Maxwell-Stefan modeling of high flux tubular silicalite-1 membranes for CO2 removal from CO2/H2 gas mixtures

The model was used to investigate a case with a 20,000 Nm3/d feed comprised of a 50/50 mixture of CO2/H2 at pressure of 25 bar and a membrane temperature of 296 K. The permeate pressure was 1 bar and 90% of the CO2 permeated the membrane. In this case, the membrane permselectivity and CO2 flux varied along the length of the tubes between 20-26 and 950-396 kg/(m2 h), respectively. Further, both defects and pressure drop over the support were shown to have an adverse effect on the selectivity, which indicates that membrane selectivity can be improved by reducing the flow-through defects and/or by preparing supports with less flow resistance. For a one-stage process, the required membrane area is as small as ca. 0.85 m2 and the hydrogen loss through the membrane was 12.4%. For a two-stage process the required membrane area almost doubled to 1.6 m2, however the hydrogen loss through the second membrane is reduced to as little as 2.5%. In summary, this work shows that high flux zeolite membranes may be an interesting option for CO2 removal from synthesis gas.