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Separation of carbon dioxide from post-combustion flue gases is essential not only to mitigate global warming issues, but also to recover valuable carbon sources emitted from flue gases. Isotropic dense membranes of thermoplastic polyether sulfone impregnated with varied concentrations of nickel oxide nanoparticles were fabricated via solution casting with phase inversion techniques. Structural, morphological, thermal, and carbon capture characteristics of prepared membranes were appraised through state-of-the-art characterization techniques. The chemical and structural features of membranes were quantified by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Morphological attributes like surface topography, cross-sectional view, filler dispersal, and filler matrix adhesion were assessed via micrographs taken by scanning electron microscopy. Characteristic temperatures and thermal stability of mixed membranes were analyzed by performing tests on thermo-gravimetric analyzer. The carbon capture efficiency of developed membranes was estimated by performing gas permeation experiments on an indigenously built gas permeation setup. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mixed matrix membranes are thought to have the ability to separate gases. The current research investigates the isolation of CO2 from methane (CH4) and nitrogen (N2) using a mixed matrix membrane. Bio-MOF-11 was combined with polyether sulfone to establish a membrane (PES). Experiments were carried out to determine the efficiency of the established membrane. Results showed that the Lewis basic sites present in Bi o-MOF-11, which have a higher affinity for CO2, increase the permeability and selectivity of pristine polyether sulfone. At 30% filler loading, CO2 permeability improved fro m 2.20 to 3.90 Barrer, while CO2/CH4 and CO2/ N2 selectivity improved from 9.57 to 11.14 with 30% filler loading. In addition, at 30% filler loading, CO2 solubility drops from 1.57 to 1.20. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Current work was motivated by rapid advancement in membrane technology for application of gas separation, that resulted in the formation of mixed-matrix membranes (MMMs) with higher selectivity and permeability. MMMs are one way to get above the Robeson upper bound of selectivity against permeability for gaseous separation while retaining the advantages of solution processing. Numerous inorganic materials like zeolites, carbon nanotubes, or metal-organic frameworks can behave as molecular sieves, but they are fragile and difficult to fabricate as standalone membranes. This problem might be solved by embedding them into a more durable polymeric membrane matrix. In this work, symmetric mixed-matrix membranes fabricated through solution casting technique were employed with zeolite A-3 dispersed in a polyether sulfone (PES) matrix. Impacts of zeolite loading and annealing temperatures on thermal stability, morphology and carbon capture performance of prepared membranes were systematically investigated. Carbon capture proficiency of fabricated membranes was assessed in terms of CO 2 permeability and CO 2 /N 2 selectivity. In contrast to pristine PES membrane, incorporation of optimal 30 wt% zeolite into polymer matrix enhanced CO 2 permeability from 81 to 128 Barrer and CO 2 /N 2 selectivity from 9 to 22. Annealing the composite membranes at 155 °C led to further enhance CO 2 permeability at the expense of reduced CO 2 /N 2 selectivity: CO 2 permeability of pristine PES membrane enhanced from 81 to 126 Barrer by decreasing its CO 2 /N 2 selectivity from 9 to 6; CO 2 permeability improved from 128 to 144 Barrer while CO 2 /N 2 selectivity declined from 22 to 18 for composite membrane imbedded with 30 wt% optimum zeolite loading. [Display omitted] • Zeolite/PES MMMs were prepared via solution-casting cum phase inversion technique. • Thorough dispersion of zeolite particles in PES matrix rendered good compatibility. • Embedment of zeolite efficiently improved CO 2 /N 2 separation performance of MMMs. • Annealing of MMMs further improved CO 2 permeability at reduced CO 2 /N 2 selectivity. • Enhanced carbon capture performance was obtained at optimum zeolite loading. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]