Ethylene, a major raw material for plastic, rubber and paint production, must be separated from acetylene, a byproduct, in order to manufacture these products.
Xing said the technique will help companies separate purer ethylene while lowering costs because of the new energy-saving separation process.
The research, jointly conducted by Zhejiang University, University of Limerick of Ireland and other institutions from the United States, the Netherlands and Saudi Arabia, was published in the journal Science on Thursday.
Referees of the journal said the work has set a new “benchmark” for separation of the two chemicals, calling the purification capacity “exceptional.” Enditem
Source: Xinhua
