Risks Associated with Membranes in Olefin/Paraffin Separations

Purifying olefins from mixtures with paraffins constitutes one of the most energy intensive industrial separations. Industrial producers of ethylene have a significant desire to use membranes to remove bottlenecks within current separation trains, or to someday remove cryogenic distillation altogether. If acceptance of membranes into the ethylene industry is to be expedited, membrane designers must be made cognizant of the real world opportunities and constraints under which ethylene purification occurs. To facilitate the discussion between industry and the broader membrane community, we will discuss: Common configurations of distillation columns within an ethylene cracker separation train and where membranes could currently improve separations; the behavior of various membrane technologies relating to contaminants; and membrane derisking currently available in Dow.