LOW COST CERAMIC SUPPORT FOR HIGH TEMPERATURE GAS SEPARATION MEMBRANES

DOE IS SPONSORING RESEARCH ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF CERAMIC MEMBRANES FOR HIGH TEMPERATURE GAS SEPARATIONS ASSOCIATED WITH COAL CONVERSION PROCESSES. FOR SUCH MEMBRANES TO BE OFCOMMERCIAL UTILITY, THEY MUST BE INCORPORATED INTO A SUITABLE LOW COST MEMBRANE MODULE. SUCH MODULAR ASSEMBLIES ARE NOT CURRENTLY AVAILABLE. IN THIS PROJECT, A CERAMIC MEMBRANE SUPPORT STRUCTURE BASED ON HONEYCOMB CERAMIC MONOLITHS WILL BE DEVELOPED. THE SUPPORT STRUCTURE IS COMPLETELY CERAMIC, HAS A HIGH MEMBRANE PACKING DENSITY, ANDWILL HAVE A LOW PRODUCTION COST. THIS STRUCTURE IS INTENDEDFOR SUBSEQUENT COATING BY GAS SEPARATION MEMBRANES DEPOSITEDBY PROCESSES SUCH AS SLIP CASTING, SOLUTION IMPREGNATION, CHEMICAL VAPOR DEPOSITION, AND PLASMA DEPOSITION. IT WILL BE SUITABLE FOR APPLICATION OF DIFFUSIVE, FACILITATED TRANSPORT, OR CATALYTIC MEMBRANES. IN PHASE I, LAB SCALE DEVICES WILL BE FABRICATED AND TESTED. THE MONOLITH STRUCTURES WILL BE CYLINDERS OF 1 IN. DIAMETER AND 1 FT LENGTH. SURFACE AREA FOR MEMBRANE COATING WILL BE ABOUT 1.5FT (2). TESTING WILL DEMONSTRATE THE STRUCTURE'S SUITABILITY IN TERMS OF GAS PERMEABILITY, FINENESS OF PORE SIZE, AND TEMPERATURE AND PRESSURE RATINGS. IN PHASE II, FULL SCALE DEVICES WILL BE FABRICATED AND TESTED WITH GAS SEPARATION MEMBRANE COATINGS. SUCH DEVICES WILL BE CYLINDERS OF 5.66 IN. DIAMETER AND 3 FT LENGTH, WITH MEMBRANE AREA OF ABOUT 170 FT(2).