12 - Polymeric membranes for hydrogen separation/purification

Abstract

This chapter represents results of critical analysis of published and owned data on application and potential of polymeric membranes for hydrogen separation/purification. This paper considers the promising polymers for membranes, gas separation properties of commercially available and lab-scale membrane (hollow fibers [HF] and flat sheets), and results of correlation analysis for prediction of the permeance of attendant gases presented in multicomponent gaseous mixtures. The calculation of the membrane separation for hydrogen recovery (separation) using commercially available and lab-scale membranes is done as an example of the membrane technology application for hydrogen recovery from biomass treatment products (renewable sources) and from exhaust gas mixtures of technogenic origin. Critical aspects included (1) phenomenology and some regularities of the gas transfer through nonporous polymeric materials as basis for gas separation membranes; (2) membrane polymers with high selectivity in relation to hydrogen; (3) commercially available and lab-scale polymeric membranes for separation of H2 from mixtures with CO2, CO, N2, CH4, and H2S; and (4) calculation of standard one-stage membrane processes itself for hydrogen recovery from selected gaseous multicomponent mixtures of technogenic and biogenic origin.