Abstract
The separation of carbon dioxide from coal-fired power plant flue gases using a CO2/N2-selective supported ionic liquid membrane (SILM) was investigated and the performance and stability of the membrane during operation are reported. The membrane is composed of a polyacrylonitrile (PAN) ultrafiltration membrane as a support and a selective layer of an ionic liquid (IL), 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide (EMIM Tf2N). The feasibility of large-scale SILM production was demonstrated by the formation of a square-meter-scale membrane and preparation of a membrane module. A flat-sheet envelope-type SILM module containing 0.67 m2 of the membrane was assembled. Prior to real flue gas operation, the separation behaviour of the membrane was investigated with single gases. The stability of the SILM during the test stand and pilot plant operation using real power plant flue gases is reported. The volume fraction of carbon dioxide in the flue gas was raised from approx. 14 vol. % (feed) to 40 vol. % (permeate). However, issues concerning the membrane stability were found when SO3 aerosols in large quantities were present in the flue gas.
Highlights
CO2 is a greenhouse gas with a significant impact on climate change [1] and a large amount of CO2 is emitted to the environment by power plant flue gases
The main aim of the conducted study was to investigate the stability of an supported ionic liquid membrane (SILM) during real flue gas operation
To get a mechanically stable SILM that has in addition a good membrane separation performance, twelve membranes (M1a15/20–M1c15/20 and M2a15/20–M2c15/20) were prepared
Summary
CO2 is a greenhouse gas with a significant impact on climate change [1] and a large amount of CO2 is emitted to the environment by power plant flue gases. It is very probable that, despite the high risk of global warming, the number of coal-fired power plants in countries with large coal reserves, such as. China and the United States of America, will increase in the future [2]. In Germany, the percentage of renewable energies increased from 6% to 29% during the 2000–2017 period [3]. It is likely that fossil fuel-fired power plants will remain necessary in Germany for many years to ensure a continuous, non-fluctuating energy supply. Carbon Capture (CC) technologies afford opportunities to make power plants more climate-friendly [4,5,6]. Gas permeation is one possibility for CC and membranes have several
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary 
Published Version (
Free)
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call