Membrane contactors commercial installations

Commercial or Precommercial Installations of Large-Scale Membrane Contactors. 15... 

COMMERCIAL OR PRECOMMERCIAL INSTALLATIONS OF LARGE-SCALE MEMBRANE CONTACTORS... 

In conclusion, membrane contactor technology has been creating a distinct application base for itself in recent years. The installed base of membrane contactors is stdl small compared to other membrane technologies. However, use of this technology cuts across diverse industries and markets, and in many instances membrane contactors are enabling customers with new oppormnities that did not exist before. Many well-known producers of membrane and membrane modules today offer commercial membrane contactors as part of their product portfolio. It is our belief that new installations of membrane contactors will continue and new applications of this technology wdl be found in coming years. 

The membrane contactor for CO2 removal deserves special attention. It can be used for natural gas treatment, dehydration, and removal of CO2 from flue gas (see Section 4.4.4). A contactor (see Figure 4.22) patented and developed for this purpose by Aker Kvaerner— pUots have been installed and tested both in Norway (at Karstp) and at a gas terminal in Scotland. This module is based on PTFE membranes. A different commercial contactor based on polyimide membranes was recently installed at Santos Gas Plant in Queensland, Australia (December 2003). Santos is the largest gas producer in Australia. 

Among the commercially available membrane in the market, Liqui-Cel membrane, which is made from PP polymer, is extensively used in membrane contactor systems for pilot plant test. For the last 10 years, membrane contactors have been used in the diverse areas of microelectronics, pharmaceutical, power, food and beverage, industrial photographic, ink, and analytical markets [83]. Among European countries, the Netherlands is actively committed to installing and testing membrane contactor systems for capturing CO2 from flue gas (pre- and post-combustion capture). 

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