Insights into the progress of polymeric nano-composite membranes for hydrogen separation and purification in the direction of sustainable energy resources

Abstract

• The review discusses over various membrane engineering methods. • Use of new and advanced membrane materials for improving the separation. • Concept of mixed matrix membranes for better separation efficiency are also elaborated. • An effective comparison between the separation data and type of membranes is also discussed using the Robeson upper bound. The industrial gas hydrogen has showcased its utility in a variety of processes, including those in the steel and petrochemical industries. However, synthetically produced hydrogen contains other impurities and some unreacted substituents like CO 2 , N 2 , CH 4 , etc. that needs to stamp out. For this purpose, efficient and environmentally friendly, polymer membrane technology provides tremendous potential. The core objective of this paper is to analyze several key rules regarding material engineering and the separation mechanism used for the betterment of hydrogen separation membranes. In this review, we have highlighted the ongoing research using different polymer membrane materials to design matrices with better characteristics than the previous one. We have focused on different polymers which are involved as the main matrix while a variety of organic/inorganic particles are appended in the role of fillers to conquer the well-established trade-off. The principle criteria’s are- (1) the phenomenology and regularities of hydrogen transfer through polymeric membranes, and (2) polymer membrane materials with favourable hydrogen separation properties in terms of permeability and selectivity. The results from the critical analysis of the published data over the potential of polymeric membranes towards hydrogen separation are also discussed. Furthermore, as per the conclusions of a thorough review, these polymer nanocomposite membranes can compete with or eventually replace the conventional approaches.