Graphene-Enhanced Polymer Hollow Fiber Membranes for Efficient CO2 Capture from Industrial
The research group led by Dr. Akshay Modi in the Department of Chemical Engineering has developed advanced hollow fiber membranes to separate CO2 from industrial flue gases, offering a promising approach to reducing CO2 emissions. These membranes are made from a polymer called polyacrylonitrile and enhanced with graphene nanosheets to improve their gas separation performance. The study examined how modifying graphene surfaces with different chemical groups affects membrane performance. Among the materials tested, graphene modified with hydroxyl groups showed the best overall performance, owing to its better compatibility with the polymer and stronger interaction with CO2. The researchers identified 0.1 wt.% graphene as the optimal loading, as higher amounts caused the graphene particles to cluster together and reduced separation efficiency. Under simulated flue gas conditions, the optimized membrane achieved a CO2 permeance of 35.3 GPU and a CO2/N2 selectivity of 15.1, demonstrating its ability to preferentially separate CO2 from nitrogen. Importantly, the membrane maintained stable performance during 60 days of continuous operation. This research highlights the potential of graphene-enhanced hollow fiber membranes for efficient and reliable CO2 capture from industrial emissions, contributing to the development of technologies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.For more details, kindly visit https://doi.org/10.1021/acsaenm.6c00960.
