Improved Hydrogen Separation Using Hybrid Membrane Composed of Nanodiamonds and P84 Copolyimide

Abstract

Membrane gas separation is a prospective technology for hydrogen separation from various refinery and petrochemical process streams. To improve efficiency of gas separation, a novel hybrid membrane consisting of nanodiamonds and P84 copolyimide is developed. The particularities of the hybrid membrane structure, physicochemical, and gas transport properties were studied by comparison with that of pure P84 membrane. The gas permeability of H2, CO2, and CH4 through the hybrid membrane is lower than through the unmodified membrane, whereas ideal selectivity in separation of H2/CO2, H2/CH4, and CO2/CH4 gas pairs is higher for the hybrid membrane. Correlation analysis of diffusion and solubility coefficients confirms the reliability of the gas permeability results. The position of P84/ND membrane is among the most selective membranes on the Robeson diagram for H2/CH4 gas pair.