The future of membrane gas separations

Membrane processes are nowadays considered as a key technology for gas separation applications. Except the very specific use of mineral membranes multistaged process for uranium enrichment performed since 1942, it took more than 100 years before the visionary application of selective materials, proposed by T. Graham in 1866 for gas separation purpose, became an industrial reality. Major issues in terms of materials science, module manufacturing and process design methods needed indeed to be solved for the membrane solution to be considered as reliable and cost-effective compared to other gas separation technologies. Air separation, hydrogen purification, natural gas and biogas upgrading, VOC recovery and gas drying currently are the major industrial applications. The number of membranes and modules suppliers remains however very limited. Moreover, the commercially available membrane modules almost exclusively make use of ultra-thin dense polymers on a porous support, with a very limited choice in terms of material active layer. Taking into account the major recent developments in nanostructured materials, production technologies (such as 3D printing) and advanced process design methods, the possible, highly prospective evolutions in the field are discussed. • High performance membrane materials generate new challenges. • New module design needed for high performance materials. • Linking materials and process design is key. • Exploratory process approaches to be investigated. • Novel driving force strategies to promote.