Analysis and design of membrane permeators for gas separation

This chapter discusses analysis and design of membrane permeators for gas separation. As membrane gas separation technology matures, the need to understand the performance of membrane separators in a process configuration becomes increasingly important. The separation characteristics of permeators will directly affect the process economics. The capability of performance analysis and prediction is, therefore, an essential part of the technology development. The performance analysis also aids directly in designing membrane modules for a given separation requirement. Furthermore, membrane separations are often used in hybrid processes, i.e., as processes in conjunction with other separation processes, or other unit operations. Analysis and design of membrane permeators are, therefore, essential tools even in the preliminary process design stage. The actual mechanism of gas transport and separation can also vary. Different postulated mechanisms are solution—diffusion, facilitation, Knudsen diffusion, surface diffusion and molecular sieving.