ABSTRACT
This chapter investigates the effects of membrane production procedure and fabrication parameters. It discusses on how the parameters can affect the membrane in terms of morphology and gas separation performance. The separation performance of the synthesized cellulose acetate butyrate (CAB) membrane was selected to evaluate the specified parameters towards CO2/N2. The CAB membrane structures including surface and cross-sectional, were observed via scanning electron microscopy. The CAB membranes fabricated at different molecular weights were characterized with the high resolution multi-technique X-ray spectrometer. The increment in the CAB molecular weights further influenced the membrane thickness through the rheological properties of the casting solution. The X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy characterization was adopted in this study to analyze the quantitative element composition of the CAB membrane fabricated. The superior CO2/N2 separation performance of the membrane was mainly contributed by the quality formation of the smooth surface, with thin dense and defect-free membrane structure.
