LIGHT N-PARAFFINS SEPARATION BY INVERSE GAS CHROMATOGRAPHY WITH CUBAN VOLCANIC GLASS

ABSTRACT In this work the applicability of a natural volcanic glass (technological type I material) from Cuba is investigated as adsorbent for separation of mixtures of C1-(C5; C6; C7; C8; C9) hydrocarbons by inverse gas chromatography under flow conditions in a temperature range of 328-343 K. The experimental results indicated that the material was mainly composed of silica and, in a lower proportion, of alumina, that provided surface Si-OH and Al-OH groups to favor the interaction and separation of the different components of paraffin mixtures. In fact, the calculated heats of adsorption were high enough to facilitate the separation procedure. The high availability and low cost of these materials make them potential and attractive candidates to be used in large scale applications.