Experimental and Numerical Study of CO2/CH4 Separation Using SAPO-34/PES Hollow Fiber Membrane

In this work, the defects in poletherysulfone (PES)/silicoaluminophosphate (SAPO)-34 zeolite mixed matrix membrane was prepared by dry-wet spinning technique for the separation of CO2/CH4 mixtures. In this regard, the synthesized PES/SAPO-34 Mixed Matrix Membranes (MMMs) were characterized via FESEM analyses. The Response Surface Methodology (RSM) was applied to find the relationships between several explanatory variables such as air gap distance, jet stretch ratio, and zeolite content, and CO2 permeance as responses. The results were validated with the experimental data, which the model results were in good agreement with the available experimental data. The effects of feed temperature and feed pressure on permeation and CO2/CH4 selectivity of membranes were investigated. The MMMs showed better performance than the neat PES membrane. A two-dimensional countercurrent mathematical model for membrane separation has been incorporated with Aspen HYSYS to optimize and design the membrane system for CO2 capture from natural gas. Permeation results manifested that the PES/SAPO-34 fabricated at optimum conditions has incredible worth from the perspective of industrial separations of CO2 from the flue and natural gas.