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Projects: Projects for Investigator
Reference Number EP/C528344/1
Title Olefin Separation by Reversible Binding to Transition Mratl Complexes
Status Completed
Energy Categories Fossil Fuels: Oil Gas and Coal(Oil and Gas, Oil and gas conversion) 50%;
Energy Efficiency(Industry) 50%;
Research Types Basic and strategic applied research 100%
Science and Technology Fields PHYSICAL SCIENCES AND MATHEMATICS (Chemistry) 100%
UKERC Cross Cutting Characterisation Not Cross-cutting 100%
Principal Investigator Professor D Wass

Chemistry
Cardiff University
Award Type Standard
Funding Source EPSRC
Start Date 16 October 2005
End Date 15 October 2008
Duration 36 months
Total Grant Value £212,939
Industrial Sectors Chemicals; Environment
Region Wales
Programme Physical Sciences
 
Investigators Principal Investigator Professor D Wass , Chemistry, Cardiff University (100.000%)
Web Site
Objectives
Abstract Ethylene is a simple but reactive chemical compound that is one of the most important building blocks in the petrochemical industry, used to make endproducts ranging from plastics to ethanol. It is produced in a process known as steam cracking from crude oil components in very large scale, a commercial-scale plant producing as much as 1 million tonnes each year. This process yields ethylene together with a mixture of other products which must then be separated. This separation is currently achieved by distillation at temperatures below -20 C; achieving such low temperatures at commercial scale is very costly, uses a lot of energy and produces a lot of undesirable "greenhouse" gases, such a carbon dioxide. Ethylene is also produced in smaller scale as a by-product of some crude oil refining processes but, because of these difficulties in separation, this valuable building block is simply burnt as a fuel in this case.The project is concerned with developing better, cheaper and more environmentally friendly ways of separating the ethylene produced in these processes. Other separation methods that could meet these targets are known and one of the most promising is based on the fact that certain other chemicals called "metal complexes" chemically bind to ethylene but not other components in the produced mixture. Under the right conditions, this chemical binding can be reversed to release pure ethylene. Unfortunately, the very simple metal complexes investigated to date have drawbacks and react in unwanted ways with some of the impurities present in ethylene-containing mixtures. In other areas of chemistry, using more complicated metal complexes can have dramatic benefits in controlling chemical reactivity to suppress unwanted chemical reactions. This project will investigate these new metal complexes with the aim of achieving ethylene separation without these undesirable reactions. Success could lead to much greener chemical technology in this important area
Publications (none)
Final Report (none)
Added to Database 23/03/12