Comparison of Microporous and Mesoporous molecular sieves in order to separation of Chlorophyll from mixture of Chlorophyll and Carotene

In this work, microporous (Zeolite A, X and HS) and mesoporous (MCM-41, F-MCM-41 and MCM-48) silicate materials were used as adsorbants to separate the chlorophyll-a (Chl-a) from the mixture of Chl-a and β-carotene (β-Car). The adsorbent capacities were determined to be MCM-41~ MCM-48>F-MCM- 41>Zeolite X> Zeolite A > Zeolite HS. It was found that the mesoporous MCM-41 and MCM-48 selectively adsorb the Chl-a from β-Car. The adsorbed Chl-a on MCM-41 can be extracted by polar MeOH solvent. No degradation of MCM-41 was observed during the course of separation process. Powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis and N2 adsorption-desorption isotherm experiments showed that the well ordered hexagonal structure of MCM-41 is present and surface area, pore volume and pore diameter have been decreased after adsorption.