Preparation of CO_2 selective composite membranes using Pebax/CuBTC/PEG-ran-PPG ternary system

Three phase Pebax~? MH 1657/PEG-ran-PPG/CuBTC(polymer/liquid/solid) was successfully deposited as a selective layer on a porous Polysulfone(PSF) support. In fact, the beneficial properties of PEG(high selectivity) with those of PPG(high permeability, amorphous) have been combined with superior properties of mixed matrix membrane(MMMs). The membranes were characterized by DSC, TGA and SEM, while CuBTC was characterized by CO_2 and CH_4adsorption test. Statistically based experimental design(central composite design, CCD) was applied to analyze and optimize the effect of PEG-ran-PPG(10–50 wt%) and CuBTC(0–20 wt%) mass contents on the CO_2 permeance and CO_2/CH_4 ideal selectivity. Based on the regression coefficients of the obtained models, the CO_2 permeance was notably influenced by PEG-ran-PPG,while CuBTC has the most significant effect on the CO_2/CH_4 ideal selectivity. Under the optimum conditions(PEG-ran-PPG: 32.76 wt% and CuBTC: 20 wt%), nearly 620% increase in the CO_2 permeance and43% enhancement in the CO_2/CH_4 ideal selectivity was observed compared to the neat Pebax. The effect of pressure(3, 9 and 15 bar) on the pure and mixed gas separation performance of the composite membranes was also investigated. The high solubility of CO_2 in the membranes resulted in the enhancement of CO_2 permeability with increase in gas pressure.     

Synthesis of a PEBAX-1074/ZnO nanocomposite membrane with improved CO_2 separation performance

In this investigation, polymeric nanocomposite membranes(PNMs) were prepared via incorporating zinc oxide(ZnO) into poly(ether-block-amide)(PEBAX-1074) polymer matrix with different loadings. The neat membrane and nanocomposite membranes were prepared via solution casting and solution blending methods, respectively. The fabricated membranes were characterized by field emission scanning electron microscopy(FESEM) to survey cross-sectional morphologies and thermal gravimetric analysis(TGA)to study thermal stability. Fourier transform infrared(FT-IR) and X-ray diffraction(XRD) analyses were also employed to identify variations of the chemical bonds and crystal structure of the membranes, respectively. Permeation of pure gases, CO_2, CH_4 and N_2 through the prepared neat and nanocomposite membranes was studied at pressures of 3–18 bar and temperature of 25 °C. The obtained results showed that the fabricated nanocomposite membranes exhibit better separation performance compared to the neat PEBAX membrane in terms of both permeability and selectivity. As an example, at temperature of 25 °C and pressure of 3 bar, CO_2 permeability, ideal CO_2/CH_4 and CO_2/N_2 selectivity values for the neat PEBAX membrane are 110.67 Barrer, 11.09 and 50.08, respectively, while those values are 152.27 Barrer,13.52 and 62.15 for PEBAX/ZnO nanocomposite membrane containing 8 wt% ZnO.     

Poly(amide-6-b-ethylene oxide)/SAPO-34 mixed ma-trix membrane for CO2separation

In this paper, poly（amide-6-b-ethylene oxide） （Pebax1657）/SAPO-34 mixed matrix membranes （MMMs） were prepared by solvent-evaporation method with acetic acid as a novel solvent. CO2, N2, CH4 and H2 permeation properties were investigated, and the physical properties of Pebax/SAPO-34 MMMs were characterized by XRD and SEM. At low SAPO-34 content, it was homogeneously distributed in the Pebax ma- trix, and then precipitated and agglomerated at high SAPO-34 content. The crystallinity of Pebax phase in Pebax/SAPO-34 MMMs decreased initially and then rebounded as a result of phase separation. With the increase of transmembrane pressure difference, CO2 permeability was en- hanced due to the effect of pressure-induced plasticization. Owing to the happening of stratification, the CO2 permeability of Pebax/SAPO-34 MMMs （50 wt% SAPO-34） increased to 338 Barrer from 111 Barrer of pristine Pebax, while the selectivities of CO2/CH4 and CO2/N2 were almost unchanged. Compared with the pristine Pebax, the gas separation performances of Pebax/SAPO-34 MMMs were remarkably enhanced.     

Dispersion of Titanium（Ⅳ） Oxide Nanoparticles in Mixed Matrix Membrane Using Octaisobutyl Polyhedral Oligomeric Silsesquioxane for Enhanced CO2/CH4 Separation Performance

Titanium(IV) oxide (TiO2) nanoparticles have been incorporated into mixed matrix membranes (MMMs) to improve gas separation performance. However, TiO2 nanoparticles tend to agglomerate due to high surface energy and van der Waals forces. This leads to precipitation which causes the formation of non-homogeneous MMM morphology. In this study, the effect of octaisobutyl polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (POSS) addition on TiO2/polysulfone MMM was investigated. The aims are to enhance gas separation performance whilst preventing agglomeration of TiO2 nanoparticles. The results demonstrated that inclusion of POSS as dispersant increases MMMs’ CO2/CH4 selectivity and permeance, possibly due to less void formation and more evenly distributed pore structure. For example, synergistic addition of 5 wt% TiO2 and 5 wt% POSS increased the CO2/CH4 selectivity up to 390% compared to MMM without POSS. This is supported by elemental mapping of titanium which revealed that POSS successfully dispersed TiO2 nanoparticles and prevented aggregation. TiO2-POSS/PSf MMMs also retained their favorable thermal stability.     

Separation of CO_2–N_2 using zeolite NaKA with high selectivity

The adsorption method based on solid adsorbents is one of feasible ways to capture and store CO_2. Using the ion exchange method, different zeolites Na KA varying in K+content were produced. The adsorption isotherms and kinetic uptakes were measured. The experimental results show that the optimal NaKA could adsorb significant quantities of CO_2 and little N_2. On the zeolite Na KA with 14.7 at.% K+, the adsorption capacity for pure CO_2 is over 3.10 mmol g~(-1) and the CO_2–N_2 selectivity is about 149 at ambient pressure and temperature. The kinetic CO_2–N_2 selectivity could also achieved 200 within 3 min according to the uptake data. To demonstrate the separation effectiveness, breakthrough curves of pure components and binary mixtures were investigated experimentally and theoretically in a fixed bed. It is found that the breakthrough points of CO_2 and N_2 are almost at the same time under the atmospheric pressure at 348 K with the raw gas composition CO_2/N_2(20:80, v/v). If the pressure has been increased higher than 0.1 MPa, CO_2 would break through the bed much slower than N_2. Therefore, the pressure may become the limiting factor for the separation performance of zeolites NaKA.     

Mixed matrix membranes of polysulfone/polyimide reinforced with modified zeolite based filler: Preparation,properties and application

In this work,polysulfone/polyimide (PSf/PI) mixed matrix membranes were fabricated by reinforcement of modified zeolite (MZ) particles through solution casting method for investigation of antibacterial activity against two gram negative bacteria (Salmonella typhi,Klebsellapneumonia) and two gram positive bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus,Bacillus subtilis).The modified zeolite particles were incorporated to PSf and PI matrix and the influence of these particles on thermal,mechanical and structural properties was evaluated.The morphological evolution was investigated through scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analysis,which revealed good compatibility between organic polymer matrix and inorganic filler.Mechanical stability was investigated by tensile testing while thermal analysis was evaluated by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC).This revealed improvement in thermal properties with increasing filler concentration from 1 wt％ to 10 wt％.Structural analysis was successfully done using X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy.Solvent content of fabricated mixed matrix membranes was observed to decrease while moving from more hydrophilic to less hydrophilic solvent.However,addition of filler content enhanced the porosity of fabricated membranes.The synthesized mixed matrix membranes exhibited good antibacterial activity and the highest activity was shown by PSf/PI/MZ mixed matrix membrane.Therefore,the combination effect of PSf,PI and MZ sufficiently enhanced the antibacterial activity of mixed matrix membranes.     

Enhanced Gas Separation Performance by Embedding Submicron Poly(ethylene glycol) Capsules into Polyetherimide Membrane

Recently, hollow filler as an emerging concept is attracting more attention in preparation of mixed matrix membranes(MMMs). Herein,poly(ethylene glycol) microcapsules(PMC) are synthesized via distillation precipitation polymerization and embedded into the polyetherimide(Ultem■1000) matrix to fabricate MMMs for CO₂ capture. The PMC exhibits a preferential hollow structure within the Ultem matrix to furnish highways within membrane, and thus achieve high gas permeability. Meanwhile, the favorable affinity of poly(ethylene glycol)(PEG)microcapsule with ether oxygen group(EO) towards CO₂ enhances the CO₂ solubility selectivity. Such integration of physical and chemical microenvironments in the as-designed PEG microcapsule affords highly enhanced CO₂ separation performance. Compared to pristine Ultem■1000, the membrane with 2.5 wt% PMC loading exhibits 310% increment in CO₂ permeability and 22% increment in CO₂/N₂ selectivity,which shows the promising prospects of designing PEG-containing microcapsules as the filler of MMMs for CO₂ capture.     

Pd/Hβ-zeolite catalysts for catalytic combustion of toluene: Effect of SiO2/Al2O3 ratio

The effect of pure and high silica Hβ zeolites on the catalytic performance of toluene combustion over Pd/H/3 catalyst was evaluated.Pure and high silica β zeolites were prepared by direct synthesis procedures,then 0.1 wt% of palladium was impregnated on different Hβ zeolites via incipient wetness technique using palladium nitrate as the Pd source.The Pd/Hβ catalysts were characterized by XRD,N2 adsorption/desorption,H2O adsorption,NH3-TPD,H2-TPR and XPS techniques.With increasing the SIO2/Al2O3 ratio of β zeolite,the activity of the Pd/Hβ catalysts for toluene combustion increased clearly and the pure silica β zeolite supported Pd catalyst showed the best catalytic activity.The superior catalytic performance of Pd/β catalyst prepared from pure silica β zeolite was attributed to its high hydrophobicity and the preserving ability for PdO active species.     

Pd/Hβ-zeolite catalysts for catalytic combustion of toluene:Effect of SiO_2/Al_2O_3 ratio

The effect of pure and high silica Hβ zeolites on the catalytic performance of toluene combustion over Pd/Hβ catalyst was evaluated.Pure and high silica β zeolites were prepared by direct synthesis procedures,then 0.1 wt% of palladium was impregnated on different Hβ zeolites via in-cipient wetness technique using palladium nitrate as the Pd source.The Pd/Hβ catalysts were characterized by XRD,N2 adsorption/desorption,H2O adsorption,NH3-TPD,H2-TPR and XPS techniques.With increasing the SiO2/Al2O3 ratio of β zeolite,the activity of the Pd/Hβ catalysts for toluene combustion increased clearly and the pure silica β zeolite supported Pd catalyst showed the best catalytic activity.The superior catalytic performance of Pd/β catalyst prepared from pure silica β zeolite was attributed to its high hydrophobicity and the preserving ability for PdO active species.     

Preparation of Zeolite X Membranes on Porous Ceramic Substrates with Zeolite Seeds

Zeolite X membranes were investigated by in-situ hydrothermal synthesis on porous ceramic tubes precoated with zeolite X seeds or precursor amorphous aluminosilicate, and porous α-Al2O3 ceramic tubes with a pore size of 50-200 nm were employed as supports. Zeolite X crystals were synthesized by the classic method and mixed into deionized water as a slurry with a concentration of 0.2-0.5wt%, having a range of crystal sizes from 0.2 to 2μm. Crystal seeds were pressed into the pores near the inner surface of the ceramic tubes, and crystallization took place at 95℃ for 24-96 h. It was also investigated that Boehmite sol added with zeolite X seeds was precoated on ceramic supports to form a layer of r-Al2O3 by heating, and hydrothermal crystallization could then take place to prepare the zeolite membranes on the composite ceramic tubes. The crystal species were characterized by XRD, and the morphology of the supports subjected to crystallization was characterized by SEM. The composite zeolite membranes hav     

Preparation of Zeolite X Membranes on Porous Ceramic Substrates with Zeolite Seeds

Zeolite X membranes were investigated by in-situ hydrothermal synthesis on porous ceramic tubes precoated with zeolite X seeds or precursor amorphous aluminosilicate, and porous α-Al2O3 ceramic tubes with a pore size of 50 200 nm were employed as supports. Zeolite X crystals were synthesized by the classic method and mixed into deionized water as a slurry with a concentration of 0.2 0.5wt%, having a range of crystal sizes from 0.2 to 2μm. Crystal seeds were pressed into the pores near the inner surface of the ceramic tubes, and crystallization took place at 95℃ for 24-96 h. It was also investigated that Boehmite sol added with zeolite X seeds was precoated on ceramic supports to form a layer of γ-Al2O3 by heating, and hydrothermal crystallization could then take place to prepare the zeolite membranes on the composite ceramic tubes. The crystal species were characterized by XRD, and the morphology of the supports subjected to crystallization was characterized by SEM. The composite zeolite membranes have zeolitic top-layers with a thickness of 10-25 μm, and zeolite crystals can be intruded into pores of the supports as deeply as 100μm. The experimental results indicate that the precoating of zeolitic seeds on supports is beneficial to crystallization by shortening the synthesis time and improving the membrane strength. The resulting zeolite X membrane shows permselectivity to tri-n-butylamine((C4H9)3N) over perfluro-tributyl-amine ((C4Fg)3N), and a permeance ratio of 57 for ((C4Hg)3N to (C4F9)3N could be reached at 350℃. Permeances of BZ, EB and TIPB through the zeolite membrane were also measured and were found to slightly increase with temperature.     

Adsorptive desulfurization over hierarchical beta zeolite by alkaline treatment

Hierarchical beta zeolites with SiO2 /Al2O3 molar ratios of 16 to 25 were obtained by alkaline treatment in NaOH solution. The effects of treatment temperature on crystallinity, textural properties and chemical composites were studied by XRD, N2 sorption, FT-IR and XRF techniques. The desulfurization performance of parent and alkaline-treated beta zeolites was investigated by static absorption in four model fuels, containing four sulfur compounds of different molecular sizes like thiophene (TP), 3-methylthiophene (3-MT), benzothiophene (BT) and dibenzothiophene (DBT), respectively. The crystallinity was observed to be successfully maintained when the treatment temperature was below 50 C. Mesoporosity of beta zeolite was evidently developed with alkaline treatment. The formation of mesopore remarkably improved the desulfurization performance for TP, 3-MT, BT and DBT, especially for DBT with larger molecular diameter. Though the addition of toluene in the model fuels resulted in a significant drop of the desulfurization performance of mesoporous beta zeolite, the introduction of cerium ions to some extent mitigated the effect of toluene, which means that both the adsorbents porous structure and the adsorption mode are responsible for the desulfurization performance. The adsorbent of cerium ion-exchanged mesoporous beta showed about 80% recovery of desulfurization after the first regeneration.     

Dealuminated ZSM-5 Zeolite Catalyst for Ethylene Oligomerization to Liquid Fuels

Ethylene oligomerization using ZSM-5 zeolite was investigated to study the role of Bronsted acid sites in the formation of higher hydrocarbons. The oligomerization of olefins, dependent on the acidity of ZSM-5 zeolite, is an important step in the conversion of natural gas to liquid fuels. The framework Si/Al ratio reflects the number of potential acid sites and the acid strength of the ZSM-5 catalyst. ZSM-5 with the mole ratio SiO2/Al2O3 equal to 30 was dealuminated for different periods of time according to the acidic ion-exchange method to produce ZSM-5 with various Si/Al ratios. The FT-IR analysis revealed that the integrated framework aluminum band, non-framework aluminum band, and silanol groups areas of the ZSM-5 zeolites decreased after being dealuminated. The performance of the dealuminated zeolite was tested for ethylene oligomerization. The results demonstrated that the dealumination of ZSM-5 led to higher ethylene conversion, but the gasoline selectivity was reduced compared to the performance     

Effect of Ca promoter on LPG synthesis from syngas over hybrid catalyst

Direct synthesis of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) from syngas was carried out over hybrid catalyst consisting of methanol synthesis catalyst and Y zeolite modified with Pd and Ca by different methods. The decrease of CO conversion was mostly attributable to the sintering of Cu in methanol synthesis catalyst. On the other hand, coke deposition on the Y zeolite was the main reason for the decrease of LPG selectivity. The introduction of Ca decreased the strong acid sites of Y zeolite, suppressed coke formation, and thus improved the stability of hybrid catalyst.     

Hydrolysis of cellobiose catalyzed by zeolites—the role of acidity and micropore structure

The roles of acidity and micropore structure of zeolite were studied in the hydrolysis of the model oligosaccharide of cellulose–cellobiose. HZSM-5, HY, HMOR and Hβ zeolites were selected as model catalysts for the hydrolysis of cellobiose. The effect of acidity of zeolite, including the strength, type and location, on its catalytic activity was investigated. The strong Br?nsted acid sites located in micropores are the active sites for the hydrolysis of cellobiose to glucose. Meanwhile, the catalytic performance of zeolite is also dependent on the micropore size of zeolite.     

Directing Role of Cage Structure for Crystallization of Zeolites

The directing mechanisms of liquid directing agents of zeolite Y and zeolite L were studied by means of light transmission, ultracentrifugation, NMR, XRD and “cross-exchange” experiments. It was discovered that not only microcfystals of zeolites, but also cage structures of zeolites play the directing role for crystallization of zeolites.     

Pervaporation separation of ethanol/water mixtures with chlorosilane modified silicalite-1/PDMS hybrid membranes

<正>Ultra-fine silicalite-1 particles were modified with four kinds of chlorosilanes(dodecyltrichlorosilane, octyltrichlorosilane,hexadecyltrichlorosilane and octadecyltrichlorosilane) and characterized by FI-IR,TGA,contact angle measurements and BET analysis.It was found that the surface hydrophobicity of silicalite-1 particles was improved significantly as the alkyl group was strongly bonded to the particle surface.Modified silicalite-1 particles were incorporated into PDMS(poly(dimethylsiloxanediol)) membranes,which were applied for the pervaporation separation of ethanol/water mixtures.The effect of surface properties,zeolite loading and operation conditions on pervaporation performance of the membranes was investigated.The separation factor of PDMS membranes filled with modified silicalite-1 increased considerably compared with that filled with unmodified ones,and the total flux decreased with increasing zeolite loading. The solution and diffusion selectivity of hybrid membranes were also measured to explain the pervaporation properties of silicalite-1 filled PDMS membranes.It was found that modification of silicalite-1 with dodecyltrichlorosilane effectively improved the solution and diffusion selectivity of silicalite-1 filled PDMS membranes with high zeolite loading.This may be attributed to the high surface hydrophobicity of modified silicalite-1 and its good integration with PDMS membranes.Both the high separation factor and solution selectivity indicated that modification of silicalite-1 with chlorosilanes was an effective method to improve the selectivity of silicalite-1/PDMS hybrid membranes for ethanol.     

Recovering methane from quartz sand-bearing hydrate with gaseous CO_2

The replacement method by CO_2 is regarded as a new approach to natural gas hydrate(NGH) exploitation method, by which methane production and carbon dioxide sequestration might be obtained simultaneously. In this study, CO_2 was used to recover CH_4 from hydrate reservoirs at different temperatures and pressures. During the CO_2–CH_4 recovery process, the pressure was selected from 2.1 to 3.4 MPa, and the temperature ranged from 274.2 to 281.2 K. Calculating the fugacity differences between the gas phase and the hydrate phase for CO_2 and CH_4 at different conditions, it has found rising pressure was positive for hydrates formation process that was helpful for the improvement of CH_4 recovery rate. Rising temperature promoted the trend of CH_4 hydrate decomposition for the whole process of CO_2–CH_4replacement.The highest recovery rate was 46.6 % at 3.4 MPa 281.2 K for CO_2–CH_4replacement reaction in this work.     

Dealuminated ZSM—5 Zeolite Catalyst for Ethylene Oligomerization to Liquid Fuels

Ethylene oligomerization using ZSM-5 zeolite was investigated to study the role of Broensted acid sites in the formation of higher hydrocarbons,The oligomeriztion of olefins,dependent on the acidity of ZSM-5 zeolite ,is an important step in the conversion of natural gas to liquied fuels,The framework Si/Al ratio reflects the number of potential acid sites and the acid strength of the ZSM-5 catalyst,ZSM-5 with the mole ratio SiO2/Al2O3 equal to 30 was dealuminated for different periods of time according to the acidic ion-exchange method to produce ZSM-5 with various Si/Al ratios,The FT-IR analysis revealed that the integrated framework aluminum band,non-framework aluminum band,and silanol groups areas of the ZSM-5 zeolites decreased after being dealuminated,The performanc of the dealuminated zeolite was tested for ethylene oligomerization.The results demonstrated that the dealumination of ZSM-5 led to higher ethylene conversion,but the gasoline selectivity was reduced compared to the performance of a ZSM-5 zeolite ,The characterization results revealed the amount of aluminum in the zeolitic framework,the crystallinity of the ZSM-5 zeolite,and the Si/Al ration affected the formation of Broensted acid sites,The number of the Broensted acid sites on the catalyst active sites is important in the olefin conversion to liquied hydrocarbons.     

Synthesis of 3－（1－Cyclohexenyl）－2－butanone via Environmentally Friendly Catalysts

We substituted several environmentally friendly catalysts which included HY and H-β zeolites, various cation-exchanged β zeolites, and solid-supported ferric chloride for conventional catalysts for the synthesis of 3-(1-cyclohexenyl)-2-butanone from the reaction of ethylidenecyclohexane with acetic anhydride at room temperature. HY zeolite was found to be the most effective for this reaction, and gave the acYlated product in a 72% yield under the conditions of n(ethylidenecyclohexane)/n(acetic anhydride)/m(HY zeolite)= 1 mmol/10 mmol/0. 100 g, reaction temperature 25 ℃ and reaction time 2 h. The used HY zeolite can be recovered, regenerated and gave almost the same yield as the fresh one. The lifetime of the HY zeolite is over 80 h. The effect of different factors on the reaction has also been investigated.