A Low-Cost Porous Polymer Membrane for Gas Permeation

Abstract

In this work, an efficient technique was used to produce porous membranes for different applications. Polyethylene (PE) was selected for the matrix, while corn starch (CS) was used to create the porous structure via leaching. The membranes were produced by continuous extrusion (blending)–calendering (forming) followed by CS leaching in a 20% aqueous acetic acid solution at 80 °C. A complete characterization of the resulting membranes was performed including morphological and mechanical properties. After process optimization, the gas transport properties through the membranes were determined on the basis of pure gas permeation including CH4, CO2, O2, and N2 for two specific applications: biogas sweetening (CH4/CO2) and oxygen-enriched air (O2/N2). The gas separation results for ideal permeability and selectivity at 25 °C and 1.17 bar (17 psi) show that these membranes are a good starting point for industrial applications since they are low-cost, easy to produce, and can be further optimized.