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Advancements in conventional and 3D printed feed spacers in membrane modules
Plate & frame and spiral-wound modules are used for gas separation, pervaporation, reverse osmosis, nanofiltration, ultrafiltration, microfiltration, electro-dialysis, electro-deionization, membrane distillation and forward osmosis membrane processes. Feed channel spacers are an integral part of both module types – providing mechanical support for a cross-flow channel through the module and, in most cases, promoting mixing to enhance mass transfer to reduce concentration polarization and fouling. However, enhanced mass transfer comes at a cost of increased hydraulic pressure losses and stagnant zones wherever a spacer filament touches a membrane surface. Further, these stagnant zones exacerbate membrane fouling and make cleaning more difficult. Efforts to improve feed spacer performance largely focus on adjusting the chemistry or geometry of the spacer to mitigate these challenges. Additive manufacturing (i.e. 3D printing) offers new degrees of freedom in feed spacer design and production, which opens up a new area of research in membrane technology. This review critically assesses the peer-reviewed literature on conventional net- or mesh-style feed spacers in addition to various novel spacer geometries and chemistries produced via 3D printing. We further review and evaluate conventional spacer manufacturing methods and discuss advantages and disadvantages of 3D printed spacers.
Transformational Membranes for Pre-Combustion Carbon Capture (Final Report)
The objectives of this project are to develop a cost-effective design and fabrication process of a novel transformational membrane and its membrane modules that capture CO 2 from coal derived syngas. We have synthesized transformational membranes, scaled up the membrane to a prototype size of 14 inches wide by 20 feet in continuous roll-to-roll fabrication, fabricated at least 9 prototype membrane modules (each with about 2.5-inch diameter, 14-inch length, and 800 cm 2 membrane area) for testing with simulated syngas at OSU to achieve capture with at least 95% CO 2 purity. The membrane modules are in commercial spiral-wound (SW) configuration with a minimal pressure drop (<0.103 bar/meter (1.5 psi/meter)).
Novel Transformational Membranes and Process for CO 2 Capture from Flue Gas (FE0031731)
The objectives of this project are to develop a cost-effective design and fabrication process for a novel transformational membrane and its membrane modules that capture CO 2 from flue gas. Optimization of the novel transformational membrane, scale-up of the membrane to a prototype size of about 20" wide in continuous roll-to-roll fabrication, and construction and testing of a skid for the integrated membrane process will be performed. For the design of this membrane, we use a cost-effective polymer support and coat a thin top layer of the membrane. The simplicity of this membrane design offers a low cost for the membrane element in commercial spiral-wound (SW) configuration (<$2.00/ft 2 or $21.5/m 2 ). The prototype membrane will be used to fabricate 6 pilot-size membrane modules (each about 20" length, 3 modules each at the commercial-size diameter of 8 inches with 35 m 2 membrane area for Stage 1 and 3 modules each at 5-inch diameter with 12 m 2 membrane area for Stage 2) for testing with simulated flue gas at OSU and with actual flue gas at the National Carbon Capture Center, Wilsonville, AL using the skid to capture the CO 2 (at 60 – 90%) with at least 95% CO 2 purity. The prototype membrane modules will be in commercial SW configuration with a minimal pressure drop (<0.103 bar/meter (1.5 psi/meter)). These objectives have been achieved successfully.
Development of Self-Assembly Supports Enabling Transformational Membrane Performance for Cost-Effective Carbon Capture
This final technical report describes work conducted by Membrane Technology and Research, Inc. (MTR) for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), National Energy Technology Lab (NETL) on the development of membranes with transformational performance for carbon capture under award number DE-FE0031596. The work was performed from June 1, 2018 through May 31, 2024. For more than a decade, MTR has worked in partnership with DOE to develop an innovative membrane-based CO 2 capture process. This effort has included the first test of membrane modules with coal-fired flue gas at the Arizona Public Services (APS) Cholla plant in 2010; the accumulation of >11,000 hours of flue gas operation for Polaris modules on a bench-scale 1 tonne/day (TPD) system at the National Carbon Capture Center (NCCC); scale-up of first-generation (Gen-1) Polaris to a 20 TPD small pilot system, and successful operation of this system on a flue gas slipstream at NCCC and in integrated boiler testing at Babcock & Wilcox (B&W). Through continued development efforts, a second-generation (Gen-2) version of the Polaris membrane has been scaled-up to pilot production. This membrane offers 70% higher CO 2 permeance with similar selectivity to the base case Polaris. MTR also developed planar modules designed specifically for the low-pressure, high-volumetric flow rate process conditions of flue gas operation. These new modules have significantly lower pressure-drop values compared to the type originally used (spiral-wound modules), which results in significant energy savings. The goal of the work described in this report was to improve on the Polaris Gen-2 membrane with the ultimate aim to reduce the cost of carbon capture. The majority of the effort was to develop improved support membranes for the multi-layer composite structure of MTR’s Polaris membrane. Earlier work at MTR had identified the support structure as limiting membrane permeances, not because the support itself represents a permeation resistance, but because the distribution of pores at the surface of the support imposes a geometric restriction to diffusion in the layers above it. Support membranes were prepared from a range of polymers, including commercially available block copolymers and a custom synthesized block copolymer alternative. The best support membranes developed in this project reduced the geometric restriction by a factor of two to three. These supports then were used to produce Polaris composite membranes with improved permeances. The second topic was to create a high-selectivity version of the Polaris membrane. The high-selectivity version uses a novel selective polymeric material and high selectivities were confirmed in experiments at MTR. The material is not easily made into very thin films. Consequently, the permeances are significantly lower than the Polaris Gen-2 membrane. The utility of this membrane is therefore limited to the carbon dioxide purification step that produces liquid CO 2 . A Technical and Economic Analysis (TEA) was performed for a carbon capture system that uses both advanced membrane types. The TEA shows the novel advanced membranes reduce the cost of capture by 10%, from $63.32/tonne CO 2 to $56.90/tonne CO 2 (2022 USD). Most of the development work was carried out with laboratory-scale casting and coating equipment. A number, but not all, of the improvements identified have been implemented on commercial-scale manufacturing equipment. The focus of future work at MTR is to incorporate the advancements made into the Polaris membrane manufacturing process.