Application of pressure swing adsorption separation technology in ethylene recovery from catalytic dry gas
Three technologies for recovering ethylene from catalytic dry gas,including cryogenic separation,absorption separation,and pressure swing adsorption separation,were introduced.In the context of a structural adjustment of a petrochemical company's refining process,where the catalytic dry gas production capacity increased from 15×104 t/a to 21×104 t/a,pressure swing adsorption technology was chosen due to its advantages,such as simple operation,no need for auxiliary materials,rapid and stable unit operation under changing conditions,and low comprehensive energy consumption.Following the principles of capacity expansion and renovation,the previous two-stage process was converted into a single-stage process.The number of towers in the vacuum step was increased from 2 to 3,and the number of towers in the adsorption step was increased from 4 to 5.The results show that after the capacity expansion and renovation,comprehensive energy consumption is reduced by approximately 14%with product quality remaining comparable,and the operation indicators improve,compared to before the modification.In the background of reducing carbon emissions,pressure swing adsorption separation technology has an application advantage due to its lower comprehensive energy consumption compared to other technologies.