Initiation of MOFs Hybrid Membrane Development for CO2 Gas Separation

Abstract

CO2 gas separation technology is the main technology that determines the success of Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage (CCUS) activities, so it needs to continue to be developed in a more effective and efficient direction. Membranes are one of the promising alternative CO2 separation technologies. Membrane technology can be developed using several materials, and what is currently being developed is Metal-Organic Frameworks (MOFs) because they have various advantages such as adjustable pore sizes and permanent properties. However, the cost of making MOFs material is still quite expensive, so further studies are needed.

In this study, research was conducted to develop a hybrid MOFs membrane using a mixture of MOFs and polymer materials. Polymers are relatively inexpensive materials and can be used to bind MOFs so that mixed-matrix membranes (MMMs) are obtained, where the polymer is the matrix material, and the MOFs are the filler material. The development of hybrid MOFs begins with the synthesis and characterization of several MOFs materials, namely Zr(BDC) and Zr(BDC-NH2) followed by the synthesis of hybrid MOFs using PSf polymer. The MOFs hybrid membrane sheets were then tested on a laboratory scale to determine their ability to separate CO2 gas from CH4. Then a comparison was made between the CO2 and CH4 escape values from the pure polymer membrane and the MOFs hybrid membrane to determine the changes in permeability and selectivity that occurred.

The test results showed an increase in the flux value of CO2 and CH4 in hybrid MOFs, where the increase in passed CO2 was far above that of passed CH4, so it can be concluded that the addition of filler MOFs succeeded in increasing the permeability and selectivity of the membrane. With the increased permeability and selectivity, it is hoped that the MOFs hybrid membrane can be used as a choice for CO2 separation technology in the future.