Preparation and characterization of inorganic membranes for hydrocarbon separation from N2 for environmental applications.

摘要

This paper reports the preparation and characterization of gas transport using tubular alumina support and silica membrane for propylene (C3H6) and nitrogen (N2) separation. Dip-coating technique was employed to deposit silica on the support after which the membrane was heat treated at 65 0C. Nitrogen adsorption measurements reveal that this membrane possesses mesostructure with pore diameter of 3.940 nm and BET surface of 0.484 m2/g. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) studies show that the layers are defect free and energy diffraction x-ray analysis (EDXA) confirms the compositional element of silica. Propylene and nitrogen permeation tests also confirm that the membrane is defect free with C3H6/N2 selectivity of 1.79 higher than ideal Knudsen selectivity.