Xenon and krypton separation in a chromatographic column packed with granulated nano NaY zeolite

In order to investigate the gas separation ability of a column packed with nanozeolitic material, nano NaY zeolite was synthesized and granulated. These uniform granules packed in a chromatographic column were utilized for separation of Xe and Kr under various operating conditions. With regards to the response peaks obtained from trace injections of Xe and Kr into the column, the first and second normalized moments of peaks were calculated. Moreover, the height equivalent to a theoretical plate (HETP) for the column was determined. The results illustrated that the retention time of Xe was remarkably greater than Kr indicating that, the nano NaY zeolite was a good choice as an adsorbent in Kr and Xe separation process. Moreover, a simple and temperature dependent correlation was derived to predict the HETP for the packed column. Ultimately, the calculated HETP values were in a good agreement with experimental data.