Extraction of propane and ethane from natural gas on ultramicroporous carbon adsorbent with record selectivity

The separation of light hydrocarbon mixtures and the extraction C3H8 C2H6 from natural gas are significant importance in purification upgrading. Microporous carbon adsorbents promising separation. However, fabrication uniform ultramicropores to boost selectivity remains challenging. Herein, we fabricated a series poly(vinylidene chloride)-resin-derived ultramicroporous with relatively pore size (5.2–5.3 Å) by activator-free pyrolysis. optimal C-PVDC-800 exhibited record-high ideal adsorption solution theory (IAST) for C3H8/CH4 (3387) C2H6/CH4 (75) Henry’s (369) among all reported under ambient conditions, combined ultrahigh uptake (3.9 mmol g−1, 0.05 bar) (2.67 0.10 at low partial pressures 298 K. More importantly, fast kinetics favorable fixed-bed applications was realized. Breakthrough experiments cycling tests further confirm superb performance gas.