Synthesis of FAU-Zeolite Membrane by a Secondary Growth Method: Influence of Seeding on Membrane Growth and Its Performance in the Dehydration of Isopropyl Alcohol-Water Mixture

Masahiko Matsukata; Yasushi Sekine; Eiichi Kikuchi; Motomu Sakai; Bharathi Subramanian; Makoto Toyoda; Taisuke Furuhata

doi:10.1021/acsomega.1c00513

Synthesis of FAU-Zeolite Membrane by a Secondary Growth Method: Influence of Seeding on Membrane Growth and Its Performance in the Dehydration of Isopropyl Alcohol-Water Mixture

ACS Omega. 2021 Mar 31;6(14):9834-9842. doi: 10.1021/acsomega.1c00513. eCollection 2021 Apr 13.

Authors

Masahiko Matsukata^{1

2}, Yasushi Sekine^{1

2}, Eiichi Kikuchi¹, Motomu Sakai^{1

2}, Bharathi Subramanian^{1

2}, Makoto Toyoda¹, Taisuke Furuhata¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Applied Chemistry, Waseda University, 3-4-1 Okubo, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 169-8555, Japan.
² Advanced Research Institute for Science and Engineering, Waseda University, 3-4-1 Okubo, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 169-8555, Japan.

Abstract

Y-type zeolite membranes were prepared on a porous tubular α-alumina support by a secondary growth process. Various experimental conditions such as seed size, pH of seed solution, and degassing of support were examined for understanding their influence on the membrane deposition process. The experimental results showed that the potential of alumina support surface and the USY seed slurry plays a significant role in controlling the electrostatic interaction between seed particles and support surface and also the aggregation of USY seed particles in the slurry. In addition, we also noted the significance of the capillary forces working at the three-phase interface on the support surface and is a key factor that governs the seeding behavior onto the tubular support surface. Optimization of these parameters resulted in crack-free compact membranes that were able to effectively separate a mixture of isopropyl alcohol and water in a vapor-phase separation process.