(509b) Mixed Gas Selectivities and Permeabilities for Carbon Dioxide/Methane Separation Using Room Temperature Ionic Liquid Membranes

This talk will expand on the gas separation studies using RTIL-membranes. Previously, we reported on the mixed gas separations of CO2/N2. This current work will look at carbon dioxide/methane separations. Room Temperature Ionic Liquids (RTILs) are salts that are liquids at room temperatures. RTILs possess a number of unique properties that are useful for liquid membrane separations including high thermal stability, negligible vapor pressure, and non-flammability. Previously, we showed that some RTIL-membranes outperformed standard polymers for the separation of CO2 from N2 (for both ideal and mixed gas permeabilites). Now, we report on mixed gas permeabilities and selectivites for the gas pair CO2/CH4, using a continuous flow of the mixed gas pairs at CO2 concentrations of at various concentrations between 0% and 100%. The RTIL-membranes tested include the non-facilitated transport membranes, which we previously reported having ideal selectivites/permeabilities. In addition, we report on facilitated transport in RTIL membranes using methylcyclohexylamine (MCHA). A further increase in performance may be realized by the addition of this mobile amine carrier, which can reversibly bind to CO2, forming a carbamate.