Honeycomb type gas separating membrane

Abstract: A honeycomb type gas separating membrane structure (1) is used for separating or supplying a specified gas from a mixed gas. The gas separating membrane structure (1) has a honeycomb unitary structure and is a dense body made of a material having a gas separation ability. The honeycomb type gas separating membrane structure does not require a support for supporting a gas separating membrane, can provide a large membrane area, and can reduce costs because its production process is simple.

Description: Background of the Invention and Related Art Statement The present invention relates to a honeycomb type gas separating membrane structure for separating or supplying a specified gas from a mixed gas. Particularly, the present invention relates to a honeycomb type gas separating membrane structure having a honeycomb unitary structure. There has conventionally been known a method using a gas separating membrane as a method for separating or supplying a specified gas from a mixed gas. Generally, a gas separating membrane selectively separates ions or atoms diffused in a gas separating membrane. It has been known that gas permeability is inversely proportional to the thickness of the membrane. Therefore, it is preferable to reduce the thickness of the membrane as much as possible to increase gas permeability of the gas separating membrane. However, when the gas separating membrane is thinner than a certain degree, mechanical strength becomes weak, and the gas separating membrane cannot stand by itself. Therefore, it is generally performed that a gas separating membrane is formed on an inorganic porous support of porous glass, porous ceramics, porous aluminum oxide, or the like (e.g., Japanese Patent Publication 53-43153). It is also preferable to enlarge an area per unit volume of the gas separating membrane to produce a compact and inexpensive gas separating membrane module. To realize this, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 8-40703 discloses a method for forming a gas separating membrane on a predetermined surface of a porous substrate having a shape of a monolith having throughholes, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-255306 discloses a method for forming a gas separating membrane on a metallic porous support in which a metallic reinforcing plate having a plurality of gas flow holes, and U.S. Patent No. 5356728 discloses a gas separating membrane which is made of a material having a gas separation ability and which has a plurality of parallel throughholes running in vertical direction so as to mutually cross each other. Further, Japanese Patent Publication 7-67528 discloses a honeycomb porous body in a ceramic membrane structure for condensing and separating condensable gas components. It is stated that a ceramic thin membrane having numerous continuous fine pores for condensing condensable gas components are loaded on inner surfaces of partition walls and it is preferable that the fine pores have an average pore diameter of 100Å or less and that the membrane has a thickness of 5 - 100 µm. It is also disclosed that a porous partition wall which becomes a support for imparting strength preferably has an average pore diameter of 0.2 - 5 µm and a thickness of about 0.5 - 3 mm. However, in the case that a gas separation membrane is formed on a predetermined surface of a porous substrate (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 8-40703), it is very difficult to form a dense gas separating membrane on a porous substrate because of the difference in properties (e.g., thermal expansion coefficient) between a porous substrate and a gas separation membrane. Another problem is that, in the case of a gas separating membrane having a layered structure (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-255306 and U.S. Patent No. 5356728), a production process becomes complex and the cost is increased though the membrane area can be enlarged. Further, Japanese Patent Publication 7-67528 discloses that it is not considered that forming a membrane after molding a honeycomb body is necessary and a partition wall of a substrate is particularly thinned to 0.5 - 3 mm. A ceramic membrane apparatus for separation of oxygen from air is disclosed in GB 2 257 054. This discloses an apparatus with parallel channels composed of gas permeable walls a number of which are sealed at one end. High pressure air may be passed through the unsealed channels which results in oxygen diffusing through the gas permeable channel walls into the channels which are sealed at one end. Summary of the Invention The present invention has been made in view of such conditions and aims to provide a gas separating membrane structure which does not require a support for supporting a gas separating membrane, which can increase the membrane area, which is simple to produce and which can reduce costs. According to the present invention, there is provided a honeycomb type gas separating membrane structure as set out in claim 1. It is preferable that a cell partition wall between a raw material gas side and a permeated gas side of the honeycomb type gas separating membrane structure has a thickness of 50 - 500µm. It is possible that respective gas flow passages on the raw material gas side and the permeated gas side are disposed so that they mutually cross each other at predetermined intervals. Alternatively the gas flow passage or passages on the raw material gas side and the gas flow passage or passages on the permeated gas side are disposed so that they are parallel and the respective gas flows are in opposite directions through the honeycomb structure. Brief Description of the Drawings Figs. 1(a), 1(b) show an embodiment of a honeycomb type gas separating membrane structure of the present invention. Fig. 1(a) is a schematic perspective view, and Fig. 1(b) is a sectional view along the line A-A of Fig. 1(a). Fig. 2 is an explanatory view about a model of a beam structure supported at both ends of a honeycomb type gas separating membrane structure of the present invention. Figs. 3(a), 3(b) are schematic front views showing each embodiment of disposition of gas flow passages in a honeycomb type gas separating membrane structure of the present invention. Figs. 4(a), 4(b) are schematic front views showing each embodiment of shapes of a honeycomb type gas separating membrane structure of the present invention. Fig. 4(a) is the case of a square, and Fig. 4(b) is the case of a circle. Figs. 5(a), 5(b), and 5(c) are explanatory views showing an embodiment of a production process of a honeycomb type gas separating membrane structure of the present invention. Fig. 6 is a schematic block diagram showing an embodiment of an apparatus for performance evaluation test of a honeycomb type gas separating membrane structure used in Example. Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiments A honeycomb type gas separating membrane structure of the present invention has a honeycomb unitary structure and is a dense body made of a material having a gas separation ability. According to the honeycomb type gas separating membrane structure, a support for supporting a gas separating membrane is unnecessary, and the membrane area can be enlarged, and cost is reduced because the production process is simple. Further, it is possible in the present invention to apply a catalyst powder mixed with a solvent to promote surface reaction to each of a raw material gas side and a permeated gas side of a honeycomb type gas separating membrane structure by slurry-coating, dip-coating, or the like, and subjected to a heat treatment. The catalyst does not have to be dense, and the production process is very easy in comparison to forming of a function membrane. From the above, a honeycomb type gas separating membrane structure of the present invention can be applied to an oxygen permeable membrane using a mixed conductive material represented by perovskite oxide, layered perovskite oxide, zirconia where a metal is dispersed, or the like, a hydrogen permeable membrane using a proton conductive material oxide, a hydrocarbon selectively-permeating membrane using zeolite, or the like. However any gas separating membrane structure can be applied to such membrane as long as it is a dense material having a gas separation ability. By a dense body here is meant a body which does not contain through-pores for gas passage. The component being separated from the mixed gas passes through the solid material of the dense body. The present invention is hereinbelow described in detail on the basis of drawings. Figs. 1(a), 1(b) show an embodiment of a honeycomb type gas separating membrane structure of the present invention. Fig. 1(a) is a schematic perspective view, and Fig. 1(b) is a sectional view along the line A-A of Fig. 1(a). An embodiment of a honeycomb separator membrane structure of the present invention is a square-section honeycomb type gas separating membrane structure 1 having a plurality of parallel cell passages 4 for gas flow as shown in Fig. 1. The flow passages are in two sets, i.e. gas flow passages of a raw material gas side and gas flow passages of a permeated gas side. The cell passages of the two sets are disposed so that the respective gas flows are parallel and in mutually opposite directions. In one of the sets of gas flow passages, the cell passages 4 are sealed with a sealing material 6 at both ends thereof. Slits 8a and 8b are formed on the side face of the honeycomb type gas separating membrane structure 1 corresponding to the sealed cell passage 4 so as to pass through the side face of the cell passge 4 as shown in Fig. 1(b). The gas flow passages 5 of the other set are open at the opposite ends for straight flow through in the longitudinal direction of the honeycomb body. By this, a gas on the raw material gas side or the permeated gas side can stay for a sufficient time in the gas flow passage, and therefore a gas contact efficiency on the raw material gas side and the permeated gas side can be improved. The main characteristic of a honeycomb type gas separating membrane structure of the present invention is that a gas separating membrane itself is formed to have a dense honeycomb structure. This enables the gas separating membrane itself to support its own weight, thereby a support for supporting the gas separating membrane is unnecessary. Therefore, the production process can be simplified and the cost can be reduced in comparison with a conventional gas separating membrane having a stratified structure. Further, a thickness of a cell partition wall and a cell span of the above honeycomb structure can be easily optimized in accordance with a difference in pressure between the raw material gas side and the permeated gas side. In a honeycomb type gas separating membrane structure of the present invention, a cell partition wall between the raw material gas side and the permeated gas side preferable has a thickness of 50 - 500 µm. In more detail, in the case that there is almost no difference in pressure between the raw material gas side and the permeated gas side, a thickness of a cell partition wall and a cell pitch can be freely selected. For example, the cell partition wall may be thinned to about 50 µm which does not give any pinhole. On the other hand, when there is a difference in pressure between the raw material gas side and the permeated gas side, it is necessary to select a thickness of the cell partition wall and a cell pitch according to the difference in pressure. For example, in the case of a model having a beam structure supported at both ends as shown in Fig. 2, a necessary strength of a material to apply difference P in pressure to the thickness h of the cell partition wall and the cell span 1 can be calculated by the use of the formula: σ= P/2(1/h) 2 In the case that the difference in pressure between the raw material gas side and the permeated gas side is 50 atm. and that the material strength is 100 MPa, it is required that the cell pitch is 1.3 mm or less to obtain a cell partition wall having a thickness of 200 µm and that the cell pitch is 4 mm or less to obtain a cell partition wall having a thickness of 500 µm according to the above formula. In a honeycomb type gas separating membrane structure of the present invention, it is not required that a sectional area of a gas flow passage on the raw material gas side is the same as that on the permeated gas side, and the sectional areas can be freely adjusted in consideration of reaction speed, flow rate, and the case of having a difference in pressure between the raw material gas side and the permeated gas side (see Figs. 3(a), 3(b)). For example, in the case that there is a difference in pressure between the raw material gas side and the permeated gas side, as shown in Fig. 3(b), a cell span can be widened with regard to partition walls which are not positioned between the raw material gas side and the permeated gas side. It is not required to give all the partition walls the same thickness. The partition walls between the raw material gas side and the permeated gas side are required to be as thin as possible, and the other walls can be suitably thickened without problem in view of strength upon production. Further, a shape of a honeycomb type gas separating membrane structure of the present invention is preferably square or circular as shown in Figs. 4(a) and 4(b). In the case that the shape is square (see Fig. 4 (a)), the surface area can be effectively used, and filling density can be increased in the case that a plurality of membrane structures constitute a module. On the other hand, in the case that the shape is circular (see Fig. 4(b)), sealing is easy, the structure is strong against external impact. The cell shape of a honeycomb type gas separating membrane structure of the present invention is not particularly limited, and for example, circular, square, or hexagonal shape, or a mixture of these shapes may be suitably employed. In the case that permeation area on the raw material gas side and the permeated gas side are made large, it is preferable to employ square mainly. A material having a gas separation ability used in the present invention depends on kind of gas to be separated. For example, in the case that oxygen is permeated, La-Sr-Co-Fe-O, which has a perovskite structure, is representative. However, the material may have various compositions (see Terada et.al. Journal of Japan Chemistry Organization 1988, No.7, pp1084). In addition, there is known as such a material Sr-Fe-Co-O, which is a stable material even in a reducing atmosphere and which has a layered perovskite structure, or the like. The present invention is hereinbelow described in more detail with reference to Example. However, the present invention is by no means limited to these Examples. ( Example ) Strontium carbonate, cobalt carbonate and iron nitrate are weighed to give stoichiometric ratio (SrCo 0.8 Fe 0.2 ), dissolved in water, subjected to evaporation with being stirred, and then calcined for 10 hours at 850°C in air to obtain a calcined powder. It was confirmed by an X-ray diffraction method that the obtained calcined powder has a single phase perovskite structure. The aforementioned calcined powder was ground in a ball mill and subjected to sieving to obtain a powder having average particle size of about 0.8 µm. To the calcined powder were added 5% by weight of methyl cellulose (binder) and 30% by weight of water in reference to weight of the solid content of the calcined powder to obtain a mixture. The mixture was subjected to kneading and then extrusion molding to obtain a honeycomb compact 10 having dimensions of 35 mm diameter x 10 cmL (see Fig. 5(a)). A sealing material 6 having the same components as the calcined powder was applied to both end surfaces of the honeycomb compact by brushing on every other line for sealing. Only a peripheral wall had a thickness of 1 mm. Then, the honeycomb compact was fired for 5 hours at 1250°C in the atmosphere to obtain a honeycomb fired body 12(Fig. 5(b)). In the obtained honeycomb fired body 12, an apparent density was 95%, a thickness of a cell partition wall was 200 µm, a cell span was 3 mm, and the number of cells was 10 cell x 10 cell. Finally, slits 8a, 8b were formed by cutting so as to pass through the side surface of the cell passage 4 on a side surface of the honeycomb fired body 12 corresponding to the sealed cell passage 4 as shown in Fig. 1(b) to obtain a honeycomb type gas separating membrane structure 1 shown in Fig. 5(c). Then, a performance evaluation test of the honeycomb type gas separating membrane structure was performed using an apparatus shown in Fig. 6. A vitreous powder was applied in peripheral portions of the upper and lower ends of the honeycomb type gas separating membrane structure 1, which was then brought into contact with square-shaped alumina tubes 20a and 20b and pressed by the mechanical force of a spring. In such a condition, the honeycomb type gas separating membrane structure 1 was perpendicularly disposed inside a quartz tube 24 in an electric furnace 28. The gap between the honeycomb type gas separating membrane structure 1 and the quartz tube 24 was filled with a quartz wool 26. They were arranged so that air in the quartz tube 24 flows mainly into the honeycomb type gas separating membrane structure 1. The vitreous powder was molten at a high temperature to work as glass seals 22a and 22b to seal the upper and lower ends of the honeycomb type gas separating membrane structure 1 and the alumina tubes 20a and 20b. Next, as shown in Fig. 6, He gas was introduced from upside to downside of the honeycomb type gas separating membrane structure 1 on the side of cell passage 4 (the side of permeated gas) at a rate of 20 Nl/min. With circulating air from the bottom to the top of the side of the slit 8 (raw material gas side) disposed on the side surface of the honeycomb type gas separating membrane structure 1, the honeycomb type gas separating membrane structure 1 was measured for permeation of oxygen and leakage of air at the time that the electric furnace 28 was heated up to 850°C at the rate of 10°C/min. As a result, the (average) permeation of oxygen was 6.5Nml/min·cm 2 . With regard to the leakage of air of the honeycomb type gas separating membrane structure, nitrogen concentration in the permeated gas was 0.01% or less by a gas chromatography, and no leakage of air was confirmed. The (average) permeation of oxygen of the honeycomb type gas separating membrane structure was determined by measuring oxygen concentration of He gas in the discharge port on the permeated gas side by an oxygen sensor. In a honeycomb type gas separating membrane structure of the present invention, a support for supporting a gas separating membrane is unnecessary, and the membrane area can be enlarged, and cost is reduced because the production process is simple.

Claims: A gas-separating membrane structure having a honeycomb unitary structure (1) providing parallel passages (4) separated by partition walls made as a dense body of material adapted to perform separation of a specific gas from a gas mixture containing the specific gas by transfer of the specific gas through the material under a gas pressure difference, wherein said parallel passages are in two sets, and wherein the passages of a first said set of passages are for the gas mixture containing the specific gas to be separated and the passages in a second said set of passages are for receiving the separated specific gas, the honeycomb having opposite ends and side faces extending between said ends, either said first set of passages or said second set of passages being sealed at said ends and accessed through slits (8a, 8b) in said side faces, and each of the passages of said first set and said passages of said second set having an inlet and an outlet. A gas separating membrane structure according to claim 1, wherein the partition walls between the first and second sets of passages have a thickness in the range of 50 to 500µm. A gas separating membrane structure according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the respective gas flows along the first and second passages sets of are in opposite directions through the honeycomb structure. A method of separating a specific gas from a gas mixture, comprising passing the specific gas through a gas-separating membrane structure according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein said dense body is made of a material having gas separation capability for said specific gas.

Inventors: SAKAI HITOSHI, TAKAHASHI TOMONORI, SAKAI, HITOSHI, TAKAHASHI, TOMONORI, Sakai, Hitoshi, c/o NGK Insulators, Ltd., Takahashi, Tomonori, c/o NGK Insulators, Ltd.
Applicants: NGK INSULATORS LTD, NGK INSULATORS, LTD.
Application year: 2000
Main classification: B01D53
IPC codes: B01D53, C01B13, C01B3, B01D69, C04B35, C01G51, B01D71