*** 9761414 Lyon This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project is directed at development of a liquid absorbent process for the selective separation of xylene isomers from mixed-isomer streams. The program builds on previous Bend Research work aimed at the separation of N2 from natural gas. Focus will be on the development of liquid absorbents for the separation of p-xylene from mixed-xylene streams, which are produced in petrochemical plants during the cracking of petroleum fractions. In Phase I, candidate absorbents will be screened and their performance evaluated using an in-depth economic and engineering model developed in previous work. In Phase II, the performance of the best absorbents will be optimized to achieve the properties and performance needed for a successful commercial process. This process promises to offer major cost advantages for the production of p-xylenes. More than 5 billion pounds of p-xylenes are consumed annually. Because it should be applicable to other types of separations such as ethylene/ethane, propylene/propane and branched/straight-chain olefin isomer separations, it could streamline petrochemical manufacturing processes by debottlenecking existing facilities. ***
