Compared to the conventional amine adsorption process to separate CO₂ from natural gas, the membrane separation technology has exhibited advantages in easy operation and lower capital cost. However, the high CO₂ partial pressure in natural gas can plasticize the membranes, which can lead to the loss of CH₄ and low CO₂/CH₄ separation efficiency. Crosslinking of polymer membranes have been proven effective to increase the CO₂ induced plasticization resistance by controlling the degree of swelling and segmental chain mobility in the polymer. This thesis focuses on extending the success of crosslinking to more productive asymmetric hollow fibers. In this work, the productivity of asymmetric hollow fibers was optimized by reducing the effective selective skin layer thickness. Thermal crosslinking and catalyst assisted crosslinking were performed on the defect-free thin skin hollow fibers to stabilize the fibers against plasticization. The natural gas separation performance of hollow fibers was evaluated by feeding CO₂/CH₄ gas mixture with high CO₂ content and pressure.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2009. / Title from first page of PDF file. Includes bibliographical references (p. 268-291).

The gas transport properties of side-chain crystalline poly(n-alkyl acrylate) and poly(m-alkyl acrylate) blends are determined as a function of temperature for varying side-chain lengths, n and m, and blend compositions. The side chains of poly(n-alkyl acrylate)s crystallize independently of the main chain for n [is greater than or equal to] 10 which leads to an extraordinary increase in the permeability at the melting temperature of the crystallites. The compatibility of these polymers are examined and macroscopic homogeneity is observed for a small range of n and m when the difference /n - m/ is between 2 - 4 methylene units. Thermal analysis shows that the blend components crystallize independently of one another; at the same time, the crystallization of each component is hindered by the presence the other component. The permeation responses of these blends show two distinct permeation jumps as the crystallites from each component melt at their respective melting temperatures. Blends with continuous permeation responses are found to have higher effective activation energies than observed for common polymers. Thermal analysis proved to be a useful tool to help predict the permeation response for poly(alkyl acrylates); thus the thermal behavior of poly(n-alkyl acrylate) blended with n-aliphatic materials and random copolymers of poly(n-alkyl acrylates) are briefly examined. A bulk modified atmospheric storage design is proposed where produce is stored in a rigid chamber that is equipped with both selective and non-selective membrane modules that help regulate the oxygen entering and the carbon dioxide leaving the produce compartment. The design enables control of the atmosphere inside the chamber by modulating gas flow, i.e. the gas flow rate and composition, through the non-selective membrane by delivering fresh air upstream of the non-selective membrane. The model shows that the choice of materials for the selective and non-selective membranes dictate the range of concentrations achievable; however, the air flow rate allows the control between these ranges. The method to design a practical chamber from this model is also described.

The removal of higher hydrocarbons from natural gas streams is an important separation that has been identified as a growth area for polymer membranes. An ideal membrane material for this separation would be more permeable to higher hydrocarbons (i.e., C3+ compounds) than to CH₄. This allows the CH₄ rich permeate to be retained at or near feed pressure, thus minimizing the requirement for repressurization followingmembrane separation. A polymer which demonstrates the ability to separate vapor from gases with high efficiency is poly [1-(trimethylsilyl)-1-propyne] (PTMSP). PTMSP is a stiff chain, high free volume glassy polymer well known for its very high gas permeability and outstanding vapor/gas selectivity. However, PTMSP is soluble in many organic compounds, leading to potential dissolution of the membrane in process streams where its separation properties are of greatest interest. PTMSP also undergoes significant physical aging, which is the gradual relaxation of non-equilibrium excess free volume in glassy polymers. Crosslinking PTMSP with bis(azide)s was undertaken in an attempt to increase the solvent resistance and physical stability of the polymer. A fundamental investigation into crosslinking PTMSP with a bis(azide) crosslinker was the focus of this thesis. Pure gas transport measurements were conducted with N₂, O₂, CH₄, C₂H6, C₃H₈, and n-C₄H₁₀ over temperatures raging from -20°C to 35°C and pressures ranging from 0 to 20 atm. Mixed gas permeation experiments were conducted using a 98 mol % CH₄, and 2 mol % n-C₄H₁₀ mixture. The mixed gas permeation experiments were conducted at temperatures ranging from -20°C to 35°C, and pressures ranging from 4 to 18 atm. Inorganic nanoparticles such as fumed silica (FS) were added to uncrosslinked and crosslinked PTMSP, and the effects of their addition on the transport properties were investigated. Crosslinking PTMSP with bis(azide)s increases its solvent resistance, and crosslinked films are insoluble in common PTMSP solvents such as toluene. At all temperatures, the initial pure and mixed gas permeabilities of crosslinked PTMSP films are less than those of uncrosslinked PTMSP. This decrease in permeability is consistent with the fractional free volume (FFV) decrease that accompanies crosslinking. Pure gas solubility coefficients are relatively unaffected by the crosslinking process, so the decrease in permeability is caused by decreases in diffusivity. The addition of FS nanoparticles increases the initial pure and mixed gas permeabilities of uncrosslinked and crosslinked PTMSP. The pure gas permeabilities and solubilities of all PTMSP films increase when the temperature decreases, while the diffusivities decrease. The rates of change in pure gas transport properties with temperature is similar for all films, so the temperature dependence of pure gas transport properties of PTMSP is unaffected by the addition of crosslinks or FS. The aging of uncrosslinked and crosslinked PTMSP films was investigated by monitoring N₂, O₂ and CH₄ permeabilities and FFV over time. The FFV and permeabilities of crosslinked films decreased over time, so crosslinking did not arrest the physical aging of PTMSP, as has been previously reported, and these differences in aging observations are likely to be a consequence of differences in post film casting thermaltreatments. The addition of 10 wt % polysiloxysilsesquioxanes (POSS) nanoparticles decreases the permeabilities of uncrosslinked and crosslinked PTMSP by approximately 70 %, and the permeability and FFV values of the resulting nanocomposite films were stable over the course of 200 days. In all PTMSP films, the mixed gas permeabilities of n-C₄H₁₀ increase with decreasing temperature, while the mixed gas CH₄ permeabilities decrease with decreasing temperature. As a result, the mixed gas n-C₄H₁₀/CH₄ permeability selectivities increase with decreasing temperatures. The addition of crosslinks and FS nanoparticles to PTMSP decreases the mixed gas n-C₄H₁₀/CH₄ permeability selectivities, and changes in the free volume characteristics of PTMSP caused by crosslinking and FS nanoparticles are thought to reduce the blocking of CH₄ permeation by n-C₄H₁₀. / text

Natural gas feeds often contain contaminants such as CO₂, H₂S, H₂O, and small hydrocarbons. Carbon dioxide is a major contaminant reducing the heating value of the gas and causing pipeline corrosion, so CO₂ level should be lowered to below 2% to meet the United States pipeline specifications. Membrane separation technology can be advantageous over cryogenic distillation and amine adsorption in terms of cost and efficiency. The key hurdle to overcome in polymeric membrane separation technology is improvement in selectivity, productivity, and durability without introducing significant additional cost. The ultimate goal of this study is to analyze effects due to polymerization conditions and imidization methods on properties of 1,3-propanediol monoesterified crosslinkable polyimide (PDMC). Hillock, Omole, Ward, and Ma did work on PDMC synthesis; however, variability of polymer properties remains a challenge that must be overcome for industrial implementation of PDMC material. First, reaction temperature and reaction time of polymerization prior to imidization were considered as key conditions to affect molecular weight, crosslinkability and transport properties of polymer. Batches with controlled reaction temperature and time were prepared, and properties of each dense film were measured and optimized in terms of permeability, selectivity, and plasticization suppression. Second, imidization methods for PDMC were also studied. There are mainly two kinds of Imidization: chemical Imidization and thermal Imidization. Surprisingly, thermally imidized PDMC showed 70% higher permeability than chemically imidized samples with minimal acrifice in selectivity. At high reaction temperature during the thermal imidization, transamidation can occur. It is believed that the transamidation led to more randomized sequence distribution in the thermally imidized samples. We thus hypothesize that the higher permeability of the thermally imidized PDMC results from greater uniformity of the sequence distribution, as compared to the chemically imidized sample that does not experience high temperature during imidization. XRD, DSC, DMA, and permeation instruments checked and supported this hypothesis. FTIR, TGA, and NMR ruled out the possibility of an alternate hypothesis related to side reaction. Finally, effects of aggressive feed conditions on both chemically imidized PDMC and thermally imidized PDMC dense film were examined. The aggressive feed conditions include high CO₂ partial pressure, operating temperatures, and exposure to high feed pressure. Testing aggressive feed conditions for dense film should be pursued before pursuing hollow fiber applications, to decouple effects on the basic material from those on the more complex asymmetric morphology. This study enables understanding of the disparity between various previous researchers’ selectivity and permeability values. The work shows clearly that polymerization conditions and imidization methods must be specified and controlled to achieve consistently desirable polymer properties. In addition, for batch scale-up and development to a hollow fiber, this fundamental study should enable production of high molecular weight PDMC with good fiber spinnability and defect-free structure.

It had been shown that the transport properties of CMS membranes varies as a function of H₂S exposure making the conditioning protocol an important step in identifying the steady state properties of CMS membranes. In this study the conditioning of CMS membranes with H₂S was studied for the determination of the acid gas steady state transport properties. The conditioned steady state has been shown to be the same state for both an extended conditioning protocol using high pressure mixed gas and a rapid conditioning protocol using pure H₂S. The rate of conditioning does vary between the two conditioning protocols as the rapid conditioning protocol takes 48 hours less to reach the conditioned steady state. The results of this study also show that oxygen doping during the formation of the CMS membrane affects the final, conditioned steady state transport properties.

Mixed matrix membranes that comprise domains of organic and inorganic components are investigated in this research. Such materials effectively circumvent the polymeric 'upper bound trade-off curve' and show properties highly attractive for industrial gas separations. Nevertheless, lack of intrinsic compatibility between the organic polymers and inorganic fillers poses the biggest challenge to successful fabrication of mixed matrix membranes. Consequently, control of the nanoscale interface between the sieve and polymer has been the key technical challenge to the implementation of composite membrane materials. The overarching goal of this research was to devise and explore approaches to enhance the performance of mixed matrix membranes by properly tailoring the sieve/polymer interface. In an effort to pursue the aforementioned objective, three approaches were developed and inspected: (i) use of silane coupling agents, (ii) hydrophobizing of sieve surface through alcohol etherification reactions, and (iii) a two-step modification sequence involving the use of a Grignard reagent. A comparison was drawn to evaluate these methodologies and the most effective strategy (Grignard treatment) was selected and further investigated. Successful formulation and characterization of mixed matrix membranes constituting zeolite 4A modified via the Grignard treatment are described in detail. Membranes with impressive improvements in gas separation efficiency and mechanical properties were demonstrated. The basis for the improvements in polymer/sieve compatibility enabled by this specific process were proposed and investigated. A key aspect of the present study was illuminating the detailed chemical mechanisms involved in the Grignard modification. Systematic characterization and carefully designed experiments revealed that the formation of distinctive surface structures is essentially a heterogeneous nucleation process, where Mg(OH)2 crystals grow from the nuclei previously extracted from zeolites. In addition to the main work, discovery of sonication-induced dealumination of zeolites was made during the systematic exploration of Grignard chemistry. The new procedure employing sonication can potentially be applied to prepare zeolites with a variety of Si/Al ratios under relatively mild conditions. The last part of this thesis focused on development of a technique to generalize the highly specific Grignard treatment to inorganic materials other than zeolite 4A. This work delivered composite membranes with improved interfacial adhesion. Moreover, research revealed the effect of surface nuclei density on the ultimate morphology of deposited nanostructures and how different surface morphologies influence polymer/filler interaction in composite membranes. Methods were devised to tailor the morphologies of such structures in order to optimize adhesion enhancement. The acquired results demonstrated the potential of extending this modification process to a broad domain of materials and render it a general methodology for interfacial adhesion promotion.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2007. / Full text release at OhioLINK's ETD Center delayed at author's request

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Por meio das mudanças de paradigmas relacionados à gestão ambiental e elevação dos custos de lançamento de efluente, captação e tratamento de água, as indústrias passam por processos de inovação que resultam em melhor utilização dos recursos e maior diminuição dos custos. Além disso, as empresas estão sujeitas a maiores exigências quanto à legislação ambiental vigente impulsionando-as a implantar sistemas de reúso de efluentes. Apesar de representar uma importante atividade econômica, a indústria de laticínios é responsável pela geração de efluentes líquidos com alto potencial poluidor. O presente trabalho teve como objetivo a redução de contaminantes e melhoria da biodegradabilidade de efluentes de laticínios utilizando tratamentos combinados, em destaque, coagulação/floculação, processos com membranas e oxidação/redução química fotocatalítica. Os efluentes foram provenientes de uma indústria da região, oriundos da etapa de nanofiltração do soro ultrafiltrado. Eles foram divididos em duas correntes, denominadas de concentrado de nanofiltração (corrente 1) e permeado de nanofiltração (corrente 2). Para o tratamento da corrente 1 foi proposto inicialmente coagulação/floculação utilizando diferentes agentes coagulantes naturais (quitosana, derivado de tanino e extrato de moringa), seguido do uso de processos com membranas do tipo microfiltração (0,40 ?m em polieterimida) e ultrafiltração (50 kDa em polietersulfona). Para a corrente 2 foi proposto a utilização de Processos Oxidativos e Redutivos Avançados. Em todas as etapas foi utilizada a Metodologia da Superfície de Resposta para identificação das condições otimizadas. Para o tratamento de coagulação/floculação da corrente 1 foram avaliadas as influências do pH, dos coagulantes naturais e da agitação sobre as variáveis resposta reduções de carbono orgânico total (COT), demanda química de oxigênio (DQO) e turbidez. Na condição indicada como ótima foram alcançadas reduções de 18,3% de COT, 12,7% de DQO e 19,6% de turbidez. A partir da condição otimizada a corrente 1 foi submetida aos processos com membranas, sendo selecionada a microfiltração como melhor tratamento. O uso dessas membranas possibilitou reduções de 1,25% em COT, 5,21% em DQO e 87,4% em turbidez. A combinação destas tecnologias possibilitou a eliminação de 20,1%, 18,0%, 89,8% em COT, DQO e turbidez, respectivamente. Para o tratamento da corrente 2 foram utilizados diferentes tipos de processos oxidativos avançados sendo eles, foto-Fenton (íons ferrosos) e foto-Fenton avançado (uso de ferro metálico). Nestes casos foram avaliadas a influência das concentrações de peróxido de hidrogênio e íon ferroso e ferro metálico considerando como variáveis resposta reduções de COT e DQO. Os resultados otimizados obtidos para o POA foto-Fenton permitiram reduções de 89,9% em COT e 50,8% em DQO, enquanto os resultados otimizados para POA foto-Fenton avançado foram reduções de 74,9% de COT e 41,0% de DQO. / Through the paradigm changes related to environmental management and rising costs of effluent discharge, water abstraction and treatment, industries undergo innovation processes that result in better use of resources and greater reduction in costs. Moreover, companies are submitted to greater requirements regarding environmental regulations driving them to deploy reuse of wastewater systems. Despite representing an important economic activity, the dairy industry is responsible for producing wastewater with high pollution potential. The present work was carried out in order to reduce contaminants and improve the biodegradability of dairy effluent by using an hybrid wastewater treatment based on coagulation/flocculation, membrane process and photocatalytic chemical oxidation/reduction. The effluents came from a regional industry and originating from the nanofiltration step of an ultrafiltrate whey. They were divided into two streams, called nanofiltration concentrate (stream 1) and nanofiltration permeate (stream 2). For the treatment of stream 1 was initially proposed coagulation/flocculation using different natural coagulant agents (chitosan, derivative tannin and moringa extract), followed by membrane processes type of microfiltration (0.40 ?m in polyetherimide) and ultrafiltration (50 kDa in polyethersulfone). For the stream 2 Advanced Oxidation and Reductive Processes were performed. In all steps of the work Response Surface Methodology was used to identify the optimum conditions. For the coagulation/flocculation treatment, the influence of the pH, natural coagulants and agitation were evaluated on the response variables total organic carbon (TOC), chemical oxygen demand (COD) and turbidity reductions. The optimized results reduced of 18.3% TOC, 12.7% COD and 19.6% turbidity. From the indicated condition stream 1 was submitted to membrane processes, being selected the microfiltration as the best treatment. The use of theses membranes provided 1.25% TOC, 5.21% COD and 87.4% turbidity reductions. The combination of these technologies has enabled the elimination of 20.1%, 18.0%, 89.8% in TOC, COD and turbidity, respectively. For the treatment of the stream 2 different types of Advanced Oxidation Processes were used being them, photo-Fenton (ferrous ions) and advanced photo-Fenton (metallic iron). In this cases the influence of the hydrogen peroxide, ferrous ion and metallic iron concentrations were evaluated, considering as response variables TOC and COD reductions. The optimized results for the photo-Fenton AOP allowed 89.9% TOC and 50.8% COD reductions, while the results optimized for advanced photo-Fenton AOP were 74.9% TOC and 41.0% COD reductions.