Permselective Membrane for Separation of Aromatic-Aliphatic Mixtures

The capability to efficiently separate aromatic hydrocarbons from aliphatic hydrocarbons is desirable for a wide variety of petrochemical processes. Liquid-liquid extraction is most commonly used to separate aromatics from aliphatics, but the existing process is complex, energy intensive, and costly. A composite membrane with high aromatics selectivity and permeability will be developed in the proposed program. The membrane will exhibit better permeation characteristics than polymeric membranes currently under development for aromatics- aliphatics separation, facilitating improved petrochemical process efficiencies. Commercial Applications and Other Benefits: Application of the proposed technology within petrochemical plants will reduce the cost of ethylene, propylene, benzene, toluene, and xylene production