SBIR Phase I: Novel Superglassy Polymer Membranes for Hydrocarbon Separation

*** 9661545 Pinnau本项目致力于开发一类基于超玻璃聚合物的新型气体分离膜。超玻璃聚合物具有高玻璃化转变温度、高自由体积、大分子间链间距、自由体积元素连通性、极高的油气渗透率和高油气/永久气体选择性等特点。最近发现，聚（1-三甲基硅基-1-丙炔）PTMSP是迄今为止唯一被研究过的超玻璃聚合物，它对甲烷和e-丁烷的混合气体选择性为30，这是迄今为止观察到的这种重要混合物的最高选择性。然而，由于PTMSP膜对高碳氢化合物和芳烃的耐化学性较差，其潜在的应用受到限制。该项目的目标是开发基于二取代聚乙炔的新型耐化学超玻璃聚合物膜。初步的纯气渗透研究表明，该聚合物对丁烷/甲烷混合物的渗透率和选择性低于PTMSP，但足够高，具有广阔的应用前景。与PTMSP不同，该聚合物在脂肪族和芳烃环境中是完全稳定的。认为通过适当的结构修饰可以提高聚合物的渗透性和选择性。由超玻璃聚合物制成的膜可能对许多重要的工业蒸汽分离产生重大影响。可能的应用包括在石化工业中从氢中回收C3+碳氢化合物。与最先进的橡胶膜相比，超玻璃聚合物具有优越的选择性和渗透性，这将使膜系统在这些或其他应用中与传统的分离方法（如低温分离）竞争。＊＊＊

*** 9661545 Pinnau This project addresses the development of a new class of gas separation membranes based on superglassy polymers. Superglassy polymers are characterized by high glass transition temperatures, high free volume, large intermolecular chain spacing, connectivity of free volume elements, extremely high hydrocarbon permeability and high hydrocarbon/permanent-gas selectivity. it was recently discovered that poly(1-trimethylsilyl-1-propyne) PTMSP , the only superglassy polymer studied to date, can show a mixed-gas selectivity of 30 for e-butane over methane, the highest selectivity ever observed for this important mixture. However, the potential use of PTMSP membranes is limited because its chemical resistance to higher hydrocarbons and aromatic hydrocarbons is poor. The project goal is to develop novel, chemically resistant superglassy polymer membranes based on disubstituted polyacetylenes. Preliminary pure-gas permeation studies with one such polymer show that its permeability and selectivity for the e-butane/methane mixtures separation are lower than those of PTMSP, but high enough to be promising. Unlike PTMSP, the polymer is completely stable in an aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbon environment. It is believed that the permeability and selectivity of the polymer can be increased by proper structural modifications. Membranes make from superglassy polymers could have a significant impact on many important industrial vapor separations. Possible applications include recovery of C3+ hydrocarbons from hydrogen in the petrochemical industry. The superior selectivity and permeability of superglassy polymers relative to state-of-the-art rubbery membranes should make membrane systems competitive with conventional separation methods such as cryogenic separation in these or other applications. ***