Performance and challenges in the implementation of polymeric hollow fiber membranes for CO2 capture from textile industry emissions

Abstract

Global warming and climate change are strongly associated with industrial production and fossil fuel consumption, as these are major contributors to CO2 emissions. Despite global efforts to promote industrial sustainability, substantial emissions persist, leading to a rising CO2 concentration in the atmosphere. To mitigate these emissions, CO2 capture, storage, and utilization strategies are extensively studied in the last years. Among various CO2 capture technologies, polymeric membranes have gained attention due to their high efficiency, selectivity, and competitive market advantages. However, their scalability for high industrial flow rates remains a challenge due to the low technology readiness level (TRL) of current systems. This study investigates a novel CO2 capture system employing polymeric hollow fiber membranes (Airrane Co Ltd, PermSelect®, and UBE Corporation Europe). The system was tested in a laboratory-scale setup using real industrial emissions from the textile industry, with CO2 concentrations ranging from 0.5% to 6%. Textile industry gas streams with 0.5% CO2 exhibited low permeate flux (maximum 8.5 cm3·cm-2·s-1), with minimal pressure influence. However, when the highest concentration was tested with 7% CO2, the UBE membrane demonstrated promising performance, achieving a CO2 permeance of 84.0 GPU and selectivities of 21.8 (CO2/N2) and 3.6 (CO2/O2). Overall, this study demonstrates the feasibility of CO2 capture using polymeric membranes. The results highlight the need for advanced materials and improved system configurations to enhance CO2 purity and efficiency, laying the foundation for future industrial-scale applications.