Gas separation properties of polymer membrane materials follow distinct tradeoff relations:  more permeable polymers are generally less selective and vice versa. Robeson1 identified the best combinations of permeability and selectivity for important binary gas pairs (O2/N2, CO2/CH4, H2/N2, etc.) and represented these permeability/selectivity combinations empirically as αA/B = βA/B , where PA and PB are the permeability coefficients of the more permeable and less permeable gases, respectively, αA/B is selectivity (=PA/PB), and λA/B and βA/B are empirical parameters. This report provides a fundamental theory for this observation. In the theory, λA/B depends only on gas size. βA/B depends on λA/B, gas condensability, and one adjustable parameter.

Basis of Permeability/Selectivity Tradeoff Relations in Polymeric Gas Separation Membranes

This short Perspective conveys to the general reader of Macromolecules basic approaches of materials science of polymeric membranes for gas and vapor separation. The relations between the polymer structure and transport properties of rubbery and glassy membrane materials are considered. On the basis of acquired information, several methods for quantitative prediction of permeability were developed, and their comparative analysis is given in the Perspective. The past decade was marked by the appearance of a number of novel interesting membrane materials, which will be briefly described in the text. In conclusion, novel approaches for achieving highly permeable and permselective materials (e.g., mixed matrix membranes) will be considered as well as several relevant but not solved so far problems of membrane gas separation.

Polymeric Gas Separation Membranes

Energy-efficient polymeric gas separation membranes for a sustainable future: A review

Transport phenomena through polymeric systems

This is part of a larger study that addresses the question of whether site-specific sorption of organic compounds takes place in soil organic matter (SOM). Competitive sorption is one indication that such interactions may take place. Competitive sorption was tested between atrazine (AT) and other co-solutes in water suspensions of natural and model sorbents. The co-solutes included several s-triazine analogs, a substituted benzene analog (5-chloro-1,3-dimethoxybenzene), and a dissimilar compound, trichloroethene (TCE). The sorbents included a mineral soil (3% OM), a peat soil (93% OM), soil humic acid particles (99% OM), rubbery polymers (polyethylene, cellulose, chitin), a glassy polymer [poly(2,6-diphenyl-p-phenylene oxide)], and a mesoporous silica gel. The rubbery polymers afforded linear single-solute isotherms and no competition, both consistent with ideal (Henry's law) partition sorption. The other sorbents, including the glassy polymer, gave nonlinear single-solute isotherms and significant compet...

Patrick Meares

Papers

The Diffusion of Gases Through Polyvinyl Acetate1