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 we...