THE ADSORPTION PROPERTIES OF NAY ZEOLITE FOR SEPARATION OF AROMATIC TRIAZOLES

The zeolite molecular sieve Na-Y was investigated for its ability to separate benzotriazole (BTZ) from tolyltriazole (TTZ). The method used was a liquid phase slurry where activated zeolite was added to a solvent mixture containing the components to be separated. The liquid samples were analysed by FTIR spectroscopy before and after the adsorption to determine the uptake of the components. The zeolite was shown to adsorb both the additives BTZ and TTZ. The solvent effects on the adsorption of BTZ were investigated showing that maximum uptake was achieved using diisopropyl ether, in preference to isobutyl acetate or 2,6 dimethylheptan-4-one. Increasing the experimental temperature indicated that the uptake of BTZ could be increased in the solvents isobutyl acetate and 2,6-dimethylheptan-4-one. It was shown that BTZ was preferentially adsorbed to TTZ, from mixtures of the two with a selectivity of the order of two.