Synthesis of ceramic hollow fiber supported zeolitic imidazolate framework-8 (ZIF-8) membranes with high hydrogen permeability

Purification and recovery of hydrogen from hydrocarbons in refinery streams in the petrochemical industry is an emerging research field in the study of membrane gas separation. Hollow fiber membrane modules can be easily implemented into separation processes at the industrial scale. In this report, hollow yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) fiber-supported zeolitic imidazole framework-8 (ZIF-8) membranes were successfully prepared using a mild and environmentally friendly seeded growth method. Our single-component permeation studies demonstrated that the membrane had a very high hydrogen permeance (∼15×10−7 mol/m2 s Pa) and an ideal selectivity of H2/C3H8 of more than 1000 at room temperature. This high membrane permeability and selectivity caused serious concentration polarization in the separation of H2/C3H8 mixtures, which led to almost 50% drop in both the H2 permeance and the separation factor. Enhanced mixing on the feed side could reduce the effect of the concentration polarization. Our experimental data also indicated that the membranes had excellent reproducibility and long-term stability, indicating that the hollow fiber-supported ZIF-8 membranes developed in this study have great potential in industry-scale separation of hydrogen.