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

这一小型企业创新研究第二阶段项目的广泛影响/商业潜力如果成功，将有助于为烯烃制造设施节省大量能源和成本。在美国，乙烯和丙烯是最常见的轻烯烃，年产量超过2500万吨乙烯和1600万吨丙烯。据估计，仅在美国，目前用于分离乙烯/乙烷和丙烯/丙烷混合物的蒸馏过程每年消耗的能源就超过120万亿Btu。拟议的工作可能导致开发新的膜分离技术，在生产乙烯和丙烯等商品化学品方面有可能大大节省能源和成本。与现有技术相比，市场对促进具有成本效益的烯烃/石蜡分离技术有着浓厚的商业兴趣。这个小型企业创新研究第二阶段项目旨在开发并商业化一种强大、具有成本效益、具有高渗透性和选择性以及良好的操作稳定性的烯烃/石蜡膜分离技术。在一期工程中，它们独特的复合膜可以分离丙烯/丙烷混合气体，丙烯/丙烷的选择性约为120，丙烯渗透率高达1.5×10-8mol/m2·Pa.更重要的是，膜已经稳定运行了1500多个小时。在第二阶段计划中，主要重点将放在膜优化、放大工艺开发和商业化上。一旦完全开发，这种膜技术可能成为目前使用的高能量密集型低温蒸馏过程的一种有吸引力的替代方法。

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.