Preparation and application of PDMS/PES composite membrane in separating light hydrocarbon components from drilling mud

By means of chemical combination between the Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) layer and Polyethersulfone (PES) layer, a kind of PDMS/PES composite membrane was prepared for separation of the light hydrocarbon components from the drilling mud. Meanwhile, its separation performance of the light-hydrocarbon components from the drilling mud was investigated and evaluated quantitatively. Results showed that the prepared PDMS/PES composite membrane had good mechanical performance, and it was resistant to corrosion of the water-based drilling mud. The PDMS/PES composite membrane can work stably at 5 MPa and 393 K. The responding time of the membrane to sudden change of the hydrocarbon gas content was less than one minute. For either single phase flow or gas-liquid two-phase flow, a high flow rate was recommended to avoid non-ideal flow patterns and to increase mass transfer in the feed channel of the membrane cell . Results in this work could be helpful for further application of the membrane technology in geological mud logging.