Preparation and permeability of ZSM-35 zeolite membranes on porous stainless steel tubes

ZSM-35 zeolite membranes were prepared on porous stainless steel tubes with silica sol and tetraethoxysilane as silica source, and with 1-butylamine and ethylenediamine as templates, respectively. The characterization of X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) showed that the membranes prepared with ethylenediamine as the template displayed growth orientation with their crystal planes (h00) parallel to the support surface. The single-component permeability tests of H2, N2 and C3H8 showed that the membranes synthesized with ethylenediamine as the template, compared with those with 1-butylamine as the template, showed relatively higher permeation rates and ideal separation factors, and above their corresponding ideal Knudsen diffusion factors, which might be attributed to the different growth orientation of zeolite membranes synthesized with different templates.