Separation of three-component gas mixture by means of a microporous glass membrane with cocurrent flow

Abstract

To investigate the separation of a multicomponent mixture by means of a microporous glass membrane, experiments in the separation of a ternary mixture composed of helium, oxygen and argon were performed with cocurrent flow operation at 407 K. The pressure of the feed stream was 175 kPa and 216 kPa, while the pressure of the permeate stream was maintained at atmospheric. The cut was made to vary by changes in feed-gas flow rate. Theoretical analysis was made on the basis of some assumptions. The agreement between theoretical values and experimental data for both permeated and rejected gas composition was fairly good. In addition, the effect of longitudinal mixing in both feed and permeate streams, and the usefulness and limitations of the model, were studied. © 1985, The Society of Chemical Engineers, Japan. All rights reserved.