Sustainable Gas Separation by Application of Natural Zeolites As Membranes and Adsorbents by Afrooz Farjoo a Thesis Submitted In
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Sustainable Gas Separation by Application of Natural Zeolites as Membranes and Adsorbents By Afrooz Farjoo A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Chemical Engineering Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering University of Alberta ©Afrooz Farjoo, 2016 Abstract The objective of this research was to develop new molecular sieve materials and to study their applications in membrane as well as adsorptive gas separation processes. Membrane based processes have the potential to surpass the limitations of conventional gas separation techniques such as energy intensiveness, environmental concerns and possibly affordability. Natural zeolite membranes have recently been shown to demonstrate potential in separation of H2 from H2/CO2 mixtures or H2/light hydrocarbon mixtures and can be utilized to develop high performance molecular sieve membranes with advanced separation characteristics. In the previous work of this research team, disk membranes produced from dense natural clinoptilolite zeolite rocks showed high performance in gas separation. In this work, membranes from natural clinoptilolite powders are designed, studied and scaled up in disk and tubular configurations for gas separation applications. The membranes’ permeation, separation performance and separation mechanisms were evaluated using different characterization methods and tests at several operating conditions. The results showed that natural zeolite membranes such as compact disk or coated stainless steel tubular ones, have great potential for large-scale gas separation at high temperature and pressures. To evaluate the potential of membranes in industrial applications, single versus multi-component gas permeance was compared and discussed. In another study, a new adsorbent for the adsorptive separation of ethylene from ethane as one of the most energy intensive separations was created by incrementally changing the pore size of clinoptilolite. The structure of a naturally occurring clinoptilolite was modified through ammonium exchange, calcination, and post-calcinations steam ii treatment. The results demonstrated the potential to use steamed clinoptilolite and to increase the efficiency of the adsorptive separation of ethane/ethylene. Results of this work suggest that natural zeolites can be employed as high performance membranes and be modified as unique adsorbents for enhanced gas separation purposes. With further research, natural zeolites can be developed into economically viable membranes and adsorbents for several industrial applications. iii Preface Most of the research conducted for this thesis is in collaboration with NOVA Chemicals Corporation (Center for Applied Research) in Calgary and it was led by the principal investigator, Dr. Steven M. Kuznicki, at the University of Alberta, The technical apparatus referred to in chapter 5-7 were designed by this thesis author (Afrooz Farjoo) with the support of Weizhu An at the University of Alberta. The data analysis and conclusion are Afooz Farjoo’s work, as well as the literature review in chapters 1-2 and 4. Chapter 3 of this thesis has been published as A. Farjoo, J. Sawada, and S. Kuznicki, “Manipulation of the pore size of clinoptilolite for separation of ethane from ethylene” Journal of Chemical Engineering Science, 2015, 138, 685-688. In this paper, Afrooz Farjoo was responsible for the data collection and analysis as well as the manuscript preparation. James Sawada contributed to manuscript correction and review. Dr. Steven. M. Kuznicki was the supervisory author and the principal investigator that was also involved with concept formation and manuscript review. Chapter 5 of this thesis has been accepted for publication in Canadian Journal of Chemical Engineering as A. Farjoo, S. Adamaref, A. Avila and S. Kuznicki, “H2 separation using pressed clinoptilolite and mixed copper-membranes”. In this paper, Afrooz Farjoo was responsible for the data collection and data analysis as well as the manuscript preparation. Adolfo Avila contributed to manuscript preparation and correction. Solmaz Adamaref contributed to part of the data collection and Dr. Steven. M. Kuznicki was the supervisory author, the principal investigator, involved with concept development and the manuscript review. Chapter 6 of this thesis has been accepted for publication in Canadian Journal of iv Chemical Engineering as: Afrooz Farjoo, Steven Kuznicki, “H2 separation using tubular stainless steel supported natural clinoptilolite membranes”, In this paper, Afrooz Farjoo was responsible for the data collection and analysis as well as the manuscript preparation. Dr. Steven. Kuznicki was the supervisory author, the principal investigator and was involved with concept development, and the manuscript review. v Acknowledgements I would like to thank my PhD supervisor, Dr. Steven M. Kuznicki, for his support and mentorship in every step of this research project. I am also thankful for the assistance and input of Adolfo Avila, Tatyana Kuznicki, Weizhu An and James Sawada during this work. A very special thank you goes to the Applied Research Centre at NOVA Chemicals Corporation in Calgary for the technical and financial support during all the phases of this research project. vi Table of Contents Introduction to Zeolites Molecular Sieves ……………………………….....................................1 1.1 Zeolites Molecular Sieves ............................................................................................................................... 2 1.2 Natural Zeolites .................................................................................................................................................. 4 1.2.1 Clinoptilolite and Heulandite ...................................................................................................................... 5 1.3 Synthetic Zeolites .............................................................................................................................................. 7 1.4 References ............................................................................................................................................................ 8 2. Fundamentals of adsorption and adsorptive gas separation processes ..................... 11 2.1 The Theory of Adsorption........................................................................................................................... 12 2.2 Fundamental Mechanisms of Gas Separation ..................................................................................... 13 2.2.1 Equilibrium Separation ............................................................................................................................... 13 2.2.2 Kinetic Separation .......................................................................................................................................... 13 2.2.3 Steric Separation ............................................................................................................................................ 14 2.3 Adsorptive Gas Separation Processes .................................................................................................... 14 2.3.1 Adsorbent Design ............................................................................................................................................ 15 2.3.2 Pressure Swing Adsorption ........................................................................................................................ 15 2.3.3 Temperature Swing Adsorption ............................................................................................................... 16 2.4 Henry’s Law ...................................................................................................................................................... 17 2.5 Selectivity .......................................................................................................................................................... 18 2.6 Heat of Adsorption ......................................................................................................................................... 18 2.7 Conclusion ......................................................................................................................................................... 19 2.8 References ......................................................................................................................................................... 20 3. Manipulation of the Pore Size of Clinoptilolite for the Separation of Ethane from Ethylene………………………………………………………………………………………………..22 3.1 Summary ........................................................................................................................................................... 23 3.2 Introduction...................................................................................................................................................... 23 3.3 Materials and Methods ................................................................................................................................. 28 3.3.1 Sample Preparation ....................................................................................................................................... 28 3.3.2 Sample Characterization ............................................................................................................................ 29 3.4. Results and Discussion ...............................................................................................................................