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Controlling the Performance of Silicalite‐1 Membranes
Author(s) -
Gora Leszek,
Jansen Jacobus C.,
Maschmeyer Thomas
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
chemistry – a european journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.687
H-Index - 242
eISSN - 1521-3765
pISSN - 0947-6539
DOI - 10.1002/1521-3765(20000717)6:14<2537::aid-chem2537>3.0.co;2-3
Subject(s) - butane , membrane , selectivity , flux (metallurgy) , chemical engineering , volume (thermodynamics) , chemistry , materials science , chromatography , analytical chemistry (journal) , thermodynamics , organic chemistry , catalysis , physics , biochemistry , engineering
The structural and performance characteristics (for n ‐ and i ‐butane separation) of self‐supported silicalite‐1 membranes, were optimised by fine‐tuning their syntheses by screening a total of nine silica sources and many reaction conditions. The mass balances indicate that membrane thickness is a function of both the synthesis volume and the silica source used. The excellent properties of the final membrane are demonstrated by its high permselectivity of 31 for n ‐butane combined with a n ‐butane flux of 10 mmol m −2 s −1 , indicating perfect performance. For 50/50 mixtures (of n and i ) the selectivity for n ‐butane was 48 and its flux was 3.8 mmol m −2 s −1 . For the given selectivities, in relation to the membrane thickness, the theoretical fluxes are the highest values ever reported, underlining the point that high structural integrity is essential to achieve superior functionality.