Dispersion and Distribution of MCM-48 Fillers in Polyethersulfone Matrix for Hybrid Membrane Development

Membrane separation technology by mixed matrix membrane (MMM) is a promising alternative for CO2/CH4 gas separation because it is cost saving and has high-energy efficiency. However, performance of the MMM is affected by various dispersion and distribution states of inorganic fillers in polymer matrix. Quantitative study on the dispersion and distribution of inorganic fillers in MMM has not been widely conducted yet. In this work, various dispersion and distribution states of MCM-48 particles in polyethersulfone (PES) membrane have been investigated by both qualitative and quantitative analysis. MMMs were synthesized by incorporating various amount of MCM-48 into the PES matrix. Critical concentration of PES was identified and the MMMs were fabricated via dry-wet phase inversion technique with distilled water as the coagulant.