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Carbon molecular sieving membranes for butane isomer separation
Author(s) -
Zhou Yingwu,
Wang Yuecheng,
Ban Yujie,
Guo Ang,
Yang Kun,
Cao Na,
Yang Weishen
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
aiche journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.958
H-Index - 167
eISSN - 1547-5905
pISSN - 0001-1541
DOI - 10.1002/aic.16749
Subject(s) - permeance , butane , membrane , petrochemical , hydrocarbon , pyrolysis , chemical engineering , carbon fibers , gas separation , chemistry , materials science , organic chemistry , catalysis , composite material , permeation , composite number , engineering , biochemistry
Membrane‐based separations of hydrocarbon isomers are major challenges for the petrochemical industry. Herein, high quality carbon molecular sieving membranes (CMSMs) were prepared on γ‐alumina substrates from pyrolysis of P84 polymer membranes. Targeting at butane isomer separations, we tailored the slit‐like ultramicropores of CMSMs at angstrom level by rational manipulations of the pyrolysis temperature. The crack‐free CMSMs were obtained at 600°C with the narrow and uniform ultramicropores centered at 6.0 å. A clear molecular size/shape discrimination was achieved successfully and remarkable n ‐butane permeance (384 GPU) and n ‐butane/ iso ‐butane separation factor (74) was observed, which transcends the upper limit of well‐intergrown crystalline zeolite membranes. Fine‐tuning of the membrane thickness at sub‐micron level, the n ‐butane permeance and n ‐butane/ iso ‐butane separation factor were further optimized, which shows a great potential for petrochemical separation.