(292b) Moving Towards Practical Application of Mixed Matrix Membranes for High Performance C3H6/C3H8 Separations

Propylene/propane (C₃H₆/C₃H₈) separation is one of the most important processes in the petrochemical industry due to the highly utile applications of both gases in our everyday life. Currently, C₃H₆/C₃H₈ separation is implemented by utilizing highly energy-intensive cryogenic distillation due to similar physical properties between them (i.e., T_b of C₃H₆ and C₃H₈ is -47.6 and -42.1 °C, respectively). If the drawbacks of polymeric membranes are resolved, membrane-based separation technique can be a good auxiliary candidate in reducing energy use over the conventional cryogenic distillation process.

Mixed matrix membranes (MMMs) are essentially hybrid membranes consisting of molecular sieves as a dispersed phase for exceptional separation performance and polymeric membranes as a continuous phase for good processability. Prof. Bill Koros made a significant contribution to the field of MMMs revolutionizing a new generation in gas separation membranes. Especially, their recent work [1] in his group promoted the development of MMMs for C₃H₆/C₃H₈ separations. In this talk, we will present the current progress in developing MMMs for C₃H₆/C₃H₈ separations [2].

[1] Zhang, C., Dai, Y., Johnson, J. R., Karvan, O., Koros, W.J., Journal of Membrane Science, 2012, 389, 34-42

[2] An, H., Park, S., Kwon, H.T., Jeong, H-K., Lee, J.S., Journal of Membrane Science, 2017, 526, 367-376