Analysis of hydrocarbon gas sorption and transport in ethyl cellulose using the dual sorption/partial immobilization models

Abstract

Low pressure sorption and transport data reported by Barrer et al. [1] for various C4 and C5 hydrocarbons in ethyl cellulose are analyzed in terms of current models of sorption and transport in glassy polymers. The popular dual sorption model, which was first qualitatively justified by these investigators, is used to estimate the frozen free volume fraction in the polymer which can accommodate Langmuir sorption. New CO2 sorption data in ethyl cellulose are also presented and shown to be consistent with the dual sorption model and the frozen free volume fraction estimated from the hydrocarbon sorption. p]Transport of the hydrocarbons in ethyl cellulose is adequately described in terms of the partial immobilization model which attributes mobilities to each of the two sorbed species. The ratio of the mobility of the Langmuir species to that of the Henry's law species was found to be considerably less than unity for all of the gases.