Reducing energy consumtion in the chemical industry has the potential to significanlty cut global energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions. Towards this, the implementation of membrane-based separations in the petrochemical industry can dramatically reduce energy consumption as compared with conventional methods. Achieving this goal requires the development of membrane materials with higher selectivity, permeability, and stability than are currently available. Here, we present a method for increasing the ethylene/ethane selectivity, ethylene permeability, and membrane stability simultaniously by incorporating metal-organic framework nanocrystals into a polymer matrix. Intrinsic permeability and permselectivity of the metal-organic framework leads to improved separation, while strong nanocrystal/polymer interactions are responsible for polymer rigidification, leading to improved membrane stability. The increased stability, or plasticization resistance, is expected to improve membrane utility under real process conditions for petrochemical separations and natural gas purification. Furtheromore, this approach can be broadly applied to numerous polymers that encounter aggresive environments, potentially making separations previously inaccessible to membranes now possible.

Enhanced ethylene/ethane separation and mitigated plasticization in polymer membranes incorporating metal-organic framework nanocrystals

251st National Meeting (2016)

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.