High-Performance Olefin-Paraffin Separation Membranes

1 High-Performance Olefin-Paraffin Separation Membranes 

The olefins ethylene and propylene are highly important synthetic chemicals in the petrochemical industry. Large quantities of such chemicals are used as feedstock in the production of polyethylene, polypropylene, and so on [31]. The prime source of lower olefins is the olefin-paraffin mixtures from steam cracking or fluid catalytic cracking in the refining process [32]. Such mixtures are intrinsically difficult to 

Another important factor that distinguishes this separation is that it is not environmentally or economically feasible to simply return a rejected stream to the environment, as in a typical aqueous RO process where the brine can be returned to the ocean. The federal regulations mandate that C02 emissions from refineries and chemical plants be reduced to low levels therefore, facilities can no longer afford to dispose of waste hydrocarbon streams in their flare systems. Pure streams from polyolefin reactors and vents from polymer-storage facilities, which were once flared, must be redirected to recovery systems. To reduce the economic penalty of environmental compliance, these paraffin and olefin mixtures must be recovered and recycled. In other words, two products must be made, a useful fuel and a useful chemical product, hence more process engineering is required in order to achieve such an objective. 

The first-generation membranes investigated include polymeric membranes and polymer/silver salt composite membranes. Polymers such as cellulose acetate, polysulfone, PDMS, and polyethylene show very poor separation-performance 

The preceding discussions illustrate that membranes have shown great potential as an alternative for olefin/paraffin separation, yet the performance of current membranes is insufficient for commercial deployment of this technology. Advanced material development is highly desired to improve the membrane properties and reduce cost. Another possible approach involves hybrid membranes with zeolites or CMS incorporated in a continuous polymer phase. More discussion in this regard will be covered later in this chapter. 

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This cost differential can be tolerated only in applications in which polymeric membranes completely fail in the separation [78]. Demanding separation applications, where zeolite membranes could be justified, due to the high temperatures involved or the added value of the components, and have been tested at laboratory scale, are the following separation of isomers (i.e., butane isomers, xylene isomers), organic vapor separations, carbon dioxide from methane, LNG (liquefied natural gas) removal, olefines/paraffins and H2 from mixtures. In most cases, the separation is based on selective diffusion, selective adsorption, pore-blocking effects, molecular sieving, or combinations thereof. The performance or efficiency of a membrane in a mixture is determined by two parameters the separation selectivity and the permeation flux through the membrane. 

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