Efficient Separation of Multicomponent C6–C8 α-Olefins and Paraffins on 13X Zeolite by Tuning Competitive Adsorption

Linear α-olefins are important feedstocks in industry, and the critical challenge of their production lies in the separation of multicomponent α-olefins/paraffins. Currently, most research focused on binary α-olefin/paraffin systems, and the lack of understanding about the multicomponent α-olefins/paraffins hinders the development of adsorption technologies. Here, we investigated the competitive adsorption behavior of C6–C8 α-olefins/paraffins based on 13X zeolites, and it exhibited preferential adsorption toward 1-hexene, 1-heptene, and 1-octene than corresponding paraffins, as evidenced by the batch adsorption experiments and pulse experiments. To balance the competitive adsorption behavior among α-olefins, the mixed desorbent of 1-decene/n-decane was designed to realize the separation with optimized separation resolutions of α-olefins/paraffins and olefins. A 16-column simulated moving bed process was established guided by the pulse experiments on a scale-up column, and 99% purity C6–C8 α-olefins with 99% yield were obtained. This work reveals an energy-efficient adsorption process for C6–C8 α-olefins and paraffins with potential industrial use.