THIN-FILM-COMPOSITE GAS-SEPARATION MEMBRANES PREPARED BY INTERFACIAL POLYMERIZATION

MEMBRANE GAS SEPARATIONS ARE ATTRACTIVE BECAUSE OF THEIR LOW OPERATING COSTS, A CONSEQUENCE OF THE ENERGY EFFICIENCY OF MEMBRANE PROCESSES IN GENERAL. HOWEVER, THE MORE WIDESPREAD USE OF MEMBRANE SYSTEMS FOR GAS SEPARATIONS IS CURRENTLY LIMITED BY THEIR HIGH CAPITAL COSTS. WHAT IS NEEDED IS A METHOD FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF GAS-PERMEABLE MEMBRANES THAT ARE EFFECTIVELY VERY THIN AND INEXPENSIVE ON A UNIT AREA BASIS. IN THIS PROGRAM, WE WILL EXAMINE THE TECHNICAL FEASIBILITY OF PREPARING THIN-FILM-COMPOSITE (TFC) GAS-SEPARATION MEMBRANES BY A PROCESS OF INTERFACIAL POLYMERIZATION, ANALOGOUS TO THAT NOW USED FOR THE FABRICATION OF STATE-OF-THE-ART REVERSE-OSMOSIS MEMBRANES. INTERFACIAL POLYMERIZATION PROMISES TO YIELD HIGH-FLUX GAS-SEPARATION MEMBRANES THAT ARE AMENABLE TO ECONOMICAL MASS-PRODUCTION IN THE FORM OF HIGH-SURFACE-AREA HOLLOW-FIBER MODULES. PHASE I EFFORT WILL FOCUS ON THE PREPARATION OF TFC MEMBRANES FROM POLYMERS THAT ARE INTERFACIALLY POLYMERIZABLE AND THAT HAVE BEEN CHOSEN FOR THEIR MODERATE-TO-HIGH OXYGEN PERMEABILITY. WE WILL EVALUATE THE O2/N2 SEPARATING ABILITY OF TFC MEMBRANES PREPARED BOTH AS FLAT SHEETS AND HOLLOW FIBERS IN ORDER TO DETERMINE THE VIABILITY OF THE INTERFACIAL POLYMERIZATION CONCEPT AS APPLIED TO THE PREPARATION OF GAS-SEPARATION MEMBRANES.