Elimination of dibenzothiophene from n-hexane by nano-composite membrane containing Cu-MOF in a pervaporation process

Abstract

In this study, a particular type of thin film nano-composite membranes was prepared and used in the pervaporation process. The membranes were made of polyphenylsulfone and were coated with a thin layer of polydimethylsiloxane containing different amount of Cu-metal-organic framework (MOF) nano-structures. N-hexane containing dibenzothiophene was used as a model fuel. To characterize MOF and the prepared membranes, Fourier transform infrared, X-Ray diffraction, Brunauer-Emmett-Teller, field-emission scanning electron microscopy, water contact angle measurements, and thermogravimetric analysis were used. The effect of parameters such as sulfur content, process temperature, and Cu-MOF concentration on the membrane performance was evaluated. The results indicated that nano-composite membranes demonstrate a much better performance compared to the untreated membrane. The membrane containing 5 wt% Cu-MOF with a contact angle of 97° had more hydrophilic surface and proved the effect of the additive in improving the surface hydrophilicity. This membrane had the highest rate of flux and rejection (0.4 kg/m 2 h and 70%, respectively), and the lowest enrichment factor (0.3). As the temperature increased, the flux of M 4 membrane (with 5 wt% additive) increased, while the removal efficiency decreased significantly. The optimum temperature for desulfurization in the pervaporation process was obtained (50 °C).

Removal of sulfur‐containing compounds from Fluid Catalytic Cracking unit (FCC) gasoline by pervaporation process: Effects of variations in feed characteristics and mass transfer properties of the membrane

“…Several sulfur selective membranes have already been developed and analyzed to desulfurize FCC gasoline 10–40 . The effects of operating conditions have also been investigated, and they are optimized for better membrane performance 10–13,19,20,22,25,27,36–40 .…”

“…Thus, the effects of varying feed composition of FCC gasoline on membrane performance may be more complicated than what has been seen in experimental studies with binary and ternary mixtures representing model gasoline. Some reported experimental studies were also performed on real gasoline 10–13,16 . Still, these studies do not directly correlate membrane performance with varying FCC gasoline compositions/characteristics.…”