Carbon dioxide removal from natural gas using dual layer-silica membrane on alumina support disk

In this project, the effectiveness in applying dual layer silica membrane on alumina support disk will be observed and recored. This project takes reference from a previous research which uses dual layer silica membrane on alumina support tube. Focus will be given on the effects of inlet pressure and inlet flow rate on the separation performance. Silica membrane is produced via sol-gel method. The surfactant used in the project are C6 surfactant (triethyhexylammonium bromide). Synthesis of the membrane support is done through wet pressing with starch used as pore forming agent. The separation factor of the dual layer membrane produced is 1.13 with a membrane support porosity of 75%. The high porosity of the membrane support is the root cause of the low separation factor. Results from scanning electron microscope (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray (EDS) shows that the high porosity of the membrane support causes the silica to be absorbed into the membrane support thus forming crack in the silica selective layer