ELECTROCHEMICALLY MODULATED COMPLEXATION PROCESS FOR ETHYLENE ETHANE SEPARATION/

An electrochemically modulated complexation (EMC) process was designed to selectively extract and concentrate ethylene from a feed-phase mix ture with ethane. Unlike previous EMC processes, where the separation was based on equilibrium solubility differences, this separation was b ased on differences in the rate of complexing with copper(I) solution between the two gases. The EMC process employed flow through electroly sis cells that electrochemically modulate aqueous-phase copper chlorid es between high, copper(I), and low, copper(II), affinity states. The liquid phase in the high affinity form contracts a feed gas phase in a hollow-fiber membrane module for selective extraction and contacts th e receiving gas phase in the low affinity form for concentration. Expe rimental results and modeling of the process are reported.