Synthesis of low-cost NaY zeolites from coal ash and their performance on C1-C4 hydrocarbons adsorption and separation

作者：Liujing Yang, Xiaoling Zheng, Yang Wang, Yucheng Wang, Yingying Zhu, Xinbao Li · 发表于：Energy Sources, Part A: Recovery, Utilization, and Environmental Effects · 年份：2024 · DOI：10.1080/15567036.2024.2356286 · 被引用次数：1

ABSTRACT Light hydrocarbons (C1-C4) are valuable by-products of fossil fuel extraction, with potential for diverse applications after separation and purification. NaY zeolite is an appealing material widely employed for the separation of alkanes and alkenes, but its high cost is a concern. Here we presented a facile low-cost NaY zeolites preparation method from solid waste coal ash (CAY zeolite). We investigated the effect of coal ash dosage on the catalyst structure through XRD and SEM analysis, finding the addition of coal ash promotes the formation of a porous spherical structure in NaY zeolite. In addition, a performance test on the adsorption of C1-C4 was conducted for synthesized CAY zeolite. Remarkably, CAY-3, CAY-3.5 and CAY-4 exhibited minimal adsorption for C1 and C2 compounds but showed a notable adsorption capacity of 4.61 cm3/g for C4 compounds. The CAY series also demonstrated good separation performance for C3H6/C3H8 and C4H8/C4H10. Specifically, CAY-3.5 demonstrated a selectivity of 7.09 for C3H6/C3H8, while CAY-6 showed a selectivity of 5.95 for C4H8/C4H10. Therefore, the synthesized coal ash-based CAY zeolite series exhibits promising potential for cost-effective and efficient practical applications. GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT