SBIR Phase I: Fabrication of Low-Cost Modules Incorporating Microporous Silica Membranes for Natural Gas Purification

9860416这个小型企业创新研究第一阶段项目致力于开发经济的设备，将低质量的原始天然气净化为管道质量。根据目前的市场条件，很大一部分国内天然气储量目前开采起来并不经济，因为它们含有大量的非甲烷气体。膜分离在天然气净化方面具有可观的潜力，但需要具有比当前最先进的设备更高生产率的膜设备。该计划的总体目标是开发一种新的制造方法，将微孔二氧化硅膜结合到低成本、高度紧凑的模块中。这些膜对甲烷中的杂质具有很高的选择性和极高的渗透率。这种模块的商业供应将大大降低与低质量天然气资源升级相关的成本。在第一阶段，我们将研究这种新的制造方法背后的化学原理。通过这种方法，微孔二氧化硅薄膜将被结合在小的支撑片上，并将测量其气体渗透特性，以证明该方法的技术可行性。该项目将开发的气体分离膜组件将降低与分离各种工业上重要的气流相关的成本，这些应用包括天然气升级、从强化石油回收作业中回收二氧化碳、沼气处理和氦回收。

9860416 This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project addresses development of economical devices for purification of low-quality raw natural gas to pipeline quality. A large fraction of domestic natural gas reserves are currently uneconomical for recovery based on current market conditions because they contain significant amounts of non-methane gas. Membrane separations have appreciable potential for natural gas purification, but membrane devices with improved productivity over current state-of-the-art devices are required. The overall objective of this program is to develop a novel fabrication approach to incorporate microporous silica membranes into low-cost, highly compact modules. These membranes have high selectivity and extremely high permeability for separation of impurities from methane. Commercial availability of such modules would appreciably reduce costs associated with upgrading of low-quality natural gas resources. In Phase I, the chemistry underlying the novel fabrication approach will be studied. Microporous silica membranes will be incorporated on small support coupons via this approach and their gas permeation characteristics will be measured to demonstrate the technical feasibility of the approach. The gas separation membrane modules to be developed in this program would reduce costs associated with separation of a variety of industrially significant gas streams in applications including natural gas upgrading, carbon dioxide recovery from enhanced oil recovery operations, biogas processing, and helium recovery.