Blending of ZnO Nanorods in Cellulose Acetate Mixed Matrix Membrane for Enhancement of CO 2 Permeability

The separation of carbon dioxide is one of the most challenging parts of the chemical process industry. Various methods are used globally, but separation via membrane is one of the most feasible techniques due to its enormous advantages. Mixed matrix membranes have become an excellent way to trade-off between selectivity and permeability. In this context, cellulose acetate/zinc oxide nanorods based membranes were synthesized by a solution casting method. The fabricated membranes were characterized using X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and ultimate tensile strength machine. Analytical techniques confirmed the successful incorporation of ZnO nanorods in the CA matrix. The effect of gas feed pressure on membrane performance was also studied. The permeability of CO 2 was increased by incorporating ZnO nanorods into the membrane. On the other hand, the permeability of H 2 decreased from 39 to 13.78 barrer at 0.7 wt%. The maximum selectivity of 2.77 was observed for the CO 2 /H 2 gas pair with the addition of 0.7 wt% of ZnO nanorods. The permeability of both gases increased with increasing the feed pressure. However, the selectivity of CO 2 /H 2 was dropped. Graphical Abstract