Deep removal of trace C 2 H 2 and CO 2 from C 2 H 4 by using customized potassium-exchange mordenite.

Adsorptive separation using porous materials is a promising approach for separating alkynes/olefins due to its energy efficiency, while the deep removal of trace amounts of C 2 H 2 and CO 2 from C 2 H 4 is still very challenging for a commercial adsorbent. Herein, we report a low-cost inorganic metal cation-mediated mordenite (MOR) zeolite with the specific location and distribution of K + cations acting as a goalkeeper for accurately controlling diffusion channels, as evidence of the experimental and simulation results. Deep purification of C 2 H 4 from ternary CO 2 /C 2 H 2 /C 2 H 4 mixtures was first realized on K-MOR with exceptional results, achieving a remarkable polymer-grade C 2 H 4 productivity of 1742 L kg -1 for the CO 2 /C 2 H 2 /C 2 H 4 mixture. Our approach which only involves adjusting the equilibrium ions, is both promising and cost-effective, and opens up new possibilities for the use of zeolites in the industrial light hydrocarbon adsorption and purification process.