Separation of m-Xylene and Ethylbenzene in Gaseous Carbon Dioxide

Abstract

The separation of an equal amount of ethylbenzene (EB) and m-xylene on silicalite using carbon dioxide as the carrier was studied. The experimental results indicated that operations in gaseous carbon dioxide provide a better separation efficiency than those at supercritical conditions. The effects of temperature, pressure, and flow rate on separation were also examined. It was found that the most appropriate conditions for obtaining purities of EB and m-xylene over 98% were a temperature around 353 K, a pressure of 40.8 atm, and a flow rate about 15 cm³/min. Comparison of the response curves for single- and two-component injection systems indicated that the model proposed by Gu et al. might be employed to interpret the data.