Photo-crosslinked gas selective membranes as part of thin film composite hollow fiber membranes
AssigneeHoneywell International Inc.
InventorsStephen F. Yates, Matthew C. McGuirl, Tihomir G. Tonev, Chunqing Liu, Jeffrey Chiou, Amber Arzadon
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Abstract
A thin film composite membrane comprises a core layer and a sheath UV-crosslinked polymer layer. The thin film composite membrane is produced by the co-extrusion of two polymer solutions. The core layer and the sheath layer can be separately optimized. The sheath layer may be UV-crosslinked to provide stability and selectivity at the desired operating temperature of the composite membrane.
Claims20
A thin film composite hollow fiber membrane comprising:
- a porous core polymer layer comprising at least one polymer;
- and
- a sheath crosslinked polymer layer adjacent to said porous core polymer layer, wherein said sheath crosslinked polymer layer has a thin nonporous selective layer and comprises at least one crosslinked polymer different from said at least one polymer in said porous core polymer layer.
A thin film composite hollow fiber gas separation membrane comprising:
- a porous core polymer layer;
- and
- a sheath UV-crosslinked polymer layer positioned radially outward from said porous core polymer layer, wherein said sheath UV-crosslinked polymer layer has a thin nonporous selective layer and comprises at least one UV-crosslinked polymer different from a polymer in the said porous core polymer layer.
A method of producing a thin film composite hollow fiber membrane comprising the steps of:
- passing a bore liquid through a central bore orifice of a triple orifice spinneret;
- passing a core layer solution through an inner annular orifice of the triple orifice spinneret;
- passing a sheath layer solution through an outer annular orifice of the triple orifice spinneret to form a nascent fiber;
- passing the nascent fiber through an air gap and into a bath to provide a formed fiber;
- and
- irradiating the formed fiber with a UV energy source to form said thin film composite hollow fiber membrane having a sheath UV-crosslinked polymer layer positioned radially outward from said core layer.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.