Poly(1-trimethylsilyl-1-propyne)/MFI composite membranes for butane separations

The separation of equimolar mixtures of i-butane and n-butane through poly(1-trimethylsilyl-1-propyne)/MFI composite membranes was studied. Membranes were characterized by XRD and SEM. Addition of 50 wt% MFI particles into a PTMSP matrix showed increased permeability and simultaneous improved selectivity in the temperature range 25–200 °C. The best improvement was seen at 150 °C for the composites, giving almost threefold increase in permeability and 56% higher n-butane/i-butane selectivity over the pure polymer. To our knowledge, this is the first successful demonstration of the incorporation of a molecular sieve into a polymer matrix for butane isomer separations. The composite membranes were also tested for separations of n-hexane/2,2-dimethylbutane and p-xylene/o-xylene.