Absorption of SO2 from flue gas using PVDF hollow fiber membranes in a gas–liquid contactor

The micro-porous hydrophobic PVDF hollow fiber membranes were prepared from polyvinylidenefluoride and N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone by the dry-jet wet phase inversion process. The mean pore radius and the effective surface porosity were evaluated by the gas permeation method. The membrane coefficient was evaluated independently from the gas permeation data, gas absorption data, and by using a mathematical model. The membrane morphology was examined with help of scanning electron microscope. PVDF hydrophobic membranes were tested for the absorption of SO2. A series of experiments were performed to examine the effect of various operating variables such as length of module, gas and liquid flow rate, concentration of inlet SO2 gas, concentration of absorbent, and nature of absorbent on the SO2 removal efficiency using PVDF HF membranes. The absorption efficiency of aqueous solutions of various chemicals such as Na2SO3, Na2CO3, NaHCO3 and NaOH has been compared and Na2CO3 was found to be the most promising absorbent among them.