Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
639669 | Journal of Membrane Science | 2006 | 7 Pages |
The potential of hybrid organic–inorganic membranes for separating organic molecules from air, based on solubility selective mechanism, was evaluated. Alumina and titana membranes with average pore size near 4 nm were surface modified using trimethoxysilane fluorinated coupling reagent. The permeabilities to helium, nitrogen, methane, ethane, propane, butane and carbon dioxide were evaluated at feed pressures lying between (1.5 × 105 and 3.5 × 105 Pa) 1.5 and 3.5 bar and permeate outlet near 1 × 105 Pa (1 bar). The permeabilities of the grafted membranes generally decreased by about two to three orders of magnitude compared with the untreated membranes. The CO2/N2 permselectivity increased significantly in the case of the TiO2 grafted membrane. The membranes performances were compared and the TiO2 grafted membrane exhibits higher permselectivity and permeability, so that, it is a good candidate for CO2 to N2 separation and CO2 to hydrocarbon separation.