Robust and efficient membrane contactor for carbon dioxide capture enabled by thin-film composite Janus membrane

Abstract

Gas-liquid membrane contactor (GLMC) technology shows significant promise for industrial carbon dioxide (CO₂) capture, but its adoption is hindered by the poor wetting resistance or low CO₂ absorption rate of conventional monolithic hydrophobic membranes. This work presents a thin-film composite (TFC) Janus membrane fabricated by coating a polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) layer featuring density and hydrophilicity onto a commercial hydrophobic polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) membrane substrate for GLMC applications. The TFC Janus membrane demonstrated robust wetting resistance during a 72-h GLMC experiment while maintaining a relatively high CO₂ absorption rate (2.85 × 10⁻³ mol/(m²·s)), enabling robust and efficient CO₂ capture. Diffusion experiments and breakthrough pressure tests attributed the exceptional wetting resistance to a combination of size exclusion and high capillary pressure within the dense PVA layer, which effectively hinders CO₂ absorbent solutions from accessing the hydrophobic PVDF substrate. Furthermore, membrane impedance measurements and ultrasonic time-domain reflectometry analysis revealed that the high CO₂ absorption rate resulted from an expanded gas-liquid interface created by the PVA layer penetrating into the PVDF substrate. Overall, this work offers valuable insights into the design and optimization of high-performance GLMC membranes, advancing practical applications of GLMC technology.

Graphical abstract

Keywords

Gas-liquid membrane contactor / Thin-film composite membrane / Janus membrane / Carbon dioxide capture / Membrane wetting

Highlight

	● A thin-film composite Janus membrane is proposed for gas-liquid membrane contactors.
	● The membrane exhibits excellent wetting resistance and a high CO2 absorption rate.
	● It breaks the existing trade-off between wetting resistance and CO2 absorption rate.
	● The wetting resistance is due to size exclusion and large capillary pressure.
	● The high CO2 absorption rate is facilitated by an expanded gas-liquid interface.

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