SEPARATION OF MIXED GASES THROUGH POROUS POLYMERIC MEMBRANES

The separation of a gas from a two component gas system was studied bo th theoretically and experimentally. Helium and argon as an inorganic gas pair, ethylene and butane as an organic gas pair, and air were use d. The theory based on the free molecular flow could not be applied to all the combinations of the gases experimentally studied. Experiments showed that the permeability coefficient of each component in the mix ture was very close to that of each single component, when the pressur e in the low pressure side became zero, but those of the mixture appro ached one another rapidly as the pressure increased. In the case of th e separation of one inorganic gas from another, there exists most suit able pressures both in the high and low pressure sides for the most ef ficient separation, as considered from the selectivity and permeabilit y. In the cases of the mixed organic gases and the organic-inorganic g as combination, a rather high separation efficiency is expected for a very high pressure on the high pressure side.