Emission of sulfur dioxide (SO2) from coal power plants has to be controlled and minimized to reduce environmental risk. This study aimed to investigate the hollow fiber composite membrane was used for the removal of SO2 from a SO2/CO2/N2 mixed gas. Moreover, for the improvement of SO2 removal efficiency, the polyetherimide (PEI) membrane was coated with poly(vinyl chloride)‐graft‐poly(oxyethylene methacrylate) (PVC‐g‐POEM). The PVC‐g‐POEM/PEI composite hollow fiber membrane was extensively characterized by various techniques including scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and atomic force microscopy. Experiments with permeation of SO2, CO2, N2, and a ternary gas mixture were carried out to observe membrane behavior in response to different operating conditions. As a result, permeance of SO2 was 105–2705 GPU and selectivity of SO2/CO2 was 3.9–175.6. From the mixed gas separation experiment, the maximum SO2 removal efficiency reached up to 84.5%. © 2014 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 60: 2298–2306, 2014

BACKGROUND: In this study, a polyethersulfone composite hollow fiber membrane was used for the separation of water vapor from mixed gas. For improvement of the separation properties, the fabricated membrane was coated with cellulose acetate (CA) and polyethylene glycol (PEG). RESULTS: Experiments on the permeation of water vapor and N2 gas mixture were performed to observe membrane behavior as a function of the coating conditions, such as the composition and molecular weight of PEG. The water vapor permeance and selectivity of water vapor/N 2 improved from 68.5 GPU to 444.1 GPU and from 76.1 to 175.5, respectively, using 5 wt% PEG 2000 blended coating solution. CONCLUSION: An increase in the PEG content and molecular weight of the coating solution affected the permeance and selectivity due to the hydrophilicity of PEG and the structural changes of the coating layer.

No abstract