SELECTIVE-MEMBRANE VALVE FOR TERNARY GAS-MIXTURE SEPARATION - MODEL OF MASS-TRANSFER AND EXPERIMENTAL TEST

The prospects for the gas separation membrane system with mobile liquid extractants flowing between two membranes (membrane valve) are discussed in this paper. The use of mobile membranes allows separation of multicomponent gas mixtures which are difficult to separate by conventional methods and leads to selectivity factors with the separate extraction of each component. The proposed technique for separation of gases was tested by separation of CO2/CH4/H-2 gas mixtures on a membrane valve with membranes from poly(vinyltrimethylsilane) (PVTMS) and flowing liquid membranes containing H2O and monoethanolamine solutions as carrier of CO2. The initial CO2/CH4/H-2 gas mixture consisted of 40 % CO2, 30 % CH4, and 30 % H-2, respectively. The concentrations of each of the separated gases obtained were more than 90 % on the outlets of the membrane valve. The phenomenological theory of selective gas permeation in a membrane valve in four possible modes is considered. Computer simulation of the separation process in a membrane valve was carried out.