Membrane Technology and Research, Inc

Pharmetrix Corporation

Saudi Arabian Oil Company

Bend Research, Inc.

Other

Alza Corporation

The United States of America As Represented by the Secretary of

Burroughs Wellcome Co.

Nitto-denko Corporation

The Upjohn Co.

Pharmacia Ab

Pharmacia & Upjohn Ab

Coskata, Inc.

Algenol Biofuels, Inc.

United States Environmental Protection Agency

Richard W Baker

Johannes Gerard Wijmans

Kaaeid A Lokhandwala

Timothy C Merkel

Ingo Pinnau

Zhenjie He

Ramin Daniels

Andre R Da Costa

Yu Huang

Karl D Amo

Jurgen Kaschemekat

Jennifer Ly

Sebastien Andre Duval

Milind M Vaidya

Feras Hamad

Ahmad Abdullah Bahamdan

Douglas Gottschlich

Tim Merkel

Faisal D Al-Otaibi

Tiem Aldajani

Xiaotong Wei

Jorge Heller

Giancarlo Santus

Anurag P Mairal

Leland Morris Vane

Frank Kochinke

Franklin R Alvarez

Susan Vintilla-Friedman

Ingo Blume

Matthias Wessling

Alvin Ng

Amulya L Athayde

Yasuo Ninomiya

Scott Segelke

Lora G Toy

Haiqing Lin

James W Brooke

Theodore J Roseman

James W Ayres

Scott Thompson

Ivy Huang

Juergen Kaschemekat

Lisa A Nakaji

Judy M Mohr

Carl Huang

Thomas Hofmann

Shannon Goakey

Rathin Datta

Benjamin A McCool

Nicholas Patrick Wynn

Masakatsu Urairi

Rahul Basu

Kelly L Smith

Carl-Martin Bell

Marc L Jacobs

Robert P Barss

Rong Dong

Ghulam Shabbir

Ian C Roman

Jenny Louie

Nasser Al-Aslai

Paul Shrock

Osmer C Carpenter

Robert P Castro

Osmer S Carpenter

Peter H Pfromm

Verne Helm

G Carlo Santus

Harmohinder S Bedi

F Kochinke

Henky D Kamaruddin

Bernd Ahlers

Hans E Grethlein

Brice C Freeman

Jennifer H Ly

The present invention relates to a crossflow membrane module configured to separate a feed fluid into a permeate fluid and a residue fluid across one or more membrane sheet(s). The crossflow module comprises a second end offset from a first end along the first direction where an inlet is provided at the first end and an outlet is provided at the second end. The one or more membrane sheet(s) each have a first portion and a second portion. A conduit is adjacent to the first side of each membrane sheet and is configured to receive and output the permeate fluid separated from the feed fluid. The second portion of the membrane sheet has a greater permeance for a major component than the first portion such that the second part of the permeate fluid, which is generated by separation across the second portion of the membrane sheet, has a higher concentration of the major component than the first part of the permeate fluid, which is generated by separation across the first portion. The second portion is spaced apart from the first side of the membrane sheet along the second direction thereby causing the second part of the permeate gas to flow towards the first side of the membrane sheet such that the second part of the permeate gas mixes with the first part of the permeate gas thereby reducing the concentration of the minor component in the first part of the permeate gas.

Crossflow membrane module

Methods and systems for recovering sulfur dioxide from a Claus unit process emissions stream are provided. The method comprises the steps of generating a process emissions stream from a thermal oxidizer or other combustion device, introducing the emissions stream to an SOremoval system, introducing the SOrich stream from the SOremoval system to a COremoval system, and introducing an enriched SOstream back to the Claus unit. The SOremoval system can include one or more SOselective membranes. The COremoval system can include one or more COselective membranes.

Improving sulfur recovery operations with processes based on novel COover SOselective membranes and its combinations with SOover COselective membranes

Methods are provided for reducing the quantity of acid gas reinjected into a reservoir by partial COremoval processes. The methods include acid gas removal, acid gas enrichment, generation of a COrich stream and an HS rich stream, and reinjection of the HS rich stream into the reservoir. The acid gas enrichment can be performed by a solvent-based acid gas enrichment unit, a membrane-based acid gas enrichment unit, or a combination of a solvent-based acid gas enrichment unit a and membrane-based acid gas enrichment unit. The system includes an acid gas removal unit, one or more acid gas enrichment units, and an acid gas reinjection compressor. The acid gas enrichment unit can be a solvent-based acid gas enrichment unit, a membrane-based acid gas enrichment unit, or a solvent-based acid gas enrichment unit and a membrane-based acid gas enrichment unit.

Reservoir management by controlling acid gas build-up in reservoir by partial CO2 removal processes

Described herein are membrane processes for separating COfrom flue gas. An exemplary process involves passing a fluid stream including the flue gas across a membrane permeable to COand HO, removing treated gas from a feed side of the membrane that has less COthan the flue gas, and removing permeate from a permeate side of the membrane comprising COand HO. Suitably, the permeate is removed at a sub-atmospheric vacuum pressure. The permeate is then cooled to remove at least some of the HO from the permeate and form a smaller volume of HO-depleted, COenriched permeate.

Membrane CO2 separation process

A process for recovering sulfur from a sour gas is provided. The process includes the steps of: providing the sour gas to a membrane separation unit having a carbon dioxide-selective membrane that comprises a perfluoropolymer, wherein the sour gas comprises carbon dioxide and at least 1 mol % hydrogen sulfide; separating the sour gas using the carbon dioxide-selective membrane in the membrane separation stage to obtain hydrogen sulfide-enriched gas and hydrogen sulfide-stripped gas, wherein the hydrogen sulfide-enriched gas has a hydrogen sulfide concentration of at least 20 mol %, and wherein the hydrogen sulfide-stripped gas comprises carbon dioxide; and processing the hydrogen sulfide-enriched gas in a sulfur recovery unit to obtain sulfur.

Hydrogen sulfide-carbon dioxide membrane separation systems and processes

A process for sweetening a syngas stream, the process comprising the steps of: providing a syngas stream to a nonselective amine absorption unit, the sour syngas stream comprising syngas, carbon dioxide, and hydrogen sulfide; separating the syngas stream in the nonselective amine absorption unit to obtain an overhead syngas stream and an acid gas stream; introducing the acid gas stream to a membrane separation unit, the acid gas stream comprising hydrogen sulfide and carbon dioxide; separating the acid gas stream in the membrane separation unit to produce a retentate stream and a permeate stream, wherein the retentate stream comprises hydrogen sulfide, wherein the permeate stream comprises carbon dioxide; introducing the retentate stream to a sulfur recovery unit; processing the retentate stream in the sulfur recovery unit to produce a sulfur stream and a tail gas stream, wherein the sulfur stream comprises liquid sulfur.

Process of improved sulfur capture from a syngas mixture

A process for recovering sulfur and carbon dioxide from a sour gas stream, the process comprising the steps of: providing a sour gas stream to a membrane separation unit, the sour gas stream comprising hydrogen sulfide and carbon dioxide; separating the hydrogen sulfide from the carbon dioxide in the membrane separation unit to obtain a retentate stream and a first permeate stream, wherein the retentate stream comprises hydrogen sulfide, wherein the permeate stream comprises carbon dioxide; introducing the retentate stream to a sulfur recovery unit; processing the retentate stream in the sulfur recovery unit to produce a sulfur stream and a tail gas stream, wherein the sulfur stream comprises liquid sulfur; introducing the permeate stream to an amine absorption unit; and processing the permeate stream in the amine absorption unit to produce an enriched carbon dioxide stream.

Sulfur recovery operation with improved carbon dioxide recovery

Sweep-based gas separation processes for reducing carbon dioxide emissions from gas-fired power plants. The invention involves at least two compression steps, a combustion step, a carbon dioxide capture step, a power generate step, and a sweep-based membrane separation step. One of the compression steps is used to produce a low-pressure, low-temperature compressed stream that is sent for treatment in the carbon dioxide capture step, thereby avoiding the need to expend large amounts of energy to cool an otherwise hot compressed stream from a typical compressor that produces a high-pressure stream, usually at 20-30 bar or more.

Integrated gas separation-turbine CO2 capture processes

Disclosed herein is a power generation process in which a portion of the carbon dioxide generated by gaseous fuel combustion is recycled back to the power generation process, either pre-combustion, post-combustion, or both. The power generation process of the invention may be a combined cycle process or a traditional power generation process. The process utilizes sweep-based membrane separation.

Membrane technology for use in a power generation process

A gas separation process for treating exhaust gases from combustion processes. The invention involves routing a first portion of the exhaust stream to a carbon dioxide capture step, while simultaneously flowing a second portion of the exhaust gas stream across the feed side of a membrane, flowing a sweep gas stream, usually air, across the permeate side, then passing the permeate/sweep gas back to the combustor.

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A gas separation process for treating exhaust gases from multiple combustion sources. The invention involves directing an exhaust gas stream from one combustion step to a carbon capture step. An off-gas stream depleted in carbon dioxide from the carbon capture step is mixed with a second exhaust stream from a second combustion step to form a mixed gas stream. The mixed gas stream is passed as a feed stream across the feed side of a membrane that is selectively permeable to carbon dioxide over nitrogen and carbon dioxide over oxygen. A sweep gas stream, usually air, flows across the permeate side, and picks up the preferentially permeating carbon dioxide. The permeate stream withdrawn from the permeate side of the membrane is then recycled back to the combustor.

Sweep-based membrane separation process for removing carbon dioxide from exhaust gases generated by multiple combustion sources

The invention is a process involving membrane-based gas separation for separating and recovering carbon dioxide emissions from combustion processes in partially concentrated form, and then transporting the carbon dioxide and using or storing it in a confined manner without concentrating it to high purity. The process of the invention involves building up the concentration of carbon dioxide in a gas flow loop between the combustion step and a membrane separation step. A portion of the carbon dioxide-enriched gas can then be withdrawn from this loop and transported, without the need to liquefy the gas or otherwise create a high-purity stream, to a destination where it is used or confined, preferably in an environmentally benign manner.

Membrane loop process for separating carbon dioxide for use in gaseous form from flue gas

Disclosed herein are processes for removing water from organic solvents, such as ethanol. The processes include distillation in two columns operated at sequentially higher pressure, followed by treatment of the overhead vapor by one or two membrane separation steps.

Membrane-augmented distillation with compression and condensation to separate solvents from water

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Palo Alto, CA, United States of America

Richard W Baker