화학공학소재연구정보센터
Chemistry and Technology of Fuels and Oils, Vol.51, No.3, 245-251, 2015
Experimental Failure-Mechanism Analysis of 4A Zeolites Used for Natural-Gas Drying
Scanning electron microscopic (SEM), nitrogen absorption-desorption, and thermogravimetric experiments were conducted on one fresh 4A zeolite and three regenerated 4A zeolite samples taken from the top, middle, and bottom of a natural-gas dehydration bed. The results showed that parts of the regenerated zeolite are blocked due to collapse of the zeolite structure. As a result, the specific surface area, average pore volume, and average pore diameter of regenerated zeolite taken from the middle of the dehydration bed are less by about 59.15, 68.36, and 32.12%, respectively, than those of fresh zeolite. Because water molecules cannot enter the internal pores due to blockage caused by collapse of the zeolite structure, the gas-dehydration performance of the regenerated zeolites is reduced. Thermogravimetric analysis of zeolites that adsorbed water showed that the water-adsorption performance of the regenerated zeolites is 35.53% less and the hydrocarbon-adsorption performance of these zeolites is 18.95% greater than those of fresh zeolite.