The adoption of gas separation membranes and hybrid systems – such as with pressure swing adsorption (PSA) and cryogenic technology implementation – in applications to help enhance hydrogen separation and other hydrogen-related processes will increase, technology market research company IDTechEx predicts.

There are three key sectors in which gas separation membranes are used to extract or produce hydrogen from other gases – ammonia production, chemical plants and refineries, as well as petrochemical plants, says IDTechEx senior decarbonisation technology analyst Eve Pope.

“In the majority of plants, for the applications discussed, membrane modules are used as an addition to the PSA system to recover the valuable hydrogen from off-gas streams, thus generating operational savings for the plant operator.”

This is particularly appropriate for small- to medium-scale applications where PSAs or cryogenic technology may be challenging to implement, she adds.

Gas Separation Membrane Benefits

Despite not being able to produce “high-purity” hydrogen for applications, gas separation membranes can, nonetheless, offer numerous benefits says IDTechEx senior hydrogen technology analyst Chingis Idrissov.

For small- and medium-scale operations, Idrissov believes that gas separation membranes help to ensure low operational expenditure and enhanced efficiency, making them a favourable technology for operational processes.

Large-scale applications can also benefit from using gas separation membranes, as they can be implemented to form part of a hybrid system; they will, therefore, be used in addition to PSAs and cryogenic technologies to increase efficiency and maximise economics, he notes.

Further, the membranes are “ideal” for hydrogen producers with spatial constraints, as these technologies have a small footprint.

To improve the purity of hydrogen produced by gas separation membranes, Idrissov says palladium-alloy metallic membranes may have the potential to produce “ultra-pure” hydrogen.

“Metal membranes enable [the] transportation of hydrogen in a dissociative form and, consequently, give a theoretically unbounded selectivity and access to ultra-pure hydrogen [that] can be beneficial for sensitive applications [such as] fuel cells, semiconductor manufacturing, and analytical instruments where trace impurities can cause problems,” he explains.

Pope says gas separation membranes are being extended beyond the hydrogen space and are being used for renewable biomethane production from biogas upgrading, as well as for post-combustion carbon capture applications.

“IDTechEx has forecast that emerging decarbonisation gas separation membrane markets will grow at a 17% compound annual growth rate to 2036,” she concludes.