(700a) PIM-1 Hollow FIBER Sorbent for Carbon Dioxide Capture

The development of energy-efficient carbon dioxide (CO₂) capture processes is an important piece of the technology portfolio for reducing CO₂ emissions. A recent journal article reported a polymer/zeolite hybrid hollow fiber sorbent for CO₂ capture. When operated in a rapid temperature swing adsorption (RTSA) modality, the adsorbent reduced the gas pressure drop and improved both heat transfer efficiency and adsorbent utilization. The usage of hydrophilic materials and the high loading of inorganic particles in the previous work necessitate a new generation hollow fiber sorbent with hydrophobic microporous materials. Polymers of intrinsic microrosity (PIMs) have received attention for gas separation due to their permanent microporous structure. However, due to the poor solubility of PIM-1 in most solvents, few works have discussed the fabrication of PIM-1 hollow fibers. Furthermore, the poor flexibility of PIM-1 fibers also increases the difficulty of spinning PIM-1. Here, we describe a straightforward alternative method for spinning PIM-1 hollow fiber sorbents to avoid practical problems associated with manufacturing these materials. CO₂ sorption performance on PIM-1 hollow fiber sorbents for ultimate use in an RTSA system is reported in addition to the PIM-1 sorbent material characterization. Different dope compositions and spinning conditions were studied to improve the PIM-1 fiber sorbent morphology and CO₂ adsorption performance. After infusing with polyethylenimine (PEI), the PEI/PIM-1 hollow fiber sorbents achieved 2.7 mmol-CO₂/g-fiber sorption capacity, but with a trade-off in adsorption kinetics. A lumen layer barrier was also installed successfully to prevent direct contact of hot media with PEI in hollow fibers during regeneration.