PERMEATION THROUGH KAPTON® POLYIMIDE AT ELEVATED TEMPERATURES

The permeabilities of CH₄, CO₂, CH₃OH, H₂O, O₂, and CO through films of Kapton® polyimide were measured at temperatures of 50, 100, 150, 200, and 250°C and pressures below 1 atm. Apparent activation energies for the permeation of the pure components ranged from 31.6kJ mol^-1 for CH₄ to nearly 0 for H₂O under the conditions studied. The ideal permselectivity for methanol relative to methane decreased from over 100 to under 10 as the temperature was increased from 50 to 250°C.