Essential Site Maintenance: Authorea-powered sites will be updated circa 15:00-17:00 Eastern on Tuesday 5 November.
There should be no interruption to normal services, but please contact us at [email protected] in case you face any issues.

loading page

Clean utilization of olefins in FT synthetic oil: Adsorption separation of C8 α-olefin/paraffin by simulated moving bed
  • +4
  • Ruihan Yang,
  • Fangyu Zhao,
  • Boshen Zeng,
  • Junxiang Ma,
  • Yuan Gao,
  • Yujun Wang,
  • Guangsheng Luo
Ruihan Yang
Author Profile
Fangyu Zhao
Tsinghua University
Author Profile
Boshen Zeng
Tsinghua University
Author Profile
Junxiang Ma
Lu’an Chemical Group CO., LTD.
Author Profile
Yuan Gao
Lu’an Chemical Group CO., LTD.
Author Profile
Yujun Wang
Tsinghua University

Corresponding Author:[email protected]

Author Profile
Guangsheng Luo
Tsinghua University
Author Profile

Abstract

Long chain α-olefin is a high value intermediate of organic synthesis. The separation of α-olefin/paraffin with low energy consumption is a challenging problem in the process of efficient utilization of Fischer-Tropsch synthesis products. Adsorption separation is a promising alternative to the traditional energy-intensive distillation. Herein, a simulated moving bed unit was built and applied for the separation of C8 α-olefin/paraffin using NaX zeolite as adsorbent and cyclohexane as desorption reagent. Initial SMB parameters were determined reasonably by fixed bed chromatography pulse experiment and safety factor method. The parameters, including switching time, flow rates, and configuration, were further optimized by SMB experiments. The separation with low cost and energy consumption was developed with a 2-3-2-1 SMB configuration. The obtained purity of C8 α-olefin was 96.3% and the yield was 90.4%. The parameter design and optimization lay an important foundation for the industrial implementation of α-olefin/paraffin adsorption separation in the future.