STTR Phase II: New Perfluorodioxolane- and Perfluorodioxane-based Copolymer Membranes for Gas Separations

这个小型企业技术转移第二阶段项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力是生产更好的天然气处理膜，使最终用户能够以大幅降低的价格获得膜技术的易加工和环境优势。去除二氧化碳和其他污染物的天然气处理是最大的工业气体分离应用，全球分离设备市场估计每年约为20-30亿美元。目前，膜过程占有10%的市场份额，而胺吸收过程占据了市场的大部分。传统的膜材料受到其相对适中的CO2/CH4选择性的限制，这抵消了它们的环境和效率优势。在该项目中开发的新型全氟聚合物膜在处理工业相关条件下的气体混合物时表现出更好的性能。对这些全氟聚合物膜的研究将提高对新材料家族结构/性能关系的科学理解。最重要的是，在商业规模上应用，这些新的全氟聚合物膜有可能克服以前的膜的限制，从而改变天然气加工。这一第二阶段研究项目的目标是完成用于天然气二氧化碳脱除的新型全氟聚合物膜的开发。在第一阶段，与商用膜相比，具有更好的CO2/CH4分离性能的膜在比较高压混合试验中被确定。在第二阶段，研发计划是扩大最有希望的全氟聚合物的生产。基于该聚合物的优化膜将在卷对卷生产线上制造，并制成膜组件。这些模块将在实验室参数实验中进行评估，并在一个运行中的天然气田现场进行验证测试。这些测试的结果将被用于更新全氟膜与应用于天然气二氧化碳去除的传统技术相比的经济评估。这些技术目标的完成将使这一先进的膜技术达到商业化的边缘。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Technology Transfer Phase II project is to produce a better natural gas treatment membrane that will allow end users to capture the ease of processing and environmental advantages of membrane technology at a substantially reduced price. Natural gas processing to remove CO2 and other contaminants is the largest industrial gas separation application with an estimated global separation equipment market of approximately $2-3 billion per year. At present, membrane processes have a 10% market share, while amine absorption processes account for the bulk of the market. Conventional membrane materials are limited by their relatively modest CO2/CH4 selectivity, which offsets their environmental and efficiency advantages. The novel perfluoro polymer membranes developed in this program show enhanced performance when treating gas mixtures at industrial relevant conditions. Study of these perfluoro polymer membranes will improve scientific understanding of structure/property relationships for a new family of materials. Most importantly, applied at a commercial scale, these new perfluoro membranes offer the potential to overcome the limitations of prior membranes, and thereby, transform natural gas processing.The objectives of this Phase II research project are to complete the development of novel perfluoropolymer membranes for use in natural gas CO2 removal. During Phase I, membranes with superior CO2/CH4 separation performance compared to commercial membranes were identified in comparative high-pressure mixture tests. In Phase II, the research and development plan is to scale up production of the most promising perfluoro polymer. An optimized membrane based on this polymer will be made on a roll-to-roll production line and fabricated into membrane modules. These modules will be evaluated in laboratory parametric experiments and validation tested at an operating natural gas field site. Results from these tests will be used to update an economic evaluation of the perfluoro membranes compared to conventional technology applied to natural gas CO2 removal. Completion of these technical objectives will bring this advanced membrane technology to the cusp of commercialization.