Introduction of a novel amino-agarose (AAG) derivative as a fixed facilitated transport carrier to prepare newly asymmetric PES/AAG membranes for CO2 removal

In the present study, a novel amino-agarose (AAG) derivative was synthesized and characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and Hydrogen-Nuclear magnetic resonance (H-1-NMR). The prepared AAG derivative was introduced as a new polymeric additive by its blending with polyethersulfone (PES) in different ratios to fabricate newly integrally skinned PES/AAG membranes. The thermal gravimetric analysis of the prepared membranes revealed that presence of AAG additive improves the thermal stability of the PES membranes. Also, the changes in the membranes morphologies were studied using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The prepared membranes were used for separation of CO2 from a CO2/CH4 binary mixed gas, and the effects of feed pressure, temperature, and AAG concentration on the performance of the synthesized membranes were explored. The obtained results showed that presence of AAG derivative in PES membranes enhances the porosity of the prepared membranes so improves the selectivity of CO2/CH4. Generally, the performance of the PES membranes was improved by application of AAG additive as a fixed facilitated transport carrier. (c) 2015 Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd