Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) Removal by Vapor Permeation at Low VOC Concentrations: Laboratory Scale Results and Modeling for Scale Up

Abstract

Petroleum transformation industries have applied membrane processes for solvent and hydrocarbon recovery as an economic alternative to reduce their emissions and reuse evaporated components. Separation of the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) (toluene-propylene-butadiene) from air was performed using a poly dimethyl siloxane (PDMS)/α-alumina membrane. The experimental set-up followed the constant pressure/variable flow set-up and was operated at ∼21 °C. The membrane is held in a stainless steel module and has a separation area of 55 × 10−4 m2. Feed stream was set to atmospheric pressure and permeate side to vacuum between 3 and 5 mbar. To determine the performance of the module, the removed fraction of VOC was analyzed by Gas Chromatography/Flame Ionization Detector (GC/FID). The separation of the binary, ternary and quaternary hydrocarbon mixtures from air was performed at different flow rates and more especially at low concentrations. The permeate flux, permeance, enrichment factor, separation efficiency and the recovery extent of the membrane were determined as a function of these operating conditions. The permeability coefficients and the permeate flux through the composite PDMS-alumina membrane follow the order given by the Hildebrand parameter: toluene > 1,3-butadiene > propylene. The simulated data for the binary VOC/air mixtures showed fairly good agreement with the experimental results in the case of 1,3-butadiene and propylene. The discrepancies observed for toluene permeation could be minimized by taking into account the effects of the porous support and an influence of the concentration polarization. Finally, the installation of a 0.02 m2 membrane module would reduce 95% of the VOC content introduced at real concentration conditions used in the oil industry.

Increased Selectivity in CO2/CH4 Separation with Mixed‐Matrix Membranes of Polysulfone and Mixed‐MOFs MIL‐101(Cr) and ZIF‐8

“…Moreover porous inorganic fillers can overcome the trade‐off between selectivity and permeability which is typical for pure polymer membranes. Different types of inorganic additives, impermeable and permeable ones, have been used as filler materials , , …”

High‐temperature CO2 removal from CH4 using silica membrane: experimental and neural network modeling

“…It shows that when the inlet flow or feed flow is increased, the flux increases. The higher the inlet flow rate, the easier it is for the gas molecules to pass through the membrane, resulting in a higher flux . CO 2 has higher adsorption coverage in the silica layer, making more CO 2 diffuse through the membrane.…”

Minimization of the Theoretical Error of Input Parameters for a Vapor Permeation Apparatus

“…Various methods are used on an industrial scale for the recovery of VOCs from air, e.g., absorption, (carbon) adsorption, incineration, condensation, etc. . These techniques show some drawbacks in terms of efficiency, reliability, and costs.…”