Zeinab Darabi - Chemical Engineering Faculty, Sahand University of Technology, Tabriz, Iran
Ali Akbar Babaluo - Chemical Engineering Faculty, Sahand University of Technology, Tabriz, Iran
Sona Jamshidi - Chemical Engineering Faculty, Islamic Azad University, Tabriz Branch, Iran

A palladium membrane using the electroless plating technique (ELP) was prepared for the isolation and purification of hydrogen from gas mixture. The membrane performance in the presence of CO2 was investigated. Depending on operating conditions, hydrogen flux from the membrane was in the range of 0.012-0.023 mol.m-2.s-1. The results of the GC analysis showed that at a feed concentration of 10% CO2 and a difference pressure of 1-2 bar, no traces of CO2 in the permeate side was observed.However, due to the occupation of the catalytic active sites by carbon dioxide, hydrogen permeation through the membrane decreased. At the concentration of 20% CO2 and a difference pressure of 1-2bar, the peak of methane in the permeate side was detected by the GC analysis, which is related to the diffusion of carbon from the feed side to the permeation side. In order to recovery the poisoned membrane, it was exposed to hydrogen in 500 °C for an hour. The obtained results show that hydrogen permeation of the membrane was returned to the state before poisoning, confirming the successful recovery of membrane.

Palladium membrane, Electroless plating technique, Poisoning, Membrane recovery