Ternary gas mixture separation in two-membrane permeators

✍ Scribed by A. Sengupta; K. K. Sirkar

• Publisher: American Institute of Chemical Engineers
• Year: 1987
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 1021 KB
• Volume: 33
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0001-1541
• DOI: 10.1002/aic.690330402

✦ Synopsis

Single-stage separation of ternary gas mixtures of He, COP, and N, in a hollow-fiber permeator that simultaneously houses two different types of membranes, cellulose acetate and silicone rubber, was investigated. The two membranes have reverse selectivities with respect to He and CO,. Such a two-membrane permeator separates the feed into three streams, two permeates and one reject, each stream being enriched in a different component. The species permeabilities through each membrane were measured independently, and these values were utilized in a simulation that incorporates the fiber lumen pressure drops, the elastic deformation of the silicone capillaries, and the asymmetric structure of the CA membrane. Simulation results are compared with experimental data. Effects of flow pattern, relative permeation areas of the two membranes, permeate pressure ratios, feed composition, and membrane selectivities are studied. Advantages of the two-membrane scheme over the conventional permeators with only one kind of membrane are discussed.