Patent ID: 8871396
Filing Date: 2014-10-28
Classification: H01M,Y02C,Y02E

Abstract:
1. A CO 2 separator incorporated in a fuel cell system and configured to separate CO 2 from water, comprising: a housing comprising at least one wall defining an interior and an exterior of the housing, an opening through the at least one wall, a mixer inlet, and an outlet; and a membrane with a single layered structure comprising an inside surface and an outside surface, wherein the membrane is disposed over the opening and is mounted on a frame comprising a hydrophobic surface, wherein at least a portion of the inside surface of the membrane faces the interior of the housing, wherein the membrane comprises a plurality of diffusion channels extending from the inside surface of the membrane to the outside surface of the membrane, wherein a mean diameter of the diffusion channels at the outside surface of the membrane is at least about three-times greater than a mean diameter of the diffusion channels at the inside surface of the membrane, wherein the mean diameter of the diffusion channels at the inside surface of the membrane is from about 0.2 μm to about 2 μm, wherein the inside surface of the membrane, the outside surface of the membrane, and inner surfaces of the diffusion channels are hydrophobic, and wherein the outside surface of the membrane is more hydrophobic than the inside surface of the membrane.