Opportunity

The U.S. Department of Energy’s National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) has developed a method for creating advanced polymer membranes to efficiently separate carbon dioxide (CO2) from nitrogen (N2). These membranes combine excellent CO2 permeability, selectivity and stability, even in humid conditions, making them ideal for industrial applications like CO2 capture from flue gas. NETL’s rubbery blend membrane resists aging and humidity and exceeds Robeson’s 2008 upper bound for CO2/N2 separation. By exhibiting high CO2 permeance (up to 4,500 GPU), moderate CO2/N2 selectivity (40) and long-term stability, it can efficiently separate CO2 from flue gas in power plants and industrial facilities, providing a more stable and cost-effective alternative to traditional amine-based capture systems. High molecular weight facilitates thin-film coating, enabling defect-free membranes as thin as 120 nm. It is a versatile platform for CO2 separation, medical devices and other applications requiring robust, high-performance membranes. This invention is available for licensing and/or further collaborative research from NETL.