Modification of PSf membrane nanostructure using different fabrication parameters and investigation of the CO2 separation properties of PDMS-coated PSf composite membranes

Abstract

The effects of preparation parameters on the performance and morphology of polydimethylsiloxane/ polysulfone (PDMS/PSf) membranes were investigated. The PDMS layer is mainly used for sealing the defects of the PSf selective layer. The membrane morphologies were characterized by using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The CO2/CH4 separation performance of membranes was studied by a pure gas permeation experimental set up. According to the SEM results, decreasing the water/N,N-dimethylacetamide (DMAc) ratio as the coagulation medium from pure water to mixture of 90 vol.% DMAc and 10 vol.% water resulted in complete disappearance of macrovoids and also a lowering of the membrane selectivity. Permselectivity results showed that the ideal CO2/CH4 separation factor of the membranes was improved by the presence of the non-solvent additive to the polymer solution. It was also observed that reduction of the coagulation bath temperature (CBT) led to elimination of macrovoids which affect gas separation performance. Using methanol as a coagulant resulted in a less selective membrane compared with ethanol and water as coagulants and the CO2 permeance was about 3 and 9 times greater than with ethanol and water as coagulants, respectively.