2016 AIChE Annual Meeting

(447b) Microscopic Diffusion Studies of Pure and Mixed Methane and Carbon Dioxide in ZIF-11 By NMR

Authors

Evan M. Forman - Presenter, University of Florida
Matthias A. Trujillo, University of Florida
Kirk Ziegler, University of Florida
Brian Pimentel, Georgia Institute of Technology
Ryan P. Lively, Georgia Institute of Technology
Sergey Vasenkov, University of Florida
Zeolitic imidazole frameworks (ZIFs), a subclass of metal organic frameworks, have shown promise in challenging gas separations. Specifically, the high surface area and pore volume, along with great chemical and thermal stability and great control over the pore sizes has already made ZIFs an excellent choice material for both adsorption-based and diffusion-based separations. The tunable ZIF pore aperture, which is in the range of about 0.2 â?? 2 nm, can result in molecular sieving phenomena, allowing for great diffusion-based selectivity.

Fundamental understanding of gas diffusion in ZIFs is of crucial importance for their potential applications in separations. Here we report microscopic studies of diffusion of CO2, CH4, and a CO2/CH4 mixture inside ZIF-11 particles. These gases are commonly found in natural and coal bed gases, where CO2 is an impurity. Diffusion measurements were performed using 1H and 13C pulsed field gradient (PFG) NMR utilizing a high field (17.6 T) and high field gradients (up to 30 T/m) to obtain diffusivities for the length scales of displacements in the range of about 1-20 mm. The diffusivities for one component gases are correlated with those in the corresponding gas mixture. The role of particle external surface in the measured transport properties is discussed.