Enhanced carbon dioxide separation by polyethersulfone (PES) mixed matrix membranes deposited with clay Academic Article uri icon

abstract

  • AbstractAsymmetric mixed matrix membranes (MMMs) incorporating Cloisite15A (C15A) clay particles were prepared using solvent evaporation and phase inversion with polyethersulfone (PES) as the membrane matrix. C15A loadings varied at 1 wt% and 5 wt%. Membrane morphological and thermal properties were evaluated by means of X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Addition of the C15A favorably altered the microscopic structure of membranes from finger-like to homogeneous sponge-like structure as the loading increased. While the amorphous nature of MMMs was retained, the thermal stability was also found to be improved with a slight decrease in glass transition temperature (Tg). PES/C15A1 MMM showed the best gas transport properties, with 37% and 65% improvement in CO2permeance and CO2/CH4selectivity, respectively. Unlike 1 wt%, the loss in selectivity shown by 5 wt% clay loadings suggested that the interphase voids and extent of silicate layers dispersion play a significant role in the overall performance of MMMs.

authors

  • Ismail, N.M.
  • Ismail, A.F.
  • Mustafa, A.
  • Zulhairun, A.K.

publication date

  • 2016

number of pages

  • 13

start page

  • 65

end page

  • 78

volume

  • 36

issue

  • 1