Sorption of propylene and propane in polyurethane membranes containing silver nanoparticles

Abstract

The preparation of a facilitated transport membrane of polyurethane (PU) containing silver nanoparticles is reported. The propylene and propane sorption was investigated aiming at the selective separation from C3s mixtures. The silver particles were photogenerated in situ into the polyurethane matrix using UV light radiation and silver triflate (AgCF3SO3) as precursor. The morphological properties of these membranes (PUAg) reveled great dispersion of silver particles, which size was smaller than 110 nm. The propylene solubility in PUAg resulted more than four times superior to the one for the pure PU membrane, revealing the high affinity between silver and propylene. Flory–Huggins theory was more accurate to describe the propylene sorption behavior in PUAg than Henry's model. The ideal solubility selectivity of PUAg membrane resulted 24.4, indicating that there is a good potential for an industrial application aiming at the separation of propylene/propane. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2016, 133, 42916.

A Perspective of Solutions for Membrane Instabilities in Olefin/Paraffin Separations: A Review

“…The use of Ag NPs was also tested in membranes of polyurethane (ether based) (PU). Rezende et al 126 measured the sorption values of propylene and propane in Ag NP/PU membranes (Table 3), in which the Ag NPs were synthesized in situ into the PU matrix using UV light radiation and silver triflate (AgCF 3 SO 3 ) as the salt precursor. It had an ideal solubility selectivity of 24.4 in the Ag NP/PU membranes that could indicate an essential contribution of the sorption selectivity in propylene/propane separation by this kind of membrane.…”

A practical approach to fixed-site-carrier facilitated transport modeling for the separation of propylene/propane mixtures through silver-containing polymeric membranes

“…The development of new materials has promoted recent studies on their application to gas separation. In this regard, new studies assess the performance of nanocomposite membranes [19], mixed-matrix membranes containing metal organic frameworks (MOFs) [20][21][22], polymers with intrinsic microporosity (PIMs) [23] and membranes containing metallic nanoparticles [24], achieving high olefin/paraffin selectivities.…”