A NEW LOOK AT LIGHT-HYDROCARBON SEPARATIONS ON COMMERCIAL ALUMINA PLOT COLUMNS - COLUMN SELECTIVITY AND SEPARATION

Alumina-coated porous layer open tubular (PLOT) columns are widely use d for analyses of light hydrocarbons (C-1 to C-6). There is, however, a need for improved selectivity for complex analyses such as the deter mination of impurities in high purity petrochemical products. Some com mercial alumina PLOT columns do not have sufficient selectivity for su ch analyses. The selectivity of four commercial alumina PLOT columns i s evaluated for analyses of propylene and ethylene, and differences in column selectivity discussed. Requirements of column selectivity and retention are presented for several applications including the analysi s of refinery gas, transformer oil gas, and fuel gas.