CO 2 Stripping from Monoethanolamine through a Polypropylene/CH 3 SiO 2 Composite Hollow‐Fiber Membrane Contactor

To remove CO 2 through a membrane contactor system, composite polypropylene (PP) hollow‐fiber membranes were fabricated by dispersing methyl‐grafted silica nanoparticles in a PP membrane matrix. A set of characterization tests including FTIR spectroscopy, FESEM, AFM, TEM, porosity, contact angle, mechanical strength, and CO 2 stripping experiments was carried out. The results showed that the porosity, hydrophobicity, roughness, and CO 2 stripping flux of the composite membranes increased with increasing content of inorganic NPs. At an absorbent flow rate of 2.5 m s −1 , the CO 2 stripping flux of composite membranes containing 1.5 wt % NPs was higher than those of most other hydrophobic membrane contactors.