Development of A Blend Poly(ethylene glycol)/Polyethersulfone Membrane for CO2/N2 Separation

Lim Shu Yi; Zeinab Abbas Jawad; Tan Peng Chee

Authors

Lim Shu Yi School of Engineering and Science, Department of Chemical Engineering, Curtin University Malaysia, CDT 250, Miri 98009, Sarawak, Malaysia
Zeinab Abbas Jawad School of Engineering and Science, Department of Chemical Engineering, Curtin University Malaysia, CDT 250, Miri 98009, Sarawak, Malaysia
Tan Peng Chee School of Energy and Chemical Engineering, Xiamen University Malaysia, Jalan Sunsuria, Bandar Sunsuria, 43900 Sepang, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia

Keywords:

Polyethylene Glycol (PEG), Polyethersulfone (PES), Blend Membrane, Gas Separation

Abstract

The emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) largely contribute to the issue of global warming. Recently, the polymer blend membrane has received attention as an attractive approach to gas separation due to its enhanced gas separation properties by combining the advantages of the different polymers. In this study, the formation of a blend polyethersulfone (PES) and polyethylene glycol (PEG) membrane for CO2/Nitrogen (N2) separation was investigated by first studying the effect of casting thickness from 150 µm to 800 µm. Based on the results, the blend membrane casted at 300 µm (M4) showed the best gas separation performance. The CO2 and N2 permeances for M4 were 11225.35 ± 5.24 GPU and 9582.99± 6.62 GPU, respectively and the CO2/N2 selectivity was 1.17. This research was further extended to study the effect of polymer concentration from 10 wt % to 30 wt % casted at 300 µm. The best gas separation performance of the blend membrane was reported at a PES:PEG ratio of 1:1 (M8), where the CO2/N2 selectivity was enhanced to 1.45. With the enhanced CO2 separation performance of the blend membrane, the application of the membrane is a break through in the industrial world as it is capable of mitigating the effects of global warming.