Molecular Engineering, the NextGeneration Gas Separation Technology
PI: Devinder Mahajan
Natural gas upgrading is a major challenge once gas fields are identified. Raw gas needs upgrading by removal of gases such as C02 and N2 that are naturally found mixed with CH4. Our two distinct approaches are as follows. In the first approach, the molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) membranes are being produced using a process based on rapid precipitation from a supercritical solution followed by vapor treatment and UV photo polymerization. The material pore size is tuned to the template vapor but without chemical functionality to achieve high selectivity in natural gas purification. In the second approach, polymers such as polystyrene (PS) are being modified with supercritical C02 to control the pore size of the polymer for enhancing gas separations. The goal is to identify polymer candidates for ultimate application in natural gas fields. (DOE)