Development of Poly(Amidoamine) Dendrimer/ Poly(Ethylene Glycol) Hybrid Membranes for CO2 Capture at Elevated Pressures

Abstract

To improve CO2 separation performance of Poly (amidoamine) (PAMAM) dendrimer at pressure difference conditions, hybrid membranes have been developed by immobilizing of PAMAM dendrimer into a cross-linked poly(ethylene glycol) dimethacrylate (PEGDMA) polymer matrix. A multifunctional cross-linker (MFX) such as trimethylolpropane trimethacrylate (TMPTMA) was used to enhance membrane separation performance at elevated pressures. The resulting hybrid membrane PAMAM dendrimer / PEGDMA/TMPTMA hybrid membrane exhibited an excellent CO2/H2 selectivity of 30 and above with CO2 permeance of 2.1×10−12m3(STP)/(m2 s Pa) at 660kPa CO2 partial under 820kPa feed pressure with 80% relative humidity at 40°C. The PAMAM dendrimer/cross-linked PEG hybrid membrane shows great potential for CO2 separation from H2 in high pressure applications, such as IGCC process.A compatible crosslinker (CPC) was used to prepare the composite membrane with a thin selectivity layer to enhance CO2 permeance. An isopropyl alkyl hindered amine IAM, tertiary amine TA1 and TA2 were added to the formation solution of membrane for investigating the effect of additive on CO2 separation performance.