Microporous titanosilicate ETS-10 membrane for high pressure CO2 separation

Membrane technology is expected to be an efficient process for CO2 separation. Microporous titanosilicate ETS-10 membranes prepared by seeded hydrothermal synthesis are presented as candidates to CO2 separation from binary mixtures (CO2/N-2 and CO2/H-2). The prepared membranes with different synthesis time have been characterized by SEM and XRD. Permeation properties have been evaluated by a novel, non-destructive technique based on the measurement of the local He permeation of a limited area. It was established a good concordance between defects localized by the new He mapping technique and the separation properties of the membranes. At room temperature, ETS-10 membranes can separate CO2/N-2 equimolar mixture with separation factors between 7-10 in the 6-22 bar pressure range. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.