MEGA

Membrane technology is a basic operation of nature’s live. However, in technical processes membrane applications are quite rare and mostly limited on liquid filtration. Application in gas separation are an exception today. Reasons are insufficient separation performance, high membrane costs and low confidence in membrane technology. A Fraunhofer consortium of four institutes of complementary core competences in polymeric membranes (IAP), ceramic membranes (IKTS), hollow fiber spinning (IGB) and process and safety technologies (UMSICHT) are joining their activities to develop ceramic and mixed-matrix-membranes of high selectivity and flux, lower costs, easy scalable geometries (multy channel tubes, hollow fibers) and to define scenarios of save membrane operations.

The activities are focusing on application of very high marked potential:

1. the separation of steam from natural, lean and biogas (low temperature), from the exhaust gas of PEMS for water and heat recycling (medium temperature) and from chemical reactions like methanization or methanol synthesis from CO₂ and H₂ (high temperature)
2. separation of oxygen from air for steam reforming