Olefin/paraffin separations by reactive absorption: A review

Light olefins and paraffins are commonly separated by cryogenic distillation. A process based upon reversible chemical complexation, which employs a mass-separating agent rather than an energy-separating agent, presents an attractive alternative to distillation. Use of such a facilitated-transport-assisted process could substantially reduce the capital costs and energy requirements of olefin/paraffin separations. Copper(I) and silver(I) have long been known to form electron donor/acceptor complexes with olefins. Several chemical systems using these transition metals as the selective separating agent have been studied. A review of copper- and silver-based complexing solutions for olefin/paraffin separations via gas/liquid contacting is presented.