Ye Hongfei, Li Dong, Ye Xin, Zheng Yonggang, Zhang Zhongqiang, Zhang Hongwu, Chen Zhen
International Research Center for Computational Mechanics, State Key Laboratory of Structural Analysis for Industrial Equipment, Department of Engineering Mechanics, Faculty of Vehicle Engineering and Mechanics, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian, 116024, P.R. China.
Micro/Nano Science and Technology Center, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, 210013, P.R. China.
Sci Rep. 2019 May 14;9(1):7380. doi: 10.1038/s41598-019-43751-0.
The mixture separation is of fundamental importance in the modern industry. The membrane-based separation technology has attracted considerable attention due to the high efficiency, low energy consumption, etc. However, the tradeoff between the permeability and selectivity is a crucial challenge, which is also difficult to adjust during the separation process. Based on the salt water-filled carbon nanotubes, a separation membrane with the adjustable molecular channels by the electric field is proposed in this work. The separation mechanism is clarified on the basis of the characteristic size of the molecular channel and the overall effective diameter of gas molecules. The molecular dynamics simulation is performed to examine the feasibility and validity of the designed separation membrane. The simulations on the binary gas mixture (H and N) reveal the flow control and high-purity separation as the electric field intensity varies. As for the mixed gas with the three components (H, N and Xe), the successive separations and the switch between the high-efficiency and high-purity separation could be achieved only through adjusting the electric field intensity. This work incorporates the control into the membrane-based separation technology, which provides a novel solution for the complex industrial separation requirement.
混合物分离在现代工业中至关重要。基于膜的分离技术因其高效、低能耗等特点而备受关注。然而，渗透率和选择性之间的权衡是一个关键挑战，在分离过程中也难以调节。基于充满盐水的碳纳米管，本文提出了一种通过电场调节分子通道的分离膜。基于分子通道的特征尺寸和气体分子的整体有效直径阐明了分离机制。进行分子动力学模拟以检验所设计分离膜的可行性和有效性。对二元气体混合物（H₂和N₂）的模拟揭示了随着电场强度变化的流量控制和高纯度分离。对于具有三种组分（H₂、N₂和Xe）的混合气体，仅通过调节电场强度就可以实现连续分离以及高效和高纯度分离之间的切换。这项工作将控制纳入基于膜的分离技术，为复杂的工业分离需求提供了一种新颖的解决方案。
