Preparation and C3H8/Gas Separation Properties of a Synthesized Single Layer PDMS Membrane

Abstract

In this paper, a new polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) membrane was synthesized and its ability for separation of heavier gases from lighter ones was examined. Sorption, diffusion, and permeation of H2, N2, O2, CH4, CO2, and C3H8 in the synthesized membrane were investigated as a function of pressure at 35°C. PDMS was confirmed to be more permeable to more condensable gases such as C3H8. This result was attributed to very high solubility of larger gas molecules in hydrocarbon−based PDMS in spite of their low diffusion coefficients relative to small molecules. The synthesized membrane showed much better gas permeation performance than others reported in the literature. Increasing upstream pressure increased solubility, permeability and diffusion coefficients of C3H8, while these values decreased slightly or stayed constant for other gases. Local effective diffusion coefficient of C3H8 and CO2 increased with increasing penetrant concentration which indicated plasticization effect of these gases over the range of penetrant concentration studied. C3H8/gas solubility, diffusivity and overall selectivities also increased with increasing feed pressure. Ideal selectivity values of 4, 13, 18, 20, and 36 for C3H8 over CO2, CH4, H2, O2, and N2, respectively, at upstream pressure of 7 atm, confirmed the outstanding separation performance of the synthesized mebrane.