The influence of surfactant Pluronic P123 addition on the mixed matrix membrane PEBAX 2533 – ZIF-8 separation properties

Abstract

The membrane gas separation process is frequently employed to remove H2S from biogas and to enrich it with methane. This process could be conducted using polymeric membranes, that is, made from PEBAX® 2533 copolymer. The mixed matrix membranes prepared using PEBAX® 2533 and metallic-organic framework fillers were tested in this paper. The presence of the dispersion phase could lead to the formation of defects in the composite structure. This is, in particular, the result of the agglomerates formation and the formation of void spaces between filler particles and polymeric chains. In order to decrease the probability of negative phenomena, the influence of Pluronic P123 surfactant addition on the membrane properties was also tested in this work. In the tests of the membranes with ZIF-8 filler, for CO2, CH4 and N2, there was noticed an improvement of permeability of about 20%–50% after the addition of Pluronic P123 surfactant, as well as an increase of membrane selectivity of about 10%–30%.