Coalbed methane (CBM) is a kind of unconventional gas. CBM often contains a great deal of air when it comes out of the well. So, it must be condensed and purified before it can be applied. In this paper, raw clinoptilolite (Cp) was treated with grinding, gravimetric concentration, and ion-exchange using different aqueous solutions of salts. Then, the modified Cp powder was prepared into particles as adsorbents. Then, the adsorbents were used for nitrogen/methane separation in pressure swing adsorption (PSA) at the same condition of 0.2 MPa and 298 K. Research results indicated that there were micropores and lots of mesopores in the Cp, and the pores were mainly slit holes formed by sheet stacking. The adsorbents of NH₄-Cp, Cs-Cp, and Cu-Cp showed good equilibrium selectivity for CH₄, and the equilibrium separation factors of CH₄ and N₂ were 2.56, 2.31, and 1.95, respectively. The adsorbents of Na-Cp and Ag-Cp showed good equilibrium selectivity for N₂, and the equilibrium separation factors of N₂ and CH₄ were 7.25 and 6.53, respectively. Consequently, the adsorbent of Na-Cp was suitable for nitrogen/methane mixture separation, which could make the concentration of methane concentrated from 19.7% to 30.72%.
Keywords: clinoptilolite; ion-exchange; nitrogen/methane separation..