Abstract
The trade-off relationship between gas permeability and selectivity is well-known as the primary barrier to developing polymeric membranes for the gas separation process. Mixed matrix membranes (MMMs) can be promoted as a solution to produce the desired membrane for gas separation processes. The general idea for synthesizing MMMs is to induce the thermal, electrical, mechanical, and molecular sieve properties of these nano materials into the base membrane. The incorporation of silica particles with molecular sieving properties in the polymer matrix is expected to lead to higher permeability and/or higher selectivity, compared to polymeric membranes. This paper reviews various types of silica incorporated into a polymer matrix and their gas transport mechanisms, MMM preparation methods and effect of silica on MMM characteristics and gas separation performance. MMM gas transport models after silica incorporation are also reviewed. In addition, the challenges and future works in developing MMMs with silica particles as inorganic filler are discussed.
Highlights
Membrane separation is promising to become an efficient and economical technique for gas separation applications
This study aims to describe the recent developments in silica as inorganic filler in matrix membranes (MMMs); differentiate the distinct silica particle mechanism that changes the morphology, textural characteristics, and polymer gas transport properties; and specify the ability of each type of silica particle to disrupt the trade-off relationship between gas permeability and selectivity
The following summary and conclusion can be stated from this review: 1. There are three types of silica, classified by their pore size diameter: non-porous silica, microporous silica (< 2 nm), and mesoporous silica (2–50 nm)
Summary
Membrane separation is promising to become an efficient and economical technique for gas separation applications. Membrane-based separation involves using a thin barrier between miscible fluids to separate a mixture. Polymeric membranes become a common practical material for many gas separation applications such as natural gas sweetening [1], petroleum refinery [2], landfill gas recovery [3], hydrogen recovery and purification, and flue gas separation [4]. This might due to their processability, mechanical strength, economic competitiveness and the scalability [5, 6]. Inorganic materials can be incorporated into polymeric membranes to overcome that limitation
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