Construction and analysis of a detailed new database for gas separation membranes

Abstract

The countless possibilities associated with the design of new materials for the Membrane Gas Separation Process highlight the need for the creation of databases, that are great tools to guide design choices. The scientific literature is poor in providing detailed information on gas separation membranes. This work aimed to present a heterogeneous and detailed database, which encompasses various types of membranes and permeating gases. In addition, its construction was presented in a transparent manner (ensuring its suitability and safe use) and an analysis of the mined attributes was performed. A database with 1672 records was built with more than 280 different membranes. In total, 29 attributes were collected from 42 different bibliographic references. A wide range of values was mined for most of the attributes. Permeation data for 11 gases were collected and five major types of membranes are present: polymer, zeolite, MMM, CMS, MOF, and ceramic. Most of the attributes had an insignificant linear correlation with gas permeability (including film thickness, pore size, temperature, and pressure), indicating a complex and contextually specific relationship. Total Pore Volume, Micropore Volume, and BET Area attributes were the morphological attributes that are most linearly correlated with gas permeability and can be good performance indicators for membranes, regardless of the material type. It is expected that the results presented will be useful to guide decision-making in the steps of designing new membranes for gas separation in a big picture context.