From soda bottles to polyester clothing, ethylene is part of many products we use every day. In part to meet demand, the Shell Oil Company is building an ethane cracker plant in Beaver County, Pa., specifically to produce ethylene molecules from the abundant ethane found in natural gas. However, the chemical reaction used to convert ethane into valuable ethylene is incomplete, so such plants produce an impure mixture of ethylene and ethane. Separating pure ethylene from ethane is a difficult and costly process, but one that new research from the University of Pittsburgh's Swanson School of Engineering is poised to streamline.
