Polymeric nanocomposite membranes for gas separation: Performance, applications, restrictions and future perspectives

In recent decades, anthropogenic industrial-based activities (i.e., energy production and its conveyance) has led to the emission of deleterious greenhouse gases such as CO2, H2S, and NO2 as an important environmental concern. Membrane-based gas separation processes have been currently of paramount attention in critical industrial applications such as purification, biogas recovery, water treatment, gas processing and H2 recovery. Polymeric nanocomposite membranes (PNM) have illustrated indisputable potential of utilization to mitigate the release of gaseous pollutants to the ecosystem and reduce their hazardous environmental effects. Incorporation of novel nanoparticles including activated carbon, nanofibers and carbon nanotubes have revolutionized the efficiency of polymeric membranes for gas separation. This review paper aims to present disparate applications of polymeric nanocomposite membranes for mitigating the emission of toxic/acidic gases to environment. Moreover, performance, applications and challenges towards the use of nanocomposite membranes are reviewed comprehensively and future perspectives towards their development in industrial applications are recommended. Finally, prevalent nanocomposite membranes for the separation of various gaseous mixtures are presented.