Advanced Membrane Separation Technologies for Energy Recovery from Industrial Process Streams
- Gas Technology Institute
- Media and Process Technology
Recovery of energy from relatively low-temperature waste streams is a goal that has not been achieved on any large scale. Heat exchangers do not operate efficiently with low-temperature streams and thus require such large heat exchanger surface areas that they are not practical. Condensing economizers offer one option for heat recovery from such streams, but they have not been widely implemented by industry. A promising alternative to these heat exchangers and economizers is a prototype ceramic membrane system using transport membrane technology for separation of water vapor and recovery of heat. This system was successfully tested by the Gas Technology Institute (GTI) on a natural gas fired boiler where the flue gas is relatively clean and free of contaminants. However, since the tubes of the prototype system were constructed of aluminum oxide, the brittle nature of the tubes limited the robustness of the system and even limited the length of tubes that could be used. In order to improve the robustness of the membrane tubes and make the system more suitable for industrial applications, this project was initiated with the objective of developing a system with materials that would permit the system to function successfully on a larger scale and in contaminated and potentially corrosive industrial environments. This required identifying likely industrial environments and the hazards associated with those environments. Based on the hazardous components in these environments, candidate metallic materials were identified that are expected to have sufficient strength, thermal conductivity and corrosion resistance to permit production of longer tubes that could function in the industrial environments identified. Tests were conducted to determine the corrosion resistance of these candidate alloys, and the feasibility of forming these materials into porous substrates was assessed. Once the most promising metallic materials were identified, the ability to form an alumina membrane layer on the surface of the metallic tubes was evaluated. Evaluation of this new style of membrane tube involved exposure to SO{sub 2} containing gases as well as to materials with a potential for fouling. Once the choice of substrate and membrane materials and design were confirmed, about 150 tubes were fabricated and assembled into three modules. These modules were mounted on an industrial size boiler and their performance carefully monitored during a limited testing period. The positive results of this performance test confirm the feasibility of utilizing such a system for recovery of heat and water from industrial waste streams. The improved module design along with use of long metallic substrate tubes with a ceramic membrane on the outer surface resulted in the successful, limited scale demonstration of the Transport Membrane Condenser (TMC) technology in the GTI test facility. This test showed this technology can successfully recover a significant amount of heat and water from gaseous waste streams. However, before industry will make the investment to install a full scale TMC, a full scale system will need to be constructed, installed and successfully operated at a few industrial sites. Companies were identified that had an interest in serving as a host site for a demonstration system.
- Research Organization:
- Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE)
- DOE Contract Number:
- DE-AC05-00OR22725
- OSTI ID:
- 1073610
- Report Number(s):
- ORNL/TM-2013/17
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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