Claims
- 1. In a process for separating an aliphatically-unsaturated hydrocarbon from a fluid mixture comprising
- contacting said mixture containing said aliphatically-unsaturated hydrocabon with a first side of an essentially solid, water-insoluble, hydrophilic semi-permeable membrane having therein an aqueous liquid barrier having metal-containing ions which combine with said aliphatically-unsaturated hydrocarbon to form a water-soluble complex,
- the partial pressure of said aliphatically-unsaturated hydrocarbon on a second side of the semi-permeable membrane being sufficiently less than the partial pressure of said aliphatically-unsaturated hydrocarbon in said mixture to provide the separated aliphatically-unsaturated hydrocarbon on the second side of the semi-permeable membrane,
- removing said separated aliphatically-unsaturated hydrocarbon from the vicinity of the second side of the semi-permeable membrane, the improvement comprising contacting the second side of the semi-permeable membrane with an aqueous, non-sweep liquid medium during said aliphatically-unsaturated hydrocarbon separation in an amount sufficient to reduce the loss of water from said aqueous liquid barrier during said separation.
- 2. The process of claim 1 wherein said fluid mixture is gaseous.
- 3. The process of claim 1 wherein the aliphatically-unsaturated hydrocarbon contains 2 to 4 carbon atoms.
- 4. The process of claim 3 wherein said separated aliphatically-unsaturated hydrocarbon is removed from the vicinity of the second side of the semi-permeable membrane by a substantially inert gas stream.
- 5. The process of claim 4 wherein the substantially inert gas stream is supersaturated and contact with the aqueous medium is achieved by condensation onto the second side of the semi-permeable membrane as the substantially inert gas stream removes said separate aliphatically-unsaturated hydrocarbon.
- 6. The process of claim 5 wherein the substantially inert gas stream is saturated at an elevated temperature and then cooled to supersaturation.
- 7. The process of claim 3 wherein the second side of the semi-permeable membrane is contacted with aqueous medium as a continuous liquid phase film during the separation process.
- 8. The process of claim 3 wherein said mixture is a mixture of ethylene and low molecular weight paraffins and said separated material is ethylene.
- 9. The process of claim 3 wherein said membrane comprises a polyamide membrane and said metal-containing ions are silver-containing ions.
- 10. The process of claim 9 wherein said polyamide is an N-methoxymethyl polyamide.
- 11. The process of claim 9 wherein said membrane further comprises polyvinyl alcohol.
- 12. The process of claim 11 wherein said membrane is comprised of hollow fibers.
- 13. The process of claim 9 wherein said membrane is comprised of hollow fibers.
- 14. The process of claim 13 wherein said polyamide is an N-methoxymethyl polyamide.
- 15. The process of claim 14 wherein said membrane further comprises polyvinyl alcohol.
- 16. The process of claim 14 wherein said mixture is a mixture of ethylene and low molecular weight paraffins and said separated material is ethylene.
- 17. The process of claim 13 wherein said second side of the semi-permeable membrane is the outside of said hollow fibers and it is contacted with aqueous medium as a continuous liquid phase film.
- 18. In a process for separating a material from a fluid mixture comprising
- contacting said mixture containing said material with a first side of an essentially solid, water-insoluble, hydrophilic semi-permeable membrane having therein an aqueous liquid barrier having metal-containing ions which combine with said material to form a water-soluble complex,
- the partial pressure of said material on a second side of the semi-permeable membrane being sufficiently less than the partial pressure of said material in said mixture to provide separated material on the second side of the semi-permeable membrane,
- removing said separated material from the vicinity of the second side of the semi-permeable membrane by a substantially inert gas stream, the improvement comprising contacting the second side of the semi-permeable membrane with an aqueous, non-sweep liquid medium during said material separation in an amount sufficient to reduce the loss of water from said aqueous liquid barrier during said separation.
- 19. In a process for separation a material from a fluid mixture comprising
- contacting said mixture containing said material with a first side of an essentially solid, water-insoluble, hydrophilic semi-permeable membrane having therein an aqueous liquid barrier having metal-containing ions which combine with said material to form a water-soluble complex,
- the partial pressure of said material on a second side of the semi-permeable membrane being sufficiently less than the partial pressure of said material in said mixture to provide separated material on the second side of the semi-permeable membrane,
- removing said separated material from the vicinity of the second side of the semi-permeable membrane with a sweep stream having less than a sweeping amount of aqueous liquid medium or with vacuum, the improvement comprising contacting the second side of the semi-permeable membrane with an aqueous, non-sweep liquid medium during said material separation in an amount sufficient to reduce the loss of water from said aqueous liquid barrier during said separation.
Parent Case Info
This is a continuation of application Ser. No. 498,112, filed Aug. 16, 1974, now abandoned.
US Referenced Citations (2)
Number |
Name |
Date |
Kind |
3758603 |
Steigelmann et al. |
May 1973 |
|
3812651 |
Steigelmann |
Sep 1973 |
|
Continuations (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
498112 |
Aug 1974 |
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