Preparation and characterization of mixed matrix membrane based on Polysulfone (PSF) and Lanthanum Orthoferrite (LaFeO3) for gas separation

Abstract

The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of polysulfone (PSF) and lanthanum orthoferrite (LaFeO3) incorporated mixed matrix membrane (MMM) on gas permeation and selectivity properties. PSF/LaFeO3 MMMs were prepared with various weights loading of LaFeO3. The membranes obtained were characterized using scanning electron microscope (SEM), thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA) and Fourier-transform infra-red (FT-IR). The gas transport properties of MMM were measured using single gas permeation set up (CO2, CH4, O2 and N2) at ambient temperature, and feed pressure of 2, 4 and 6 bar. The permeation test showed that the mixed matrix membrane exhibited high permeability. With increasing LaFeO3 weight loading to 1.0%, the highest permeability values were 47.74 GPU for CO2, 29.85 GPU for CH4, 57.56 GPU for O2, and 40.66 GPU for N2. The results also showed that by incorporating 1.0wt% of LaFeO3 into PSF matrix, the highest CO2/CH4 and O2/N2 selectivity of 1.60 and 1.42 respectively were obtained. Overall, all the resultants MMM showed higher permeability and selectivity compared to pure PSF membrane.