Magda Kárászová

Gas permeation processes in biogas upgrading: A short review

Biogas upgrading is a widely studied and discussed topic. Many different technologies have been employed to obtain biomethane from biogas. Methods like water scrubbing or pressure swing adsorption are commonly used and can be declared as well established. Membrane gas permeation found its place among the biogas upgrading methods some years ago. Here, we try to summarize the progress in the implementation of gas permeation in biogas upgrading. Gas permeation has been already accepted as a commercially feasible method for CO2 removal. Many different membranes and membrane modules have been tested and also some commercial devices are available. On the other hand, utilization of gas permeation in other steps of biogas upgrading like desulfurization, drying, or VOC removal is still rather rare. This review shows that membrane gas permeation is able to compete with classical biogas upgrading methods and tries to point out the main challenges of the research.

Carbon nanotube- and carbon fiber-reinforcement of ethylene-octene copolymer membranes for gas and vapor separation.

Gas and vapor transport properties were studied in mixed matrix membranes containing elastomeric ethylene-octene copolymer (EOC or poly(ethylene-co-octene)) with three types of carbon fillers: virgin or oxidized multi-walled carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and carbon fibers (CFs). Helium, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, methane, and carbon dioxide were used for gas permeation rate measurements. Vapor transport properties were studied for the aliphatic hydrocarbon (hexane), aromatic compound (toluene), alcohol (ethanol), as well as water for the representative samples. The mechanical properties and homogeneity of samples was checked by stress-strain tests. The addition of virgin CNTs and CFs improve mechanical properties. Gas permeability of EOC lies between that of the more permeable PDMS and the less permeable semi-crystalline polyethylene and polypropylene. Organic vapors are more permeable than permanent gases in the composite membranes, with toluene and hexane permeabilities being about two orders of magnitude higher than permanent gas permeability. The results of the carbon-filled membranes offer perspectives for application in gas/vapor separation with improved mechanical resistance.