UTA researchers find a cheaper and more energy efficient way to purify ethylene

Researchers at the University of Texas at Arlington have filed a provisional patent application on a new copper compound that can be used to purify ethylene and use it as a raw material in plastics production such as than polyethylene or PVC, as well as other industrial compounds.

Ethylene is produced from crude oil, but it is usually obtained as a mixture containing ethane. Manufacturing processes using ethylene generally require a pure raw material of 99.9%.

"Existing technologies for separating ethylene and ethane consume huge amounts of energy and require significant capital investment," said Rasika Dias, a distinguished professor at the University of California. University in chemistry and biochemistry.

"Our new technology utilizes a copper compound capable of selectively absorbing ethylene in the solid state, leaving ethane on the outside, with a minimum of release of ## EQU1 ## 39, energy, "he added.

The ethylene uptake by the newly discovered copper complex is easily reversible, so that the absorbed ethylene can then be released and recovered by means of slight changes in temperature or pressure , resulting in the regeneration of the starting copper complex, which can be reused several times.

"As a result, our new technology is both highly durable and very energy efficient, and could represent a breakthrough in the separation of olefins such as ethylene and paraffin propylene, which currently account for 0.3% of global energy consumption, which roughly corresponds to Singapore's annual energy consumption, "said Dias.

The researchers reported their new technology in the international journal Angewandte Chemie, in the article "Low net heat of adsorption of ethylene obtained by a large structural rearrangement in the solid state of a discrete copper complex". The document describes how the release of a very low level of heat during the absorption process is the result of the structural rearrangement of the copper complex upon exposure to ethylene.

Fred MacDonnell, Chair of the UTA Chair in Chemistry and Biochemistry, congratulated Dias on the development of this new technology.

"Mr. Dias and his colleagues have taken up the challenge of improving one of the most relevant chemical separations, which is necessary for many industrial processes and the production of products used in our daily lives," said MacDonnell. "This could have very significant consequences on the costs associated with producing these goods and also dramatically improve the impact on the environment by reducing the heat emitted into the atmosphere."

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