1.

Adsorption and Diffusion of Light Hydrocarbons in DDR Zeolite This presentation showed the results of an experimental study aimed at characterizing the transport properties of DDR crystals like pure silica zeolite by the zero length column technique. This material is potentially useful as a size selective molecular sieve adsorbent for separation of CH4 CO2 in the upgrading of low grade natural gas or bio- gas as well as for the separation of C3H6 - C3H8 for production of polypropylene. In both of these applications pure silica zeolites such as DDR have important practical advantages over the traditional cationic zeolites since they are hydrophobic and have low catalytic activity. (Vidoni, 2011) Intra crystalline diffusivities of CH4 in DDR were measured for the single component system and in the presence of an excess of CO2. In contrast to the predictions from recent molecular simulations the experimental data show that the diffusivity of methane is increased by the presence of CO2. This is as expected from transition state theory if CH4 and CO2 are competitively adsorbed. In contrast the data for C2H6 and C2H4 show no significant difference in diffusivity in the presence of CO2, suggesting non-competitive adsorption. This result can be explained if it is assumed that C2 hydrocarbon molecules occupy preferentially the window sites. The equilibrium isotherms provide tentative support for this hypothesis. Some of the samples showed evidence of significant surface resistance to mass transfer in addition to intra crystalline diffusional resistance. This led to a further development of the mathematical model used to analyze the ZLC response curves and hence to an extension of the ZLC technique to allow the simultaneous measurement of both the surface rate coefficient and the intra crystalline diffusivity. A detailed study of CO2 equilibrium on several different samples of both DDR and silicate was also undertaken in order to determine the effect of surface hydroxyl content. (Vidoni, 2011)

2. Water Vapor Permeability of Modified Cellulose Fiber-based Materials

In this presentation, mass transfer properties of fiber network and coated paper were studied for essential understanding of the barrier properties of the products and further advance in their application. Different unmodified and coated papers were prepared and characterized with regard to mass transfer properties. Water vapor, carbon dioxide (CO2) and oxygen (O2) transmission rates through the cellulose paper films were measured and the results were discussed. The effects of sample film thickness and temperature on water vapor transmission rates (WVTRs) were also examined. The WVTRs were found to be strongly dependent on the temperature and the relative humidity difference (mass transfer driving force). On the other hand water vapor permeabilitys (WVPs) were found independent of relative humidity. (Bedane, Huang, Xiao, & Eic, 2012) It was important to understand how textural properties of various cellulose fiber materials, e.g., physically and chemically treated paper can affect gas and water vapor properties, such as diffusion, transmission rate and permeability. The main objectives of this study are to: Measure WVTRs on wood-fiber samples by using different driving forces in investigations and to analyze the results with regard to potential application for the packaging purposes. Measure the diffusivity of water vapor from uptake rate measurements and analyze the mechanisms of mass transfer of the investigated samples. Measure CO2 and O2 transmission rates through the selected paper samples. Modified paper samples showed lower water vapor and gas transfer rates as well as lower effective water vapor diffusivities. Amongst the modified papers, PLA paper has the lowest water vapor and O2/CO2 transmission rates, which renders it the best candidate for food packaging use. Zein grafted paper showed reduced water vapor and O2 transmission rates compared to unmodified sample. Zein grafted paper also showed better barrier property for water vapor than O2. This is possibly due to less hydrophilic character of Zein grafted on the paper which affects the water vapor transport more than O2. At low moisture contents, the obtained effective water vapor diffusivities were basically independent of relative humidity. At higher humidity levels, the diffusivities strongly depend on the moisture content . This varied behavior could be explained by the different transport mechanisms at different relative humidity levels. (Bedane, Huang, Xiao, & Eic, 2012)

Works Cited
Bedane, A. H., Huang, Q., Xiao, H., & Eic, M. (2012). Mass transfer of water vapor, carbon dioxide and oxygen on modified cellulose fiber-based materials. Paper Physics. Vidoni, A. (2011). Adsorption and Diffusion of Light Hydrocarbons in DDR Zeolite. The University of Maine.