Study of hydrogen-helium permeability of silicate microspheres and sorbent based of them

The work is devoted to research on the applicability of the membrane-sorption method for the separation of hydrogen-helium mixtures. The sorption dependences of hydrogen and helium absorption were experimentally obtained for synthetic hollow microspheres made of sodium borosilicate glass of the MS-V-1L type, silica microspheres and granular sorbent based on MS-V-1L microspheres. A significant difference in the rates of sorption processes of hydrogen and helium for the sorbents under study was shown. Based on the gas diffusion model, the kinetic characteristics of absorption, permeability and selectivity coefficients, and dynamic characteristics of the processes of sorption of hydrogen and helium of helium-hydrogen mixtures of various compositions by these sorbents were determined. For silica microspheres, the selectivity coefficient with respect to hydrogen and helium at $T = 24\,^\circ$C exceeds $130$, and for a granular sorbent based on MS-V-1L microspheres it is about $1000$ at $T = $110$\,^\circ$C. The high selectivity values of the studied sorbents confirm the possibility and efficiency of using the membrane-sorption method for the separation of hydrogen-helium mixtures.