Separation ofC2-C4hydrocarbons from methane by zeoliteMFIhollow fiber membranes fabricated from2Dnanosheets

Separation of higher hydrocarbons from methane is an important and energy-intensive operation in natural gas processing. We present a detailed investigation of thin and oriented MFI zeolite membranes fabricated from 2D MFI nanosheets on inexpensive alpha-alumina hollow fiber supports, particularly for separation ofn-butane, propane, and ethane (natural gas liquids) from methane. These membranes display high permeances and selectivities for C-2-C(4)hydrocarbons over methane, driven primarily by stronger adsorption of C-2-C(4)hydrocarbons. We study the separation characteristics under unary, binary, ternary, and quaternary mixture conditions at 298 K and 100-900 kPa feed pressures. The membranes are highly effective in quaternary mixture separation at elevated feed pressures, for example allowingn-butane/methane separation factors of 170-280 andn-butane permeances of 710-2,700 GPU over the feed pressure range. We parametrize and apply multicomponent Maxwell-Stefan transport equations to predict the main trends in separation behavior over a range of operating conditions.

Automated summary

Thin and oriented MFI zeolite membranes fabricated from 2D MFI nanosheets on inexpensive alpha-alumina hollow fiber supports show high permeances and selectivities for C-2-C(4) hydrocarbons over methane. The membranes are highly effective in quaternary mixture separation at elevated feed pressures. Multicomponent Maxwell-Stefan transport equations can be used to predict the main trends in separation behavior over a range of operating conditions.