Possible air separations with superconducting membranes

Permeabilities of oxygen, nitrogen and helium across porous, super-conducti ng membranes with 5- mu m pores are consistent with those across nonsuperco nducting membranes with well-defined pores of similar sizes. This is true b oth at ambient and super conducting temperatures. Transport can occur by Kn udsen diffusion, Poiseuille flow, capillary condensation, and turbulent flo w. There is no evidence of surface diffusion. Theoretical considerations of superconducting membranes are consistent with these results, indicating wh en superconductivity might play a role. However, past reports concerning ai r separation with superconducting membranes with these micrometer-sized por es are questionable.