Novel application of membrane contactors: solubility measurements of 1-hexene in solvents containing silver ions for liquid olefin/paraffin separations

A new method for measuring the solubility of liquid olefins in solvents containing silver ions has been proposed and tested. The method includes the use of a stationary membrane contactor containing PDMS-based polymeric membranes. Silver-ion-free solvents that have been selected for experiments (e.g., ethylene glycol and 1.3-propanediol) and which are essentially immiscible with olefins are able to dissolve silver nitrate, making it possible for them to absorb olefins due to reversible complexation of silver ions with unsaturated olefinic double bonds. The use of polymeric membranes between the two liquid phases (e.g., olefins and solvents) simplifies the solubility measurement procedure since membranes act as a semipermeable barrier between olefins and solvents. In this study the enthalpy (ΔH°) for the complex formation reaction between 1-hexene and silver nitrate in ethylene glycol and 1,3-propanediol was estimated. It was shown that 1,3-propanediol containing silver nitrate has greater sorption capacity for 1-hexene than ethylene glycol.A new method for measuring the solubility of liquid olefins in solvents containing silver ions has been proposed and tested. The method includes the use of a stationary membrane contactor containing PDMS-based polymeric membranes. Silver-ion-free solvents that have been selected for experiments (e.g., ethylene glycol and 1,3-propanediol) and which are essentially immiscible with olefins are able to dissolve silver nitrate, making it possible for them to absorb olefins due to reversible complexation of silver ions with unsaturated olefinic double bonds. The use of polymeric membranes between the two liquid phases (e.g., olefins and solvents) simplifies the solubility measurement procedure since membranes act as a semipermeable barrier between olefins and solvents. In this study the enthalpy (ΔH0) for the complex formation reaction between 1-hexene and silver nitrate in ethylene glycol and 1,3-propanediol was estimated. It was shown that 1,3-propanediol containing silver nitrate has greater sorption capacity for 1-hexene than ethylene glycol.Articl