Removal of hydrogen sulfide from methane using commercial polyphenylene oxide and Cardo-type polyimide hollow fiber membranes

The performance of commercially available poly (2,6-dimethyl-1,4-phenylene oxide) (PPO) and Cardotype polyimide (PI) hollow fiber membranes was investigated in removing hydrogen sulfide from methane in a series of bench-scale experiments. It was observed that in the concentration range of hydrogen sulfide in methane from 101 to 401 ppm, the methane permeability decreased in the presence of hydrogen sulfide for Cardo-type polyimide hollow fiber membranes, whereas the PPO membrane performance was not affected. The separation coefficients of hydrogen sulfide/methane were 6 and 4 for PI and PPO membranes, respectively. Effects of temperature on the performance of PI and PPO membranes were investigated. It was observed that the permeabilities of both components of the mixture increased by increasing temperature, whereas the selectivities remained constant.