Controlling the Performance of Silicalite-1 Membranes

✍ Scribed by Leszek Gora; Jacobus C. Jansen; Thomas Maschmeyer

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 2000
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 354 KB
• Volume: 6
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0947-6539
• DOI: 10.1002/1521-3765(20000717)6:14<2537::aid-chem2537>3.0.co;2-3

✦ Synopsis

The structural and performance characteristics (for n-and i-butane separation) of self-supported silicalite-1 membranes, were optimised by finetuning 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 nbutane flux of 10 mmol m À2 s À1 , indicating perfect performance. For 50/50 mix-tures (of n and i) the selectivity for nbutane was 48 and its flux was 3.8 mmol m À2 s À1 . 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.