Permeability of C1–C3 hydrocarbons through MDK membranes under nonisothermal conditions at lower temperatures

Resumo

The presented nonisothermal technique for investigation of membrane gas separation (using MDK-1 membrane as an example) demonstrates possibilities of rapid assessment of the separation power of commercial membranes for both individual components and various mixtures in the temperature range of‒20 to +40°C. The efficiency of the membrane process under these conditions (cross-flow membrane module model) for separation of propane–methane mixtures has been evaluated. It has been shown that the permeability of methane decreases with a decrease in temperature in the Arrhenius coordinates and the propane permeability increases. The separation selectivity in the mixture decreases by more than twofold in comparison with the ideal selectivity. Nevertheless, a significant improvement of separation has been observed at lower temperatures, with the recovery of the desired product and its purity being variable in a wide range depending on the practical goal. The nonisothermal technique is supposed to be useful for rapid selection of conditions (temperature, pressure, components to be separated) for efficient application of polymeric membranes for separation of hydrocarbon-containing mixtures that are close in composition to real gas sources.