Glass-Supported Membrane for Gas Separation
Official patent title
Glass supported separation membrane
Arabic title: غشاء فصل مدعوم بالزجاج
Invention
Invention
Problem
Polymer gas-separation layers can face a permeability–selectivity tradeoff, chemical degradation, and mechanical handling constraints when used without an appropriate porous support.
Why it matters
A glass-supported selective layer could provide a controlled laboratory format for separating or enriching gases while preserving the thin polymer membrane geometry.
Approach
The invention casts a porous diselenide-containing polyimide layer onto a porous glass substrate and uses preferential permeation, with optional adsorption, to enrich one component of a gas mixture.
Who may benefit
Potential beneficiaries include membrane and glass-substrate manufacturers, industrial-gas researchers, carbon-management teams, specialty-polymer producers, and process-separation developers.
Potential value
The claims focus on a defined diselenide polyimide supported specifically on porous glass, with controlled polymerization, casting concentration, and progressive thermal treatment.
Background
Background
Industrial gas purification can use sorbents, cryogenic distillation, or membranes. Sorbent systems require regeneration, while cryogenic separation is energy intensive for many dilute streams. Polyimide membranes offer adjustable chemistry but must balance permeability, selectivity, thermal stability, chemical stability, and physical support. The disclosed polymer uses alternating units derived from 4,4′-diselanediyldianiline and ethylenediaminetetraacetic dianhydride. This document claims the porous polyimide specifically as a layer on porous glass and describes separation of mixtures containing hydrogen, nitrogen, methane, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, or hydrogen sulfide.
Technology overview
Technology overview
The polyimide is formed at a 1:1 monomer ratio through a poly(amic acid) intermediate stirred for 10–14 hours and heated at 170–200 °C for 8–10 hours. Repeating units have n=2–1000. A 10–30 wt.% solution of the polymer is cast on porous glass, then heated progressively at 50–70 °C for 10–30 hours, 90–110 °C for 4–8 hours, and 140–160 °C for 10–30 hours. During use, one gas permeates preferentially to form an enriched permeate, with optional membrane adsorption.
Potential applications
Potential applications
- Potential use in glass-supported laboratory gas-separation modules.
- Potential use in CO2 or H2S removal research.
- Potential use in hydrogen, nitrogen, methane, or carbon-monoxide enrichment studies.
- Potential use for evaluating adhesion and transport in supported polyimide films.
Evidence-supported advantages
Evidence-supported advantages
- Uses a porous glass substrate to support the selective polymer layer.
- Defines the diselenide-polyimide monomers and their 1:1 ratio.
- Provides casting concentration and three staged heating windows.
- Covers preferential permeation together with optional adsorption.
Development stage
Development stage
Patent publication describing polymer synthesis and glass-supported membrane fabrication; independent mixed-gas performance, module validation, and commercialization were not established.
Commercial opportunity
Commercial opportunity
The glass-supported format may support partnerships in analytical, laboratory, or process-gas membrane modules. Development should measure mixed-gas selectivity, flux, pressure tolerance, glass–polymer adhesion, pinholes, thermal cycling, contaminant resistance, aging, selenium and solvent handling, module sealing, cleaning, reproducibility, scale-up, and compatibility with target gas streams.
Patent classifications
Patent classifications
WIPO IPC
- B01D71/64Separation
- B01D53/22Separation
CPC
- B01D53/228Separation
- B01D67/0011Separation
- B01D67/0013Separation
- B01D71/64Separation
- C08G73/1057Macromolecular compounds obtained otherwise than by reactions involving only carbon-to-carbon unsaturated bonds
- C08G73/1078Macromolecular compounds obtained otherwise than by reactions involving only carbon-to-carbon unsaturated bonds
- C08G73/1085Macromolecular compounds obtained otherwise than by reactions involving only carbon-to-carbon unsaturated bonds
- C08J5/18Working-up; general compounding processes; after-treatment of macromolecular compounds
- B01D2053/221Separation
- B01D2323/081Separation
- C08J2379/08Working-up; general compounding processes; after-treatment of macromolecular compounds
Inventors
Inventors
- First inventorTarek Ahmed Yousef
- InventorSaad Shaaban
Keywords
Keywords
- glass support
- gas-separation membrane
- polyimide
- diselenide
- permeation
- CO2
- H2S
- porous film
Patent document and drawings
Patent document and drawings
The patent publication is mapped to this record. Patent drawings remain within that publication; no separately cleared public media package has been supplied.