Upscaling polyPOSS-imide membranes for high temperature H2 upgrading

In the present work, the potential of polyPOSS-imide membranes designed for the purification of H-2 from a coke gas (utilized in the steelmaking industry) is investigated. Aiming at upscaling the membrane fabrication, tubular single-channel and multi-channel membranes were prepared, using polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (POSS) nanostructures and 6FDA as reactive precursors. The gas separation performance has been investigated by means of single gas and quaternary (H-2, CH4, CO2, N-2) mixtures, the latter used to simulate the conditions expected at the membrane module inlet in the process of upgrading H-2 from a coke oven gas. Preliminary results obtained on tubular membranes showed that the fabricated membranes can achieve high H-2 permeance (>2000 GPU), displaying also suitable selectivity towards CO2, N-2 and CH4. The selectivity of these upscaled tubular membrane samples meets the performance of those previously obtained for the disc-shaped lab-scale membranes. These results revealed the promising potential in the upscaling of polyPOSS-imide membranes fabricated via interfacial polymerization on ceramic porous supports for H-2 upgrading.

Automated summary

The study investigated the potential of polyPOSS-imide membranes for purifying hydrogen from coke gas, with tubular single-channel and multi-channel membranes fabricated using POSS nanostructures and 6FDA. Gas separation performance was tested with single gas and quaternary mixtures, showing high H-2 permeance and suitable selectivity. Results suggest promising potential for upscaling polyPOSS-imide membranes for H-2 upgrading.