NOVEL POLYMER COMPOSITIONS FOR HIGH-TEMPERATURE MEMBRANE APPLICATIONS

POLYMERIC MEMBRANES ARE NOW USED WORLDWIDE TO PERFORM ENERGY-EFFICIENT, LOW-COST SEPARATIONS OF LIQUID AND GAS PROCESS STREAMS. TODAY'S DESIGN ENGINEERS ROUTINELY CONSIDER MEMBRANE-BASED UNIT OPERATIONS AS VIABLE ALTERNATIVES TO "CONVENTIONAL" SEPARATION TECHNOLOGIES. HOWEVER, THE INABILITY OF POLYMERIC MEMBRANES TO WITHSTAND HIGH-TEMPERATURE (>100 DEGREES CENTIGRADE) OR CHEMICALLY HARSH ENVIRONMENTS DEPRIVES MANY INDUSTRIES OF THE KEY ADVANTAGES OF MEMBRANE TECHNOLOGY. CURRENTLY AVAILABLE POLYMERIC MEMBRANES ARE NOW USED IN SOME OF THESE HARSH SETTINGS, BUT THEIR CHARACTERISTIC COST- AND ENERGY-EFFICIENCIES ARE OFFSET BY THE NEED FOR EXPENSIVE PRETREATMENT OF CHEMICALLY DESTRUCTIVE PROCESS STREAMS OR BYTHE NEED TO DRASTICALLY COOL HOT FEED STREAMS. FOR MOST PROCESSES, SUCH PRETREATMENT IS IMPRACTICAL OR ALTOGETHER IMPOSSIBLE. MOREOVER, NON-POLYMERIC MEMBRANES (E.G., CERAMIC) THAT ARE NOW AVAILABLE FOR USE IN THESE CHALLENGINGAPPLICATIONS ARE EXTREMELY EXPENSIVE, DIFFICULT TO MODULARIZE, AND PRONE TO IRREVERSIBLE FOULING. THE RESEARCHERS WILL INVESTIGATE THE FEASIBILITY OF USING A GROUP OF ROBUST POLYMERS TO PREPARE MEMBRANES CAPABLE OF WITHSTANDING UP TO 300 DEGREES CENTIGRADE IN CHEMICALLY CHALLENGING OPERATIONS. THE GOAL OF PHASE I IS TO EVALUATE AND SCREEN THESE POLYMERS AND SELECT ONE OR MORE POLYMERS FOR USE IN MEMBRANES SUITABLE FOR APPLICATION TO HOT (>100 DEGREES CENTIGRADE) AND/OR CHEMICALLY HARSH INDUSTRIALSTREAMS. THESE POLYMERS WILL BE SYSTEMATICALLY TESTED TO DETERMINE THE DIFFUSION PROPERTIES OF VARIOUS GASES AND LIQUIDS.