Selective Hydrogen Permeation and Transport Behaviour in Ruthenium-Impregnated Alumina Ceramic Membranes
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.11113/jamst.v30n2.350Keywords:
Hydrogen permeation; Ceramic membranes; Ruthenium impregnation; Gas transport; Knudsen diffusion; Membrane architectureAbstract
Hydrogen and multi-gas permeation through ruthenium-impregnated alumina tubular membranes with nominal pore sizes of 15 nm and 6000 nm was investigated under non-reactive conditions at 100 °C and transmembrane pressure differences of 20–300 kPa. Single-gas permeation experiments using H₂, He, N₂, CO₂, and air were conducted to evaluate the influence of pore architecture and ruthenium incorporation on gas transport behaviour. For the 6000 nm membrane, the hydrogen flow rate increased from 1.09 to 8.39 L min⁻¹, whereas the 15 nm membrane exhibited hydrogen flow rates ranging from 0.97 to 4.61 L min⁻¹ over the same pressure range. Despite the 400-fold difference in nominal pore size, the larger-pore membrane exhibited only a modest increase in hydrogen permeation, indicating that gas transport was governed by the overall membrane architecture rather than nominal pore diameter alone. This experimentally observed deviation from ideal pore-size scaling highlights the important influence of pore connectivity, tortuosity, support-layer resistance, and effective transport pathways in asymmetric ceramic membranes. Knudsen number analysis showed that the 6000 nm membrane operated predominantly within the viscous-flow regime, whereas the 15 nm membrane exhibited transitional Knudsen–viscous transport with enhanced molecular discrimination. SEM, EDX, contact-angle measurements, and gravimetric catalyst-loading analysis confirmed successful ruthenium incorporation without severe pore blockage or structural degradation. The results demonstrate that membrane architecture and Ru-induced surface modification exert a greater influence on gas permeation behaviour than nominal pore size alone under the non-reactive operating conditions investigated. These findings provide new insight into structure–transport relationships in Ru-modified ceramic membranes and offer guidance for the design of hydrogen-selective ceramic membrane systems.
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