TECHNOLOGY LICENSING OPPORTUNITY: PBI High-Temperature Hollow Fiber Membranes

Polybenzimidazole (PBI) High-Temperature Hollow Fiber Membranes offer a practical way to improve separation efficiency in process environments where standard polymer membranes often lose performance or durability. The platform combines high-temperature operation, chemical resistance and compact hollow-fiber design in a membrane system that can help users recover hydrogen, separate carbon dioxide and process difficult liquid streams with lower energy demand and a smaller equipment footprint than many conventional approaches. Because the fibers are formed from a robust PBI material and engineered with an integrated thin selective layer, the technology is well suited for organizations seeking stronger performance in demanding energy, chemical and water treatment settings.

How it Works

The membrane works like a selective gate built into a very small hollow strand. A mixed gas or liquid flows across the fiber, and the thin outer layer allows some molecules to pass through more readily than others, while the porous support beneath it gives the fiber strength and a path for transport. The disclosed fabrication process forms that selective layer and support structure in one step, then can add heat treatment or a thin sealing layer to improve stability and sharpen separation performance.

Technical Description

The polybenzimidazole invention is centered on a method for making asymmetric hollow fiber membranes from polybenzimidazole, a polymer valued for strong thermal and chemical stability. A PBI dope solution and a bore fluid are extruded through a spinneret, then passed through an optional air gap and into a water coagulation bath, which forms a hollow fiber with an integrated selective layer and a porous support structure. The process can produce nearly defect-free selective layers, and the patent states that selective layer thickness can be controlled from about 0.1 to 5 µm, with examples demonstrating thicknesses down to about 160 nm and one example near 0.38 µm.

A major technical advantage is control over membrane microstructure and durability. PBI High-Temperature Hollow Fiber Membranes emphasize macrovoid-free fibers, which are important because macrovoids create weak points that can fail under high temperature and pressure. The membranes can be thermally annealed or chemically crosslinked to improve solvent resistance and stability, and a defect-sealing layer can be added to improve selectivity without changing the core fiber architecture. In demonstrated gas-separation modules, the technology showed hydrogen permeance above 100 GPU, with one example reporting 242 GPU at 250 °C and hydrogen/carbon dioxide selectivity of 19.1, while long-term testing in wet syngas with 20 ppm H2S showed stable performance over 40 days. The patent also states that the membranes can operate up to about 400 °C and are suitable for gas, vapor and liquid separations including hydrogen purification, carbon capture, brine treatment and organic solvent separations.

Advantages

• Operates at temperatures that are too demanding for many conventional polymer membranes
• Resists harsh chemical exposure including steam and sulfur-containing gases
• compact module design enables smaller equipment footprint
• easier scaling than ceramic membranes
• higher throughput without compromising permeability, selectivity or membrane area cost
• Combines selectivity and structural support in one integrated membrane architecture
• Supports both gas and liquid separation opportunities across multiple industries
• Reduces overall hydrogen purification costs
• Has already been tested in relevant operating environments rather than remaining only a laboratory concept

Market Applications

• Energy and Power generation (hydrogen production, pre-combustion carbon capture, syngas cleanup) 
• Oil and Gas (refining, natural gas processing, produced water treatment)
• Chemical and Petrochemical Processing (process gas separation, solvent dehydration, feedstream cleanup)
• Industrial Water and Wastewater (high-salinity brines, water purification, water and acid separation)
• Advanced Fuels (Fischer-Tropsch processing, fuel conversion, synthesis gas upgrading)
• Specialty Manufacturing (organic solvent recovery, pharmaceutical and fine chemical separations) 

Development Status: TRL 5

US Patent No. 10,071,345

LA-UR-26-24561

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