You are to separate an O2/CO2 stream using a membrane process. The membrane to be used is silicone rubber with a thickness of 2.00x10 cm. Permeabilities are given in Table 13.3-2 (4th edition) [this table is also available on Slack and Canvas]. The feed to be processed has a flowrate of 1.5x 106 cm3(STP)/s and is 80 mol% CO2. a. You would like to remove a concentrated permeate stream that is at least 95% CO2, in order to capture and store this CO2 rather than releasing it into the atmosphere. If the high pressure side is at 100 cmHg, the low pressure side at 20 cmHg, can 20% of the feed volume be removed as the permeate and meet the desired vapor phase composition? What area of membrane is needed to complete this separation?
b. What is the maximum percentage of the feed that can be pushed through the membrane as permeate product such that it has a composition (mole fraction) greater than 90% CO2?