Optimization of microstructure and geometry of hydrophobic ceramic membrane for SO2 absorption from ship exhaust

Membrane gas absorption (MGA) is of great interest for SO 2 capture from ship exhaust, as it has high separation efficiency and, more importantly, is comprised of a separator that can be flexibly installed and operated on ships. Here, we report a class of hydrophobic tubular asymmetric ceramic membranes for SO 2 absorption. To find the membranes with reasonable microstructure and geometry, we used a numerical 2D model to simulate SO 2 absorption process and verified the model by comparing its results with experimental data. Simulations showed that most of the SO 2 mass transfer resistance existed in membrane phase, indicating that the optimization of membrane parameters, rather than operational conditions, should be the primary consideration to enhance the overall SO 2 mass transfer performance. Furthermore, simulations indicated that the SO 2 separation performance depended negligibly on membrane pore sizes, but can be significantly improved by optimizing the thickness and inner diameter of membrane tubes. © 2018 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J , 65: 409–420, 2019