Experimental investigation of polysulfone modified cellulose acetate membrane for CO2/H2 gas separation

Processed gas streams from the water gas shift reactor (WGSR) are enriched with CO2 and H-2. Purification of H-2 from CO2 for different applications is required because of its environmental and economic benefits. Among different separation technologies, membrane technology gets much attention due to its various advantages. In this work, cellulose acetate/polysulfone blended membranes were fabricated via solution casting method for CO2/H-2 separation. The separation performance of pure CA membrane was enhanced by addition of PSF. The fabricated membranes were analyzed through various characterization techniques, such as FTIR, SEM, DSC, and XRD. Gas permeation results show that permeability of CO2 increased with increasing concentration of PSF. Notable permeability (P=80.51 Barrer) of CO2 and selectivity of CO2/H-2=1.83 of CA/PSF 2 wt% were achieved at 25 degrees C and 2.5 bar compared to pure CA membrane. To the best of our knowledge, this blend has been studied for the first time for gas separation, prepared through the solution casting method.

Automated summary

Blended cellulose acetate/polysulfone membranes were fabricated for CO2/H-2 separation using the solution casting method. The addition of polysulfone improved the separation performance of cellulose acetate membrane. The fabricated blend showed notable CO2 permeability and selectivity under specific conditions.