Electrochemically modulated complexation process for ethylene/ethane separation

An electrochemically modulated complexation (EMC) process was designed to selectively extract and concentrate ethylene from a feed‐phase mixture with ethane. Unlike previous EMC processes, where the separation was based on equilibrium solubility differences, this separation was based on differences in the rate of complexing with copper(I) solution between the two gases. The EMC process employed flowthrough electrolysis cells that electrochemically modulate aqueous‐phase copper chlorides between high, copper(I), and low, copper(II), affinity states. The liquid phase in the high affinity form contracts a feed gas phase in a hollow‐fiber membrane module for selective extraction and contacts the receiving gas phase in the low affinity form for concentration. Experimental results and modeling of the process are reported.