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Membrane Gas Separation Technologies for Biogas Upgrading See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/272423302 Membrane gas separation technologies for biogas upgrading Article in RSC Advances · February 2015 DOI: 10.1039/C5RA00666J CITATIONS READS 72 8,218 5 authors, including: Xiao Yuan Chen Hoang duc Vinh Laval University University of Technical Education Ho Chi Minh 25 PUBLICATIONS 691 CITATIONS 19 PUBLICATIONS 732 CITATIONS SEE PROFILE SEE PROFILE Antonio Avalos Ramirez Serge Kaliaguine Centre National en Electrochimie et en Technologies Environnementales Laval University 73 PUBLICATIONS 698 CITATIONS 603 PUBLICATIONS 17,798 CITATIONS SEE PROFILE SEE PROFILE Some of the authors of this publication are also working on these related projects: Chemistry Engineering View project CO2 Capture Technology View project All content following this page was uploaded by Xiao Yuan Chen on 26 March 2015. The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file. RSC Advances REVIEW Membrane gas separation technologies for biogas upgrading Cite this: RSC Adv.,2015,5, 24399 Xiao Yuan Chen,ab Hoang Vinh-Thang,b Antonio Avalos Ramirez,a Denis Rodrigue*b and Serge Kaliaguineb Biogas is a renewable energy source like solar and wind energies and mostly produced from anaerobic digestion (AD). The production of biogas is a well-established technology, but its commercial utilization is limited because on-site purification is needed before its transport or use. Biogas composition varies with the biomass digested and contains mainly methane (CH4)andcarbondioxide(CO2), as well as traces of hydrogen sulfide (H2S), ammonia (NH3), hydrogen (H2), nitrogen (N2), carbon monoxide (CO), oxygen (O2). In some cases dust particles and siloxanes are present. Several purification processes including pressurized water scrubbing, amine swing absorption, pressure swing adsorption, temperature swing adsorption, cryogenic separation and membrane technologies have been developed. Nevertheless, membrane technology is a relatively recent but very promising technology. Also, hybrid processes where membranes are combined with other processes are believed to have lower investment and operation costs compared Received 12th January 2015 with other processes. In this report, a discussion on the different materials used to produce membranes for Accepted 16th February 2015 gas separation is given including inorganic, organic and mixed matrix membranes, as well as polymer of DOI: 10.1039/c5ra00666j intrinsic microporosity (PIM). Advantages and limitations for each type are discussed and comparisons are www.rsc.org/advances made in terms of permeability and diffusivity for a range of operating conditions. 1. Introduction for plants and soil microora, such as nitrogen and phos- phorus. Additionally, pathogens and parasites are inactivated Biogas is a renewable energy source like solar and wind ener- during AD. Most of the time, the digestates simply need a gies. It is also a carbon neutral fuel produced from anaerobic stabilization post-treatment and their characteristics allow digestion (AD) which is one of the most efficient ways to store them to be used for soil amendment without sanitation risks, energy. Solid and liquid digestates of AD are rich in nutrients such as water borne diseases.1 The substrates to produce biogas by means of AD are residual organic materials (ROM) issued from municipal, aCentre National en Electrochimie´ et en Technologies Environnementales, Coll`ege industrial, institutional and agricultural sectors. AD can take Shawinigan, Shawinigan, QC, G9N 6V8, Canada place in liquid or solid phase, but the most common digester bDepartment of Chemical Engineering, Universit´e Laval, Quebec City, QC, G1V 0A6, operation is in liquid phase. The inlet solid concentration in the Canada. E-mail: [email protected]; Tel: +1-418-6562903 Xiao Yuan Chen obtained her Ph.D. in 2012 on the synthesis and Vinh-Thang Hoang received his B.Sc. degree in Organic and characterization of new polyimide membranes for gas separation Petrochemical Technology from Hanoi University of Science and from the department of chemical engineering at Universit´e Laval, Technology in 1993, M.Sc. degree in Physico- and Theoretical Canada. She also obtained her MSc from the same department on Chemistry from the Institute of Chemistry, Vietnam Academy of the production and characterization of cellular polymers. She is Sciences and Technology in 2001, and a Ph.D. degree in Chemical presently a research assistant at Centre National en Electrochimie´ Engineering from Laval University in 2005. A er some years of et en Technologies Environnementales, Coll`ege Shawinigan, Sha- postdoctoral research in the laboratory of Prof. Serge Kaliaguine, ff winigan, Canada, as well as a postdoctoral fellow (part time) at he is currently a Research Sta in the Chemical Engineering Universit´e Laval. Her work involves the preparation of polymer Department, Laval University. His research interests are focused hollow bre membranes and mixed matrix membranes suitable for on the experimental and modeling investigations of zeolites, – biogas separations. mesoporous materials, and metal organic frameworks in catal- ysis, adsorption–diffusion, membrane separation, and electrochemistry. This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry 2015 RSC Adv.,2015,5, 24399–24448 | 24399 RSC Advances Review digester is usually in the 2–10% range.2 AD technology is also advantageous for biogas purication, as discussed in the cheaper and simpler than others to produce bio-fuels. It can present document.6 also be found in a wide range of sizes. For example, small scale application is a common way to transform house wastes into 2. Biogas biogas for heating and cooking in several countries. The production of biogas as a fuel does not contribute to the accu- Biogas is produced by the biological transformation under mulation of greenhouse gases (GHG) in the earth's atmosphere anaerobic conditions of organic matter present in wastes like because the carbon dioxide (CO2) produced during combustion manures, sewage, sludge, municipal wastes, green wastes and was previously captured by plants. The production of biogas plant residues.7 Most of the substrates used to produce biogas are from ROM represents a controlled capture of methane (CH4) solid wastes or wastewater issued from agri-food industry, produced during AD, thus avoiding the emissions of this GHG beverage industry, alcohol distilleries, pulp and paper industry, to the atmosphere like in the case of landlled ROM.3 and other miscellaneous sectors.8 The sources of biogas À Biogas has a high caloric value (35–44 kJ g 1)whichis production are from landll gas (LFG) and agricultural produc- similar to diesel, kerosene and LPG. It is also higher than other tion, as well as different organic streams from municipal, resi- energy sources like coal and wood.4 Typically, biogas contains dential and commercial sources. Another important source is 55–60% CH4 and 38–40% CO2. It can also contain small wastewater treatment plant residuals. Moreover, biogas is amounts of incondensable gases like nitrogen (N2), oxygen commonly produced using regionally available wastes and its use 9 (O2)andhydrogen(H2), as well as traces of hydrogen sul de decreases the consumption of fossil fuels. This gives biogas “ ” (H2S) and volatile organic compounds (VOC). The acid production and combustion its environmentally friendly label, compoundsinthegasandtheimpuritiesarecorrosiveorhave and led many governments to promote its production by means the potential to produce corrosive compounds during biogas of renewable energy subsidies.10 Overall, biogas is an excellent combustion. These compounds will affect the metal parts of energy source for a huge applications, which can be grouped in internal combustion engines and tubing.5 Therefore, biogas three categories: heat and steam, generation/cogeneration of purication is mandatory before corrosive compounds enter electricity, and vehicle fuel.8,11–13 Fig. 1 shows the biogas life the natural gas grid or combustion engines. The purication pathway, from biological sources up to nal uses.14 costs can sometimes be so important that the production of upgraded biogas is economically less attractive than other 2.1 History of biogas production and technology biofuels. Nowadays, technological processes to clean-up Initially, biogas has been used cooking in Assyria as early as the biogas, as well as their optimisation, are attractive to 10th century B.C. AD was also applied in ancient China using decrease biogas upgrading costs. Examples of these technol- solid wastes.15 Marco Polo mentions the use of covered sewage ogies are absorption, high pressure scrubbing, high pressure tanks going back 2000–3000 years in ancient Chinese literature. adsorption, as well as cryogenic separation and membrane There are documents recording the use of AD by humans in the separation. Among these technologies, the latter is potentially mid-nineteenth century, for example the construction of digesters in New Zealand and India, as well as the capture of biogas from a sewage sludge digester in Exeter (UK) to fuel streetlights in the 1890.16 In the Guangdong province of China, Avalos Ramirez, Chemical engineer from Universidad Nacional an 8 m3 hydraulic biogas tank fed with garbage was constructed Autonoma de Mexico and Ph.D. from Universite de Shrbrooke. Dr as early as 1921 to commercially produce biogas for cooking and Avalos Ramirez is researcher in agrienvironmental and bio- lighting.15 At the same
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