Helium Recovery by Permeation

Stern, S. A.; Sinclair, T. F.; Gareis, P. J.; Vahldieck, N. P.; Mohr, P.

doi:10.1021/ie50662a008

Cited by 95 publications

(39 citation statements)

References 4 publications

(4 reference statements)

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“…The value of 7 for He a t 3OoC agrees within 15% with that reported by Stern et al (1965), and within 11% with that of Ohno et al (1976). The value of 7 for CH4 at the same temperature also agrees within 15% with that reported by Stern et al (1 965).…”

Section: Aiche Journal November 1986supporting

confidence: 90%

“…For single-membrane permeators, the most often studied flow patterns have been the so-called "perfect mixing" (Weller and Steiner, 1950a,b;Stern et al, 1965;Stern and Walawender, 1969;Blaisdell and Kammermeyer, 1973), cross-flow (Weller and Steiner, 1950a.b;Walawender and Stern, 1972;Blaisdell and Kammermeyer, 1973), and cocurrent and countercurrent flow (Oishi et al, 1961;Walawender and Stern, 1972;Blaisdell and Kammermeyer, 1973;Pan and Habgood, 1974, 1978a,b;Stern and Wang, 1978). Analytical studies of gas separation in a perfectly mixed two-membrane permeator have been reported by Ohno et al (1977) and by Sirkar (1980) for limited operating conditions.…”

Section: General Considerationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Separation of a helium‐methane mixture in permeators with two types of polymer membranes

Perrin¹,

Stern²

1986

AIChE Journal

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The separation of a He-CH, mixture containing 9.95 mol% He in permeator modules that incorporate two different types of polymer membranes was studied theoretically and experimentally. The membranes were symmetric dense capillaries of silicone rubber and asymmetric hollow fibers of cellulose triacetate. These membranes exhibit reverse selectivities for He and CH,. silicone rubber being more permeable to CH,, and cellulose triacetate more permeable to He. The simultaneous use of these two types of membranes in a permeator enhances the enrichment and recovery of He compared to the levels obtained with a single-membrane permeator utilizing either membrane alone. The experimental results were found to confirm the theoretical predictions, the agreement being better at the lower stage cuts. IntroductionRecent advances in membrane technology have given strong impetus to the study of new process design concepts for the separation of gas mixtures by selective permeation through polymer membranes. One such concept is the simultaneous use of two or more different types of membranes for a given separation process (Ohno et al., 1973(Ohno et al., -1978Kimura et al., 1973). The membranes are chosen so as to exhibit specific selectivities for different components of a gas mixture to be separated. Thus, in order to separate a binary gas mixture, two different membranes are selected such that one membrane is more permeable to one component of the mixture, while the other membrane is more permeable to the second component. The membranes can be in the form of flat sheets, capillaries, or hollow fibers, and are usually mounted in devices or modules known as permeators.Analytical studies of gas separation in two-membrane permeators, i.e., those that enclose two different types of membranes, have been reported by several investigators for various operating conditions (Ohno, et al., 1977;Sirkar, 1980;Sengupta and Sirkar, 1984). More recently, mathematical models that consider three different flow patterns of the permeated (low-pressure) and unpermeated (high-pressure) gas streams in a two-membrane permeator have been developed by Perrin and Stern (1985). These flow patterns are: "perfect mixing," cocurrent AIChE JournalNovember 1986 J. E. Perrin, S. A. SternDepartment of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science Syracuse University Syracuse, NY 13244 flow, and countercurrent flow. The results of a parametric study based on the above models indicate that the separation and recovery of feed components achievable in a two-membrane permeator can be substantially larger than in a conventional singlemembrane device. The objective of the present study was to test the validity of models similar to those proposed by Perrin and Stern. Accordingly, this paper presents the results of an experimental investigation on the separation of a He-CH, mixture by means of two-membrane permeators enclosing both symmetric dense capillaries of silicone rubber and asymmetric hollow fibers of cellulose triacetate. Silicone rubber is more permeable to CH4 tha...

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Section: Aiche Journal November 1986supporting

confidence: 90%

Section: General Considerationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Separation of a helium‐methane mixture in permeators with two types of polymer membranes

Perrin¹,

Stern²

1986

AIChE Journal

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“…The separation of binary gas mixtures in a single-membrane permeator under such conditions was first studied by Weller and Steiner (1950a, b). This study was extended to the separation of multicomponent mixtures by Stern et al (1965).…”

Section: Flow Patternsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Modeling of permeators with two different types of polymer membranes

Perrin

Stern

1985

AIChE Journal

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Mathematical models have been developed for the separation of binary gas mixtures in permeator modules housing two different types of membranes simultaneously. The membranes are selected so as to exhibit reverse selectivities toward the components of a mixture, i.e., so that one membrane is more permeable to one of the components while the second membrane is more permeable to the other component. The mathematical models describe the membrane separation process for three kinds of flow patterns of the permeated (low pressure) and unpermeated (high pressure) gas streams in the permeator, namely, "perfect mixing," countercurrent flow, and cocurrent flow. Numerical solutions of the models indicate that the extent of separation achievable in a two-membrane permeator can be much higher than in a conventional single-membrane permeator. Also, for given product compositions, the membrane area requirements of the former permeator can be lower than those of the latter. Countercurrent flow is generally the most efficient flow pattern in a two-membrane permeator, and "perfect mixing" is the least efficient one, but the opposite is true under special operating conditions. SCOPEThe separation of gas mixtures by selective permeation through polymer membranes is currently under active investigation by many laboratories due to the fact that this separation technique is potentially energy-efficient. Additionally, the required process equipment is simple, modular, and relatively easy to control.Significant advances have been made in membrane technology for gas separation in recent years. These advances may be placed into two categories: membrane materials and process design concepts. The most noteworthy advance in materials has been the development of asymmetric hollow fiber and composite membranes that exhibit high gas permeabilities as well as high selectivities for specific components of gas mixtures. In the area of process design, one of the most interesting innovations has been the simultaneous use of two or more different types of membranes for a given separation process (Ohno et al., 1973-78; Kimura et al., 1973). The membranes are chosen so as to exhibit special selectivities for different components of a gas mixture to be separated, Thus, according to this concept, a binary gas mixture is best separated by means of two different membranes, one of which is more permeable to one of the components of the mixture while the other membrane is more permeable to the second component.The advantages of using two or more different types of membranes for a given separation process, rather than a single type of membrane, are twofold: The extent of separation is increased, and the extent of recovery of a desired component of the feed mixture is also increased. The use of more than one type of membrane, where possible, should therefore lower the energy and capital investment costs of membrane separation processes. An additional advantage of multimembrane systems lies in their ability to produce more than two product streams. Hence, such sy...

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“…The film thickness was taken as 0.25~: and the area of the film was 9.6 cm*. 4 at 900 psig but different operating temperatures. Owing to its high product rate the present method is expected to be useful for upgrading pre-enriched natural gas.…”

Section: Helium Separation By Cellulose Acetate Membranesmentioning

confidence: 99%