A CERAMIC MEMBRANE FOR GAS SEPARATIONS

NOVEL MOLECULAR SIEVE MEMBRANES WILL BE DEVELOPED IN THIN FILM FORM. THE MEMBRANE MATERIALS WILL INCLUDE SILICA, ALUMINA, TITANIA, ZIRCONIA, AND MIXTURES OF THESE OXIDES. THE TECHNICAL APPROACH ENTAILS THE PREPARATION AND DEPOSITION OF ULTRAFINE SOL PARTICLES ONTO A POROUS SUBSTRATE, FOLLOWED BY DRYING AND FIRING. THE TARGETED PORE SIZE OF THE RESULTING MEMBRANE IS BELOW FIVE ANGSTROMS. IN PHASE I, SMALL SAMPLES, A FEW SQUARE CENTIMETERS IN AREA, WILL BE PREPARED AND TESTED TO MEASURE AMBIENT TEMPERATURE PERMEABILITIES FOR OXYGEN, NITROGEN, METHANE, CARBON DIOXIDE, AND HYDROGEN. IN PHASE II, PROTOTYPE MEMBRANE MODULES WITH A MEMBRANE AREA OF ABOUT ONE SQUARE METER WILL BE PREPARED AND TESTED FOR GAS SEPARATIONS OF INTEREST TO DOE. THESE NOVEL CERAMIC MEMBRANES, IF SUCCESSFULLY DEVELOPED, WILL HAVE A HIGH TEMPERATURE CAPABILITY (OVER 1200 DEGREES FAHRENHEIT) AND COULD BE USED IN HOT GAS CLEANUP IN COAL CONVERSION PROCESSES.