Stable Membranes for Separating Hydrogen Containing Petrochemical and Refinery Streams

75026-As the Nation moves toward a hydrogen economy, new sources of hydrogen will be required. Many low-pressure, hydrogen-containing refinery and petrochemical streams would appear to be good candidates for hydrogen separation by membranes. However, membranes have not been used for these applications because hydrocarbons in the gas stream plasticize the membranes, resulting in collapse and failure. This project will develop new perfluoropolymer materials that are completely inert to hydrocarbon liquids. Membranes made from these materials will not fail after exposure to vapors or condensed liquids. The membranes also will be ten to twenty times more permeable to hydrogen than current membranes, allowing important refinery and petrochemical vapor mixtures to be economically separated for the first time. In Phase I, the new material will be made into a composite membrane, which will be demonstrated in laboratory module tests with gas mixtures known to cause failure of current membranes. A technical and economic analysis of refinery and petrochemical plant hydrogen recovery processes that use these membranes will be performed. Commercial Applications and Other Benefits as described by the awardee: Membranes have not been widely used to separate hydrogen from refinery and petrochemical streams because of poor reliability. The hydrogen permeable, hydrocarbon resistant membranes should allow for the economical separation of hydrogen from these streams.