A model for the separation of complex liquid mixtures with glassy polymer membranes: A thermodynamic perspective

Fluorine-rich poly(arylene amine) membranes for the separation of liquid aliphatic compounds

We explored the potential for membrane materials to reduce energy and carbon requirements for the separation of aliphatic hydrocarbon feedstocks and products. We developed a series of fluorine-rich poly(arylene amine) polymer membranes that feature rigid polymer backbones with segregated perfluoroalkyl side chains. This combination imbues the polymers with resistance to dilation induced by hydrocarbon immersion without the loss of solution-based membrane fabrication techniques. These materials exhibit good separation of liquid-phase alkane isomers at ambient temperatures. The integration of these polymeric membranes into fuel and chemical feedstock separation processes was investigated in a series of experiments. Technoeconomic analyses based on these experiments indicate that the best-performing membrane materials can substantially reduce the energy costs and associated carbon emissions of hydrocarbon separations (two to 10 times, depending on product specifications).

Modelling Sorption and Transport of Gases in Polymeric Membranes across Different Scales: A Review

Professor Giulio C. Sarti has provided outstanding contributions to the modelling of fluid sorption and transport in polymeric materials, with a special eye on industrial applications such as membrane separation, due to his Chemical Engineering background. He was the co-creator of innovative theories such as the Non-Equilibrium Theory for Glassy Polymers (NET-GP), a flexible tool to estimate the solubility of pure and mixed fluids in a wide range of polymers, and of the Standard Transport Model (STM) for estimating membrane permeability and selectivity. In this review, inspired by his rigorous and original approach to representing membrane fundamentals, we provide an overview of the most significant and up-to-date modeling tools available to estimate the main properties governing polymeric membranes in fluid separation, namely solubility and diffusivity. The paper is not meant to be comprehensive, but it focuses on those contributions that are most relevant or that show the potential to be relevant in the future. We do not restrict our view to the field of macroscopic modelling, which was the main playground of professor Sarti, but also devote our attention to Molecular and Multiscale Hierarchical Modeling. This work proposes a critical evaluation of the different approaches considered, along with their limitations and potentiality.

Dry Glass Reference Perturbation Theory Predictions of the Temperature and Pressure Dependent Separations of Complex Liquid Mixtures Using SBAD-1 Glassy Polymer Membranes

In this work we apply dry glass reference perturbation theory (DGRPT) within the context of fully mutualized diffusion theory to predict the temperature and pressure dependent separations of complex liquid mixtures using SBAD-1 glassy polymer membranes. We demonstrate that the approach allows for the prediction of the membrane-based separation of complex liquid mixtures over a wide range of temperature and pressure, using only single-component vapor sorption isotherms measured at 25 °C to parameterize the model. The model was then applied to predict the membrane separation of a light shale crude using a structure oriented lumping (SOL) based compositional model of petroleum. It was shown that when DGRPT is applied based on SOL compositions, the combined model allows for the accurate prediction of separation performance based on the trend of both molecular weight and molecular class.