Experimental Investigation on CO_۲ and CH_۴ Gas Separation Using SPEEK/PVA/ZnO Polymer Nanocomposite Membranes for Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction and Environmental Improvement

Reducing greenhouse gas emissions is a critical environmental challenge, with fossil fuel consumption and deforestation as major contributors to rising CO۲ levels. Membrane-based gas separation has emerged as a promising technology due to its low energy requirements, compact design, and environmental compatibility. In this study, a novel Sulfonated PolyEther Ether Ketone (SPEEK)/polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)/zinc oxide (ZnO) nanocomposite membrane was fabricated and evaluated for CO۲/CH۴ separation. The incorporation of ZnO nanoparticles into the SPEEK/PVA matrix was optimized to achieve uniform dispersion, enhancing both permeability and stability. Characterization by SEM, FT-IR, XRD, AFM, and TGA confirmed the successful integration of ZnO nanoparticles and demonstrated favorable structural and thermal properties. The SPEEK (۷۰ %)/PVA (۲۸ %)/ZnO (۲ %) membrane exhibited a CO۲ permeability of ۴۰–۶۰ Barrer with CO۲ /CH₄ selectivity of ۲۰–۲۵, representing an effective balance of transport and selectivity. Compared to state-of-the-art membranes such as Pebax/PEG/SiO۲ and Matrimid/ZIF-۸, the proposed membrane delivers comparable separation performance at significantly lower production costs (≈۷.۵–۸.۵ USD/m²), highlighting its industrial scalability and economic advantage. In addition, Artificial Neural Network (ANN) modeling using a multilayer perceptron (MLP) with the Levenberg–Marquardt algorithm achieved excellent predictive accuracy (R² = ۰.۹۹۹۹), confirming strong agreement between experimental and predicted values. This combined experimental and modeling approach demonstrates the potential of SPEEK/PVA/ZnO membranes as cost-effective, high-performance candidates for CO۲ capture and natural gas purification.

کلیدواژه ها:

Gas separation ، SPEEK/PVA/ZnO nanocomposite membrane ، CO۲/CH۴ separation ، Artificial neural network modeling ، Robeson&rsquo ، s upper bound.