Porous membrane encapsulated pellet and method for its preparation

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11638904-B2
Application number	US-202017121974-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 15, 2020
Priority date	Dec 16, 2019
Publication date	May 2, 2023
Grant date	May 2, 2023

Abstract

A method of encapsulating an engineered pellet in a porous membrane is disclosed. The method includes the steps of: (i) dissolving a membrane solute in a membrane solvent to produce a membrane solution; (ii) applying the membrane solution to a pellet to form a pellet encapsulated with the membrane solution; (iii) subjecting the membrane solution that encapsulates the pellet to a phase inversion and; (iv) drying the pellet to form a porous membrane encapsulated pellet. A porous membrane encapsulated pellet is also described.

First claim

That which is claimed is:

1. A method of encapsulating a pellet in a porous membrane comprising the steps of: (i) dissolving a membrane solute in a membrane solvent to produce a membrane solution; (ii) applying said membrane solution to a pellet to form a pellet encapsulated with said membrane solution; (iii) subjecting said membrane solution that encapsulates said pellet to a phase inversion and; (iv) drying said pellet to form a porous membrane encapsulated pellet.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising a step of cooling said porous membrane encapsulated pellet.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein said subjecting step (iii) further comprises agitating said pellets encapsulated with said membrane solution during the subject step (iii) to enhance said phase inversion.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein steps (ii) through (iv) are performed in sequence at least two times.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein steps (ii) through (iv) are performed in sequence two times.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein said pellet is an adsorbent pellet or a catalysis pellet.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein said pellet comprises a crystalline material or an amorphous material.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein said pellet comprises a metal organic framework compound.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein said pellet comprises a zeolite compound.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein said pellet comprises a binding agent.

11. The method of claim 10 wherein said binding agent comprises a clay or polymer.

12. The method of claim 1 wherein said membrane solute is a polymer.

13. The method of claim 12 wherein said polymer is a thermoplastic polymer.

14. The method of claim 13 wherein said thermoplastic polymer is a poly(imide).

15. The method of claim 14 wherein said poly(imide) is obtained by the polycondensation of 3,3′,4,4′-benzophenone tetracarboxylic dianhydride (BTDA) and a mixture of two rigid cycloaliphatic indane-type monomers, 5- and 6-amino-1-(4′-aminophenyl)-1,3,3-trimethylindane.

16. The method of claim 12 wherein said polymer is selected from the group consisting of poly(vinyl acetate), poly(ether imide), poly(imide), polybenzimidazole and combinations thereof.

17. The method of claim 1 wherein said membrane solvent comprises N,N-dimethyl formamide.

18. A porous membrane encapsulated pellet formed by the method of claim 1 .

Assignees

• Glover Thomas Grant
• Ritchie Stephen Michael Christopher
• The Univ Of South Alabama
• Univ Alabama

Inventors

• Glover Thomas Grant
• Ritchie Stephen Michael Christopher

Classifications

• B01D69/141 Primary

  Heterogeneous membranes, e.g. containing dispersed material; Mixed matrix membranes · CPC title

• B01D71/643

  Polyether-imides · CPC title

• B01D2325/0283

  Pore size · CPC title

• B01D71/0281

  Zeolites · CPC title

• B01D67/00793

  Dispersing a component, e.g. as particles or powder, in another component · CPC title