Using
1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium dicyanamide ([bmim][DCA]) as
the absorbent and either hydrophobized porous ceramic tubule or hydrophobized
polyether ether ketone (PEEK)-based porous hollow fiber membranes,
we have carried out preliminary studies for CO2 removal
from simulated precombustion syngas by a pressure swing membrane absorption
process. We have used He as a surrogate for H2 (40% CO2 rest He) up to a temperature of 100 °C and a pressure
of 250 psig. A novel 5-valve system was designed to improve product
quality. The optimal duration for the key absorption step was determined,
and the influence of helium-rich product withdrawal time was investigated.
Temperature increase will degrade product quality, so adding polyamidoamine
dendrimer of generation 0 to [bmim][DCA] will mitigate the temperature
effect, and 15 wt % dendrimer in [bmim][DCA] showed the best performance.
Feed pressure increase will degrade helium product quality, while
it is beneficial for CO2 product quality, since more CO2 will be absorbed with a higher feed pressure. When feed gas
pressure was 250 psig at CO2 side ∼88.2% CO2-enriched gas product was produced. Using a simulated two-stage
large PEEK module system, with a 14.0% CO2 balance helium
gas mixture, helium product with CO2 concentration as low
as 4.2–5.8% could be achieved at different temperatures. A
brief analysis has been provided to explain why a PEEK membrane module
shows much better performance than the ceramic tubule.