Sorption thermodynamics of CO2, CH4, and their mixtures in the ITQ-1 zeolite as revealed by molecular Simulations

The thermodynamic properties and siting of carbon dioxide and methane sorbed in the siliceous form of zeolite MCM-22, ITQ-1, were studied by means of grand canonical Monte Carlo simulation. ITQ-1 comprises two independent pore systems of different geometry. It was found to be CO2-selective toward CO2/CH4 gas mixtures, its equilibrium selectivity being distinctly higher in its sinusoidal channel pore system than in the large cavity system over a wide range of pressures starting from the Henry law regime, at the three temperatures considered. A maximum in selectivity is observed at low temperature, high pressure, and methane-rich gas-phase composition.