Skip to main content
U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Characterization and permeation properties of ZSM-5 tubular membranes

Journal Article · · AIChE Journal
; ;  [1]
  1. Univ. of Colorado, Boulder, CO (United States). Dept. of Chemical Engineering

ZSM-5 zeolite membranes with reproducible properties were prepared by in-situ synthesis on porous {alpha}- and {gamma}-alumina tubular supports and characterized by XRD, SEM and electron microprobe analysis. Single-gas permeances for H{sub 2}, CH{sub 4}, N{sub 2}, CO{sup 2}, n-butane, and i-butane increase over some temperature range, but some gases exhibit maxima or minima. The highest ideal selectivities at room temperature are 299 for N{sub 2}/SF{sub 6}, 392 for H{sup 2}/n-butane, and 2,820 for H{sub 2}/i-butane. These membranes can separate n-butane/i-butane, H{sub 2}/n-butane and H{sub 2}/i-butane mixtures. All n-butane/i-butane separation selectivities have maxima as a function of temperature and are higher than ideal selectivities because n-butane inhibits i-butane permeation. Thus, separation is not by size selectivity, but is due to pore blocking. Temperature dependencies of single-gas permeances and separation selectivities depend strongly on the location of zeolite crystals and the location is determined by preparation procedure. Ideal selectivities also depend strongly on the preparation procedure. When the zeolite forms a continuous layer on the inside surface of the support tubes, pure i-butane permeates faster than pure n-butane so that the single-gas permeances are not determined just by molecular size. The i-butane permeance also increases much more with temperature than the n-butane permeance. The permeation behavior may be the result of permeation through nonzeolitic pores in parallel with zeolite pores. When zeolite crystals are dispersed throughout the pores of {alpha}-alumina supports, permeances are lower and gas permeation and separation properties are quite different. Ideal selectivities are lower, pure n-butane permeates faster than i-butane, and the permeances increase much less with temperature. Separation selectivities are lower but can be maintained to higher temperatures.

OSTI ID:
556716
Journal Information:
AIChE Journal, Journal Name: AIChE Journal Journal Issue: 7 Vol. 43; ISSN 0001-1541; ISSN AICEAC
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

Similar Records

Alkali-free ZSM-5 membranes: Preparation conditions and separation performance
Journal Article · Fri Oct 01 00:00:00 EDT 1999 · Industrial and Engineering Chemistry Research · OSTI ID:20000976

Preparation and separation properties of silicalite composite membranes
Conference · Fri Dec 30 23:00:00 EST 1994 · OSTI ID:213120

Separation properties of composite membranes
Conference · Thu Nov 30 23:00:00 EST 1995 · OSTI ID:126795