Preparation of asymmetric polyetherketone flat and hollow fiber membranes for gas separation using acetic acid based coagulants

Membranes for gas separation have developed significantly in the last twenty years, however, there is still a need for high temperature and chemically resistant membranes that exhibit good selectivity and gas permeability. Our study examines the fundamental properties of polyetherketone (PEK, a thermally stable and chemically resistant polymer) membranes prepared using concentrated sulphuric acid (98% H"2SO"4) as the solvent. Non-solvents used in the work included acetic acid, ethanol, methanol, glycerol, and water. The concentration of the polymer solutions was chosen to be 20%. The membrane structures were examined using SEM, and the gas separation properties were measured using a lab-scale test rig. The results show that formation and control of membrane structures are complicated, and many preparation parameters affect membrane morphology and performance. Using appropriate conditions skinned sponge-like structured hollow fiber membranes could be made from PEK by using acetic acid as the internal coagulant. PEK hollow fibers spun from 20%PEK/H"2SO"4 solutions with 50% aqueous acetic acid as internal coagulant had selectivity for hydrogen/methane of around 40, implying a solution diffusion separation mechanism for gas separation without the need for fiber coating or after post-treatments.