Integration of Methane Steam Reforming and Water Gas Shift Reaction in a Pd/Au/Pd-Based Catalytic Membrane Reactor for Process Intensification

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bernardo Castro-Dominguez

2016-09-01

Full Text Available Palladium-based catalytic membrane reactors (CMRs effectively remove H2 to induce higher conversions in methane steam reforming (MSR and water-gas-shift reactions (WGS. Within such a context, this work evaluates the technical performance of a novel CMR, which utilizes two catalysts in series, rather than one. In the process system under consideration, the first catalyst, confined within the shell side of the reactor, reforms methane with water yielding H2, CO and CO2. After reforming is completed, a second catalyst, positioned in series, reacts with CO and water through the WGS reaction yielding pure H2O, CO2 and H2. A tubular composite asymmetric Pd/Au/Pd membrane is situated throughout the reactor to continuously remove the produced H2 and induce higher methane and CO conversions while yielding ultrapure H2 and compressed CO2 ready for dehydration. Experimental results involving (i a conventional packed bed reactor packed (PBR for MSR, (ii a PBR with five layers of two catalysts in series and (iii a CMR with two layers of two catalysts in series are comparatively assessed and thoroughly characterized. Furthermore, a comprehensive 2D computational fluid dynamics (CFD model was developed to explore further the features of the proposed configuration. The reaction was studied at different process intensification-relevant conditions, such as space velocities, temperatures, pressures and initial feed gas composition. Finally, it is demonstrated that the above CMR module, which was operated for 600 h, displays quite high H2 permeance and purity, high CH4 conversion levels and reduced CO yields.

The production of hydrogen through the use of a 77 wt% Pd 23 wt% Ag membrane water gas shift reactor

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Liberty N. Baloyi

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Hydrogen as an energy carrier has the potential to decarbonize the energy sector. This work presents the application of a palladium-silver (Pd–Ag membrane-based reactor. The membrane reactor which is made from Pd–Ag film supported by porous stainless steel (PSS is evaluated for the production of hydrogen and the potential replacement of the current two-stage Water-Gas Shift (WGS reaction by a single stage reaction. The permeability of a 20 μm Pd–Ag membrane reactor was examined at 320 °C, 380 °C and 430 °C. The effect of continuous hydrogen exposure on the Pd–Ag membrane at high temperature and low temperature was examined to investigate the thermal stability and durability of the membrane. During continuous operation to determine thermal stability, the membrane reactor exhibited stable hydrogen permeation at 320 °C for 120 h and unstable hydrogen permeation at 430 °C was observed. For the WGS reaction, the reactor was loaded with Ferrochrome catalyst. The membrane showed the ability to produce high purity hydrogen, with a CO conversion and an H2 recovery of 84% and 88%, respectively. The membrane suffered from hydrogen embrittlement due to desorption and adsorption of hydrogen on the membrane surface. SEM analysis revealed cracks that occurred on the surface of the membrane after hydrogen exposure. XRD analysis revealed lattice expansion after hydrogen loading which suggests the occurrence of phase change from α-phase to the more brittle β-phase.

PdZnAl Catalysts for the Reactions of Water-Gas-Shift, Methanol Steam Reforming, and Reverse-Water-Gas-Shift

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dagle, Robert A.; Platon, Alexandru; Datye, Abhaya K.; Vohs, John M.; Wang, Yong; Palo, Daniel R.

2008-03-07

Pd/ZnO/Al2O3 catalysts were studied for water-gas-shift (WGS), methanol steam reforming, and reverse-water-gas-shift (RWGS) reactions. WGS activity was found to be dependent on the Pd:Zn ratio with a maximum activity obtained at approximately 0.50, which was comparable to that of a commercial Pt-based catalyst. The catalyst stability was demonstrated for 100 hours time-on-stream at a temperature of 3600C without evidence of metal sintering. WGS reaction rates were approximately 1st order with respect to CO concentration, and kinetic parameters were determined to be Ea = 58.3 kJ mol-1 and k0 = 6.1x107 min-1. During methanol steam reforming, the CO selectivities were observed to be lower than the calculated equilibrium values over a range of temperatures and steam/carbon ratios studied while the reaction rate constants were approximately of the same magnitude for both WGS and methanol steam reforming. These results indicate that although Pd/ZnO/Al2O3 are active WGS catalysts, WGS is not involved in methanol steam reforming. RWGS rate constants are on the order of about 20 times lower than that of methanol steam reforming, suggesting that RWGS reaction could be one of the sources for small amount of CO formation in methanol steam reforming.

Exergy analysis of a hydrogen fired combined cycle with natural gas reforming and membrane assisted shift reactors for CO2 capture

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Atsonios, K.; Panopoulos, K.D.; Doukelis, A.; Koumanakos, A.; Kakaras, Em.

2012-01-01

Highlights: ► Exergy analysis of NGCC with CCS. ► WGS-MR: exergetically efficient technology for CCS, less than 2% total exergy losses. ► 10% of total exergy dissipation in the ATR. ► Optimization of ATR operation and CO 2 stream treatment. - Abstract: Hydrogen production from fossil fuels together with carbon capture has been suggested as a means of providing a carbon free power. The paper presents a comparative exergetic analysis performed on the hydrogen production from natural gas with several combinations of reactor systems: (a) oxy or air fired autothermal reforming with subsequent water gas shift reactor and (b) membrane reactor assisted with shift catalysts. The influence of reactor temperature and pressure as well as operating parameter steam-to-carbon ratio, is also studied exergetically. The results indicate optimal power plant configurations with CO 2 capture, or hydrogen delivery for industrial applications.

Sweeping Gas Membrane Desalination Using Commercial Hydrophobic Hollow Fiber Membranes; TOPICAL

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

EVANS, LINDSEY; MILLER, JAMES E.

2002-01-01

Water shortages affect 88 developing countries that are home to half of the world's population. In these places, 80-90% of all diseases and 30% of all deaths result from poor water quality. Furthermore, over the next 25 years, the number of people affected by severe water shortages is expected to increase fourfold. Low cost methods of purifying freshwater, and desalting seawater are required to contend with this destabilizing trend. Membrane distillation (MD) is an emerging technology for separations that are traditionally accomplished via conventional distillation or reverse osmosis. As applied to desalination, MD involves the transport of water vapor from a saline solution through the pores of a hydrophobic membrane. In sweeping gas MD, a flowing gas stream is used to flush the water vapor from the permeate side of the membrane, thereby maintaining the vapor pressure gradient necessary for mass transfer. Since liquid does not penetrate the hydrophobic membrane, dissolved ions are completely rejected by the membrane. MD has a number of potential advantages over conventional desalination including low temperature and pressure operation, reduced membrane strength requirements, compact size, and 100% rejection of non-volatiles. The present work evaluated the suitability of commercially available technology for sweeping gas membrane desalination. Evaluations were conducted with Celgard Liqui-Cel(reg s ign) Extra-Flow 2.5X8 membrane contactors with X-30 and X-40 hydrophobic hollow fiber membranes. Our results show that sweeping gas membrane desalination systems are capable of producing low total dissolved solids (TDS) water, typically 10 ppm or less, from seawater, using low grade heat. However, there are several barriers that currently prevent sweeping gas MD from being a viable desalination technology. The primary problem is that large air flows are required to achieve significant water yields, and the costs associated with transporting this air are prohibitive. To

Hydrogen production by water dissociation using ceramic membranes - annual report for FY 2010.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Balachandran, U.; Dorris, S. E.; Emerson, J. E.; Lee, T. H.; Lu, Y.; Park, C. Y.; Picciolo, J. J. (Energy Systems)

2011-03-14

The objective of this project is to develop dense ceramic membranes that can produce hydrogen via coal/coal gas-assisted water dissociation without using an external power supply or circuitry. This project grew from an effort to develop a dense ceramic membrane for separating hydrogen from gas mixtures such as those generated during coal gasification, methane partial oxidation, and water-gas shift reactions. That effort led to the development of various cermet (i.e., ceramic/metal composite) membranes that enable hydrogen production by two methods. In one method, a hydrogen transport membrane (HTM) selectively removes hydrogen from a gas mixture by transporting it through either a mixed protonic/electronic conductor or a hydrogen transport metal. In the other method, an oxygen transport membrane (OTM) generates hydrogen mixed with steam by removing oxygen that is generated through water splitting. This project focuses on the development of OTMs that efficiently produce hydrogen via the dissociation of water. Supercritical boilers offer very high-pressure steam that can be decomposed to provide pure hydrogen using OTMs. Oxygen resulting from the dissociation of steam can be used for coal gasification, enriched combustion, or synthesis gas production. Hydrogen and sequestration-ready CO{sub 2} can be produced from coal and steam by using the membrane being developed in this project. Although hydrogen can also be generated by high-temperature steam electrolysis, producing hydrogen by water splitting with a mixed-conducting membrane requires no electric power or electrical circuitry.

Hydrodesulphurization of Light Gas Oil using hydrogen from the Water Gas Shift Reaction

Science.gov (United States)

Alghamdi, Abdulaziz

2009-12-01

The production of clean fuel faces the challenges of high production cost and complying with stricter environmental regulations. In this research, the ability of using a novel technology of upgrading heavy oil to treat Light Gas Oil (LGO) will be investigated. The target of this project is to produce cleaner transportation fuel with much lower cost of production. Recently, a novel process for upgrading of heavy oil has been developed at University of Waterloo. It is combining the two essential processes in bitumen upgrading; emulsion breaking and hydroprocessing into one process. The water in the emulsion is used to generate in situ hydrogen from the Water Gas Shift Reaction (WGSR). This hydrogen can be used for the hydrogenation and hydrotreating reaction which includes sulfur removal instead of the expensive molecular hydrogen. This process can be carried out for the upgrading of the bitumen emulsion which would improve its quality. In this study, the hydrodesulphurization (HDS) of LGO was conducted using in situ hydrogen produced via the Water Gas Shift Reaction (WGSR). The main objective of this experimental study is to evaluate the possibility of producing clean LGO over dispersed molybdenum sulphide catalyst and to evaluate the effect of different promoters and syn-gas on the activity of the dispersed Mo catalyst. Experiments were carried out in a 300 ml Autoclave batch reactor under 600 psi (initially) at 391°C for 1 to 3 hours and different amounts of water. After the hydrotreating reaction, the gas samples were collected and the conversion of carbon monoxide to hydrogen via WGSR was determined using a refinery gas analyzer. The sulphur content in liquid sample was analyzed via X-Ray Fluorescence. Experimental results showed that using more water will enhance WGSR but at the same time inhibits the HDS reaction. It was also shown that the amount of sulfur removed depends on the reaction time. The plan is to investigate the effect of synthesis gas (syngas

Ceramic membranes for gas processing in coal gasification

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Smart, S.; Lin, C.X.C.; Ding, L.; Thambimuthu, K.; da Costa, J.C.D. [University of Queensland, Brisbane, Qld. (Australia)

2010-07-01

Pre-combustion options via coal gasification, especially integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) processes, are attracting the attention of governments, industry and the research community as an attractive alternative to conventional power generation. It is possible to build an IGCC plant with CCS with conventional technologies however; these processes are energy intensive and likely to reduce power plant efficiencies. Novel ceramic membrane technologies, in particular molecular sieving silica (MSS) and pervoskite membranes, offer the opportunity to reduce efficiency losses by separating gases at high temperatures and pressures. MSS membranes can be made preferentially selective for H{sub 2}, enabling both enhanced production, via a water-gas shift membrane reactor, and recovery of H{sub 2} from the syngas stream at high temperatures. They also allow CO{sub 2} to be concentrated at high pressures, reducing the compression loads for transportation and enabling simple integration with CO{sub 2} storage or sequestration operations. Perovskite membranes provide a viable alternative to cryogenic distillation for air separation by delivering the tonnage of oxygen required for coal gasification at a reduced cost. In this review we examine ceramic membrane technologies for high temperature gas separation and discuss the operational, mechanical, design and process considerations necessary for their successful integration into IGCC with CCS systems.

Optimization of a water-gas shift reactor over a Pt/ceria/alumina monolith

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Quiney, A.S.; Germani, G.; Schuurman, Y. [Institut de Recherches sur la Catalyse-CNRS, 2 Avenue A. Einstein, 69626 Villeurbanne (France)

2006-10-06

The water-gas shift (WGS) reaction is an important step in the purification of hydrogen for fuel cells. It lowers the carbon monoxide content and produces extra hydrogen. The constraints of automotive applications render the commercial WGS catalysts unsuitable. Pt/ceria catalysts are cited as promising catalysts for onboard applications as they are highly active and non-pyrophoric. This paper reports on a power law rate expression for a Pt/CeO{sub 2}/Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} catalyst. This rate equation is used to compare different reactor configurations for an onboard water-gas shift reactor. A one-dimensional heterogeneous model that accounts for the interfacial and intraparticle gradients has been used to optimize a dual stage adiabatic monolith reactor. (author)

Local area water removal analysis of a proton exchange membrane fuel cell under gas purge conditions.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Chi-Yuan; Lee, Yu-Ming; Lee, Shuo-Jen

2012-01-01

In this study, local area water content distribution under various gas purging conditions are experimentally analyzed for the first time. The local high frequency resistance (HFR) is measured using novel micro sensors. The results reveal that the liquid water removal rate in a membrane electrode assembly (MEA) is non-uniform. In the under-the-channel area, the removal of liquid water is governed by both convective and diffusive flux of the through-plane drying. Thus, almost all of the liquid water is removed within 30 s of purging with gas. However, liquid water that is stored in the under-the-rib area is not easy to remove during 1 min of gas purging. Therefore, the re-hydration of the membrane by internal diffusive flux is faster than that in the under-the-channel area. Consequently, local fuel starvation and membrane degradation can degrade the performance of a fuel cell that is started from cold.

Density functional theory study on water-gas-shift reaction over molybdenum disulfide

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Shi, X. R.; Wang, Shengguang; Hu, J.

2009-01-01

. The pathway for water-gas-shift reaction on both terminations has been carefully studied where the most favorable reaction path precedes the redox mechanism, namely the reaction takes place as follows: CO + H2O --> CO + OH + H --> CO + O + 2H --> CO2 + H-2. The most likely reaction candidates for the formate......Density functional theory calculations have been carried out to investigate the adsorption of reaction intermediates appearing during water-gas-shift reaction at the sulfur covered MoS2 (1 0 0)surfaces, Mo-termination with 37.5% S coverage and S-termination with 50% S coverage using periodic slabs...... species HCOO formation is the surface CO2 reaction with H as a side reaction of CO2 desorption on S-termination with 50% S coverage. The formed HCOO species will react further with adsorbed hydrogen yielding H2COO followed by breaking its C-O bond to form the surface CH2O and O species....

A further step toward H2 in automobile : development of an efficient bi-functional catalyst for single stage water gas shift

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Azzam, K.G.H.

2008-01-01

The suitability of polymer electrolyte fuel (PEM) cells for stationary and vehicular applications initiated research in all areas of fuel processor (i.e. reformer, water-gas-shift, preferential oxidation of CO (PROX)) catalysts for hydrogen generation. Water gas shift (WGS) reaction is an essential

Water recovery from flue gas

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Heijboer, R.; Van Deelen-Bremer, M.H.; de Vos, F.; Zeijseink, A.G.L. [KEMA Nederland B.V. (Netherlands)

2007-07-01

In the power generation process a large amount of water is needed, for steam generation, flue gas cleaning etc. On the other hand a large amount of water is emitted to the atmosphere via the stack. For example a 400 MW coal fired power plant with a flue gas desulfurisation plant emits about 1,500,000 m{sup 3} per hour with a water concentration of about 11%. The emitted water has a rather good quality compared to surface water and needs less effort to be treated for use as make-up water. As the available amount of water in the flue gas from the earlier mentioned power plant is about 150 tons per hour, recovering 20% of this amount covers the make-up water needs of this 400 MW power plant. Direct condensation of the flue gas needs large cooling power and the condensed water is acidic and corrosive and needs cleanup treatment before it can be used in the water/steam cycle. KEMA developed a technology based on gas separation membranes which makes it possible to recover water from flue gas. The process is covered by a wide patent. The principle of the membrane is comparable to the material that is used in fabric like SympaTex{reg_sign} and GORE-TEX{reg_sign}. The GORE-TEX material is permeable to water vapor but rejects liquid water. The driving force is the water vapor pressure close to the human skin which is the higher than the water vapor pressure open the outside of the clothing. The selectivity of the GORE-TEX material however is not good enough to be used at the temperature of flue gas. The University of Twente (Netherlands) developed a membrane material based on modified PEEK which is highly selective of water vapor at flue gas temperatures. Based on the fact that flat membranes have an uneconomical surface to volume ratio, the choice has been made to use hollow fibre membranes. 6 figs.

The influence of polymeric membrane gas spargers on hydrodynamics and mass transfer in bubble column bioreactors

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Tirunehe, Gossay; Norddahl, B.

2016-01-01

Gas sparging performances of a flat sheet and tubular polymeric membranes were investigated in 3.1 m bubble column bioreactor operated in a semi batch mode. Air–water and air–CMC (Carboxymethyl cellulose) solutions of 0.5, 0.75 and 1.0 % w/w were used as interacting gas–liquid mediums. CMC....../s. The study indicated that the tubular membrane sparger produced the highest gas holdup and densely populated fine bubbles with narrow size distribution. An increase in liquid viscosity promoted a shift in bubble size distribution to large stable bubbles and smaller specific interfacial area. The tubular...... membrane sparger achieved greater interfacial area and an enhanced overall mass transfer coefficient (KLa) by a factor of 1.2–1.9 compared to the flat sheet membrane....

The influence of polymeric membrane gas spargers on hydrodynamics and mass transfer in bubble column bioreactors.

Science.gov (United States)

Tirunehe, Gossaye; Norddahl, B

2016-04-01

Gas sparging performances of a flat sheet and tubular polymeric membranes were investigated in 3.1 m bubble column bioreactor operated in a semi batch mode. Air-water and air-CMC (Carboxymethyl cellulose) solutions of 0.5, 0.75 and 1.0 % w/w were used as interacting gas-liquid mediums. CMC solutions were employed in the study to simulate rheological properties of bioreactor broth. Gas holdup, bubble size distribution, interfacial area and gas-liquid mass transfer were studied in the homogeneous bubbly flow hydrodynamic regime with superficial gas velocity (U(G)) range of 0.0004-0.0025 m/s. The study indicated that the tubular membrane sparger produced the highest gas holdup and densely populated fine bubbles with narrow size distribution. An increase in liquid viscosity promoted a shift in bubble size distribution to large stable bubbles and smaller specific interfacial area. The tubular membrane sparger achieved greater interfacial area and an enhanced overall mass transfer coefficient (K(L)a) by a factor of 1.2-1.9 compared to the flat sheet membrane.

Advanced Membrane Filtration Technology for Cost Effective Recovery of Fresh Water from Oil & Gas Produced Brine

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

David B. Burnett

2004-09-29

Produced water is a major waste generated at the oil and natural gas wells in the state of Texas. This water could be a possible source of new fresh water to meet the growing demands of the state after treatment and purification. Treatment of brine generated in oil fields or produced water with an ultrafiltration membranes were the subject of this thesis. The characterization of ultrafiltration membranes for oil and suspended solids removal of produced water, coupled with the reverse osmosis (RO) desalination of brine were studied on lab size membrane testing equipment and a field size testing unit to test whether a viable membrane system could be used to treat produced water. Oil and suspended solids were evaluated using turbidity and oil in water measurements taken periodically. The research considered the effect of pressure and flow rate on membrane performance of produced water treatment of three commercially available membranes for oily water. The study also analyzed the flux through the membrane and any effect it had on membrane performance. The research showed that an ultrafiltration membrane provided turbidity removal of over 99% and oil removal of 78% for the produced water samples. The results indicated that the ultrafiltration membranes would be asset as one of the first steps in purifying the water. Further results on selected RO membranes showed that salt rejection of greater than 97% could be achieved with satisfactory flux and at reasonable operating cost.

Water Gas Shift Reaction with A Single Stage Low Temperature Membrane Reactor

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ciora, Richard J [Media and Process Technology Inc., Pittsburgh, PA (United States); Liu, Paul KT [Media and Process Technology Inc., Pittsburgh, PA (United States)

2013-12-31

Palladium membrane and Palladium membrane reactor were developed under this project for hydrogen separation and purification for fuel cell applications. A full-scale membrane reactor was designed, constructed and evaluated for the reformate produced from a commercial scale methanol reformer. In addition, the Pd membrane and module developed from this project was successfully evaluated in the field for hydrogen purification for commercial fuel cell applications.

Integrated gasification gas combined cycle plant with membrane reactors: Technological and economical analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Amelio, Mario; Morrone, Pietropaolo; Gallucci, Fausto; Basile, Angelo

2007-01-01

In the present work, the capture and storage of carbon dioxide from the fossil fuel power plant have been considered. The main objective was to analyze the thermodynamic performances and the technological aspects of two integrated gasification gas combined cycle plants (IGCC), as well as to give a forecast of the investment costs for the plants and the resulting energy consumptions. The first plant considered is an IGCC* plant (integrated gasification gas combined cycle plant with traditional shift reactors) characterized by the traditional water gas shift reactors and a CO 2 physical adsorption system followed by the power section. The second one is an IGCC M plant (integrated gasification gas combined cycle plant with membrane reactor) where the coal thermal input is the same as the first one, but the traditional shift reactors and the physical adsorption unit are replaced by catalytic palladium membrane reactors (CMR). In the present work, a mono-dimensional computational model of the membrane reactor was proposed to simulate and evaluate the capability of the IGCC M plant to capture carbon dioxide. The energetic performances, efficiency and net power of the IGCC* and IGCC M plants were, thus, compared, assuming as standard a traditional IGCC plant without carbon dioxide capture. The economical aspects of the three plants were compared through an economical analysis. Since the IGCC* and IGCC M plants have additional costs related to the capture and disposal of the carbon dioxide, a Carbon Tax (adopted in some countries like Sweden) proportional to the number of kilograms of carbon dioxide released in the environment was assumed. According to the economical analysis, the IGCC M plant proved to be more convenient than the IGCC* one

Immobilized fluid membranes for gas separation

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Wei; Canfield, Nathan L; Zhang, Jian; Li, Xiaohong Shari; Zhang, Jiguang

2014-03-18

Provided herein are immobilized liquid membranes for gas separation, methods of preparing such membranes and uses thereof. In one example, the immobilized membrane includes a porous metallic host matrix and an immobilized liquid fluid (such as a silicone oil) that is immobilized within one or more pores included within the porous metallic host matrix. The immobilized liquid membrane is capable of selective permeation of one type of molecule (such as oxygen) over another type of molecule (such as water). In some examples, the selective membrane is incorporated into a device to supply oxygen from ambient air to the device for electrochemical reactions, and at the same time, to block water penetration and electrolyte loss from the device.

Polybenzimidazole-based mixed membranes with exceptional high water vapor permeability and selectivity

KAUST Repository

Akhtar, Faheem Hassan

2017-09-13

Polybenzimidazole (PBI), a thermal and chemically stable polymer, is commonly used to fabricate membranes for applications like hydrogen recovery at temperatures of more than 300 °C, fuel cells working in a highly acidic environment, and nanofiltration in aggressive solvents. This report shows for the first time use of PBI dense membranes for water vapor/gas separation applications. They showed an excellent selectivity and high water vapor permeability. Incorporation of inorganic hydrophilic titanium-based nano-fillers into the PBI matrix further increased the water vapor permeability and water vapor/N2 selectivity. The most selective mixed matrix membrane with 0.5 wt% loading of TiO2 nanotubes yielded a water vapor permeability of 6.8×104 Barrer and a H2O/N2 selectivity of 3.9×106. The most permeable membrane with 1 wt% loading of carboxylated TiO2 nanoparticles had a 7.1×104 Barrer water vapor permeability and a H2O/N2 selectivity of 3.1×106. The performance of these membranes in terms of water vapor transport and selectivity is among the highest reported ones. The remarkable ability of PBI to efficiently permeate water versus other gases opens the possibility to fabricate membranes for dehumidification of streams in harsh environments. This includes the removal of water from high temperature reaction mixtures to shift the equilibrium towards products.

Polybenzimidazole-based mixed membranes with exceptional high water vapor permeability and selectivity

KAUST Repository

Akhtar, Faheem Hassan; Kumar, Mahendra; Villalobos, Luis Francisco; Shevate, Rahul; Vovusha, Hakkim; Schwingenschlö gl, Udo; Peinemann, Klaus-Viktor

2017-01-01

Polybenzimidazole (PBI), a thermal and chemically stable polymer, is commonly used to fabricate membranes for applications like hydrogen recovery at temperatures of more than 300 °C, fuel cells working in a highly acidic environment, and nanofiltration in aggressive solvents. This report shows for the first time use of PBI dense membranes for water vapor/gas separation applications. They showed an excellent selectivity and high water vapor permeability. Incorporation of inorganic hydrophilic titanium-based nano-fillers into the PBI matrix further increased the water vapor permeability and water vapor/N2 selectivity. The most selective mixed matrix membrane with 0.5 wt% loading of TiO2 nanotubes yielded a water vapor permeability of 6.8×104 Barrer and a H2O/N2 selectivity of 3.9×106. The most permeable membrane with 1 wt% loading of carboxylated TiO2 nanoparticles had a 7.1×104 Barrer water vapor permeability and a H2O/N2 selectivity of 3.1×106. The performance of these membranes in terms of water vapor transport and selectivity is among the highest reported ones. The remarkable ability of PBI to efficiently permeate water versus other gases opens the possibility to fabricate membranes for dehumidification of streams in harsh environments. This includes the removal of water from high temperature reaction mixtures to shift the equilibrium towards products.

Development of compact tritium confinement system using gas separation membrane

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hayashi, Takumi; Okuno, Kenji

1994-01-01

In order to develop more compact and cost-effective tritium confinement system for fusion reactor, a new system using gas separation membranes has been studied at the Tritium Process Laboratory in the Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute. The preliminary result showed that the gas separation membrane system could reduce processing volume of tritium contaminated gas to more than one order of magnitude compared with the conventional system, and that most of tritiated water vapor (humidity) could be directly recovered by water condenser before passing through dryer such as molecular sieves. More detail investigations of gas separation characteristics of membrane were started to design ITER Atmospheric Detritiation System (ADS). Furthermore, a scaled polyimide membrane module (hollow-filament type) loop was just installed to investigate the actual tritium confinement performance under various ITER-ADS conditions. (author)

Sulfur Poisoning of the Water Gas Shift Reaction on Anode Supported Solid Oxide Fuel Cells

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hagen, Anke

2013-01-01

resistance increased both in the high and low frequency region, which indicates a strong poisoning of the water gas shift reaction and thus a lack of hydrogen fuel in addition to the poisoning of the electrochemical hydrogen oxidation. All poisoning effects are reversible under the applied operating...

On the study of catalytic membrane reactor for water detritiation: Modeling approach

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Liger, Karine, E-mail: karine.liger@cea.fr [CEA, DEN, DTN/SMTA/LIPC Cadarache, Saint Paul-lez-Durance F-13108 (France); Mascarade, Jérémy [CEA, DEN, DTN/SMTA/LIPC Cadarache, Saint Paul-lez-Durance F-13108 (France); Joulia, Xavier; Meyer, Xuan-Mi [Université de Toulouse, INPT, UPS, Laboratoire de Génie Chimique, 4, Allée Emile Monso, Toulouse F-31030 (France); CNRS, Laboratoire de Génie Chimique, Toulouse F-31030 (France); Troulay, Michèle; Perrais, Christophe [CEA, DEN, DTN/SMTA/LIPC Cadarache, Saint Paul-lez-Durance F-13108 (France)

2016-11-01

Highlights: • Experimental results for the conversion of tritiated water (using deuterium as a simulant of tritium) by means of a catalytic membrane reactor in view of tritium recovery. • Phenomenological 2D model to represent catalytic membrane reactor behavior including the determination of the compositions of gaseous effluents. • Good agreement between the simulation results and experimental measurements performed on the dedicated facility. • Explanation of the unexpected behavior of the catalytic membrane reactor by the modeling results and in particular the gas composition estimation. - Abstract: In the framework of tritium recovery from tritiated water, efficiency of packed bed membrane reactors have been successfully demonstrated. Thanks to protium isotope swamping, tritium bonded water can be recovered under the valuable Q{sub 2} form (Q = H, D or T) by means of isotope exchange reactions occurring on catalyst surface. The use of permselective Pd-based membrane allows withdrawal of reactions products all along the reactor, and thus limits reverse reaction rate to the benefit of the direct one (shift effect). The reactions kinetics, which are still little known or unknown, are generally assumed to be largely greater than the permeation ones so that thermodynamic equilibriums of isotope exchange reactions are generally assumed. This paper proposes a new phenomenological 2D model to represent catalytic membrane reactor behavior with the determination of gas effluents compositions. A good agreement was obtained between the simulation results and experimental measurements performed on a dedicated facility. Furthermore, the gas composition estimation permits to interpret unexpected behavior of the catalytic membrane reactor. In the next future, further sensitivity analysis will be performed to determine the limits of the model and a kinetics study will be conducted to assess the thermodynamic equilibrium of reactions.

On the study of catalytic membrane reactor for water detritiation: Modeling approach

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liger, Karine; Mascarade, Jérémy; Joulia, Xavier; Meyer, Xuan-Mi; Troulay, Michèle; Perrais, Christophe

2016-01-01

Highlights: • Experimental results for the conversion of tritiated water (using deuterium as a simulant of tritium) by means of a catalytic membrane reactor in view of tritium recovery. • Phenomenological 2D model to represent catalytic membrane reactor behavior including the determination of the compositions of gaseous effluents. • Good agreement between the simulation results and experimental measurements performed on the dedicated facility. • Explanation of the unexpected behavior of the catalytic membrane reactor by the modeling results and in particular the gas composition estimation. - Abstract: In the framework of tritium recovery from tritiated water, efficiency of packed bed membrane reactors have been successfully demonstrated. Thanks to protium isotope swamping, tritium bonded water can be recovered under the valuable Q_2 form (Q = H, D or T) by means of isotope exchange reactions occurring on catalyst surface. The use of permselective Pd-based membrane allows withdrawal of reactions products all along the reactor, and thus limits reverse reaction rate to the benefit of the direct one (shift effect). The reactions kinetics, which are still little known or unknown, are generally assumed to be largely greater than the permeation ones so that thermodynamic equilibriums of isotope exchange reactions are generally assumed. This paper proposes a new phenomenological 2D model to represent catalytic membrane reactor behavior with the determination of gas effluents compositions. A good agreement was obtained between the simulation results and experimental measurements performed on a dedicated facility. Furthermore, the gas composition estimation permits to interpret unexpected behavior of the catalytic membrane reactor. In the next future, further sensitivity analysis will be performed to determine the limits of the model and a kinetics study will be conducted to assess the thermodynamic equilibrium of reactions.

Qualification of the ALKASORB sorbent for the sorption-enhanced water-gas shift process

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Van Selow, E.R.; Cobden, P.D.; Dijk, Van H.A.J.; Walspurger, S.; Verbraeken, P.A.; Jansen, D.

2013-07-01

For the sorption-enhanced water-gas shift (SEWGS) process, a new sorbent material has been qualified in a reactor of 2 m length under conditions close to industrial designs. The sorbent ALKASORB is a potassium-carbonate promoted hydrotalcite-based compound. ALKASORB is shown to have many favourable properties in comparison to the reference sorbent, in particular with respect to mechanical stability. The cyclic capacity of the new compound is substantially higher than the cyclic capacity of the reference sorbent, and it allows a reduction of the steam requirement of 50%. The sorbent has demonstrated catalytic activity for the water-gas shift reaction that is sufficient to omit a separate catalyst. It is demonstrated that the sorbent remains chemically and mechanically stable during operation of at least 2000 adsorption-desorption cycles, even in the presence of H2S in the feed. H2S is shown not to influence CO2 adsorption capacity and is co-captured with the CO2. In contrast to the reference material that showed mechanical degradation during extended adsorption-desorption cycles, the new material is stable and allows to obtain carbon capture levels exceeding 95% more efficiently and more economically since the required size of the vessels will be smaller.

FIELD DEMONSTRATION OF A MEMBRANE PROCESS TO RECOVER HEAVY HYDROCARBONS AND TO REMOVE WATER FROM NATURAL GAS

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

R. Baker; R. Hofmann; K.A. Lokhandwala

2003-02-14

The objective of this project is to design, construct and field demonstrate a membrane system to recover natural gas liquids (NGL) and remove water from raw natural gas. An extended field test to demonstrate system performance under real-world conditions would convince industry users of the efficiency and reliability of the process. The system has been designed and fabricated by Membrane Technology and Research, Inc. (MTR) and will be installed and operated at British Petroleum (BP)-Amoco's Pascagoula, MS plant. The Gas Research Institute will partially support the field demonstration and BP-Amoco will help install the unit and provide onsite operators and utilities. The gas processed by the membrane system will meet pipeline specifications for dewpoint and Btu value and can be delivered without further treatment to the pipeline. Based on data from prior membrane module tests, the process is likely to be significantly less expensive than glycol dehydration followed by propane refrigeration, the principal competitive technology. At the end of this demonstration project the process will be ready for commercialization. The route to commercialization will be developed during this project and may involve collaboration with other companies already servicing the natural gas processing industry.

Flue gas carbon capture using hollow fiber membrane diffuser-separator

Science.gov (United States)

Ariono, D.; Chandranegara, A. S.; Widodo, S.; Khoiruddin; Wenten, I. G.

2018-01-01

In this work, CO2 removal from flue gas using membrane diffuser-separator was investigated. Hollow fiber polypropylene membrane was used as the diffuser while pure water was used as the absorbent. Separation performance of the membrane diffuser-separator as a function of CO2 concentration (6-28%-vol.) and flow rate (gas: 0.8-1.55 L.min-1 and liquid: 0.2-0.7 L.min-1) was investigated and optimized. It was found that CO2 removal was significantly affected by CO2 concentration in the feed gas. On the other hand, CO2 flux was more influenced by flow rates of liquid and gas rather than concentration. The optimized CO2 removal (64%) and flux (1 x 10-4 mol.m-2.s-1) were obtained at the highest gas flow rate (1.55 L.min-1), the lowest liquid flow rate (0.2 L.min-1), and 6.2%-vol. of CO2 concentration. Outlet gas of the membrane diffuser system tends to carry some water vapor, which is affected by gas and liquid flow rate. Meanwhile, in the steady-state operation of the separator, the gas bubbles generated by the membrane diffuser take a long time to be completely degassed from the liquid phase, thus a portion of gas stream was exiting separator through liquid outlet.

Chemisorption of H2O and CO2 on hydrotalcites for sorptionenhanced water-gas-shift processes

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Coenen, K.T.; Gallucci, F.; Cobden, P.; van Dijk, E; Hensen, E.J.M.; van Sint Annaland, M.

2017-01-01

Thermogravimetric analysis and breakthrough experiments in a packed bed reactor were used to validate a developed adsorption model to describe the cyclic working capacity of CO2 and H2O on a potassium-promoted hydrotalcite, a very promising adsorbent for sorption-enhanced water-gas-shift

Chemisorption of H2O and CO2 on hydrotalcites for sorptionenhanced water-gas-shift processes

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Coenen, K.T.; Gallucci, F.; Cobden, P.; van Dijk, E.; Hensen, E.J.M.; van Sint Annaland, M.

2016-01-01

Thermogravimetric analysis and breakthrough experiments in a packed bed reactor were used to validate a developed adsorption model to describe the cyclic working capacity of CO¬2 and H2O on a potassium-promoted hydrotalcite, a very promising adsorbent for sorption-enhanced water-gas-shift

Pressureless sintering and gas flux properties of porous ceramic membranes for gas applications

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

David O. Obada

Full Text Available The preparation and characterization of kaolin based ceramic membranes using styrofoam (STY and sawdust (SD as pore formers have been prepared by mechano-chemical synthesis using pressureless sintering technique with porogen content between (0–20 wt% by die pressing. Pellets were fired at 1150 °C and soaking time of 4 h. The membranes cast as circular disks were subjected to characterization studies to evaluate the effect of the sintering temperature and pore former content on porosity, density, water absorption and mechanical strength. Obtained membranes show effective porosity with maximum at about 43 and 47% respectively for membranes formulated with styrofoam and sawdust porogens but with a slightly low mechanical strength that does not exceed 19 MPa. The resultant ceramic bodies show a fine porous structure which is mainly caused by the volatilization of the porogens. The fabricated membrane exhibited high N2 gas flux, hence, these membranes can be considered as efficient for potential application for gas separation by reason of the results shown in the gas flux tests. Keywords: Porosity, Pore formers, Kaolin, Physico-mechanical properties, Gas separation, Gas flux

Membranes for Flue Gas Treatment - Transport behavior of water and gas in hydrophilic polymer membranes

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Potreck, Jens

2009-01-01

Fossil fuel fired power plants produce electricity and in addition to that large volume flows of flue gas, which mainly contain N2, O2, and CO2, but also large quantities of water vapor. To prevent condensation of the water vapor present in this flue gas stream, water needs to be removed before

A membrane inlet mass spectrometry system for noble gases at natural abundances in gas and water samples.

Science.gov (United States)

Visser, Ate; Singleton, Michael J; Hillegonds, Darren J; Velsko, Carol A; Moran, Jean E; Esser, Bradley K

2013-11-15

Noble gases dissolved in groundwater can reveal paleotemperatures, recharge conditions, and precise travel times. The collection and analysis of noble gas samples are cumbersome, involving noble gas purification, cryogenic separation and static mass spectrometry. A quicker and more efficient sample analysis method is required for introduced tracer studies and laboratory experiments. A Noble Gas Membrane Inlet Mass Spectrometry (NG-MIMS) system was developed to measure noble gases at natural abundances in gas and water samples. The NG-MIMS system consists of a membrane inlet, a dry-ice water trap, a carbon-dioxide trap, two getters, a gate valve, a turbomolecular pump and a quadrupole mass spectrometer equipped with an electron multiplier. Noble gases isotopes (4)He, (22)Ne, (38)Ar, (84)Kr and (132)Xe are measured every 10 s. The NG-MIMS system can reproduce measurements made on a traditional noble gas mass spectrometer system with precisions of 2%, 8%, 1%, 1% and 3% for He, Ne, Ar, Kr and Xe, respectively. Noble gas concentrations measured in an artificial recharge pond were used to monitor an introduced xenon tracer and to reconstruct temperature variations to within 2 °C. Additional experiments demonstrated the capability to measure noble gases in gas and in water samples, in real time. The NG-MIMS system is capable of providing analyses sufficiently accurate and precise for introduced noble gas tracers at managed aquifer recharge facilities, groundwater fingerprinting based on excess air and noble gas recharge temperature, and field and laboratory studies investigating ebullition and diffusive exchange. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

PDMS membranes as sensing element in optical sensors for gas detection in water

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Stefania Torino

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS has been introduced the first time about 20years ago. This polymer is worldwide used for the rapid prototyping of microfluidic device through a replica molding process. However, the great popularity of PDMS is not only related to its easy processability, but also to its chemical and physical properties. For its interesting properties, the polymer has been implied for several applications, including sensing. In this work, we investigated how to use functionalized PDMS membranes as sensing elements in optical sensors for gas detection in water samples. Keywords: Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS, Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR sensors, Gas sensor

Predicting liquid water saturation through differently structured cathode gas diffusion media of a proton exchange Membrane Fuel Cell

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Akhtar, N.; Kerkhof, P.J.A.M.

2012-01-01

The role of gas diffusion media with differently structured properties have been examined with emphasis on the liquid water saturation within the cathode of a proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC). The cathode electrode consists of a gas diffusion layer (GDL), a micro-porous layer and a

FIELD DEMONSTRATION OF A MEMBRANE PROCESS TO RECOVER HEAVY HYDROCARBONS AND TO REMOVE WATER FROM NATURAL GAS

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

R. Baker; T. Hofmann; J. Kaschemekat; K.A. Lokhandwala; Membrane Group; Module Group; Systems Group

2001-01-11

The objective of this project is to design, construct and field demonstrate a 3-MMscfd membrane system to recover natural gas liquids (NGL) and remove water from raw natural gas. An extended field test to demonstrate system performance under real-world conditions is required to convince industry users of the efficiency and reliability of the process. The system will be designed and fabricated by Membrane Technology and Research, Inc. (MTR) and then installed and operated at British Petroleum (BP)-Amoco's Pascagoula, MS plant. The Gas Research Institute will partially support the field demonstration and BP-Amoco will help install the unit and provide onsite operators and utilities. The gas processed by the membrane system will meet pipeline specifications for dewpoint and Btu value and can be delivered without further treatment to the pipeline. Based on data from prior membrane module tests, the process is likely to be significantly less expensive than glycol dehydration followed by propane refrigeration, the principal competitive technology. At the end of this demonstration project the process will be ready for commercialization. The route to commercialization will be developed during this project and may involve collaboration with other companies already servicing the natural gas processing industry.

Hydrogen enrichment and separation from synthesis gas by the use of a membrane reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sanchez, J.M.; Barreiro, M.M.; Marono, M.

2011-01-01

One of the objectives of the CHRISGAS project was to study innovative gas separation and gas upgrading systems that have not been developed sufficiently yet to be tested at a demonstration scale within the time frame of the project, but which show some attractive merits and features for further development. In this framework CIEMAT studied, at bench scale, hydrogen enrichment and separation from syngas by the use of membranes and membrane catalytic reactors. In this paper results about hydrogen separation from synthesis gas by means of selective membranes are presented. Studies dealt with the evaluation of permeation and selectivity to hydrogen of prepared and pre-commercial Pd-based membranes. Whereas prepared membranes turned out to be non-selective, due to discontinuities of the palladium layer, studies conducted with the pre-commercial membrane showed that by means of a membrane reactor it is possible to completely separate hydrogen from the other gas components and produce pure hydrogen as a permeate stream, even in the case of complex reaction system (H 2 /CO/CO 2 /H 2 O) under WGS conditions gas mixtures. The advantages of using a water-gas shift membrane reactor (MR) over a traditional fixed bed reactor (TR) have also been studied. The experimental device included the pre-commercial Pd-based membrane and a commercial high temperature Fe-Cr-based, WGS catalyst, which was packed in the annulus between the membrane and the reactor outer shell. Results show that in the MR concept, removal of H 2 from the reaction side has a positive effect on WGS reaction, reaching higher CO conversion than in a traditional packed bed reactor at a given temperature. On increasing pressure on the reaction side permeation is enhanced and hence carbon monoxide conversion increases. -- Highlights: → H 2 enrichment and separation using a bench-scale membrane reactor MR is studied. → Permeation and selectivity to H 2 of Pd-based membranes was determined. → Complete separation

Role of functional nanoparticles to enhance the polymeric membrane performance for mixture gas separation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ingole, Pravin G.; Baig, Muhammad Irshad; Choi, Wook; An, Xinghai; Choi, Won Kil; Lee, Hyung Keun

2017-01-01

To improve the water vapor/gas separation the hydroxylated TiO2(OH-TiO2) nanopartilces have been synthesized and surface of polysulfone (PSf) hollow fiber membrane (HFM) has been coated as thin film nanocomposite (TFN) membranes. To remove the water vapor from mixture gas, hollow fiber membrane has

FIELD DEMONSTRATION OF A MEMBRANE PROCESS TO RECOVER HEAVY HYDROCARBONS AND TO REMOVE WATER FROM NATURAL GAS; F

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Unknown

2002-01-01

The objective of this project is to design, construct and field demonstrate a 3-MMscfd membrane system to recover natural gas liquids (NGL) and remove water from raw natural gas. The gas processed by the membrane system will meet pipeline specifications for dew point and Btu value, and the process is likely to be significantly less expensive than glycol dehydration followed by propane refrigeration, the principal competitive technology. The BP-Amoco gas processing plant in Pascagoula, MS was finalized as the location for the field demonstration. Detailed drawings of the MTR membrane skid (already constructed) were submitted to the plant in February, 2000. However, problems in reaching an agreement on the specifications of the system compressor delayed the project significantly, so MTR requested (and was subsequently granted) a no-cost extension to the project. Following resolution of the compressor issues, the goal is to order the compressor during the first quarter of 2002, and to start field tests in mid-2002. Information from potential users of the membrane separation process in the natural gas processing industry suggests that applications such as fuel gas conditioning and wellhead gas processing are the most promising initial targets. Therefore, most of our commercialization effort is focused on promoting these applications. Requests for stream evaluations and for design and price quotations have been received through MTR's web site, from direct contact with potential users, and through announcements in industry publications. To date, about 90 commercial quotes have been supplied, and orders totaling about$1.13 million for equipment or rental of membrane units have been received

Gas separation membranes

Science.gov (United States)

Schell, William J.

1979-01-01

A dry, fabric supported, polymeric gas separation membrane, such as cellulose acetate, is prepared by casting a solution of the polymer onto a shrinkable fabric preferably formed of synthetic polymers such as polyester or polyamide filaments before washing, stretching or calendering (so called griege goods). The supported membrane is then subjected to gelling, annealing, and drying by solvent exchange. During the processing steps, both the fabric support and the membrane shrink a preselected, controlled amount which prevents curling, wrinkling or cracking of the membrane in flat form or when spirally wound into a gas separation element.

Water-gas shift (WGS) Operation of Pre-combustion CO2 Capture Pilot Plant at the Buggenum IGCC

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Van Dijk, H.A.J.; Damen, K.; Makkee, M.; Trapp, C.

2014-01-01

In the Nuon/Vattenfall CO2 Catch-up project, a pre-combustion CO2 capture pilot plant was built and operated at the Buggenum IGCC power plant, the Netherlands. The pilot consist of sweet water-gas shift, physical CO2 absorption and CO2 compression. The technology performance was verified and

In situ derivatization and hollow fiber membrane microextraction for gas chromatographic determination of haloacetic acids in water

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Varanusupakul, Pakorn [Chromatography and Separation Research Unit, Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Chulalongkorn University, Phayathai Road, Patumwan, Bangkok 10330 (Thailand)], E-mail: pakorn.v@chula.ac.th; Vora-adisak, Narongchai; Pulpoka, Bancha [Chromatography and Separation Research Unit, Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Chulalongkorn University, Phayathai Road, Patumwan, Bangkok 10330 (Thailand)

2007-08-15

An alternative method for gas chromatographic determination of haloacetic acids (HAAs) in water using direct derivatization followed by hollow fiber membrane liquid-phase microextraction (HF-LPME) has been developed. The method has improved the sample preparation step according to the conventional US EPA Method 552.2 by combining the derivatization and the extraction into one step prior to determination by gas chromatography electron captured detector (GC-ECD). The HAAs were derivatized with acidic methanol into their methyl esters and simultaneously extracted with supported liquid hollow fiber membrane in headspace mode. The derivatization was attempted directly in water sample without sample evaporation. The HF-LPME was performed using 1-octanol as the extracting solvent at 55 deg. C for 60 min with 20% Na{sub 2}SO{sub 4}. The linear calibration curves were observed for the concentrations ranging from 1 to 300 {mu}g L{sup -1} with the correlation coefficients (R{sup 2}) being greater than 0.99. The method detection limits of most analytes were below 1 {mu}g L{sup -1} except DCAA and MCAA that were 2 and 18 {mu}g L{sup -1}, respectively. The recoveries from spiked concentration ranged from 97 to 109% with %R.S.D. less than 12%. The method was applied for determination of HAAs in drinking water and tap water samples. The method offers an easy one step high sample throughput sample preparation for gas chromatographic determination of haloacetic acids as well as other contaminants in water.

In situ derivatization and hollow fiber membrane microextraction for gas chromatographic determination of haloacetic acids in water

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Varanusupakul, Pakorn; Vora-adisak, Narongchai; Pulpoka, Bancha

2007-01-01

An alternative method for gas chromatographic determination of haloacetic acids (HAAs) in water using direct derivatization followed by hollow fiber membrane liquid-phase microextraction (HF-LPME) has been developed. The method has improved the sample preparation step according to the conventional US EPA Method 552.2 by combining the derivatization and the extraction into one step prior to determination by gas chromatography electron captured detector (GC-ECD). The HAAs were derivatized with acidic methanol into their methyl esters and simultaneously extracted with supported liquid hollow fiber membrane in headspace mode. The derivatization was attempted directly in water sample without sample evaporation. The HF-LPME was performed using 1-octanol as the extracting solvent at 55 deg. C for 60 min with 20% Na 2 SO 4 . The linear calibration curves were observed for the concentrations ranging from 1 to 300 μg L -1 with the correlation coefficients (R 2 ) being greater than 0.99. The method detection limits of most analytes were below 1 μg L -1 except DCAA and MCAA that were 2 and 18 μg L -1 , respectively. The recoveries from spiked concentration ranged from 97 to 109% with %R.S.D. less than 12%. The method was applied for determination of HAAs in drinking water and tap water samples. The method offers an easy one step high sample throughput sample preparation for gas chromatographic determination of haloacetic acids as well as other contaminants in water

Reduction and Analysis of Low Temperature Shift Heterogeneous Catalyst for Water Gas Reaction in Ammonia Production

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zečević, N.

2013-09-01

Full Text Available In order to obtain additional quantities of hydrogen after the reforming reactions of natural gas and protect the ammonia synthesis catalyst, it is crucial to achieve and maintain maximum possible activity, selectivity and stability of the low temperature shift catalyst for conversion of water gas reaction during its lifetime. Whereas the heterogeneous catalyst comes in oxidized form, it is of the utmost importance to conduct the reduction procedure properly. The proper reduction procedure and continuous analysis of its performance would ensure the required activity, selectivity and stability throughout the catalyst’s service time. For the proper reduction procedure ofthe low temperature shift catalyst, in addition to process equipment, also necessary is a reliable and realistic system for temperature measurements, which will be effective for monitoring the exothermal temperature curves through all catalyst bed layers. For efficiency evaluation of low shift temperature catalyst reduction and its optimization, it is necessary to determine at regular time intervals the temperature approach to equilibrium and temperature profiles of individual layers by means of "S" and "die off" temperature exothermal curves. Based on the obtained data, the optimum inlet temperature could be determined, in order to maximally extend the service life of the heterogeneous catalyst as much as possible, and achieve the optimum equilibrium for conversion of the water gas. This paper presents the methodology for in situ reduction of the low temperature shift heterogeneous catalyst and the developed system for monitoring its individual layers to achieve the minimum possible content of carbon monoxide at the exit of the reactor. The developed system for temperature monitoring through heterogeneous catalyst layers provides the proper procedure for reduction and adjustment of optimum process working conditions for the catalyst by the continuous increase of reactor inlet

Influence of artificially aged gas diffusion layers on the water management of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells analyzed with in-operando synchrotron imaging

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Arlt, Tobias; Klages, Merle; Messerschmidt, Matthias; Scholta, Joachim; Manke, Ingo

2017-01-01

The influence of artificial ageing of gas diffusion layers (GDLs) on the cell performance was investigated using high resolution synchrotron radiography. State-of-the-art GDLs of the type SIGRACET ® SGL 25BC were aged for 0 h, 16 h and 24 h in a hydrogen peroxide solution before they were assembled in the fuel cells. In-operando radiographic measurements were combined with voltage and contact angle measurements. Correlations between applied ageing conditions, GDL water saturation and cell performance were revealed. Hereby, all cell operating conditions were tested several times to estimate the reproducibility of in-operando radiographic fuel cell measurements. Water films at the GDL-membrane and at the GDL-flow field interfaces were found and attributed to MPL cracks and large pores in the GDL structure. The combination of these cracks and pores are assumed to play a crucial role for blocked gas paths, leading to an undersupply with reactants and an increased humidification of the membrane. It is shown that water agglomerations directly impact the membrane resistance. We assume that the hydrophobicity of the fibers inside the GDL is more important for the cell performance than water agglomerations at the membrane-GDL interface. - Highlights: • Influence of ageing of gas diffusion layers on cell performance was investigated. • Cell performance decreased using artificially aged GDLs. • Performance decrease correlated to altered water distribution. • Reproducibility of water thickness measurements with synchrotron imaging.

ARSENIC DETERMINATION IN SALINE WATERS UTILIZING A TUBULAR MEMBRANE AS A GAS-LIQUID SEPATRATOR FOR HYDRIDE GENERATION INDUCTIVELY COUPLED PLASMA MASS SPECTROMETRY

Science.gov (United States)

A tubular silicone rubber membrane is evaluated as a gas-liquid separator for the determination of arsenic in saline waters via HG-ICP-MS. The system was optimized in terms of NaBH and HCI concentrations. The intermediate gas and carrier gas were optimized in terms of sensitiity ...

Pre-Combustion Carbon Dioxide Capture by a New Dual Phase Ceramic-Carbonate Membrane Reactor

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lin, Jerry Y. S. [Arizona State Univ., Tempe, AZ (United States)

2015-01-31

This report documents synthesis, characterization and carbon dioxide permeation and separation properties of a new group of ceramic-carbonate dual-phase membranes and results of a laboratory study on their application for water gas shift reaction with carbon dioxide separation. A series of ceramic-carbonate dual phase membranes with various oxygen ionic or mixed ionic and electronic conducting metal oxide materials in disk, tube, symmetric, and asymmetric geometric configurations was developed. These membranes, with the thickness of 10 μm to 1.5 mm, show CO₂ permeance in the range of 0.5-5×10^-7 mol·m^-2·s^-1·Pa^-1 in 500-900°C and measured CO₂/N₂ selectivity of up to 3000. CO₂ permeation mechanism and factors that affect CO₂ permeation through the dual-phase membranes have been identified. A reliable CO₂ permeation model was developed. A robust method was established for the optimization of the microstructures of ceramic-carbonate membranes. The ceramic-carbonate membranes exhibit high stability for high temperature CO₂ separations and water gas shift reaction. Water gas shift reaction in the dual-phase membrane reactors was studied by both modeling and experiments. It is found that high temperature syngas water gas shift reaction in tubular ceramic-carbonate dual phase membrane reactor is feasible even without catalyst. The membrane reactor exhibits good CO₂ permeation flux, high thermal and chemical stability and high thermal shock resistance. Reaction and separation conditions in the membrane reactor to produce hydrogen of 93% purity and CO₂ stream of >95% purity, with 90% CO₂ capture have been identified. Integration of the ceramic-carbonate dual-phase membrane reactor with IGCC process for carbon dioxide capture was analyzed. A methodology was developed to identify optimum operation conditions for a

One Step Biomass Gas Reforming-Shift Separation Membrane Reactor

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Roberts, Michael J. [Gas Technology Institute; Souleimanova, Razima [Gas Technology Institute

2012-12-28

GTI developed a plan where efforts were concentrated in 4 major areas: membrane material development, membrane module development, membrane process development, and membrane gasifier scale-up. GTI assembled a team of researchers to work in each area. Task 1.1 Ceramic Membrane Synthesis and Testing was conducted by Arizona State University (ASU), Task 1.2 Metallic Membrane Synthesis and Testing was conducted by the U.S. National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL), Task 1.3 was conducted by SCHOTT, and GTI was to test all membranes that showed potential. The initial focus of the project was concentrated on membrane material development. Metallic and glass-based membranes were identified as hydrogen selective membranes under the conditions of the biomass gasification, temperatures above 700C and pressures up to 30 atmospheres. Membranes were synthesized by arc-rolling for metallic type membranes and incorporating Pd into a glass matrix for glass membranes. Testing for hydrogen permeability properties were completed and the effects of hydrogen sulfide and carbon monoxide were investigated for perspective membranes. The initial candidate membrane of Pd80Cu20 chosen in 2008 was selected for preliminary reactor design and cost estimates. Although the H2A analysis results indicated a $1.96 cost per gge H2 based on a 5A (micron) thick PdCu membrane, there was not long-term operation at the required flux to satisfy the go/no go decision. Since the future PSA case yielded a $2.00/gge H2, DOE decided that there was insufficient savings compared with the already proven PSA technology to further pursue the membrane reactor design. All ceramic membranes synthesized by ASU during the project showed low hydrogen flux as compared with metallic membranes. The best ceramic membrane showed hydrogen permeation flux of 0.03 SCFH/ft2 at the required process conditions while the metallic membrane, Pd80Cu20 showed a flux of 47.2 SCFH/ft2 (3 orders of magnitude difference). Results from

Gas separation membrane module assembly

Science.gov (United States)

Wynn, Nicholas P [Palo Alto, CA; Fulton, Donald A [Fairfield, CA

2009-03-31

A gas-separation membrane module assembly and a gas-separation process using the assembly. The assembly includes a set of tubes, each containing gas-separation membranes, arranged within a housing. The housing contains a tube sheet that divides the space within the housing into two gas-tight spaces. A permeate collection system within the housing gathers permeate gas from the tubes for discharge from the housing.

Entropy Generation Minimization for Reverse Water Gas Shift (RWGS Reactors

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lei Zhang

2018-05-01

Full Text Available Thermal design and optimization for reverse water gas shift (RWGS reactors is particularly important to fuel synthesis in naval or commercial scenarios. The RWGS reactor with irreversibilities of heat transfer, chemical reaction and viscous flow is studied based on finite time thermodynamics or entropy generation minimization theory in this paper. The total entropy generation rate (EGR in the RWGS reactor with different boundary conditions is minimized subject to specific feed compositions and chemical conversion using optimal control theory, and the optimal configurations obtained are compared with three reference reactors with linear, constant reservoir temperature and constant heat flux operations, which are commonly used in engineering. The results show that a drastic EGR reduction of up to 23% can be achieved by optimizing the reservoir temperature profile, the inlet temperature of feed gas and the reactor length simultaneously, compared to that of the reference reactor with the linear reservoir temperature. These optimization efforts are mainly achieved by reducing the irreversibility of heat transfer. Optimal paths have subsections of relatively constant thermal force, chemical force and local EGR. A conceptual optimal design of sandwich structure for the compact modular reactor is proposed, without elaborate control tools or excessive interstage equipment. The results can provide guidelines for designing industrial RWGS reactors in naval or commercial scenarios.

Ambient temperature aqueous synthesis of ultrasmall copper doped ceria nanocrystals for the water gas shift and carbon monoxide oxidation reactions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Curran, Christopher D. [Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering; Lehigh University; Bethlehem; USA; Lu, Li [Department of Materials Science and Engineering; Lehigh University; Bethlehem; USA; Kiely, Christopher J. [Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering; Lehigh University; Bethlehem; USA; Department of Materials Science and Engineering; McIntosh, Steven [Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering; Lehigh University; Bethlehem; USA

2018-01-01

Ultra-small Cu_xCe_1-xO_2-δnanocrystals were prepared through a room temperature, aqueous synthesis method, achieving high copper doping and low water gas shift activation energy.

Gas separation membranes current status

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Puri, S.P.

1996-01-01

Membrane-based gas separation systems are now widely accepted and employed as unit operation in industrial gas, chemical and allied industries. Following their successful commercialization in the late Seventies to recover hydrogen from ammonia purge gas streams, membrane-based systems have gained acceptance in a wide variety of applications

Catalytic membrane reactor for tritium extraction system from He purge

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Santucci, Alessia; Incelli, Marco; Sansovini, Mirko; Tosti, Silvano

2016-01-01

Highlights: • In the HCBB blanket, the produced tritium is recovered by purging with helium; membrane technologies are able to separate tritium from helium. • The paper presents the results of two experimental campaigns. • In the first, a Pd–Ag diffuser for hydrogen separation is tested at several operating conditions. • In the second, the ability of a Pd–Ag membrane reactor for water decontamination is assessed by performing isotopic swamping and water gas shift reactions. - Abstract: In the Helium Cooled Pebble Bed (HCPB) blanket concept, the produced tritium is recovered purging the breeder with helium at low pressure, thus a tritium extraction system (TES) is foreseen to separate the produced tritium (which contains impurities like water) from the helium gas purge. Several R&D activities are running in parallel to experimentally identify most promising TES technologies: particularly, Pd-based membrane reactors (MR) are under investigation because of their large hydrogen selectivity, continuous operation capability, reliability and compactness. The construction and operation under DEMO relevant conditions (that presently foresee a He purge flow rate of about 10,000 Nm 3 /h and a H 2 /He ratio of 0.1%) of a medium scale MR is scheduled for next year, while presently preliminary experiments on a small scale reactor are performed to identify most suitable operative conditions and catalyst materials. This work presents the results of an experimental campaign carried out on a Pd-based membrane aimed at measuring the capability of this device in separating hydrogen from the helium. Many operative conditions have been investigated by considering different He/H 2 feed flow ratios, several lumen pressures and reactor temperatures. Moreover, the performances of a membrane reactor (composed of a Pd–Ag tube having a wall thickness of about 113 μm, length 500 mm and diameter 10 mm) in processing the water contained in the purge gas have been measured by using

Catalytic membrane reactor for tritium extraction system from He purge

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Santucci, Alessia, E-mail: alessia.santucci@enea.it [ENEA for EUROfusion, Via E. Fermi 45, 00044 Frascati, Roma (Italy); Incelli, Marco [ENEA for EUROfusion, Via E. Fermi 45, 00044 Frascati, Roma (Italy); DEIM, University of Tuscia, Via del Paradiso 47, 01100 Viterbo (Italy); Sansovini, Mirko; Tosti, Silvano [ENEA for EUROfusion, Via E. Fermi 45, 00044 Frascati, Roma (Italy)

2016-11-01

Highlights: • In the HCBB blanket, the produced tritium is recovered by purging with helium; membrane technologies are able to separate tritium from helium. • The paper presents the results of two experimental campaigns. • In the first, a Pd–Ag diffuser for hydrogen separation is tested at several operating conditions. • In the second, the ability of a Pd–Ag membrane reactor for water decontamination is assessed by performing isotopic swamping and water gas shift reactions. - Abstract: In the Helium Cooled Pebble Bed (HCPB) blanket concept, the produced tritium is recovered purging the breeder with helium at low pressure, thus a tritium extraction system (TES) is foreseen to separate the produced tritium (which contains impurities like water) from the helium gas purge. Several R&D activities are running in parallel to experimentally identify most promising TES technologies: particularly, Pd-based membrane reactors (MR) are under investigation because of their large hydrogen selectivity, continuous operation capability, reliability and compactness. The construction and operation under DEMO relevant conditions (that presently foresee a He purge flow rate of about 10,000 Nm{sup 3}/h and a H{sub 2}/He ratio of 0.1%) of a medium scale MR is scheduled for next year, while presently preliminary experiments on a small scale reactor are performed to identify most suitable operative conditions and catalyst materials. This work presents the results of an experimental campaign carried out on a Pd-based membrane aimed at measuring the capability of this device in separating hydrogen from the helium. Many operative conditions have been investigated by considering different He/H{sub 2} feed flow ratios, several lumen pressures and reactor temperatures. Moreover, the performances of a membrane reactor (composed of a Pd–Ag tube having a wall thickness of about 113 μm, length 500 mm and diameter 10 mm) in processing the water contained in the purge gas have been

A novel water perm-selective membrane dual-type reactor concept for Fischer-Tropsch synthesis of GTL (gas to liquid) technology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rahimpour, M.R.; Mirvakili, A.; Paymooni, K.

2011-01-01

The present study proposes a novel configuration of Fischer-Tropsch synthesis (FTS) reactors in which a fixed-bed water perm-selective membrane reactor is followed by a fluidized-bed hydrogen perm-selective membrane reactor. This novel concept which has been named fixed-bed membrane reactor followed by fluidized-bed membrane reactor (FMFMDR) produces gasoline from synthesis gas. The walls of the tubes of a fixed-bed reactor (water-cooled reactor) of FMFMDR configuration are coated by a high water perm-selective membrane layer. In this new configuration, two membrane reactors instead of one membrane reactor are developed for FTS reactions. In other words, two different membrane layers are used. In order to investigate the performance of FMFMDR, a one-dimensional heterogeneous model is taken into consideration. The simulation results of three schemes named fluidized-bed membrane dual-type reactor (FMDR), FMFMDR and conventional fixed-bed reactor (CR) are presented. They have been compared in terms of temperature, gasoline and CO 2 yields, H 2 and CO conversions and the water permeation rate through the membrane layer. Results show that the gasoline yield in FMFMDR is higher than the one in FMDR. The FMFMDR configuration not only decreases the undesired product such as CO 2 but also produces more gasoline. -- Research highlights: → The application of H-SOD membrane layer in FTS reactors. → Approximate 7.5% and 37% increase in the gasoline yield in terms of [g/g feed x 100] in comparison with FMDR and CR, respectively. → A remarkable decrease in CO 2 emission to the environment. → A good configuration mainly due to reduction in catalysts sintering as a result of in situ water removal.

Process design analyses of co/sub 2/ capture from natural gas by polymer membrane

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hussain, A.; Nasir, H.; Ahsan, M. [National Univ. of Science and Technology, Islamabad (Pakistan). Dept. of Chemical Engineering

2014-06-15

Membrane-based natural gas separation has become one of the promising technologies due to its compactness, energy efficiency, environment friendliness and economic advantages. In this work, a three stage membrane process for the separation of CO/sub 2//CH/sub 4/ is proposed based on a novel fixed site carrier membrane which has the potential to meet the CO/sub 2//CH/sub 4/ separation and durability requirement. A simulation analysis, which utilizes the Aspen Hysys capabilities to calculate and couple energy balances in the process model, has been conducted to investigate the effect of process parameters on the gas processing cost. Two different natural gas mixtures containing 9.5% and 2.9% CO/sub 2/ have been simulated for various process conditions. This fixed site carrier membrane performs well when wetted with water. Therefore, natural gas feed streams are saturated with water. It is evident from the analysis that it is possible to maintain 2% CO/sub 2/ in retentate and methane loss in permeate below 2% by optimizing the process conditions. The analysis shows that fixed site carrier membrane offers a viable solution for natural gas sweetening. (author)

Process design analyses of co/sub 2/ capture from natural gas by polymer membrane

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hussain, A.; Nasir, H.; Ahsan, M.

2014-01-01

Membrane-based natural gas separation has become one of the promising technologies due to its compactness, energy efficiency, environment friendliness and economic advantages. In this work, a three stage membrane process for the separation of CO/sub 2//CH/sub 4/ is proposed based on a novel fixed site carrier membrane which has the potential to meet the CO/sub 2//CH/sub 4/ separation and durability requirement. A simulation analysis, which utilizes the Aspen Hysys capabilities to calculate and couple energy balances in the process model, has been conducted to investigate the effect of process parameters on the gas processing cost. Two different natural gas mixtures containing 9.5% and 2.9% CO/sub 2/ have been simulated for various process conditions. This fixed site carrier membrane performs well when wetted with water. Therefore, natural gas feed streams are saturated with water. It is evident from the analysis that it is possible to maintain 2% CO/sub 2/ in retentate and methane loss in permeate below 2% by optimizing the process conditions. The analysis shows that fixed site carrier membrane offers a viable solution for natural gas sweetening. (author)

Four-port gas separation membrane module assembly

Science.gov (United States)

Wynn, Nicholas P.; Fulton, Donald A.; Lokhandwala, Kaaeid A.; Kaschemekat, Jurgen

2010-07-20

A gas-separation membrane assembly, and a gas-separation process using the assembly. The assembly incorporates multiple gas-separation membranes in an array within a single vessel or housing, and is equipped with two permeate ports, enabling permeate gas to be withdrawn from both ends of the membrane module permeate pipes.

Inorganic membranes for hydrogen production and purification: a critical review and perspective.

Science.gov (United States)

Lu, G Q; Diniz da Costa, J C; Duke, M; Giessler, S; Socolow, R; Williams, R H; Kreutz, T

2007-10-15

Hydrogen as a high-quality and clean energy carrier has attracted renewed and ever-increasing attention around the world in recent years, mainly due to developments in fuel cells and environmental pressures including climate change issues. In thermochemical processes for hydrogen production from fossil fuels, separation and purification is a critical technology. Where water-gas shift reaction is involved for converting the carbon monoxide to hydrogen, membrane reactors show great promises for shifting the equilibrium. Membranes are also important to the subsequent purification of hydrogen. For hydrogen production and purification, there are generally two classes of membranes both being inorganic: dense phase metal and metal alloys, and porous ceramic membranes. Porous ceramic membranes are normally prepared by sol-gel or hydrothermal methods, and have high stability and durability in high temperature, harsh impurity and hydrothermal environments. In particular, microporous membranes show promises in water gas shift reaction at higher temperatures. In this article, we review the recent advances in both dense phase metal and porous ceramic membranes, and compare their separation properties and performance in membrane reactor systems. The preparation, characterization and permeation of the various membranes will be presented and discussed. We also aim to examine the critical issues in these membranes with respect to the technical and economical advantages and disadvantages. Discussions will also be made on the relevance and importance of membrane technology to the new generation of zero-emission power technologies.

Role of Re in Pt-Re/TiO2 catalyst for water gas shift reaction: A mechanistic and kinetic study.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Azzam, K.G.H.; Babych, Igor V.; Seshan, Kulathuiyer; Lefferts, Leonardus

2008-01-01

Transient kinetic studies and in situ FTIR spectroscopy were used to follow the reaction sequences that occur during water gas shift (WGS) reaction over Pt–Re/TiO2 catalyst. Results pointed to contributions of an associative formate route with redox regeneration and two classical redox routes

Tunable integration of absorption-membrane-adsorption for efficiently separating low boiling gas mixtures near normal temperature

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Huang; Pan, Yong; Liu, Bei; Sun, Changyu; Guo, Ping; Gao, Xueteng; Yang, Lanying; Ma, Qinglan; Chen, Guangjin

2016-01-01

Separation of low boiling gas mixtures is widely concerned in process industries. Now their separations heavily rely upon energy-intensive cryogenic processes. Here, we report a pseudo-absorption process for separating low boiling gas mixtures near normal temperature. In this process, absorption-membrane-adsorption is integrated by suspending suitable porous ZIF material in suitable solvent and forming selectively permeable liquid membrane around ZIF particles. Green solvents like water and glycol were used to form ZIF-8 slurry and tune the permeability of liquid membrane surrounding ZIF-8 particles. We found glycol molecules form tighter membrane while water molecules form looser membrane because of the hydrophobicity of ZIF-8. When using mixing solvents composed of glycol and water, the permeability of liquid membrane becomes tunable. It is shown that ZIF-8/water slurry always manifests remarkable higher separation selectivity than solid ZIF-8 and it could be tuned to further enhance the capture of light hydrocarbons by adding suitable quantity of glycol to water. Because of its lower viscosity and higher sorption/desorption rate, tunable ZIF-8/water-glycol slurry could be readily used as liquid absorbent to separate different kinds of low boiling gas mixtures by applying a multistage separation process in one traditional absorption tower, especially for the capture of light hydrocarbons. PMID:26892255

Heat Integration of the Water-Gas Shift Reaction System for Carbon Sequestration Ready IGCC Process with Chemical Looping

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Juan M. Salazara; Stephen E. Zitney; Urmila M. Diwekara

2010-01-01

Integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) technology has been considered as an important alternative for efficient power systems that can reduce fuel consumption and CO2 emissions. One of the technological schemes combines water-gas shift reaction and chemical-looping combustion as post gasification techniques in order to produce sequestration-ready CO2 and potentially reduce the size of the gas turbine. However, these schemes have not been energetically integrated and process synthesis techniques can be applied to obtain an optimal flowsheet. This work studies the heat exchange network synthesis (HENS) for the water-gas shift reaction train employing a set of alternative designs provided by Aspen energy analyzer (AEA) and combined in a process superstructure that was simulated in Aspen Plus (AP). This approach allows a rigorous evaluation of the alternative designs and their combinations avoiding all the AEA simplifications (linearized models of heat exchangers). A CAPE-OPEN compliant capability which makes use of a MINLP algorithm for sequential modular simulators was employed to obtain a heat exchange network that provided a cost of energy that was 27% lower than the base case. Highly influential parameters for the pos gasification technologies (i.e. CO/steam ratio, gasifier temperature and pressure) were calculated to obtain the minimum cost of energy while chemical looping parameters (oxidation and reduction temperature) were ensured to be satisfied.

Polyimide hollow fiber membranes for CO2 separation from wet gas mixtures

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

F. Falbo

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Matrimid®5218 hollow fiber membranes were prepared using the dry-wet spinning process. The transport properties were measured with pure gases (H2, CO2, N2, CH4 and O2 and with a mixture (30% CO2 and 70% N2 in dry and wet conditions at 25 ºC, 50 ºC, 60 ºC and 75 ºC and up to 600 kPa. Interesting values of single gas selectivity up to 60 ºC (between 31 and 28 for CO2/N2 and between 33 and 30 for CO2/CH4 in dry condition were obtained. The separation factor measured for the mixture was 20% lower compared to the single gas selectivity, in the whole temperature range analyzed. In saturation conditions the data showed that water influences the performance of the membranes, inducing a reduction of the permeance of all gases. Moreover, the presence of water caused a decrease of single gas selectivity and separation factor, although not so significant, highlighting the very high water resistance of hollow fiber membrane modules.

Investigation on the combined operation of water gas shift and preferential oxidation reactor system on the kW scale

NARCIS (Netherlands)

O'Connell, M.; Kolb, G.A.; Schelhaas, K.P.; Schuerer, J.; Tiemann, D.; Keller, S.; Reinhard, D.; Hessel, V.

2010-01-01

A 5 kWel water gas shift reactor was integrated with a 5 kWel preferential oxidation reactor for the purposes of reducing the carbon monoxide levels in a reformate exit stream to levels below 100 ppm. The integrated system worked best at partial load with CO concentrations being reduced to 40 ppm at

Gas separation using porous cement membrane.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Weiqi; Gaggl, Maria; Gluth, Gregor J G; Behrendt, Frank

2014-01-01

Gas separation is a key issue in various industrial fields. Hydrogen has the potential for application in clean fuel technologies. Therefore, the separation and purification of hydrogen is an important research subject. CO2 capture and storage have important roles in "green chemistry". As an effective clean technology, gas separation using inorganic membranes has attracted much attention in the last several decades. Membrane processes have many applications in the field of gas separation. Cement is one type of inorganic material, with the advantages of a lower cost and a longer lifespan. An experimental setup has been created and improved to measure twenty different cement membranes. The purpose of this work was to investigate the influence of gas molecule properties on the material transport and to explore the influence of operating conditions and membrane composition on separation efficiency. The influences of the above parameters are determined, the best conditions and membrane type are found, it is shown that cementitious material has the ability to separate gas mixtures, and the gas transport mechanism is studied.

Membrane barriers for radon gas flow restrictions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Archibald, J.F.

1984-08-01

Research was performed to assess the feasibility of barrier membrane substances, for use within mining or associated high risk environments, in restricting the diffusion transport of radon gas quantities. Specific tests were conducted to determine permeability parameters of a variety of membrane materials with reference to radon flow capabilities. Tests were conducted both within laboratory and in-situ emanation environments where concentrations and diffusion flows of radon gas were known to exist. Equilibrium radon gas concentrations were monitored in initially radon-free chambers adjacent to gas sources, but separated by specified membrane substances. Membrane barrier effectiveness was demonstrated to result in reduced emanation concentrations of radon gas within the sampling chamber atmosphere. Minimum gas concentrations were evidenced where the barrier membrane material was shown to exhibit lowest radon permeability characteristics

Engineering of Mixed Matrix Membranes for Water Treatment, Protective Coating and Gas Separation

KAUST Repository

Hammami, Mohamed Amen

2017-11-01

Mixed Matrix Membranes (MMMs) have received worldwide attention during the last decades. This is due to the fact that the resulting materials can combine the good processability and low cost of polymer membranes with the diverse functionality, high performance and thermal properties of the fillers. This work explores the fabrication and application of MMMs. We focused on the design and fabrication of nanofillers to impart target functionality to the membrane for water treatment, protective coating and gas separation. This thesis is divided into three sections according to the application including: I- Water Treatment: This part is divided into three chapters, two related to the membrane distillation (MD) and one related to the oil spill. Three different nanofillers have been used: Periodic mesoporous organosilica (PMO), graphene and carbon nanotube (CNT). Those nanofillers were homogeneously incorporated into polyetherimide (PEI) electrospun nanofiber membranes. The doped nanoparticle not only improved the mechanical properties and thermal stability of the pristine fiber but also enhanced the MD and oil spill performance due to the functionality of those nanofillers. II- Protective coating: This part includes two chapters describing the design and the fabrication of a smart antibacterial and anti-corrosion coating. In the first project, we fabricated colloidal lysozyme-templated gold nanoclusters gating antimicrobial-loaded silica nanoparticles (MSN-AuNCs@lys) as nano-fillers in poly(ethylene oxide)/poly(butylene terephthalate) polymer matrix. MSN-AuNCs@lys dispersed homogeneously within the polymer matrix with zero NPs leaching. The system was coated on a common radiographic dental imaging device that is prone to oral bacteria contamination. This coating can successfully sense and inhibit bacterial contamination via a controlled release mechanism that is only triggered by bacteria. In the second project, the coaxial electrospinning approach has been applied to

A new nanocomposite forward osmosis membrane custom-designed for treating shale gas wastewater

Science.gov (United States)

Qin, Detao; Liu, Zhaoyang; Delai Sun, Darren; Song, Xiaoxiao; Bai, Hongwei

2015-01-01

Managing the wastewater discharged from oil and shale gas fields is a big challenge, because this kind of wastewater is normally polluted by high contents of both oils and salts. Conventional pressure-driven membranes experience little success for treating this wastewater because of either severe membrane fouling or incapability of desalination. In this study, we designed a new nanocomposite forward osmosis (FO) membrane for accomplishing simultaneous oil/water separation and desalination. This nanocomposite FO membrane is composed of an oil-repelling and salt-rejecting hydrogel selective layer on top of a graphene oxide (GO) nanosheets infused polymeric support layer. The hydrogel selective layer demonstrates strong underwater oleophobicity that leads to superior anti-fouling capability under various oil/water emulsions, and the infused GO in support layer can significantly mitigate internal concentration polarization (ICP) through reducing FO membrane structural parameter by as much as 20%. Compared with commercial FO membrane, this new FO membrane demonstrates more than three times higher water flux, higher removals for oil and salts (>99.9% for oil and >99.7% for multivalent ions) and significantly lower fouling tendency when investigated with simulated shale gas wastewater. These combined merits will endorse this new FO membrane with wide applications in treating highly saline and oily wastewaters. PMID:26416014

Contaminant Permeation in the Ionomer-Membrane Water Processor (IWP) System

Science.gov (United States)

Kelsey, Laura K.; Finger, Barry W.; Pasadilla, Patrick; Perry, Jay

2016-01-01

The Ionomer-membrane Water Processor (IWP) is a patented membrane-distillation based urine brine water recovery system. The unique properties of the IWP membrane pair limit contaminant permeation from the brine to the recovered water and purge gas. A paper study was conducted to predict volatile trace contaminant permeation in the IWP system. Testing of a large-scale IWP Engineering Development Unit (EDU) with urine brine pretreated with the International Space Station (ISS) pretreatment formulation was then conducted to collect air and water samples for quality analysis. Distillate water quality and purge air GC-MS results are presented and compared to predictions, along with implications for the IWP brine processing system.

Copper-chromium compounds formed in the preparation of a low-temperature water gas shift catalyst

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sharkina, V I; Salomatin, G I; Boevskaya, E A

1978-12-01

IR and X-ray phase analyses of commercial water gas shift catalyst samples prepared by mixing solid chromic anhydride, basic copper carbonate (malachite), aluminum hydroxide, and water at 70/sup 0/-100/sup 0/C and 0.35:1 to 1.2:1 ratio of water to solid components (R) showed the formation of a basic copper chromate (BCC) CuCrO/sub 4/-2CuO-2H/sub 2/O at 80/sup 0/C (any R) and at 100/sup 0/C and R Vertical Bar3: 1.2:1, but at 100/sup 0/C and lower R (especially at R 0.7:1), a different, unidentified phase was formed. The samples containing these two phases had different colors; the high-temperature, low-water phase showed lower thermal stability but higher catalytic activity than the BCC. The BCC catalyst samples contained less unreacted malachite and their IR spectra contained a 3100-3200/cm band characteristic of hydroxyls associated by hydrogen bonds, and more molecular water, suggesting the formation of a hydroxo-polymeric structured system.

Gas Transfer in Cellularized Collagen-Membrane Gas Exchange Devices.

Science.gov (United States)

Lo, Justin H; Bassett, Erik K; Penson, Elliot J N; Hoganson, David M; Vacanti, Joseph P

2015-08-01

Chronic lower respiratory disease is highly prevalent in the United States, and there remains a need for alternatives to lung transplant for patients who progress to end-stage lung disease. Portable or implantable gas oxygenators based on microfluidic technologies can address this need, provided they operate both efficiently and biocompatibly. Incorporating biomimetic materials into such devices can help replicate native gas exchange function and additionally support cellular components. In this work, we have developed microfluidic devices that enable blood gas exchange across ultra-thin collagen membranes (as thin as 2 μm). Endothelial, stromal, and parenchymal cells readily adhere to these membranes, and long-term culture with cellular components results in remodeling, reflected by reduced membrane thickness. Functionally, acellular collagen-membrane lung devices can mediate effective gas exchange up to ∼288 mL/min/m(2) of oxygen and ∼685 mL/min/m(2) of carbon dioxide, approaching the gas exchange efficiency noted in the native lung. Testing several configurations of lung devices to explore various physical parameters of the device design, we concluded that thinner membranes and longer gas exchange distances result in improved hemoglobin saturation and increases in pO2. However, in the design space tested, these effects are relatively small compared to the improvement in overall oxygen and carbon dioxide transfer by increasing the blood flow rate. Finally, devices cultured with endothelial and parenchymal cells achieved similar gas exchange rates compared with acellular devices. Biomimetic blood oxygenator design opens the possibility of creating portable or implantable microfluidic devices that achieve efficient gas transfer while also maintaining physiologic conditions.

Stakeholder acceptance analysis: In-well vapor stripping, in-situ bioremediation, gas membrane separation system (membrane separation)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Peterson, T.

1995-12-01

This document provides stakeholder evaluations on innovative technologies to be used in the remediation of volatile organic compounds from soils and ground water. The technologies evaluated are; in-well vapor stripping, in-situ bioremediation, and gas membrane separation

Gas Permeation Characteristics across Nano-Porous Inorganic Membranes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M.R Othman, H. Mukhtar

2012-10-01

Full Text Available An overview of parameters affecting gas permeation in inorganic membranes is presented. These factors include membrane physical characteristics, operational parameters and gas molecular characteristics. The membrane physical characteristics include membrane materials and surface area, porosity, pore size and pore size distribution and membrane morphology. The operational parameters include feed flow rate and concentration, stage cut, temperature and pressure. The gas molecular characteristics include gas molecular weight, diameter, critical temperature, critical pressure, Lennard-Jones parameters and diffusion volumes. The current techniques of material characterization may require complementary method in describing microscopic heterogeneity of the porous ceramic media. The method to be incorporated in the future will be to apply a stochastic model and/or fractal dimension. Keywords: Inorganic membrane, surface adsorption, Knudsen diffusion, Micro-porous membrane, permeation, gas separation.

Hollow-Fiber Spacesuit Water Membrane Evaporator

Science.gov (United States)

Bue, Grant; Trevino, Luis; Tsioulos, Gus; Mitchell, Keith; Settles, Joseph

2013-01-01

The hollow-fiber spacesuit water membrane evaporator (HoFi SWME) is being developed to perform the thermal control function for advanced spacesuits and spacecraft to take advantage of recent advances in micropore membrane technology in providing a robust, heat-rejection device that is less sensitive to contamination than is the sublimator. After recent contamination tests, a commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) micro porous hollow-fiber membrane was selected for prototype development as the most suitable candidate among commercial hollow-fiber evaporator alternatives. An innovative design that grouped the fiber layers into stacks, which were separated by small spaces and packaged into a cylindrical shape, was developed into a full-scale prototype for the spacesuit application. Vacuum chamber testing has been performed to characterize heat rejection as a function of inlet water temperature and water vapor back-pressure, and to show contamination resistance to the constituents expected to be found in potable water produced by the wastewater reclamation distillation processes. Other tests showed tolerance to freezing and suitability to reject heat in a Mars pressure environment. In summary, HoFi SWME is a lightweight, compact evaporator for heat rejection in the spacesuit that is robust, contamination- insensitive, freeze-tolerant, and able to reject the required heat of spacewalks in microgravity, lunar, and Martian environments. The HoFi is packaged to reject 810 W of heat through 800 hours of use in a vacuum environment, and 370 W in a Mars environment. The device also eliminates free gas and dissolved gas from the coolant loop.

Water recovery and air humidification by condensing the moisture in the outlet gas of a proton exchange membrane fuel cell stack

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wan, Z.M.; Wan, J.H.; Liu, J.; Tu, Z.K.; Pan, M.; Liu, Z.C.; Liu, W.

2012-01-01

Humidification is one of the most important factors for the operation of proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC). To maintain the membrane at hydrated state, plenty of water is needed for the state-of-the-art of PEMFC technology, especially in large power applications or long time operation. A condenser is introduced to separate liquid water from the air outlet for air self-sufficient in water of the stack in this study. The condensed temperature at the outlet of the condenser and water recovered amount for air self-sufficient in water are investigated theoretically and experimentally. It is shown that the condensed temperature for air self-sufficient in water is irrelevant with the working current of the stack. When the condenser outlet temperature was above the theoretical line, recovery water was not sufficient for the air humidification. On the contrary, it is sufficient while the temperature was below the theoretical line. It is also shown that when the moisture is sufficiently cooled, large amount water can be separated from the outlet gas, and it increased almost linearly with the time. With the introduction of the condenser, the recovered amount of water can easily satisfy the air self-sufficient in water by condensing the outlet gas to a proper temperature. - Highlights: ► We introduce a condenser to separate liquid water from the air outlet in the stack. ► The mechanism of air self-sufficient in water by condensing gas is presented. ► The condensed temperature and water recovered amount are investigated. ► An experiment is present to validate simplicity and feasibility of the criterion. ► The criterion for air humidification is used for choosing the condenser.

Study of the water-gas shift reaction on Mo2C/Mo catalytic coatings for application in microstructured fuel processors

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Rebrov, E.V.; Kuznetsov, S.A.; Croon, de M.H.J.M.; Schouten, J.C.

2007-01-01

The activity and stability of two types of molybdenum carbide coatings deposited on molybdenum substrates (Mo2C/Mo) were compared in the water-gas shift reaction at 513–631 K. The activity of the Mo2C/Mo coatings obtained by carburization of preoxidized molybdenum substrates in a CH4/H2 mixture at

In Situ UV-Visible Assessment of Iron-Based High-Temperature Water-Gas Shift Catalysts Promoted with Lanthana: An Extent of Reduction Study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Basseem B. Hallac

2018-02-01

Full Text Available The extent of reduction of unsupported iron-based high-temperature water-gas shift catalysts with small (<5 wt % lanthana contents was studied using UV-visible spectroscopy. Temperature- programmed reduction measurements showed that lanthana content higher than 0.5 wt % increased the extent of reduction to metallic Fe, while 0.5 wt % of lanthana facilitated the reduction to Fe3O4. In situ measurements on the iron oxide catalysts using mass and UV-visible spectroscopies permitted the quantification of the extent of reduction under temperature-programmed reduction and high-temperature water-gas shift conditions. The oxidation states were successfully calibrated against normalized absorbance spectra of visible light using the Kubelka-Munk theory. The normalized absorbance relative to the fully oxidized Fe2O3 increased as the extent of reduction increased. XANES suggested that the average bulk iron oxidation state during the water-gas shift reaction was Fe+2.57 for the catalyst with no lanthana and Fe+2.54 for the catalysts with 1 wt % lanthana. However, the UV-vis spectra suggest that the surface oxidation state of iron would be Fe+2.31 for the catalyst with 1 wt % lanthana if the oxidation state of iron in the catalyst with 0 wt % lanthana were Fe+2.57. The findings of this paper emphasize the importance of surface sensitive UV-visible spectroscopy for determining the extent of catalyst reduction during operation. The paper highlights the potential to use bench-scale UV-visible spectroscopy to study the surface chemistry of catalysts instead of less-available synchrotron X-ray radiation facilities.

Treatment of Oil & Gas Produced Water.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dwyer, Brian P. [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)

2016-02-01

Production of oil and gas reserves in the New Mexico Four Corners Region results in large volumes of "produced water". The common method for handling the produced water from well production is re-injection in regulatory permitted salt water disposal wells. This is expensive (%7E $5/bbl.) and does not recycle water, an ever increasingly valuable commodity. Previously, Sandia National Laboratories and several NM small business tested pressure driven membrane-filtration techniques to remove the high TDS (total dissolved solids) from a Four Corners Coal Bed Methane produced water. Treatment effectiveness was less than optimal due to problems with pre-treatment. Inadequate pre-treatment allowed hydrocarbons, wax and biological growth to foul the membranes. Recently, an innovative pre-treatment scheme using ozone and hydrogen peroxide was pilot tested. Results showed complete removal of hydrocarbons and the majority of organic constituents from a gas well production water. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This report was made possible through funding from the New Mexico Small Business Administration (NMSBA) Program at Sandia National Laboratories. Special thanks to Juan Martinez and Genaro Montoya for guidance and support from project inception to completion. Also, special thanks to Frank McDonald, the small businesses team POC, for laying the ground work for the entire project; Teresa McCown, the gas well owner and very knowledgeable- fantastic site host; Lea and Tim Phillips for their tremendous knowledge and passion in the oil & gas industry.; and Frank Miller and Steve Addleman for providing a pilot scale version of their proprietary process to facilitate the pilot testing.

Tax shifting in long-term gas sales contracts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Asche, Frank; Osmundsen, Petter; Tveteraas, Ragnar

2002-01-01

Producers or consumers faced with an increase in taxes are usually able to shift parts of it to other levels in the value chain. We examine who are actually bearing the burden of increased taxes on natural gas in the EU-area - consumers or exporters. Strategic trade policy and cross-border consumer tax shifting are of particular interest, as the EU-area increasingly is a net importer of gas. Traditional tax incidence theory presumes spot markets. Natural gas in the EU-area, however, is to a large extent regulated by incomplete long-term contracts. Still, spot market forces could be indicative for tax shifting, by determining the ex post bargaining power in contract renegotiations. By examining tax shifting in gas sales data we test whether this is the case. To investigate tax incidence, we estimate natural gas demand elasticities for the household sector in EU countries as well as a reduced form import equation. We test whether gas import prices, which are predominantly determined by long-term contracts, have been influenced by end-user tax shifts. (author)

Reverse osmosis membrane of high urea rejection properties. [water purification

Science.gov (United States)

Johnson, C. C.; Wydeven, T. J. (Inventor)

1980-01-01

Polymeric membranes suitable for use in reverse osmosis water purification because of their high urea and salt rejection properties are prepared by generating a plasma of an unsaturated hydrocarbon monomer and nitrogen gas from an electrical source. A polymeric membrane is formed by depositing a polymer of the unsaturated monomer from the plasma onto a substrate, so that nitrogen from the nitrogen gas is incorporated within the polymer in a chemically combined form.

Gas Separation Using Organic-Vapor-Resistent Membranes In Conjunctin With Organic-Vapor-Selective Membranes

Science.gov (United States)

Baker, Richard W.; Pinnau, Ingo; He, Zhenjie; Da Costa, Andre R.; Daniels, Ramin; Amo, Karl D.; Wijmans, Johannes G.

2003-06-03

A process for treating a gas mixture containing at least an organic compound gas or vapor and a second gas, such as natural gas, refinery off-gas or air. The process uses two sequential membrane separation steps, one using membrane selective for the organic compound over the second gas, the other selective for the second gas over the organic vapor. The second-gas-selective membranes use a selective layer made from a polymer having repeating units of a fluorinated polymer, and demonstrate good resistance to plasticization by the organic components in the gas mixture under treatment, and good recovery after exposure to liquid aromatic hydrocarbons. The membrane steps can be combined in either order.

Transient response simulation of gas separation membrane module for an atmosphere detritiation system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sugiyama, Takahiko; Tanaka, Masahiro; Munakata, Kenzo; Yamamoto, Ichiro

2012-01-01

Transient response of a gas separation membrane module for the atmosphere detritiation system was numerically simulated with a mass transfer model. The module contains thousands of hollow fiber type polyimide membranes. The simulation model took into account permeation of water vapor through the dense layer of the membrane, diffusive transfer through the porous support layer and adsorption/desorption of water vapor into the matrix of the porous layer. The slow responses of the water vapor concentration in the retentate and the permeation rate were well reproduced by the present simulation, and transient changes in a follow fiber membrane were investigated in detail. The inventory and the mean residence time of water vapor at 303 K were estimated for the commercial membrane module (UMS-B2, Ube industries, Ltd.) as 5.7 × 10 −3 mol and 380 s, respectively.

Probing water structure and transport in proton exchange membranes

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ling, X.

2018-01-01

Proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) have attracted tremendous attention as alternative energy sources because of their high energy density and practically zero greenhouse gas emission - water is their only direct by-product. Critical to the function of PEMFCs is fast proton and water

Membrane reforming in converting natural gas to hydrogen (part one)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Barba, D; Giacobbe, F; De Cesaris, A [Faculty of Chemical Engineering and Materials, University of L' Aquila (Italy); Farace, A; Iaquaniello, G; Pipino, A [TECHNIP-KTI S.p.a., Rome (Italy)

2008-07-15

Membrane reforming reactors (MRR) could play a key role in converting natural gas into hydrogen. The major advantage of MRR architecture is the possibility to shift the chemical equilibrium toward the right-hand side of the reaction, improving hydrogen production and allowing, the same time high methane conversion at relatively low temperatures such as 650 C. Such a low operating temperature makes it possible to locate the MRR downstream of a gas turbine, achieving an efficient hybrid system (power+hydrogen) with a significant reduction in energy consumption (around 10%). This paper discusses the whole innovative architecture where conventional tubular reforming is integrated with hydrogen permeable palladium membrane separators. The fundamental concepts are analyzed and integrated into a process scheme; the structural effects of variables design such as reactor temperature outlet, S/C ratio and recycle ratio throughout pinch and sensitivity analysis are described, and a comparison of the process economics with conventional hydrogen technology is presented at the end of the second part of this paper. The production of highly reliable, defect-free and reproducible, Pd-alloy membranes for selective hydrogen separation is a key issue in the proposed hybrid architecture. (author)

Membrane distillation of industrial cooling tower blowdown water

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

N.E. Koeman-Stein

2016-06-01

Full Text Available The potential of membrane distillation for desalination of cooling tower blowdown water (CTBD is investigated. Technical feasibility is tested on laboratory and pilot scale using real cooling tower blowdown water from Dow Benelux in Terneuzen (Netherlands. Two types of membranes, polytetrafluorethylene and polyethylene showed good performance regarding distillate quality and fouling behavior. Concentrating CTBD by a factor 4.5 while maintaining a flux of around 2 l/m2*h was possible with a water recovery of 78% available for reuse. Higher concentration factors lead to severe decrease in flux which was caused by scaling. Membrane distillation could use the thermal energy that would otherwise be discharged of in a cooling tower and function as a heat exchanger. This reduces the need for cooling capacity and could lead to a total reduction of 37% water intake for make-up water, as well as reduced energy and chemicals demands and greenhouse gas emissions.

Air dehumidification by membrane with cold water for manned spacecraft environmental control

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shang Yonghong

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The traditional condensation dehumidification method requires additional gas-liquid separation and water recovery process in the manned spacecraft humidity control system, which would increase weight and complexity of systems. A new membrane dehumidification with cold water is proposed, which uses water vapor partial pressure difference to promote water vapor transmembrane mass transfer for dehumidification. The permeability of the membrane was measured and the experimental results agree well with the theoretical calculations. Based on the simulation of dehumidification process of cold water-membrane, the influence of module structure and working condition on dehumidification performance was analyzed, which provided reference for the design of membrane module construct. It can be seen from the simulation and experiments that the cold water-membrane dehumidification can effectively reduce the thermal load of the manned spacecraft.

Experimental study on the membrane electrode assembly of a proton exchange membrane fuel cell: effects of microporous layer, membrane thickness and gas diffusion layer hydrophobic treatment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ferreira, Rui B.; Falcão, D.S.; Oliveira, V.B.; Pinto, A.M.F.R.

2017-01-01

Highlights: • EIS is employed to investigate the MEA design of a PEM fuel cell. • Effects of MPL, membrane thickness and GDL hydrophobic treatment are studied. • MPL increases cell output at low to medium currents but reduces it at high currents. • Better results are obtained when employing a thinner Nafion membrane. • GDL hydrophobic treatment improves the cell performance. - Abstract: In this study, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) is employed to analyze the influence of microporous layer (MPL), membrane thickness and gas diffusion layer (GDL) hydrophobic treatment in the performance of a proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell. Results show that adding a MPL increases cell performance at low to medium current densities. Because lower ohmic losses are observed when applying a MPL, such improvement is attributed to a better hydration state of the membrane. The MPL creates a pressure barrier for water produced at the cathode, forcing it to travel to the anode side, therefore increasing the water content in the membrane. However, at high currents, this same phenomenon seems to have intensified liquid water flooding in the anode gas channels, increasing mass transfer losses and reducing the cell performance. Decreasing membrane thickness results into considerably higher performances, due to a decrease in ohmic resistance. Moreover, at low air humidity operation, a rapid recovery from dehydration is observed when a thinner membrane is employed. The GDL hydrophobic treatment significantly improves the cell performance. Untreated GDLs appear to act as water-traps that not only hamper reactants transport to the reactive sites but also impede the proper humidification of the cell. From the different designs tested, the highest maximum power density is obtained from that containing a MPL, a thinner membrane and treated GDLs.

Thermoelectric integrated membrane evaporation water recovery technology

Science.gov (United States)

Roebelen, G. J., Jr.; Winkler, H. E.; Dehner, G. F.

1982-01-01

The recently developed Thermoelectric Integrated Membrane Evaporation Subsystem (TIMES) offers a highly competitive approach to water recovery from waste fluids for future on-orbit stations such as the Space Operations Center. Low power, compactness and gravity insensitive operation are featured in this vacuum distillation subsystem that combines a hollow fiber membrane evaporator with a thermoelectric heat pump. The hollow fiber elements provide positive liquid/gas phase control with no moving parts other than pumps and an accumulator, thus solving problems inherent in other reclamation subsystem designs. In an extensive test program, over 850 hours of operation were accumulated during which time high quality product water was recovered from both urine and wash water at an average steady state production rate of 2.2 pounds per hour.

Latest development on the membrane formation for gas separation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ahmad Fausi Ismail

2002-11-01

Full Text Available The first scientific observation related to gas separation was encountered by J.K Mitchell in 1831. However, the most remarkable and influential contribution to membrane gas separation technology was the systematic study by Thomas Graham in 1860. However only in 1979, membrane based gas separation technology was available and recognized as one of the most recent and advanced unit operations for gas separation processes. Membrane is fabricated by various methods and the parameters involved to a certain extent are very complicated. The phase inversion technique that is normally employed to produce membranes are dry/wet, wet, dry and thermal induced phase separation. Other techniques used to produce membrane are also reviewed. This paper reports the latest development in membrane formation for gas separation. The route to produce defect-free and ultrathin-skinned asymmetric membrane is also presented that represents the cutting edge technology in membrane gas separation process

Liquid and Gas Permeation Studies on the Structure and Properties of Polyamide Thin-Film Composite Membranes

KAUST Repository

Duan, Jintang

2014-11-01

This research was undertaken to improve the understanding of structure-property-performance relationships in crosslinked polyamide (PA) thin-film composite (TFC) membranes as characterized by liquid and gas permeation studies. The ultrathin PA selective layer formed by interfacial polymerization between meta-phenylene diamine and trimesoyl chloride was confirmed to contain dense polymer matrix regions and defective regions in both dry and hydrated states. The first part of this research studied the effect of non-selective convection through defective regions on water flux and solute flux in pressure-assisted forward osmosis (PAFO). Through systematic comparison with cellulose triacetate (CTA) and PEBAX-coated PA-TFC membranes, the existence of defects in pristine, hydrated PA-TFC membranes was verified, and their effects were quantified by experimental and modeling methods. In the membrane orientation of selective layer facing the draw solution, water flux increases of up to 10-fold were observed to result from application of low hydraulic pressure (1.25 bar). Convective water flux through the defects was low (< 1% of total water flux for PA-TFC membranes) and of little consequence in practical FO or reverse osmosis (RO) applications. However, it effectively mitigated the concentration polarization in PAFO and therefore greatly increased the diffusive flux through the dense regions. The second part of this research characterized the structures of the PA material and the PA selective layer by gas adsorption and gas permeation measurements. Gas adsorption isotherms (N2 at 77K, CO2 at 273K) confirmed the microporous nature of PA in comparison with dense CTA and polysulfone materials. Gas permeation through the commercial PA-TFC membranes tested occurred primarily in the defective regions, resulting in Knudsen gas selectivity for various gas pairs. Applying a Nafion coating layer effectively plugged the defects and allowed gas permeation through the dense PA regions

Catalysts synthesized by selective deposition of Fe onto Pt for the water-gas shift reaction

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Aragao, Isaias Barbosa; Ro, Insoo; Liu, Yifei; Ball, Madelyn; Huber, George W.; Zanchet, Daniela; Dumesic, James A.

2018-03-01

FePt bimetallic catalysts with intimate contact between the two metals were synthesized by controlled surface reactions (CSR) of (cyclohexadiene)iron tricarbonyl with hydrogen-treated supported Pt nanoparticles. Adsorption of the iron precursor on a Pt/SiO2 catalyst was studied, showing that the Fe loading could be increased by performing multiple CSR cycles, and the efficiency of this process was linked to the renewal of adsorption sites by a reducing pretreatment. The catalytic activity of these bimetallic catalysts for the water gas shift reaction was improved due to promotion by iron, likely linked to H2O activation on FeOx species at or near the Pt surface, mostly in the (II) oxidation state.

Membrane contactor/separator for an advanced ozone membrane reactor for treatment of recalcitrant organic pollutants in water

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chan, Wai Kit; Jouët, Justine; Heng, Samuel; Yeung, King Lun; Schrotter, Jean-Christophe

2012-01-01

An advanced ozone membrane reactor that synergistically combines membrane distributor for ozone gas, membrane contactor for pollutant adsorption and reaction, and membrane separator for clean water production is described. The membrane reactor represents an order of magnitude improvement over traditional semibatch reactor design and is capable of complete conversion of recalcitrant endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) in water at less than three minutes residence time. Coating the membrane contactor with alumina and hydrotalcite (Mg/Al=3) adsorbs and traps the organics in the reaction zone resulting in 30% increase of total organic carbon (TOC) removal. Large surface area coating that diffuses surface charges from adsorbed polar organic molecules is preferred as it reduces membrane polarization that is detrimental to separation. - Graphical abstract: Advanced ozone membrane reactor synergistically combines membrane distributor for ozone, membrane contactor for sorption and reaction and membrane separator for clean water production to achieve an order of magnitude enhancement in treatment performance compared to traditional ozone reactor. Highlights: ► Novel reactor using membranes for ozone distributor, reaction contactor and water separator. ► Designed to achieve an order of magnitude enhancement over traditional reactor. ► Al 2 O 3 and hydrotalcite coatings capture and trap pollutants giving additional 30% TOC removal. ► High surface area coating prevents polarization and improves membrane separation and life.

Polymeric Gas-Separation Membranes for Petroleum Refining

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yousef Alqaheem

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Polymeric gas-separation membranes were commercialized 30 years ago. The interest on these systems is increasing because of the simplicity of concept and low-energy consumption. In the refinery, gas separation is needed in many processes such as natural gas treatment, carbon dioxide capture, hydrogen purification, and hydrocarbons separations. In these processes, the membranes have proven to be a potential candidate to replace the current conventional methods of amine scrubbing, pressure swing adsorption, and cryogenic distillation. In this paper, applications of polymeric membranes in the refinery are discussed by reviewing current materials and commercialized units. Economical evaluation of these membranes in comparison to traditional processes is also indicated.

CFD and FEM thermo-mechanical design of a recuperative-dissipative heat exchanger for a laboratory water gas shift reactor

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Michele Vascellari; Stefano Sollai; Pier Francesco Orru; Giorgio Cau [University of Cagliari, Cagliari (Italy). Department of Mechanical Engineering

2007-07-01

A small scale test rig based on a two-stage reactor for testing water gas shift conversion processes has been set up at the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Cagliari, chiefly for the purpose of supporting a pilot plant operation for high sulphur (Sulcis) coal gasification, gas cleaning and treatment, CO{sub 2} separation, hydrogen and electricity production. The laboratory test rig comprises two packed-bed reactors in series to be operated at different temperatures and has been designed for testing CO-shift conversion processes using a variety of catalysts for different syngas temperatures (up to 500{sup o}C) and compositions. One critical component of the system is a recuperative-dissipative heat exchanger placed between the two reactors. The heat exchanger, which preheats the syngas prior to entering the high temperature reactor and cools the shifted gas exiting there from, prior to its entering the low temperature reactor, is subjected to severe thermo-mechanical stress. Thus the design and analysis of this component, described herein, is a critical issue. A full 3D conjugate heat transfer CFD analysis of the tubular heat exchanger has been performed, considering different geometries. Based on the CFD results we were able to verify the preliminary design of the component, carried out using simple thermal correlations and to predict wall temperature distribution for the thermo-structural analysis. 10 refs., 10 figs., 2 tabs.

Application of CO{sub 2} selective membrane reactors in pre-combustion decarbonisation systems for power production

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Steven C.A. Kluiters; Virginie C. Feuillade; Jan Wilco Dijkstra; Daniel Jansen; Wim G. Haije [Energy research Centre of the Netherlands (ECN), Petten (Netherlands)

2006-07-01

For pre-combustion decarbonisation of fuels for large-scale power production or H{sub 2} generation both CO{sub 2} and H{sub 2} selective membranes are viable candidates for use in steam reforming and water gas shift membrane reactors. It will be shown that the choice between either option is not a matter of taste, but dictated by the fuel used and, to a lesser extent, the total system layout. Hydrotalcites, clay-like materials, are shown to be promising candidates as membrane material for low temperature, below 400{sup o}C, membrane shift reactors. 7 refs., 6 figs., 1 tab.

Relaxation phenomena in dense gas separation membranes

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Wessling, Matthias

1993-01-01

Solution-diffusion membranes are widely used for the separation of gaseous and liquid mixtures. The separation of air (O2/N2), landfill gas (CH4/CO2) and purge gas streams (NH3/H2) in the ammonia synthesis are examples for state-of-the-art membrane gas separation processes. For the separation of

Separation of tritiated water using graphene oxide membrane

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sevigny, Gary J. [Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Motkuri, Radha K. [Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Gotthold, David W. [Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Fifield, Leonard S. [Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Frost, Anthony P. [Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Bratton, Wesley [Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)

2015-06-28

In future nuclear fuel reprocessing plants and possibly for nuclear power plants, the cleanup of tritiated water will be needed for hundreds of thousands of gallons of water with low activities of tritium. This cleanup concept utilizes graphene oxide laminar membranes (GOx) for the separation of low-concentration (10-3-10 µCi/g) tritiated water to create water that can be released to the environment and a much smaller waste stream with higher tritium concentrations. Graphene oxide membranes consist of hierarchically stacked, overlapping molecular layers and represent a new class of materials. A permeation rate test was performed with a 2-µm-thick cast Asbury membrane using mixed gas permeability testing with zero air (highly purified atmosphere) and with air humidified with either H2O or D2O to a nominal 50% relative humidity. The membrane permeability for both H2O and D2O was high with N2 and O2 at the system measurement limit. The membrane water permeation rate was compared to a Nafion® membrane and the GOx permeation was approximately twice as high at room temperature. The H2O vapor permeation rate was 5.9 × 102 cc/m2/min (1.2 × 10-6 g/min-cm2), which is typical for graphene oxide membranes. To demonstrate the feasibility of such isotopic water separation through GOX laminar membranes, an experimental setup was constructed to use pressure-driven separation by heating the isotopic water mixture at one side of the membrane to create steam while cooling the other side. Several membranes were tested and were prepared using different starting materials and by different pretreatment methods. The average separation result was 0.8 for deuterium and 0.6 for tritium. Higher or lower temperatures may also improve separation efficiency but neither has been tested yet. A rough estimate of cost compared to current technology was also included as an indication of potential viability of the process. The relative process costs were based on the rough size of facility to

Hydrogen separation membranes annual report for FY 2010.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Balachandran, U.; Dorris, S. E; Emerson, J. E.; Lee, T. H.; Lu, Y.; Park, C. Y.; Picciolo, J. J. (Energy Systems)

2011-03-14

The objective of this work is to develop dense ceramic membranes for separating hydrogen from other gaseous components in a nongalvanic mode, i.e., without using an external power supply or electrical circuitry. The goal of this project is to develop dense hydrogen transport membranes (HTMs) that nongalvanically (i.e., without electrodes or external power supply) separate hydrogen from gas mixtures at commercially significant fluxes under industrially relevant operating conditions. These membranes will be used to separate hydrogen from gas mixtures such as the product streams from coal gasification, methane partial oxidation, and water-gas shift reactions. Potential ancillary uses of HTMs include dehydrogenation and olefin production, as well as hydrogen recovery in petroleum refineries and ammonia synthesis plants, the largest current users of deliberately produced hydrogen. This report describes the results from the development and testing of HTM materials during FY 2010.

Enhanced Membrane System for Recovery of Water from Gas-Liquid Mixtures, Phase I

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — Gas-Liquid separation is an acute microgravity problem. Existing devices use centrifugal motion on microporous membranes to separate the two phases. Centrifugal...

Polymide gas separation membranes

Science.gov (United States)

Ding, Yong; Bikson, Benjamin; Nelson, Joyce Katz

2004-09-14

Soluble polyamic acid salt (PAAS) precursors comprised of tertiary and quaternary amines, ammonium cations, sulfonium cations, or phosphonium cations, are prepared and fabricated into membranes that are subsequently imidized and converted into rigid-rod polyimide articles, such as membranes with desirable gas separation properties. A method of enhancing solubility of PAAS polymers in alcohols is also disclosed.

Parametric Gasification of Oak and Pine Feedstocks Using the TCPDU and Slipstream Water-Gas Shift Catalysis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hrdlicka, J.; Feik, C.; Carpenter, D.; Pomeroy, M.

2008-12-01

With oak and pine feedstocks, the Gasification of Biomass to Hydrogen project maximizes hydrogen production using the Full Stream Reformer during water-gas shift fixed-bed reactor testing. Results indicate that higher steam-to-biomass ratio and higher thermal cracker temperature yield higher hydrogen concentration. NREL's techno-economic models and analyses indicate hydrogen production from biomass may be viable at an estimated cost of $1.77/kg (current) and $1.47/kg (advanced in 2015). To verify these estimates, NREL used the Thermochemical Process Development Unit (TCPDU), an integrated system of unit operations that investigates biomass thermochemical conversion to gaseous and liquid fuels and chemicals.

Multicomponent Matrimid Membrane for Gas Separation

KAUST Repository

Irerua, Olayinka

2012-07-01

Matrimid was utilized for the preparation of membranes with asymmetric structures. A combination of well-known solvents for Matrimid which include 1- methyl-2-Pyrrolidone (NMP), tetrahydrofuran (THF), dichloromethane, tetrachloroethane as well as non-solvents n-butanol, xylene, and acetic acid were used. Cast solutions were prepared at room temperature for different combinations and compositions of polymer/solvent/non-solvent systems. PEG and Octa-(amino phenyl) POSS were introduced in some of the cast solutions. The membranes obtained were characterized by permeation test for gas permeabilities and selectivities, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) Spectroscopy. The gas permeation test showed that the use of mixture of dichloromethane and tetrachloroethane as solvents with xylene non-solvent and acetic acid as stabilizer gave membranes with very high gas selectivity of 133 for CO2/N2 and 492 for CO2/CH4. Also, cast solutions containing PEG resulted in membranes with slightly enhanced selectivities from 30 to 42 for CO2/N2. Permeation results for CO2, N2 and H2 and the selectivities for gas pairs such as CO2/N2, CO2/CH4, are discussed in relation to the effect of pressure on the membrane permeance, they are also compared with existing results.

Mixed gas plasticization phenomena in asymmetric membranes

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Visser, Tymen

2006-01-01

This thesis describes the thorough investigation of mixed gas transport behavior of asymmetric membranes in the separation of feed streams containing plasticizing gases in order to gain more insights into the complicated behavior of plasticization. To successfully employ gas separation membranes in

Membrane contactors in the beverage industry for controlling the water gas composition.

Science.gov (United States)

Criscuoli, Alessandra; Drioli, Enrico; Moretti, Ugo

2003-03-01

In the work described here, membrane contactors are used for coupling the removal of species (oxygen and hydrogen sulfide) present in the water with the water carbonation process. We include both experiments and a theoretical study devoted to the analysis of the transport phenomena that occur in the membrane contactor. The main resistance to mass transport was located at the liquid side. Correlations between Sherwood and Reynolds numbers on the shell side that are suitable for the membrane contactor used to carry out our experiments have been determined. In particular, for Re > 1.6, the expression proposed by Yang and Cussler in 1986: Sh = 0.90 Re(0.40) Sc(0.33) describes the behavior of the system; whereas, for Re between 0.03 and 0.3, a new expression is proposed: Sh = 0.435 Re(1.2)Sc(0.33). A comparison with traditional equipment is also furnished. Membrane contactors offer reduced size, CO(2) consumption, and capital costs.

Life-cycle comparison of greenhouse gas emissions and water consumption for coal and shale gas fired power generation in China

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chang, Yuan; Huang, Runze; Ries, Robert J.; Masanet, Eric

2015-01-01

China has the world's largest shale gas reserves, which might enable it to pursue a new pathway for electricity generation. This study employed hybrid LCI (life cycle inventory) models to quantify the ETW (extraction-to-wire) GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions and water consumption per kWh of coal- and shale gas-fired electricity in China. Results suggest that a coal-to-shale gas shift and upgrading coal-fired power generation technologies could provide pathways to less GHG and water intensive power in China. Compared to different coal-fired generation technologies, the ETW GHG emissions intensity of gas-fired CC (combined cycle) technology is 530 g CO 2 e/kWh, which is 38–45% less than China's present coal-fired electricity. Gas-fired CT (combustion turbine) technology has the lowest ETW water consumption intensity at 960 g/kWh, which is 34–60% lower than China's present coal-fired electricity. The GHG-water tradeoff of the two gas-fired power generation technologies suggests that gas-fired power generation technologies should be selected based on regional-specific water resource availabilities and electricity demand fluctuations in China. However, the low price of coal-fired electricity, high cost of shale gas production, insufficient pipeline infrastructures, and multiple consumers of shale gas resources may serve as barriers to a coal-to-shale gas shift in China's power sector in the near term. - Highlights: • The GHG and water footprints of coal- and shale gas-fired electricity are estimated. • A coal-to-shale gas shift can enable less GHG and water intensive power in China. • The GHG emissions of shale gas-fired combined cycle technology is 530 g CO 2 e/kWh. • The water consumption of shale gas-fired combustion turbine technology is 960 g/kWh. • Shale gas-fired power generation technologies selection should be regional-specific

Impact of Contaminants Present in Coal-Biomass Derived Synthesis Gas on Water-gas Shift and Fischer-Tropsch Synthesis Catalysts

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Alptekin, Gokhan [TDA Research, Inc., Wheat Ridge, CO (United States)

2013-02-15

Co-gasification of biomass and coal in large-scale, Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) plants increases the efficiency and reduces the environmental impact of making synthesis gas ("syngas") that can be used in Coal-Biomass-to-Liquids (CBTL) processes for producing transportation fuels. However, the water-gas shift (WGS) and Fischer-Tropsch synthesis (FTS) catalysts used in these processes may be poisoned by multiple contaminants found in coal-biomass derived syngas; sulfur species, trace toxic metals, halides, nitrogen species, the vapors of alkali metals and their salts (e.g., KCl and NaCl), ammonia, and phosphorous. Thus, it is essential to develop a fundamental understanding of poisoning/inhibition mechanisms before investing in the development of any costly mitigation technologies. We therefore investigated the impact of potential contaminants (H₂S, NH₃, HCN, AsH₃, PH₃, HCl, NaCl, KCl, AS₃, NH₄NO₃, NH₄OH, KNO₃, HBr, HF, and HNO₃) on the performance and lifetime of commercially available and generic (prepared in-house) WGS and FT catalysts.

Gas separation with membranes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schulz, G.; Michele, H.; Werner, U.

1982-01-01

Gas separation with membranes has already been tested in numerous fields of application, e.g. uranium enrichment of H 2 separation. In many of these processes the mass transfer units, so-called permeators, have to be connected in tandem in order to achieve high concentrations. A most economical operating method provides for each case an optimization of the cascades with regard to the membrane materials, construction and design of module. By utilization of the concentration gradient along the membrane a new process development has been accomplished - the continuously operating membrane rectification unit. Investment and operating costs can be reduced considerably for a number of separating processes by combining a membrane rectification unit with a conventional recycling cascade. However, the new procedure requires that the specifications for the module construction, flow design, and membrane properties be reconsidered. (orig.) [de

Metal oxide membranes for gas separation

Science.gov (United States)

Anderson, Marc A.; Webster, Elizabeth T.; Xu, Qunyin

1994-01-01

A method for permformation of a microporous ceramic membrane onto a porous support includes placing a colloidal suspension of metal oxide particles on one side of the porous support and exposing the other side of the porous support to a drying stream of gas or a reactive gas stream so that the particles are deposited on the drying side of the support as a gel. The gel so deposited can be sintered to form a supported ceramic membrane having mean pore sizes less than 30 Angstroms and useful for ultrafiltration, reverse osmosis, or gas separation.

Quasi-three dimensional dynamic modeling of a proton exchange membrane fuel cell with consideration of two-phase water transport through a gas diffusion layer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kang, Sanggyu

2015-01-01

Water management is one of the challenging issues for low-temperature PEMFCs (proton exchange membrane fuel cells). When liquid water is formed at the GDL (gas diffusion layer), the pathway of reactant gas can be blocked, which inhibits the electrochemical reaction of PEMFC. Thus, liquid water transport through GDL is a critical factor determining the performance of a PEMFC. In present study, quasi-three dimensional dynamic modeling of PEMFC with consideration of two-phase water transport through GDL is developed. To investigate the distributions of PEMFC characteristics, including current density, species mole fraction, and membrane hydration, the PEMFC was discretized into twenty control volumes along the anode channel. To resolve the mass and energy conservation, the PEMFC is discretized into eleven and fifteen control volumes in the perpendicular direction, respectively. The dynamic variation of PEMFC characteristics of cell voltage, overvoltage of activation and ohmic, liquid water saturation through a GDL, and oxygen concentration were captured during transient behavior. - Highlights: • A quasi-three dimensional two-phase dynamic model of PEMFC is developed. • Presented model is validated by comparison with experimental data. • Two-phase model is compared with one-phase model at steady-states and transients.

Theoretical investigation of gas separation in functionalized nanoporous graphene membranes

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Yong; Yang, Qingyuan; Zhong, Chongli; Li, Jinping

2017-06-01

Graphene has enormous potential as a membrane-separation material with ultrahigh permeability and selectivity. The understanding of mass-transport mechanism in graphene membranes is crucial for applications in gas separation field. We computationally investigated the capability and mechanisms of functionalized nanoporous graphene membranes for gas separation. The functionalized graphene membranes with appropriate pore size and geometry possess excellent high selectivity for separating CO2/N2, CO2/CH4 and N2/CH4 gas mixtures with a gas permeance of ∼103-105 GPU, compared with ∼100 GPU for typical polymeric membranes. More important, we found that, for ultrathin graphene membranes, the gas separation performance has a great dependence not only with the energy barrier for gas getting into the pore of the graphene membranes, but also with the energy barrier for gas escaping from the pore to the other side of the membranes. The gas separation performance can be tuned by changing the two energy barriers, which can be realized by varying the chemical functional groups on the pore rim of the graphene. The novel mass-transport mechanism obtained in current study may provide a theoretical foundation for guiding the future design of graphene membranes with outstanding separation performance.

Pebax®1657/Graphene oxide composite membranes for improved water vapor separation

KAUST Repository

Akhtar, Faheem Hassan; Kumar, Mahendra; Peinemann, Klaus-Viktor

2016-01-01

In this study composite mixed matrix membranes containing hydrophilic microphase-separated block copolymer (Pebax® 1657) and graphene oxide nanosheets were prepared using a dip coating method. Water vapor and N2 gas permeation were measured as a function of different parameters: (i) layer thickness, (ii) content of graphene oxide (GO), and (iii) content of reduced GO. Surprisingly, a concentration of only 2 wt% of GO nanosheets well dispersed in the Pebax layer boosted the selectivity 8 times by decreasing the water vapor permeance by only 12% whereas N2 gas permeance decreased by 70%. Using reduced GO instead, the water vapor permeance declined by up to 16% with no influence on the N2 gas permeance. We correlated the permeation properties of the mixed matrix membranes with different models and found, that both the modified Nielsen model and the Cussler model give good correlation with experimental findings.

Pebax®1657/Graphene oxide composite membranes for improved water vapor separation

KAUST Repository

Akhtar, Faheem Hassan

2016-11-02

In this study composite mixed matrix membranes containing hydrophilic microphase-separated block copolymer (Pebax® 1657) and graphene oxide nanosheets were prepared using a dip coating method. Water vapor and N2 gas permeation were measured as a function of different parameters: (i) layer thickness, (ii) content of graphene oxide (GO), and (iii) content of reduced GO. Surprisingly, a concentration of only 2 wt% of GO nanosheets well dispersed in the Pebax layer boosted the selectivity 8 times by decreasing the water vapor permeance by only 12% whereas N2 gas permeance decreased by 70%. Using reduced GO instead, the water vapor permeance declined by up to 16% with no influence on the N2 gas permeance. We correlated the permeation properties of the mixed matrix membranes with different models and found, that both the modified Nielsen model and the Cussler model give good correlation with experimental findings.

Carbon dioxide (hydrogen sulfide) membrane separations and WGS membrane reactor modeling for fuel cells

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Jin

Acid-gas removal is of great importance in many environmental or energy-related processes. Compared to current commercial technologies, membrane-based CO2 and H2S capture has the advantages of low energy consumption, low weight and space requirement, simplicity of installation/operation, and high process flexibility. However, the large-scale application of the membrane separation technology is limited by the relatively low transport properties. In this study, CO2 (H2S)-selective polymeric membranes with high permeability and high selectivity have been studied based on the facilitated transport mechanism. The membrane showed facilitated effect for both CO2 and H2S. A CO2 permeability of above 2000 Barrers, a CO2/H2 selectivity of greater than 40, and a CO2/N2 selectivity of greater than 200 at 100--150°C were observed. As a result of higher reaction rate and smaller diffusing compound, the H2S permeability and H2S/H2 selectivity were about three times higher than those properties for CO2. The novel CO2-selective membrane has been applied to capture CO 2 from flue gas and natural gas. In the CO2 capture experiments from a gas mixture with N2 and H2, a permeate CO 2 dry concentration of greater than 98% was obtained by using steam as the sweep gas. In CO2/CH4 separation, decent CO 2 transport properties were obtained with a feed pressure up to 500 psia. With the thin-film composite membrane structure, significant increase on the CO2 flux was achieved with the decrease of the selective layer thickness. With the continuous removal of CO2, CO2-selective water-gas-shift (WGS) membrane reactor is a promising approach to enhance CO conversion and increase the purity of H2 at process pressure under relatively low temperature. The simultaneous reaction and transport process in the countercurrent WGS membrane reactor was simulated by using a one-dimensional non-isothermal model. The modeling results show that a CO concentration of less than 10 ppm and a H2 recovery of greater

A Review of Water Management in Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cells

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zidong Wei

2009-11-01

Full Text Available At present, despite the great advances in polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC technology over the past two decades through intensive research and development activities, their large-scale commercialization is still hampered by their higher materials cost and lower reliability and durability. In this review, water management is given special consideration. Water management is of vital importance to achieve maximum performance and durability from PEMFCs. On the one hand, to maintain good proton conductivity, the relative humidity of inlet gases is typically held at a large value to ensure that the membrane remains fully hydrated. On the other hand, the pores of the catalyst layer (CL and the gas diffusion layer (GDL are frequently flooded by excessive liquid water, resulting in a higher mass transport resistance. Thus, a subtle equilibrium has to be maintained between membrane drying and liquid water flooding to prevent fuel cell degradation and guarantee a high performance level, which is the essential problem of water management. This paper presents a comprehensive review of the state-of-the-art studies of water management, including the experimental methods and modeling and simulation for the characterization of water management and the water management strategies. As one important aspect of water management, water flooding has been extensively studied during the last two decades. Herein, the causes, detection, effects on cell performance and mitigation strategies of water flooding are overviewed in detail. In the end of the paper the emphasis is given to: (i the delicate equilibrium of membrane drying vs. water flooding in water management; (ii determining which phenomenon is principally responsible for the deterioration of the PEMFC performance, the flooding of the porous electrode or the gas channels in the bipolar plate, and (iii what measures should be taken to prevent water flooding from happening in PEMFCs.

Polymeric molecular sieve membranes for gas separation

Science.gov (United States)

Dai, Sheng; Qiao, Zhenan; Chai, Songhai

2017-08-15

A porous polymer membrane useful in gas separation, the porous polymer membrane comprising a polymeric structure having crosslinked aromatic groups and a hierarchical porosity in which micropores having a pore size less than 2 nm are present at least in an outer layer of the porous polymer membrane, and macropores having a pore size of over 50 nm are present at least in an inner layer of the porous polymer membrane. Also described are methods for producing the porous polymer membrane in which a non-porous polymer membrane containing aromatic rings is subjected to a Friedel-Crafts crosslinking reaction in which a crosslinking molecule crosslinks the aromatic rings in the presence of a Friedel-Crafts catalyst and organic solvent under sufficiently elevated temperature, as well as methods for using the porous polymer membranes for gas or liquid separation, filtration, or purification.

Surface modification of poly(vinylidene fluoride) hollow fibre membranes for biogas purification in a gas-liquid membrane contactor system.

Science.gov (United States)

Jin, Pengrui; Huang, Chuan; Li, Jiaxiang; Shen, Yadong; Wang, Liao

2017-11-01

The wetting of hollow fibre membranes decreases the performance of the liquid-gas membrane contactor for CO 2 capture in biogas upgrading. To solve this problem, in this work, a poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) hollow fibre membrane for a liquid-gas membrane contactor was coated with a superhydrophobic layer composed of a combination of hydrophobic SiO 2 nanoparticles and polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) by the method of spray deposition. A rough layer of SiO 2 deposited on the PVDF membrane resulted in an enhanced surface hydrophobicity. The surface structure of the pristine PVDF significantly affected the homogeneity of the generated SiO 2 layer. A uniform surface coating on the PVDF upper layer resulted from the presence of micrometre and nanometre-sized roughness on the surface of the PVDF membrane, which was achieved with a SiO 2 concentration of 4.44 mg ml -1 (0.2 g/45 ml) in the coating solution. As a result, the water contact angle of the modified surface was recorded as 155 ± 3°, which is higher than that of the pristine surface. The high contact angle is advantageous for reducing the wetting of the membrane. Additional mass transfer resistance was introduced by the superhydrophobic layer. In addition, continuous CO 2 absorption tests were carried out in original and modified PVDF hollow fibre membrane contactors, using monoethanolamine (MEA) solution as the absorbent. A long-term stability test revealed that the modified PVDF hollow fibre membrane contactor was able to outperform the original membrane contactor and demonstrated outstanding long-term stability, suggesting that spray deposition is a promising approach to obtain superhydrophobic PVDF membranes for liquid-gas membrane absorption.

Modeling the Liquid Water Transport in the Gas Diffusion Layer for Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cells Using a Water Path Network

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dietmar Gerteisen

2013-09-01

Full Text Available In order to model the liquid water transport in the porous materials used in polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM fuel cells, the pore network models are often applied. The presented model is a novel approach to further develop these models towards a percolation model that is based on the fiber structure rather than the pore structure. The developed algorithm determines the stable liquid water paths in the gas diffusion layer (GDL structure and the transitions from the paths to the subsequent paths. The obtained water path network represents the basis for the calculation of the percolation process with low calculation efforts. A good agreement with experimental capillary pressure-saturation curves and synchrotron liquid water visualization data from other literature sources is found. The oxygen diffusivity for the GDL with liquid water saturation at breakthrough reveals that the porosity is not a crucial factor for the limiting current density. An algorithm for condensation is included into the model, which shows that condensing water is redirecting the water path in the GDL, leading to an improved oxygen diffusion by a decreased breakthrough pressure and changed saturation distribution at breakthrough.

Shifts in microbial community structure and function in surface waters impacted by unconventional oil and gas wastewater revealed by metagenomics

Science.gov (United States)

Fahrenfeld, N.L.; Reyes, Hannah Delos; Eramo, Alessia; Akob, Denise M.; Mumford, Adam; Cozzarelli, Isabelle M.

2017-01-01

Unconventional oil and gas (UOG) production produces large quantities of wastewater with complex geochemistry and largely uncharacterized impacts on surface waters. In this study, we assessed shifts in microbial community structure and function in sediments and waters upstream and downstream from a UOG wastewater disposal facility. To do this, quantitative PCR for 16S rRNA and antibiotic resistance genes along with metagenomic sequencing were performed. Elevated conductivity and markers of UOG wastewater characterized sites sampled downstream from the disposal facility compared to background sites. Shifts in overall high level functions and microbial community structure were observed between background sites and downstream sediments. Increases in Deltaproteobacteria and Methanomicrobia and decreases in Thaumarchaeota were observed at downstream sites. Genes related to dormancy and sporulation and methanogenic respiration were 18–86 times higher at downstream, impacted sites. The potential for these sediments to serve as reservoirs of antimicrobial resistance was investigated given frequent reports of the use of biocides to control the growth of nuisance bacteria in UOG operations. A shift in resistance profiles downstream of the UOG facility was observed including increases in acrB and mexB genes encoding for multidrug efflux pumps, but not overall abundance of resistance genes. The observed shifts in microbial community structure and potential function indicate changes in respiration, nutrient cycling, and markers of stress in a stream impacted by UOG waste disposal operations.

Magnetic susceptibility as a direct measure of oxidation state in LiFePO4 batteries and cyclic water gas shift reactors.

Science.gov (United States)

Kadyk, Thomas; Eikerling, Michael

2015-08-14

The possibility of correlating the magnetic susceptibility to the oxidation state of the porous active mass in a chemical or electrochemical reactor was analyzed. The magnetic permeability was calculated using a hierarchical model of the reactor. This model was applied to two practical examples: LiFePO4 batteries, in which the oxidation state corresponds with the state-of-charge, and cyclic water gas shift reactors, in which the oxidation state corresponds to the depletion of the catalyst. In LiFePO4 batteries phase separation of the lithiated and delithiated phases in the LiFePO4 particles in the positive electrode gives rise to a hysteresis effect, i.e. the magnetic permeability depends on the history of the electrode. During fast charge or discharge, non-uniform lithium distributionin the electrode decreases the hysteresis effect. However, the overall sensitivity of the magnetic response to the state-of-charge lies in the range of 0.03%, which makes practical measurement challenging. In cyclic water gas shift reactors, the sensitivity is 4 orders of magnitude higher and without phase separation, no hysteresis occurs. This shows that the method is suitable for such reactors, in which large changes of the magnetic permeability of the active material occurs.

Membrane-Coated Electrochemical Sensor for Corrosion Monitoring in Natural Gas Pipelines

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J. Beck

2017-07-01

Full Text Available Electrochemical sensors can be used for a wide range of online in- situ process monitoring applications. However, the lack of a consistent electrolyte layer has previously limited electrochemical monitoring in gas and supercritical fluid streams. A solid state sensor is being designed that uses an ion conducting membrane to perform conductivity and corrosion measurements in natural gas pipelines up to 1000 psi. Initial results show that membrane conductivity measurements can be correlated directly to water content down to dew points of 1°C with good linearity. Corrosion monitoring can also be performed using methods such as linear polarization resistance and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS, though care must be taken in the electrode design to minimize deviation between sensors.

Support effects and catalytic trends for water gas shift activity of transition metals

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Boisen, Astrid; Janssens, T.V.W.; Schumacher, Nana Maria Pii

2010-01-01

Water gas shift activity measurements for 12 transition metals (Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Ru, Rh, Pd, Ag, Re, Ir, Pt, Au) supported on inert MgAl2O4 and Ce0.75Zr0.25O2 are presented, to elucidate the influence of the active metal and the support. The activity is related to the adsorption energy of molecular...... activity on the MgAl2O4 support and are both characterized by weak CO adsorption. For the MgAl2O4-supported catalysts a volcano-type relation between the activity and the adsorption energy of atomic oxygen on the metal is obtained. The maximum activity is found for metals with a binding energy of oxygen...... around −2.5 eV. No clear correlation exists with the adsorption energy of CO. In contrast, the activity for the Ce0.75Zr0.25O2 support increases with increasing adsorption strength for CO, and based on a relatively low activity of Cu the activity does not seem to depend on the adsorption energy of oxygen...

Effect of concentration variation in graphene oxide (GO) membranes for water flux optimization

Science.gov (United States)

Kumar, Shani; Garg, Amit; Chowdhuri, Arijit

2018-05-01

Graphene oxide, sister material of Graphene has generated tremendous research interest in fields of energy storage, catalyst material, adsorbent material for heavy metals and dyes, green energy production, drug delivery agent, a gas sensing material as well as in membrane based water purification and desalination systems1-3 etc. In this paper, we are reporting the effect of concentration variation in GO membranes on water flux. GO has been synthesized by Hummer's method with related characterizations like XRD, Raman, SEM and FTIR carried out. GO membranes have been developed using pressure assisted filtration assembly (Water Vac-100) over Cellulose Acetate membrane support (47 mm dia. and 0.45 µm pore size), Millipore.

An overview on exploration and environmental impact of unconventional gas sources and treatment options for produced water.

Science.gov (United States)

Silva, Tânia L S; Morales-Torres, Sergio; Castro-Silva, Sérgio; Figueiredo, José L; Silva, Adrián M T

2017-09-15

Rising global energy demands associated to unbalanced allocation of water resources highlight the importance of water management solutions for the gas industry. Advanced drilling, completion and stimulation techniques for gas extraction, allow more economical access to unconventional gas reserves. This stimulated a shale gas revolution, besides tight gas and coalbed methane, also causing escalating water handling challenges in order to avoid a major impact on the environment. Hydraulic fracturing allied to horizontal drilling is gaining higher relevance in the exploration of unconventional gas reserves, but a large amount of wastewater (known as "produced water") is generated. Its variable chemical composition and flow rates, together with more severe regulations and public concern, have promoted the development of solutions for the treatment and reuse of such produced water. This work intends to provide an overview on the exploration and subsequent environmental implications of unconventional gas sources, as well as the technologies for treatment of produced water, describing the main results and drawbacks, together with some cost estimates. In particular, the growing volumes of produced water from shale gas plays are creating an interesting market opportunity for water technology and service providers. Membrane-based technologies (membrane distillation, forward osmosis, membrane bioreactors and pervaporation) and advanced oxidation processes (ozonation, Fenton, photocatalysis) are claimed to be adequate treatment solutions. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Application of ceramic membranes to SAGD produced water treatment for enhanced recycle and reuse

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Minnich, K. [Veolia Water Solutions and Technologies, Mississauga, ON (Canada)

2009-07-01

Drivers for using ceramic membranes in steam assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) include reduced investment cost; alternative treatment technologies that reduce energy and greenhouse gas emissions; and ceramic membranes can be chemically and steam cleaned. This presentation discussed the application of ceramic membranes to SAGD produced water treatment for enhanced recycle and reuse. The presentation illustrated conventional ceramic membranes as well as surface enhanced membranes and provided background information on oil separation. Other topics that were discussed included issues regarding desalter bottoms de-oiling; challenges in de-oiling oil sands produced water; CeraMem surface enhanced membranes; surface facilities and ceramic membrane opportunities; and water treatment using ceramic membranes. The presentation concluded with a discussion of the application of ceramic membranes to SAGD next steps such as a demonstration test of industrial prototype membranes for de-oiling, and pilot testing of ceramic desilication. tabs., figs.

Toward enhanced hydrogen generation from water using oxygen permeating LCF membranes

KAUST Repository

Wu, Xiao-Yu

2015-01-01

© the Owner Societies. Hydrogen production from water thermolysis can be enhanced by the use of perovskite-type mixed ionic and electronic conducting (MIEC) membranes, through which oxygen permeation is driven by a chemical potential gradient. In this work, water thermolysis experiments were performed using 0.9 mm thick La0.9Ca0.1FeO3-δ (LCF-91) perovskite membranes at 990 °C in a lab-scale button-cell reactor. We examined the effects of the operating conditions such as the gas species concentrations and flow rates on the feed and sweep sides on the water thermolysis rate and oxygen flux. A single step reaction mechanism is proposed for surface reactions, and three-resistance permeation models are derived. Results show that water thermolysis is facilitated by the LCF-91 membrane especially when a fuel is added to the sweep gas. Increasing the gas flow rate and water concentration on the feed side or the hydrogen concentration on the sweep side enhances the hydrogen production rate. In this work, hydrogen is used as the fuel by construction, so that a single-step surface reaction mechanism can be developed and water thermolysis rate parameters can be derived. Both surface reaction rate parameters for oxygen incorporation/dissociation and hydrogen-oxygen reactions are fitted at 990 °C. We compare the oxygen fluxes in water thermolysis and air separation experiments, and identify different limiting steps in the processes involving various oxygen sources and sweep gases for this 0.9 mm thick LCF-91 membrane. In the air feed-inert sweep case, the bulk diffusion and sweep side surface reaction are the two limiting steps. In the water feed-inert sweep case, surface reaction on the feed side dominates the oxygen permeation process. Yet in the water feed-fuel sweep case, surface reactions on both the feed and sweep sides are rate determining when hydrogen concentration in the sweep side is in the range of 1-5 vol%. Furthermore, long term studies show that the surface

Novel, Ceramic Membrane System For Hydrogen Separation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Elangovan, S.

2012-12-31

Separation of hydrogen from coal gas represents one of the most promising ways to produce alternative sources of fuel. Ceramatec, teamed with CoorsTek and Sandia National Laboratories has developed materials technology for a pressure driven, high temperature proton-electron mixed conducting membrane system to remove hydrogen from the syngas. This system separates high purity hydrogen and isolates high pressure CO{sub 2} as the retentate, which is amenable to low cost capture and transport to storage sites. The team demonstrated a highly efficient, pressure-driven hydrogen separation membrane to generate high purity hydrogen from syngas using a novel ceramic-ceramic composite membrane. Recognizing the benefits and limitations of present membrane systems, the all-ceramic system has been developed to address the key technical challenges related to materials performance under actual operating conditions, while retaining the advantages of thermal and process compatibility offered by the ceramic membranes. The feasibility of the concept has already been demonstrated at Ceramatec. This project developed advanced materials composition for potential integration with water gas shift rectors to maximize the hydrogenproduction.

Shale gas vs. coal: Policy implications from environmental impact comparisons of shale gas, conventional gas, and coal on air, water, and land in the United States

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jenner, Steffen; Lamadrid, Alberto J.

2013-01-01

The aim of this paper is to examine the major environmental impacts of shale gas, conventional gas and coal on air, water, and land in the United States. These factors decisively affect the quality of life (public health and safety) as well as local and global environmental protection. Comparing various lifecycle assessments, this paper will suggest that a shift from coal to shale gas would benefit public health, the safety of workers, local environmental protection, water consumption, and the land surface. Most likely, shale gas also comes with a smaller GHG footprint than coal. However, shale gas extraction can affect water safety. This paper also discusses related aspects that exemplify how shale gas can be more beneficial in the short and long term. First, there are technical solutions readily available to fix the most crucial problems of shale gas extraction, such as methane leakages and other geo-hazards. Second, shale gas is best equipped to smoothen the transition to an age of renewable energy. Finally, this paper will recommend hybrid policy regulations. - Highlights: ► We examine the impacts of (un)conventional gas and coal on air, water, and land. ► A shift from coal to shale gas would benefit public health. ► Shale gas extraction can affect water safety. ► We discuss technical solutions to fix the most crucial problems of shale gas extraction. ► We recommend hybrid regulations.

Niobia-silica and silica membranes for gas separation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Boffa, V.

2008-01-01

This thesis describes the development of ceramic membranes suitable for hydrogen separation and CO2 recovery from gaseous streams. The research work was focused on the three different parts of which gas selective ceramic membranes are composed, i.e., the microporous gas selective silica layer, the

Fuel cell membrane humidification

Science.gov (United States)

Wilson, Mahlon S.

1999-01-01

A polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell assembly has an anode side and a cathode side separated by the membrane and generating electrical current by electrochemical reactions between a fuel gas and an oxidant. The anode side comprises a hydrophobic gas diffusion backing contacting one side of the membrane and having hydrophilic areas therein for providing liquid water directly to the one side of the membrane through the hydrophilic areas of the gas diffusion backing. In a preferred embodiment, the hydrophilic areas of the gas diffusion backing are formed by sewing a hydrophilic thread through the backing. Liquid water is distributed over the gas diffusion backing in distribution channels that are separate from the fuel distribution channels.

Linking ceragenins to water-treatment membranes to minimize biofouling.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hibbs, Michael R.; Altman, Susan Jeanne; Feng, Yanshu (Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah); Savage, Paul B. (Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah); Pollard, Jacob (Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah); Branda, Steven S.; Goeres, Darla (Montana State University, Bozeman, MT); Buckingham-Meyer, Kelli (Montana State University, Bozeman, MT); Stafslien, Shane (North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND); Marry, Christopher; Jones, Howland D. T.; Lichtenberger, Alyssa; Kirk, Matthew F.; McGrath, Lucas K. (LMATA, Albuquerque, NM)

2012-01-01

Ceragenins were used to create biofouling resistant water-treatment membranes. Ceragenins are synthetically produced antimicrobial peptide mimics that display broad-spectrum bactericidal activity. While ceragenins have been used on bio-medical devices, use of ceragenins on water-treatment membranes is novel. Biofouling impacts membrane separation processes for many industrial applications such as desalination, waste-water treatment, oil and gas extraction, and power generation. Biofouling results in a loss of permeate flux and increase in energy use. Creation of biofouling resistant membranes will assist in creation of clean water with lower energy usage and energy with lower water usage. Five methods of attaching three different ceragenin molecules were conducted and tested. Biofouling reduction was observed in the majority of the tests, indicating the ceragenins are a viable solution to biofouling on water treatment membranes. Silane direct attachment appears to be the most promising attachment method if a high concentration of CSA-121a is used. Additional refinement of the attachment methods are needed in order to achieve our goal of several log-reduction in biofilm cell density without impacting the membrane flux. Concurrently, biofilm forming bacteria were isolated from source waters relevant for water treatment: wastewater, agricultural drainage, river water, seawater, and brackish groundwater. These isolates can be used for future testing of methods to control biofouling. Once isolated, the ability of the isolates to grow biofilms was tested with high-throughput multiwell methods. Based on these tests, the following species were selected for further testing in tube reactors and CDC reactors: Pseudomonas ssp. (wastewater, agricultural drainage, and Colorado River water), Nocardia coeliaca or Rhodococcus spp. (wastewater), Pseudomonas fluorescens and Hydrogenophaga palleronii (agricultural drainage), Sulfitobacter donghicola, Rhodococcus fascians, Rhodobacter

Novel silica membranes for high temperature gas separations

KAUST Repository

Bighane, Neha; Koros, William J.

2011-01-01

and pure gas separation performance in the temperature range 35-80°C is presented. It is observed that the membranes exhibit activated transport for small gas penetrants such as He, H 2 and CO 2. The membranes can withstand temperatures up to 350°C in air

Development of Low Cost Membranes (Ta, Nb & Cellulose Acetate) for H₂/CO₂ Separation in WGS Reactors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Seetala, Naidu [Grambling State Univ., LA (United States); Siriwardane, Upali [Louisiana Tech Univ., Ruston, LA (United States)

2011-12-15

The main aim of this work is to synthesize low temperature bimetallic nanocatalysts for Water Gas Shift reaction (WGS) for hydrogen production from CO and steam mixture; and develop low-cost metal (Nb/Ta)/ceramic membranes for H₂ separation and Cellulose Acetate membranes for CO₂ separation. .

Natural Gas Sweetening by Ultra-Microporous Polyimides Membranes

KAUST Repository

Alghunaimi, Fahd

2017-05-01

Most natural gas fields in Saudi Arabia contain around 10 mol.% carbon dioxide. The present technology to remove carbon dioxide is performed by chemical absorption, which has many drawbacks. Alternatively, membrane-based gas separation technology has attracted great interest in recent years due to: (i) simple modular design, (ii) potential cost effectiveness, (iii) ease of scale-up, and (iv) environmental friendliness. The state-of-the-art membrane materials for natural gas sweetening are glassy cellulose acetate and polyimide, which were introduced in the 1980s. In the near future, the kingdom is planning to boost its production of natural gas for power generation and increase the feedstock for new petrochemical plants. Therefore, the kingdom and worldwide market has an urgent need for better membrane materials to remove carbon dioxide from raw natural gas. The focus of this dissertation was to design new polyimide membrane materials for CO2/CH4 separation exhibiting high permeability and high selectivity relative to the standard commercial materials tested under realistic mixed-gas feed conditions. Furthermore, this study provided a fundamental understanding of structure/gas transport property relationships of triptycene-based PIM-polyimides. Optimally designed intrinsically microporous polyimide (PIM-PIs) membranes in this work exhibited drastically increased CO2/CH4 selectivities of up to ~75. In addition, a novel triptycene-based hydroxyl-containing polyimide (TDA1-APAF) showed 5-fold higher permeabilities over benchmark commercial materials such as cellulose acetate. Furthermore, this polyimide had a N2/CH4 selectivity of 2.3, thereby making it possible to simultaneously treat CO2- and N2-contaminated natural gas. Also, TDA1-APAF showed a CO2 permeability of 21 Barrer under binary 1:1 CO2/CH4 mixed-gas feed with a selectivity of 72 at a partial CO2 pressure of 10 bar which are significantly better than cellulose triacetate. These results suggest that TDA1

Intrinsically Microporous Polymer Membranes for High Performance Gas Separation

KAUST Repository

Swaidan, Raja

2014-11-01

selectivity. Instead, a paradigm shift emphasizing inter-chain rigidity was demonstrated for the PIM-type polyimides via introduction of a flexible diamine functionalized with hydroxyl groups. Intra-chain flexibility may permit short-range coplanarization of backbone segments which facilitates inter-chain interactions likely comprising charge transfer complexes over the N-phenyl imide bond and hydrogen bonding. Relative to commercial cellulose acetate membranes at a representative 10 bar CO2 partial pressure, the resulting polyimide exhibited two-fold increases in mixed-gas CO2/CH4 selectivity (~50) concurrent with nearly 10-fold higher CO2 gas permeability. Similar design principles were drawn for ladder polymers.

Foam films as thin liquid gas separation membranes.

Science.gov (United States)

Ramanathan, Muruganathan; Müller, Hans Joachim; Möhwald, Helmuth; Krastev, Rumen

2011-03-01

In this letter, we testify the feasibility of using freestanding foam films as a thin liquid gas separation membrane. Diminishing bubble method was used as a tool to measure the permeability of pure gases like argon, nitrogen, and oxygen in addition to atmospheric air. All components of the foam film including the nature of the tail (fluorocarbon vs hydrocarbon), charge on the headgroup (anionic, cationic, and nonionic) and the thickness of the water core (Newton black film vs Common black film) were systematically varied to understand the permeation phenomena of pure gases. Overall results indicate that the permeability values for different gases are in accordance with magnitude of their molecular diameter. A smaller gaseous molecule permeates faster than the larger ones, indicating a new realm of application for foam films as size selective separation membranes.

Renewable water: Direct contact membrane distillation coupled with solar ponds

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Suárez, Francisco; Ruskowitz, Jeffrey A.; Tyler, Scott W.; Childress, Amy E.

2015-01-01

Highlights: • Experimental investigation of direct contact membrane distillation driven by solar ponds. • The DCMD/SGSP system treats ∼6 times the water flow treated by an AGMD/SGSP system. • Half of the energy extracted from the SGSP was used to transport water across the membrane. • Reducing heat losses through the DCMD/SGSP system would yield higher water fluxes. - Abstract: Desalination powered by renewable energy sources is an attractive solution to address the worldwide water-shortage problem without contributing significant to greenhouse gas emissions. A promising system for renewable energy desalination is the utilization of low-temperature direct contact membrane distillation (DCMD) driven by a thermal solar energy system, such as a salt-gradient solar pond (SGSP). This investigation presents the first experimental study of fresh water production in a coupled DCMD/SGSP system. The objectives of this work are to determine the experimental fresh water production rates and the energetic requirements of the different components of the system. From the laboratory results, it was found that the coupled DCMD/SGSP system treats approximately six times the water flow treated by a similar system that consisted of an air–gap membrane distillation unit driven by an SGSP. In terms of the energetic requirements, approximately 70% of the heat extracted from the SGSP was utilized to drive thermal desalination and the rest was lost in different locations of the system. In the membrane module, only half of the useful heat was actually used to transport water across the membrane and the remainder was lost by conduction in the membrane. It was also found that by reducing heat losses throughout the system would yield higher water fluxes, pointing out the need to improve the efficiency throughout the DCMD/SGSP coupled system. Therefore, further investigation of membrane properties, insulation of the system, or optimal design of the solar pond must be addressed in

Microporous Organic Materials for Membrane-Based Gas Separation.

Science.gov (United States)

Zou, Xiaoqin; Zhu, Guangshan

2018-01-01

Membrane materials with excellent selectivity and high permeability are crucial to efficient membrane gas separation. Microporous organic materials have evolved as an alternative candidate for fabricating membranes due to their inherent attributes, such as permanent porosity, high surface area, and good processability. Herein, a unique pore-chemistry concept for the designed synthesis of microporous organic membranes, with an emphasis on the relationship between pore structures and membrane performances, is introduced. The latest advances in microporous organic materials for potential membrane application in gas separation of H 2 , CO 2 , O 2 , and other industrially relevant gases are summarized. Representative examples of the recent progress in highly selective and permeable membranes are highlighted with some fundamental analyses from pore characteristics, followed by a brief perspective on future research directions. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Emergency membrane contactor based absorption system for ammonia leaks in water treatment plants.

Science.gov (United States)

Shao, Jiahui; Fang, Xuliang; He, Yiliang; Jin, Qiang

2008-01-01

Abstract Because of the suspected health risks of trihalomethanes (THMs), more and more water treatment plants have replaced traditional chlorine disinfection process with chloramines but often without the proper absorption system installed in the case of ammonia leaks in the storage room. A pilot plant membrane absorption system was developed and installed in a water treatment plant for this purpose. Experimentally determined contact angle, surface tension, and corrosion tests indicated that the sulfuric acid was the proper choice as the absorbent for leaking ammonia using polypropylene hollow fiber membrane contactor. Effects of several operating conditions on the mass transfer coefficient, ammonia absorption, and removal efficiency were examined, including the liquid concentration, liquid velocity, and feed gas concentration. Under the operation conditions investigated, the gas absorption efficiency over 99.9% was achieved. This indicated that the designed pilot plant membrane absorption system was effective to absorb the leaking ammonia in the model storage room. The removal rate of the ammonia in the model storage room was also experimentally and theoretically found to be primarily determined by the ammonia suction flow rate from the ammonia storage room to the membrane contactor. The ammonia removal rate of 99.9% was expected to be achieved within 1.3 h at the ammonia gas flow rate of 500 m3/h. The success of the pilot plant membrane absorption system developed in this study illustrated the potential of this technology for ammonia leaks in water treatment plant, also paved the way towards a larger scale application.

Catalytic membrane reactors for tritium recovery from tritiated water in the ITER fuel cycle

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tosti, S.; Violante, V.; Basile, A.; Chiappetta, G.; Castelli, S.; De Francesco, M.; Scaglione, S.; Sarto, F.

2000-01-01

Palladium and palladium-silver permeators have been obtained by coating porous ceramic tubes with a thin metal layer. Three coating techniques have been studied and characterized: chemical electroless deposition (PdAg film thickness of 10 μm), ion sputtering (about 1 μm) and rolling of thin metal sheets (50 μm). The Pd-ceramic membranes have been used for manufacturing catalytic membrane reactors (CMR) for hydrogen and its isotopes recovering and purifying. These composite membranes and the CMR have been studied and developed for a closed-loop process with reference to the design requirements of the international thermonuclear experimental reactor (ITER) blanket tritium recovery system in the enhanced performance phase of operation. The membranes and CMR have been tested in a pilot plant equipped with temperature, pressure and flow-rate on-line measuring and controlling devices. The conversion value for the water gas shift reaction in the CMR has been measured close to 100% (always above the equilibrium one, 80% at 350 deg. C): the effect of the membrane is very clear since the reaction is moved towards the products because of the continuous hydrogen separation. The rolled thin film membranes have separated the hydrogen from other gases with a complete selectivity and exhibited a slightly larger mass transfer resistance with respect to the electroless membranes. Preliminary tests on the sputtered membranes have also been carried out with a promising performance. Considerations on the use of different palladium alloy in order to improve the performances of the membranes in terms of permeation flux and mechanical strength, such as palladium/yttrium, are also reported

Development of a preprototype thermoelectric integrated membrane evaporation subsystem for water recovery

Science.gov (United States)

Winkler, H. E.; Roebelen, G. J., Jr.

1980-01-01

A three-man urine water recovery preprototype subsystem using a new concept to provide efficient potable water recovery from waste fluids on extended duration space flights has been designed, fabricated, and tested. Low power, compactness, and gravity insensitive operation are featured in this vacuum distillation subsystem that combines a hollow fiber polysulfone membrane evaporator with a thermoelectric heat pump. Application and integration of these key elements have solved problems inherent in previous reclamation subsystem designs. The hollow fiber elements provide positive liquid/gas phase control with no moving parts other than a waste liquid recirculation pump and a product water withdrawal pump. Tubular membranes provide structural integrity, improving on previous flat sheet membrane designs. A thermoelectric heat pump provides latent energy recovery.

Membrane Technology for Produced Water in Lea County

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cecilia Nelson; Ashok Ghosh

2011-06-30

Southeastern New Mexico (SENM) is rich in mineral resources, including oil and gas. Produced water is a byproduct from oil and gas recovery operations. SENM generates approximately 400 million barrels per year of produced water with total dissolved solids (TDS) as high as ~ 200,000 ppm. Typically, produced water is disposed of by transporting it to injection wells or disposal ponds, costing around $1.2 billion per year with an estimated use of 0.3 million barrels of transportation fuel. New Mexico ranks first among U.S. states in potash production. Nationally, more than 85% of all potash produced comes from the Carlsbad potash district in SENM. Potash manufacturing processes use large quantities of water, including fresh water, for solution mining. If the produced water from oilfield operations can be treated and used economically in the potash industry, it will provide a beneficial use for the produced water as well as preserve valuable water resources in an area where fresh water is scarce. The goal of this current research was to develop a prototype desalination system that economically treats produced water from oil and/or natural gas operations for the beneficial use of industries located in southeastern New Mexico. Up until now, most water cleaning technologies have been developed for treating water with much lower quantities of TDS. Seawater with TDS of around 30,000 ppm is the highest concentration that has been seriously studied by researchers. Reverse osmosis (RO) technology is widely used; however the cost remains high due to high-energy consumption. Higher water fluxes and recoveries are possible with a properly designed Forward Osmosis (FO) process as large driving forces can be induced with properly chosen membranes and draw solution. Membrane fouling and breakdown is a frequent and costly problem that drives the cost of desalination very high. The technology developed by New Mexico Tech (NMT) researchers not only protects the membrane, but has also

Alternative movement : collaborative project has researchers looking to ceramic membranes to improve produced water treatment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wells, P.

2009-10-15

Ceramic membranes have high chemical and thermal stability coupled with mechanical strength and are therefore used in a range of microfiltration, ultrafiltration and nanofiltration applications. This article described a new technology that involves the use of ceramic membranes in the treatment of produced water in thermal heavy oil recovery operations. The efficacy of advanced ceramic nano-membrane technology (CMT) is being examined in bench-scale experiments at the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT) in collaboration with the department of chemical and petroleum engineering at the University of Calgary. In one project, next-generation ceramic membrane technology is being used as part of the overall treatment process of produced water. The project is funded through a Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers fund and the Alberta Department of Energy. It is facilitated by the Petroleum Technology Alliance Canada in an effort to find cost-effective treatment solutions for recycling produced water for the conventional oil and gas industry. The key objective is to increase the amount of produced water that can be reused rather than disposed into deep saline aquifers. The research focuses on the pre-treatment of produced water and related salt impacted water by using ceramic membranes for the removal of organic compounds for beneficial reuse downstream. Ceramic membranes consist of a multilayer system and their performance depends on the separation and permeation properties of the membrane as well as its mechanical integrity. It was concluded that the CMT findings will be beneficial to the oil and gas industry in providing practical solutions for the challenging issues associated with de-oiling and produced water treatment. 2 figs.

Water permeation through anion exchange membranes

Science.gov (United States)

Luo, Xiaoyan; Wright, Andrew; Weissbach, Thomas; Holdcroft, Steven

2018-01-01

An understanding of water permeation through solid polymer electrolyte (SPE) membranes is crucial to offset the unbalanced water activity within SPE fuel cells. We examine water permeation through an emerging class of anion exchange membranes, hexamethyl-p-terphenyl poly (dimethylbenzimidazolium) (HMT-PMBI), and compare it against series of membrane thickness for a commercial anion exchange membrane (AEM), Fumapem® FAA-3, and a series of proton exchange membranes, Nafion®. The HMT-PMBI membrane is found to possess higher water permeabilities than Fumapem® FAA-3 and comparable permeability than Nafion (H+). By measuring water permeation through membranes of different thicknesses, we are able to decouple, for the first time, internal and interfacial water permeation resistances through anion exchange membranes. Permeation resistances on liquid/membrane interface is found to be negligible compared to that for vapor/membrane for both series of AEMs. Correspondingly, the resistance of liquid water permeation is found to be one order of magnitude smaller compared to that of vapor water permeation. HMT-PMBI possesses larger effective internal water permeation coefficient than both Fumapem® FAA-3 and Nafion® membranes (60 and 18% larger, respectively). In contrast, the effective interfacial permeation coefficient of HMT-PMBI is found to be similar to Fumapem® (±5%) but smaller than Nafion®(H+) (by 14%).

Graphite-moderated and heavy water-moderated spectral shift controlled reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Alcala Ruiz, F.

1984-01-01

It has been studied the physical mechanisms related with the spectral shift control method and their general positive effects on economical and non-proliferant aspects (extension of the fuel cycle length and low proliferation index). This methods has been extended to non-hydrogenous fuel cells of high moderator/fuel ratio: heavy water cells have been con- trolled by graphite rods graphite-moderated and gas-cooled cells have been controlled by berylium rods and graphite-moderated and water-cooled cells have been controlled by a changing mixture of heavy and light water. It has been carried out neutron and thermal analysis on a pre design of these types of fuel cells. We have studied its neutron optimization and their fuel cycles, temperature coefficients and proliferation indices. Finally, we have carried out a comparative analysis of the fuel cycles of conventionally controlled PWRs and graphite-moderated, water-cooled and spectral shift controlled reactors. (Author) 71 refs

Latest Development on Membrane Fabrication for Natural Gas Purification: A Review

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dzeti Farhah Mohshim

2013-01-01

Full Text Available In the last few decades, membrane technology has been a great attention for gas separation technology especially for natural gas sweetening. The intrinsic character of membranes makes them fit for process escalation, and this versatility could be the significant factor to induce membrane technology in most gas separation areas. Membranes were synthesized with various materials which depended on the applications. The fabrication of polymeric membrane was one of the fastest growing fields of membrane technology. However, polymeric membranes could not meet the separation performances required especially in high operating pressure due to deficiencies problem. The chemistry and structure of support materials like inorganic membranes were also one of the focus areas when inorganic membranes showed some positive results towards gas separation. However, the materials are somewhat lacking to meet the separation performance requirement. Mixed matrix membrane (MMM which is comprising polymeric and inorganic membranes presents an interesting approach for enhancing the separation performance. Nevertheless, MMM is yet to be commercialized as the material combinations are still in the research stage. This paper highlights the potential promising areas of research in gas separation by taking into account the material selections and the addition of a third component for conventional MMM.

Liquid water breakthrough location distances on a gas diffusion layer of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells

Science.gov (United States)

Yu, Junliang; Froning, Dieter; Reimer, Uwe; Lehnert, Werner

2018-06-01

The lattice Boltzmann method is adopted to simulate the three dimensional dynamic process of liquid water breaking through the gas diffusion layer (GDL) in the polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell. 22 micro-structures of Toray GDL are built based on a stochastic geometry model. It is found that more than one breakthrough locations are formed randomly on the GDL surface. Breakthrough location distance (BLD) are analyzed statistically in two ways. The distribution is evaluated statistically by the Lilliefors test. It is concluded that the BLD can be described by the normal distribution with certain statistic characteristics. Information of the shortest neighbor breakthrough location distance can be the input modeling setups on the cell-scale simulations in the field of fuel cell simulation.

MXene molecular sieving membranes for highly efficient gas separation.

Science.gov (United States)

Ding, Li; Wei, Yanying; Li, Libo; Zhang, Tao; Wang, Haihui; Xue, Jian; Ding, Liang-Xin; Wang, Suqing; Caro, Jürgen; Gogotsi, Yury

2018-01-11

Molecular sieving membranes with sufficient and uniform nanochannels that break the permeability-selectivity trade-off are desirable for energy-efficient gas separation, and the arising two-dimensional (2D) materials provide new routes for membrane development. However, for 2D lamellar membranes, disordered interlayer nanochannels for mass transport are usually formed between randomly stacked neighboring nanosheets, which is obstructive for highly efficient separation. Therefore, manufacturing lamellar membranes with highly ordered nanochannel structures for fast and precise molecular sieving is still challenging. Here, we report on lamellar stacked MXene membranes with aligned and regular subnanometer channels, taking advantage of the abundant surface-terminating groups on the MXene nanosheets, which exhibit excellent gas separation performance with H 2 permeability >2200 Barrer and H 2 /CO 2 selectivity >160, superior to the state-of-the-art membranes. The results of molecular dynamics simulations quantitatively support the experiments, confirming the subnanometer interlayer spacing between the neighboring MXene nanosheets as molecular sieving channels for gas separation.

LYAPUNOV-Based Sensor Failure Detection and Recovery for the Reverse Water Gas Shift Process

Science.gov (United States)

Haralambous, Michael G.

2002-01-01

Livingstone, a model-based AI software system, is planned for use in the autonomous fault diagnosis, reconfiguration, and control of the oxygen-producing reverse water gas shift (RWGS) process test-bed located in the Applied Chemistry Laboratory at KSC. In this report the RWGS process is first briefly described and an overview of Livingstone is given. Next, a Lyapunov-based approach for detecting and recovering from sensor failures, differing significantly from that used by Livingstone, is presented. In this new method, models used are in t e m of the defining differential equations of system components, thus differing from the qualitative, static models used by Livingstone. An easily computed scalar inequality constraint, expressed in terms of sensed system variables, is used to determine the existence of sensor failures. In the event of sensor failure, an observer/estimator is used for determining which sensors have failed. The theory underlying the new approach is developed. Finally, a recommendation is made to use the Lyapunov-based approach to complement the capability of Livingstone and to use this combination in the RWGS process.

Experimental elucidation on rate-determining process of water transport in polymer electrolyte fuel cell membrane by magnetic resonance imaging

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Takita, Shinpei; Tsushima, Shohji; Hirai, Shuichiro; Kubo, Norio; Aotani, Koichiro

2007-01-01

We examined rate-determining process of water transport in polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) used in fuel cells by using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). We measured transversal water content distributions of the membrane by MRI and through-plane mass flux of water by hygrometers. Through place water flux has taken place in the membrane when relative humidify of supplied gas is not equal in both side of the membrane. MRI results revealed that diffusion coefficient of water in the membrane increases with water content of membrane, λ, whilst it shows intensive peak at λ=3-4. Diffusion resistance and mass transfer resistance involving evaporation and condensation on the interface are almost in the same order and thus water transport process in the membrane is determined by either concentration diffusion or mass transfer, depending on water content of membrane. (author)

Integral membrane protein structure determination using pseudocontact shifts

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Crick, Duncan J.; Wang, Jue X. [University of Cambridge, Department of Biochemistry (United Kingdom); Graham, Bim; Swarbrick, James D. [Monash University, Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences (Australia); Mott, Helen R.; Nietlispach, Daniel, E-mail: dn206@cam.ac.uk [University of Cambridge, Department of Biochemistry (United Kingdom)

2015-04-15

Obtaining enough experimental restraints can be a limiting factor in the NMR structure determination of larger proteins. This is particularly the case for large assemblies such as membrane proteins that have been solubilized in a membrane-mimicking environment. Whilst in such cases extensive deuteration strategies are regularly utilised with the aim to improve the spectral quality, these schemes often limit the number of NOEs obtainable, making complementary strategies highly beneficial for successful structure elucidation. Recently, lanthanide-induced pseudocontact shifts (PCSs) have been established as a structural tool for globular proteins. Here, we demonstrate that a PCS-based approach can be successfully applied for the structure determination of integral membrane proteins. Using the 7TM α-helical microbial receptor pSRII, we show that PCS-derived restraints from lanthanide binding tags attached to four different positions of the protein facilitate the backbone structure determination when combined with a limited set of NOEs. In contrast, the same set of NOEs fails to determine the correct 3D fold. The latter situation is frequently encountered in polytopical α-helical membrane proteins and a PCS approach is thus suitable even for this particularly challenging class of membrane proteins. The ease of measuring PCSs makes this an attractive route for structure determination of large membrane proteins in general.

Les techniques de séparation de gaz par membranes Gas Separation Techniques by Membranes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Avrillon R.

2006-11-01

, great flexibility of implementation because of the modular nature and the possibility of the great automation of permeators, and the moderate size and weight of the installation. Limitations are linked to the difficulty in obtaining both good purity and high yield for a product with a membrane surface area that is economically acceptable. Likewise, the pressure drop undergone by the permeate may be a disadvantage. Gas permeation can be associated with other separation techniques such as pressure swing adsorption, freeze drying or absorption. The principal applications of gas permeation at present are as follows: (a Hydrogen recovery from drain effluents from ammonia synthesis units in which hydrogen has to be separated from nitrogen, methane and argon. (b Hydrogen recovery from refinery gas in which the hydrogen is mixed with hydrocarbons, hydrogen sulfide and water vapor. (c Adjustment of the hydrogen/carbon-monoxide ratio of alcohol synthesis gas. (d Air fractionating from the production of blanketing nitrogen. (e Natural-gas dehydration and sweetening with a view to its transportation by pipeline, especially in offshore production. Table 5 lists the leading membrane suppliers and their fields of activity.

Novel studies of molecular orientation in synthetic polymeric membranes for gas separation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ismail, Ahmad Fauzi

1998-01-01

The main objective of this investigation was to produce a super-selective asymmetric membrane for gas separation. To achieve this, molecular orientation induced by rheological conditions during membrane fabrication was investigated and related to the gas separation performance of flat sheet and hollow fiber membranes. Infrared dichroism, a spectroscopic technique, was developed in the first phase of the research to directly measure molecular orientation in flat sheet membranes. The degree of molecular orientation was found to increase with increasing shear during fabrication which enhanced both pressure-normalised flux and selectivity of the coated membranes. The rheology of polymer solutions and the mechanism of molecular orientation have been treated in detail for membrane production. This is a novel approach since previous fundamental work has focused on the phase inversion process. The current study showed that rheological conditions during membrane fabrication have the utmost importance in enhancing membrane selectivity. The effects of molecular orientation at greater shear, as experienced by hollow fiber membranes during extrusion through the spinneret channel, were investigated in the second phase of this research. In order to produce a good quality fiber, a unique tube-in-orifice spinneret and a modified hollow fiber spinning rig were designed and fabricated. Thus the combined effects of reduced water activity in the bore coagulant during hollow fiber spinning and rheologically induced molecular orientation were investigated. The selectivity of the coated high shear hollow fiber membranes was heightened and even surpassed the recognised intrinsic selectivity of the polymer. Pressure-normalised flux also increased with increasing shear rate. In the third phase of this research phase inversion conditions were further optimised to give a superior skin layer and thus provide an even better platform for the advantageous effects of molecular orientation. These

Carbon nanotube- and carbon fiber-reinforcement of ethylene-octene copolymer membranes for gas and vapor separation.

Science.gov (United States)

Sedláková, Zuzana; Clarizia, Gabriele; Bernardo, Paola; Jansen, Johannes Carolus; Slobodian, Petr; Svoboda, Petr; Kárászová, Magda; Friess, Karel; Izak, Pavel

2014-01-03

Gas and vapor transport properties were studied in mixed matrix membranes containing elastomeric ethylene-octene copolymer (EOC or poly(ethylene-co-octene)) with three types of carbon fillers: virgin or oxidized multi-walled carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and carbon fibers (CFs). Helium, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, methane, and carbon dioxide were used for gas permeation rate measurements. Vapor transport properties were studied for the aliphatic hydrocarbon (hexane), aromatic compound (toluene), alcohol (ethanol), as well as water for the representative samples. The mechanical properties and homogeneity of samples was checked by stress-strain tests. The addition of virgin CNTs and CFs improve mechanical properties. Gas permeability of EOC lies between that of the more permeable PDMS and the less permeable semi-crystalline polyethylene and polypropylene. Organic vapors are more permeable than permanent gases in the composite membranes, with toluene and hexane permeabilities being about two orders of magnitude higher than permanent gas permeability. The results of the carbon-filled membranes offer perspectives for application in gas/vapor separation with improved mechanical resistance.

Carbon Nanotube- and Carbon Fiber-Reinforcement of Ethylene-Octene Copolymer Membranes for Gas and Vapor Separation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zuzana Sedláková

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Gas and vapor transport properties were studied in mixed matrix membranes containing elastomeric ethylene-octene copolymer (EOC or poly(ethylene-co-octene with three types of carbon fillers: virgin or oxidized multi-walled carbon nanotubes (CNTs and carbon fibers (CFs. Helium, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, methane, and carbon dioxide were used for gas permeation rate measurements. Vapor transport properties were studied for the aliphatic hydrocarbon (hexane, aromatic compound (toluene, alcohol (ethanol, as well as water for the representative samples. The mechanical properties and homogeneity of samples was checked by stress-strain tests. The addition of virgin CNTs and CFs improve mechanical properties. Gas permeability of EOC lies between that of the more permeable PDMS and the less permeable semi-crystalline polyethylene and polypropylene. Organic vapors are more permeable than permanent gases in the composite membranes, with toluene and hexane permeabilities being about two orders of magnitude higher than permanent gas permeability. The results of the carbon-filled membranes offer perspectives for application in gas/vapor separation with improved mechanical resistance.

Wetting Resistance of Commercial Membrane Distillation Membranes in Waste Streams Containing Surfactants and Oil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lies Eykens

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Water management is becoming increasingly challenging and several technologies, including membrane distillation (MD are emerging. This technology is less affected by salinity compared to reverse osmosis and is able to treat brines up to saturation. The focus of MD research recently shifted from seawater desalination to industrial applications out of the scope of reverse osmosis. In many of these applications, surfactants or oil traces are present in the feed stream, lowering the surface tension and increasing the risk for membrane wetting. In this study, the technological boundaries of MD in the presence of surfactants are investigated using surface tension, contact angle and liquid entry pressure measurements together with lab-scale MD experiments to predict the wetting resistance of different membranes. Synthetic NaCl solutions mixed with sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS were used as feed solution. The limiting surfactant concentration was found to be dependent on the surface chemistry of the membrane, and increased with increasing hydrophobicity and oleophobicity. Additionally, a hexadecane/SDS emulsion was prepared with a composition simulating produced water, a waste stream in the oil and gas sector. When hexadecane is present in the emulsion, oleophobic membranes are able to resist wetting, whereas polytetrafluoretheen (PTFE is gradually wetted by the feed liquid.

Application of the water gas shift reaction to fusion fuel exhaust streams

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McKay, A.M.; Cheh, C.H.; Glass, R.W.

1983-10-01

In a Fusion Fuel Clean Up (FCU) system, impurities will be removed from the fusion reactor exhaust and neutral beam line streams. Tritium in this impurity stream will be recovered and recycled to the fuel stream. In one flowsheet configuration of the Tritium Systems Test Assembly (TSTA), tritium is recovered from a simulated impurity stream via uranium hot metal beds and recycled to an isotope separation system. This study has shown, however, that the catalyzed water gas shift reaction, by which (H,D,T) 2 O and CO are converted to (H,D,T) 2 and CO 2 is a better method of (H,D,T) 2 O reduction than the hot metal beds. Catalytic reactors were designed, built and tested to provide data for the design of a prototype reactor to replace the hot metal beds in the FCU system. The prototype reactor contains only 10 g of catalyst and is expected to last at least 5 years. The reactor is small (1.3 cm OD x 13 cm long), operates at low temperatures (approximately 490 K) and will convert water to hydrogen, at a CO/H 2 O ratio of 1.5, with an efficiency of greater than 98 percent. Results show that the catalytic reactor is very stable even during upset conditions. Wide ranges of flow and a CO/H 2 O ratio variance from 1.3 upward have little effect on the conversion efficiency. Short term high temperature excursions do not affect the catalyst and lower temperatures will simply decrease the reaction rate resulting in lower conversions. The reactor appears to be unaffected by NO 2 , CO 2 , O 2 and N 2 in the feed stream at concentration levels expected in a fusion reactor exhaust stream

Anisotropic membranes for gas separation

Science.gov (United States)

Gollan, Arye Z.

1987-01-01

A gas separation membrane has a dense separating layer about 10,000 Angstroms or less thick and a porous support layer 10 to 400 microns thick that is an integral unit with gradually and continuously decreasing pore size from the base of the support layer to the surface of the thin separating layer and is made from a casting solution comprising ethyl cellulose and ethyl cellulose-based blends, typically greater than 47.5 ethoxyl content ethyl cellulose blended with compatible second polymers, such as nitrocellulose. The polymer content of the casting solution is from about 10% to about 35% by weight of the total solution with up to about 50% of this polymer weight a compatible second polymer to the ethyl cellulose in a volatile solvent such as isopropanol, methylacetate, methanol, ethanol, and acetone. Typical nonsolvents for the casting solutions include water and formamide. The casting solution is cast in air from about zero to 10 seconds to allow the volatile solvent to evaporate and then quenched in a coagulation bath, typically water, at a temperature of 7.degree.-25.degree. C. and then air dried at ambient temperature, typically 10.degree.-30.degree. C.

Ceramic membrane ozonator for soluble organics removal from produced water

Science.gov (United States)

Siagian, U. W. R.; Dwipramana, A. S.; Perwira, S. B.; Khoiruddin; Wenten, I. G.

2018-01-01

In this work, the performance of ozonation for degradation of soluble organic compounds in produced water was investigated. Tubular ceramic membrane diffuser (with and without a static mixer in the lumen side) was used to facilitate contact between ozone and produced water. The ozonation was conducted at ozone flow rate of 8 L.min-1, ozone concentration of 0.4 ppm, original pH of the solution, and pressure of 1.2 bar, while the flow rates of the produced water were varied (192, 378 and 830 mL.min-1). It was found that the reduction of benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylene were 85%, 99%, 85%, and 95%, respectively. A lower liquid flow rate in a laminar state showed a better component reduction due to the longer contacting time between the liquid and the gas phase. The introduction of the static mixer in the lumen side of the membrane as a turbulence promoter provided a positive effect on the performance of the membrane diffuser. The twisted static mixer exhibited the better removal rate than the spiral static mixer.

High-pressure water electrolysis: Electrochemical mitigation of product gas crossover

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schalenbach, Maximilian; Stolten, Detlef

2015-01-01

Highlights: • New technique to reduce gas crossover during water electrolysis • Increase of the efficiency of pressurized water electrolysis • Prevention of safety hazards due to explosive gas mixtures caused by crossover • Experimental realization for a polymer electrolyte membrane electrolyzer • Discussion of electrochemical crossover mitigation for alkaline water electrolysis - Abstract: Hydrogen produced by water electrolysis can be used as an energy carrier storing electricity generated from renewables. During water electrolysis hydrogen can be evolved under pressure at isothermal conditions, enabling highly efficient compression. However, the permeation of hydrogen through the electrolyte increases with operating pressure and leads to efficiency loss and safety hazards. In this study, we report on an innovative concept, where the hydrogen crossover is electrochemically mitigated by an additional electrode between the anode and the cathode of the electrolysis cell. Experimentally, the technique was applied to a proton exchange membrane water electrolyzer operated at a hydrogen pressure that was fifty times larger than the oxygen pressure. Therewith, the hydrogen crossover was reduced and the current efficiency during partial load operation was increased. The concept is also discussed for water electrolysis that is operated at balanced pressures, where the crossover of hydrogen and oxygen is mitigated using two additional electrodes

High temperature H2/CO2 separation using cobalt oxide silica membranes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Smart, S.; Diniz da Costa, J.C. [The University of Queensland, FIMLab - Films and Inorganic Membrane Laboratory, School of Chemical Engineering, Brisbane, Qld 4072 (Australia); Vente, J.F. [Energy research Centre of the Netherlands ECN, P.O. Box 1, 1755 ZG Petten (Netherlands)

2012-09-15

In this work high quality cobalt oxide silica membranes were synthesized on alumina supports using a sol-gel, dip coating method. The membranes were subsequently connected into a steel module using a graphite based proprietary sealing method. The sealed membranes were tested for single gas permeance of He, H2, N2 and CO2 at temperatures up to 600C and feed pressures up to 600 kPa. Pressure tests confirmed that the sealing system was effective as no gas leaks were observed during testing. A H2 permeance of 1.9 x 10{sup -7} mol m{sup -2} s{sup -1} Pa-1 was measured in conjunction with a H2/CO2 permselectivity of more than 1500, suggesting that the membranes had a very narrow pore size distribution and an average pore diameter of approximately 3 Angstrom. The high temperature testing demonstrated that the incorporation of cobalt oxide into the silica matrix produced a structure with a higher thermal stability, able to resist thermally induced densification up to at least 600C. Furthermore, the membranes were tested for H2/CO2 binary feed mixtures between 400 and 600C. At these conditions, the reverse of the water gas shift reaction occurred, inadvertently generating CO and water which increased as a function of CO2 feed concentration. The purity of H2 in the permeate stream significantly decreased for CO2 feed concentrations in excess of 50 vol%. However, the gas mixtures (H2, CO2, CO and water) had a more profound effect on the H2 permeate flow rates which significantly decreased, almost exponentially as the CO2 feed concentration increased.

Effects of surface coating process conditions on the water permeation and salt rejection properties of composite polyamide reverse osmosis membranes

KAUST Repository

Louie, Jennifer Sarah

2011-02-01

The application of polymer surface coatings to improve the fouling resistance of reverse osmosis membranes tends to increase flow resistance across the membrane. This paper presents a systematic analysis on how membrane properties and performance are impacted by the coating process steps, and investigates how such effects could contribute to lower water flux. On one hand, simply pre-soaking dry aromatic polyamide composite membranes in aliphatic alcohols results in a significant increase in water flux, which is attributed to wetting of pores in the selective polyamide layer and to changes in the polymer structure. This flux increase was not readily reversible, based on a 300-h water permeation test. Conversely, drying a wetted membrane led to a decrease in water flux, which we hypothesize is caused by increased interchain hydrogen-bonding in the selective layer. This drop in water flux was not permanent; higher flux was observed if the same wetted/dried membrane was then re-soaked in ethanol prior to the water permeation experiment. An ethanol pre-soaking step also increased water flux of a PEBAX-coated membrane by nearly 70%. In contrast to the reduction in water flux caused by the specific treatment sequence of ethanol-swelling followed by drying, this same sequence actually increased gas transport. The eight- to ten-fold increase in Knudsen diffusion-based gas permeance after this pre-treatment was attributed to an increase in the number or size of membrane defects. © 2010 Elsevier B.V.

Performance of a palladium membrane reactor using a Ni catalyst for fusion fuel impurities processing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Willms, R.S.; Wilhelm, R.; Okuno, K.

1994-01-01

The palladium membrane reactor (PNM) provides a means to recover hydrogen isotopes from impurities expected to be present in fusion reactor exhaust. This recovery is based on reactions such as water-gas shift and steam reforming for which conversion is equilibrium limited. By including a selectively permeable membrane such as Pd/Ag in the catalyst bed, hydrogen isotopes can be removed from the reacting environment, thus promoting the reaction to complete conversion. Such a device has been built and operated at the Tritium Systems Test Assembly (TSTA) at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). For the reactions listed above, earlier study with this unit has shown that hydrogen single-pass recoveries approaching 100% can be achieved. It was also determined that a nickel catalyst is a feasible choice for use with a PMR appropriate for fusion fuel impurities processing. The purpose of this study was to systematically assess the performance of the PMR using a nickel catalyst over a range of temperatures, feed compositions and flowrates. Reactions which were studied are the water-gas shift reaction and steam reforming

Novel Water Treatment Processes Based on Hybrid Membrane-Ozonation Systems: A Novel Ceramic Membrane Contactor for Bubbleless Ozonation of Emerging Micropollutants

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Stylianos K. Stylianou

2015-01-01

Full Text Available The aim of this study is the presentation of novel water treatment systems based on ozonation combined with ceramic membranes for the treatment of refractory organic compounds found in natural water sources such as groundwater. This includes, firstly, a short review of possible membrane based hybrid processes for water treatment from various sources. Several practical and theoretical aspects for the application of hybrid membrane-ozonation systems are discussed, along with theoretical background regarding the transformation of target organic pollutants by ozone. Next, a novel ceramic membrane contactor, bringing into contact the gas phase (ozone and water phase without the creation of bubbles (bubbleless ozonation, is presented. Experimental data showing the membrane contactor efficiency for oxidation of atrazine, endosulfan, and methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE are shown and discussed. Almost complete endosulfan degradation was achieved with the use of the ceramic contactor, whereas atrazine degradation higher than 50% could not be achieved even after 60 min of reaction time. Single ozonation of water containing MTBE could not result in a significant MTBE degradation. MTBE mineralization by O3/H2O2 combination increased at higher pH values and O3/H2O2 molar ratio of 0.2 reaching a maximum of around 65%.

Fouling-Resistant Membranes for Treating Concentrated Brines for Water Reuse in Advanced Energy Systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hendren, Zachary [RTI International, Research Triangle Park, NC (United States); Choi, Young Chul [RTI International, Research Triangle Park, NC (United States)

2014-10-14

The high total dissolved solids (TDS) levels in the wastewater quality generated from unconventional oil and gas development make the current state-of-the art approach to water treatment/disposal untenable. Our proposed membrane technology approach addresses the two major challenges associated with this water: 1) the membrane distillation process removes the high TDS content, which is often 8 times higher than that of seawater, and 2) our novel membrane coating prevents the formation of scale that would otherwise pose a significant operational hurdle. This is accomplished through next-generation electrically conductive membranes that mitigate fouling beyond what is currently possible, and allow for the flexibility to treat to the water to levels desirable for multiple reuse options, thus reducing fresh water withdrawal, all the way to direct disposal into the environment. The overall project objective was to demonstrate the efficacy of membrane distillation (MD) as a cost-savings technology to treat concentrated brines (such as, but not limited to, produced waters generated from fossil fuel extraction) that have high levels of TDS for beneficial water reuse in power production and other industrial operations as well as agricultural and municipal water uses. In addition, a novel fouling-resistant nanocomposite membrane was developed to reduce the need for chemicals to address membrane scaling due to the precipitation of divalent ions in high-TDS waters and improve overall MD performance via an electrically conductive membrane distillation process (ECMD). This anti-fouling membrane technology platform is based on incorporating carbon nanotubes (CNTs) into the surface layer of existing, commercially available MD membranes. The CNTs impart electrical conductivity to the membrane surface to prevent membrane scaling and fouling when an electrical potential is applied.

Nano-Scale Au Supported on Carbon Materials for the Low Temperature Water Gas Shift (WGS Reaction

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Paula Sánchez

2011-12-01

Full Text Available Au-based catalysts supported on carbon materials with different structures such as graphite (G and fishbone type carbon nanofibers (CNF-F were prepared using two different methods (impregnation and gold-sol to be tested in the water gas shift (WGS reaction. Atomic absorption spectrometry, transmission electron microscopy (TEM, temperature-programmed oxidation (TPO, X-ray diffraction (XRD, Raman spectroscopy, elemental analyses (CNH, N2 adsorption-desorption analysis, temperature-programmed reduction (TPR and temperature-programmed decomposition were employed to characterize both the supports and catalysts. Both the crystalline nature of the carbon supports and the method of gold incorporation had a strong influence on the way in which Au particles were deposited on the carbon surface. The higher crystallinity and the smaller and well dispersed Au particle size were, the higher activity of the catalysts in the WGS reaction was noted. Finally, catalytic activity showed an important dependence on the reaction temperature and steam-to-CO molar ratio.

Gas phase fractionation method using porous ceramic membrane

Science.gov (United States)

Peterson, Reid A.; Hill, Jr., Charles G.; Anderson, Marc A.

1996-01-01

Flaw-free porous ceramic membranes fabricated from metal sols and coated onto a porous support are advantageously used in gas phase fractionation methods. Mean pore diameters of less than 40 .ANG., preferably 5-20 .ANG. and most preferably about 15 .ANG., are permeable at lower pressures than existing membranes. Condensation of gases in small pores and non-Knudsen membrane transport mechanisms are employed to facilitate and increase membrane permeability and permselectivity.

Recent progress in molecular simulation of nanoporous graphene membranes for gas separation

Science.gov (United States)

Fatemi, S. Mahmood; Baniasadi, Aminreza; Moradi, Mahrokh

2017-07-01

If an ideal membrane for gas separation is to be obtained, the following three characteristics should be considered: the membrane should be as thin as possible, be mechanically robust, and have welldefined pore sizes. These features will maximize its solvent flux, preserve it from fracture, and guarantee its selectivity. Graphene is made up of a hexagonal honeycomb lattice of carbon atoms with sp 2 hybridization state forming a one-atom-thick sheet of graphite. Following conversion of the honeycomb lattices into nanopores with a specific geometry and size, a nanoporous graphene membrane that offers high efficiency as a separation membrane because of the ultrafast molecular permeation rate as a result of its one-atom thickness is obtained. Applications of nanoporous graphene membranes for gas separation have been receiving remarkably increasing attention because nanoporous graphene membranes show promising results in this area. This review focuses on the recent advances in nanoporous graphene membranes for applications in gas separation, with a major emphasis on theoretical works. The attractive properties of nanoporous graphene membranes introduce make them appropriate candidates for gas separation and gas molecular-sieving processes in nanoscale dimensions.

Feed gas contaminant control in ion transport membrane systems

Science.gov (United States)

Carolan, Michael Francis [Allentown, PA; Minford, Eric [Laurys Station, PA; Waldron, William Emil [Whitehall, PA

2009-07-07

Ion transport membrane oxidation system comprising an enclosure having an interior and an interior surface, inlet piping having an internal surface and adapted to introduce a heated feed gas into the interior of the enclosure, and outlet piping adapted to withdraw a product gas from the interior of the enclosure; one or more planar ion transport membrane modules disposed in the interior of the enclosure, each membrane module comprising mixed metal oxide material; and a preheater adapted to heat a feed gas to provide the heated feed gas to the inlet piping, wherein the preheater comprises an interior surface. Any of the interior surfaces of the enclosure, the inlet piping, and the preheater may be lined with a copper-containing metal lining. Alternatively, any of the interior surfaces of the inlet piping and the preheater may be lined with a copper-containing metal lining and the enclosure may comprise copper.

State of the art of membrane technology for treatment of natural gas

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Donno, S. De

1997-11-01

This topic has been selected in accordance with a general interest expressed by the Gas Industry. Membranes technology is achieving industrial success in many operations for selective fluids separation. In the specific area of natural gas treatment, membranes are viewed as a technological breakthrough in the coming years despite the fact that the real entity of their potential advantage on conventional technologies has still to be clarified. Aim of this report has been an overview of the overall potentiality and present limits of the use of membranes in natural gas treatment with emphasis on requirements and conditions which could enable established applications of membranes in short to medium terms. This Committee report is based on recent literature and on the opinions of gas companies active and/or interest in technology development of membranes for naturla gas. (au) 27 refs.

Robust and Elastic Polymer Membranes with Tunable Properties for Gas Separation.

Science.gov (United States)

Cao, Peng-Fei; Li, Bingrui; Hong, Tao; Xing, Kunyue; Voylov, Dmitry N; Cheng, Shiwang; Yin, Panchao; Kisliuk, Alexander; Mahurin, Shannon M; Sokolov, Alexei P; Saito, Tomonori

2017-08-09

Polymer membranes with the capability to process a massive volume of gas are especially attractive for practical applications of gas separation. Although much effort has been devoted to develop novel polymer membranes with increased selectivity, the overall gas-separation performance and lifetime of membrane are still negatively affected by the weak mechanical performance, low plasticization resistance and poor physical aging tolerance. Recently, elastic polymer membranes with tunable mechanical properties have been attracting significant attentions due to their tremendous potential applications. Herein, we report a series of urethane-rich PDMS-based polymer networks (U-PDMS-NW) with improved mechanical performance for gas separation. The cross-link density of U-PDMS-NWs is tailored by varying the molecular weight (M n ) of PDMS. The U-PDMS-NWs show up to 400% elongation and tunable Young's modulus (1.3-122.2 MPa), ultimate tensile strength (1.1-14.3 MPa), and toughness (0.7-24.9 MJ/m 3 ). All of the U-PDMS-NWs exhibit salient gas-separation performance with excellent thermal resistance and aging tolerance, high gas permeability (>100 Barrer), and tunable gas selectivity (up to α[P CO 2 /P N 2 ] ≈ 41 and α[P CO 2 /P CH 4 ] ≈ 16). With well-controlled mechanical properties and gas-separation performance, these U-PDMS-NW can be used as a polymer-membrane platform not only for gas separation but also for other applications such as microfluidic channels and stretchable electronic devices.

Enhanced Gas Separation through Nanoconfined Ionic Liquid in Laminated MoS2 Membrane.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Danke; Ying, Wen; Guo, Yi; Ying, Yulong; Peng, Xinsheng

2017-12-20

Two-dimensional (2D) materials-based membranes show great potential for gas separation. Herein an ionic liquid, 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate ([BMIM][BF 4 ]), was confined in the 2D channels of MoS 2 -laminated membranes via an infiltration process. Compared with the corresponding bulk [BMIM][BF 4 ], nanoconfined [BMIM][BF 4 ] shows an obvious incremental increase in freezing point and a shift of vibration bands. The resulting MoS 2 -supported ionic liquid membrane (MoS 2 SILM) exhibits excellent CO 2 separation performance with high CO 2 permeance (47.88 GPU) and superb selectivity for CO 2 /N 2 (131.42), CO 2 /CH 4 (43.52), and CO 2 /H 2 (14.95), which is much better than that of neat [BMIM][BF 4 ] and [BMIM][BF 4 ]-based membranes. The outstanding performance of MoS 2 SILMs is attributed to the nanoconfined [BMIM][BF 4 ], which enables fast transport of CO 2 . Long-term operation also reveals the durability and stability of the prepared MoS 2 SILMs. The method of confining ILs in the 2D nanochannels of 2D materials may pave a new way for CO 2 capture and separation.

Analysis of coupled proton and water transport in a PEM fuel cell using the binary friction membrane model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Carnes, B.; Djilali, N.

2006-01-01

Transport of liquid water within a polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) is critical to the operation of a PEM fuel cell, due to the strong dependence of the membrane transport coefficients on water content. In addition, enhanced predictive abilities are particularly significant in the context of passive air breathing fuel cell designs where lower water contents will prevail in the membrane. We investigate and analyze the numerical predictions of a recently proposed rational model for transport of protons and water in a PEM, when compared to a widely used empirical model. While the performance is similar for a saturated membrane, for PEMs with low water content, the difference in computed current density and membrane water crossover can be substantial. The effects of coupling partially saturated gas diffusion electrodes (GDLs) with the membrane are studied in both a 1D and 2D context. In addition, a simplified 1D analytical membrane water transport model is validated against the complete 1D model predictions. Our numerical results predict a higher current density and more uniform membrane hydration using a dry cathode instead of a dry anode, and illustrate that the strongest 2D effects are for water vapor transport

pK(a) Values of Titrable Amino Acids at the Water/Membrane Interface.

Science.gov (United States)

Teixeira, Vitor H; Vila-Viçosa, Diogo; Reis, Pedro B P S; Machuqueiro, Miguel

2016-03-08

Peptides and proteins protonation equilibrium is strongly influenced by its surrounding media. Remarkably, until now, there have been no quantitative and systematic studies reporting the pK(a) shifts in the common titrable amino acids upon lipid membrane insertion. Here, we applied our recently developed CpHMD-L method to calculate the pK(a) values of titrable amino acid residues incorporated in Ala-based pentapeptides at the water/membrane interface. We observed that membrane insertion leads to desolvation and a clear stabilization of the neutral forms, and we quantified the increases/decreases of the pK(a) values in the anionic/cationic residues along the membrane normal. This work highlights the importance of properly modeling the protonation equilibrium in peptides and proteins interacting with membranes using molecular dynamics simulations.

Advanced gasifier and water gas shift technologies for low cost coal conversion to high hydrogen syngas

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kramer, Andrew Kramer [Gas Technology Inst., Des Plaines, IL (United States)

2016-09-30

The Gas Technology Institute (GTI) and team members RTI International (RTI), Coanda Research and Development, and Nexant, are developing and maturing a portfolio of technologies to meet the United States Department of Energy (DOE) goals for lowering the cost of producing high hydrogen syngas from coal for use in carbon capture power and coal-to-liquids/chemicals. This project matured an advanced pilot-scale gasifier, with scalable and commercially traceable components, to readiness for use in a first-of-a-kind commercially-relevant demonstration plant on the scale of 500-1,000 tons per day (TPD). This was accomplished through cold flow simulation of the gasifier quench zone transition region at Coanda and through an extensive hotfire gasifier test program on highly reactive coal and high ash/high ash fusion temperature coals at GTI. RTI matured an advanced water gas shift process and catalyst to readiness for testing at pilot plant scale through catalyst development and testing, and development of a preliminary design basis for a pilot scale reactor demonstrating the catalyst. A techno-economic analysis was performed by Nexant to assess the potential benefits of the gasifier and catalyst technologies in the context of power production and methanol production. This analysis showed an 18%reduction in cost of power and a 19%reduction in cost of methanol relative to DOE reference baseline cases.

Stabilized ultrathin liquid membranes for gas separations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Deetz, D.W.

1987-01-01

Although immobilized liquid membranes have the desirable properties of high selectivity and permeability, their practical application to gas phase separations is hindered because of the instability of the liquid phase and the relative thickness of current membranes. The problem of liquid instability, which is due to both liquid volatilization and flooding, can be reduced, or eliminated, by immobilizing the liquid phase in pores small enough to significantly reduce the molar free energy of the solution via the Kelvin effect. The obstacle of membrane thickness can be overcome by selectively immobilizing the liquid phase into the skin of a porous asymmetric membranes

Ceramic membranes for gas separation in advanced fossil power plants

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Meulenberg, W.A.; Baumann, S.; Ivanova, M.; Gestel, T. van; Bram, M.; Stoever, D. [Forschungszentrum Juelich GmbH (DE). Inst. fuer Energieforschung (IEF)

2010-07-01

The reduction or elimination of CO{sub 2} emissions from electricity generation power plants fuelled by coal or gas is a major target in the current socio-economic, environmental and political discussion to reduce green house gas emissions such as CO{sub 2}. This mission can be achieved by introducing gas separation techniques making use of membrane technology, which is, as a rule, associated with significantly lower efficiency losses compared with the conventional separation technologies. Depending on the kind of power plant process different membrane types (ceramic, polymer, metal) can be implemented. The possible technology routes are currently investigated to achieve the emission reduction. They rely on different separation tasks. The CO{sub 2}/N{sub 2} separation is the main target in the post-combustion process. Air separation (O{sub 2}/N{sub 2}) is the focus of the oxyfuel process. In the pre-combustion process an additional H{sub 2}/CO{sub 2} separation is included. Although all separation concepts imply different process requirements they have in common a need in membranes with high permeability, selectivity and stability. In each case CO{sub 2} is obtained in a readily condensable form. CO{sub 2}/N{sub 2} separation membranes like microporous membranes or polymer membranes are applicable in post-combustion stages. In processes with oxyfuel combustion, where the fuel is combusted with pure oxygen, oxygen transport membranes i.e. mixed ionic electronic conducting (MIEC) membranes with mainly perovskite or fluorite structure can be integrated. In the pre-combustion stages of the power plant process, H{sub 2}/CO{sub 2} separation membranes like microporous membranes e.g. doped silica or mixed protonic electronic conductors or metal membranes can be applied. The paper gives an overview about the considered ceramic materials for the different gas separation membranes. The manufacturing of bulk materials as well as supported thin films of these membranes along

Hydrogen Selective Exfoliated Zeolite Membranes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tsapatsis, Michael [Univ. of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN (United States). Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science; Daoutidis, Prodromos [Univ. of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN (United States). Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science; Elyassi, Bahman [Univ. of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN (United States). Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science; Lima, Fernando [Univ. of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN (United States). Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science; Iyer, Aparna [Univ. of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN (United States). Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science; Agrawal, Kumar [Univ. of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN (United States). Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science; Sabnis, Sanket [Univ. of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN (United States). Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science

2015-04-06

The objective of this project was to develop and evaluate an innovative membrane technology at process conditions that would be representative of Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) advanced power generation with pre-combustion capture of carbon dioxide (CO₂). This research focused on hydrogen (H₂)-selective zeolite membranes that could be utilized to separate conditioned syngas into H₂-rich and CO₂-rich components. Both experiments and process design and optimization calculations were performed to evaluate the concept of ultra-thin membranes made from zeolites nanosheets. In this work, efforts in the laboratory were made to tackle two fundamental challenges in application of zeolite membranes in harsh industrial environments, namely, membrane thickness and membrane stability. Conventional zeolite membranes have thicknesses in the micron range, limiting their performance. In this research, we developed a method for fabrication of ultimately thin zeolite membranes based on zeolite nanosheets. A range of layered zeolites (MWW, RWR, NSI structure types) suitable for hydrogen separation was successfully exfoliated to their constituent nanosheets. Further, membranes were made from one of these zeolites, MWW, to demonstrate the potential of this group of materials. Moreover, long-term steam stability of these zeolites (up to 6 months) was investigated in high concentrations of steam (35 mol% and 95 mole%), high pressure (10 barg), and high temperatures (350 °C and 600 °C) relevant to conditions of water-gas-shift and steam methane reforming reactions. It was found that certain nanosheets are stable, and that stability depends on the concentration of structural defects. Additionally, models that represent a water-gas-shift (WGS) membrane reactor equipped with the zeolite membrane were developed for systems studies. These studies had the aim of analyzing the effect of the membrane reactor integration into IGCC plants

Ring current shifts in {sup 19}F-NMR of membrane proteins

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Liu, Dongsheng, E-mail: liudsh@shanghaitech.edu.cn; Wüthrich, Kurt, E-mail: kwuthrich@shanghaitech.edu.cn [ShanghaiTech University, iHuman Institute (China)

2016-05-15

Fluorine-19 NMR markers are attractive reporter groups for use in studies of complex biomacromolecular systems, in particular also for studies of function-related conformational equilibria and rate processes in membrane proteins. Advantages of {sup 19}F-NMR probes include high sensitivity of the {sup 19}F chemical shifts to variations in the non-covalent environment. Nonetheless, in studies of G protein-coupled receptors (GPCR) we encountered situations where {sup 19}F chemical shifts were not responsive to conformational changes that had been implicated by other methods. This prompted us to examine possible effects of aromatic ring current fields on the chemical shifts of {sup 19}F-NMR probes used in GPCRs. Analysis of previously reported {sup 19}F-NMR data on the β{sub 2}-adrenergic receptor and mammalian rhodopsin showed that all {sup 19}F-labeling sites which manifested conformational changes are located near aromatic residues. Although ring current effects are small when compared to other known non-covalent effects on {sup 19}F chemical shifts, there is thus an indication that their contributions are significant when studying activation processes in GPCRs, since the observed activation-related {sup 19}F-NMR chemical shifts are comparable in size to the calculated ring current shifts. Considering the impact of ring current shifts may thus be helpful in identifying promising indigenous or engineered labeling sites for future {sup 19}F-NMR studies of GPCR activation, and novel information may be obtained on the nature of conformational rearrangements near the {sup 19}F-labels. It will then also be interesting to see if the presently indicated role of ring current shifts in membrane protein studies with {sup 19}F-NMR markers can be substantiated by a more extensive data base resulting from future studies.

THE EFFECT OF TYPE ZEOLITE ON THE GAS TRANSPORT PROPERTIES OF POLYIMIDE-BASED MIXED MATRIX MEMBRANES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tutuk Djoko Kusworo

2012-01-01

Full Text Available The permeation rates of O2, N2, CO2 and CH4 has been studied for polyimide-polyethersulfone (PI/PES blends-zeolite mixed matrix membranes synthesized in our laboratory. The study investigated the effect of zeolite loading and different zeolite type on the gas separation performance of these mixed matrix membranes. Frequency shifts and absorption intensity changes in the FTIR spectra of the PI/PES blends as compared with those of the pure polymers indicate that there is a mixing of polymer blends at the molecular level. Differential scanning calorimetry measurements of pure and PI/PES blends membranes have showed one unique glass transition temperature that supports the miscible character of the PI/PES mixture. The PI/PES-zeolite 4A mixed matrix membrane with 25 wt % zeolite loading produced the highest O2/N2 and CO2/CH4 selectivity of around 7.45 and 46.05, respectively.

Gas-phase and liquid-phase pre-irradiation grafting of AAc onto LDPE and HDPE films for pervaporation membranes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rao Zhigong; Li Guixiang; Sugo, Takanobu; Okamoto, Jiro

1992-01-01

A study has been made on gas-phase and liquid-phase pre-irradiation grafting of acrylic acid onto LDPE and HDPE films for pervaporation membranes of ethanol-water mixtures. It was found that the degree of grafting, percent volume change of grafted membranes and length of grafting chains depend on the methods of grafting, crystal state of substrate films and diffusion rate of the monomer in the films. The pervaporation characteristics of grafted membranes is influenced directly by the surface hydrophilicity of grafted membranes, temperature of the feed, degree of grafting, crosslinking of grafted chains and alkaline metal ions in the functional groups. The potassium ion exchange membrane of HDPE synthesized by gas-phase grafting has better pervaporation efficiency. At 80 wt% ethanol in the feed, 25 o C feed temperature and 70% degree of grafting a grafted membrane has a 0.65 kg/m 2 h flux and a separation factor of 20. (Author)

Double-side active TiO{sub 2}-modified nanofiltration membranes in continuous flow photocatalytic reactors for effective water purification

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Romanos, G.Em., E-mail: groman@chem.demokritos.gr [Institute of Physical Chemistry, NCSR Demokritos, 153 10 Agia Paraskevi Attikis, Athens (Greece); Athanasekou, C.P.; Katsaros, F.K.; Kanellopoulos, N.K. [Institute of Physical Chemistry, NCSR Demokritos, 153 10 Agia Paraskevi Attikis, Athens (Greece); Dionysiou, D.D. [Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH 45221-0071 (United States); Likodimos, V.; Falaras, P. [Institute of Physical Chemistry, NCSR Demokritos, 153 10 Agia Paraskevi Attikis, Athens (Greece)

2012-04-15

Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer A novel CVD reactor for the developments of double side active TiO{sub 2} membranes. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Double side active TiO{sub 2} membranes efficiently photodegrade organic pollutants. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer A photocatalytic membrane purification device for continuous flow water treatment. - Abstract: A chemical vapour deposition (CVD) based innovative approach was applied with the purpose to develop composite TiO{sub 2} photocatalytic nanofiltration (NF) membranes. The method involved pyrolytic decomposition of titanium tetraisopropoxide (TTIP) vapor and formation of TiO{sub 2} nanoparticles through homogeneous gas phase reactions and aggregation of the produced intermediate species. The grown nanoparticles diffused and deposited on the surface of {gamma}-alumina NF membrane tubes. The CVD reactor allowed for online monitoring of the carrier gas permeability during the treatment, providing a first insight on the pore efficiency and thickness of the formed photocatalytic layers. In addition, the thin TiO{sub 2} deposits were developed on both membrane sides without sacrificing the high yield rates. Important innovation was also introduced in what concerns the photocatalytic performance evaluation. The membrane efficiency to photo degrade typical water pollutants, was evaluated in a continuous flow water purification device, applying UV irradiation on both membrane sides. The developed composite NF membranes were highly efficient in the decomposition of methyl orange exhibiting low adsorption-fouling tendency and high water permeability.

Towards a Biohybrid Lung: Endothelial Cells Promote Oxygen Transfer through Gas Permeable Membranes.

Science.gov (United States)

Menzel, Sarah; Finocchiaro, Nicole; Donay, Christine; Thiebes, Anja Lena; Hesselmann, Felix; Arens, Jutta; Djeljadini, Suzana; Wessling, Matthias; Schmitz-Rode, Thomas; Jockenhoevel, Stefan; Cornelissen, Christian Gabriel

2017-01-01

In patients with respiratory failure, extracorporeal lung support can ensure the vital gas exchange via gas permeable membranes but its application is restricted by limited long-term stability and hemocompatibility of the gas permeable membranes, which are in contact with the blood. Endothelial cells lining these membranes promise physiological hemocompatibility and should enable prolonged application. However, the endothelial cells increase the diffusion barrier of the blood-gas interface and thus affect gas transfer. In this study, we evaluated how the endothelial cells affect the gas exchange to optimize performance while maintaining an integral cell layer. Human umbilical vein endothelial cells were seeded on gas permeable cell culture membranes and cultivated in a custom-made bioreactor. Oxygen transfer rates of blank and endothelialized membranes in endothelial culture medium were determined. Cell morphology was assessed by microscopy and immunohistochemistry. Both setups provided oxygenation of the test fluid featuring small standard deviations of the measurements. Throughout the measuring range, the endothelial cells seem to promote gas transfer to a certain extent exceeding the blank membranes gas transfer performance by up to 120%. Although the underlying principles hereof still need to be clarified, the results represent a significant step towards the development of a biohybrid lung.

A fractal analytical model for the permeabilities of fibrous gas diffusion layer in proton exchange membrane fuel cells

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xiao, Boqi; Fan, Jintu; Ding, Feng

2014-01-01

The study of water and gas transport through fibrous gas diffusion layer (GDL) is important to the optimization of proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs). In this work, analytical models of dimensionless permeability, and water and gas relative permeabilities of fibrous GDL in PEMFCs are derived using fractal theory. In our models, the structure of fibrous GDL is characterized in terms of porosity, tortuosity fractal dimension (D T ), pore area fractal dimensions (d f ), water phase (d f,w ) and gas phase (d f,g ) fractal dimensions. The predicted dimensionless permeability, water and gas relative permeabilities based on the proposed models are in good agreement with experimental data and predictions of numerical simulations reported in the literature. The model reveals that, although water phase and gas phase fractal dimensions strongly depend on porosity, the water and gas relative permeabilities are independent of porosity and are a function of water saturation only. It is also shown that the dimensionless permeability decreases significantly with the increase of tortuosity fractal dimension. On the other hand, there is only a small decrease in the water and gas relative permeabilities when tortuosity fractal dimension increases. One advantage of the proposed analytical model is that it contains no empirical constant, which is normally required in past models

Gas diffusion layer for proton exchange membrane fuel cells - A review

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cindrella, L. [Fuel Cell Research Laboratory, Department of Engineering Technology, Arizona State University, Mesa, AZ 85212 (United States); Department of Chemistry, National Institute of Technology, Tiruchirappalli 620015 (India); Kannan, A.M.; Lin, J.F.; Saminathan, K. [Fuel Cell Research Laboratory, Department of Engineering Technology, Arizona State University, Mesa, AZ 85212 (United States); Ho, Y. [Department of Biotechnology, College of Health Science, Asia University, Taichung 41354 (China); Lin, C.W. [Department of Chemical Engineering, National Yunlin University of Science and Technology, Yunlin 640 (China); Wertz, J. [Hollingsworth and Vose Co., A.K. Nicholson Research Lab, 219 Townsend Road, West Groton, MA 01472 (United States)

2009-10-20

Gas diffusion layer (GDL) is one of the critical components acting both as the functional as well as the support structure for membrane-electrode assembly in the proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC). The role of the GDL is very significant in the H{sub 2}/air PEM fuel cell to make it commercially viable. A bibliometric analysis of the publications on the GDLs since 1992 shows a total of 400+ publications (>140 papers in the Journal of Power Sources alone) and reveals an exponential growth due to reasons that PEMFC promises a lot of potential as the future energy source for varied applications and hence its vital component GDL requires due innovative analysis and research. This paper is an attempt to pool together the published work on the GDLs and also to review the essential properties of the GDLs, the method of achieving each one of them, their characterization and the current status and future directions. The optimization of the functional properties of the GDLs is possible only by understanding the role of its key parameters such as structure, porosity, hydrophobicity, hydrophilicity, gas permeability, transport properties, water management and the surface morphology. This paper discusses them in detail to provide an insight into the structural parts that make the GDLs and also the processes that occur in the GDLs under service conditions and the characteristic properties. The required balance in the properties of the GDLs to facilitate the counter current flow of the gas and water is highlighted through its characteristics. (author)

Membrane Bioreactor (MBR) as Alternative to a Conventional Activated Sludge System Followed by Ultrafiltration (CAS-UF) for the Treatment of Fischer-Tropsch Reaction Water from Gas-to-Liquids Industries

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Laurinonyte, Judita; Meulepas, Roel J.W.; Brink, van den Paula; Temmink, Hardy

2017-01-01

The potential of a membrane bioreactor (MBR) system to treat Fischer-Tropsch (FT) reaction water from gas-to-liquids (GTL) industries was investigated and compared with the current treatment system: a conventional activated sludge system followed by an ultrafiltration (CAS-UF) unit. The MBR and

Morphology-properties relationship of gas plasma treated hydrophobic meso-porous membranes and their improved performance for desalination by membrane distillation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dumée, Ludovic F.; Alglave, Hortense; Chaffraix, Thomas; Lin, Bao; Magniez, Kevin; Schütz, Jürg

2016-01-01

Graphical abstract: - Highlights: • Systematic surface modifications by gas plasma treatment of hydrophobic polymers. • Correlation between plasma parameters and materials surface energy and morphology. • Spectral analysis of the formation of functional groups across the membranes surface. • Relationship between wettability, roughness and performance. - Abstract: The impact on performance of the surface energy and roughness of membrane materials used for direct contact membrane distillation are critical but yet poorly investigated parameters. The capacity to alter the wettability of highly hydrophobic materials such as poly(tetra-fluoro-ethylene) (PTFE) by gas plasma treatments is reported in this paper. An equally important contribution from this investigation arises from illustrating how vaporized material from the treated sample participates after a short while in the composition of the plasma and fundamentally changes the result of surface chemistry processes. The water contact angle across the hydrophobic membranes is generally controlled by varying the plasma gas conditions, such as the plasma power, chamber pressure and irradiation duration. Changes to surface porosity and roughness of the bulk material as well as the surface chemistry, through specific and partial de-fluorination of the surface were detected and systematically studied by Fourier transform infra-red analysis and scanning electron microscopy. It was found that the rupture of fibrils, formed during membrane processing by thermal-stretching, led to the formation of a denser surface composed of nodules similar to these naturally acting as bridging points across the membrane material between fibrils. This structural change has a profound and impart a permanent effect on the permeation across the modified membranes, which was found to be enhanced by up to 10% for long plasma exposures while the selectivity of the membranes was found to remain unaffected by the treatment at a level higher

Morphology-properties relationship of gas plasma treated hydrophobic meso-porous membranes and their improved performance for desalination by membrane distillation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dumée, Ludovic F., E-mail: ludovic.dumee@deakin.edu.au [Deakin University, Geelong Victoria–Australia - Institute for Frontier Materials (Australia); Alglave, Hortense; Chaffraix, Thomas; Lin, Bao; Magniez, Kevin [Deakin University, Geelong Victoria–Australia - Institute for Frontier Materials (Australia); Schütz, Jürg [CSIRO, Manufacturing Flagship, 75 Pigdons Road, 3216 Waurn Ponds, Victoria (Australia)

2016-02-15

Graphical abstract: - Highlights: • Systematic surface modifications by gas plasma treatment of hydrophobic polymers. • Correlation between plasma parameters and materials surface energy and morphology. • Spectral analysis of the formation of functional groups across the membranes surface. • Relationship between wettability, roughness and performance. - Abstract: The impact on performance of the surface energy and roughness of membrane materials used for direct contact membrane distillation are critical but yet poorly investigated parameters. The capacity to alter the wettability of highly hydrophobic materials such as poly(tetra-fluoro-ethylene) (PTFE) by gas plasma treatments is reported in this paper. An equally important contribution from this investigation arises from illustrating how vaporized material from the treated sample participates after a short while in the composition of the plasma and fundamentally changes the result of surface chemistry processes. The water contact angle across the hydrophobic membranes is generally controlled by varying the plasma gas conditions, such as the plasma power, chamber pressure and irradiation duration. Changes to surface porosity and roughness of the bulk material as well as the surface chemistry, through specific and partial de-fluorination of the surface were detected and systematically studied by Fourier transform infra-red analysis and scanning electron microscopy. It was found that the rupture of fibrils, formed during membrane processing by thermal-stretching, led to the formation of a denser surface composed of nodules similar to these naturally acting as bridging points across the membrane material between fibrils. This structural change has a profound and impart a permanent effect on the permeation across the modified membranes, which was found to be enhanced by up to 10% for long plasma exposures while the selectivity of the membranes was found to remain unaffected by the treatment at a level higher

Metallic Membranes for High Temperature Hydrogen Separation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ma, Y.H.; Catalano, Jacopo; Guazzone, Federico

2013-01-01

membrane fabrication methods have matured over the last decades, and the deposition of very thin films (1–5 µm) of Pd over porous ceramics or modified porous metal supports is quite common. The H2 permeances and the selectivities achieved at 400–500 °C were in the order of 50–100 Nm3/m/h/bar0.5 and greater......Composite palladium membranes have extensively been studied in laboratories and, more recently, in small pilot industrial applications for the high temperature separation of hydrogen from reactant mixtures such as water-gas shift (WGS) reaction or methane steam reforming (MSR). Composite Pd...... than 1000, respectively. This chapter describes in detail composite Pd-based membrane preparation methods, which consist of the grading of the support and the deposition of the dense metal layer, their performances, and their applications in catalytic membrane reactors (CMRs) at high temperatures (400...

Dynamic water management of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells using intermittent RH control

KAUST Repository

Hussaini, I.S.

2010-06-01

A novel method of water management of polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cells using intermittent humidification is presented in this study. The goal is to maintain the membrane close to full humidification, while eliminating channel flooding. The entire cycle is divided into four stages: saturation and de-saturation of the gas diffusion layer followed by de-hydration and hydration of membrane. By controlling the duration of dry and humid flows, it is shown that the cell voltage can be maintained within a narrow band. The technique is applied on experimental test cells using both plain and hydrophobic materials for the gas diffusion layer and an improvement in performance as compared to steady humidification is demonstrated. Duration of dry and humid flows is determined experimentally for several operating conditions. © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Instrumentation for Measurement of Gas Permeability of Polymeric Membranes

Science.gov (United States)

Upchurch, Billy T.; Wood, George M.; Brown, Kenneth G.; Burns, Karen S.

1993-01-01

A mass spectrometric 'Dynamic Delta' method for the measurement of gas permeability of polymeric membranes has been developed. The method is universally applicable for measurement of the permeability of any gas through polymeric membrane materials. The usual large sample size of more than 100 square centimeters required for other methods is not necessary for this new method which requires a size less than one square centimeter. The new method should fulfill requirements and find applicability for industrial materials such as food packaging, contact lenses and other commercial materials where gas permeability or permselectivity properties are important.

Application of Ultrafiltration in a Paper Mill: Process Water Reuse and Membrane Fouling Analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chen Chen

2015-02-01

Full Text Available High water consumption is a major environmental problem that the pulp and paper industry is facing. Ultrafiltration (UF can be used to remove the dissolved and colloidal substances (DCS concentrated during the recycling of white water (the process water to facilitate the reuse of white water and reduce fresh water consumption. However, membrane fouling limits the application of UF in this industry. In this study, super-clear filtrate obtained from a fine paper mill was purified with a polyethersulfone (PES ultrafiltration membrane to evaluate the reuse performance of the ultrafiltrate. The membrane foulants were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive spectrophotometry, attenuated total reflection-fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The results indicate that the retention rate of stock and the strength properties of paper increased when the ultrafiltrate was reused in the papermaking process compared to when super-clear filtrate was used. The reversible membrane foulants during ultrafiltration accounted for 85.52% of the total foulants and primarily originated from retention aids, drainage aids, and wet strength resins, while the irreversible adsorptive foulants accounted for 14.48% and mostly came from sizing agents, coating chemicals, and others. Moreover, the presence of dissolved multivalent metal ions, especially Ca2+, accelerated membrane fouling.

Performance of Hollow Fiber Membrane Gas-Liquid Contactors to Absorb CO2 Using Diethanolamine (Dea as a Solvent

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sutrasno Kartohardjono

2010-10-01

Full Text Available This study uses DEA solution to absorb CO2 from the gas flow through the hollow fiber membrane contactors. This study aims to evaluate the performance of hollow fiber membrane contactors to absorb CO2 gas using DEA solution as solvent through mass transfer and hydrodynamics studies. The use of DEA solution is to reduce the mass transfer resistance in the liquid phase, and on the other side, the large contact area of the membrane surface can cover the disadvantage of membrane contactors; additional mass transfer resistance in the membrane phase. During experiments, CO2 feed flows through the fiber lumens, while the 0.01 M DEA solution flows in the shell side of membrane contactors. Experimental results show that the mass transfer coefficients and fluxes of CO2 increase with an increase in both water and DEA solution flow rates. Increasing the amount of fibers in the contactors will decrease the mass transfer and fluxes at the same DEA solution flow rate. Mass transfer coefficients and CO2 fluxes using DEA solution can achieve 28,000 and 7.6 million times greater than using water as solvent, respectively. Hydrodynamics studies show that the liquid pressure drops in the contactors increase with increasing liquid flow rate and number of fibers in the contactors. The friction between water and the fibers in the contactor was more pronounced at lower velocities, and therefore, the value of the friction factor is also higher at lower velocities.

Simulation Model of Membrane Gas Separator Using Aspen Custom Modeler

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Song, Dong-keun [Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of); Shin, Gahui; Yun, Jinwon; Yu, Sangseok [Chungnam Nat’l Univ., Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2016-12-15

Membranes are used to separate pure gas from gas mixtures. In this study, three different types of mass transport through a membrane were developed in order to investigate the gas separation capabilities of a membrane. The three different models typically used are a lumped model, a multi-cell model, and a discretization model. Despite the multi-cell model producing similar results to a discretization model, the discretization model was selected for this investigation, due to the cell number dependence of a multi-cell model. The mass transport model was then used to investigate the effects of pressure difference, flow rate, total exposed area, and permeability. The results showed that the pressure difference increased with the stage cut, but the selectivity was a trade-off for the increasing pressure difference. Additionally, even though permeability is an important parameter, the selectivity and stage cut of the membrane converged as permeability increased.

Super liquid-repellent gas membranes for carbon dioxide capture and heart-lung machines.

Science.gov (United States)

Paven, Maxime; Papadopoulos, Periklis; Schöttler, Susanne; Deng, Xu; Mailänder, Volker; Vollmer, Doris; Butt, Hans-Jürgen

2013-01-01

In a gas membrane, gas is transferred between a liquid and a gas through a microporous membrane. The main challenge is to achieve a high gas transfer while preventing wetting and clogging. With respect to the oxygenation of blood, haemocompatibility is also required. Here we coat macroporous meshes with a superamphiphobic-or liquid repellent-layer to meet this challenge. The superamphiphobic layer consists of a fractal-like network of fluorinated silicon oxide nanospheres; gas trapped between the nanospheres keeps the liquid from contacting the wall of the membrane. We demonstrate the capabilities of the membrane by capturing carbon dioxide gas into a basic aqueous solution and in addition use it to oxygenate blood. Usually, blood tends to clog membranes because of the abundance of blood cells, platelets, proteins and lipids. We show that human blood stored in a superamphiphobic well for 24 h can be poured off without leaving cells or adsorbed protein behind.

Oxygen transport membrane reactor based method and system for generating electric power

Science.gov (United States)

Kelly, Sean M.; Chakravarti, Shrikar; Li, Juan

2017-02-07

A carbon capture enabled system and method for generating electric power and/or fuel from methane containing sources using oxygen transport membranes by first converting the methane containing feed gas into a high pressure synthesis gas. Then, in one configuration the synthesis gas is combusted in oxy-combustion mode in oxygen transport membranes based boiler reactor operating at a pressure at least twice that of ambient pressure and the heat generated heats steam in thermally coupled steam generation tubes within the boiler reactor; the steam is expanded in steam turbine to generate power; and the carbon dioxide rich effluent leaving the boiler reactor is processed to isolate carbon. In another configuration the synthesis gas is further treated in a gas conditioning system configured for carbon capture in a pre-combustion mode using water gas shift reactors and acid gas removal units to produce hydrogen or hydrogen-rich fuel gas that fuels an integrated gas turbine and steam turbine system to generate power. The disclosed method and system can also be adapted to integrate with coal gasification systems to produce power from both coal and methane containing sources with greater than 90% carbon isolation.

Gas Separation through Bilayer Silica, the Thinnest Possible Silica Membrane.

Science.gov (United States)

Yao, Bowen; Mandrà, Salvatore; Curry, John O; Shaikhutdinov, Shamil; Freund, Hans-Joachim; Schrier, Joshua

2017-12-13

Membrane-based gas separation processes can address key challenges in energy and environment, but for many applications the permeance and selectivity of bulk membranes is insufficient for economical use. Theory and experiment indicate that permeance and selectivity can be increased by using two-dimensional materials with subnanometer pores as membranes. Motivated by experiments showing selective permeation of H 2 /CO mixtures through amorphous silica bilayers, here we perform a theoretical study of gas separation through silica bilayers. Using density functional theory calculations, we obtain geometries of crystalline free-standing silica bilayers (comprised of six-membered rings), as well as the seven-, eight-, and nine-membered rings that are observed in glassy silica bilayers, which arise due to Stone-Wales defects and vacancies. We then compute the potential energy barriers for gas passage through these various pore types for He, Ne, Ar, Kr, H 2 , N 2 , CO, and CO 2 gases, and use the data to assess their capability for selective gas separation. Our calculations indicate that crystalline bilayer silica, which is less than a nanometer thick, can be a high-selectivity and high-permeance membrane material for 3 He/ 4 He, He/natural gas, and H 2 /CO separations.

Intrinsically Microporous Polymer Membranes for High Performance Gas Separation

KAUST Repository

Swaidan, Raja

2014-01-01

This dissertation addresses the rational design of intrinsically microporous solutionprocessable polyimides and ladder polymers for highly permeable and highly selective gas transport in cornerstone applications of membrane-based gas separation

Composite hollow fiber gas-liquid membrane contactors for olefin/paraffin separation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Nijmeijer, Dorothea C.; Visser, Tymen; Assen, R.; Wessling, Matthias

2004-01-01

Gas¿liquid membrane contactors frequently suffer from undesired wetting of the microporous membrane by the absorption liquid. Stabilization layers at the liquid-side of the microporous membrane potentially prevent this wetting. We apply such stabilized membranes in a membrane contactor using AgNO3

Bio-Gas production from municipal sludge waste using anaerobic membrane bioreactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Y. H.; Lee, S.

2009-01-01

A laboratory scale anaerobic membrane bioreactor (AnMBR) system for the bio-methane gas production was operated for 60 days with municipal sludge wastes as a sole carbon source. The AnMRR system utilized the external cross-flow membrane module and was equipped with on-line data acquisition which enables continuous monitoring of the performance of both bioreactor and membrane through the analyses of pH, temperature, gas production; permeate flow rate, and transmembrane pressure (TMP). Such a configuration also provides an efficient tool to study rapid variations of monitoring membrane pressure (TMP). (Author)

Effect of coagulant bath on the gas permeation properties of cellulose acetate asymmetric membrane

Science.gov (United States)

Mohamed, F.; Hasbullah, H.; Jami'an, W. N. R.; Salleh, W. N. H. W.; Ibrahim, N.; Ali, R. R.

2016-06-01

Membrane based gas separation process technology has been recognized as one of the most efficient and advanced unit operation for gas separation. One of the problems in membrane gas separation is membrane performance. This paper explores the application of cellulose acetate (CA) membrane for natural gas purification and separation by improving its permeability and selectivity. The main interest in this research is to study the effect of quench medium on the gas separation performance towards its physical characteristics and gas separation performance of CA membrane. Cellulose acetate polymer was dissolved in n- methyl-2-pyrrolidone solvent and casted onto a glass plate using a pneumatically controlled casting system with fixed shear rate and solvent evaporation times. The parameter varied was the non-solvent used as quench medium during membrane post treatment that were methanol and n-hexane. The different quench media as post treatment affected the O2 and N2 gas permeation and O2/N2 selectivity as well as the tensile strength of the flat sheet asymmetric membrane. Combination of methanol and n-hexane as quench media gave the best result than the other steps. This solvent exchange step influenced the morphology by producing thin skin layer and thus gives better gas separation performance than other steps

Study of radon 222 permeation through plastic membranes. Application to a measurement method of radon in water

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Labed, V.; Rannou, A.; Robe, M.C.

1990-01-01

Gaseous permeation is a complex phenomenon of gas transfer through some polymers. Original in respect of conventional studies where permeation occurs between two gaseous phases, the present study concerns radon 222 transfer between water and air through a membrane. Polypropylene membranes are tested with an experimental device following time evolution of the phenomenon by measurement of volume activity in water and in air. An application of this study to a method for determination of radon concentration in water by measurement of concentration in air is discussed [fr

Water flow in carbon-based nanoporous membranes impacted by interactions between hydrated ions and aromatic rings.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Jian; Shi, Guosheng; Fang, Haiping

2017-02-24

Carbon-based nanoporous membranes, such as carbon nanotubes (CNTs), graphene/graphene oxide and graphyne, have shown great potential in water desalination and purification, gas and ion separation, biosensors, and lithium-based batteries, etc. A deep understanding of the interaction between hydrated ions in an aqueous solution and the graphitic surface in systems composed of water, ions and a graphitic surface is essential for applications with carbon-based nanoporous membrane platforms. In this review, we describe the recent progress of the interaction between hydrated ions and aromatic ring structures on the carbon-based surface and its applications in the water flow in a carbon nanotube. We expect that these works can be extended to the understanding of water flow in other nanoporous membranes, such as nanoporous graphene, graphyne and stacked sheets of graphene oxide.

Formation of defect-free 6FDA-DAM asymmetric hollow fiber membranes for gas separations

KAUST Repository

Xu, Liren

2014-06-01

This paper reports the formation of defect-free 6FDA-DAM asymmetric hollow fiber membranes. 6FDA-polyimides are of great interest for advanced gas separation membranes, and 6FDA-DAM polyimide is a representative polymer in this family with attractive dense film properties for several potential applications. The work reported here for the 6FDA-DAM polyimide provides insight for the challenging fabrication of defect-free asymmetric hollow fiber membranes for this class of 6FDA-polyimides, which behave rather different from lower free volume polymers. Specifically, the 6FDA based materials show relatively slow phase separation rate in water quench baths, which presents a challenge for fiber spinning. For convenience, we refer to the behavior as more "non-solvent resistant" in comparison to other lower free volume polymers, since the binodal phase boundary is displaced further from the conventional position near the pure polymer-solvent axis on a ternary phase diagram in conventional polymers like Matrimid® and Ultem®. The addition of lithium nitrate to promote phase separation has a useful impact on 6FDA-DAM asymmetric hollow fiber formation. 6FDA-DAM phase diagrams using ethanol and water as non-solvent are reported, and it was found that water is less desirable as a non-solvent dope additive for defect-free fiber spinning. Phase diagrams are also reported for 6FDA-DAM dope formulation with and without the addition of lithium nitrate, and defect-free asymmetric hollow fiber membranes are reported for both cases. The effect of polymer molecular weight on defect-free fiber spinning was also investigated. Gas transport properties and morphology of hollow fibers were characterized. With several thorough case studies, this work provides a systematic guideline for defect-free fiber formation from 6FDA-polymers. © 2014 Elsevier B.V.

Analysis of hollow fibre membrane systems for multicomponent gas separation

KAUST Repository

Khalilpour, Rajab

2013-02-01

This paper analysed the performance of a membrane system over key design/operation parameters. A computation methodology is developed to solve the model of hollow fibre membrane systems for multicomponent gas feeds. The model represented by a nonlinear differential algebraic equation system is solved via a combination of backward differentiation and Gauss-Seidel methods. Natural gas sweetening problem is investigated as a case study. Model parametric analyses of variables, namely feed gas quality, pressure, area, selectivity and permeance, resulted in better understanding of operating and design optima. Particularly, high selectivities and/or permeabilities are shown not to be necessary targets for optimal operation. Rather, a medium selectivity (<60 in the given example) combined with medium permeance (∼300-500×10-10mol/sm2Pa in the given case study) is more advantageous. This model-based membrane systems engineering approach is proposed for the synthesis of efficient and cost-effective multi-stage membrane networks. © 2012 The Institution of Chemical Engineers.

Room temperature synthesis of free-standing HKUST-1 membranes from copper hydroxide nanostrands for gas separation.

Science.gov (United States)

Mao, Yiyin; shi, Li; Huang, Hubiao; Cao, Wei; Li, Junwei; Sun, Luwei; Jin, Xianda; Peng, Xinsheng

2013-06-25

Large scale, robust, well intergrown free-standing HKUST-1 membranes were converted from copper hydroxide nanostrand free-standing films in 1,3,5-benzenetricarboxylic acid water-ethanol solution at room temperature, and explored for gas separation. The truncated crystals are controllable and favorable for the dense intergrowth.

Recovery of hydrogen from impurities using a palladium membrane reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Willms, R.S.; Okuno, K.

1993-01-01

One of the important steps in processing the exhaust from a fusion reactor is recovering tritium which is incorporated into molecules such as water and methane. One device which may prove to be very effective for this purpose is a palladium membrane reactor. This is a reactor which incorporates a Pd/Ag membrane in the reactor geometry. Reactions such as water gas shift, steam reforming and methane cracking can be carried out over the reactor catalyst, and the product hydrogen can be simultaneously removed from the reacting mixture. Because product is removed, greater than usual conversions can be obtained. In addition ultrapure hydrogen is produced, eliminating the need for an additional processing step. A palladium membrane reactor has been built and tested with three different catalysts. Initial results with a Ni-based catalyst show that it is very effective at promoting all three reactions listed above. Under the proper conditions, hydrogen recoveries approaching 100% have been observed. This study serves to experimentally validate the palladium membrane reactor as potentially important tool for fusion fuel processing

Effect of algae and water on water color shift

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Shengguang; Xia, Daying; Yang, Xiaolong; Zhao, Jun

1991-03-01

This study showed that the combined effect of absorption of planktonic algae and water on water color shift can be simulated approximately by the exponential function: Log( E {100cm/ W }+ E {100cm/ Xch1})=0.002λ-2.5 where E {100/cm W }, E {100cm/ Xchl} are, respectively, extinction coefficients of seawater and chlorophyll—a (concentration is equal to X mg/m3), and λ (nm) is wavelength. This empirical regression equation is very useful for forecasting the relation between water color and biomass in water not affected by terrigenous material. The main factor affecting water color shift in the ocean should be the absorption of blue light by planktonic algae.

Counter-current membrane reactor for WGS process: Membrane design

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Piemonte, Vincenzo; Favetta, Barbara [Department of Chemical Engineering Materials and Environment, University of Rome ' ' La Sapienza' ' , via Eudossiana 18, 00184 Rome (Italy); De Falco, Marcello [Faculty of Engineering, University Campus Bio-Medico of Rome, via Alvaro del Portillo 21, 00128 Rome (Italy); Basile, Angelo [CNR-ITM, c/o University of Calabria, Via Pietro Bucci, Cubo 17/C, 87030 Rende (CS) (Italy)

2010-11-15

Water gas shift (WGS) is a thermodynamically limited reaction which has to operate at low temperatures, reducing kinetics rate and increasing the amount of catalyst required to reach valuable CO conversions. It has been widely demonstrated that the integration of hydrogen selective membranes is a promising way to enhance WGS reactors performance: a Pd-based MR operated successfully overcoming the thermodynamic constraints of a traditional reactor thanks to the removal of hydrogen from reaction environment. In the first part of a MR, the H{sub 2} partial pressure starts from a minimum value since the reaction has not started. As a consequence, if the carrier gas in the permeation zone is sent in counter-current, which is the most efficient configuration, in the first reactor section the H{sub 2} partial pressure in reaction zone is low while in the permeation zone is high, potentially implying back permeation. This means a bad utilization of the first part of the membrane area and thus, a worsening of the MR performance with lower H{sub 2} recovery and lower CO conversion with respect to the case in which the whole selective surface is properly used. To avoid this problem different MR configurations were evaluated by a 1-D pseudo-homogeneous model, validated with WGS industrial data reported in scientific literature. It was demonstrated that the permeated H{sub 2} flow rate per membrane surface, i.e. the membrane flux, strongly improves if selective membrane is placed only in the second part of the reactor: in fact, if the membrane is placed at L{sub m}/L{sub tot} = 0.5, the membrane flux is 0.2 kmol/(m{sup 2}h) about, if it is placed along all reactor tube (L{sub m}/L{sub tot} = 1), flux is 0.05 kmol/(m{sup 2}h). The effect of the L/D reactor ratio and of the reactor wall temperature on the CO conversion were also assessed. (author)

Ion transport membrane module and vessel system with directed internal gas flow

Science.gov (United States)

Holmes, Michael Jerome; Ohrn, Theodore R.; Chen, Christopher Ming-Poh

2010-02-09

An ion transport membrane system comprising (a) a pressure vessel having an interior, an inlet adapted to introduce gas into the interior of the vessel, an outlet adapted to withdraw gas from the interior of the vessel, and an axis; (b) a plurality of planar ion transport membrane modules disposed in the interior of the pressure vessel and arranged in series, each membrane module comprising mixed metal oxide ceramic material and having an interior region and an exterior region; and (c) one or more gas flow control partitions disposed in the interior of the pressure vessel and adapted to change a direction of gas flow within the vessel.

Development of membrane moisture separator for BWR off-gas system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ogata, H.; Kawamura, S.; Kumasaka, M.; Nishikubo, M.

2001-01-01

In BWR plant off-gas treatment systems, dehumidifiers are used to maintain noble gas adsorption efficiency in the first half of the charcoal hold-up units. From the perspective of simplifying and reducing the cost of such a dehumidification system, Japanese BWR utilities and plant fabricators have been developing a dehumidification system employing moisture separation membrane of the type already proven in fields such as medical instrumentation and precision measuring apparatus. The first part of this development involved laboratory testing to simulate the conditions found in an actual off-gas system, the results of which demonstrated satisfactory results in terms of moisture separation capability and membrane durability, and suggested favorable prospects for application in actual off-gas systems. Further, in-plant testing to verify moisture separation capability and membrane durability in the presence of actual gases is currently underway, with results so far suggesting that the system is capable of obtaining good moisture separation capability. (author)

Durability of Selected Membrane Materials when Exposed to Chlorine Gas

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Eikeland, Marianne Soerflaten

2001-03-01

This thesis is focusing on the durability of selected membrane materials when exposed to chlorine gas in the temperature range 30-100{sup o}C. Studies of the changes of membrane separation properties and the mechanisms promoting these changes have been studied. The selected membrane materials were poly(dimethylsioxane) (PDMS), Fluorel, fluorosilicone, and blends of PDMS and Fluorel. The thesis is organised in seven chapters. The first chapter gives an introduction to the background of the work. The second chapter presents the theory for gas separation using dense rubbery membranes. The properties of the selected membrane materials are presented in chapter three. The fourth chapter describes degradation mechanisms for polymeric materials in general and for the selected membrane materials in particular. Presentation of the experimental work is given in chapter five, while the results with discussions are presented in chapter six. The conclusions and recommendations for further studies are given in chapter seven. Five appendixes are attached: Appendix A describes the calculations of permeability and solubility coefficients and the accuracy of the experimental measurements. Appendix B summarises the measured values in tables and Appendix C describes the analytical methods. Appendix D gives the properties of the gases used in the experiments. Appendix E is the article ''Durability of Poly(dimethylsiloxane) when Exposed to Chlorine Gas'', submitted to the Journal of Applied Polymer Science. Highly crosslinked PDMS was found to have an initial high permeability for chlorine gas and a high Cl{sub 2}/O{sub 2} selectivity. However when exposed to chlorine gas the permeability decreased significantly. Crosslinking of the PDMS polymer chain and chlorination of the polymer gave a denser polymer structure and thus lower permeability. Fluorel showed very low permeabilities and selectivities for the gases in question and was thus not interesting for this

CO₂ Capture Membrane Process for Power Plant Flue Gas

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Toy, Lora [Research Triangle Inst. International, Research Triangle Park, NC (United States); Kataria, Atish [Research Triangle Inst. International, Research Triangle Park, NC (United States); Gupta, Raghubir [Research Triangle Inst. International, Research Triangle Park, NC (United States)

2012-04-01

Because the fleet of coal-fired power plants is of such importance to the nation's energy production while also being the single largest emitter of CO₂, the development of retrofit, post-combustion CO₂ capture technologies for existing and new, upcoming coal power plants will allow coal to remain a major component of the U.S. energy mix while mitigating global warming. Post-combustion carbon capture technologies are an attractive option for coal-fired power plants as they do not require modification of major power-plant infrastructures, such as fuel processing, boiler, and steam-turbine subsystems. In this project, the overall objective was to develop an advanced, hollow-fiber, polymeric membrane process that could be cost-effectively retrofitted into current pulverized coal-fired power plants to capture at least 90% of the CO₂ from plant flue gas with 95% captured CO₂ purity. The approach for this project tackled the technology development on three different fronts in parallel: membrane materials R&D, hollow-fiber membrane module development, and process development and engineering. The project team consisted of RTI (prime) and two industrial partners, Arkema, Inc. and Generon IGS, Inc. Two CO₂-selective membrane polymer platforms were targeted for development in this project. For the near term, a next-generation, high-flux polycarbonate membrane platform was spun into hollow-fiber membranes that were fabricated into both lab-scale and larger prototype (~2,200 ft²) membrane modules. For the long term, a new fluoropolymer membrane platform based on poly(vinylidene fluoride) [PVDF] chemistry was developed using a copolymer approach as improved capture membrane materials with superior chemical resistance to flue-gas contaminants (moisture, SO₂, NO_x, etc.). Specific objectives were: - Development of new, highly chemically resistant, fluorinated polymers as membrane materials with minimum selectivity of 30 for CO₂ over N₂ and CO�

Purification of natural gas using membrane - the current status and research trends

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Farooq Ahmad; Mukhtar, H.; Man, Z.; Dutta, B. K.

2006-01-01

Separation of acid gases and lower hydrocarbon from raw natural gas has been a challenging problem in a gas processing unit. Despite the availability of chemical and cryogenic routes, search for a better alternative has been on for the last several decades. Considerable success has been achieved in the recent years by use of polymeric membrane and many units are operating using hollow fiber and spirally wound modules. The initial success notwithstanding the quest for better membrane and strategically designed modules has gained more momentum in the recent years. While research inputs to modify rubbery membranes or to develop new glassy membranes are continuing, inorganic membrane have attracted a lot of attention because of a number of reasons such as thermal and chemical stability, mechanical strength and the advantage of engineered pores. In the above perspective it appears necessary to make a review of the present status of research as well as applications in relation to both polymeric and inorganic membranes for raw natural gas processing. The present paper is an attempt in this direction. Experimental findings reported in the literature together with novel theories that will eventually help in tailoring membranes both chemically and physically have been critically analyzed and the trends in the future direction of research have been identified. A survey of application of membrane technology for acid gas separation in industries world wide has been made

An investigation of gas separation membranes for reduction of thermal treatment emissions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stull, D.M.; Logsdon, B.W.

1994-01-01

Gas permeable membranes were evaluated for possible use as air pollution control devices on a fluidized bed catalytic incineration unit. The unit is a candidate technology for treatment of certain mixed hazardous and radioactive wastes at the Rocky Flats Plant. Cellulose acetate and polyimide membranes were tested to determine the permeance of typical off-gas components such as carbon dioxide, nitrogen, and oxygen. Multi-component permeation studies included gas mixtures containing light hydrocarbons. Experiments were also conducted to discover information about potential membrane degradation in the presence of organic compounds

Systems and methods for using a boehmite bond-coat with polyimide membranes for gas separation

Science.gov (United States)

Polishchuk, Kimberly Ann

2013-03-05

The subject matter disclosed herein relates to gas separation membranes and, more specifically, to polyimide gas separation membranes. In an embodiment, a gas separation membrane includes a porous substrate, a substantially continuous polyimide membrane layer, and one or more layers of boehmite nanoparticles disposed between the porous substrate and the polyimide membrane layer to form a bond-coat layer. The bond-coat layer is configured to improve the adhesion of the polyimide membrane layer to the porous substrate, and the polyimide membrane layer has a thickness approximately 100 nm or less.

A review of recent advances in molecular simulation of graphene-derived membranes for gas separation

Science.gov (United States)

Fatemi, Seyyed Mahmood; Abbasi, Zeynab; Rajabzadeh, Halimeh; Hashemizadeh, Seyyed Ali; Deldar, Amir Noori

2017-07-01

To obtain an ideal membrane for gas separation the following three characteristics should be considered: the membrane should be as thin as possible, be mechanically robust, and have well-defined pore sizes. These features will maximize its solvent flux, preserve it from fracture, and guarantee its selectivity. These attractive properties of graphene-derived membranes introduce them as appropriate candidates for gas separation and gas molecular-sieving processes in nanoscale dimensions. The current effort has focused on two issues, including the review of the most newly progression on drilling holes in single graphene membranes for making ultrathin membranes for gas separation, and studying functionalized nanoporous sheet and graphene-derived membranes, including doped graphene, graphene oxide, fluorographene, and reduced graphene oxide from theoretical perspectives for making functional coatings for nano ultrafiltration for gas separation. We investigated the basic mechanism of separation by membranes derived from graphene and relevant possible applications. Functionalized nanoporous membranes as novel approach are characterized by low energy cost in realizing high throughput molecular-sieving separation.

A review of water treatment membrane nanotechnologies

KAUST Repository

Pendergast, MaryTheresa M.

2011-01-01

Nanotechnology is being used to enhance conventional ceramic and polymeric water treatment membrane materials through various avenues. Among the numerous concepts proposed, the most promising to date include zeolitic and catalytic nanoparticle coated ceramic membranes, hybrid inorganic-organic nanocomposite membranes, and bio-inspired membranes such as hybrid protein-polymer biomimetic membranes, aligned nanotube membranes, and isoporous block copolymer membranes. A semi-quantitative ranking system was proposed considering projected performance enhancement (over state-of-the-art analogs) and state of commercial readiness. Performance enhancement was based on water permeability, solute selectivity, and operational robustness, while commercial readiness was based on known or anticipated material costs, scalability (for large scale water treatment applications), and compatibility with existing manufacturing infrastructure. Overall, bio-inspired membranes are farthest from commercial reality, but offer the most promise for performance enhancements; however, nanocomposite membranes offering significant performance enhancements are already commercially available. Zeolitic and catalytic membranes appear reasonably far from commercial reality and offer small to moderate performance enhancements. The ranking of each membrane nanotechnology is discussed along with the key commercialization hurdles for each membrane nanotechnology. © 2011 The Royal Society of Chemistry.

Interfacial Water-Transport Effects in Proton-Exchange Membranes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kienitz, Brian; Yamada, Haruhiko; Nonoyama, Nobuaki; Weber, Adam

2009-11-19

It is well known that the proton-exchange membrane is perhaps the most critical component of a polymer-electrolyte fuel cell. Typical membranes, such as Nafion(R), require hydration to conduct efficiently and are instrumental in cell water management. Recently, evidence has been shown that these membranes might have different interfacial morphology and transport properties than in the bulk. In this paper, experimental data combined with theoretical simulations will be presented that explore the existence and impact of interfacial resistance on water transport for Nafion(R) 21x membranes. A mass-transfer coefficient for the interfacial resistance is calculated from experimental data using different permeation cells. This coefficient is shown to depend exponentially on relative humidity or water activity. The interfacial resistance does not seem to exist for liquid/membrane or membrane/membrane interfaces. The effect of the interfacial resistance is to flatten the water-content profiles within the membrane during operation. Under typical operating conditions, the resistance is on par with the water-transport resistance of the bulk membrane. Thus, the interfacial resistance can be dominant especially in thin, dry membranes and can affect overall fuel-cell performance.

Reversed thermo-switchable molecular sieving membranes composed of two-dimensional metal-organic nanosheets for gas separation

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Xuerui; Chi, Chenglong; Zhang, Kang; Qian, Yuhong; Gupta, Krishna M.; Kang, Zixi; Jiang, Jianwen; Zhao, Dan

2017-02-01

It is highly desirable to reduce the membrane thickness in order to maximize the throughput and break the trade-off limitation for membrane-based gas separation. Two-dimensional membranes composed of atomic-thick graphene or graphene oxide nanosheets have gas transport pathways that are at least three orders of magnitude higher than the membrane thickness, leading to reduced gas permeation flux and impaired separation throughput. Here we present nm-thick molecular sieving membranes composed of porous two-dimensional metal-organic nanosheets. These membranes possess pore openings parallel to gas concentration gradient allowing high gas permeation flux and high selectivity, which are proven by both experiment and molecular dynamics simulation. Furthermore, the gas transport pathways of these membranes exhibit a reversed thermo-switchable feature, which is attributed to the molecular flexibility of the building metal-organic nanosheets.

Integrating Microbial Electrochemical Technology with Forward Osmosis and Membrane Bioreactors: Low-Energy Wastewater Treatment, Energy Recovery and Water Reuse

KAUST Repository

Werner, Craig M.

2014-06-01

treatment process. The anaerobic electrochemical membrane bioreactor described here integrates a microbial electrolysis cell with a membrane bioreactor using conductive hollow fiber membrane to produce hydrogen gas, treat wastewater and reclaim treated water. The energy recovered as hydrogen gas in this system was sufficient to offset all the electrical energy requirements for operation. The findings from these studies significantly improve the prospects for simultaneous wastewater treatment, energy recovery and water reclamation in a single reactor but challenges such as membrane biofouling and conversion of hydrogen to methane by methanogenesis require further study.

Mathematical modeling of water mass balance for proton exchange membrane fuel cell

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wan Ramli Wan Daud; Kamaruzzaman Sopian; Jaafar Sahari; Nik Suhaimi Mat Hassan

2006-01-01

Gas and water management are key to achieving good performance from a proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) stack. Water plays a critical role in PEMFC. The proton conductivity is increase with the water content. In order to achieve enough hydration, water is normally introduced into the cell externally by a variety of methods such as liquid injection, steam introduction, and humidification of reactants by passing them through humidifiers before entering the cell. In this paper, mathematical modeling of water mass balance for PEMFC at anode and cathode side are proposed by using external humidification and assume that steady state, constant pressure, constant temperature and gases distribution are uniform

An energetic analysis of CO2 capture on a gas turbine combining flue gas recirculation and membrane separation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Belaissaoui, Bouchra; Cabot, Gilles; Cabot, Marie-Sophie; Willson, David; Favre, Eric

2012-01-01

Post-combustion Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) is currently intensively investigated as a key issue for the mitigation of greenhouse gases emissions. A very large number of studies is dedicated to coal power plants. In this paper, the possibility to achieve carbon capture on a gas turbine, based on a combination of flue gas recycle and membrane separation is reported. Membrane processes are effectively known to offer attractive performances in terms of energy efficiency, as soon as concentrated and/or pressure mixtures have to be treated. Two different flow schemes have been simulated and compared: flue gas recycle with air combustion and flue gas recycle with an oxygen enriched feed mixture. The energy requirement of the different processes, expressed in GJ (thermal basis) per ton of recovered CO 2 , and the size of the membrane capture process (expressed in m 2 of membrane area) have been systematically estimated for different membrane separation performances. It is shown that an overall energy requirement down to 2.6 GJ per ton can possibly be achieved when optimal operating conditions, based on oxygen enriched air (OEA) combustion together with a highly selective membrane (CO 2 /N 2 selectivity of 200) are combined. Additional possibilities in order to minimise the energy penalty of the process are discussed. -- Highlights: ► A carbon capture process for gas turbine has been investigated for the first time, with membrane separation unit. ► Air combustion systematically induces CO 2 capture specific energy requirement far above alternative capture processes. ► Remarkably, a very low energy requirement can be achieved (down to 2.6 GJ/ton) with Oxygen Enriched Air combustion. ► Target membrane selectivities and optimal oxygen content for combustion have been identified.

Economic evaluation of pre-combustion CO2-capture in IGCC power plants by porous ceramic membranes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Franz, Johannes; Maas, Pascal; Scherer, Viktor

2014-01-01

Highlights: • Process simulations of IGCC with pre-combustion capture via membranes were done. • Most promising technology is the water–gas-shift-membrane-reactor (WGSMR). • Energetic evaluations showed minimum efficiency loss of 5.8%-points for WGSMR. • Economic evaluations identified boundary limits of membrane technology. • Cost of electricity for optimum WGSMR-case is 57 €/MW h under made assumptions. - Abstract: Pre-combustion-carbon-capture is one of the three main routes for the mitigation of CO 2 -emissions by fossil fueled power plants. Based on the data of a detailed technical evaluation of CO 2 -capture by porous ceramic membranes (CM) and ceramic membrane reactors (WGSMR) in an Integrated-Gasification-Combined-Cycle (IGCC) power plant this paper focuses on the economic effects of CO 2 -abatement. First the results of the process simulations are presented briefly. The analysis is based on a comparison with a reference IGCC without CO 2 -capture (dry syngas cooling, bituminous coal, efficiency of 47.4%). In addition, as a second reference, an IGCC process with CO 2 removal based on standard Selexol-scrubbing is taken into account. The most promising technology for CO 2 -capture by membranes in IGCC applications is the combination of a water gas shift reactor and a H 2 -selective membrane into one water gas shift membrane reactor. For the WGSRM-case efficiency losses can be limited to about 6%-points (including losses for CO 2 compression) for a CO 2 separation degree of 90%. This is a severe reduction of the efficiency loss compared to Selexol (10.3% points) or IGCC–CM (8.6% points). The economic evaluation is based on a detailed analysis of investment and operational costs. Parameters like membrane costs and lifetime, costs of CO 2 -certificates and annual operating hours are taken into account. The purpose of these evaluations is to identify the minimum cost of electricity for the different capture cases for the variation of the boundary

Glovebox atmosphere detritiation process using gas separation membranes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Le Digabel, M.; Truan, P.A.; Ducret, D.; Laquerbe, C.; Perriat, P.; Niepce, J.C.; Pelletier, T.

2003-01-01

The use of gas separation membranes in atmospheric detritiation systems has been studied. The main advantage of this new process is to reduce the number and/or the size of the equipment in comparison to conventional tritium removal systems. Owing to the constraints linked to tritium handling, the separation performances of several commercial hollow fiber organic membranes have been analyzed, under various operating conditions, with hydrogen/nitrogen or deuterium/nitrogen mixtures. The experiments are performed with small quantities of hydrogen or deuterium (5000 ppm). The experimental results allow to evaluate the separation efficiency of these membranes and to determine the appropriate operating conditions to apply to a membrane detritiation process

Asymmetric bi-layer PFSA membranes as model systems for the study of water management in the PEMFC.

Science.gov (United States)

Peng, Z; Peng, A Z; Morin, A; Huguet, P; Lanteri, Y; Deabate, S

2014-10-14

New bi-layer PFSA membranes made of Nafion® NRE212 and Aquivion™ E79-05s with different equivalent weights are prepared with the aim of managing water repartition in the PEMFC. The membrane water transport properties, i.e. back-diffusion and electroosmosis, as well as the electrochemical performances, are compared to those of state-of-art materials. The actual water content (the inner water concentration profile across the membrane thickness) is measured under operation in the fuel cell by in situ Raman microspectroscopy. The orientation of the equivalent weight gradient with respect to the water external gradient and to the proton flow direction affects the membrane water content, the water transport ability and, thus, the fuel cell performances. Higher power outputs, related to lower ohmic losses, are observed when the membrane is assembled with the lower equivalent weight layer (Aquivion™) at the anode side. This orientation, corresponding to enhanced water transport by back-flow while electroosmosis remains unaffected, results in the higher hydration of the membrane and of the anode active layer during operation. Also, polarization data suggest a different water repartition in the fuel cell along the on-plane direction. Even if the interest in multi-layer PFSA membranes as perspective electrolytes for PEMFCs is not definitively attested, these materials appear to be excellent model systems to establish relationships between the membrane transport properties, the water distribution in the fuel cell and the electrochemical performances. Thanks to the micrometric resolution, in situ Raman microspectroscopy proves to be a unique tool to measure the actual hydration of the membrane at the surface swept by the hydrated feed gases during operation, so that it can be used as a local probe of the water concentration evolution along the gas distribution channels according to changing working conditions.

PVDF hollow fiber and nanofiber membranes for fresh water reclamation using membrane distillation

KAUST Repository

Francis, Lijo; Ghaffour, NorEddine; Alsaadi, Ahmad Salem; Nunes, Suzana Pereira; Amy, Gary L.

2013-01-01

Polyvinylidene fluoride hollow fiber and nanofibrous membranes are engineered and successfully fabricated using dry-jet wet spinning and electrospinning techniques, respectively. Fabricated membranes are characterized for their morphology, average pore size, pore size distribution, nanofiber diameter distribution, thickness, and water contact angle. Direct contact membrane distillation (DCMD) performances of the fabricated membranes have been investigated using a locally designed and fabricated, fully automated MD bench scale unit and DCMD module. Electrospun nanofibrous membranes showed a water flux as high as 36 L m-2 h-1 whereas hollow fiber membranes showed a water flux of 31.6 L m-2 h-1, at a feed inlet temperature of 80 °C and at a permeate inlet temperature of 20 °C.

PVDF hollow fiber and nanofiber membranes for fresh water reclamation using membrane distillation

KAUST Repository

Francis, Lijo

2013-11-26

Polyvinylidene fluoride hollow fiber and nanofibrous membranes are engineered and successfully fabricated using dry-jet wet spinning and electrospinning techniques, respectively. Fabricated membranes are characterized for their morphology, average pore size, pore size distribution, nanofiber diameter distribution, thickness, and water contact angle. Direct contact membrane distillation (DCMD) performances of the fabricated membranes have been investigated using a locally designed and fabricated, fully automated MD bench scale unit and DCMD module. Electrospun nanofibrous membranes showed a water flux as high as 36 L m-2 h-1 whereas hollow fiber membranes showed a water flux of 31.6 L m-2 h-1, at a feed inlet temperature of 80 °C and at a permeate inlet temperature of 20 °C.

Performance of integrated bioelectrochemical membrane reactor: Energy recovery, pollutant removal and membrane fouling alleviation

Science.gov (United States)

Dong, Yue; He, Weihua; Li, Chao; Liang, Dandan; Qu, Youpeng; Han, Xiaoyu; Feng, Yujie

2018-04-01

A novel hybrid bioelectrochemical membrane reactor with integrated microfiltration membrane as the separator between electrodes is developed for domestic wastewater treatment. After accumulation of biofilm, the organic pollutants are mainly degraded in anodic compartment, and microfiltration membrane blocks the adverse leakage of dissolved oxygen from aerated cathodic compartment. The maximum system power output is restricted by gas-water ratio following a Monod-like relationship. Within the tested gas-water ratios ranging from 0.6 to 42.9, the half-saturation constant (KQ) is 5.9 ± 0.9 with a theoretic maximum power density of 20.4 ± 1.0 W m-3. Energy balance analysis indicates an appropriate gas-water ratio regulation (from 2.3 to 28.6) for cathodic compartment is necessary to obtain positive energy output for the system. A maximum net electricity output is 9.09 × 10-3 kWh m-3 with gas-water ratio of 17.1. Notably, the system achieves the chemical oxygen demand removal of 98.3 ± 0.3%, ammonia nitrogen removal of 99.6 ± 0.1%, and total nitrogen removal of 80.0 ± 0.9%. This work verifies an effective integration of microfiltration membrane into bioelectrochemical system as separator for high-quality effluent and provides an insight into the operation and regulation of biocathode system for effective electrical energy output.

Study on methane separation from steam reforming product gas with polyimide membrane

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Koiso, Hiroshi; Inagaki, Yoshiyuki; Aita, Hideki; Sekita, Kenji; Haga, Katsuhiro; Hino, Ryutaro.

1997-10-01

In the HTTR hydrogen production system by steam reforming of natural gas (main component: CH 4 ), CH 4 conversion rate is limited to approximately 65% due to high pressure and low temperature conditions (4.5 MPa, 800degC). The one of the measures to improve CH 4 conversion is recycling of residual CH 4 extracted from steam reforming product gas with a gas separator. Experimental and analytical studies on CH 4 separation from gas mixture composed of CH 4 , H 2 , CO 2 and CO were carried out to investigate gas separation characteristics of a polyimide membrane gas separator. Measured permeability of each gas in gas mixture was reduced from 1/3 to 1/14 of that obtained with a single gas (catalog value). The polyimide membrane could extracted CH 4 of approximately 80% from gas mixture, then, H 2 and CO 2 more than 98% were removed. It was confirmed that the polyimide membrane could be available to residual CH 4 recycling. The analytical results by a difference method gave good prospects of experimental results such as permeated flow rate, mol-fraction profiles and so on. Therefore, it can be said the analysis method was established. (author)

Investigation of gas flow characteristics in proton exchange membrane fuel cell

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kwac, Lee Ku; Kim, Hong Gun

2008-01-01

An investigation of electrochemical behavior of PEMFC (proton exchange membrane fuel cell) is performed by using a single-phase two-dimensional finite element analysis. Equations of current balance, mass balance, and momentum balance are implemented to simulate the behavior of PEMFC. The analysis results for the co-flow and counterflow mode of gas flow direction are examined in detail in order to compare how the gas flow direction affects quantitatively. The characteristics of internal properties, such as gas velocity distribution, mass fraction of the reactants, fraction of water and current density distribution in PEMFC are illustrated in the electrode and GDL (gas diffusion layer). It is found that the dry reactant gases can be well internally humidified and maintain high performance in the case of the counter-flow mode without external humidification while it is not advantageous for highly humidified or saturated reactant gases. It is also found that the co-flow mode improves the current density distribution with humidified normal condition compared to the counter-flow mode

Importance of balancing membrane and electrode water in anion exchange membrane fuel cells

Science.gov (United States)

Omasta, T. J.; Wang, L.; Peng, X.; Lewis, C. A.; Varcoe, J. R.; Mustain, W. E.

2018-01-01

Anion exchange membrane fuel cells (AEMFCs) offer several potential advantages over proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs), most notably to overcome the cost barrier that has slowed the growth and large scale implementation of fuel cells for transportation. However, limitations in performance have held back AEMFCs, specifically in the areas of stability, carbonation, and maximum achievable current and power densities. In order for AEMFCs to contend with PEMFCs for market viability, it is necessary to realize a competitive cell performance. This work demonstrates a new benchmark for a H2/O2 AEMFC with a peak power density of 1.4 W cm-2 at 60 °C. This was accomplished by taking a more precise look at balancing necessary membrane hydration while preventing electrode flooding, which somewhat surprisingly can occur both at the anode and the cathode. Specifically, radiation-grafted ETFE-based anion exchange membranes and anion exchange ionomer powder, functionalized with benchmark benzyltrimethylammonium groups, were utilized to examine the effects of the following parameters on AEMFC performance: feed gas flow rate, the use of hydrophobic vs. hydrophilic gas diffusion layers, and gas feed dew points.

A Mechanistic Study of Chemically Modified Inorganic Membranes for Gas and Liquid Separations

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Way, J. Douglas [Colorado School of Mines, Golden, CO (United States). Dept. of Chemical Engineering

2011-01-21

This final report will summarize the progress made during the period August 1, 1993 - October 31, 2010 with support from DOE grant number DE-FG03-93ER14363. The objectives of the research have been to investigate the transport mechanisms in micro- and mesoporous, metal oxide membranes and to examine the relationship between the microstructure of the membrane, the membrane surface chemistry, and the separation performance of the membrane. Examples of the membrane materials under investigation are the microporous silica hollow fiber membrane manufactured by PPG Industries, chemically modified mesoporous oxide membranes, and polymer membranes containing microporous oxides (mixed matrix membranes). Analytical techniques such as NMR, FTIR and Raman spectroscopy, thermal analysis, and gas adsorption were used to investigate membrane microstructure and to probe the chemical interactions occurring at the gas-membrane interface.

Field Demonstration of a Membrane Process to Separate Nitrogen from Natural Gas

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kaaeid Lokhandwala

2005-12-22

The original proposal described the construction and operation of a 1 MMscfd treatment system to be operated at a Butcher Energy gas field in Ohio. The gas produced at this field contained 17% nitrogen. During pre-commissioning of the project, a series of well tests showed that the amount of gas in the field was significantly smaller than expected and that the nitrogen content of the wells was very high (25 to 30%). After evaluating the revised cost of the project, Butcher Energy decided that the plant would not be economical and withdrew from the project. Since that time, Membrane Technology and Research, Inc. (MTR) has signed a marketing and sales partnership with ABB Lummus Global, a large multinational corporation. MTR will be working with the company's Randall Gas Technology Group, a supplier of equipment and processing technology to the natural gas industry. Randall's engineering group first found a new site for the project at a North Texas Exploration (NTE) gas processing plant. The plant produced about 1 MMscfd of gas containing 24% nitrogen. The membrane unit was built to bring this gas to 4% nitrogen for delivery to the pipeline. The membrane skid was built by ABB. NTE ordered the required compressor and MTR made the membrane modules for a December 2004 delivery. However, the gas supply was not steady enough for field testing, and MTR/ABB have now located other sites for field testing and commercial development.

Field Demonstration of a Membrane Process to Separate Nitrogen from Natural Gas

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kaaeid Lokhandwala

2005-12-15

The original proposal described the construction and operation of a 1 MMscfd treatment system to be operated at a Butcher Energy gas field in Ohio. The gas produced at this field contained 17% nitrogen. During pre-commissioning of the project, a series of well tests showed that the amount of gas in the field was significantly smaller than expected and that the nitrogen content of the wells was very high (25 to 30%). After evaluating the revised cost of the project, Butcher Energy decided that the plant would not be economical and withdrew from the project. Since that time, Membrane Technology and Research, Inc. (MTR) has signed a marketing and sales partnership with ABB Lummus Global, a large multinational corporation. MTR is now working with the company's Randall Gas Technology Group, a supplier of equipment and processing technology to the natural gas industry. Randall's engineering group first found a new site for the project at a North Texas Exploration (NTE) gas processing plant. The plant produced about 1 MMscfd of gas containing 24% nitrogen. The membrane unit was built to bring this gas to 4% nitrogen for delivery to the pipeline. The membrane skid was built by ABB. NTE ordered the required compressor and MTR made the membrane modules for a December 2004 delivery. However, the gas supply was not steady enough for field testing, and MTR/ABB have now located other sites for field testing and commercial development.

Water droplet dynamic behavior during removal from a proton exchange membrane fuel cell gas diffusion layer by Lattice-Boltzmann method

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Molaeimanesh, Golamreza; Akbari, Mohammad Hadi [Shiraz University, Shiraz (Iran, Islamic Republic of)

2014-04-15

A major challenge in the application of proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) is water management, with the flooding of electrodes as the main issue. The Lattice-Boltzmann method (LBM) is a relatively new technique that is superior in modeling the dynamic interface of multiphase fluid flow in complex microstructures such as non-homogeneous and anisotropic porous media of PEMFC electrodes. In this study, the dynamic behavior of a water droplet during removal from gas diffusion layer (GDL) of a PEMFC electrode with interdigitated flow field is simulated using LBM. The effects of GDL wettability and its spanwise and transverse gradients on the removal process are investigated. The results demonstrate great influence of wettability and its spanwise and transverse gradients on the dynamic behavior of droplets during the removal process. Although increasing the hydrophobicity of GDL results in better droplet removal, its increase beyond a critical value does not show a significant effect.

Electron scattering in dense He-Ar gas mixtures: A pressure shift study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Asaf, U.; Felps, W.S.; McGlynn, S.P.

1989-01-01

The dependence of the energies of high-n Rydberg states of CH 3 I on the molar composition of helium-argon mixtures (in the number density range 1.3x10 20 --5.6x10 20 cm -3 ) is reported. The energy shifts, when normalized to a given density value, are found to vary linearly with the mole fraction of either component of the binary, rare-gas mixture. The observed change in sign of the energy shift is attributable to the different signs of the electron scattering lengths for the two rare-gas components. As a result, there exists a mixture composition, at a mole ratio [He]/[Ar]=2.0, at which the shift is null. The experimental results for the gas mixture agree with the Fermi formula, as modified to include the Alekseev-Sobel'man polarization term. Effective electron scattering lengths and cross sections, polarizabilities, and thermal velocities are used to characterize the effects of the binary gas perturber system

Enhanced water desalination performance through hierarchically-structured ceramic membranes

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Liu, Tong; Lei, Libin; Gu, Jianqiang; Wang, Yao; Winnubst, Louis; Chen, Chusheng; Ye, Chunsong; Chen, Fanglin

2017-01-01

Developments of membrane water desalination are impeded by low water vapor flux across the membrane. We present an innovative membrane design to significantly enhance the water vapor flux. A bilayer zirconia-based membrane with a thick hierarchically-structured support and a thin functional layer is

Progress of Nanocomposite Membranes for Water Treatment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Claudia Ursino

2018-04-01

Full Text Available The use of membrane-based technologies has been applied for water treatment applications; however, the limitations of conventional polymeric membranes have led to the addition of inorganic fillers to enhance their performance. In recent years, nanocomposite membranes have greatly attracted the attention of scientists for water treatment applications such as wastewater treatment, water purification, removal of microorganisms, chemical compounds, heavy metals, etc. The incorporation of different nanofillers, such as carbon nanotubes, zinc oxide, graphene oxide, silver and copper nanoparticles, titanium dioxide, 2D materials, and some other novel nano-scale materials into polymeric membranes have provided great advances, e.g., enhancing on hydrophilicity, suppressing the accumulation of pollutants and foulants, enhancing rejection efficiencies and improving mechanical properties and thermal stabilities. Thereby, the aim of this work is to provide up-to-date information related to those novel nanocomposite membranes and their contribution for water treatment applications.

Progress of Nanocomposite Membranes for Water Treatment.

Science.gov (United States)

Ursino, Claudia; Castro-Muñoz, Roberto; Drioli, Enrico; Gzara, Lassaad; Albeirutty, Mohammad H; Figoli, Alberto

2018-04-03

The use of membrane-based technologies has been applied for water treatment applications; however, the limitations of conventional polymeric membranes have led to the addition of inorganic fillers to enhance their performance. In recent years, nanocomposite membranes have greatly attracted the attention of scientists for water treatment applications such as wastewater treatment, water purification, removal of microorganisms, chemical compounds, heavy metals, etc. The incorporation of different nanofillers, such as carbon nanotubes, zinc oxide, graphene oxide, silver and copper nanoparticles, titanium dioxide, 2D materials, and some other novel nano-scale materials into polymeric membranes have provided great advances, e.g., enhancing on hydrophilicity, suppressing the accumulation of pollutants and foulants, enhancing rejection efficiencies and improving mechanical properties and thermal stabilities. Thereby, the aim of this work is to provide up-to-date information related to those novel nanocomposite membranes and their contribution for water treatment applications.

Use of nonwettable membranes for water transfer

Science.gov (United States)

Hausch, H. G.

1970-01-01

Transfer of water through nonwettable vinyl fluoride membranes has two unique features - /1/ very low water transfer rates can be held constant by holding temperature and solute concentrations constant, /2/ the pressure gradient against which water is transported is limited only by solution breakthrough or membrane strength.

Comparison of high-temperature and low-temperature polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell systems with glycerol reforming process for stationary applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Authayanun, Suthida; Mamlouk, Mohamed; Scott, Keith; Arpornwichanop, Amornchai

2013-01-01

Highlights: • PEMFC systems with a glycerol steam reformer for stationary application are studied. • Performance of HT-PEMFC and LT-PEMFC systems is compared. • HT-PEMFC system shows good performance over LT-PEMFC system at a high current density. • HT-PEMFC system with water gas shift reactor shows the highest system efficiency. • Heat integration can improve the efficiency of HT-PEMFC system. - Abstract: A high-temperature polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (HT-PEMFC) has a major advantage over a low-temperature polymer electrolyte fuel cell (LT-PEMFC) demonstrated by a tolerance to a higher CO content in the hydrogen feed and thus a simpler fuel processing. In this study, a direct comparison between the performance of HT-PEMFC and LT-PEMFC systems integrated with a glycerol steam reformer with and without a water gas shift reactor is shown. Under pure hydrogen operation, the LT-PEMFC performance is superior to the HT-PEMFC. However, the HT-PEMFC system shows good performance over the LT-PEMFC system when operated under high current density and high pressure (3 atm) and using the reformate gas derived from the glycerol processor as fuel. At high current density, the high concentration of CO is the major limitation for the operation of HT-PEMFC system without water gas shift reactor, whereas the LT-PEMFC suffers from CO poisoning and restricted oxygen mass transport. Considering the system efficiency with co-heat and power generation, the HT-PEMFC system with water gas shift reactor shows the highest overall system efficiency (approximately 60%) and therefore one of the most suitable technologies for stationary applications

Gas separation by composite solvent-swollen membranes

Science.gov (United States)

Matson, Stephen L.; Lee, Eric K. L.; Friesen, Dwayne T.; Kelly, Donald J.

1989-01-01

There is disclosed a composite immobulized liquid membrane of a solvent-swollen polymer and a microporous organic or inorganic support, the solvent being at least one highly polar solvent containing at least one nitrogen, oxygen, phosphorous or sulfur atom, and having a boiling point of at least 100.degree. C. and a specified solubility parameter. The solvent or solvent mixture is homogeneously distributed through the solvent-swollen polymer from 20% to 95% by weight. The membrane is suitable for acid gas scrubbing and oxygen/nitrogen separation.

Gas separation by composite solvent-swollen membranes

Science.gov (United States)

Matson, S.L.; Lee, E.K.L.; Friesen, D.T.; Kelly, D.J.

1989-04-25

There is disclosed a composite immobilized liquid membrane of a solvent-swollen polymer and a microporous organic or inorganic support, the solvent being at least one highly polar solvent containing at least one nitrogen, oxygen, phosphorus or sulfur atom, and having a boiling point of at least 100 C and a specified solubility parameter. The solvent or solvent mixture is homogeneously distributed through the solvent-swollen polymer from 20% to 95% by weight. The membrane is suitable for acid gas scrubbing and oxygen/nitrogen separation. 3 figs.

Ion transport membrane reactor systems and methods for producing synthesis gas

Science.gov (United States)

Repasky, John Michael

2015-05-12

Embodiments of the present invention provide cost-effective systems and methods for producing a synthesis gas product using a steam reformer system and an ion transport membrane (ITM) reactor having multiple stages, without requiring inter-stage reactant injections. Embodiments of the present invention also provide techniques for compensating for membrane performance degradation and other changes in system operating conditions that negatively affect synthesis gas production.

Nanoporous Membrane Technologies for Pathogen Collection, Separation, and Detection

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Lee, Sang W; Shang, Hao; Lee, Gil U; Griffin, Matthew T; Fulton, Jack

2003-01-01

Partial contents: Nanoporous Membranes, Membrane Chemistries, Characterization of Membrane Chemistries,Protein Fouling, Collector,Gas and Liquid Permeabilities, Membrane Permeabilities in the Presence of Water...

Water transport and desalination through double-layer graphyne membranes.

Science.gov (United States)

Akhavan, Mojdeh; Schofield, Jeremy; Jalili, Seifollah

2018-05-16

Non-equilibrium molecular dynamics simulations of water-salt solutions driven through single and double-layer graphyne membranes by a pressure difference created by rigid pistons are carried out to determine the relative performance of the membranes as filters in a reverse osmosis desalination process. It is found that the flow rate of water through a graphyne-4 membrane is twice that of a graphyne-3 membrane for both single and double-layer membranes. Although the addition of a second layer to a single-layer membrane reduces the membrane permeability, the double-layer graphyne membranes are still two or three orders of magnitude more permeable than commercial reverse osmosis membranes. The minimum reduction in flow rate for double-layer membranes occurs at a layer spacing of 0.35 nm with an AA stacking configuration, while at a spacing of 0.6 nm the flow rate is close to zero due to a high free energy barrier for permeation. This is caused by the difference in the environments on either side of the membrane sheets and the formation of a compact two-dimensional layer of water molecules in the interlayer space which slows down water permeation. The distribution of residence times of water molecules in the interlayer region suggests that at the critical layer spacing of 0.6 nm, a cross-over occurs in the mechanism of water flow from the collective movement of hydrogen-bonded water sheets to the permeation of individual water molecules. All membranes are demonstrated to have a high salt rejection fraction and the double-layered graphyne-4 membranes can further increase the salt rejection by trapping ions that have passed through the first membrane from the feed solution in the interlayer space.

Separation of Gas Mixtures by New Type of Membranes – Dynamic Liquid Membranes.

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Setničková, Kateřina; Šíma, Vladimír; Petričkovič, Roman; Řezníčková Čermáková, Jiřina; Uchytil, Petr

2016-01-01

Roč. 160, FEB 29 (2016), s. 132-135 ISSN 1383-5866 Institutional support: RVO:67985858 Keywords : gas separation * liquid membrane * methane Subject RIV: CI - Industrial Chemistry, Chemical Engineering Impact factor: 3.359, year: 2016

Recovery of ammonia and phosphate minerals from swine wastewater using gas-permeable membranes

Science.gov (United States)

Gas-permeable membrane technology is useful to recover ammonia from liquid manures. In this study, phosphorus (P) recovery via magnesium chloride precipitation was enhanced by combining it with ammonia recovery through gas-permeable membranes. Anaerobically digested swine effluent containing approx...

Development of new microporous silica membranes for gas separation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Camelia Barboiu; Alejandro Mourgues; Beatrice Sala; Serge de Perthuis; Camelia Barboiu; Alejandro Mourgues; Beatrice Sala; Anne Julbe; Jose Sanchez

2006-01-01

This paper presents the synthesis and the application of molecular sieving ceramic membranes to purify hydrogen or helium from various gas mixtures. The membranes prepared in this work consist of an ultra-microporous silica-based separative layer produced via a sol-gel process. Ultra microporous silica containing boron is synthesized by the acid catalyzed hydrolysis and condensation of tetra-ethyl-ortho-silicate in ethanol. The layer is deposited inside a tubular asymmetric alumina support with a meso-porous y alumina inner layer. The thickness of the silica layers after treatment is about 200 nm, estimated from their cross-section SEM micrographs. Ultra-microporous membranes (with pore sizes less than 0.7 nm) are thus required to get high selectivity. Such membranes enable to carry out gas separation up to 500 deg C under a transmembrane pressure lower than 8 bars. He and H 2 permeance values close to 10 -7 mol.m -2 s -1 Pa -1 are obtained, associated with ideal selectivities α(He/CO 2 ) and α(H 2 /CO 2 ) between 10 and 20 at 300 deg C. (authors)

Submerged membrane distillation for desalination of water

KAUST Repository

Francis, Lijo; Ghaffour, NorEddine; Alsaadi, Ahmad Salem

2016-01-01

Submerged membrane modules for use for desalination of water are disclosed. In one or more aspects, the membrane modules can be submerged either in a feed solution tank or the feed solution can pass through the lumen side of the membrane submerged within the tank. The feed solution can be a water-based feed stream containing an amount of salt.

Submerged membrane distillation for desalination of water

KAUST Repository

Francis, Lijo

2016-10-27

Submerged membrane modules for use for desalination of water are disclosed. In one or more aspects, the membrane modules can be submerged either in a feed solution tank or the feed solution can pass through the lumen side of the membrane submerged within the tank. The feed solution can be a water-based feed stream containing an amount of salt.

Selectively gas-permeable composite membrane and process for production thereof

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Okita, K.; Asako, S.

1984-01-01

A selectively gas-permeable composite membrane and a process for producing said composite membrane are described. The composite membrane comprises a polymeric material support and a thin membrane deposited on the support, said thin membrane being obtained by glow discharge plasma polymerization of an organosilane compound containing at least one double bond or triple bond. Alternatively, the composite membrane comprises a polymeric material support having an average pore diameter of at least 0.1 micron, a hardened or cross-linked polyorganosiloxane layer on the support, and a thin membrane on the polyorganosiloxane layer, said thin membrane being obtained by plasma polymerization due to glow discharge of an organosilane compound containing at least one double bond or triple bond

Development and modification of glass membranes for aggressive gas separations

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lindbraaten, Arne

2004-07-01

Chlorine as a chemical is widespread in industry and found in a great variety of processes ranging from water purification to plastic production. In this thesis, a magnesium production factory was chosen as an example because it involved both chlorine - air separation and hydrogen -hydrogen chloride separation. Previously, various types of membrane materials have been tested out for their applicability in the chosen process. The materials previously tested either lacked sufficient membrane performance or sufficient membrane stability. As an attempt to improve both the membrane performance and stability, glass membranes are used in this thesis. Glass membranes are prepared from a borosilicate glass, via a phase separation followed by an acid leaching route. By choosing the appropriate phase separation temperature and acid to glass ratio, the membrane can be produced with an average pore diameter of 2 nm (or 4 nm). However, the 2 nm average pore size is still too large to separate gases with separation selectivities beyond the selectivities predicted from Knudsen diffusion theory. If the pores are narrowed, the selectivity may be raised while the flux hopefully is maintained. The narrowing of the pores was done by a silane coupling to the surface OH-groups on the glass. The silane coupling agent is of the dimethyl-acyl-chlorosilane type, where the length of the acyl chain varies from 1 carbon up to 18 carbons. Glass fibres are also tested in this work, which are produced without phase separation and their average pore size is smaller than the surface-modified glasses. To be able to compare the performance of the various membranes, performance measurements are performed and these measurements are evaluated by the separation power (product of the selectivity and the permeability of the fastest permeating compound). Because of the harsh chlorine or hydrogen chloride environment, to which the membranes are exposed in this work, the membrane stability is at least as

Investigations on the double gas diffusion backing layer for performance improvement of self-humidified proton exchange membrane fuel cells

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kong, Im Mo; Jung, Aeri; Kim, Min Soo

2016-01-01

Highlights: • The performance of self-humidified PEMFCs can be improved with double GDBL. • The effect of double GDBL on water retention capability and membrane hydration was investigated. • In addition to HFR and EIS measurements, numerical analysis was conducted. • Optimized design of double GDBL for self-humidified PEMFC was investigated. • This study provides an inspiration on how to design the double GDBL. - Abstract: In order to simplify the system configuration and downsize the volume, a proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) needs to be operated in a self-humidified mode without any external humidifiers. However, in self-humidified PEMFCs, relatively low cell performance is a problem to be solved. In our previous study, a gas diffusion layer (GDL) containing double gas diffusion backing layer (GDBL) coated by single micro porous layer (MPL) was introduced and its effect on the cell performance was evaluated. In the present study, the effect of the double GDBL was investigated by measuring high frequency resistance (HFR) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). In the experiments, the HFR value was remarkably reduced, while the diameter of semicircle of EIS was increased. It means that the membrane hydration was improved due to enhanced water retention capability of the GDL despite of interrupted gas diffusion. The result of numerical analysis also showed that the water retention capability of GDL can be improved with proper structure design of double GDBL. Based on the result, optimized design of double GDBL for water retention was obtained numerically. The result of this study provides useful information on the structural design of GDBL for self-humidified PEMFCs.

Gas pollutant cleaning by a membrane reactor

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kaldis Sotiris

2006-01-01

Full Text Available An alternative technology for the removal of gas pollutants at the integrated gasification combined cycle process for power generation is the use of a catalytic membrane reactor. In the present study, ammonia decomposition in a catalytic reactor, with a simultaneous removal of hydrogen through a ceramic membrane, was investigated. A Ni/Al2O3 catalyst was prepared by the dry and wet impregnation method and characterized by the inductively coupled plasma method, scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and N2 adsorption before and after activation. Commercially available a-Al2O3 membranes were also characterized and the permeabilities and permselectivities of H2, N2, and CO2 were measured by the variable volume method. In parallel with the experimental analysis, the necessary mathematical models were developed to describe the operation of the catalytic membrane reactor and to compare its performance with the conventional reactor. .

Polyurethane Nanofiber Membranes for Waste Water Treatment by Membrane Distillation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

T. Jiříček

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Self-sustained electrospun polyurethane nanofiber membranes were manufactured and tested on a direct-contact membrane distillation unit in an effort to find the optimum membrane thickness to maximize flux rate and minimize heat losses across the membrane. Also salt retention and flux at high salinities up to 100 g kg−1 were evaluated. Even though the complex structure of nanofiber layers has extreme specific surface and porosity, membrane performance was surprisingly predictable; the highest flux was achieved with the thinnest membranes and the best energy efficiency was achieved with the thickest membranes. All membranes had salt retention above 99%. Nanotechnology offers the potential to find modern solutions for desalination of waste waters, by introducing new materials with revolutionary properties, but new membranes must be developed according to the target application.

Preparation, characterization and gas permeation study of PSf/MgO nanocomposite membrane

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. M. Momeni

2013-09-01

Full Text Available Nanocomposite membranes composed of polymer and inorganic nanoparticles are a novel method to enhance gas separation performance. In this study, membranes were fabricated from polysulfone (PSf containing magnesium oxide (MgO nanoparticles and gas permeation properties of the resulting membranes were investigated. Membranes were prepared by solution blending and phase inversion methods. Morphology of the membranes, void formations, MgO distribution and aggregates were observed by SEM analysis. Furthermore, thermal stability, residual solvent in the membrane film and structural ruination of membranes were analyzed by thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA. The effects of MgO nanoparticles on the glass transition temperature (Tg of the prepared nanocomposites were studied by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC. The Tg of nanocomposite membranes increased with MgO loading. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR spectra of nanocomposite membranes were analyzed to identify the variations of the bonds. The results obtained from gas permeation experiments with a constant pressure setup showed that adding MgO nanoparticles to the polymeric membrane structure increased the permeability of the membranes. At 30 wt% MgO loading, the CO2 permeability was enhanced from 25.75×10-16 to 47.12×10-16 mol.m/(m².s.Pa and the CO2/CH4 selectivity decreased from 30.84 to 25.65 when compared with pure PSf. For H2, the permeability was enhanced from 44.05×10-16 to 67.3×10-16 mol.m/(m².s.Pa, whereas the H2/N2 selectivity decreased from 47.11 to 33.58.

Carbon Nano tubes Based Mixed Matrix Membrane for Gas Separation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sanip, S.M.; Ismail, A.F.; Goh, P.S.; Norrdin, M.N.A.; Soga, T.; Tanemura, M.; Yasuhiko, H.

2011-01-01

Carbon nano tubes based mixed matrix membrane (MMM) was prepared by the solution casting method in which the functionalized multi walled carbon nano tubes (f-MWNTs) were embedded into the polyimide membrane and the resulting membranes were characterized. The effect of nominal MWNTs content between 0.5 and 1.0 wt % on the gas separation properties were looked into. The morphologies of the MMM also indicated that at 0.7 % loading of f- MWNTs, the structures of the MMM showed uniform finger-like structures which have facilitated the fast gas transport through the polymer matrix. It may also be concluded that addition of open ended and shortened MWNTs to the polymer matrix can improve its permeability by increasing diffusivity through the MWNTs smooth cavity. (author)

Modeling efficiency and water balance in PEM fuel cell systems with liquid fuel processing and hydrogen membranes

Science.gov (United States)

Pearlman, Joshua B.; Bhargav, Atul; Shields, Eric B.; Jackson, Gregory S.; Hearn, Patrick L.

Integrating PEM fuel cells effectively with liquid hydrocarbon reforming requires careful system analysis to assess trade-offs associated with H 2 production, purification, and overall water balance. To this end, a model of a PEM fuel cell system integrated with an autothermal reformer for liquid hydrocarbon fuels (modeled as C 12H 23) and with H 2 purification in a water-gas-shift/membrane reactor is developed to do iterative calculations for mass, species, and energy balances at a component and system level. The model evaluates system efficiency with parasitic loads (from compressors, pumps, and cooling fans), system water balance, and component operating temperatures/pressures. Model results for a 5-kW fuel cell generator show that with state-of-the-art PEM fuel cell polarization curves, thermal efficiencies >30% can be achieved when power densities are low enough for operating voltages >0.72 V per cell. Efficiency can be increased by operating the reformer at steam-to-carbon ratios as high as constraints related to stable reactor temperatures allow. Decreasing ambient temperature improves system water balance and increases efficiency through parasitic load reduction. The baseline configuration studied herein sustained water balance for ambient temperatures ≤35 °C at full power and ≤44 °C at half power with efficiencies approaching ∼27 and ∼30%, respectively.

Water Reclamation Using a Ceramic Nanofiltration Membrane and Surface Flushing with Ozonated Water

Science.gov (United States)

Hoang, Anh T.; Okuda, Tetsuji; Takeuchi, Haruka; Tanaka, Hiroaki; Nghiem, Long D.

2018-01-01

A new membrane fouling control technique using ozonated water flushing was evaluated for direct nanofiltration (NF) of secondary wastewater effluent using a ceramic NF membrane. Experiments were conducted at a permeate flux of 44 L/m2h to evaluate the ozonated water flushing technique for fouling mitigation. Surface flushing with clean water did not effectively remove foulants from the NF membrane. In contrast, surface flushing with ozonated water (4 mg/L dissolved ozone) could effectively remove most foulants to restore the membrane permeability. This surface flushing technique using ozonated water was able to limit the progression of fouling to 35% in transmembrane pressure increase over five filtration cycles. Results from this study also heighten the need for further development of ceramic NF membrane to ensure adequate removal of pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) for water recycling applications. The ceramic NF membrane used in this study showed approximately 40% TOC rejection, and the rejection of PPCPs was generally low and highly variable. It is expected that the fouling mitigation technique developed here is even more important for ceramic NF membranes with smaller pore size and thus better PPCP rejection. PMID:29671797

Water Reclamation Using a Ceramic Nanofiltration Membrane and Surface Flushing with Ozonated Water

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Takahiro Fujioka

2018-04-01

Full Text Available A new membrane fouling control technique using ozonated water flushing was evaluated for direct nanofiltration (NF of secondary wastewater effluent using a ceramic NF membrane. Experiments were conducted at a permeate flux of 44 L/m2h to evaluate the ozonated water flushing technique for fouling mitigation. Surface flushing with clean water did not effectively remove foulants from the NF membrane. In contrast, surface flushing with ozonated water (4 mg/L dissolved ozone could effectively remove most foulants to restore the membrane permeability. This surface flushing technique using ozonated water was able to limit the progression of fouling to 35% in transmembrane pressure increase over five filtration cycles. Results from this study also heighten the need for further development of ceramic NF membrane to ensure adequate removal of pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs for water recycling applications. The ceramic NF membrane used in this study showed approximately 40% TOC rejection, and the rejection of PPCPs was generally low and highly variable. It is expected that the fouling mitigation technique developed here is even more important for ceramic NF membranes with smaller pore size and thus better PPCP rejection.

Nuclear liquid wastes treatment: study of the reverse osmosis membranes degradation under γ irradiation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Combernoux, Nicolas

2015-01-01

The treatment of nuclear liquid wastes by reverse osmosis (RO) involved issues of the water radiolysis and the membrane ageing due to γ irradiation effects. Membrane performances (permeability, strontium and cesium retention) were assessed after γ irradiation. Irradiation was carried out with an external 60 Co source in different conditions that simulated real used of the process (dose from 0.1 to 1 MGy, dose rate of 0.5 and 5 kGy.h -1 , with or without oxygen or water). Several analytical methods were performed to evaluate irradiation effects (ATR-FTIR, XPS, gas production, water soluble species released from the membrane). The methodology developed led to relevant information due to an innovative analytical protocol. Membrane performances started dropping between 0.2 and 0.5 MGy with oxygen and water (dose rate 0.5 kGy.h -1 ). This shift was linked to chains scissions inside the membrane active layer. The membrane degradation was weaker without oxygen or water or at high dose rate (5 kGy.h -1 ). Results showed that each analysis comforted each other. Membrane performances were also evaluated with three different types of liquid effluents, representing radioactive effluents from a post-disaster situation (groundwater type), disaster situation (seawater) or process water. Experiments were carried out at lab and pilot scales. Results indicated that the treatment of each effluent was possible by RO with an adequate choice of membrane and operating parameters. Finally, the time to reach an integrated dose threshold for the membrane in real conditions was estimated with the RABBI software: a dozen of days in the case of disaster situation to several years in the two other cases. (author) [fr

Mixed-linker zeolitic imidazolate framework mixed-matrix membranes for aggressive CO2 separation from natural gas

KAUST Repository

Thompson, Joshua A.

2014-07-01

Zeolitic imidazolate framework (ZIF) materials are a promising subclass of metal-organic frameworks (MOF) for gas separations. However, due to the deleterious effects of gate-opening phenomena associated with organic linker rotation near the limiting pore apertures of ZIFs, there have been few demonstrations of improved gas separation properties over pure polymer membranes when utilizing ZIF materials in composite membranes for CO2-based gas separations. Here, we report a study of composite ZIF/polymer membranes, containing mixed-linker ZIF materials with ZIF-8 crystal topologies but composed of different organic linker compositions. Characterization of the mixed-linker ZIFs shows that the mixed linker approach offers control over the porosity and pore size distribution of the materials, as determined from nitrogen physisorption and Horváth-Kawazoe analysis. Single gas permeation measurements on mixed-matrix membranes reveal that inclusion of mixed-linker ZIFs yields membranes with better ideal CO2/CH4 selectivity than membranes containing ZIF-8. This improvement is shown to likely occur from enhancement in the diffusion selectivity of the membranes associated with controlling the pore size distribution of the ZIF filler. Mixed-gas permeation experiments show that membranes with mixed-linker ZIFs display an effective plasticization resistance that is not typical of the pure polymeric matrix. Overall, we demonstrate that mixed-linker ZIFs can improve the gas separation properties in composite membranes and may be applicable to aggressive CO2 concentrations in natural gas feeds. © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Polyamide membranes with nanoscale Turing structures for water purification

Science.gov (United States)

Tan, Zhe; Chen, Shengfu; Peng, Xinsheng; Zhang, Lin; Gao, Congjie

2018-05-01

The emergence of Turing structures is of fundamental importance, and designing these structures and developing their applications have practical effects in chemistry and biology. We use a facile route based on interfacial polymerization to generate Turing-type polyamide membranes for water purification. Manipulation of shapes by control of reaction conditions enabled the creation of membranes with bubble or tube structures. These membranes exhibit excellent water-salt separation performance that surpasses the upper-bound line of traditional desalination membranes. Furthermore, we show the existence of high water permeability sites in the Turing structures, where water transport through the membranes is enhanced.

Substituted polynorbornenes as promising materials for gas separation membranes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Finkelshtein, Evgenii Sh; Bermeshev, Maksim V; Gringolts, Mariya L; Starannikova, L E; Yampolskii, Yu P

2011-01-01

Published results concerning the synthesis and study of the transport characteristics of polynorbornenes are considered and analyzed. Conclusions are drawn regarding the effect of the backbone rigidity and the nature of side groups on the gas permeability level. The prospects of using addition organosilicon polynorbornenes as gas separating membrane materials are discussed.

Renewable synthesis-gas-production. Do hydrocarbons in the reactant flow of the reverse water-gas shift reaction cause coke formation?

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wolf, A.; Kern, C.; Jess, A. [Bayreuth Univ. (Germany). Dept. of Chemical Engineering

2013-11-01

In a two-step synthetic fuel production process based on carbon dioxide and renewable hydrogen, the best possible selectivity towards liquid hydrocarbons (Hc) shall be implemented. The process consists of a combination of the Reverse Water-Gas Shift reaction and the Fischer-Tropsch synthesis. To achieve this goal, gaseous short-chained Hc from the FTS reactor are recycled in the RWGS unit. In this paper, challenges coming up with the implementation of a recycle loop are discussed. First of all, it has to be examined whether Hc are converted under conditions present in the RWGS reactor. The coking caused by the recycle of Hc is regarded, including thermal coking in the heating zone of the reactor and catalytic coking in the catalyst bed. Coking of course is unwanted, as it deactivates the catalyst. The scope of this work is to find out to which extent and under which conditions gaseous Hc can be recycled. Therefore, experiments were carried out in both, a quartz glass reactor using a commercial Ni-catalyst at ambient pressure and in a pressurized steel reactor (without catalyst) to examine coking during the thermal decomposition of Hc. The catalytic experiments at atmospheric pressure showed that a recycle of CH{sub 4} did not cause coking up to a ratio of CH{sub 4}/CO{sub 2} below one. For these conditions, long term stability was proved. The reaction rates of the CH{sub 4} conversion were below those of the RWGS reaction. However, replacing CH{sub 4} by C{sub 3}H{sub 8} leads to thermal and catalytic coking. Catalytic coking hits the maximum level at about 700 C and decreases for higher temperatures and, thus is not regarded as a problem for the RWGS reactor. In contrast to that, thermal coking raises with higher temperatures, but it can be supressed efficiently with additional injection of H{sub 2}O, which of course shifts the equilibrium towards the undesired reactant side. (orig.)

Adsorbent filled polymeric membranes : applications to pervaporation and gas separation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Duval, Jean-Marc

1993-01-01

Nowadays research in membrane technology aims at improving the efficiency of the separation process to make it more competitive in comparison to conventional separation techniques. The improvement of the membrane material is a way to achieve this goal, especially in the case of pervaporation and gas

The energies of formation and mobilities of Cu surface species on Cu and ZnO in methanol and water gas shift atmospheres studied by DFT

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rasmussen, Dominik Bjørn; Janssens, Ton V.W.; Temel, Burcin

2012-01-01

Catalysts based on copper, such as the Cu/ZnO/Al2O3 system are widely used for industrial scale methanol synthesis and the low temperature water gas shift reaction. A common characteristic of these catalysts is that they deactivate quite rapidly during operation and therefore understanding...... their deactivation by sintering is highly relevant. In this work, we study the nature of the species that are responsible for transport of the Cu metal in this catalyst type using density functional theory calculations within a chemical potential formalism. The stability and mobility of Cu–X (Cu, OH, CO, CH3O, HCOO...

Polysulfone - CNT composite membrane with enhanced water permeability

Science.gov (United States)

Hirani, Bhakti; Kar, Soumitra; Aswal, V. K.; Bindal, R. C.; Goyal, P. S.

2018-04-01

Polymeric membranes are routinely used for water purification. The performance of these conventional membranes can be improved by incorporating nanomaterials, such as metal oxide nanoparticle and carbon nanotubes (CNTs). This manuscript reports the synthesis and characterization of polysulfone (Psf) based nanocomposite membranes where multi wall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) and oleic acid coated Fe3O4 nanoparticles have been impregnated onto the polymeric host matrix. The performance of the membranes was evaluated by water permeability and solute rejection measurements. It was observed that the permeability of Psf membrane increases three times at 0.1% loading of MWCNT without compromise in selectivity. It was further observed that the increase in permeability is not affected upon addition of Fe3O4 nanoparticles into the membrane. In order to get a better insight into the membrane microstructure, small angle neutron scattering (SANS) studies were carried out. There is a good correlation between the water permeability and the pore sizes of the membranes as measured using SANS.

Gas pollutant cleaning by a membrane reactor

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Topis, S.; Koutsonikolas, D.; Kaldis, S. (and others) [Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki (Greece). Dept. of Chemical Engineering

2005-07-01

An alternative technology for the removal of gas pollutants at the integrated gasification combined cycle process for power generation is the use of a catalytic membrane reactor. In the present study, ammonia decomposition in a catalytic reactor, with simultaneous removal of hydrogen through a ceramic membrane, was investigated. A Ni/Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} catalyst was prepared by the dry and wet impregnation method and characterized by ICP, SEM, XRD and N{sub 2} adsorption before and after activation. Commercially available {alpha}-Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} membranes were also characterized and the permeabilities and selectivities of H{sub 2}, N{sub 2} and CO{sub 2} were measured by the variable volume method. In parallel with the experimental analysis, the necessary mathematical models were developed to describe the operation of the catalytic membrane reactor and to compare its performance with the conventional reactor. 5 refs., 6 figs., 1 tab.

Gas pollutant cleaning by a membrane reactor

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

George E. Skodras; Sotiris Kaldis; Savas G. Topis; Dimitris Koutsonikolas; George P. Sakellaropoulos [Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki (Greece). Chemical Process Engineering Laboratory, Dept. of Chemical Engineering

2006-07-01

An alternative technology for the removal of gas pollutants at the intergrated gasification combined cycle process for power generation is the use of a catalytic membrane reactor. In the present study, ammonia decomposition in a catalytic reactor, with a simultaneous removal of hydrogen through a ceramic membrane, was investigated. A Ni/Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} catalyst was prepared by the dry and wet impregnation method and characterized by ICP, SEM, XRD and N{sub 2} adsorption before and after activation. Commercially available {alpha}-Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} membranes were also characterized and the permeabilities and permselectivities of H{sub 2}, N{sub 2} and CO{sub 2} were measured by the variable volume method. In parallel with the experimental analysis, the necessary mathematical models were developed to describe the operation of the catalytic membrane reactor and to compare its performance with the conventional reactor. 9 refs., 6 figs., 1 tab.

Gas permeation measurement under defined humidity via constant volume/variable pressure method

KAUST Repository

Jan Roman, Pauls

2012-02-01

Many industrial gas separations in which membrane processes are feasible entail high water vapour contents, as in CO 2-separation from flue gas in carbon capture and storage (CCS), or in biogas/natural gas processing. Studying the effect of water vapour on gas permeability through polymeric membranes is essential for materials design and optimization of these membrane applications. In particular, for amine-based CO 2 selective facilitated transport membranes, water vapour is necessary for carrier-complex formation (Matsuyama et al., 1996; Deng and Hägg, 2010; Liu et al., 2008; Shishatskiy et al., 2010) [1-4]. But also conventional polymeric membrane materials can vary their permeation behaviour due to water-induced swelling (Potreck, 2009) [5]. Here we describe a simple approach to gas permeability measurement in the presence of water vapour, in the form of a modified constant volume/variable pressure method (pressure increase method). © 2011 Elsevier B.V.

Water Transport Mediated by Other Membrane Proteins.

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Boyue; Wang, Hongkai; Yang, Baoxue

2017-01-01

Water transport through membrane is so intricate that there are still some debates. (Aquaporins) AQPs are entirely accepted to allow water transmembrane movement depending on osmotic gradient. Cotransporters and uniporters , however, are also concerned in water homeotatsis. Urea transporter B (UT-B) has a single-channel water permeability that is similar to AQP1. Cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR ) was initially thought as a water channel but now not believed to transport water directly. By cotranporters, water is transported by water osmosis coupling with substrates, which explains how water is transported across the isolated small intestine. This chapter provides information about water transport mediated by other membrane proteins except AQPs .

Natural Gas Sweetening by Ultra-Microporous Polyimides Membranes

KAUST Repository

Alghunaimi, Fahd

2017-01-01

has attracted great interest in recent years due to: (i) simple modular design, (ii) potential cost effectiveness, (iii) ease of scale-up, and (iv) environmental friendliness. The state-of-the-art membrane materials for natural gas sweetening

Dense film polyimide membranes for aggressive sour gas feed separations

KAUST Repository

Kraftschik, Brian; Koros, William J.; Johnson, J.R.; Karvan, Oguz

2013-01-01

Dense film membranes of the copolyimide 6FDA-DAM:DABA (3:2) are studied for simultaneous removal of CO2 and H2S from sour natural gas streams. Pure and mixed gas permeation as well as pure gas sorption data are reported at 35°C and pressures up to 62bar. The H2S partial pressures used are representative of highly aggressive field operations. Penetrant-induced plasticization effects are evident at feed pressures below 1bar in pure H2S feeds; sub-Tg thermal annealing is used to effectively mitigate this effect, and these annealed films are used throughout the study. Surprisingly, H2S/CH4 selectivity nearly doubles for mixed gas testing in comparison to the pure component ideal selectivity values and approaches the level of a state-of-the-art glassy polymer, cellulose acetate (CA), at H2S partial pressures above 2bar. Furthermore, permeation experiments using a 9.95% H2S, 19.9% CO2, 70.15% CH4 mixture at low feed pressures give CO2/CH4 selectivity of up to 49-over 30% greater than the pure component selectivity for 6FDA-DAM:DABA (3:2). The overall sour gas separation performance of this polyimide is comparable to high-performance rubbery polymer membranes, which have been reported for only moderate H2S partial pressure feeds, and is superior to that for CA based on a practical combined acid gas separation efficiency metric that we introduce. Finally, methods for continued development of the current polyimide membrane material for aggressive sour gas separations are presented. © 2012 Elsevier B.V.

Dense film polyimide membranes for aggressive sour gas feed separations

KAUST Repository

Kraftschik, Brian

2013-02-01

Dense film membranes of the copolyimide 6FDA-DAM:DABA (3:2) are studied for simultaneous removal of CO2 and H2S from sour natural gas streams. Pure and mixed gas permeation as well as pure gas sorption data are reported at 35°C and pressures up to 62bar. The H2S partial pressures used are representative of highly aggressive field operations. Penetrant-induced plasticization effects are evident at feed pressures below 1bar in pure H2S feeds; sub-Tg thermal annealing is used to effectively mitigate this effect, and these annealed films are used throughout the study. Surprisingly, H2S/CH4 selectivity nearly doubles for mixed gas testing in comparison to the pure component ideal selectivity values and approaches the level of a state-of-the-art glassy polymer, cellulose acetate (CA), at H2S partial pressures above 2bar. Furthermore, permeation experiments using a 9.95% H2S, 19.9% CO2, 70.15% CH4 mixture at low feed pressures give CO2/CH4 selectivity of up to 49-over 30% greater than the pure component selectivity for 6FDA-DAM:DABA (3:2). The overall sour gas separation performance of this polyimide is comparable to high-performance rubbery polymer membranes, which have been reported for only moderate H2S partial pressure feeds, and is superior to that for CA based on a practical combined acid gas separation efficiency metric that we introduce. Finally, methods for continued development of the current polyimide membrane material for aggressive sour gas separations are presented. © 2012 Elsevier B.V.

Comparison of Iran Power Plants Air Pollutants Before and After Shifting to Natural Gas

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M Ghiasseddin

2004-07-01

Full Text Available In a three years period, 24 fossil fueled thermal power plants located in different parts of the country were extensively examined for discharge of pollutants into the environment and their potential effects on surrounding. During this investigation emission to air, discharge to receiving waters and land as well as electromagnetic fields were measured using relevant standard methods. This paper will focus on air pollution emissions and recent reinvestigation that was done after shifting the fuel from residual oil to natural gas. In our first studies that most of the plants were consuming residual oil, high level of SO2 emission in some areas was the main cause of losses to vegetations and fruit gardens. It was concluded that a serious problem threats the environment and health of people living near these areas. Based on the results some mitigation plans were recommended to the authorities, and after some times they started to shift to natural gas consumption. Our recent investigation that was after this action, showed a good improvement of air pollution reduction. This was almost 100% for SO2 and from 32 to 73% for NOx.

Modeling and Simulation for Fuel Cell Polymer Electrolyte Membrane

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Takahiro Hayashi

2013-01-01

Full Text Available We have established methods to evaluate key properties that are needed to commercialize polyelectrolyte membranes for fuel cell electric vehicles such as water diffusion, gas permeability, and mechanical strength. These methods are based on coarse-graining models. For calculating water diffusion and gas permeability through the membranes, the dissipative particle dynamics–Monte Carlo approach was applied, while mechanical strength of the hydrated membrane was simulated by coarse-grained molecular dynamics. As a result of our systematic search and analysis, we can now grasp the direction necessary to improve water diffusion, gas permeability, and mechanical strength. For water diffusion, a map that reveals the relationship between many kinds of molecular structures and diffusion constants was obtained, in which the direction to enhance the diffusivity by improving membrane structure can be clearly seen. In order to achieve high mechanical strength, the molecular structure should be such that the hydrated membrane contains narrow water channels, but these might decrease the proton conductivity. Therefore, an optimal design of the polymer structure is needed, and the developed models reviewed here make it possible to optimize these molecular structures.

Spectral shift rod for the boiling water reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yokomizo, O.; Kashiwai, S.; Nishida, K.; Orii, A.; Yamashita, J.; Mochida, T.

1993-01-01

A Boiling Water Reactor core concept has been proposed using a new fuel component called spectral shift rod (SSR). The SSR is a new type of water rod in which a water level is formed during core operation. The water level can be controlled by the core recirculation flow rate. By using SSRs, the reactor can be operated with all control rods withdrawn through the operation cycle as well as that a much larger natural uranium saving is possible due to spectral shift operation than in current BWRs. The steady state and transient characteristics of the SSRs have been examined by experiments and analyses to certify the feasibility. In a reference design, a four times larger spectral shift width as for the current BWR has been obtained. (orig.)

The Effect of Inhomogeneous Compression on Water Transport in the Cathode of a Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Olesen, Anders Christian; Berning, Torsten; Kær, Søren Knudsen

2012-01-01

A three-dimensional, multicomponent, two-fluid model developed in the commercial CFD package CFX 13 (ANSYS Inc.) is used to investigate the effect of porous media compression on water transport in a proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC). The PEMFC model only consist of the cathode channel, gas....... Furthermore, the presence of irreducible liquid water is taken into account. In order to account for compression, porous media morphology variations are specified based on the gas diffusion layer (GDL) through-plane strain and intrusion which are stated as a function of compression. These morphology...... variations affect gas and liquid water transport, and hence liquid water distribution and the risk of blocking active sites. Hence, water transport is studied under GDL compression in order to investigate the qualitative effects. Two simulation cases are compared; one with and one without compression....

Removal of glyphosate herbicide from water using biopolymer membranes.

Science.gov (United States)

Carneiro, Rafael T A; Taketa, Thiago B; Gomes Neto, Reginaldo J; Oliveira, Jhones L; Campos, Estefânia V R; de Moraes, Mariana A; da Silva, Camila M G; Beppu, Marisa M; Fraceto, Leonardo F

2015-03-15

Enormous amounts of pesticides are manufactured and used worldwide, some of which reach soils and aquatic systems. Glyphosate is a non-selective herbicide that is effective against all types of weeds and has been used for many years. It can therefore be found as a contaminant in water, and procedures are required for its removal. This work investigates the use of biopolymeric membranes prepared with chitosan (CS), alginate (AG), and a chitosan/alginate combination (CS/AG) for the adsorption of glyphosate present in water samples. The adsorption of glyphosate by the different membranes was investigated using the pseudo-first order and pseudo-second order kinetic models, as well as the Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm models. The membranes were characterized regarding membrane solubility, swelling, mechanical, chemical and morphological properties. The results of kinetics experiments showed that adsorption equilibrium was reached within 4 h and that the CS membrane presented the best adsorption (10.88 mg of glyphosate/g of membrane), followed by the CS/AG bilayer (8.70 mg of glyphosate/g of membrane). The AG membrane did not show any adsorption capacity for this herbicide. The pseudo-second order model provided good fits to the glyphosate adsorption data on CS and CS/AG membranes, with high correlation coefficient values. Glyphosate adsorption by the membranes could be fitted by the Freundlich isotherm model. There was a high affinity between glyphosate and the CS membrane and moderate affinity in the case of the CS/AG membrane. Physico-chemical characterization of the membranes showed low values of solubility in water, indicating that the membranes are stable and not soluble in water. The SEM and AFM analysis showed evidence of the presence of glyphosate on CS membranes and on chitosan face on CS/AG membranes. The results showed that the glyphosate herbicide can be adsorbed by chitosan membranes and the proposed membrane-based methodology was successfully used to

Recent Advances in Nanoporous Membranes for Water Purification

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zhuqing Wang

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Nanoporous materials exhibit wide applications in the fields of electrocatalysis, nanodevice fabrication, energy, and environmental science, as well as analytical science. In this review, we present a summary of recent studies on nanoporous membranes for water purification application. The types and fabrication strategies of various nanoporous membranes are first introduced, and then the fabricated nanoporous membranes for removing various water pollutants, such as salt, metallic ions, anions, nanoparticles, organic chemicals, and biological substrates, are demonstrated and discussed. This work will be valuable for readers to understand the design and fabrication of various nanoporous membranes, and their potential purification mechanisms towards different water pollutants. In addition, it will be helpful for developing new nanoporous materials for quick, economic, and high-performance water purification.

Ultrathin-skinned asymmetric membranes by immiscible solvents treatment

Science.gov (United States)

Friesen, Dwayne T.; Babcock, Walter C.

1989-01-01

Improved semipermeable asymmetric fluid separation membranes useful in gas, vapor and liquid separations are disclosed. The membranes are prepared by substantially filling the pores of asymmetric cellulosic semipermeable membranes having a finely porous layer on one side thereof with a water immiscible organic liquid, followed by contacting the finely porous layer with water.

Modeling and parametric analysis of hollow fiber membrane system for carbon capture from multicomponent flue gas

KAUST Repository

Khalilpour, Rajab

2011-08-12

The modeling and optimal design/operation of gas membranes for postcombustion carbon capture (PCC) is presented. A systematic methodology is presented for analysis of membrane systems considering multicomponent flue gas with CO 2 as target component. Simplifying assumptions is avoided by namely multicomponent flue gas represented by CO 2/N 2 binary mixture or considering the co/countercurrent flow pattern of hollow-fiber membrane system as mixed flow. Optimal regions of flue gas pressures and membrane area were found within which a technoeconomical process system design could be carried out. High selectivity was found to not necessarily have notable impact on PCC membrane performance, rather, a medium selectivity combined with medium or high permeance could be more advantageous. © 2011 American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE).

Basic characteristics of hollow-filament polyimide membrane in gas separation and application to tritium monitors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sasaki, Sh.; Suzuki, T.; Kondo, K.; Tega, E.; Shimada, A.; Akahori, S.; Okuno, K.

2003-01-01

The separation efficiency of hollow-filament polyimide membranes for 3 H and 41 Ar is preliminarily examined for a potential application to continuous gas monitoring systems for analysis of stack emission from accelerator facilities. The basic gas separation characteristics of the membranes are experimentally investigated, and a preliminary gas monitor design is proposed. The membranes are capable of selectively enriching hydrogen by more than 25 times, with negligible variation with respect to the species of isotope. (author)

Mars Atmospheric Capture and Gas Separation

Science.gov (United States)

Muscatello, Anthony; Santiago-Maldonado, Edgardo; Gibson, Tracy; Devor, Robert; Captain, James

2011-01-01

The Mars atmospheric capture and gas separation project is selecting, developing, and demonstrating techniques to capture and purify Martian atmospheric gases for their utilization for the production of hydrocarbons, oxygen, and water in ISRU systems. Trace gases will be required to be separated from Martian atmospheric gases to provide pure C02 to processing elements. In addition, other Martian gases, such as nitrogen and argon, occur in concentrations high enough to be useful as buffer gas and should be captured as welL To achieve these goals, highly efficient gas separation processes will be required. These gas separation techniques are also required across various areas within the ISRU project to support various consumable production processes. The development of innovative gas separation techniques will evaluate the current state-of-the-art for the gas separation required, with the objective to demonstrate and develop light-weight, low-power methods for gas separation. Gas separation requirements include, but are not limited to the selective separation of: (1) methane and water from un-reacted carbon oxides (C02- CO) and hydrogen typical of a Sabatier-type process, (2) carbon oxides and water from unreacted hydrogen from a Reverse Water-Gas Shift process, (3) carbon oxides from oxygen from a trash/waste processing reaction, and (4) helium from hydrogen or oxygen from a propellant scavenging process. Potential technologies for the separations include freezers, selective membranes, selective solvents, polymeric sorbents, zeolites, and new technologies. This paper and presentation will summarize the results of an extensive literature review and laboratory evaluations of candidate technologies for the capture and separation of C02 and other relevant gases.

Carbon Molecular Sieve Membranes Derived from Tröger's Base-Based Microporous Polyimide for Gas Separation.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Zhenggong; Ren, Huiting; Zhang, Shenxiang; Zhang, Feng; Jin, Jian

2018-03-09

Carbon molecular sieve (CMS)-based membranes have attracted great attention because of their outstanding gas-separation performance. The polymer precursor is a key point for the preparation of high-performance CMS membranes. In this work, a microporous polyimide precursor containing a Tröger's base unit was used for the first time to prepare CMS membranes. By optimizing the pyrolysis procedure and the soaking temperature, three TB-CMS membranes were obtained. Gas-permeation tests revealed that the comprehensive gas-separation performance of the TB-CMS membranes was greatly enhanced relative to that of most state-of-the-art CMS membranes derived from polyimides reported so far. © 2018 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Implications of permeation through intrinsic defects in graphene on the design of defect-tolerant membranes for gas separation.

Science.gov (United States)

Boutilier, Michael S H; Sun, Chengzhen; O'Hern, Sean C; Au, Harold; Hadjiconstantinou, Nicolas G; Karnik, Rohit

2014-01-28

Gas transport through intrinsic defects and tears is a critical yet poorly understood phenomenon in graphene membranes for gas separation. We report that independent stacking of graphene layers on a porous support exponentially decreases flow through defects. On the basis of experimental results, we develop a gas transport model that elucidates the separate contributions of tears and intrinsic defects on gas leakage through these membranes. The model shows that the pore size of the porous support and its permeance critically affect the separation behavior, and reveals the parameter space where gas separation can be achieved regardless of the presence of nonselective defects, even for single-layer membranes. The results provide a framework for understanding gas transport in graphene membranes and guide the design of practical, selectively permeable graphene membranes for gas separation.

Carbon capture from natural gas using multi-walled CNTs based mixed matrix membranes.

Science.gov (United States)

Hussain, Abid; Farrukh, Sarah; Hussain, Arshad; Ayoub, Muhammad

2017-12-05

Most of the polymers and their blends, utilized in carbon capture membranes, are costly, but cellulose acetate (CA) being inexpensive is a lucrative choice. In this research, pure and mixed matrix membranes (MMMs) have been fabricated to capture carbon from natural gas. Polyethylene glycol (PEG) has been utilized in the fabrication of membranes to modify the chain flexibility of polymers. Multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) provide mechanical strength, thermal stability, an extra free path for CO 2 molecules and augment CO 2 /CH 4 selectivity. Membranes of pure CA, CA/PEG blend of different PEG concentrations (5%, 10%, 15%) and CA/PEG/MWCNTs blend of 10% PEG with different MWCNTs concentrations (5%, 10%, 15%) were prepared in acetone using solution casting techniques. Fabricated membranes were characterized using SEM, TGA and tensile testing. Permeation results revealed remarkable improvement in CO 2 /CH 4 selectivity. In single gas experiments, CO 2 /CH 4 selectivity is enhanced 8 times for pure membranes containing 10% PEG and 14 times for MMMs containing 10% MWCNTs. In mix gas experiments, the CO 2 /CH 4 selectivity is increased 13 times for 10% PEG and 18 times for MMMs with 10% MWCNTs. Fabricated MMMs have a tensile strength of 13 MPa and are more thermally stable than CA membranes.

Demonstration of biased membrane static figure mapping by optical beam subpixel centroid shift

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pinto, Fabrizio, E-mail: fpinto@jazanu.edu.sa [Laboratory for Quantum Vacuum Applications, Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, Jazan University, P.O. Box 114, Gizan 45142 (Saudi Arabia)

2016-06-10

The measurement of Casimir forces by means of condenser microphones has been shown to be quite promising since its early introduction almost half-a-century ago. However, unlike the remarkable progress achieved in characterizing the vibrating membrane in the dynamical case, the accurate determination of the membrane static figure under electrostatic bias remains a challenge. In this paper, we discuss our first data obtained by measuring the centroid shift of an optical beam with subpixel accuracy by charge coupled device (CCD) and by an extensive analysis of noise sources present in the experimental setup.

The State of Water in Proton Conducting Membranes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Allcock, Harry R.; Benesi, Alan; Macdonald, Digby D.

2010-08-27

The research carried out under grant No. DE-FG02-07ER46371, "The State of Water in Proton Conducting Membranes", during the period June 1, 2008 - May 31, 2010 was comprised of three related parts. These are: 1. An examination of the state of water in classical proton conduction membranes with the use of deuterium T1 NMR spectroscopy (Allcock and Benesi groups). 2. A dielectric relaxation examination of the behavior of water in classical ionomer membranes (Macdonald program). 3. Attempts to synthesize new proton-conduction polymers and membranes derived from the polyphosphazene system. (Allcock program) All three are closely related, crucial aspects of the design and development of new and improved polymer electrolyte fuel cell membranes on which the future of fuel cell technology for portable applications depends.

Fuel cell water transport

Science.gov (United States)

Vanderborgh, Nicholas E.; Hedstrom, James C.

1990-01-01

The moisture content and temperature of hydrogen and oxygen gases is regulated throughout traverse of the gases in a fuel cell incorporating a solid polymer membrane. At least one of the gases traverses a first flow field adjacent the solid polymer membrane, where chemical reactions occur to generate an electrical current. A second flow field is located sequential with the first flow field and incorporates a membrane for effective water transport. A control fluid is then circulated adjacent the second membrane on the face opposite the fuel cell gas wherein moisture is either transported from the control fluid to humidify a fuel gas, e.g., hydrogen, or to the control fluid to prevent excess water buildup in the oxidizer gas, e.g., oxygen. Evaporation of water into the control gas and the control gas temperature act to control the fuel cell gas temperatures throughout the traverse of the fuel cell by the gases.

Inorganic Membranes: Preparation and Application for Water Treatment and Desalination

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ahmad Kayvani Fard

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Inorganic membrane science and technology is an attractive field of membrane separation technology, which has been dominated by polymer membranes. Recently, the inorganic membrane has been undergoing rapid development and innovation. Inorganic membranes have the advantage of resisting harsh chemical cleaning, high temperature and wear resistance, high chemical stability, long lifetime, and autoclavable. All of these outstanding properties made inorganic membranes good candidates to be used for water treatment and desalination applications. This paper is a state of the art review on the synthesis, development, and application of different inorganic membranes for water and wastewater treatment. The inorganic membranes reviewed in this paper include liquid membranes, dynamic membranes, various ceramic membranes, carbon based membranes, silica membranes, and zeolite membranes. A brief description of the different synthesis routes for the development of inorganic membranes for application in water industry is given and each synthesis rout is critically reviewed and compared. Thereafter, the recent studies on different application of inorganic membrane and their properties for water treatment and desalination in literature are critically summarized. It was reported that inorganic membranes despite their high synthesis cost, showed very promising results with high flux, full salt rejection, and very low or no fouling.

Inorganic Membranes: Preparation and Application for Water Treatment and Desalination

Science.gov (United States)

McKay, Gordon; Buekenhoudt, Anita; Motmans, Filip; Khraisheh, Marwan; Atieh, Muataz

2018-01-01

Inorganic membrane science and technology is an attractive field of membrane separation technology, which has been dominated by polymer membranes. Recently, the inorganic membrane has been undergoing rapid development and innovation. Inorganic membranes have the advantage of resisting harsh chemical cleaning, high temperature and wear resistance, high chemical stability, long lifetime, and autoclavable. All of these outstanding properties made inorganic membranes good candidates to be used for water treatment and desalination applications. This paper is a state of the art review on the synthesis, development, and application of different inorganic membranes for water and wastewater treatment. The inorganic membranes reviewed in this paper include liquid membranes, dynamic membranes, various ceramic membranes, carbon based membranes, silica membranes, and zeolite membranes. A brief description of the different synthesis routes for the development of inorganic membranes for application in water industry is given and each synthesis rout is critically reviewed and compared. Thereafter, the recent studies on different application of inorganic membrane and their properties for water treatment and desalination in literature are critically summarized. It was reported that inorganic membranes despite their high synthesis cost, showed very promising results with high flux, full salt rejection, and very low or no fouling. PMID:29304024

Separation of tritiated water from water using composite membranes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Duncan, J.; Nelson, D.

1996-01-01

Polymeric composite membranes are being developed to remove tritium from contaminated water at DOE sites. Industrial membrane systems are being developed that have proven to be energy efficient, and membrane technologies such as reverse-osmosis have been well developed for desalination and other industrial/municipal applications. Aromatic polyphosphazene membranes are being investigated because they have excellent radiological, thermal, and chemical stability. The FY 1996 effort is directed toward delineating a potential mechanism, providing a statistical approach to data acquisition, refining a mass balance, and designing a staged array module

Natural gas purification using supported ionic liquid membrane

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Althuluth, M.A.M.; Overbeek, J.P.; Wees, H.J.; Zubeir, L.F.; Haije, W.G.; Berrouk, A.S.; Peters, C.J.; Kroon, M.C.

2015-01-01

This paper examines the possibility of the application of a supported ionic liquid membrane (SILM) for natural gas purification. The ionic liquid (IL) 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium tris(pentafluoroethyl)trifluorophosphate ([emim][FAP]) was impregnated successfully in the ¿-alumina layer of a tubular

Oilfield Produced Water Reuse and Reinjection with Membrane

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Siagian Utjok W.R.

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Produced water has become a global environmental issue due to its huge volume and toxicity that may pose detrimental effects on receiving environment. Several approaches have been proposed to provide a strategy for produced water handling such as reinjection, reuse, or discharge. With various advantages, membrane technology has been increasingly used in produced water treatment replacing the conventional technologies. However, fouling is a major drawback of membrane processes in this application which needs to be controlled. This paper gives an overview and comparison of different produced water management. Special attention is given to produced water treatment for reuse purpose. Furthermore, the use of membrane processes in produced water reuse including performance, challenges, and future outlook are discussed.

Development of robust fluorinated TiO2/PVDF composite hollow fiber membrane for CO2 capture in gas-liquid membrane contactor

Science.gov (United States)

Lin, Yuqing; Xu, Yilin; Loh, Chun Heng; Wang, Rong

2018-04-01

Gas-liquid membrane contactor (GLMC) is a promising method to attain high efficiency for CO2 capture from flue gas, biogas and natural gas. However, membranes used in GLMC are prone to pore wetting due to insufficient hydrophobicity and low chemical resistance, resulting in significant increase in mass transfer resistance. To mitigate this issue, inorganic-organic fluorinated titania/polyvinylidene fluoride (fTiO2/PVDF) composite hollow fiber (HF) membranes was prepared via facile in-situ vapor induced hydrolyzation method, followed by hydrophobic modification. The proposed composite membranes were expected to couple the superb chemical stability of inorganic and high permeability/low cost of organic materials. The continuous fTiO2 layer deposited on top of PVDF substrate was found to possess a tighter microstructure and better hydrophobicity, which effectively prevented the membrane from wetting and lead to a high CO2 absorption flux (12.7 × 10-3 mol m-2 s-1). In a stability test with 21-day operation of GLMC using 1M monoethanolamine (MEA) as the absorbent, the fTiO2/PVDF membrane remained to be intact with a CO2 absorption flux decline of ∼16%, while the pristine PVDF membrane suffered from a flux decline of ∼80% due to membrane damage. Overall, this work provides an insight into the preparation of high-quality inorganic/organic composite HF membranes for CO2 capture in GLMC application.

Water-Gas Shift and CO Methanation Reactions over Ni-CeO2(111) Catalysts

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

S Senanayake; J Evans; S Agnoli; L Barrio; T Chen; J Hrbek; J Rodriguez

2011-12-31

X-ray and ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopies were used to study the interaction of Ni atoms with CeO{sub 2}(111) surfaces. Upon adsorption on CeO{sub 2}(111) at 300 K, nickel remains in a metallic state. Heating to elevated temperatures (500-800 K) leads to partial reduction of the ceria substrate with the formation of Ni{sup 2+} species that exists as NiO and/or Ce{sub 1-x}Ni{sub x}O{sub 2-y}. Interactions of nickel with the oxide substrate significantly reduce the density of occupied Ni 3d states near the Fermi level. The results of core-level photoemission and near-edge X-ray absorption fine structure point to weakly bound CO species on CeO{sub 2}(111) which are clearly distinguishable from the formation of chemisorbed carbonates. In the presence of Ni, a stronger interaction is observed with chemisorption of CO on the admetal. When the Ni is in contact with Ce{sup +3} cations, CO dissociates on the surface at 300 K forming NiC{sub x} compounds that may be involved in the formation of CH{sub 4} at higher temperatures. At medium and large Ni coverages (>0.3 ML), the Ni/CeO{sub 2}(111) surfaces are able to catalyze the production of methane from CO and H{sub 2}, with an activity slightly higher than that of Ni(100) or Ni(111). On the other hand, at small coverages of Ni (<0.3 ML), the Ni/CeO{sub 2}(111) surfaces exhibit a very low activity for CO methanation but are very good catalysts for the water-gas shift reaction.

Plasma treatment of polyethersulfone membrane for benzene removal from water by air gap membrane distillation.

Science.gov (United States)

Pedram, Sara; Mortaheb, Hamid Reza; Arefi-Khonsari, Farzaneh

2018-01-01

In order to obtain a durable cost-effective membrane for membrane distillation (MD) process, flat sheet polyethersulfone (PES) membranes were modified by an atmospheric pressure nonequilibrium plasma generated using a dielectric barrier discharge in a mixture of argon and hexamethyldisiloxane as the organosilicon precursor. The surface properties of the plasma-modified membranes were characterized by water contact angle (CA), liquid entry pressure, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and atomic force microscopy. The water CA of the membrane was increased from 64° to 104° by depositing a Si(CH 3 )-rich thin layer. While the pristine PES membrane was not applicable in the MD process, the modified PES membrane could be applied for the first time in an air gap membrane distillation setup for the removal of benzene as a volatile organic compound from water. The experimental design using central composite design and response surface methodology was applied to study the effects of feed temperature, concentration, and flow rate as well as their binary interactions on the overall permeate flux and separation factor. The separation factor and permeation flux of the modified PES membrane at optimum conditions were comparable with those of commercial polytetrafluoroethylene membrane.

Phosphazene membranes for gas separations

Science.gov (United States)

Stewart, Frederick F.; Harrup, Mason K.; Orme, Christopher J.; Luther, Thomas A.

2006-07-11

A polyphosphazene having a glass transition temperature ("T.sub.g") of approximately -20.degree. C. or less. The polyphosphazene has at least one pendant group attached to a backbone of the polyphosphazene, wherein the pendant group has no halogen atoms. In addition, no aromatic groups are attached to an oxygen atom that is bound to a phosphorus atom of the backbone. The polyphosphazene may have a T.sub.g ranging from approximately -100.degree. C. to approximately -20.degree. C. The polyphosphazene may be selected from the group consisting of poly[bis-3-phenyl-1-propoxy)phosphazene], poly[bis-(2-phenyl-1-ethoxy)phosphazene], poly[bis-(dodecanoxypolyethoxy)-phosphazene], and poly[bis-(2-(2-(2-.omega.-undecylenyloxyethoxy)ethoxy)ethoxy)phosphazene]- . The polyphosphazene may be used in a separation membrane to selectively separate individual gases from a gas mixture, such as to separate polar gases from nonpolar gases in the gas mixture.

Flexible InGaN nanowire membranes for enhanced solar water splitting

KAUST Repository

Elafandy, Rami T.

2018-05-30

III-Nitride nanowires (NWs) have recently emerged as potential photoelectrodes for efficient solar hydrogen generation. While InGaN NWs epitaxy over silicon is required for high crystalline quality and economic production, it leads to the formation of the notorious silicon nitride insulating interface as well as low electrical conductivity which both impede excess charge carrier dynamics and overall device performance. We tackle this issue by developing, for the first time, a substrate-free InGaN NWs membrane photoanodes, through liftoff and transfer techniques, where excess charge carriers are efficiently extracted from the InGaN NWs through a proper ohmic contact formed with a high electrical conductivity metal stack membrane. As a result, compared to conventional InGaN NWs on silicon, the fabricated free-standing flexible membranes showed a 10-fold increase in the generated photocurrent as well as a 0.8 V cathodic shift in the onset potential. Through electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, accompanied with TEM-based analysis, we further demonstrated the detailed enhancement within excess charge carrier dynamics of the photoanode membranes. This novel configuration in photoelectrodes demonstrates a novel pathway for enhancing the performance of III-nitrides photoelectrodes to accelerate their commercialization for solar water splitting.

Simulation of water transport through a lipid membrane

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Marrink, S.J.; Berendsen, H.J.C. (Univ. of Groningen (Netherlands))

1994-04-14

To obtain insight in the process of water permeation through a lipid membrane we performed molecular dynamics simulations on a phospholipid (DPPC)/water system with atomic detail. Since the actual process of permeation is too slow to be studied directly, we deduced the permeation rate indirectly via computation of the free energy and diffusion rate profiles of a water molecule across the bilayer. We concluded that the permeation of water through a lipid membrane cannot be described adequately by a simple homogeneous solubility-diffusion model. Both the excess free energy and the diffusion rate strongly depend on the position in the membrane, as a result from the inhomogeneous nature of the membrane. The calculated excess free energy profile has a shallow slope and a maximum height of 26 kJ/mol. The diffusion rate is highest in the middle of the membrane where the lipid density is low. In the interfacial region almost all water molecules are bound by the lipid headgroups, and the diffusion turns out to be 1 order of magnitude smaller. The total transport process is essentially determined by the free energy barrier. 78 refs., 12 figs.

Membrane reforming in converting natural gas to hydrogen: Production costs, Part II

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Iaquaniello, G; Cosenza, S [Technip-KTI S.p.A., via Castello della Magliana 75, Rome (Italy); Giacobbe, F; Morico, B; Farace, A [Processi Innovativi s.r.l., L' Aquila (Italy)

2008-11-15

This paper evaluates the production costs of a hybrid system based on a new membrane reforming MRR concept to convert natural gas to hydrogen and electricity. Membrane reforming with hydrogen-selective, palladium-silver membranes pushes the chemical equilibrium and allows higher methane conversions at lower temperature such as 650 C. The new MRR concept formed of a series of modules is put forward herein. Each module is made up of a reforming step and an external membrane separation unit. The estimates, based on utilities costs of a typical Italian refinery (end of 2006), show that the production costs for the hybrid system are 30% less than conventional tubular steam reforming technology, and 13% less than a gas-fired cogeneration plant coupled with a conventional H{sub 2} plant. (author)

Dual gas-diffusion membrane- and mediatorless dihydrogen/air-breathing biofuel cell operating at room temperature

Science.gov (United States)

Xia, Hong-qi; So, Keisei; Kitazumi, Yuki; Shirai, Osamu; Nishikawa, Koji; Higuchi, Yoshiki; Kano, Kenji

2016-12-01

A membraneless direct electron transfer (DET)-type dihydrogen (H2)/air-breathing biofuel cell without any mediator was constructed wherein bilirubin oxidase from Myrothecium verrucaria (BOD) and membrane-bound [NiFe] hydrogenase from Desulfovibrio vulgaris Miyazaki F (MBH) were used as biocatalysts for the cathode and the anode, respectively, and Ketjen black-modified water proof carbon paper (KB/WPCC) was used as an electrode material. The KB/WPCC surface was modified with 2-aminobenzoic acid and p-phenylenediamine, respectively, to face the positively charged electron-accepting site of BOD and the negatively charged electron-donating site of MBH to the electrode surface. A gas-diffusion system was employed for the electrodes to realize high-speed substrate supply. As result, great improvement in the current density of O2 reduction with BOD and H2 reduction with MBH were realized at negatively and postively charged surfaces, respectively. Gas diffusion system also suppressed the oxidative inactivation of MBH at high electrode potentials. Finally, based on the improved bioanode and biocathode, a dual gas-diffusion membrane- and mediatorless H2/air-breathing biofuel cell was constructed. The maximum power density reached 6.1 mW cm-2 (at 0.72 V), and the open circuit voltage was 1.12 V using 1 atm of H2 gas as a fuel at room temperature and under passive and quiescent conditions.

Metal-organic frameworks in mixed-matrix membranes for gas separation.

Science.gov (United States)

Tanh Jeazet, Harold B; Staudt, Claudia; Janiak, Christoph

2012-12-14

Mixed-matrix membranes (MMMs) with metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) as additives (fillers) exhibit enhanced gas permeabilities and possibly also selectivities when compared to the pure polymer. Polyimides (Matrimid®) and polysulfones are popular polymer matrices for MOF fillers. Presently investigated MOFs for MMMs include [Cu(SiF(6))(4,4'-BIPY)(2)], [Cu(3)(BTC)(2)(H(2)O)(3)] (HKUST-1, Cu-BTC), [Cu(BDC)(DMF)], [Zn(4)O(BDC)(3)] (MOF-5), [Zn(2-methylimidazolate)(2)] (ZIF-8), [Zn(purinate)(2)] (ZIF-20), [Zn(2-carboxyaldehyde imidazolate)(2)] (ZIF-90), Mn(HCOO)(2), [Al(BDC)(μ-OH)] (MIL-53(Al)), [Al(NH(2)-BDC)(μ-OH)] (NH(2)-MIL-53(Al)) and [Cr(3)O(BDC)(3)(F,OH)(H(2)O)(2)] (MIL-101) (4,4'-BIPY = 4,4'-bipyridine, BTC = benzene-1,3,5-tricarboxylate, BDC = benzene-1,4-dicarboxylate, terephthalate). MOF particle adhesion to polyimide and polysulfone organic polymers does not represent a problem. MOF-polymer MMMs are investigated for the permeability of the single gases H(2), N(2), O(2), CH(4), CO(2) and of the gas mixtures O(2)/N(2), H(2)/CH(4), CO(2)/CH(4), H(2)/CO(2), CH(4)/N(2) and CO(2)/N(2) (preferentially permeating gas named first). Permeability increases can be traced to the MOF porosity. Since the porosity of MOFs can be tuned very precisely, which is not possible with polymeric material, MMMs offer the opportunity of significantly increasing the selectivity compared to the pure polymeric matrix. Additionally in most of the cases the permeability is increased for MMM membranes compared to the pure polymer. Addition of MOFs to polymers in MMMs easily yields performances similar to the best polymer membranes and gives higher selectivities than those reported to date for any pure MOF membrane for the same gas separation. MOF-polymer MMMs allow for easier synthesis and handability compared to pure MOF membranes.

Remarkably enhanced gas separation by partial self-conversion of a laminated membrane to metal-organic frameworks.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Yi; Pan, Jia Hong; Wang, Nanyi; Steinbach, Frank; Liu, Xinlei; Caro, Jürgen

2015-03-02

Separation methods based on 2D interlayer galleries are currently gaining widespread attention. The potential of such galleries as high-performance gas-separation membranes is however still rarely explored. Besides, it is well recognized that gas permeance and separation factor are often inversely correlated in membrane-based gas separation. Therefore, breaking this trade-off becomes highly desirable. Here, the gas-separation performance of a 2D laminated membrane was improved by its partial self-conversion to metal-organic frameworks. A ZIF-8-ZnAl-NO3 layered double hydroxide (LDH) composite membrane was thus successfully prepared in one step by partial conversion of the ZnAl-NO3 LDH membrane, ultimately leading to a remarkably enhanced H2 /CH4 separation factor and H2 permeance. © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Functional polyelectrolyte multilayer membranes for water purification applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tripathi, Bijay P.; Dubey, Nidhi C.; Stamm, M.

2013-01-01

Highlights: ► LBL film on the surface and in to the pores was prepared via flow through method. ► The membranes showed high rejection of Congo Red with sufficiently high flux. ► High antifouling ability in terms of both organic and bio fouling was observed. -- Abstract: A diverse set of supported multilayer assemblies with controllable surface charge, hydrophilicity, and permeability to water and solute was fabricated by pressure driven permeation of poly(sodium 4-styrenesulfonate) (PSS) and poly(diallyldimethylammonium chloride) (PDDA) solution through poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) track-etched membranes. The polyelectrolyte multilayer fabrication was confirmed by means of FTIR, SEM, AFM, ellipsometry, zetapotential, and contact angle characterization. The prepared membranes were characterized in terms of their pure water permeability, flux recovery, and resistance to organic and biofouling properties. The antifouling behavior of the membranes was assessed in terms of protein adsorption and antibacterial behavior. Finally, the membranes were tested for rejection of selected water soluble dyes to establish their usefulness for organic contaminant removal from water. The membranes were highly selective and capable of nearly complete rejection of congo red with sufficiently high fluxes. The feasibility of regenerating the prepared membranes fouled by protein was also demonstrated and good flux recovery was obtained. In summary, the multilayer approach to surface and pore modification was shown to enable the design of membranes with the unique combination of desirable separation characteristics, regenerability of the separation layer, and antifouling behavior

Functional polyelectrolyte multilayer membranes for water purification applications

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tripathi, Bijay P., E-mail: bijayptripathi@yahoo.com [Department of Nanostructured Materials, Leibniz Institute of Polymer Research Dresden, Hohe Str. 6, 01069 Dresden (Germany); Dubey, Nidhi C. [Department of Nanostructured Materials, Leibniz Institute of Polymer Research Dresden, Hohe Str. 6, 01069 Dresden (Germany); Technische Universität Dresden, Department of Chemistry, 01069 Dresden (Germany); Stamm, M., E-mail: stamm@ipfdd.de [Department of Nanostructured Materials, Leibniz Institute of Polymer Research Dresden, Hohe Str. 6, 01069 Dresden (Germany); Technische Universität Dresden, Department of Chemistry, 01069 Dresden (Germany)

2013-05-15

Highlights: ► LBL film on the surface and in to the pores was prepared via flow through method. ► The membranes showed high rejection of Congo Red with sufficiently high flux. ► High antifouling ability in terms of both organic and bio fouling was observed. -- Abstract: A diverse set of supported multilayer assemblies with controllable surface charge, hydrophilicity, and permeability to water and solute was fabricated by pressure driven permeation of poly(sodium 4-styrenesulfonate) (PSS) and poly(diallyldimethylammonium chloride) (PDDA) solution through poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) track-etched membranes. The polyelectrolyte multilayer fabrication was confirmed by means of FTIR, SEM, AFM, ellipsometry, zetapotential, and contact angle characterization. The prepared membranes were characterized in terms of their pure water permeability, flux recovery, and resistance to organic and biofouling properties. The antifouling behavior of the membranes was assessed in terms of protein adsorption and antibacterial behavior. Finally, the membranes were tested for rejection of selected water soluble dyes to establish their usefulness for organic contaminant removal from water. The membranes were highly selective and capable of nearly complete rejection of congo red with sufficiently high fluxes. The feasibility of regenerating the prepared membranes fouled by protein was also demonstrated and good flux recovery was obtained. In summary, the multilayer approach to surface and pore modification was shown to enable the design of membranes with the unique combination of desirable separation characteristics, regenerability of the separation layer, and antifouling behavior.

Membrane Process to Capture CO{sub 2} from Coal-Fired Power Plant Flue Gas

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Merkel, Tim; Wei, Xiaotong; Firat, Bilgen; He, Jenny; Amo, Karl; Pande, Saurabh; Baker, Richard; Wijmans, Hans; Bhown, Abhoyjit

2012-03-31

This final report describes work conducted for the U.S. Department of Energy National Energy Technology Laboratory (DOE NETL) on development of an efficient membrane process to capture carbon dioxide (CO{sub 2}) from power plant flue gas (award number DE-NT0005312). The primary goal of this research program was to demonstrate, in a field test, the ability of a membrane process to capture up to 90% of CO{sub 2} in coal-fired flue gas, and to evaluate the potential of a full-scale version of the process to perform this separation with less than a 35% increase in the levelized cost of electricity (LCOE). Membrane Technology and Research (MTR) conducted this project in collaboration with Arizona Public Services (APS), who hosted a membrane field test at their Cholla coal-fired power plant, and the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) and WorleyParsons (WP), who performed a comparative cost analysis of the proposed membrane CO{sub 2} capture process. The work conducted for this project included membrane and module development, slipstream testing of commercial-sized modules with natural gas and coal-fired flue gas, process design optimization, and a detailed systems and cost analysis of a membrane retrofit to a commercial power plant. The Polaris? membrane developed over a number of years by MTR represents a step-change improvement in CO{sub 2} permeance compared to previous commercial CO{sub 2}-selective membranes. During this project, membrane optimization work resulted in a further doubling of the CO{sub 2} permeance of Polaris membrane while maintaining the CO{sub 2}/N{sub 2} selectivity. This is an important accomplishment because increased CO{sub 2} permeance directly impacts the membrane skid cost and footprint: a doubling of CO{sub 2} permeance halves the skid cost and footprint. In addition to providing high CO{sub 2} permeance, flue gas CO{sub 2} capture membranes must be stable in the presence of contaminants including SO{sub 2}. Laboratory tests showed no

Nanoporous layered silicate AMH-3/cellulose acetate nanocomposite membranes for gas separations

KAUST Repository

Kim, Wun-gwi

2013-08-01

Nanoporous layered silicate/polymer composite membranes are of interest because they can exploit the high aspect ratio of exfoliated selective flakes/layers to enhance molecular sieving and create a highly tortuous transport path for the slower molecules. In this work, we combine membrane synthesis, detailed microstructural characterization, and mixed gas permeation measurements to demonstrate that nanoporous flake/polymer membranes allows significant improvement in gas permeability while maintaining selectivity. We begin with the primary-amine-intercalated porous layered silicate SAMH-3 and show that it can be exfoliated using a high shear rate generated by a high-speed mixer. The exfoliated SAMH-3 flakes were used to form SAMH-3/cellulose acetate (CA) membranes. Their microstructure was analyzed by small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), revealing a high degree of exfoliation of AMH-3 layers in the CA membrane with a small number of layers (4-8) in the exfoliated flakes. TEM analysis visualized the thickness of the flakes as 15-30nm, and is consistent with the SAXS analysis. The CO2/CH4 gas separation performance of the CA membrane was significantly increased by incorporating only 2-6wt% of SAMH-3 flakes. There was a large increase in CO2 permeability with maintenance of selectivity. This cannot be explained by conventional models of transport in flake-containing membranes, and indicates complex transport paths in the membrane. It is also in contrast to the much higher loadings of isotropic particles required for similar enhancements. The present approach may allow avoidance of particle aggregation and poor interfacial adhesion associated with larger quantities of inorganic fillers. © 2013 Elsevier B.V.

Permeation of a H2 + HD + D2 gas mixture through a polymer membrane

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mercea, P.; Cuna, S.; Kreibik, S.; Ursu, I.

1990-01-01

The selective permeation of a H 2 + HD + D 2 gas mixture through a polyethylene terephthalate membrane was studied at T 20 0 C. It was found that the permeation of the HD through the membrane leads to a smaller overall hydrogen-deuterium separation factor than that determined in the permeation experiments with pure H 2 and D 2 . On the other hand, a process of isotopic exchange between deuterium atoms from the penetrant gas stream and hydrogen atoms from the polymer membrane is assumed and discussed in order to explain temporal variations of the H 2 , HD and D 2 concentrations of the permanent gas stream. (author)

Theoretical studies on membrane-based gas separation using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) of mass transfer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sohrabi, M.R.; Marjani, A.; Davallo, M.; Moradi, S.; Shirazian, S.

2011-01-01

A 2D mass transfer model was developed to study carbon dioxide removal by absorption in membrane contactors. The model predicts the steady state absorbent and carbon dioxide concentrations in the membrane by solving the conservation equations. The continuity equations for three sub domains of the membrane contactor involving the tube; membrane and shell were obtained and solved by finite element method (FEM). The model was based on 'non-wetted mode' in which the gas phase filled the membrane pores. Laminar parabolic velocity profile was used for the liquid flow in the tube side; whereas, the gas flow in the shell side was characterized by Happel's free surface model. Axial and radial diffusion transport inside the shell, through the membrane, and within the tube side of the contactor was considered in the mass transfer model. The predictions of percent CO/sub 2/ removal obtained by modeling were compared with the experimental values obtained from literature. They were the experimental results for CO/sub 2/ removal from CO/sub 2//N/sub 2/ gas mixture with amines aqueous solutions as the liquid solvent using polypropylene membrane contactor. The modeling predictions were in good agreement with the experimental values for different values of gas and liquid flow rates. (author)

Tuning of Preparational Factors Affecting the Morphological Structure and Gas Separation Property of Asymmetric Polysulfone Membranes

Science.gov (United States)

Yuenyao, C.; Ruangdit, S.; Chittrakarn, T.

2017-09-01

The aim of this work was to study the effect of preparational factors such as solvent type, evaporation time (ET) and non-solvent additive, on the morphological structure, physical and gas separation properties of the prepared membrane samples by tuning of these parameters. Flat sheet asymmetric polysulfone (PSF) membranes were prepared by the dry/wet phase inversion process combined with the double coagulation bath method. The alteration of the prepared membranes were analyzed through scientific techniques such as Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) and Dynamic Mechanical Thermal Analysis (DMTA). Furthermore, gas separation performance of membrane samples was measured in term of gas permeation and ideal selectivity of CO2/CH4. Experimental results showed that the change of preparational factors affected to the gas permeation of asymmetric PSF membranes. For example, the selective layer thickness increased with increasing of ET. This lead to increase significantly of ideal selectivity of CO2/CH4. The CO2/CH4 ideal selectivity was also increased with increase of ethanol (non-solvent additive) concentration in casting solution. In summary, the tuning of preparational factors affected to morphological structure, physical and gas separation properties of PSF membranes.

Synthesis and Transport Properties of Novel MOF/PIM-1/MOF Sandwich Membranes for Gas Separation.

Science.gov (United States)

Fuoco, Alessio; Khdhayyer, Muhanned R; Attfield, Martin P; Esposito, Elisa; Jansen, Johannes C; Budd, Peter M

2017-02-11

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) were supported on polymer membrane substrates for the fabrication of composite polymer membranes based on unmodified and modified polymer of intrinsic microporosity (PIM-1). Layers of two different MOFs, zeolitic imidazolate framework-8 (ZIF-8) and Copper benzene tricarboxylate ((HKUST-1), were grown onto neat PIM-1, amide surface-modified PIM-1 and hexamethylenediamine (HMDA) -modified PIM-1. The surface-grown crystalline MOFs were characterized by a combination of several techniques, including powder X-ray diffraction, infrared spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy to investigate the film morphology on the neat and modified PIM-1 membranes. The pure gas permeabilities of He, H₂, O₂, N₂, CH₄, CO₂ were studied to understand the effect of the surface modification on the basic transport properties and evaluate the potential use of these membranes for industrially relevant gas separations. The pure gas transport was discussed in terms of permeability and selectivity, highlighting the effect of the MOF growth on the diffusion coefficients of the gas in the new composite polymer membranes. The results confirm that the growth of MOFs on polymer membranes can enhance the selectivity of the appropriately functionalized PIM-1, without a dramatic decrease of the permeability.

Life cycle water consumption for shale gas and conventional natural gas.

Science.gov (United States)

Clark, Corrie E; Horner, Robert M; Harto, Christopher B

2013-10-15

Shale gas production represents a large potential source of natural gas for the nation. The scale and rapid growth in shale gas development underscore the need to better understand its environmental implications, including water consumption. This study estimates the water consumed over the life cycle of conventional and shale gas production, accounting for the different stages of production and for flowback water reuse (in the case of shale gas). This study finds that shale gas consumes more water over its life cycle (13-37 L/GJ) than conventional natural gas consumes (9.3-9.6 L/GJ). However, when used as a transportation fuel, shale gas consumes significantly less water than other transportation fuels. When used for electricity generation, the combustion of shale gas adds incrementally to the overall water consumption compared to conventional natural gas. The impact of fuel production, however, is small relative to that of power plant operations. The type of power plant where the natural gas is utilized is far more important than the source of the natural gas.

Pyrolytic carbon membranes containing silica: morphological approach on gas transport behavior

Science.gov (United States)

Park, Ho Bum; Lee, Sun Yong; Lee, Young Moo

2005-04-01

Pyrolytic carbon membrane containing silica (C-SiO 2) is a new-class material for gas separation, and in the present work we will deal with it in view of the morphological changes arising from the difference in the molecular structure of the polymeric precursors. The silica embedded carbon membranes were fabricated by a predetermined pyrolysis step using imide-siloxane copolymers (PISs) that was synthesized from benzophenone tetracarboxylic dianhydrides (BTDA), 4,4'-oxydianiline (ODA), and amine-terminated polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS). To induce different morphologies at the same chemical composition, the copolymers were prepared using one-step (preferentially a random segmented copolymer) sand two-step polymerization (a block segmented copolymer) methods. The polymeric precursors and their pyrolytic C-SiO 2 membranes were analyzed using thermal analysis, atomic force microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy, etc. It was found that the C-SiO 2 membrane derived from the random PIS copolymer showed a micro-structure containing small well-dispersed silica domains, whereas the C-SiO 2 membrane from the block PIS copolymer exhibited a micro-structure containing large silica domains in the continuous carbon matrix. Eventually, the gas transport through these C-SiO 2 membranes was significantly affected by the morphological changes of the polymeric precursors.

Current-Induced Membrane Discharge

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andersen, Mathias Bækbo; van Soestbergen, M.; Mani, A.

2012-01-01

. Salt depletion leads to a large electric field resulting in a local pH shift within the membrane with the effect that the membrane discharges and loses its ion selectivity. Since salt co-ions, H+ ions, and OH- ions contribute to OLC, CIMD interferes with electrodialysis (salt counterion removal...... neglects chemical effects and remains to be quantitatively tested. Here, we show that charge regulation and water self-ionization can lead to OLC by "current-induced membrane discharge'' (CIMD), even in the absence of fluid flow, in ion-exchange membranes much thicker than the local Debye screening length...

Membrane Distillation and Applications for Water Purification in Thermal Cogeneration. Pilot Plant Trials

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kullab, Alaa; Martin, Andrew

2007-12-15

Water treatment is an important auxiliary process in all thermal cogeneration plants. In this context membrane distillation (MD) is a novel technology that is potentially advantageous to technologies like reverse osmosis in the following ways: ability to utilize low-grade heat; reduced sensitivity to fluctuations in pH or salt concentrations; and lower capital and operation and maintenance costs (assumed in the case of fully-developed technology only). This research is a continuation of a Varmeforsk prestudy (report no. 909) and encompasses field trials at Idbaecken Combined Heat and Power (CHP) Facility (Nykoeping). Target groups for this study include environmental engineers with particular interest in emerging water purification technologies. The test rig consisted of a five-module MD unit capable of producing 1-2 m3/day purified water. District heating supply was employed for heating; feed stocks include municipal water and flue gas condensate. Field trials can be divided into three phases: (1) parametric study of yield; (2) long term operation with municipal water as feed stock; and (3) evaluation of flue gas condensate as a feed stock. Testing commenced in the beginning of April 2006. The performance of MD concerning production rate is highly dependent on the feed stock temperature, flow rate and temperature difference across the membrane. Initial results for municipal water feed stocks showed that product water fluxes were in line with previous experiments, thus confirming the findings made in the prestudy. Connecting several MD modules in series has the advantage of reducing the electrical energy consumption needed for recirculation; the penalty comes in less efficient operation from flux point of view. This is more critical in the case of low flow rates, and hence much careful design studies are needed to optimize the system. Regarding the long term performance, the test period lasted for 13 days on a continuous operation basis before the first flux

Morphology-Dependent Properties of Cu/CeO2 Catalysts for the Water-Gas Shift Reaction

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zhibo Ren

2017-02-01

Full Text Available CeO2 nanooctahedrons, nanorods, and nanocubes were prepared by the hydrothermal method and were then used as supports of Cu-based catalysts for the water-gas shift (WGS reaction. The chemical and physical properties of these catalysts were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD, transmission electron microscopy (TEM, N2 adsorption/desorption, UV-Vis spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS, hydrogen temperature-programmed reduction (H2-TPR and in situ diffuse reflectance infra-red fourier transform spectroscopy (DRIFTS techniques. Characterization results indicate that the morphology of the CeO2 supports, originating from the selective exposure of different crystal planes, has a distinct impact on the dispersion of Cu and the catalytic properties. The nanooctahedron CeO2 catalyst (Cu-CeO2-O showed the best dispersion of Cu, the largest amount of moderate copper oxide, and the strongest Cu-support interaction. Consequently, the Cu-CeO2-O catalyst exhibited the highest CO conversion at the temperature range of 150–250 °C when compared with the nanocube and nanorod Cu-CeO2 catalysts. The optimized Cu content of the Cu-CeO2-O catalysts is 10 wt % and the CO conversion reaches 91.3% at 300 °C. A distinctive profile assigned to the evolution of different types of carbonate species was observed in the 1000–1800 cm−1 region of the in situ DRIFTS spectra and a particular type of carbonate species was identified as a potential key reaction intermediate at low temperature.

Antifouling membranes for sustainable water purification: strategies and mechanisms.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Runnan; Liu, Yanan; He, Mingrui; Su, Yanlei; Zhao, Xueting; Elimelech, Menachem; Jiang, Zhongyi

2016-10-24

One of the greatest challenges to the sustainability of modern society is an inadequate supply of clean water. Due to its energy-saving and cost-effective features, membrane technology has become an indispensable platform technology for water purification, including seawater and brackish water desalination as well as municipal or industrial wastewater treatment. However, membrane fouling, which arises from the nonspecific interaction between membrane surface and foulants, significantly impedes the efficient application of membrane technology. Preparing antifouling membranes is a fundamental strategy to deal with pervasive fouling problems from a variety of foulants. In recent years, major advancements have been made in membrane preparation techniques and in elucidating the antifouling mechanisms of membrane processes, including ultrafiltration, nanofiltration, reverse osmosis and forward osmosis. This review will first introduce the major foulants and the principal mechanisms of membrane fouling, and then highlight the development, current status and future prospects of antifouling membranes, including antifouling strategies, preparation techniques and practical applications. In particular, the strategies and mechanisms for antifouling membranes, including passive fouling resistance and fouling release, active off-surface and on-surface strategies, will be proposed and discussed extensively.

Separation of Process Water using Hydroxy Sodalite Membranes

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Khajavi, S.

2010-01-01

This thesis describes the synthesis, characterization, and application of Hydroxy Sodalite (H-SOD) membranes in selective separation of water from aqueous solutions and reaction media. The emphasis has been put on the development of a tight membrane film that could be primarily used for water

Preparation of hollow fiber membranes for gas separation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Li, Shu-Guang

1994-01-01

Today, immersion precipitation is the most often used process for the preparation of gas separation membranes from polymeric materials. In this process a polymer solution in the form of a thin liquid film or hollow fiber is immersed in a nonsolvent bath where the polymer precipitates and forms a

Recent advances in membrane materials: introductory remarks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ayral, A.

2007-01-01

A lot of separation operations are currently performed using membranes both for production processes and for environmental applications. The main part of the used membranes are organic membranes but for specific conditions of utilization inorganic or organic-inorganic membranes have been also developed. Among the applications for gas separation, some examples are the removal of hydrogen from ammonia synthesis gas, the removal of carbon dioxide from natural gas and air separation. Environmental considerations like massive scale air and water pollution and also the gradual rarefaction of fossil energy resources gave rise to the concept of sustainable growth and to related strategies like process intensification, the reuse of water and solvents at their point of use, hydrogen as energy vector (requiring H 2 production...)..Membranes will have a key part to play in the new technologies associated with these strategies. Intensive efforts of research and development are now engaged everywhere in the world to develop high performance membranes for those emerging applications. Membrane science is a multidisciplinary scientific and technological domain covering mainly materials science, physical chemistry, chemical engineering, modeling. This issue (Annales de chimie - Science des materiaux, 2007 Vol.32 N.2) provides a wide review of recent advances in membrane materials. It is based on the contributions of experts in different fields of membrane materials (organic, organic-inorganic hybrid, composite, carbon, metallic, ceramic; dense, porous, surface modified materials). (O.M.)

Shale gas: the water myth

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

O' Shea, Kerry [Dillon Consulting Limited (Canada)

2010-07-01

In recent years, due to the depletion of traditional fossil fuel resources and the rising price of energy, production from unconventional gas activities has increased. Large shale gas plays are available in Quebec but environmental concerns, mainly in terms of water resources, have been raised. The aim of this paper is to provide information on the impact of shale gas exploitation on water resources. It is shown herein that shale gas water use is not significant, the water use of 250 wells represents only 0.3% of the Quebec pulp and paper industry's water use, or 0.0004% of the flow of the St Lawrence. It is also shown that the environmental risk associated with fracking and drilling activities is low. This paper demonstrated that as long as industry practices conform to a well-designed regulatory framework, shale gas development in Quebec will have a low impact on water resources and the environment.

Membranes with Surface-Enhanced Antifouling Properties for Water Purification

Science.gov (United States)

Shahkaramipour, Nima; Tran, Thien N.; Ramanan, Sankara; Lin, Haiqing

2017-01-01

Membrane technology has emerged as an attractive approach for water purification, while mitigation of fouling is key to lower membrane operating costs. This article reviews various materials with antifouling properties that can be coated or grafted onto the membrane surface to improve the antifouling properties of the membranes and thus, retain high water permeance. These materials can be separated into three categories, hydrophilic materials, such as poly(ethylene glycol), polydopamine and zwitterions, hydrophobic materials, such as fluoropolymers, and amphiphilic materials. The states of water in these materials and the mechanisms for the antifouling properties are discussed. The corresponding approaches to coat or graft these materials on the membrane surface are reviewed, and the materials with promising performance are highlighted. PMID:28273869

The practical use of resistance modelling to interpret the gas separation properties of hollow fiber membranes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ahmad Fauzi Ismail; Shilton, S.J.

2000-01-01

A simple resistance modelling methodology is presented for gas transport through asymmetric polymeric membranes. The methodology allows fine structural properties such as active layer thickness and surface porosity, to be determined from experimental gas permeation data. This paper, which could be regarded as a practical guide, shows that resistance modeling, if accompanied by realistic working assumptions, need not be difficult and can provide a valuable insight into the relationships between the membrane fabrication conditions and performance of gas separation membranes. (Author)

Gas separation membranes for zero-emission fossil power plants: MEM-BRAIN