Efficient development of effective hollow fiber membranes for gas separations from novel polymers

To expand applications for gas separation membranes, material research must not only identify attractive candidate polymers. Transformation of these materials into an industrially relevant form is equally important. Asymmetric hollow fibers are attractive forms for high volume gas separation applications, and this paper describes an approach for developing first-generation asymmetric hollow fiber gas separation membranes using small amounts of novel, experimental polymers. The techniques connect easily determined polymer properties with spinning parameters to allow high-speed fiber spinning. A case study using a crosslinkable polyimide is discussed to illustrate the method.