Chapter 22: Gas Separations using Ionic Liquids
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Published:16 Dec 2014
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Special Collection: RSC eTextbook CollectionProduct Type: Textbooks
L. Moura, C. C. Santini, and M. F. Costa Gomes, in Chemical Processes for a Sustainable Future, ed. T. Letcher, J. Scott, and D. Patterson, The Royal Society of Chemistry, 2014, ch. 22, pp. 582-602.
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Cryogenic distillation is the most used separation process for mixtures of gases. Implementation of alternative processes with improved economic and environmental performance is needed, especially for low molar mass gaseous hydrocarbon separation in the petrochemical industry. Ionic liquids have been suggested as separating agents for olefin/paraffin gas separation, as absorbents, or as solvents for the chemical complexation of olefins with silver or copper salts. This chapter presents current knowledge on the solubility of ethane, ethylene, acetylene, propane, propylene and methyl acetylene in pure ionic liquids. Whenever possible, the ionic liquid absorption capacity and ideal selectivity (solubility ratio) is calculated for ethane–ethylene, ethylene–acetylene, propane–propylene and propylene–methyl acetylene mixtures, enabling an assessment of the potential of each studied ionic liquid as a separating agent.