Separation by Thermal Diffusion of Mixtures of Gases Having the Same Molecular Weight

Abstract

Separations by means of thermal diffusion of mixtures of gases having the same molecular weight have been investigated experimentally and theoretically. Six pairs of gases were considered, namely: CO2–C3H8, CO2–N2O, N2O–C3H8, CO–C2H4, CO–N2, and N2–C2H4. The experiments were carried out in a thermal diffusion column 274 cm long. Assuming the molecules to behave as rigid elastic spheres, theoretical calculations were made for the various combinations and the results compared with the experiments. Except for the pair CO2–N2O, the theory and experiment agree as to order of magnitude and direction of separation.