Progress in Filtration and Separation

Chapter Thirteen

Gas–Gas Separation by Membranes

Thomas Harlacher,  and Matthias Wessling     Aachener Verfahrenstechnik, Chemical Process Engineering, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany

Abstract

In recent decades, next to conventional technologies, such as physical adsorption, chemical or physical absorption and cryogenic fractioning, membrane processes have become an industrial alternative for gas separation. For separation tasks with moderate flow rates and moderate purities, gas permeation is the state-of-the-art technology in many cases. Compared to conventional techniques, gas permeation processes are characterized by a simple, flexible, and compact design. This chapter gives a condensed overview of the basics of gas permeation processes. ...