Air Products, Lehigh Valley, Pa., has licensed its adsorption-based monomer recovery technology to Cryo Technologies, a supplier of custom-engineered process equipment.

Air Products’ process for unreacted olefin recovery combines partial condensation with pressure-swing adsorption to deliver two product streams: a recovered hydrocarbon product for recycle and subsequent polymer production, and a nitrogen stream for reuse in facility operations such as polymer degassing and pneumatic transportation. The license agreement allows Cryo Technologies, Allentown, Pa., to design and offer the Air Products technology.

Developed with Department of Energy (DOE) support under the Industrial Technologies program, the technology enables nearly 100 percent recovery of hydrocarbons and nitrogen from the feed, creating a high purity nitrogen product. It also reportedly benefits from low maintenance cost because the adsorbent material used in the pressure-swing adsorption process has a useful life compared to other system components.

 Suitable for new plants or to retrofit the process to existing facilities, the technology provides a short payback period, according to Air Products.