A dense oxygen separation membrane with a layered morphologic structure

A configuration of dense mixed ionic and electronic conducting (MIEC) membrane with layered morphological structure for oxygen separation, which combines the benefits of high oxygen permeation flux of cobalt-based membrane, high chemical stability of iron-based perovskite and high mechanical strength of thick membrane, was studied. The membrane is normally composed of two layers; each layer is a dense MIEC oxide. The substrate layer is a thick dense membrane with high oxygen permeability but relatively lower chemical stability. The feasibility of dense thick Ba0.5Sr0.5Co0.8Fe0.2O3−δ (BSCF5582) membrane as the substrate layer and Ba0.5Sr0.5Co0.2Fe0.8O3−δ (BSCF5528) as the thin-film layer was mainly experimentally investigated. Both the BSCF5582 and the BSCF5528 show the same cubic perovskite structure and the similar lattice constant with no detrimental reaction products formed. By optimizing fabrication parameters of a simple dry pressing process, dual-layered membrane, free of cracks, was successfully fabricated. The oxygen permeation flux of a dual-layered membrane with the thin-film BSCF5528 layer facing to the sweep gas reached 2.1 mL cm−2 min−1 [STP] (1.56 × 10−6 mol cm−2 s−1) at 900 °C, which is about 3.5 times higher than that of the BSCF5528 membrane (0.6 mL cm−2 min−1, [STP] (4.46 × 10−7 mol cm−2 s−1) under the same conditions.