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

该小型企业创新研究二期项目致力于开发经济型膜基装置，主要适用于：(a)将劣质原料天然气净化到管道质量；(b)从提高采油作业中回收二氧化碳。根据目前的市场条件，很大一部分国内天然气储量的开采是不经济的，因为它们含有大量的非甲烷气体。目前，基于膜的设备在商业上用于净化劣质天然气，但为了经济地利用目前不可回收的天然气，需要比目前最先进的设备生产率更高的膜。该项目的总体目标是开发一种创新的制造方法，将微孔二氧化硅膜整合到低成本、高度紧凑的模块中。微孔二氧化硅膜具有二氧化碳渗透性和CO2/CH4选择性，这是传统有机气体分离膜无法比拟的，但尚未被纳入低成本模块以实现商业化。这种模块的商业可用性将大大降低与升级次等天然气储量相关的成本。在第一阶段，验证了新型模块制造方法的可行性。在第二阶段，将通过系统的工艺优化来提高非常小的模块的分离性能。膜面积约为0.1平方米的模块将被制造和测试，用于模拟原料天然气的分离，并将制定详细的制造计划和相关成本，为该技术的商业化做准备。在该项目中开发的设备将显著降低以下应用中与净化气流相关的成本：天然气升级、强化采油作业中的二氧化碳回收和沼气处理。

This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project addresses development of economical membrane-based devices primarily suitable for: (a) purification of sub-quality raw natural gas to pipeline quality and (b) carbon dioxide recovery from enhanced oil recovery operations. A large fraction of domestic natural gas reserves are uneconomical for recovery based on current market conditions because they contain significant amounts of non-methane gas. Membrane-based devices are currently commercially employed to purify sub-quality natural gas, but membranes with improved productivity compared to now state-of-the-art devices are required to allow economic use of currently unrecoverable natural gas. The overall objective of this program is to develop an innovative fabrication approach to incorporate microporous silica membranes within low-cost, highly compact modules. Microporous silica membranes exhibit combinations of carbon dioxide permeance and CO2/CH4 selectivity that are unrivaled by conventional organic gas separation membranes, but have not yet been incorporated in low-cost modules to allow their commercialization. Commercial availability of such modules would greatly reduce costs associated with upgrading sub-quality natural gas reserves. In Phase I, the feasibility of the novel module fabrication approach was demonstrated. In Phase II, the separation properties of very small modules will be improved through systematic optimization of processing. Modules with ca. 0.1 m2 membrane area will be fabricated and tested for extended duration for separation of simulated raw natural gas, and a detailed manufacturing scheme with related costs will be developed in preparation for commercialization of the technology.The devices to be developed in this program would significantly reduce costs associated with purification of gas streams in the following applications: natural gas upgrading, carbon dioxide recovery from enhanced oil recovery operations, and biogas processing.