4. Conclusions
In this work, two binary gas mixtures C2H4/C2H6 (59:41) and CO2/CH4 (10:90) were separated by adsorption on Na-ETS-10 at 22 1C and 101.325 kPa. Na-ETS-10 was regenerated using microwave and conductive heating desorption and the desorbed gas was collected. Results show that microwave desorption can regenerate Na-ETS-10 more efficiently than conventional temperature swing regeneration such as conductive heating. Swing capacity achieved in microwave heating is higher than that of conductive heating. For both heating techniques swing capacity is not affected by successive heating cycles. During microwave desorption, 94% of the adsorbed C2H4/C2H6 and 71% of the adsorbed CO2/CH4 mixture were recovered. On the other hand, during desorption with conductive heating, 71.4% C2H4/C2H6 and 57.2% CO2/CH4 were recovered. Microwave desorption required an average of 0.7 kJ/g Na-ETS-10 during 8 min of heating while conductive heating required 7.7–7.9 kJ/g Na-ETS-10 during 22 min of heating. Results show that microwave desorption is characterized by faster heating, higher desorption rate, and lower energy consumption compared to desorption with conductive heating. Therefore, microwave heating can potentially be used as a cheaper energy source to regenerate Na-ETS-10 for adsorptive separation of binary gas mixtures such as C2H4/C2H6 and CO2/CH4.