Influence of ZIF-8 particle size in the performance of polybenzimidazole mixed matrix membranes for pre-combustion CO2 capture and its validation through interlaboratory test

Javier Sánchez-Laínez, Beatriz Zornoza, Sebastian Friebe, Jürgen Caro, Shuai Cao, Anahid Sabetghadam, Beatriz Seoane, Jorge Gascon, Freek Kapteijn, Clément Le Guillouzer, Guillaume Clet, Marco Daturi, Carlos Téllez, Joaquín Coronas*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

152 Scopus citations

Abstract

The preparation and performance of mixed matrix membranes (MMMs) based on polybenzimidazole (PBI) and ZIF-8 nanoparticles of different average sizes (50, 70 and 150 nm) as filler are reported. MMMs containing 10 and 20 wt% of ZIF-8 were tested for H2/CO2 separation (pre-combustion CO2 capture) at 150 °C and feed pressures from 3 to 6 bar. The addition of ZIF-8 resulted in a clear improvement in membrane performance. Embedding 20 wt% of ZIF-8 resulted in a H2 permeability increase of six times and the H2/CO2 selectivity increased nearly by 55% compared to the bare PBI polymer membrane. Both permeability and selectivity improved as the filler size increased, due to the lower degree of agglomeration of the largest particles, that may be less active owing to their smaller external surface area. MMMs synthesized using dry 150 nm ZIF-8 filler showed a better performance than those containing wet filler. Apart from agglomeration concerns favoring wet filler handling as evidenced by infrared characterization, the MMM preparation with wet filler is simpler than with dry filler. Finally, the reproducibility of the membranes was confirmed by a European interlaboratory Round Robin test involving three different institutions.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)45-53
Number of pages9
JournalJournal of Membrane Science
Volume515
DOIs
StatePublished - Oct 1 2016
Externally publishedYes

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2016 Elsevier B.V.

Keywords

  • Interlaboratory test
  • Mixed matrix membrane
  • Polybenzimidazole (PBI)
  • Pre-combustion CO capture
  • ZIF-8

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Biochemistry
  • General Materials Science
  • Physical and Theoretical Chemistry
  • Filtration and Separation

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