Abstract
The permeabilities and diffusivities of methane, ethane, propane, n‐butane, and isobutane in commercially available poly(tetrafluoroethylene) (TFE) and poly(fluoroethylene–propylene) (FEP) Teflon have been measured in a Pasternak‐type permeation cell. Experiments were carried out at upstream hydrocarbon partial pressures up to 50 torr (1000–60,000 ppm gas phase concentration) and temperatures from 40 to 195°C with films of 0.0508 and 0.127 mm thickness using nitrogen as carrier gas on the upstream and downstream sides of the membrane. The transient and steady‐state permeation data are described well by a combination of Henry's law and Fick's law with a concentration‐independent diffusion coefficient. Linear Arrhenius plots of both permeabilities and diffusivities were obtained. Linear correlations were found both between the activation energy for diffusion and the square of the gas molecule diameter, and between the logarithm of solubility at 90°C and the penetrant boiling point. Separation factors for binary mixtures of hydrocarbons were measured for TFE at 140°C and found to be similar to those predicted by individual permeabilities in most cases. Measurements with mixed gases were not made for FEP Teflon, but selectivities of FEP are expected to be similarly well described by the ratios of the pure gas permeabilities at the low partial pressures studied. The effect of annealing FEP Teflon for 24 hr at 200°C was found to produce an average of 20–30% reduction in solubility as well as a 9% increase in the activation energy for diffusion compared to as‐received films. These effects are believed to be due to increased crystallinity in the sample upon annealing.