Mahdi Naghsh - Chemical Engineering Department, Isfahan University of Technology, Isfahan, Iran
Morteza sadeghi - Chemical Engineering Department, Isfahan University of Technology, Isfahan, Iran
Mohammad Mohagheghian - Chemical Engineering Department, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran

In the present work the performance of cellulose acetate(CA)-silica nanocomposite membranes in separation of ethylene/ethane and propylene/propane were studied.Silica nanoparticles were prepared via the hydrolysis of tetraethoxysilane (TEOS).The nanocompositemembranes were prepared by solution-casting. The prepared membranes were characterized using FT-IR and SEM methods. Pure gas permeation experiments were performed at pressure of 2 bara and temperature of 35oC. The obtained results showed that the permeability of ethylene and propylene increased from 0.052 barrer and 0.046 barrer in pure cellulose acetate to 0.11barrer and 0.098 barrer in the composite membrane containing 30%wt silica particles, respectively. In order to investigate possible plasticization phenomena, the effect of feed pressure on separation performance was studied.The result showed that no plasticization occurs up to 8 bara feed pressure

Olefin, Paraffin, Cellulose Acetate, Silica, Nanocomposite