Superglassy Polymers to Treat Natural Gas by Hybrid Membrane/Amine Processes: Can Fillers Help?

Ameen, Ahmed W.; Budd, Peter M.; Gorgojo, Patricia

doi:10.3390/membranes10120413

Cited by 8 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 55 publications

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“…Superglassy membranes have also been proposed in hybrid membrane/amine processes for natural gas sweetening, as reported recently [25], with recommendations for further research on producing mixed matrix membranes of superglassy polymers with anti-aging properties, mixing superglassy polymers with porous and non-porous fillers to overcome physical aging and thin film composite membranes.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Multiobjective Optimization Based on “Distance-to-Target” Approach of Membrane Units for Separation of CO2/CH4

2021

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The effective separation of CO2 and CH4 mixtures is essential for many applications, such as biogas upgrading, natural gas sweetening or enhanced oil recovery. Membrane separations can contribute greatly in these tasks, and innovative membrane materials are being developed for this gas separation. The aim of this work is the evaluation of the potential of two types of highly CO2-permeable membranes (modified commercial polydimethylsiloxane and non-commercial ionic liquid–chitosan composite membranes) whose selective layers possess different hydrophobic and hydrophilic characteristics for the separation of CO2/CH4 mixtures. The study of the technical performance of the selected membranes can provide a better understanding of their potentiality. The optimization of the performance of hollow fiber modules for both types of membranes was carried out by a “distance-to-target” approach that considered multiple objectives related to the purities and recovery of both gases. The results demonstrated that the ionic liquid–chitosan composite membranes improved the performance of other innovative membranes, with purity and recovery percentage values of 86 and 95%, respectively, for CO2 in the permeate stream, and 97 and 92% for CH4 in the retentate stream. The developed multiobjective optimization allowed for the determination of the optimal process design and performance parameters, such as the membrane area, pressure ratio and stage cut required to achieve maximum values for component separation in terms of purity and recovery. Since the purities and recoveries obtained were not enough to fulfill the requirements imposed on CO2 and CH4 streams to be directly valorized, the design of more complex multi-stage separation systems was also proposed by the application of this optimization methodology, which is considered as a useful tool to advance the implementation of the membrane separation processes.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Multiobjective Optimization Based on “Distance-to-Target” Approach of Membrane Units for Separation of CO2/CH4

2021

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“…[1][2][3] This is primarily due to the upwards trending demand for natural gas as a result of increasing energy demands and more stringent regulations on carbon emissions. 4 Additionally, the depletion of natural gas wells with low acid gas contents and the utilization of CO 2 injection for enhanced crude oil and natural gas recovery has projected a rise in CO 2 feed concentrations over the next decade, placing higher loads on the conventional CO 2 removal techniques [5][6][7] ; namely absorption, adsorption and cryogenic distillation. 8 The most common industrial process involves the use of an amine-based solvent, which reacts favorably and reversibly with acid gases.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Copolyimide asymmetric hollow fiber membranes for high‐pressure natural gas purification

Shalabi

Yahaya

Choi

et al. 2023

J of Applied Polymer Sci

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The current process to purify contaminated natural gas reserves employs a highly energy-intensive amine scrubbing technology. To satisfy the growing demand for natural gas coupled with the tight regulations on CO 2 emissions, researchers worldwide are investigating the use of polymeric membranes for acid gas removal from natural gas streams, to reduce the energy consumption and carbon emission of the nowadays used technology. Placing a polymeric membrane unit at the upstream of the amine scrubbing column reduces the energy consumption during the regeneration process of saturated amines. Hence, the preparation of polymeric membranes in form of hollow fibers is a key step towards their industrial implementation for natural gas processing.The following study demonstrates the potential separation performance of 6FDA-Durene/6FDA-CARDO (5000:5000) in an integrally skinned defect-free asymmetric hollow fiber geometry. The initial screening studies of the membrane shows good pure-gas performance as it exhibits CO 2 /CH 4 selectivity coefficients around 28 and CO 2 permeance between 310 and 350 GPU. Feed pressures of up to 900 psig and stage cuts ranging from 5% to 20% were tested for a quaternary sweet mixed-gas feed to assess the membrane performance under operating conditions that mimic those in industrial settings. Mixed-gas permeance of all gases, and CO 2 /CH 4 selectivity remain somewhat constant as the feed pressure increases up to 900 psig. Both mixed-gas CO 2 permeance and CO 2 /CH 4 selectivity decline as the stage cut increases. As expected, as CO 2 recovery is maximized, CO 2 purity is minimized and CH 4 loss increases with increasing stage cut. As a result of the trade-off between recovery and purity, the data and analyses reported herein can provide insights into the limitations that certain operating parameters can pose on CO 2 separation performance with similar polymeric hollow fiber membranes.

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“…However, at the moment, membrane-based gas purification cannot produce NG at the sales specification. Therefore, combining the membrane purification and the conventional process into one to form a hybrid membrane/amine process may reduce the cost of NG purification and introduces innovative means to treat sour natural gas reserves with high H 2 S content. , …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Therefore, combining the membrane purification and the conventional process into one to form a hybrid membrane/ amine process may reduce the cost of NG purification and introduces innovative means to treat sour natural gas reserves with high H 2 S content. 8,9 Polymeric membranes are of great interest to be implemented in a hybrid membrane/amine process. Because of the variety of polymers (i.e., polysulfone, cellulose acetate, polyazoles, polyphosphazenes, etc.)…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Modified CARDO-Based Copolyimides with Improved Sour Mixed-Gas Permeation Properties

Hayek

Alsamah

Saleem

et al. 2022

ACS Appl. Polym. Mater.

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Chemical modification is an interesting tool to introduce functional groups into polymers’ backbones to tailor their properties in a desired fashion. Polymers used in membrane-based gas separation applications need to possess high gas permeability and selectivity during mixed-gas separation under harsh operational conditions of pressure and temperature. Herein, we report the modification of three copolyimides containing the moiety 9,9-bis(4-aminophenyl)fluorine (CARDO) through Friedel–Crafts alkylation to introduce bulky tert-butyl groups into their backbones. Membranes prepared from the modified polymers were evaluated using pure- and sweet mixed-gas under aggressive feed pressures. Based on the promising results obtained, a selected copolyimide was subjected to sour mixed-gas separation under feed pressures up to 500 psi. Mixed-gas separation studies, especially those containing hydrogen sulfide, are of great interest to develop membranes for use in sour natural gas reserve treatment. For example, the H2S and CO2 permeability coefficients of 6FDA-Durene/6FDA-CARDO(t-Bu) at 500 psi were recorded as 456 and 238 Barrer, respectively, where the H2S/CH4 and CO2/CH4 are 20.4 and 10.6, respectively. The obtained results are very promising and even superior to many glassy polymers reported previously. This work represents an example of the benefit of chemical modification on polymers to tailor their structure–property relationship. Future works will be focused on the fabrication and testing of asymmetric or composite hollow fibers to imitate the membrane modules used industrially.

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Superglassy Polymers to Treat Natural Gas by Hybrid Membrane/Amine Processes: Can Fillers Help?

Cited by 8 publications

References 55 publications

Multiobjective Optimization Based on “Distance-to-Target” Approach of Membrane Units for Separation of CO2/CH4

Multiobjective Optimization Based on “Distance-to-Target” Approach of Membrane Units for Separation of CO2/CH4

Copolyimide asymmetric hollow fiber membranes for high‐pressure natural gas purification

Modified CARDO-Based Copolyimides with Improved Sour Mixed-Gas Permeation Properties

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