimides for Selective CO<sub>2</sub> and H<sub>2</sub>O Separation

Three polyimides and six inorganic fillers in a form of nanometer-sized particles were studied as thick film solution cast mixed matrix membranes (MMMs) for the transport of CO<sub>2</sub>, CH<sub>4</sub>, and H<sub>2</sub>O. Gas transport properties and electron...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Sara Escorihuela, Lucía Valero, Alberto Tena, Sergey Shishatskiy, Sonia Escolástico, Torsten Brinkmann, Jose Manuel Serra
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2018-12-01
Series:Membranes
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0375/8/4/128
Description
Summary:Three polyimides and six inorganic fillers in a form of nanometer-sized particles were studied as thick film solution cast mixed matrix membranes (MMMs) for the transport of CO<sub>2</sub>, CH<sub>4</sub>, and H<sub>2</sub>O. Gas transport properties and electron microscopy images indicate good polymer-filler compatibility for all membranes. The only filler type thatdemonstrated good distribution throughout the membrane thickness at 10 wt.% loading was BaCe<sub>0.2</sub>Zr<sub>0.7</sub>Y<sub>0.1</sub>O<sub>3</sub> (BCZY). The influence of this filler on MMM gas transport properties was studied in detail for 6FDA-6FpDA in a filler content range from one to 20 wt.% and for Matrimid<sup>&#174;</sup> and P84<sup>&#174;</sup> at 10 wt.% loading. The most promising result was obtained for Matrimid<sup>&#174;</sup>&#8212;10 wt.% BCZY MMM, which showed improvement in CO<sub>2</sub> and H<sub>2</sub>O permeabilities accompanied by increased CO<sub>2</sub>/CH<sub>4</sub> selectivity and high water selective membrane at elevated temperatures without H<sub>2</sub>O/permanent gas selectivity loss.
ISSN:2077-0375