POLYIMIDE-ZEOLITE MIXED MATRIX MEMBRANE (MMM) FOR BIOGAS PURIFICATION

Abstract

Biogas has being become significant potential as an alternative energy source due to the limitation of energy from fossil. In this study, a new type of mixed matrix membrane (MMM) consisting of polyimide-zeolite was synthesized and characterized for biogas purification. The MMM consists of medium concentration of polymer (20 %wt polyimide), 80 % N-Methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP) and 25 % zeolite 4A in total solid were prepared by a dry/wet phase inversion technique. The fabricated MMM was characterized using SEM and gas permeation. Post treatment coating procedure was also conducted. The research showed that surface coating by 3 % silicone rubber toward MMM PI 20 % gave the significant effect to improve membrane selectivity. The ideal selectivity for CO2/CH4 separation increased from 0.99 for before coating to 7.9 after coating for PI-Zeolite MMM, respectively. The results suggest that PI-Zeolite MMM with good post treatment procedure will increase the membrane selectivity and permeability with more saver polymer requirement as well as energy saving due to low energy for mixing.