Role of critical concentration of PEI in NMP solutions on gas permeation characteristics of PEI gas separation membranes

In preparation of polymeric gas separation membranes by phase inversion method, polymer concentration is one of the most important variables which can change membrane morphology and behavior. In this research, critical concentration of the polyetherimide (PEI) solutions in N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP) as a solvent was determined by viscometric method. The influence of temperature on critical concentration was studied. Three asymmetric PDMS/PEI membranes with different concentrations of PEI were prepared and characterized for H2/CH4 separation. The results showed that the membranes with higher concentrations than critical concentration were more suitable for gas separation. In addition, the viscosity data were fitted by appropriate equations and the densities were satisfactorily correlated by a simple first-order polynomial with respect to temperature and the PEI mass fraction. The prepared membrane showed the selectivity of 26 for H2/CH4 separation at 1 bar and 25 °C for pure gas and 24.8 for mixed gas. The influence of the pressure on the H2 and CH4 permeance and the selectivity for a mixed binary gas showed that the permeance of both gases declined by pressure enhancement and the selectivity increased.