Controlled dip-coating times for improving Co2 selective of PI/NCC based supported carbon membrane

Abstract

Carbon membrane can be regarded as the future separation media in gas separation process due to its high gas separation performance, easy processability, and moderate energy requirement compared to conventional separation process. In this study, the fabrication of tubular carbon membrane prepared from PI blends with nanocrystalline cellulose (NCC) was investigated. The influence of dip-coating duration (15, 30, 45, and 60 min) towards the physicochemical properties and CO2/CH4 and O2/N2 separation was explored. The process of carbonization was conducted at 800°C with rate of heating at 3°C/min under argon gas flow (200 mL/min). Pure gas permeation tests were performed to investigate the prepared carbon membrane’s mechanism of transport at ambient temperature and a feed pressure of 8 bar. The carbon membrane with CO2/CH4 and O2/N2 selectivity of 68.23 ± 3.27 and 9.29 ± 2.54 and CO2 and O2 permeance of 213.56 ± 2.17 and 29.92 ± 1.44 GPU, respectively, were obtained when applying 45 min dip-coating.