Computational analysis of an O₂separating membrane for a CO₂-emission-free power process

The increased demand for clean power in recent years has led to the development of various processes that include different types of CO2 capture. Several options are possible: pre-combustion concepts (fuel de-carbonization and subsequent combustion of H2), post-combustion concepts (tail-end CO2 capture solutions, such as amine scrubbing), and integrated concepts in which combustion is carried out in pure a O2 or oxygen-enriched environment instead of air. The integrated concepts involve the use of oxygen-, hydrogen-, or CO2- separating membranes resulting in exhaust gas containing CO2 and water, from which CO2 can easily be separated. In contrast to traditional oxygen pumps, where a solid oxide electrolyte is sandwiched between two gas-permeable electrodes, a dense, mixed ionic-electronic conducting membrane (MIECM) shows high potential for oxygen separation without external electrodes attached to the oxide surface. Models for oxygen transport through dense membranes have been reported in numerous recent studies. In this study, an equation for oxygen separation has been integrated into a steady-state heat and mass transfer membrane model. Oxygen transfer through a porous supporting layer of membrane is also taken into account. The developed FORTRAN code has been used for numerical investigation and performance analysis of the MIECM and the oxygen transport potential over a range of operating conditions. Preliminary results indicate that a non-uniform temperature distribution, for a given set of oxygen inlet boundary conditions has considerable impact on the oxygen flux and membrane efficiency. Since the implementation of detailed membrane models in heat and mass balance calculations for system studies would result in excessive calculation time, results from this study will be utilized for the generation of correlations describing the oxygen transfer as a function of operating parameters such as temperature and partial pressure. This modeling approach is expected to improve the accuracy of system studies.