Theoretical and Experimental Studies on Acetylene Absorption in a Polytetrafluoroethylene Hollow-Fiber Membrane Contactor

The separation of acetylene from a gas mixture was investigated using a polytetrafluoroethylene hollow-fiber membrane contactor and 1-methyl-2-pyrrolidinone as absorbent. The effects of the gas velocity, the liquid velocity, the feed gas concentration, and the module length on the acetylene mass transfer were investigated. The results showed that the acetylene mass transfer flux increased with increasing liquid velocity, gas velocity, and feed gas concentration, but decreased with increasing membrane module length. A mathematical model was used to predict the wetting extent of the membrane and the mass transfer resistance in the acetylene mass transfer process. The wetting extent of the membrane was found to increase with increasing liquid velocity and to be effectively restrained with increasing gas velocity. The liquid phase resistance and the wetted-membrane phase resistance controlled the acetylene mass transfer in the acetylene absorption process. The acetylene absorption efficiency was maintained at 90% for 114 h of the C2H2 membrane absorption-thermal desorption cycle process.