Propylene - propane separation using mixed matrix films made of functionalized polymers and zeolitic-imidazolate frameworks
department or school: Applied Science, Faculty of
department or school: Engineering, School of (Okanagan)
data provider: DSpace
degree campus: UBCO
creator: Alwai Alcheikhhamdon, Yousif
issued: 2021-04-14T22:50:16Z
issued: 2021
related degree: Doctor of Philosophy - PhD
degree grantor: University of British Columbia
description: The work presented in this thesis investigates the use of membrane technology in lieu of the energy-intensive distillation process for propylene - propane separation. The polymeric membranes lack the selectivity necessary for efficient separation. A recent breakthrough occurred when the metal-organic framework filler “ZIF-8” was mixed with Polymers of Intrinsic Microporosity (PIMs) to synthesize mixed-matrix films with high propylene selectivity. At high ZIF-8 loadings, the compatibility between the organic PIM and the semi-organic ZIF-8 deteriorates. This work was the first to propose functionalizing the PIM with a “carboxyl” (-COOH) group to enhance the compatibility with ZIF-8. Due to the carboxyl’s higher electronegativity, stronger H-bonding is induced between the mixed-matrix components compared to the hydroxyl (-OH) functionalization proposed in previous studies; the -COOH functionalized polymer “6FDA-TrMCA” was selected for this purpose. In this work, material development activities were limited to the pristine “6FDA-TrMCA” films preparation. The performance of the mixed-matrix membrane was approximated using the Maxwell model, meeting the targeted measures. Since membrane simulation software tools are exclusive to the commercial membrane suppliers, the “quantitative” impact of the selectivity boost on the process performance measures (e.g., purity, recovery, recycle) is not measurable. As part of this work, a novel HYSYS extension “MemCal” was matured in collaboration with a partner to support the simulation of membranes in Aspen HYSYS. The pure polymeric and the mixed-matrix membranes were simulated for their performance in single- and in two-stage designs meant for propylene’s commercial grades production; factors such as feed the propylene content and trans-membrane pressure ratio were accounted for in the analyses. The polymeric membranes were found incapable of producing neither the chemical nor the polymer grades of propylene, even in a two-stage proc…
aggregated CHO: https://circle.library.ubc.ca/rest/handle/2429/77792
note: PROPYLENE - PROPANE SEPARATION USING MIXED MATRIX FILMS MADE OF FUNCTIONALIZED POLYMERS AND ZEOLITIC-IMIDAZOLATE FRAMEWORKS by Yousif Alwai Alcheikhhamdon B.Sc., American University of Sharjah, 2009 M.Sc., King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, 2010 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in THE COLLEGE OF GRADUATE STUDIES (Mechanical Engineering) THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA (Okanagan) April 2021 © Yousif Alwai Alcheikhhamdon, 2021 ii The undersigned certify that they have read, and recommend to the College of Graduate Studies for acceptance, a thesis entitled: Propylene - Propane Separation using Mixed Matrix Films Made of Functionalized Polymers and Zeolitic-Imidazolate Frameworks Submitted by Yousif Alwai Alcheikhhamdon in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy in Mechanical Engineering Dr. Mina Hoorfar, School of Engineering, UBC Supervisor Dr. Ingo Pinnau, Advanced Membranes & Porous Materials Center, KAUST Co-Supervisor Dr. Homayoun Najjaran, School of Engineering, UBC Supervisory Committee Member Dr. Kasun Hewage, School of Engineering, UBC University Examiner Dr. Boguslaw Kruczek, University of Ottawa External Examiner Additional Committee Members include: Dr. Keekyoung Kim, School of Engineering, UBC Supervisory Committee Member iii Abstract The work presented in this thesis investigates the use of membrane technology in lieu of the energy-intensive distillation process for propylene - propane separation. The polymeric membranes lack the selectivity necessary for efficient separation. A recent breakthrough occurred when the metal-organic framework filler “ZIF-8” was mixed with Polymers of Intrinsic Microporosity (PIMs) to synthesize mixed-matrix films with high propylene selectivity. At high ZIF-8 loadings, the compatibility between the organic PIM and the semi-organic ZIF-8 deteriorates. This work was the first to propose functionalizing th…
has type: Thesis/Dissertation
date issued: 2021-05
is shown at: 10.14288/1.0396690
language: eng
degree discipline: Mechanical Engineering
provider: Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
publisher: University of British Columbia
rights: Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
rights URI: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
scholar level: Graduate
type: Text
identifier URI: http://hdl.handle.net/2429/77792