A novel facilitated transport membrane containing PEBA/Polysaccharidefor CO2 separation

Polymeric membranes performance in gas separation can be improved using fusion of amine and hydroxyl carriersinto rubbery or glassy polymeric membranes. Polysaccharide (PS) and – polyether-block-amide (PEBA) areindividually capable for separating acid gases from natural gas. In this work, PS was incorporated in the PEBA byblending to evaluate its performance in acid gases separation. PS distribution in the polymeric matrix and structuralproperties were characterized via FTIR and FESEM analyses. The effect of PS content on the gas separationperformance of membranes was investigated at different pressures (1-7 bar) in ambient temperature (52C). Theresults showed that by blending PS into PEBA, the increased fractional free volume led to more gas transportchannels generated in polymeric network, resulting in an increased CO5 permeability. By applying 25 wt. % PS, thefinal membrane showed the highest CO5 permeability (525 Barrer) and a moderate separation factor (2.85 for CO5/ N5) at 52 C. It can be concluded that PS can be an excellent candidate to be blended into PEBA matrix to surpassthe Robeson upper bound (555.) line and reach industrial membranes with good performance.