Olefin/Paraffin Separation though Facilitated Transport Membranes in Solid State

A simple mathematical model for facilitated mass transport through a fixed site carrier membrane was derived by assuming an instantaneous, microscopic concentration (activity) fluctuation. The current model demonstrates that the facilitation factor depends on the extent of concentration fluctuation, the time scale ratios of diffusion to chemical reaction and the ratio of the carrier concentration to the solute solubility in matrix. The model was examined against the experimental data on oxygen transport in membranes containing metallo-porphyrin carriers, and the agreement was exceptional (within 10% error). The basic concept of this approach was applied to separate olefin from olefin/paraffin mixtures. A proprietaty carrier, developed here, resulted that the selectivity of propylene over propane was more than 120 and the propylene permeance exceed 40 gpu.