Facile Fabrication of α-Alumina Hollow Fiber-Supported ZIF-8 Membrane Module and Impurity Effects on Propylene Separation Performance

Abstract

The separation of C3 olefin and paraffin, which is essential for the production of propylene, can be facilitated by the ZIF-8 membrane. However, the commercial application of the membrane has not yet been achieved because the fabrication process does not meet industrial regulatory criteria. In this work, we provide a straightforward and cost-effective membrane fabrication technique that permits the rapid synthesis of ZIF-8 hollow fiber membranes. The scalability of the technology was confirmed by the incorporation of three ZIF-8 hollow fiber membranes into a single module using an introduced fiber mounting methodology. The molecular sieving characteristics of the ZIF-8 membrane module on a binary combination of C3 olefin and paraffin (C3H6/C3H8 selectivity of 110 and a C3H6 permeance of 13 GPU) were examined at atmospheric conditions. In addition, the high-pressure performance of these membranes was demonstrated at a 5 bar of equimolar binary feed pressure with a C3H6/C3H8 selectivity of 55 and a C3H6 permeance of 9 GPU due to propylene adsorption site saturation. To further accurately portray the separation performance of the membrane on an actual industrial feed, the effect of impurities (ethylene, ethane, butylene, i-butane, and n-butane), which can be found in C3 splitters, was investigated and a considerable decrement (~15%) in the propylene permeance upon an interaction with C4 hydrocarbons was confirmed. Finally, the long-term stability of the ZIF-8 membrane was confirmed by continuous operation for almost a month without any loss of its initial performance (C3H6/C3H8 separation factor of 110 and a C3H6 permeance of 13 GPU). From an industrial point of view, this straightforward technique could offer a number of merits such as a short synthesis time, minimal chemical requirements, and excellent reproductivity.