Membrane systems for energy efficient separation of light gases
- Los Alamos National Lab., NM (United States); and others
Ethylene and propylene are two of the largest commodity chemicals in the United States and are major building blocks for the petrochemicals industry. These olefins are separated currently by cryogenic distillation which demands extremely low temperatures and high pressures. Over 75 billion pounds of ethylene and propylene are distilled annually in the US at an estimated energy requirement of 400 trillion BTU`s. Non-domestic olefin producers are rapidly constructing state-of-the-art plants. These energy-efficient plants are competing with an aging United States olefins industry in which 75% of the olefins producers are practicing technology that is over twenty years old. New separation opportunities are therefore needed to continually reduce energy consumption and remain competitive. Amoco has been a leader in incorporating new separation technology into its olefins facilities and has been aggressively pursuing non-cryogenic alternatives to light gas separations. The largest area for energy reduction is the cryogenic isolation of the product hydrocarbons from the reaction by-products, methane and hydrogen. This separation requires temperatures as low as {minus}150{degrees}F and pressures exceeding 450 psig. This CRADA will focus on developing a capillary condensation process to separate olefinic mixtures from light gas byproducts at temperatures that approach ambient conditions and at pressures less than 250 psig; this technology breakthrough will result in substantial energy savings. The key technical hurdle in the development of this novel separation concept is the precise control of the pore structure of membrane materials. These materials must contain specially-shaped channels in the 20-40A range to provide the driving force necessary to remove the condensed hydrocarbon products. In this project, Amoco is the technology end-user and provides the commercialization opportunity and engineering support.
- Research Organization:
- Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
- OSTI ID:
- 494118
- Report Number(s):
- ORNL/TM-13399; ON: DE97005392; TRN: 97:003310-0014
- Resource Relation:
- Other Information: PBD: Apr 1997; Related Information: Is Part Of Advanced Industrial Materials (AIM) program. Annual progress report. FY 1996; PB: 292 p.
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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