Recent progress on functional polymeric membranes for CO2 separation from flue gases: A review

Abstract

The separation of CO2 has been recognized as a potential approach to address the impacts of climate change resulting from the emission of flue gases into the environment. Efficient separation technologies are required to effectively remove CO2 from flue gases. To resolve this problem, membrane-based gas separation is considered an economically viable and energy-efficient technology over conventional techniques. Functional polymeric membranes have gained a lot of interest for their attractive gas separation performance. Thus, this work aims to critically review the recent developments of functional polymeric membranes designed for CO2 separation from flue gases. Starting with a background on flue gases and polymeric membranes, a brief discussion on Robeson's upper bound for CO2/N2 separation is provided. After that, a detailed analysis of the current advancements in different membrane modification approaches, such as mixed matrix, grafting, layer-by-layer assembly, and interfacial polymerization, for improved performance of polymeric membranes is provided. Furthermore, the effect of CO2 on polymeric membranes (plasticization and aging), the current global market and key market players in the membranes-based gas separation field are discussed thoroughly. Finally, a concise remark on the future directions of polymeric membranes for CO2 separation from flue gases is presented.

Keywords

• Polymeric membrane
• CO2 separation
• Flue gas
• Robeson upper bound
• Permeability-selectivity trade-off
• Plasticization