MTR awarded DOE project to develop novel isoporous supports composite membranes that improve carbon capture performance

April 2019

Membrane Technology and Research, Inc. (MTR), in partnership with the State University of New York at Buffalo (SUNY Buffalo), will develop composite membranes with transformational performance to reduce the cost of post-combustion carbon capture. In previous work, funded by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), MTR developed a membrane-based carbon dioxide (CO2) capture technology that includes the high-performance MTR Polaris™ membrane, advanced low-pressure-drop modules, and a patented selective recycle membrane design. This project builds upon the previous work and consists of two parallel technology development efforts. The first effort replaces the conventional porous supports used in composite membranes with novel isoporous supports that have higher surface porosity and many small pores improving membrane permeance.

The use of a novel isoporous support in place of a conventional porous support enables CO2 permeance at least double that of commercial Polaris membranes (as high as 4,000 gas permeation units), reducing the required membrane area, thus lowering the capital cost. Further, the use of a novel selective layer material enables composite membranes to exhibit higher CO2/nitrogen selectivity, resulting in lower operating costs.