Bookmark This … Linda H. Hall Research Service

“Hypothetical questions get hypothetical answers.” -- Joan Baez (American Singer and Song Writer, b.1941)

Let me pose a hypothetical … let’s say a colleague sends you the following abstract …
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Liquefied petroleum gas desulfurization by HTBN/PAN composite membrane
Jian Chen, Jinxun Chen, Jiding Li, Xiaolong Han, Xia Zhan, Cuixian Chen
Email: Jiding Li (lijiding@mail.tsinghua.edu.cn)
DOI: 10.1002/app.32145
Journal of Applied Polymer Science
Volume 117, Issue 4, pages 2472–2479, 15 August 2010
Keywords:HTBN;PAN;desulfurization;liquefied petroleum gas;membranes
Abstract
Hydroxyl-terminated polybutadiene/acrylonitrile (HTBN) polymer material was selected for deep desulfurization of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) according to the solubility parameter method, and then crosslinked HTBN membranes were prepared, in which asymmetric polyacrylonitrile (PAN) membranes prepared with phase inversion method acted as the microporous supporting layer in the flat-plate composite membrane. The different function compositions of composite membranes were characterized by reflection FTIR in order to investigate the crosslinking reaction. The surface and section of composite membranes were investigated by scanning electron microscope (SEM). The composite membranes prepared in this study were used in LPG for deep desulfurization. Effects of amount of HTBN and operation pressure on the desulfurization efficiency of LPG were investigated experimentally. Experiment results demonstrated that with the membrane having a HTBN layer of 11 μm, permeability parameter of methyl mercaptan came to 17,002 Barrer and that of hydrocarbon came to 504 Barrer at 30 wt % of HTBN and 0.25 MPa, which showed that the membrane used to desulfurization in LPG can achieve high-removal efficiency. These results demonstrated that the membrane separation method could be significant in practical application for deep desulfurization of LPG. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2010
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You are intrigued. You would like to find more articles describing the use of membranes to desulfurize petroleum feedstocks. But you are busy with 10 other projects. What can you do to leverage your time?

Contact your corporate librarian. That’s why your organization has a library … to leverage the time of professionals like you.

But what if your organization does not employ a librarian? Consider using an outside source, like the Linda Hall Library (LHL) (http://www.lindahall.org). The Linda Hall Library, a not-for-profit, privately funded institution, is the world's foremost independent research library devoted to science, engineering and technology. LHL Direct (http://www.lindahall.org/services/lhldirect/index.shtml offers research service at the rate of $50.00 / hour, plus online charges.

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Jean Steinhardt is an Independent Information Professional. Follow his Desulfurization Blog (http://www.desulf.blogspot.com/) for more online research tips and tricks … and invite your colleagues to do the same.