CO2-facilitated transport membranes prepared by blending polyvinyl alcohol and various water-absorbing agents

This study describes the production of a membrane by blending polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and water-absorbing agents for the selective permeation of CO2 by optimizing the type of water-absorbing agent and its ratio to PVA. A CO2-facilitated transport membrane is prepared by adding an aqueous cesium carbonate solution to a coated polymer blend matrix. When sodium polyacrylate (PAANa) is blended with PVA as a water-absorbing agent, the resulting membrane shows promising heat and pressure resistances and a relatively high CO2/He separation performance. Particularly, the CO2/He selectivity of the membrane composed of PVA, PAANa, and another water-absorbing agent exceeds 400 under a total pressure of 0.1 MPa and a CO2 partial pressure of 0.08 MPa at 85 degrees C. Moreover, the CO2/He selectivity is approximately 100 even under a total pressure of 0.7 MPa and a CO2 partial pressure of 0.56 MPa. Thus, a high-performance CO2 separation membrane at 85 degrees C is produced.

Automated summary

This study produced a high-performance CO2 separation membrane through optimizing the type and ratio of water-absorbing agents, demonstrating excellent CO2/He selectivity, heat resistance, and pressure resistance.