Membrane oxygen enrichment : I. Demonstration of membrane oxygen enrichment for natural gas combustion

https://doi.org/10.1016/S0376-7388(00)82019-0Get rights and content

Abstract

Combustion with oxygen-enriched air can substantially reduce fuel consumption in certain industrial applications. The use of membranes is a potentially attractive approach for producing oxygen-enriched air. A variety of membrane materials and operating conditions can be used to produce oxygen concentrations in the range of interest, which is generally 25 to 35% O2. To determine the optimum system, a trade-off must be made between capital cost (membrane area) and operating cost (pumping power). A silicone-based membrane oxygen enricher was fabricated and factory tested. As expected, a substantial reduction in natural gas consumption was achieved. During the test period some membrane degradation was experienced due to pinhole formation. It was determined that pinholes were not a result of the factory environment, and that use of a membrane oxygen enricher to achieve fuel savings is technically feasible.

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