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Ceramic Appliques for the Production of Supported Thin-Film Catalytic Membrane Reactors--Eltron Research, Inc., 4600 Nautilus Court South, Boulder, CO  80301-3241; 303-530-0263

Dr. Pamela Van Calcar, Principal Investigator

Ms. Eileen E. Sammells, Business Official

DOE Grant No. DE-FG03-00ER82996

Amount:  $99,995

 

Oxygen permeable ceramic membranes have been developed for the separation of oxygen from the air. Currently, the oxygen flux through these membranes is limited by their thickness.  The goal of this program is to develop supported thin films of these oxygen separation materials that will yield higher flux rates and lower operational temperatures.  Flexible thin film appliques of the oxygen conducting membrane material will be developed using tape casting techniques.   These appliques will allow for easy application of the dense crack free membrane to porous supports, and will be easily scaled up for production.  The Phase I project will focus on developing a tape casting slurry of these oxygen conducting materials.  The tape will be flexible and attached to a supporting backing which can be thermally decomposed.  Finally these appliques will be applied to porous membranes and the thin film membrane will be tested for oxygen separation capabilities.

 

Commercial Applications and Other Benefits as described by the awardee  These oxygen conducting membranes are of interest to the chemical industries and oil extraction for the production of ultra pure oxygen and syngas.  This technology will dramatically increase the separation rate of these membranes since transport through the membrane will no longer be the rate limiting step in gas production.