Binary Permeation through a Silicalite-1 Membrane

Permeation of binary gaseous mixtures through a silicalite-1 membrane was studied. Results are reported for the fluxes and separation factors as a function of the feed composition, the pressure and the temperature. For the various cases a comparison is made between the binary and the single-component permeation behavior. For the permeation of the mixtures the stronger adsorbed component is little affected by the presence of the weaker adsorbed component. On the other hand, for the weaker adsorbed component a clear reduction in the flux is observed. As a consequence, the separation factor for mixtures differs considerably from the so-called ideal separation factor, which is the ratio of the one-component permeances. As expected, the separation factor depends on the temperature. The separation factor is also a function of the composition and the feed pressure. This means that the binary equilibrium adsorption cannot be described with the extended Langmuir model. Binary permeation and separation behavior is described using the ideal adsorption solution theory for equilibrium adsorption.