SBIR Phase II: Novel Zeolite Membranes for Olefin/Paraffin Separation

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project, if successful, could facilitate significant energy and cost savings for olefin manufacturing facilities. In the US, ethylene and propylene are the most commonly produced light olefins with annual production exceeding 25 million tons for ethylene and 16 million tons for propylene. It is estimated that over 120 trillion Btu of energy per year is consumed by the current distillation processes for the separation of ethylene/ethane and propylene/propane mixtures in the United States alone. The proposed work could lead to the development of novel membrane separation technology with the potential for significant energy and cost savings in the production of commodity chemicals such as ethylene and propylene. There is strong commercial market interest in technology that facilitates cost-effective olefin/paraffin separation compared to incumbent technologies. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project aims to develop and commercialize a robust, cost-effective, olefin/paraffin membrane separation technology with high permeability and selectivity, as well as excellent operating stability. Bettergy has shown in the Phase I program that their unique composite membrane can separate propylene/propane gas mixture with propylene/propane selectivity of ~ 120, and propylene permeance up to 1.5×10-8 mol/m2.s.Pa. More importantly, the membrane has demonstrated over 1500 hours of stable operation. In the Phase II program, the major focus will be placed on membrane optimization, scale-up process development and commercialization. Once fully developed, this membrane technology could be an attractive alternative to the highly energy-intensive cryogenic distillation process currently used.