Adsorbent-incorporated polymer fibers in packed bed and fabric contactors, and methods and devices using same
First Claim
1. An adsorbent bed, the bed comprising,a plurality of fibers, andtortuous channels between fibers of the plurality of fibers;
- wherein each of the fibers comprises a polymer filament and adsorbent particles dispersed within the polymer filament;
the polymer filament is porous with a void fraction of at least about 10% volume and is selected from the group consisting of polysulfones, polydimehtylsiloxanes, polyetherimides, and polyether ketones;
wherein the void fraction is comprised of pores wherein
1) the pores are produced using a gaseous porogen, a diffusible porogen, or an extractable porogen, or
2) the pores are produced during spinning of the polymer filament by phase inversion, wherein a solvent is removed causing pores to be formed in the polymer filament; and
wherein the plurality of fibers are randomly packed, spirally wound, or woven into a fabric.
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Abstract
The embodiments of the disclosure relate generally to adsorbent beds, adsorbent contactors, and methods of using same. The disclosure includes polymer filaments that include an adsorbent particle, such as a zeolite, metal oxide, metal organic framework. A plurality of fibers composed of the polymer filaments can be formed into an adsorbent bed for use in pressure swing and/or temperature swing adsorption processes. The plurality of fibers can be packed into a bed randomly, spirally wound, or woven into a fabric that can be formed into a contacting structure. The adsorbent particle can be contained within the polymer filament and can interact with a medium having a component for adsorption by being in fluid communication with the medium via tortuous pathways within the polymer.
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Citations
33 Claims
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1. An adsorbent bed, the bed comprising,
a plurality of fibers, and tortuous channels between fibers of the plurality of fibers; -
wherein each of the fibers comprises a polymer filament and adsorbent particles dispersed within the polymer filament; the polymer filament is porous with a void fraction of at least about 10% volume and is selected from the group consisting of polysulfones, polydimehtylsiloxanes, polyetherimides, and polyether ketones;
wherein the void fraction is comprised of pores wherein
1) the pores are produced using a gaseous porogen, a diffusible porogen, or an extractable porogen, or
2) the pores are produced during spinning of the polymer filament by phase inversion, wherein a solvent is removed causing pores to be formed in the polymer filament; andwherein the plurality of fibers are randomly packed, spirally wound, or woven into a fabric. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. An adsorbent contactor, the contactor comprising
a chamber comprising: -
a gas feed stream inlet and a gas feed stream outlet; a plurality of fibers; and tortuous channels between fibers of the plurality of fibers; wherein each of the fibers comprises a polymer filament and adsorbent particles dispersed within the filament, the adsorbent particles being in fluid communication with at least a portion of the tortuous channels of the adsorbent bed, and the polymer filament is porous with a void fraction of at least about 10% volume and is selected from the group consisting of polysulfones, polydimehtylsiloxanes, polyetherimides, and polyether ketones;
wherein the void fraction is comprised of pores wherein
1) the pores are produced using a gaseous porogen, a diffusible porogen, or an extractable porogen, or
2) the pores are produced during spinning of the polymer filament by phase inversion, wherein a solvent is removed causing pores to be formed in the polymer filament; andwherein the plurality of fibers are randomly packed, spirally wound, or woven into a fabric. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
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24. A method of adsorbing a component of a medium within an adsorbent bed, the method comprising:
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contacting a medium with a plurality of fibers and tortuous channels between the fibers, each of the fibers comprising a polymer filament and adsorbent particles dispersed within the filament, the adsorbent particles in fluid communication with at least a portion of the tortuous channels of the adsorbent bed, and the plurality of fibers are randomly packed, spirally wound, or woven into a fabric; and selectively adsorbing a component of the medium with the plurality of fibers; wherein the polymer filament is porous with a void fraction of at least about 10% volume and is selected from the group consisting of polysulfones, polydimehtylsiloxanes, polyetherimides, and polyether ketones;
wherein the void fraction is comprised of pores wherein
1) the pores are produced using a gaseous porogen, a diffusible porogen, or an extractable porogen, or
2) the pores are produced during spinning of the polymer filament by phase inversion, wherein a solvent is removed causing pores to be formed in the polymer filament. - View Dependent Claims (25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33)
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Specification