Modeling solubility of acid gases in alkanolamines using the nonelectrolyte Wilson-nonrandom factor model

The nonelectrolyte Wilson-nonrandom factor local composition model (N-Wilson-NRF) by Haghtalab and Mazloumi is applied for modeling the vapor–liquid equilibrium of the acid gases (CO₂ and H₂S)–alkanolamine–water systems. The model is used to calculate the nonideality of species in liquid phase through the activity coefficient equations. In this work, we use the N-Wilson-NRF model for short-range forces in the aqueous electrolyte system of alkanolamines by using the concept of ion-pair. For the long-range interaction the Pitzer–Debye–Hückel theory is applied. The model is used to correlation of the solubility data of CO₂ and H₂S in aqueous monoethanolamine (MEA), diethanolamine (DEA), methyldiethanolamine (MDEA) and 2-amino-2methyl-1-propanol (AMP) systems over wide range of temperature (0–140 °C), partial pressure (0.001–1000 kPa) and acid gases loading (0.001–1.0 mol gas/mol amine). To show the predictability of the model, the interaction parameters without any additional adjustable parameters are used to predict the solubility of CO₂ in aqueous AMP solution at different conditions. The results of the model show a very good agreement with the experimental data.     

Correlation of solubility data of ammonia in ionic liquids for gas separation processes using artificial neural networks

Artificial neural networks have been used for the correlation and prediction of solubility data of ammonia in ionic liquids. This solubility of ammonia is highly variable for different types of ionic liquids at the same temperature and pressure, its correlation and prediction is of special importance in the removal of ammonia from flue gases for which effective and efficient solvents are required. Nine binary ammonia + ionic liquids mixtures were considered in the study. Solubility data (P–T–x) of these systems were taken from the literature (208 data points for training and 50 data points for testing). The training variables are the temperature and the pressure of the binary systems (T, P), being the target variable the solubility of ammonia in the ionic liquid (x). The study shows that the neural network model is a good alternative method for the estimation of solubility for this type of mixtures. Absolute average deviations were below 5.6%, for each isothermal data set and overall absolute average deviations were below 3.0%. Only in the range of low solubility (below 0.2 in mole fraction) did predicted solubility give deviations higher than 10%.     

Application of liquid-phase microextraction to the analysis of trihalomethanes in water

A liquid-phase microextraction method for the determination of trihalomethanes (THMs) including chloroform (CHCl₃), bromodichloromethane (CHBrCl₂), dibromochloromethane (CHBr₂Cl) and bromoform (CHBr₃) in water samples was developed, with analysis by gas chromatography-electron capture detection (GC-ECD). After the determination of the most suitable solvent and stirring rate for the extraction, several other parameters (solvent drop volume, extraction time and ionic strength of the sample) were optimized using a factorial design to obtain the most relevant variables. The optimized extraction conditions for 5 mL of sample volume in a 10 mL vial were as follows: n-hexane an organic solvent; a solvent drop volume of 2 μL; an extraction time of 5.0 min; a stirring rate of 600 rpm at 25 °C; sample ionic strength of 3 M sodium chloride. The linear range was 1-75 μg L⁻¹ for the studied THMs. The limits of detection (LODs) ranged from 0.23 μg L⁻¹ (for CHBr₂Cl) to 0.45 μg L⁻¹ (for CHCl₃). Recoveries of THMs from fortified distilled water were over 70% for a fortification level of 15 μg L⁻¹, and relative standard deviations of the recoveries were below 5%. Real samples collected from tap water and well water were successfully analyzed using the proposed method. The recovery of spiked water samples was from 73% to 78% with relative standard deviations below 7%.     

A comparative study of the effects of different buffer gases on the line shape of water vapour rovibronic transition

The line shape parameters of water vapour rovibrational transition at 12145.444 cm⁻¹ belonging to the (2ν₁ + ν₂ + ν₃) overtone band in the presence of three buffer gases He, N₂ and CO₂ are studied by high resolution near infrared (NIR) diode laser spectrometer. The wavelength modulation spectroscopy (WMS) is adopted to probe buffer gas broadened first derivative (1f) signal of water vapour transition. The simulation of the experimental signals based on Voigt profile provides the collisional broadening coefficients and line strength parameters. The comparison is made between the broadening effects on water vapour transition induced by He, N₂ and CO₂.     

Viscosity of ionic liquid mixtures of 1-alkyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate + CO2

The viscosities of the mixtures 1-hexyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate ([HMIM][PF₆]) + CO₂ and 1-octyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate ([OMIM][PF₆]) + CO₂ were measured with a rolling ball viscometer. The CO₂ mole fraction for one mixture ranged up to 0.434 and the other up to 0.447. The viscosities were measured at 293.15-353.15 K and 10-20.0 MPa. The experimental uncertainty in viscosity was estimated to be within ±3.0%. The experimental data were compared with McAllister's three-body model, which correlated with the experimental data within average absolute deviations of 5.9%.     

Experimental studies on the hydrogen isotope recovery using low-pressure palladium membrane diffuser

In this paper, we introduce a set of low-pressure palladium membrane diffuser designed to recover hydrogen isotopes from inert mixture gases. Several gaseous mixtures (D₂/Ar and D₂/He) with different deuterium concentration have been used for cleanup test of the low-pressure palladium membrane diffuser at 723 K. Effect of the composition of feed gas on the pressure of permeate side has been observed by gas chromatography (GC) and pressure sensor. With the feed flow rate of the mixture gases increasing, the D₂ permeate pressure is increasing as well. Decontamination factor (DF) of more than 1000 and recovery efficiency greater than 99.9% have been obtained by controlling the feed gas flow rate. The same palladium membrane diffuser was used to process helium-3 gas with more than 10% hydrogen isotope and about 0.3% tritium gas. The pure helium-3 (above 99.4%) with low content of hydrogen isotopes (about 0.084%) has been obtained. Recovery efficiency of all hydrogen isotopes is 99.5% above.     

High pressure measurement and CPA equation of state for solubility of carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulfide in 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate

Removal of acid gases such as CO₂ and H₂S from natural gas is essential for commercial, safety and environmental protection that demonstrate the importance of gas sweetening process. Ionic liquids (IL) have been highly demanded as a green solvent to remove acid gases from sour natural gas and capturing of CO₂ from flue gases. In this work, the solubility of CO₂ in 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate ([bmim][Ac]) is measured at temperatures (303.15, 328.15, 343.15) K and pressure range of (0.1 to 3.9) MPa. Moreover, the experiments are carried out for simultaneous measurements of (CO₂ + H₂S) (70% + 30% on a mole basis) solubility in the same ionic liquid at T = (303.15, 323.15, 343.15) K and a pressure range of (0.1 to 2.2) MPa. To model the solubility of acid gases in IL, both physical and chemical equilibria are applied so that the (vapour + liquid) equilibrium calculation is carried out through Cubic-Plus-Association (CPA) EoS. The reaction equilibrium thermodynamic model is used in liquid phase so that the chemical reaction is taking place between IL and acid gasses. The Henry’s and reaction equilibrium constants are obtained though optimization of the solubility data. Using CPA EOS, the pure parameters of [bmim][acetate] are optimised and consequently using these parameters, gas partial pressure calculation is performed for the (CO₂ + IL) and (CO₂ + H₂S + IL) systems. For the (CO₂ + IL) system, the percent average absolute deviation (AAD%) of 4.83 is resulted and for the (H₂S + CO₂ + IL) system the values of 18.8 and 13.7 are obtained for H₂S and CO₂, respectively.     

Optical fiber evanescent wave absorption spectrometry of nanocrystalline tin oxide thin films for selective hydrogen sensing in high temperature gas samples

SnO₂ nanocrystalline material was prepared with a sol-gel process and thin films of the nanocrystalline SnO₂ were coated on the surface of bent optical fiber cores for gas sensing. The UV/vis absorption spectrometry of the porous SnO₂ coating on the surface of the bent optical fiber core exposed to reducing gases was investigated with a fiber optical spectrometric method. The SnO₂ film causes optical absorption signal in UV region with peak absorption wavelength at around 320 nm when contacting H₂-N₂ samples at high temperatures. This SnO₂ thin film does not respond to other reducing gases, such as CO, CH₄ and other hydrocarbons, at high temperatures within the tested temperature range from 300 °C to 800 °C. The response of the sensing probe is fast (within seconds). Replenishing of the oxygen in tin oxide was demonstrated by switching the gas flow from H₂-N₂ mixture to pure nitrogen and compressed air. It takes about 20 min for the absorption signal to decrease to the baseline after the gas sample was switched to pure nitrogen, while the absorption signal decreased quickly (in 5 min) to the baseline after switching to compressed air. The adhesion of tin oxide thin films is found to be improved by pre-coating a thin layer of silica gel on the optical fiber. Adhesion increases due to increase interaction of optical fiber surface and the coated silica gel and tin oxide film. Optical absorption spectra of SnO₂ coating doped with 5 wt% MoO₃ were observed to change and red-shifted from 320 nm to 600 nm. SnO₂ thin film promoted with 1 wt% Pt was found to be sensitive to CH₄ containing gas.     

Gas-sensing properties of Fe2−xTixO3+γ (x = 0–1.4)

As part of a systematic study of mechanisms of response of semiconducting oxides as trace gas sensors, we have explored the behaviour of iron–titanium oxide solid solutions Fe_2−xTi_xO₃ (x = 0.1–1.4). The materials were single-phase for x = 0.1 with increasing proportions of a pseudobrookite second phase at higher degree of substitution. Unmodified, pure iron oxide does not show sensitivity to CO. A significant signal was developed for x = 0.1, that then diminished with increasing x and was lost for x = 1.4. Three effects have been deduced important for the gas response: significant surface segregation of Ti at low Ti content; grain growth inhibition and agglomeration into more massive, non-porous lumps as Ti content increased; and the appearance of a band-gap state associated with Fe(II) at higher Ti content. The effects of microstructure change have been analyzed by fitting the data to a simple 2-resistor model of gas-insensitive ‘grains’ in series with gas-sensitive ‘grain boundaries’. A Mars–van Krevelen type model for the response is presented, based on reactions at surface-segregated defect clusters, to develop and remove electrically-active surface trap states.     

Phase equilibrium for clathrate hydrates formed from an ozone + oxygen gas mixture coexisting with carbon tetrachloride or 1,1-dichloro-1-fluoroethane

This paper reports an attempt at acquiring phase-equilibrium pressure (p) versus temperature (T) data for ozone-containing clathrate hydrates formed from an ozone + oxygen gas mixture, a hydrophobic hydrate-forming liquid, and water in the liquid state. For dealing with ozone (O₃), a chemically unstable material continuously decaying to oxygen (O₂) in the gas phase, we devised a new method, i.e., a modified pressure-search method, to determine the equilibrium p-T conditions while maintaining the ozone concentration in the gas phase nearly constant by repeatedly replacing the contents of the gas phase with a freshly generated O₃ + O₂ mixture. Using carbon tetrachloride (CCl₄) as the hydrophobic hydrate-forming liquid, we obtained equilibrium p-T data in the range of 0.167 MPa ≤ p ≤ 0.361 MPa and 275.6 K ≤ T ≤ 277.3 K in the presence of a gas phase containing O₃ at the molar concentration of 6.9 ± 0.8%. We also obtained, for comparison, the corresponding p-T data, using pure O₂ gas, instead of the O₃ + O₂ mixture, and the conventional pressure-search method. The two data groups obtained from the O₃-containing and O₃-free systems, respectively, show simple, mutually consistent p-T relations each well fitted by the Clausius-Clapeyron equation assuming a constant enthalpy of hydrate dissociation. The paper also describes our additional attempt at obtaining equilibrium p-T data using 1,1-dichloro-1-fluoroethane (R141b) as a substitute for CCl₄. Because of the partial decomposition of R141b due to the coexistence of O₃ and water, however, we obtained only limited data which are tentative in nature.     

High Pressure Adsorption Data of Methane, Nitrogen, Carbon Dioxide and their Binary and Ternary Mixtures on Activated Carbon

Adsorption equilibria of the gases CH₄, N₂, and CO₂ and their binary and ternary mixtures on activated carbon Norit R1 Extra have been measured in the pressure range 0 P 6 MPa at T = 298 K. Pure gas adsorption equilibria were measured gravimetrically. Coadsorption data of the three binary mixtures CH₄/N₂, CH₄/CO₂, and CO₂/N₂ were obtained by the volume-gravimetric method. Isotherms of five ternary mixtures CH₄/CO₂/N₂ were measured using the volumetric-chromatographic method. First, we present in a short overview the method and procedure of measurement. In a second part, the measured data of pressures, surface excess amounts adsorbed and absolute amounts adsorbed are presented and analyzed. In the last part of the paper the resulting pure gas adsorption data are correlated using a generalized dual-site Langmuir isotherm. Mixture adsorption can be predicted by this model using only pure component parameters with fair accuracy. Results are presented and discussed in several tables and figures.     

H2S sensing properties of nanocrystalline Sr2FeO.6NiO.4MoO6 thick film prepared by sol-gel citrate method

Nanocrystalline Sr₂FeMoO₆ (SFMO) belonging to the group of double perovskite oxides, was prepared by the sol-gel citrate method. The structural and microstructural characterization has been carried out with the help of X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM), respectively. XRD of Sr₂Fe_1−xNi_xMoO₆ (SFNMO) shows the formation of solid solution with average grain size of about 40 nm. A comparative study of gas sensing behaviour of Sr₂FeMoO₆ and Sr₂Fe_1−xNi_xMoO₆ with reducing gases like hydrogen sulfide (H₂S), liquid petroleum gas (LPG), hydrogen (H₂), ethanol (C₂H₅OH) and carbon monoxide (CO) were also discussed. The sensitivity is calculated by measuring the change the resistance of the sensor material in the presence of gas. Among the different composition of x (x = 0.2, 0.3, 0.4, 0.5), Sr₂Fe_0.6Ni_0.4MoO₆ (x = 0.4) shows better response to H₂S gas at 260 °C. Incorporation of palladium (Pd) improves the gas response, selectivity, response time and reduced the operating temperature from 260 to 220 °C for H₂S gas.     

Preparation of titania microfiltration membranes supported on porous Ti–Al alloys

A TiO₂ membrane supported on a planar porous Ti–Al alloy was prepared by combination of electrophoretic deposition and dip-coating. In the electrophoretic deposition process, the membrane thickness increased linearly with the square root of the deposition time, while increased with decrease of the suspension viscosity. The perfect TiO₂/Ti–Al composite membrane was obtained by further dip-coating modification. SEM images showed that the surface of the membrane was defect-free. XRD result indicated that rutile TiO₂ still remained in the membrane bulk as the main phase, while a new phase titanium oxides with the form of Ti_xO_y, where y is less than 2x, was also observed. The supported TiO₂/Ti–Al composite membrane had an average pore size of 0.28 μm, a thickness of 40 μm or so and a pure water flux of 3037 L m⁻² h⁻¹ bar⁻¹.     

Effect of variation in argon content of calibration gases on determination of atmospheric carbon dioxide

Carbon dioxide (CO₂) is a greenhouse gas that makes by far the largest contribution to the global warming of the Earth's atmosphere. For the measurements of atmospheric CO₂ a non-dispersive infrared analyzer (NDIR) and gas chromatography are conventionally being used. We explored whether and to what degree argon content can influence the determination of atmospheric CO₂ using the comparison of CO₂ concentrations between the sample gas mixtures with varying Ar amounts at 0 and 18.6 mmol mol⁻¹ and the calibration gas mixtures with Ar at 8.4, 9.1, and 9.3 mmol mol⁻¹. We newly discovered that variation of Ar content in calibration gas mixtures could undermine accuracy for precise and accurate determination of atmospheric CO₂ in background air. The differences in CO₂ concentration due to the variation of Ar content in the calibration gas mixtures were negligible (<±0.03 μmol mol⁻¹) for NDIR systems whereas they noticeably increased (<±1.09 μmol mol⁻¹) especially for the modified GC systems to enhance instrumental sensitivity. We found that the thermal mass flow controller is the main source of the differences although such differences appeared only in the presence of a flow restrictor in GC systems. For reliable monitoring of real atmospheric CO₂ samples, one should use calibration gas mixtures that contain Ar content close to the level (9.332 mmol mol⁻¹) in the ambient air as possible. Practical guidelines were highlighted relating to selection of appropriate analytical approaches for the accurate and precise measurements of atmospheric CO₂. In addition, theoretical implications from the findings were addressed.     

Cobalt-doped silica membranes for gas separation

Cobalt-doped silica membranes were synthesized using tetraethyl orthosilicate-derived sol mixed with cobalt nitrate hexahydrate. The cobalt-doped silica structural characterization showed the formation of crystalline Co₃O₄ and silanol groups upon calcination. The metal oxide phase was sequentially reduced at high temperature in rich hydrogen atmosphere resulting in the production of high quality membranes. The cobalt concentration was almost constant throughout the film depth, though the silica to cobalt ratio changed from 33:1 at the surface to 7:1 at the interface with the alumina layer. It is possible that cobalt has more affinity to alumina, thus forming CoOAl₂O₃. The He/N₂ selectivities reached 350 and 570 at 160 °C for dry and 100 °C wet gas testing, respectively. Subsequent exposure to water vapour, the membranes was regenerated under dry gas condition and He/N₂ selectivities significantly improved to 1100. The permeation of gases generally followed a temperature dependency flux or activated transport, with best helium permeation and activation energy results of 9.5 × 10⁻⁸ mol m⁻² s⁻¹ Pa⁻¹ and 15 kJ mol⁻¹. Exposure of the membranes to water vapour led to a reduction in the permeation of nitrogen, attributed to water adsorption and structural changes of the silica matrix. However, the overall integrity of the cobalt-doped silica membrane was retained, given an indication that cobalt was able to counteract to some extent the effect of water on the silica matrix. These results show the potential for metal doping to create membranes suited for industrial gas separation.     

Effect of the preparation conditions on the formation of asymmetric poly(vinylidene fluoride) hollow fibre membranes with a dense skin

Integrally skinned asymmetric poly(vinylidene fluoride) hollow fibre membranes were prepared and characterized. The effects of phase inversion methods (dry-wet or wet) and spinning conditions, such as the type of solvent (NMP, DMAc), the concentration of polymer in dope solution, temperature of the external coagulation bath and the composition of the inner coagulant on the morphology and on the formation of a dense skin layer were investigated. The structure of the membranes was analyzed by scanning electron microscopy and the gas permeation properties with six different gases (He, H₂, N₂, O₂, CH₄ and CO₂) were measured at 25 °C to confirm the integrity of the selective skin layer. Under the proper conditions highly selective and permeable PVDF hollow fibre membranes were thus obtained by dry-wet spinning of a 30 wt.% PVDF solution in DMAc, using hot water (50 °C) as the external coagulant and a bore fluid of pure water as the internal coagulant. The best membrane had a selective outer skin with an effective thickness of approximately 0.2 μm. The ideal selectivity of the hollow fibres approached or even exceeded the intrinsic ideal selectivity of a dense PVDF film, for instance the selectivity for He over N₂ was 86.2 for the hollow fibre, whereas it was 83.5 for a dense PVDF reference film. DSC and FT-IR/ATR analysis indicated a higher fraction of the β-crystal phase in the selective skin and a high overall crystallinity than in the melt-processed film. The latter explains the relatively high selectivity and low permeability of the membranes. Intrinsic polymer properties make the membranes also suitable for vapour transport than for gas separation.     

Validation of a method for the analysis of quinolones residues in bovine muscle by liquid chromatography with electrospray ionisation tandem mass spectrometry detection

A liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method for the determination and confirmation of nine quinolones was optimised and validated according to Commission Decision 2002/657/EC. Analytes were extracted from veal muscle with water and extracts purified with 96-well plates Oasis HLB cartridges. Separation was carried out in a silica-based C₁₈ column (50 mm × 2.1 mm) with mobile phases consisting of water/acetonitrile mixtures containing acetic acid. Linear calibration curves in the ranges 4-400 and 50-800 ng g⁻¹, with correlation coefficients at least 0.995, were obtained for all the analytes. At concentration levels above 10 ng g⁻¹, quantification errors were lower than 10% and repeatability and within-laboratory reproducibility standard deviations below 6% and 10%, respectively. Decision limits and detection capabilities are reported.     

A fiber optic sensor with a metal organic framework as a sensing material for trace levels of water in industrial gases

Industrial gases such as nitrogen, oxygen, argon, and helium are easily contaminated with water during production, transfer and use, because there is a high volume fraction of water in the atmosphere (approximately 1.2% estimated with the average annual atmospheric temperature and relative humidity). Even trace water (<1 parts per million by volume (ppmv) of H₂O, dew point < −76 °C) in the industrial gases can cause quality problems in the process such as production of semiconductors. Therefore, it is important to monitor and to control trace water levels in industrial gases at each supplying step, and especially during their use. In the present study, a fiber optic gas sensor was investigated for monitoring trace water levels in industrial gases. The sensor consists of a film containing a metal organic framework (MOF). MOFs are made of metals coordinated to organic ligands, and have mesoscale pores that adsorb gas molecules. When the MOF, copper benzene-1,3,5-tricarboxylate (Cu-BTC), was used as a sensing material, we investigated the color of Cu-BTC with water adsorption changed both in depth and tone. Cu-BTC crystals appeared deep blue in dry gases, and then changed to light blue in wet gases. An optical gas sensor with the Cu-BTC film was developed using a light emitting diode as the light source and a photodiode as the light intensity detector. The sensor showed a reversible response to trace water, did not require heating to remove the adsorbed water molecules. The sample gas flow rate did not affect the sensitivity. The obtained limit of detection was 40 parts per billion by volume (ppbv). The response time for sample gas containing 2.5 ppmvH₂O was 23 s. The standard deviation obtained for daily analysis of 1.0 ppmvH₂O standard gas over 20 days was 9%. Furthermore, the type of industrial gas did not affect the sensitivity. These properties mean the sensor will be applicable to trace water detection in various industrial gases.     

Modeling the thermodynamic and transport properties of decahydronaphthalene/propane mixtures: Phase equilibria, density, and viscosity

The density and viscosity of propane mixed with 66/34 trans/cis-decahydronaphthalene were measured over a wide range of temperatures (323-423 K), pressures (2.5-208 bar), and compositions (0-65 mol% propane). For conditions giving two phases, the composition of the dense phase was measured in addition to the density and viscosity. The modified Sanchez-Lacombe Equation of State (MSLEOS) was used with a single linearly temperature-dependent pseudo-binary interaction parameter to correlate the phase compositions and densities. The compositions and densities of the mixtures were captured well with absolute average deviations between the model and the data of 5.3% and 2.3%, respectively. The mixture viscosities were computed from a free volume model (FVM) by using a single constant binary interaction parameter. Density predictions from the MSLEOS were used as input mixture density values required for the FVM. The FVM was found to correlate well with the mixture viscosity data with an absolute average deviation between the model and the data of 5.7%.     

Solid phase extractive preconcentration coupled to gas chromatography-atomic emission detection for the determination of chlorophenols in water samples

Solid-phase extraction (SPE) followed by derivatization and gas chromatography-atomic emission detection (GC-AED) was evaluated for the determination of five chlorophenols (CPs) in water samples. The derivatization was based on the esterification of phenolic compounds with ferrocenecarboxylic acid. The determination of the derivatized phenols was performed by GC-AED in the iron selective detection mode at 302 nm. The described method was tested on spiked water samples.The overall method gave detection limits of 1.6-3.7 ng L⁻¹ and recoveries of 90.9-104.5% for the examined mono- to trichlorophenols in 10 mL water samples. The CPs extracted from a 10 mL water sample with SPE were concentrated into 100 μL of organic solvent, a preconcentration factor of 100. The method was applied to lake and tap water samples, and CP contents between 6 and 51 ng L⁻¹ in lake water and between below the detection limit and 8 ng L⁻¹ in tap water were found for different CPs. The method is quick, simple and gives excellent recoveries, limits of detection and standard deviations.