H₂ permeable nanoporous SIC membrane for an IGCC application

Ceramic membranes having less than 1nm size pores have great potential for gas separation at high temperature due to their good thermal stability. Moreover, nanoporous silicon carbide membranes have a potential application under hydrothermal conditions at high temperatures since they are highly stable at high temperature. In this research, a nanoporous SiC membrane has been developed on a porous alumina support using a preceramic polymer. For a gradual pore size distribution, γ-A1₂O₃ interlayer was introduced in between the nanoporous SiC membrane and porous alumina support. The SiC membrane having a controlled pore size was characterized by SEM and pore size measurements. The hydrogen permeability and selectivity towards nitrogen gas of the membrane developed were 0.16 x 10^-6 mole/m ².s.pa and 42.5, respectively. The nanoporous hydrogen selective SiC membrane shows a promising application in hydrogen separation from coal gasification such as in the integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC).