Polysulfone-based membranes for industrial CO2 capture: Advanced fabrication strategies, performance enhancement, and commercial viability – A review

Document Type

Article

Publication Title

Process Safety and Environmental Protection

Abstract

Polysulfone (PSF) membranes, known for their high thermal stability and tunable gas separation properties, have significant potential for industrial CO2 capture. They exhibit exceptional thermal resilience (up to 180 °C) and mechanical robustness, both of which are essential for sustainable large-scale applications. This review examines recent advancements in PSF membranes, focusing on fabrication methods, functionalization strategies, and performance optimization. Processing techniques such as non-solvent-induced phase separation (NIPS), electrospinning, and hybrid procedures significantly influence the membrane morphology and the permeability-selectivity trade-off. Functionalization strategies, including the incorporation of amines, ionic liquids (ILs), and MOFs, have improved CO2 permeabilities by more than an order of magnitude and doubled the selectivities compared to neat PSF membranes, often surpassing the Robeson upper bound and establishing new benchmarks for industrial CO2 capture applications. Mixed-matrix membranes (MMMs) that incorporate selective fillers exploit the structural resilience of PSF to overcome the limitations of unmodified polymers. However, important challenges remain, including high-pressure plasticization (>35 bar) and nanofiller clustering (>15 wt%), and scalability barriers. Emerging technologies, such as atomic layer deposition, enzyme immobilization, bio-derived precursors, and AI-guided design, are being explored to address these challenges. This review provides insights into the development of PSF membranes from foundational research to implementation in industrial CO2 separation systems.

DOI

10.1016/j.psep.2025.107964

Publication Date

11-1-2025

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