Effect of preparation parameters on performance of dense homogeneous polycarbonate gas separation membranes

The aim of this study is to determine the effect of preparation parameters on the membrane permeation mechanism and separation performances of dense homogeneous poly(bisphenol A carbonate) (PC) membranes. Blade-casting and drop-casting techniques are used for casting films from solutions with varying concentrations. Chloroform and methylene chloride are used to determine the effect of the properties of the casting solvent. Permeation measurements are done with Ar, N-2, O-2, CH4, CO2, and H, gases. The selectivity values of dense homogeneous membranes with a PC composition of 7% (w/v chloroform) are 1.7 for Ar/N-2, 1.1. for CH4/N-2, 18 for CO2/N-2, 26 for H-2/N-2, and 9.7 for O-2/N-2. These values with a PC composition of 15% (w/v methylene chloride) are 2.7, 1.3, 25, 44, and 13 for the same gases, respectively. In addition to the importance of the solvent type and composition, the casting type and thermal history also affects the performance of the membrane. Increasing the annealing period enhances the selectivity while decreasing the permeability for both casting solvents, yet this thermal history effect strongly depends on the solvent type because of solvent-polymer interactions. (C) 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.