Braskem to test olefin separation membrane

Braskem has agreed to test an olefin-paraffin separation membrane technology developed by Compact Membrane Systems. If CMS’s approach is successful and broadly adopted, it could result in large energy savings for the chemical industry by providing an alternative to distillation for extracting ethylene and propylene from other hydrocarbon fractions. The method is based on a silver-containing fluoropolymer. CMS says the silver interacts with the double bonds in olefins to enable the separation. The partners will test the membrane on a stream of propane and propylene.