Design of Enzyme Loaded W/O Emulsions by Direct Membrane Emulsification for CO<sub>2</sub> Capture

Membrane-based gas separation is a promising unit operation in a low-carbon economy due to its simplicity, ease of operation, reduced energy consumption and portability. A methodology is proposed to immobilise enzymes in stable water-in-oil (W/O) emulsions produced by direct membrane emulsification...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Suchintan Mondal, Bhavna Alke, Aline Machado de Castro, Paloma Ortiz-Albo, Usman Taqui Syed, João G. Crespo, Carla Brazinha
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2022-08-01
Series:Membranes
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0375/12/8/797
Description
Summary:Membrane-based gas separation is a promising unit operation in a low-carbon economy due to its simplicity, ease of operation, reduced energy consumption and portability. A methodology is proposed to immobilise enzymes in stable water-in-oil (W/O) emulsions produced by direct membrane emulsification systems and thereafter impregnated them in the pores of a membrane producing emulsion-based supported liquid membranes. The selected case-study was for biogas (CO<sub>2</sub> and CH<sub>4</sub>) purification. Upon initial CO<sub>2</sub> sorption studies, corn oil was chosen as a low-cost and non-toxic bulk phase (oil phase). The emulsions were prepared with Nadir<sup>®</sup> UP150 P flat-sheet polymeric membranes. The optimised emulsions consisted of 2% Tween 80 (<i>w</i>/<i>w</i>) in corn oil as the continuous phase and 0.5 g.L<sup>−1</sup> carbonic anhydrase enzyme with 5% PEG 300 (<i>w</i>/<i>w</i>) in aqueous solution as the dispersed phase. These emulsions were impregnated onto a porous hydrophobic PVDF membrane to prepare a supported liquid membrane for gas separation. Lastly, gas permeability studies indicated that the permeability of CO<sub>2</sub> increased by ~15% and that of CH<sub>4</sub> decreased by ~60% when compared to the membrane without carbonic anhydrase. Thus, a proof-of-concept for enhancement of CO<sub>2</sub> capture using emulsion-based supported liquid membrane was established.
ISSN:2077-0375