Effects of halloysite nanotubes on the morphology and CO2/CH4 separation performance of Pebax/polyetherimide thin-film composite membranes

Abstract

Enhancing the performance of gas separation membranes is one of the major concerns of membrane researchers. Thus, in this study, poly(ether-block-amide) (Pebax)/polyetherimide (PEI) thin-film composite membranes were prepared and their CO2/CH4 gas separation performance was investigated by means of pure and mixed gases permeation tests. To improve the properties of these membranes, halloysite nanotubes (HNT) were added to Pebax layer at different loadings of 0.5, 1, 2, and 5 wt % to form Pebax-HNT/PEI membranes. Scanning electron microscopy, gas sorption, X-ray diffraction, Fourier-transform infrared, and differential scanning calorimetry tests were also performed to investigate the impact of HNT on structure and properties of prepared membranes. Results showed that both CO2/CH4 selectivity and CO2 permeance increased by adding HNT to Pebax layer up to 2 wt %. By increasing HNT loading to 5 wt %, the CO2/CH4 selectivity decreased from 32 to 18, while CO2 permeance increased from 3.25 to 4.2 GPU. Pebax/PEI and Pebax-HNT/PEI membranes containing 2 wt % of HNT were tested using CO2/CH4 gas mixtures at different feed CO2 concentrations and feed pressure of 4 bar. The results showed that with increasing CO2 concentration from 20 to 80 vol %, CO2/CH4 selectivity of Pebax/PEI composite membranes increased by 19%, while, in Pebax-HNT/PEI membrane, CO2/CH4 selectivity decreased by 40%.