Dilute Methane Treatment by Atmospheric Pressure Dielectric Barrier Discharge: Effects of Water Vapor

Oxidation of dilute methane in oxygen containing mixtures by atmospheric pressure dielectric barrier discharge at moderate temperature (below 150°C) has been studied with regard to the effect of water vapor. First, the impact of water vapor on methane conversion was studied in nitrogen. In dry nitrogen, methane was converted into hydrogen cyanide and hydrogen in the absence of oxidant. When water was added, it both acted as a scavenger in competition with methane for reactive nitrogen species and changed the reaction product speciation from HCN to carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide. The addition of water also led to the formation of hydrogen and nitrogen oxides. In the presence of oxygen, the addition of 1% water vapor enhanced methane conversion. Increasing water vapor content above 1% had a slight positive effect on methane conversion, and was found to enhance selectivity of the reaction products toward carbon dioxide over carbon monoxide.     

Adsorption and selectivity of carbon dioxide with methane and nitrogen in slit-shaped carbonaceous micropores: Simulation and experiment

We have used the grand canonical Monte Carlo method to study the adsorption and selectivity of mixtures of carbon dioxide with methane and nitrogen at high (i.e., ambient) temperatures in model slit pores with graphitic surfaces. Experimental data, including new high pressure measurements for carbon dioxide and methane on a non-porous graphitic standard, were used to test the potential models. The mixture simulations predict that carbon dioxide is preferentially adsorbed in both systems. The results are discussed in terms of competing energetic and entropic effects and the underlying molecular mechanisms.     

Development of a new gas sensor for binary mixtures based on the permselectivity of polymeric membranes: Application to carbon dioxide/methane and carbon dioxide/helium mixtures

Membrane-based gas sensors were developed and used for determining the composition on bi-component mixtures in the 0-100% range, such as oxygen/nitrogen and carbon dioxide/methane (biogas). These sensors are low cost and are aimed at a low/medium precision market.The paper describes the use of this sensor for two gas mixtures: carbon dioxide/methane and carbon dioxide/helium. The membranes used are poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) and Teflon-AF hollow fibers. The response curves for both sensors were obtained at three different temperatures. The results clearly indicate that the permeate pressure of the sensors relates to the gas mixture composition at a given temperature. The data is represented by a third order polynomial. The sensors enable quantitative carbon dioxide analysis in binary mixtures with methane or helium. The response of the sensors is fast (less than 50 s), continuous, reproducible and long-term stable over a period of 2.3×10⁷ s (9 months). The absolute sensitivity of the sensors depends on the carbon dioxide feed concentration ranging from 0.03 to 0.13 MPa.     

Solubility of methane and carbon dioxide in ethylene glycol at pressures up to 14 MPa and temperatures ranging from (303 to 423) K

This work reports solubility data of methane and carbon dioxide in ethylene glycol and the Henry’s law constant of each solute in the studied solvent at saturation pressure. The measurements were performed at (303, 323, 373, 398, and 423.15) K and pressures up to 6.3 MPa for mixtures containing carbon dioxide and pressures up to 13.7 MPa for mixtures containing methane. The experiments were performed in an autoclave type phase equilibrium apparatus using the total pressure method (synthetic method). All investigated systems show an increase of gas solubility with the increase of pressure. A decrease of carbon dioxide solubility with the increase of temperature and an increase of methane solubility with the increase of temperature was observed. From the variation of solubility with temperature, the partial molar enthalpy, and entropy change are calculated.     

Separation and permeation characteristics of a DD3R zeolite membrane

Permeation of various gases (carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, methane, nitrogen, oxygen, argon, krypton, neon) and their equimolar mixtures through DD3R membranes have been investigated over a temperature range of 220–373 K and a feed pressure of 101–400 kPa. Helium was used as sweep gas at atmospheric pressure. Adsorption isotherms were determined in the temperature range 195–298 K, and modelled by a single and dual site Langmuir model. The permeation flux is determined by the size of the molecule relative to the window opening of DD3R, and its adsorption behaviour. As a function of temperature, bulky molecules (methane) show activated permeation, weakly adsorbing molecules decreasing permeation behaviour and strongly adsorbing molecules pass through a maximum. Counter diffusion of the sweep gas (helium) ranged from almost zero up to the order of the feed gas permeation and was strongly influenced by the adsorption of the feed gas.

DD3R membranes have excellent separation performance for carbon dioxide/methane mixtures (selectivity 100–3000), exhibit good selectivity for nitrogen/methane (20–45), carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide/air (20–400), and air/krypton (5–10) and only a modest selectivity for oxygen/nitrogen (2) separation. The selectivity of mixtures of a strongly and a weakly adsorbing component decreased with increasing temperature and pressure. The selectivity of mixtures of weakly adsorbing components was independent of pressure.

The permeation and separation characteristics of light gases through DD3R membranes can be explained by taking into account: (1) steric effects introduced by the window opening of DD3R leading to molecular sieving and activated transport, (2) competitive adsorption effects, as observed for mixtures involving strongly adsorbing gases, and (3) interaction between diffusing molecules in the cages of the zeolite.     

Fixed-bed adsorption of carbon dioxide/methane mixtures on silicalite pellets

The adsorption of carbon dioxide and methane on silicalite pellets packed on a fixed bed has been studied. Equilibrium and kinetic measurements of the adsorption of carbon dioxide and methane have been performed, and a binary adsorption isotherm for carbon dioxide/methane mixtures has been obtained. A model based on the LDF approximation for the mass transfer has been used to describe the breakthrough curves obtained experimentally. A PSA cycle has been proposed for obtaining methane with purity higher than 98% from carbon dioxide/methane mixtures containing 38% and 50% methane, and its performance has been simulated using the proposed model. The simulation results show that silicalite can be a suitable adsorbent for employment in a PSA separation process for carbon dioxide removal from coalseam and landfill gases.     

A new approach in modelling phase equilibria and gas solubility in electrolyte solutions and its applications to gas hydrates

This paper presents a new predictive model for phase equilibria and gas solubility calculations in the presence of electrolyte solutions. It treats salts as pseudo-components in an equation of state (EoS) by defining the critical properties and acentric factor for each salt. The water–salt, gas–salt and salt–salt binary interaction parameters (BIP) have been determined by using available experimental data on freezing point depression and boiling point elevation as well as gas solubility and salt solubility data in saline solutions.The methodology has been applied in modelling sodium chloride, potassium chloride and their mixtures, as well as solubility of methane and carbon dioxide in aqueous single and mixed electrolyte solutions.The developed model is capable of accurately predicting the phase behaviour, gas hydrate stability zone and potential salt precipitation in single and mixed electrolyte solutions. The model predictions are compared with available independent experimental data, including hydrate inhibition characteristics of single and mixed electrolyte solutions, and good agreement is demonstrated.     

Experimental Determination and Analysis of High Pressure Adsorption Data of Pure Gases and Gas Mixtures

Adsorption data of the pure gases ethane, methane and their mixtures on zeolite 13X and the pure gases carbon dioxide, nitrogen and their mixtures on activated carbon Norit R1 were measured gravimetrically at a temperature of 298 K and pressures up to 15 MPa. From the total loads the partial loads were calculated by the modified van Ness approach. The calculated loads show a good agreement with the experimental data.     

Joule–Thomson inversion curves of mixtures by molecular simulation in comparison to advanced equations of state: Natural gas as an example

Molecular modelling and simulation as well as four equations of state (EOS) are applied to natural gas mixtures regarding Joule–Thomson (JT) inversion. JT inversion curves are determined by molecular simulation for six different natural gas mixtures consisting of methane, nitrogen, carbon dioxide and ethane. These components are also regarded as pure fluids, leading to a total of 10 studied systems. The results are compared to four advanced mixture EOS: DDMIX, SUPERTRAPP, BACKONE and the recent GERG-2004 Wide-Range Reference EOS. It is found that molecular simulation is competitive with state-of-the-art EOS in predicting JT inversion curves. The molecular based approaches (simulation and BACKONE) are superior to DDMIX and SUPERTRAPP.     

Monte Carlo simulations of gas solubility in the ionic liquid 1-n-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate

The Henry's constants of water, carbon dioxide, ethane, ethene, methane, oxygen, and nitrogen are computed in the ionic liquid 1-n-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate ([bmim][PF(6)]) using test particle insertion and expanded ensemble Monte Carlo methods. The partial molar enthalpy and partial molar entropy of solvation are also computed for water, carbon dioxide, and oxygen. The results from the simulations are compared against experimental data from the literature. In addition, the accuracy and precision of the two methods in determining the Henry's constant are examined. Local organization of the ionic liquid around a solute molecule is analyzed, and the interactions responsible for the experimentally observed solubility trends are identified.     

Electrochemical High Concentration Oxygen Sensing Using a Phosphonium Cation Based Room Temperature Ionic Liquid: Analytical Studies

Detecting oxygen at the high concentration limit needs innovation. Room temperature ionic liquid trihexyl(tetradecyl)phosphonium trifluorotris(pentafluoroethyl)phosphate [P_6,6,6,14][FAP] was tested as a solvent for oxygen detection through the electrochemical reduction of oxygen. Cyclic voltammetry of oxygen in nitrogen or carbon dioxide mixtures at different partial pressures was studied. The steady state current was shown to be linearly dependent on the oxygen partial pressure in high oxygen content (>77 %) systems. Simultaneous detecting of oxygen and carbon dioxide is also realised in an oxygen/carbon dioxide mixture, providing proof‐of‐concept of high concentration oxygen and carbon dioxide dual sensing.     

Separation of carbon dioxide/methane mixtures by adsorption on a basic resin

In this work, the separation of carbon dioxide/methane mixtures by PSA using a basic resin (Amberlite IRA-900) has been studied. Adsorption equilibrium and kinetics of carbon dioxide and methane on a fixed-bed of this adsorbent have been measured, and a binary adsorption equilibrium isotherm has been obtained. The adsorbent deactivation with the number of adsorption-desorption cycles, and its regeneration, have also been analysed. A model based on the LDF approximation has been used to describe the experimental breakthrough curves. The applicability of the basic resin to the separation of carbon dioxide/methane mixtures has been studied in an experimental PSA setup using a single bed. The validity of the model used in the fixed-bed study for simulating a PSA system has been checked by comparing the simulated and the experimental performance of the proposed PSA cycle.     

Vapor–liquid equilibrium of systems containing alcohols,water, carbon dioxide and hydrocarbons using SAFT

The statistical associating fluid theory (SAFT) equation of state is employed for the correlation and prediction of vapor–liquid equilibrium (VLE) of eighteen binary mixtures. These include water with methane, ethane, propane, butane, propylene, carbon dioxide, methanol, ethanol and ethylene glycol (EG), ethanol with ethane, propane, butane and propylene, methanol with methane, ethane and carbon dioxide and finally EG with methane and ethane. Moreover, vapor–liquid equilibrium for nine ternary systems was predicted. The systems are water/ethanol/alkane (ethane, propane, butane), water/ethanol/propylene, water/methanol/carbon dioxide, water/methanol/methane, water/methanol/ethane, water/EG/methane and water/EG/ethane. The results were found to be in satisfactory agreement with the experimental data except for the water/methanol/methane system for which the root mean square deviations for pressure were 60–68% when the methanol concentration in the liquid phase was 60 wt.%.     

Optimizing the parameters of the steam-carbon dioxide conversion of methane by Gibbs energy minimization

The thermodynamic equilibrium for the steam-carbon dioxide conversion of methane was studied by Gibbs energy minimization. The degree of coke formation, the content of methane and carbon dioxide in the synthesis gas, and the synthesis gas H₂/CO ratio were plotted as functions of the molar ratios of CO₂/CH₄ and H₂O/CH₄ in the initial mixture at different temperatures and pressures. The regions of the optimum CH₄/CO₂/H₂O molar ratios for steam-carbon dioxide conversion were discovered, with no coke formation taking place in these regions. The optimized CH₄/CO₂/H₂O molar fractions characterized by the minimum content of methane and carbon dioxide in the synthesis gas were found for each region.     

Methane and carbon dioxide solubility in 1,2-propylene glycol at temperatures ranging from 303 to 423 K and pressures up to 12 MPa

This work reports solubility data of methane and carbon dioxide in 1,2-propylene glycol and the Henry's law constant of each solute in the studied solvent at saturation pressure. The measurements were performed at 303, 323, 373, 398 and 423.15 K and pressures up to 4.5 MPa for carbon dioxide solubility and pressures up to 12.1 MPa for methane solubility. The experiments were performed in an autoclave type phase equilibrium apparatus using the total pressure method (synthetic method). All investigated systems show an increase of gas-solubility with the increase of pressure. A decrease of carbon dioxide solubility with the increase of temperature and an increase of methane solubility with the increase of temperature was observed. From the variation of solubility with temperature, partial molar enthalpy and entropy change of the solute for each mixture were calculated.     

Modeling the phase equilibria of hydrogen sulfide and carbon dioxide in mixture with hydrocarbons and water using the PCP-SAFT equation of state

The perturbed-chain polar statistical associating fluid theory (PCP-SAFT) equation of state is applied to correlate phase equilibria for mixtures of hydrogen sulfide (H₂S) and carbon dioxide (CO₂) with alkanes, with aromatics, and with water over wide temperature and pressure ranges. The binary mixtures of H₂S–methane and CO₂–methane are studied in detail including vapor–liquid, liquid–liquid and fluid–solid phase equilibria. Very satisfying results were obtained for the binary mixtures as well as for the ternary mixture of H₂S–CO₂–methane using the (constant) interaction parameters of the binary pairs.     

Thermodynamic analysis of mixed and dry reforming of methane for solar thermal applications

Thermodynamic analysis of the reforming of methane with carbon dioxide alone ("dry reforming") and with carbon dioxide and steam together ("mixed reforming") is performed as part of a project which investigates the suitability of these endothermic reactions for the storage of solar thermal energy. The Gibbs free energy minimization method was employed to identify thermodynamically optimal operating conditions for dry reforming as well as mixed reforming with a desired H2/CO molar ratio of 2. The non-stoichiometric equilibrium model was developed using FactSage software to conduct the thermodynamic calculations for carbon formation, H2/CO ratio, CH4 conversion and H2 yield as a function of reaction temperature, pressure and reactant molar ratios. Thermodynamic calculations demonstrate that in the mixed reforming process, optimal operating conditions in a carbon-free zone are under H2O/CH4 /CO2 =1.0/1.0/0.5, p = 1 to 10 bar and T = 800 to 850℃ for the production of syngas with a H2 /CO molar ratio of 2. Under the optimal conditions, the maximum H2 yield of 88.0% is achieved at 1 bar and 850℃ with a maximum CH4 conversion of 99.3%. In the dry reforming process, a carbon formation regime is always present at a CO2/CH4 molar ratio of 1 for T = 700 1000℃ and p = 1-30 bar, whereas a carbon-free regime can be obtained at a CO2/CH4 molar ratio greater than 1.5 and T≥800℃.     

Analytical interference effects on laser-induced fluorescence of ethylene by selected molecular species

The interference of numerous compounds on the laser-induced fluorescence of ethylene at 10.6-mm was studied. The compounds studied were methane, propane, hexane, heptane, propylene, 1-butene, acetylene, benzene, cyclohexane, acetone, chloroform, carbon tetrachloride, methanol, ethanol, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, nitric oxide, carbon dioxide, water, argon, helium, nitrogen, and air. Only some of these, in low concentrations, interfered at atmospheric pressure, but most interfered in evacuated systems. Compounds which absorbed the excitation 10.6μm radiation enhanced the fluorescence signals of ethylene, while non-absorbing compounds generally did not interfere. The quenching efficiencies of helium, argon, nitrogen, and methane on excited ethylene molecules were determined, and compared to values calculated from published data; good agreement was found except for methane. Quenching experiments with higher concentrations of added compounds were also performed.     

Modeling of Liquid-Vapor Equilibrium in Systems Including a Light Oil-Gas Component and Aromatic and Polyaromatic Hydrocarbons

The Victorov-Smirnova's hole lattice quasichemical group-contribution model (HM) is used to simulate the vapor-liquid equilibrium in binary and ternary mixtures systems composed by aromatic (benzene, toluene) and polyaromatic (naphthalene, phenanthrene) hydrocarbons and light oil-gas components (carbon dioxide, hydrogen sulfide, nitrogen, methane, ethane, propane). Eighteen binary and two ternary systems are examined. New group parameters for these systems are estimated. The results of modeling are compared with the experimental data and those predicted by the Peng-Robinson equation of state.     

Carbon Dioxide/Methane Separation by Adsorption on Sepiolite

In this work,the use of sepiolite for the removal of carbon dioxide from a carbon diox- ide/methane mixture by a pressure swing adsorption(PSA)process has been researched.Adsorption equilibrium and kinetics have been measured in a fixed-bed,and the adsorption equilibrium parameters of carbon dioxide and methane on sepiolite have been obtained.A model based on the LDF approxima- tion has been employed to simulate the fixed-bed kinetics,using the Langmuir equation to describe the adsorption equilibrium isotherm.The functioning of a PSA cycle for separating carbon dioxide/methane mixtures using sepiolite as adsorbent has also been studied.The experimental results were compared with the ones predicted by the model adapted to a PSA system.Methane with purity higher than 97% can be obtained from feeds containing carbon dioxide with concentrations ranging from 34% to 56% with the proposed PSA cycle.These results suggest that sepiolite is an adsorbent with good properties for its employment in a PSA cycle for carbon dioxide removal from landfill gases.