Dehydration of Natural Gas Using Synthesized Chabazite Zeolite Membranes

Chabazite zeolite membranes were synthesized for their potential application in dehydration of natural gas. The membranes were prepared using secondary growth method on porous ?-alumina substrates. Hydrothermal treatment was applied for the synthesis of chabazite seeds. The membranes were synthesized at four temperatures of 100, 120, 140, and 160°C; and duration of 20 h. Separation performance of assynthesized membranes was evaluated through permeation of water vapor and methane as single gas. Moreover, the structure and morphology of as-synthesized chabazite zeolite membranes as well as seeds were characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and dynamic light scattering (DLS). The results revealed that the optimum temperature for the synthesis of chabazite membranes is 140°C while at lower and higher temperatures, lower separation performances were observed. At the optimum synthesis temperature, an ideal selectivity of 23 was obtained for water vapor/methane, while a thin and integrated chabazite zeolite layer of about 5 ?m in thickness was synthesized over the surface ofalumina substrate.