COMPOSITE HYDROXYL ETHYL CELLULOSE MEMBRANE FOR HYDROGEN PURIFICATION


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Uğur Nigiz F., Ünügül T.

Bartin University International Journal of Natural And Applied Sciences (JONAS), cilt.3, sa.2, ss.108-115, 2020 (Hakemli Dergi)

Özet

Hydrogen is an important fuel production chemical that is used both for generating electrical energy in fuel cells and in which many chemicals can be produced. Hydrogen can be produced either by chemical methods from petrochemical products or from biomass by fermentation. However, in order to use hydrogen as a fuel source, it must be separated from other waste gases. Although there are many methods used for separation, the most efficient, clean and inexpensive method is membrane gas separation. The effectiveness of this process depends on the membrane produced. In this study, hydroxy ethyl cellulose (HEC) and polystyrene sulfonic acid (PSSA) membranes was synthesized for selective separation of hydrogen from carbon dioxide. In order to increase the hydrogen selectivity, natural zeolite was incorporated into polymer matrix. The effects of HEC/PSSA ratio, and zeolite content on gas permeability and hydrogen selectivity were investigated. As the PSSA ratio increased in HEC matrix, both the hydrogen permeability and selectivity increased. The content of zeolite also increased the hydrogen gas separation performance. The highest selectivity of 5.69 was achieved when the HEC/PSSA ratio was 1 and the zeolite content was 20% (w/w). The separation results showed that the PSSA and natural zeolite showed a positive effect on hydrogen purification and the membranes can be considered as a hydrogen purification material.