Hydrogen separation and purification with poly (4-methyl-1-pentyne)/MIL 53 mixed matrix membrane based on reverse selectivity

The effect of MIL 53 (Al) metal organic framework on gas transport properties of poly (4-methyl-1-pentyne) (PMP) was determined based on reverse selectivity. Mixed matrix membranes (MMMs) were fabricated considering various weight percent of MIL 53 particles. The reverse MMMs permselectivities were evaluated through measurement of pure CO2 and H2 permeation together with calculation of CO2/H2 selectivity. The PMP/MIL 53 (Al) MMMs exhibited privileged CO2/H2 permselectivity in comparison with the neat PMP. In addition, CO2 solubility coefficient was significantly increased with increasing the MIL 53 loading, while the H2 solubility coefficient was almost remained unchanged. Moreover with increasing the feed pressure the permeability of CO2 and CO2/H2 selectivity were dramatically enhanced, especially at higher filler loadings. Therefore, it was observed that the reverse selectivity of MMMs was enhanced so that the Robeson upper bound was overcome. The best yielding membranes (PMP/30 wt.% MIL 53) represented the CO2 permeability and CO2/H2 selectivity of 377.24 barrer and 24.91 for pure gas experiments respectively.