Gas Separation Membrane with Gas-Affinity Material
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current gas separation membranes face a trade-off between permeability and selectivity, are costly due to the use of precious metals, require high operating temperatures, and have inferior performance due to defects and corrosion, limiting their efficiency and cost-effectiveness for applications like hydrogen and CO2 separation.
Innovation Solution
A membrane assembly with a porous membrane layer and a non-continuously deposited gas-affinity material that adsorbs, absorbs, or dissolves gases, allowing for high selectivity and permeance without the need for precious metals, and can operate at room temperature, with the ability to be regenerated thermally for repeated use.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional membranes use precious metal layers (Pd, Au, Ag, Cu) for gas separation, then selectivity is improved, but cost increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces expensive precious metal layers with a cost-effective alternative: a porous substrate combined with a deposited layer of gas-affinity material that can be thermally regenerated. This disposable-like approach uses inexpensive materials that can be reused after regeneration, eliminating the need for costly Pd, Au, Ag, or Cu layers while maintaining separation performance.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the operating temperature parameter from high temperatures (above 400°C) required by precious metal membranes to room temperature or moderate temperatures. This parameter change enables the use of lower-cost materials that would otherwise degrade at high temperatures, while maintaining or improving separation efficiency through the gas-affinity material's selective adsorption properties.
2Productivity
If conventional membranes operate at high temperatures (above 400°C) to improve permeability, then permeance is improved, but energy efficiency decreases and membrane integrity deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent fundamentally changes the temperature parameter from high temperature operation (above 400°C) to room temperature or moderate temperature operation. This enables the membrane to achieve high permeance without the energy-intensive high-temperature process, while the gas-affinity material maintains separation performance through selective adsorption mechanisms that function effectively at lower temperatures.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the thermal-driven permeation mechanism (relying on high temperature to enable gas diffusion through dense membranes) with an adsorption-based mechanism. The gas-affinity material selectively adsorbs target gas molecules from the feed stream, enabling separation and permeation at room or moderate temperatures without requiring the energy-intensive thermal processes of conventional membranes.
3Reliability
If conventional membranes use high temperature operation to achieve gas separation, then separation performance is improved, but crack and defect formation increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the operating temperature parameter from high temperature (above 400°C) to room or moderate temperature, eliminating the thermal stress that causes crack and defect formation in conventional membranes. The gas-affinity material layer, combined with the porous substrate, maintains separation performance without subjecting the membrane structure to damaging thermal cycles that lead to integrity degradation.
4Reliability
If conventional membranes are tailored in advanced ways to separate specific gas mixtures, then selectivity is improved, but permeability decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the membrane into two functional components: a porous substrate that provides high permeability and structural support, and a deposited gas-affinity material layer that provides selective adsorption. This segmentation allows each component to optimize its function - the substrate maintains high permeability while the thin affinity layer provides the necessary selectivity through selective gas adsorption, avoiding the trade-off faced by single-layer tailored membranes.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a composite membrane structure combining a porous substrate with a deposited layer of gas-affinity material. This composite approach integrates the high permeability of the porous substrate with the selective adsorption capability of the gas-affinity material, achieving both high permeability and high selectivity simultaneously, unlike conventional single-material membranes that must compromise between these two properties.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The membrane assembly achieves high selectivity and permeance for gas separation, particularly for hydrogen and CO2, while being cost-effective and energy-efficient, with the ability to maintain performance through thermal regeneration, thus overcoming the limitations of existing membranes.
Implementation Method 1
a gas-affinity material (3), which is non-continuously deposited on said porous membrane (2), wherein said gas-affinity material (3) is suitable to adsorb, absorb and/or dissolve a gas (1, 2) to be separated from a mixture of gases
Implementation Method 2
a gas-affinity material (3), which is non-continuously deposited on said porous membrane (2), wherein said gas-affinity material (3) is suitable to adsorb, absorb and/or dissolve a gas (1, 2) to be separated from a mixture of gases
Implementation Method 3
Membrane gas separation is a pressure-driven process
Implementation Method 4
a method for restoring at least partially an initial separation capacity of a membrane and/or membrane assembly that has been used for the separation of gases, the method comprising: exposing the membrane to a temperature above 100°C
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention concerns gas-separation membranes. In some embodiments, the membranes comprise nano- or microislands or non-continuous metal layers suitable to adsorb, react with and/or otherwise retain at least one of the gases to be separated from a mixture of gases. In one embodiment, the membrane comprises a porous graphene membrane on which Pt or Pd nanoislands are deposited using a mesh, while the nanoislands are suitable to retain and bind to H2 while letting helium pass in a H2/He gas mixture. In another embodiment CO2 is separated from a H2/CO2 mixture. The membranes exhibit both, high selectivity and permeance and can be operated at room temperature.