Ceramic membranes having less than 1nm size pores have great potential for gas separation at high temperature due to their good thermal stability. Moreover, nanoporous silicon carbide membranes have a potential application under hydrothermal conditions at high temperatures since they are highly stable at high temperature. In this research, a nanoporous SiC membrane has been developed on a porous alumina support using a preceramic polymer. For a gradual pore size distribution, γ-Al2O3 interlayer was introduced in between the nanoporous SiC membrane and porous alumina support. The SiC membrane having a controlled pore size was characterized by SEM and pore size measurements. The hydrogen permeability and selectivity towards nitrogen gas of the membrane developed were 0.16 × 10−6 mole/m2·s·pa and 42.5, respectively. The nanoporous hydrogen selective SiC membrane shows a promising application in hydrogen separation from coal gasification such as in the integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC).

Keywords: SiC nanoporous membrane, Hydrogen separation, IGCC.