Patent ID: 8715392

Claim:
A separation apparatus comprising: a membrane having a first side and a second side, the membrane capable of selective permeation of carbon dioxide from the first side to the second side of the membrane, the separation driven by a chemical potential gradient of carbon dioxide, the membrane comprising: a macro-porous metallic substrate having a plurality of pores having a mean pore size of micrometers or sub-micrometer size and a porosity of from 35% to 70%; a micro-porous and/or meso-porous modification layer, the modification layer comprising TiO2, silica, ceria, γ-alumina, meso-porous solids impregnated with Ni, Fe, Ru, Cu, CuNi, Cu, Zn, Au, Pd, and mixtures thereof, modifying pore openings and/or modifying a surface chemistry on the first side of the porous metallic substrate, forming a permanent support structure; a liquid fluid immobilized within pores of the modified metallic substrate; and the liquid fluid capable of allowing carbon dioxide molecules to (i) selectively absorb relative to other types of molecules, (ii) be mobile in the liquid fluid, and (iii) desorb from the liquid fluid into a gas phase on the second side of the membrane.