PVA/nanocellulose nanocomposite membranes for CO2 separation from flue gas

In this paper, we explore the use of nanocelluloses as an additive to poly (vinyl alcohol) (PVA) nanocomposite membranes for CO2/N-2 mixed-gas separation. Our findings are that several types of nanocellulose can be used to improve membrane performance. PVA/cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) nanocomposite membranes have the most promising performance, with increased CO2 permeance (127.8 +/- 5.5 GPU) and increased CO2/N-2 separation factor (39 +/- 0.4) compared to PVA composite membranes, with permeance 105.5 +/- 1.9 GPU and separation factor 36 +/- 0.5. The performance of PVA/CNC membranes is similar compared to PVA/carbon nanotubes (CNTs) membranes shown earlier. Thus, CNTs can be replaced by CNC that is biodegradable and non-toxic. Investigating several different nanocellulose types reveal that a high nanocellulose charge and small nanocellulose particles are important nanocellulose traits that improve membrane performance.