Chapter 18 - Composite hollow fibers for gas separation

Abstract

Fossil fuels produced over 80% of the world total energy and at the same time, it contributes to 40% of greenhouse gases emission. Gas separation using polymeric membranes has received great attention in the past decades compared to the conventional gas separation technologies such as amine absorption, adsorption, and cryogenic distillation because of simplicity, scalability, and green approach. However, membrane gas separation is limited by the trade-off relationship between gas permeability and selectivity. Composite hollow fiber membranes consisting of a porous substrate and an ultrathin selective layer yield advantages of large surface-to-volume ratio, self-supporting characteristics, and ease to scale up. Thus this chapter provides a summary of the recent progress on the state-of-the-art polymeric composite hollow fiber membranes for gas separation, specifically on the application of CO2 capture including CO2/N2, CO2/CH4, and CO2/H2 separation. The fundamentals of gas transport through composite membranes, challenges and strategies on fabrication composite hollow fiber membranes, as well as their applications are discussed. Finally, prospects and perspectives of composite hollow fiber membranes are briefly outlined.