Abstract
Commercially available polymeric membrane materials may also show their potential for CO(2) capture by the association of the membrane process with other separation techniques in a hybrid system. In the current study, PRISM PA1020/Air Products and UBE UMS-A5 modules with membrane formed of modified polysulfone and polyimide, respectively, were assessed as a second stage in the hybrid vacuum swing adsorption (VSA)-membrane process developed in our laboratory. For this purpose, the module permeances of CO(2), N(2), and O(2) at different temperatures were determined, and the separation of CO(2)/N(2) and CO(2)/N(2)/O(2) mixtures was investigated in an experimental setup. An appropriate mathematical model was also developed and validated based on experimental data. It was found that both modules can provide CO(2)-rich gas of the purity of > 95% with virtually the same recovery (40.7-63.6% for maximum carbon dioxide content in permeate) when fed with pre-enriched effluent from the VSA unit. It was also found that this level of purity and recovery was reached at a low feed to permeate the pressure ratio (2-2.5) in both modules. In addition, both modules reveal stable separation performance, and thus, their applicability in a hybrid system depends on investment outlays and will be the subject of optimization investigations, which will be supported by the model presented and validated in this study.