A Composite Membrane Based on Polydecylmethylsiloxane for the Separation of Hydrocarbons Mixtures at Reduced Temperatures

The permeability of n-butane and methane as well as their mixture through a PDecMS/MFFK composite membrane at reduced temperatures up to 0°C is for the first time studied in this work. According to the data of SEM, the thickness of the selective layer of PDecMS is 5 μm. It is shown that both the permeability coefficient of butane and ideal butane/methane selectivity α_C_4H_10/ . -0emCH_4 increase as the temperature decreases from 60 down to 0°C. Thus, the permeability coefficient of butane is 11 400 Barrer at 0°C. It is important to emphasize that the ideal butane/methane selectivity of PDecMS/MFFK of 60 at 0°C is twofold higher than similar values for MDK and PDMS membranes (27 and 32, respectively). This is first of all associated with the difference in the values of the sorption selectivity αS of these polymers. Thus, the values of α _C_4H_10/ . -0emCH_4^S for PDecMS and PDMS at 0°C estimated based on the enthalpy of sorption are 170 and 95, respectively. In addition, the difference in the activation energies of diffusion of methane in PDecMS, PDMS, and MDK provides a sharper increase in the butane/methane permselectivity for PDecMS when compared to PDMS and MDK in the case of decreasing the measurement temperature. In the case of a C4H10 (35 vol