초록 ▼

Multicomponent membranes for gas separation are disclosed which are effective for separating at least one gas from gaseous mixtures by permeation wherein the multicomponent membranes are comprised of a coating in occluding contact with a porous separation membrane. The multicomponent membranes advan

Multicomponent membranes for gas separation are disclosed which are effective for separating at least one gas from gaseous mixtures by permeation wherein the multicomponent membranes are comprised of a coating in occluding contact with a porous separation membrane. The multicomponent membranes advantageously exhibit less resistance to permeate gas flow for the at least one gas than for at least one remaining gas in the gaseous mixture. For at least one pair of gases the separation factor of the multicomponent membrane is significantly greater than the determined intrinsic separation factor of the material of the coating. Processes and apparatus for gas separation utilizing the multicomponent membranes are also disclosed.

대표청구항 ▼

A multicomponent membrane for gas separation comprising a coating in occluding contact with a porous separation membrane of material, which material exhibits selective permeation of at least one gas of a gaseous mixture over that of one or more remaining gases of the gaseous mixture, said porous sep

A multicomponent membrane for gas separation comprising a coating in occluding contact with a porous separation membrane of material, which material exhibits selective permeation of at least one gas of a gaseous mixture over that of one or more remaining gases of the gaseous mixture, said porous separation membrane having a substantial void volume, wherein, with respect to at least one pair of gases, the material of the porous separation membrane exhibits a determined intrinsic separation factor greater than the determined intrinsic separation factor of the material of said coating, and the multicomponent membrane exhibits a separation factor significantly greater than the determined intrinsic separation factor of the material of said coating and greater than the separation factor exhibited by the porous separation membrane. In an apparatus for selectively separating at least one gas in a gaseous mixture from at least one remaining gas comprising an enclosure and a membrane within said enclosure for selectively separating said at least one gas in the gaseous mixture and providing a permeated product, said membrane having a feed surface and an opposing exit surface, and said enclosure having means to enable said gaseous mixture to be supplied said feed surface, means to enable removal of gases from the vicinity of the feed surface, and means to enable said permeated product to be removed from the vicinity of the exit surface, the improvement wherein the membrane comprises a multicomponent membrane of claim 1. A process for separating at least one gas in a gaseous mixture from at least one other gas in said gaseous mixture by selective permeation and providing a permeated product containing at least one permeating gas, comprising: contacting the gaseous mixture with one surface of a multicomponent membrane, which, with respect to at least one pair of gases of said gaseous mixture multicomponent membrane exhibits selective permeation of one gas of said pair of gases over that of the remaining gas of said pair of gases, and which multicomponent membrane comprises a coating and a porous separation membrane being anisotropic having a substantial void volume and at least one relatively dense region within its thickness in barrier flow relationship to gas flow across the porous separation membrane, wherein the coating is in occluding contact with at least one relatively dense region, wherein, with respect to said pair of gases, the material of the porous separation membrane exhibits a determined intrinsic separation factor greater than the determined intrinsic separation factor of the material of said coating, and the multicomponent membrane exhibits a separation factor significantly greater than the determined intrinsic separation factor of the material of the coating and greater than the separation factor exhibited by the porous separation membrane; maintaining the opposite surface of the multicomponent membrane at a lower chemical potential for said at least one permeating gas than the chemical potential at the said surface; permeating said at least one permeating gas into and through the multicomponent membrane; and removing from the vicinity of said opposite surface a permeated product having a different proportion of said at least one gas of said gaseous mixture to said at least one other gas of said gaseous mixture than the proportion in the gaseous mixture of said at least one gas to said at least one other gas.