Adsorptive Separation of Olefin/Paraffin Mixtures with ZIF-4

Langmuir. 2015 Nov 17;31(45):12382-9. doi: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.5b02907. Epub 2015 Nov 2.

Abstract

The microporous zeolitic imidazolate framework ZIF-4 has been synthesized, and its ethylene/ethane and propylene/propane separation potentials have been evaluated by single-component adsorption isotherms and breakthrough experiments of the respective binary mixtures. In all experiments, a higher selectivity for the paraffin is observed that is manifested by a steeper equilibrium isotherm as well as a later breakthrough in the fixed-bed adsorber experiments. Microporous adsorbents with paraffin selectivity are rare but highly interesting for cyclic adsorption processes such as pressure-swing adsorption (PSA).