Fabrication of a High-Performance Polyetherimide Membrane for Helium Separation

 Abstract — Helium market is continuously growing due to its essential uses in the electronic and healthcare sectors. Currently, helium is produced by cryogenic distillation but the process is uneconomical especially for low production volumes. On the other hand, polymeric membranes can provide a cost-effective solution for helium purification due to their low operating energy. However, the preparation of membranes involves the use of very toxic solvents such as chloroform. In this work, polyetherimide membranes were prepared using a less toxic solvent, n-methylpyrrolidone with a polymer-to-solvent ratio of 27 wt%. The developed membrane showed a superior helium permeability of 15.9 Barrer that surpassed the permeability of membranes made by chloroform.

[1]  Y. Alqaheem,et al.  Preparation of polyetherimide membrane from non-toxic solvents for the separation of hydrogen from methane , 2018, Chemistry Central Journal.

[2]  M. Ho,et al.  The Economics of Helium Separation and Purification by Gas Separation Membranes , 2017 .

[3]  A. Ismail,et al.  Gas Separation Membranes: Polymeric and Inorganic , 2015 .

[4]  Enrico Drioli,et al.  Towards non-toxic solvents for membrane preparation: a review , 2014 .

[5]  Lin Hao,et al.  PIM-1 as an organic filler to enhance the gas separation performance of Ultem polyetherimide , 2014 .

[6]  Cynthia Keppley Mahmood,et al.  Helium , 2013 .

[7]  A. Kargari,et al.  Separation of hydrogen from methane by asymmetric PEI membranes , 2013 .

[8]  William J. Nuttall,et al.  The Future of Helium as a Natural Resource , 2012 .

[9]  S. Takahashi,et al.  Gas permeation in poly(ether imide) nanocomposite membranes based on surface-treated silica. Part 1: Without chemical coupling to matrix , 2006 .

[10]  M. Ulbricht.  Advanced functional polymer membranes , 2006 .

[11]  J. Villaluenga,et al.  Effects of polymer solvents on the performance of cellulose acetate membranes in methanol/methyl tertiary butyl ether separation , 2001 .

[12]  C. Hansen.  Hansen Solubility Parameters: A User's Handbook , 1999 .

[13]  J. Shieh,et al.  Phase-Inversion Poly(ether imide) Membranes Prepared from Water-Miscible/Immiscible Mixture Solvents , 1999 .

[14]  Benny D. Freeman,et al.  Basis of Permeability/Selectivity Tradeoff Relations in Polymeric Gas Separation Membranes , 1999 .

[15]  Vigor Yang,et al.  Liquid rocket engine combustion instability , 1995 .

[16]  W. Koros,et al.  Polymeric membranes based on bisphenol-A for gas separations , 1989 .

[17]  William J. Koros,et al.  Polymeric membrane materials for solution-diffusion based permeation separations , 1988 .

[18]  L Parmeggiani,et al.  Encyclopaedia of occupational health and safety. , 1984, Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine.

[19]  I. Matthews.  Encyclopaedia of Occupational Health and Safety , 1984 .

[20]  J. L. Harrison,et al.  The Government Printing Office , 1968, American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education.