Abstract
The development of a hydrogen-based economy would generate a substantial necessity for efficient means of collecting hydrogen with a relatively high purity. Membrane separations play a major role in the separation of hydrogen gas from various gas mixtures, and this article discusses the use of polymeric materials to produce these membranes. After a review of the historical use of polymeric membranes and some background information regarding mechanisms of gas transport in membranes, this article will review the work that has been done in the two major classes of hydrogen separation membranes: hydrogen-selective membranes and hydrogen-rejective membranes. In hydrogen-selective membranes, the very small size of the hydrogen molecule is exploited to allow rapid diffusion of hydrogen through the membrane while excluding other gases. Hydrogen-rejective membranes use the significantly higher sorption of other gases to overcome the advantages of the small size of the hydrogen molecule. The discussion of these two types of membranes will be followed by a presentation of the current state of the art with regard to polymeric membranes for hydrogen separation and a discussion of the predictions for future applications and advancements in this area.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
S. Weller and W.A. Steiner, Chem. Eng. Progress 46 (11) (1950) p. 585.
R.R. Zolandz and G.K. Fleming, in Membrane Handbook, edited by W.S.W. Ho and K.K. Sirkar (Chapman and Hall, New York, 1992) p. 78.
W.J. Koros and R. Mahajan, J. Membr. Sci. 175 (2) (2000) p. 181.
R.J. Gardner, R.A. Crane, and J.F. Hannan, Chem. Eng. Progress 73 (10) (1977) p. 76.
J.M.S. Henis and M.K. Tripodi, “Multicomponent membranes for gas separations,” U.S. Patent 4,230,463 (October 28, 1980).
W.J. Schell and C.D. Houston, Chem. Eng. Progress 78 (10) (1982) p. 33.
W.A. Bollinger, S.P. Long, and T.R. Metzger, Chem. Eng. Progress 80 (5) (1984) p. 51.
W.A. Bollinger, D.L. Maclean, and R.S. Narayan, Chem. Eng. Progress 78 (10) (1982) p. 27.
R. Agrawal, M. Offutt, and M.P. Ramage, AIChE J. 51 (6) (2005) p. 1582.
R. Farrauto, S. Hwang, L. Shore, W. Ruettinger, J. Lampert, T. Giroux, Y. Liu, and O. Ilinich, Annu. Rev. Mater. Res. 33 (2003) p. 1.
C.W. Forsberg, Chem. Eng. Progress 101 (12) (2005) p. 20.
M.P. Ramage, The Hydrogen Economy: Opportunities, Costs, Barriers, and R&D Needs (National Research Council of the National Academies, 2004) p. ES-1.
D.R. Simbeck, Energy 29 (9–10) (2004) p. 1633.
W.A. Summers and M.B. Gorensek, Chem. Eng. Progress 101 (3) (2005) p. 4.
C.J. Winter, Int. J. Hydrogen Energy 30 (7) (2005) p. 681.
S. Sato and K. Nagai, Membrane 30 (1) (2005) p. 20.
M. Knudsen, in Methuen’s Monographs on Physical Subjects (Methuen, London, 1952).
A.L. Hines and R.N. Maddox, Mass Transfer (Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ, 1985) p. 553.
S.T. Hwang and K. Kammerme, Can. J. Chem. Eng. 44 (2) (1966) p. 82.
K.H. Lee and S.T. Hwang, J. Coll. Interface Sci. 110 (2) (1986) p. 544.
J.S. Masaryk and R.M. Fulrath, J. Chem. Phys. 59 (3) (1973) p. 1198.
R.W. Baker, Membrane Technology and Applications (McGraw-Hill, New York, 2000).
W.J. Koros and G.K. Fleming, J. Membr. Sci. 83 (1) (1993) p. 1.
R. Rautenbach and R. Albrecht, Membrane Processes (John Wiley & Sons, Chichester, UK, 1989).
S.A. Stern, J. Membr. Sci. 94 (1994) p. 1.
D.Q. Vu, W.J. Koros, and S.J. Miller, J. Membr. Sci. 211 (2) (2003) p. 311.
A. Singh and W.J. Koros, Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. 35 (4) (1996) p. 1231.
H. Lin and B.D. Freeman, J. Membr. Sci. 239 (1) (2004) p. 105.
R.C. Reid, J.M. Prausnitz, and B.E. Poling, The Properties of Gases and Liquids, 4th ed. (McGraw-Hill, Boston, 1987) p. 752.
L.M. Robeson, J. Membr. Sci. 62 (2) (1991) p. 165.
C.L. Aitken, W.J. Koros, and D.R. Paul, Macromolecules 25 (14) (1992) p. 3651.
C.L. Aitken, W.J. Koros, and D.R. Paul, Macromolecules 25 (13) (1992) p. 3424.
C.L. Aitken, D.R. Paul, and D.K. Mohanty, J. Polym. Sci.: Part B-Polym. Phys. 31 (8) (1993) p. 983.
C.L. Aitkin and D.R. Paul, J. Polym. Sci.: Part B-Polym. Phys. 31 (8) (1993) p. 1061.
H.J. Bixler and O.J. Sweeting, in The Science and Technology of Polymer Films, edited by O.J. Sweeting (Wiley Interscience, New York, 1971) p. 1.
D. Fritsch and K.V. Peinemann, J. Membr. Sci. 99 (1) (1995) p. 29.
D. Hofman, J. Ulbrich, D. Fritsch, and D. Paul, Polymer 37 (21) (1996) p. 4773.
H. Kita, M. Tabuchi, and T. Sakai, “Polymer separation membrane,” U.S. Patent 6,656,252 B2 (December 2, 2003).
J.S. McHattie, W.J. Koros, and D.R. Paul, Polymer 32 (14) (1991) p. 2618.
J.S. McHattie, W.J. Koros, and D.R. Paul, J. Polym. Sci.: Part B-Polym. Phys. 29 (6) (1991) p. 731.
J.S. McHattie, W.J. Koros, and D.R. Paul, Polymer 32 (5) (1991) p. 840.
J.S. McHattie, W.J. Koros, and D.R. Paul, Polymer 33 (8) (1992) p. 1701.
K.E. Min and D.R. Paul, J. Polym. Sci.: Part B-Polym. Phys. 26 (5) (1988) p. 1021.
J.M. Mohr, D.R. Paul, and W.J. Koros, J. Membr. Sci. 56 (1) (1991) p. 77.
J.M. Mohr, D.R. Paul, G.L. Tullos, and P.E. Cassidy, Polymer 32 (13) (1991) p. 2387.
Y. Nagasaki, M. Suda, T. Tsuruta, K. Ishihara, and Y. Nagase, Makromol. Chem.-Rapid Commun. 10 (6) (1989) p. 255.
R. Srinivasan, S.R. Auvil, and P.M. Burban, J. Membr. Sci. 86 (1–2) (1994) p. 67.
S.A. Stern, Y. Mi, H. Yamamoto, and A.K. St. Clair, J. Polym. Sci.: Part B-Polym. Phys. 27 (9) (1989) p. 1887.
K. Takada, H. Matsuya, T. Masuda, and T. Higashimura, J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 30 (4) (1985) p. 1605.
K. Tanaka, H. Kita, M. Okano, and K. Okamoto, Polymer 33 (3) (1992) p. 585.
H. Yamamoto, Y. Mi, S.A. Stern, and A.K. St. Clair, J. Polym. Sci.: Part B-Polym. Phys. 28 (12) (1990) p. 2291.
H. Kita, T. Inada, K. Tanaka, and K. Okamoto, J. Membr. Sci. 87 (1–2) (1994) p. 139.
Y. Liu, M.X. Ding, and J.P. Xu, J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 58 (3) (1995) p. 485.
M.E. Rezac and B. Schoberl, J. Membr. Sci. 156 (2) (1999) p. 211.
C.T. Wright and D.R. Paul, J. Membr. Sci. 129 (1) (1997) p. 47.
O.M. Ekiner, “Gas separation membranes of blends of polyethersulfones with aromatic polyimides,” U.S. Patent 5,917,137 (June 29, 1999).
S.M. MacKinnon, “Process for preparing graft copolymers and membranes formed therefrom,” U.S. Patent 6,828,386 B2 (December 7, 2004).
S. Nakanishi, T. Yoshinaga, K. Ito, and Y. Kusuki, “Gas separation membrane and method for its use,” U.S. Patent 6,464,755 B2 (October 15, 2002).
J.W. Simmons, “Block polyurethane-ether and polyurea-ether gas separation membranes,” U.S. Patent 6,843,829 B2 (January 18, 2005).
J.W. Simmons, “Block polyester-ether gas separation membranes,” U.S. Patent 6,860,920 B2 (March 1, 2005).
Y. Ding, B. Bikson, and J.K. Nelson, “Polymide gas separation membranes,” U.S. Patent 6,790,263 (September 14, 2004).
H. Kawakami, S. Nagaoka, Y. Suzuki, and M. Iwaki, “Gas separation membrane and method of producing the same,” U.S. Patent 6,709,491 B2 (March 23, 2004).
R.W. Baker, I. Pinnau, Z. He, A.R. Da Costa, R. Daniels, K.D. Amo, and J.G. Wijmans, “Gas separation using organic-vapor-resistant membranes in conjunction with organic-vapor-selective membranes,” U.S. Patent 6,572,697 B2 (June 3, 2003).
B. Bikson, S.A. Bartholomew, S. Giglia, and B.Q. Johnson, “Hollow fiber membrane gas separation cartridge and gas purification assembly,” U.S. Patent 6,814,780 B2 (November 9, 2004).
Y. Engler, and F. Fuentes, “Plant for the production of hydrogen and of energy,” U.S. Patent 5,989,501 (November 23, 1999).
F. Fuentes, “Installation for the production of pure hydrogen from a gas containing helium,” U.S. Patent 6,669,922 B1 (December 30, 2003).
K.A. Lokhandwala and R.W. Baker, “Hydrogen/hydrocarbon separation process, including PSA and membranes,” U.S. Patent 6,592,749 (July 15, 2003).
N. Siadous, Y. Engler, and C. Monereau, “Method for separating a gas mixture with a permeation membrane unit,” U.S. Patent 6,977,007 B2 (December 20, 2005).
P.S. Wallace, J.L. Kasbaum, and K.A. Johnson, “Hydrogen recycle and acid gas removal using a membrane,” U.S. Patent 6,416,568 B1 (July 9, 2002).
N. Yamashita and T. Yamamoto, “Method and apparatus for recovering a gas from a gas mixture,” U.S. Patent 6,197,090 B1 (March 6, 2001).
“FutureGen coalition formed,” Power Eng. 109 (10) (2005) p. 16.
R. Peltier, Power 147 (4) (2003) p. 52.
M.C. Williams, J.P. Strakey, and W.A. Surdoval, J. Power Sources 143 (1–2) (2005) p. 191.
T.C. Merkel, R.P. Gupta, B.S. Turk, and B.D. Freeman, J. Membr. Sci. 191 (1–2) (2001) p. 85.
I. Pinnau and Z.J. He, J. Membr. Sci. 244 (1–2) (2004) p. 227.
Y. Hirayama, Y. Kase, R. Tanihara, Y. Sumiyama, Y. Kusuki, and K. Haraya, J. Membr. Sci. 160 (1) (1999) p. 87.
K. Nagai, B.D. Freeman, A. Cannon, and H.R. Allcock, J. Membr. Sci. 172 (1–2) (2000) p. 167.
K. Nagai and T. Nakagawa, in ACS Symp. Series (American Chemical Society, Washington, DC, 2004).
H. Suzuki, K. Tanaka, H. Kita, K. Okamoto, H. Hoshino, T. Yoshinaga, and Y. Kusuki, J. Membr. Sci. 146 (1) (1998) p. 31.
S. Kazama, S. Duan, C. Ohno, T. Kouketsu, Y. Shimada, F.A. Chowdhury, I. Fujiwara, K. Haraya, K. Nagai, B.D. Freeman, and K. Yamada, in Proc. 7th Int. Conf. Greenhouse Gas Control Technologies (Elsevier, 2005).
K. Nagai, Jpn. J. Polym. Sci. Tech. (Kobunshi Ronbunshu) 61 (2004) p. 420.
K. Nagai, Membrane 29 (2004) p. 42.
M. Anand, M. Langsam, M.B. Rao, and S. Sircar, J. Membr. Sci. 123 (1) (1997) p. 17.
V.I. Bondar, B.D. Freeman, and I. Pinnau, J. Polym. Sci.: Part B-Polym. Phys. 38 (15) (2000) p. 2051.
I. Pinnau, C.G. Casillas, A. Morisato, and B.D. Freeman, J. Polym. Sci.: Part B-Polym. Phys. 34 (15) (1996) p. 2613.
R.D. Raharjo, H.J. Lee, B.D. Freeman, T. Sakaguchi, and T. Masuda, Polymer 46 (17) (2005) p. 6316.
L.M. Robeson, W.F. Burgoyne, M. Langsam, A.C. Savoca, and C.F. Tien, Polymer 35 (23) (1994) p. 4970.
H. Makino, Y. Kusuki, H. Yoshida, and A. Nakamura, “Process for preparing aromatic polyimide semipermeable membranes,” U.S. Patent 4,378,324 (March 29, 1983).
D.W. Breck, Zeolite Molecular Sieves (John Wiley & Sons, New York, 1974) p. 783.