1. Influence of temperatura on the CO2/N2 separation using hybrid ionic liquid-chitosan membranes
- Author
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Rodríguez Fernández, Enrique, Casado Coterillo, Clara, and Universidad de Cantabria
- Subjects
Separación de gases ,Gas separation ,Membranas de quitosano ,Chitosan membranes - Abstract
Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is the technologically available method as greenhouse mitigation option, where CO2 from fossil fuel plants is considered the main contributor. The conventional technology is chemical absorption capture, based on amines, and such solvents are energy‐intensive and produce wastes due to solvent degradation. Membrane technology is considered to consume less energy and not produce waste streams. Furthermore, scale‐up is facilitated by the modular design. However, the economic feasibility is limited by the transport properties of the membrane, the resistance, and the membrane material, since only polymeric membranes are commercially available yet. In this context, new membranes are being investigated in order to improve their properties and use cheaper and more sustainable materials, avoiding dependence on petroleum‐based raw materials. Hybrid membranes offer the opportunity of easily obtaining a homogeneous dispersion of two or more different materials with synergistic properties of the components. Chitosan is the second most abundant polymer from natural resources, cheap, non‐toxic and biodegradable, with good film forming properties, which make it a promising sustainable material for membrane applications. In this work, the chitosan is hybridized by the introduction of5 wt.% ionic liquid 1‐ethyl‐3‐methylimidazolium acetate. The permeabilities of both pure N2 and CO2 through chitosan and [Emim]‐[Ac]–chitosan membranes have been measured at different temperatures, and adjusted to an Arrhenius‐Van’Hoff model. The ionic liquid reduced the effect of temperature on membrane performance, as well as increased selectivity and the flexibility and robustness of the membrane, leading to a more suitable application to post combustion capture processes. The permeability and selectivity values were used to estimate the performance of the new membranes in a two‐stage membrane‐based system to capture CO2 from a conventional coal‐fired power plant in order to evaluate the three parameters related to the technical and economic feasibility of the process: the CO2 final purity, the feed pressure required, and the total membrane area. Grado en Ingeniería Química
- Published
- 2014