Diffusion of Hydrocarbons in Zeolites

Understanding the adsorption, diffusivities and transport limitations of hydrocarbons inside zeolites is important for tailoring zeolites for desired applications. Knowledge about diffusion coefficients of hydrocarbons inside the micropores of zeolites is important in discriminating whether the transport process is micropore or macropore controlled. For example, if the diffusion rate is slow inside zeolite micropores, one can modify the post-synthesis treatment of zeolites such as calcination, steaming or acid leaching to create mesopores to enhance intracrystalline diffusion rates [223]. The connectivity of micro- and mesopores then becomes an 

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High sensitivity, fast response, and well-defined flow patterns make the TEOM an excellent tool for determining diffusivities of hydrocarbons in zeolites. Moreover, the TEOM has provided a unique capability for gaining knowledge about the effects of coke deposition on adsorption and diffusion under catalytic reaction conditions. An application of the TEOM in zeolite catalysis by combining several approaches mentioned above can lead to a much more detailed understanding of the catalytic processes, including the mechanisms of reaction, coke formation, and deactivation. 

Abstract Neutron scattering was first used to derive the self-diffusivities of hydrocarbons in zeolites, but transport diffusivities of deuterated molecules and of molecules which do not contain hydrogen atoms can now be measured. The technique allows one to probe diffusion over space scales ranging from a few A to hundreds of A. The mechanism of diffusion can, thus, be followed from the elementary jumps between adsorption sites to Lickian diffusion. The neutron spin-echo technique pushes down the lower limit of diffusion coefficients, traditionally accessible by neutron methods, by two orders of magnitude. The neutron scattering results indicate that the corrected diffusivity is rarely constant and that it follows neither the Darken approximation nor the lattice gas model. The clear minimum and maximum in diffusivity observed by neutron spin-echo for n-alkanes in 5A zeolite is reminiscent of the controversial window effect . 

Nonradioactive isotopes may also be used but are somewhat less convenient since it is then necessary to follow the progress of the exchange by mass spectromctvic analysis of the surrounding vapor. This method was used by Quig and Rees > and Lindsley and Rees to study the self-diffusion of hydrocarbons in zeolite A and chabazitc. 

Ab Initio force field CFF91-CZEO, PCFF Force field for zeolite frameworks 25, 26, 29 31, 32 Adsorption and diffusion of hydrocarbons in zeolites Structure and spectra of silica and aluminum-phosphates 30... 

Xiao J and Wei J. Diffusion mechanism of hydrocarbons in zeolites 2. Analysis of experimental-observations. Chem Eng Sci 1992 47 1143-1159. 

E. J. M. Hensen, A. M. de Jong, and R. A. van Santen have written Chapter 7, which introduces the tracer exchange positron emission profiling (TEX-PEP) as an attractive technique for in-situ investigations, for example, in a stainless steel reactor, of the adsorption and diffusive properties of hydrocarbons in zeolites under chemical steady-state conditions. Self-diffusion coefficients of hydrocarbons, labeled by proton-emitting C at finite loadings and even in the presence of another imlabeled alkane, may be extracted. The method is illustrated by adsorption and diffusion measurements of linear (n-hexane) and branched (2-methylpentane) alkanes in Fl-ZSM-5 and silicalite-1. 

Malka-Edery, A., Abdullah, K., Grenier Ph., and Meunier F., Influence of traces of water on adsorption and diffusion of hydrocarbons in NaX zeolite, Adsorption, 1, 17-25, 2001. 

The 2D spin diffusion NMR experiment allows us to examine further the spectral assigments obtained from the ID and the 2D J-resolved experiments [51]. It also provides new details concerning distribution of hydrocarbons in zeolite ZSM-5. Spectral spin diffusion in the solid state involves simultaneous flip-flop transitions of dipolar-... 

Xiao, J. and Wei, J. (1992) Diffusion mechanism of hydrocarbons in zeolites-I. Theory, Chemical Engineering Science, 47,1123-1141. 

Chimie, C.R. (2005) Infrared spectroscopic investigation of diffusion, co-diffusion and counter-diffusion of hydrocarbon molecules in zeolites. Elsevier, Comptes Rendus Chimie, 8, 303-319. 

Auerbach et al. (101) used a variant of the TST model of diffusion to characterize the motion of benzene in NaY zeolite. The computational efficiency of this method, as already discussed for the diffusion of Xe in NaY zeolite (72), means that long-time-scale motions such as intercage jumps can be investigated. Auerbach et al. used a zeolite-hydrocarbon potential energy surface that they recently developed themselves. A Si/Al ratio of 3.0 was assumed and the potential parameters were fitted to reproduce crystallographic and thermodynamic data for the benzene-NaY zeolite system. The functional form of the potential was similar to all others, including a Lennard-Jones function to describe the short-range interactions and a Coulombic repulsion term calculated by Ewald summation. 

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