Preparation of Ethylene Vinyl Acetate/Zeolite 4A Mixed Matrix Membrane for CO2/N2 Separation

A great contribution in research activities on carbon dioxide (CO2) separation, as the most important challenge in greenhouse gases control, has been made to develop new polymeric membranes. In this case, mixed matrix membranes (MMMs), comprised of rigid particles dispersed in a continuous polymeric matrix, was proposed as an effective method to improve the separation properties of polymeric membranes. In this research, ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) copolymer and zeolite 4A powders were applied to prepare MMMs using solution casting/solvent evaporation method and CO2/N2 separation performance of the membranes was examined under different feed pressures (3-8 bar) and operating temperatures (25-50°C). Morphological and structural characterizations of the membranes were evaluated using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), density and solvent-induced swelling measurements. The gas permeability measurements through the constant-volume method showed the permeability of two gases increased in the presence of zeolite 4A nanoparticles in the polymer matrix. Calculation of diffusivity coefficients of gases revealed that improvement in the diffusivity of all gases into membrane matrix was the main reason for permeability enhancement. In addition, the increase in the CO2/N2 ideal selectivity with the presence of zeolite 4A nanoparticles in the polymer matrix was attributed to the increment in CO2/N2 diffusion selectivity. Under optimum condition, with the addition of 10 wt% zeolite 4A nanoparticles into the membrane matrix, the CO2 permeability increased from 20.81 to 35.24 Barrer and its related selectivity increased 20% compared to that of neat EVA membrane. Furthermore, the membrane performances increased upon feed pressure rise, while the selectivity decreased with the increase in temperature.