Hydrogen purification using molecular dynamics
A membrane is described for purifying or separating hydrogen from a multi-component gas stream such as syngas. This membrane uses a molecular pre-treatment, a transition metal, fluorine containing polymer, carbon fibers and carbon matrix sintered on a supportive screen. The membrane may be a bilayer membrane comprised of a layer containing high surface area carbon and another layer containing lower surface area carbon. Methods for purifying hydrogen are also described.
1. A method for hydrogen purification, comprising:
providing a hydrogen comprising a multi-stage hybrid membrane, each membrane comprising a screen, a first layer formed on the screen and a second layer formed on the first layer;
pumping a gas stream through the hydrogen concentrator, the gas stream comprising syngas including hydrogen and at least one additional gas; and
separating hydrogen from the mixture containing hydrogen and the at least one additional gas;
wherein pumping the gas stream comprises keeping the hydrogen moving within the hydrogen concentrator and pulsing in the at least one additional gas.
2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising forming the first layer from a mixture of carbon fibers, transition metal compounds, a fluorine containing polymer, and an additional carbon material.
3. The method of claim 2 , further comprising forming the second layer from a mixture of carbon fibers, transition metal compounds, a fluorine containing polymer, and activated carbon.
4. The method of claim 1 , further comprising forming the first layer to be a more porous structure than the second layer to provide prefiltering and faster throughput of material.
5. The method of claim 1 , further comprising forming the first layer from at least one lower density carbon material such that it comprises a more permeable and open structure than the second layer.
6. The method of claim 5 , wherein the at least one lower density carbon material precursor is selected from the group consisting of: carbon nanotube, carbon nanofiber, carbon black derived from pet coke, acetylene or natural gas, and graphene.
7. The method of claim 3 , further comprising deriving the activated carbon from sources selected from the group consisting of: coconut shells, almond shells, wood, biomass trimmings, and coal.
8. The method of claim 1 , further comprising pre-treating the membrane with gas molecules from a gas stream containing methane and carbon dioxide.
9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the at least one additional gas comprises carbon dioxide.
10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the at least one additional gas comprises carbon dioxide and methane.