A team from China University of Petroleum (Beijing), led by Professors Guangjin Chen and Chun Deng, has developed a novel slurry-based absorption–adsorption–desorption process for natural gas separation, combining gas–liquid equilibrium experiments with mathematical modeling.
"What excites us is that our model predictions closely matched the experimental data, with an average relative error of only about 3%," said Prof. Deng. "This gives us confidence to apply the process in practical gas separation."
By embedding the model into a multi-objective optimization framework and using the NSGA-II algorithm, the researchers determined optimal operating conditions, achieving ethane purity of 94.69 mol%, a recovery ratio of 95.21%, and energy consumption as low as 0.456 kW·h/Nm³.
Compared with conventional solvent-based methods, the slurry system achieved an average 75% higher separation factor, demonstrating a clear advantage for mixed-gas separation. Sensitivity analyses revealed the effects of pressure, temperature, and ZIF-8 content on performance, providing practical guidance for process design.
The study, published in Green Chemical Engineering, offers both a theoretical foundation and a practical strategy for efficient ethane recovery from natural gas, while also presenting potential for greener separation of other light hydrocarbons.
