The Implementation of a Carbon Precursor to Produce ZSM-5 Membranes for the Separation of Isomers in the Pervaporation System

Abstract

The separation of p-xylene from its bulkier m-xylene and o-xylene is of great importance in the petrochemical industry. This paper presents the experimental results of the separation of xylene isomers using a zeolite carbon composite membrane in a pervaporation system. The preparation method involves the use of an inexpensive carbon precursor, sucrose, to avoid the lengthy conventional preparation methods used in the literature (e.g., hydrothermal synthesis). The composite membranes that were prepared exhibited a separation performance with a p-xylene/o-xylene separation factor of 5.35 and permeability of 76 g/m2 h for 95% o-xylene at 25 °C. The preparation procedure was designed from an economical perspective to facilitate any possible future commercialization.