Effect of Moisture Presence on Gas Permeability through Gas Separation Membranes Based on Poly(Vinyltrimethylsilane) and Quaternized Chitosan

An experimental evaluation of the humidity effect of gases (nitrogen, methane, and carbon dioxide) on their permeability through poly(vinyltrimethylsilane) and quaternized chitosan membranes using a specially designed experimental setup has been performed in this work. The experimental unit has been additionally equipped with a moisture generator and an analytical complex including an electronic hygrometer coupled with a gas chromatographic TCD system. The gas humidity values were obtained before and after the separation on polymeric membrane. It has been experimentally shown that the PVTMS membrane in the presence of water vapor (up to 2.5 vol %) provides the stability of gas transport characteristics. The permeability of moist gases through the quaternized chitosan membrane has been significantly reduced due to the high affinity of the polymer to water vapor and this material provides the high water vapor permeability.