Preparação e caracterização de membranas cerâmicas compostas tubulares para aplicação na separação de gases

Abstract

Within this context, this work aims to prepare membranes composed of α-alumina coated with palladium using the electroless plating technique associated with the sol-gel method. To achieve the objectives of the paper, analyzes of porosity of the ceramic support with and without heat treatment of 1450°C for 6; 12; 18; 24 and 30 h, the formation of one, two and three layers of palladium on the external surface of the ceramic support, the effect of the sol-gel method, the chemical and physical properties, permeability and selectivity of the gases were performed. Morphological analysis were performed by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope (FESEM), the membrane porosity was evaluated by the Brunauer, Emmet and Teller (BET) theory, Barret-Joyner-Halenda (BJH) method and by mercury porosimetry, the palladium quantification in solution was given by mass spectrometry with inductively coupled plasma (ICP-MS) analysis and gas permeability and selectivity were measured by a bench scale equipment. The time increase during the sinterization did not promote representing changes in the support porosity, which shows that the 6 h time of heat treatment is sufficient to achieve the lowest porosity of the material. The palladium layer formation was realized without and with the combination of the sol-gel method, presenting a more homogeneous layer with the use of the method. However, the ICP-MS analysis indicated a greater amount of palladium deposition without sol-gel method. The morphological analysis showed smaller empty spaces according to the number of layers formed. The ceramic support without and with palladium layer showed variation in permeability to N2, CH4 and CO2 gases at pressures of 100 to 400 kPa and the higher the palladium layer formed, the smaller the gas permeability