Poly(urethane-urea) composite membranes with Ag NP/activator and AgBF4/BMImBF4 systems for light olefins/paraffins separations

Abstract

ABSTRACT: This thesis describe the preparation of Ag NP/activator/WPUU and AgBF4/BMImBF4/WPUU membranes for the separation of olefin/paraffin gas mixtures. In this work, two activator compounds were used for Ag NP, pbenzoquinone (p-Bq) and BMImBF4. The discussion of paraffin and olefin mass transport trough membranes is carried out in the same chapter. The facilitated transport of olefin was not achieved in Ag NP/activator/WPUU membranes, probably caused by the low electron acceptor feature of BMImBF4 and by the poor stability of p-Bq. On the other hand, the facilitated transport of olefins was reached in AgBF4/BMImBF4/WPUU membranes. However, the membrane evidenced a humidification dependence to be stable in long-term permeation experiments. Finally, the overall conclusions of the Thesis and challenges for future researches are presented.