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Synthesis and performance analysis of a polysulfone braid-supported hollow fiber membrane for natural gas purification

  • Polymers & biopolymers
  • Published:
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Abstract

To address the issue of low mechanical strength in self-supported hollow fiber membranes, a research study was conducted to fabricate polysulfone braid-reinforced hollow fiber (PSF BRHF) membranes for natural gas purification. In this study, polyethylene (PET) was used as a braid support. PSF BRHF membranes were fabricated by employing dip coating and drying technique. The BRHF membranes underwent comprehensive analysis, including the manipulation of polymer (PSF) concentration (15 wt%, 18 wt%, and 21 wt%) and the number of coating layers (1–4). Characterization of the fabricated membrane samples involved scanning electron microscopy (SEM), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), gas separation performance testing, and mechanical strength testing. The results indicated that membranes fabricated with higher polymer concentrations exhibited a denser structure with a thicker separation layer. An increase in the separation layer thickness was also observed with an increasing number of coating layers. Importantly, all fabricated membrane samples demonstrated remarkable thermal stability. To assess the performance, gas separation tests were conducted using pure gases at 3 bar. Notably, the membrane sample with 21 wt% PSF and the 3rd coating layer (21_3 PSF) exhibited the most promising gas separation performance among all the samples selected to carry out the separation performance test, achieving a CO2/CH4 selectivity of 1.83. Mechanical strength testing revealed that 21_3 PSF BRHF (68.2 MPa) fabricated in this study outperformed conventional self-supported PSF hollow fiber membranes (9.44 MPa), as reported in the literature. These findings underscore the potential of BRHF membranes for natural gas purification, although further improvements are still possible.

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Acknowledgements

The authors gratefully acknowledge Ministry of Higher Education under Science and Technology Research Partnership for Sustainable Development (SATREPS) scheme (Vot number: R.J130000.7809.4L975), and Universiti Teknologi Malaysia under the Matching Grant (Project number: Q.J130000.3009.03M15 ) and UTM Fundamental Research (UTMFR) (Project number: Q.J130000.3809.22H07). The authors also would like to thank UMW for the Contract Research Grant (Project number: R.J130000.7609.4C471).

Funding

The Funding was provided by UTM, (R.J130000.7309.4B676/Q.J130000.3009.03M23), Mohd Hafiz Dzarfan Othman

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Advanced Membrane Technology Research Centre, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310, UTM Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia

    Aniqa Imtiaz, Mohd Hafiz Dzarfan Othman, Muhammad Ayub, Ojo Samuel & Musawira Iftikhar

  2. Faculty of Chemical and Energy Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310, UTM Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia

    Aniqa Imtiaz, Roziana Kamaludin, Mohd Hafiz Dzarfan Othman, Muhammad Ayub, Ojo Samuel & Musawira Iftikhar

  3. Centre of Nanotechnology, King Abdul-Aziz University, 21589, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

    Asim Jilani

  4. Department of Chemical and Energy Engineering, Pak-Austria Fachhochshule, Institute of Applied Sciences and Technology, Khanpur Road, Mang, Haripur, 22650, Pakistan

    Imran Ullah Khan

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  1. Aniqa Imtiaz
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Imtiaz, A., Kamaludin, R., Othman, M.H.D. et al. Synthesis and performance analysis of a polysulfone braid-supported hollow fiber membrane for natural gas purification. J Mater Sci 59, 304–323 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-023-09208-6

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