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Adsorptive separation of propylene (C 3 H 6) and propane (C 3 H 8) may represent an energy-efficient alternative to conventional cryogenic distillation. In this perspective, a set of zeolitic adsorbents of LTA type structure (pure-silica zeolite (Si-LTA) and cation- (Na+, 33% of Li+, 50% of Mg2+ and 50% of Ca2+) containing zeolites) were prepared, then characterized using various techniques such as PXRD, gas adsorption measurement, TGA, XRF, SEM and EDX mapping. Thanks to an in-house manometric dosing setup coupled with a Tian-Calvet type microcalorimeter, the pure gas adsorption isotherms and their corresponding differential enthalpies of adsorption were measured at 303 K and for pressures up to 5 bar. To fit those adsorption data, the dual-site Langmuir was selected as the best fit model, and by using the Ideal Adsorbed Solution Theory (IAST), thermodynamic selectivities were determined. The mass transfer constants were also estimated by fitting, separately, the Linear Driving Force (LDF) and isothermal micropore diffusion models to adsorption kinetic curves, thus allowing kinetic type selectivities to be calculated. The combination of those selectivities reveals that the thermodynamic separation of C 3 H 6 from C 3 H 8 is highly favorable on CaNa-LTA, followed by its MgNa-LTA counterpart with IAST selectivities around 15 and 5, respectively. On the other hand, the monovalent cationic zeolites (i.e., Na- and LiNa-LTA) show a predominance of steric effects. Also, except for Si-LTA which shows a moderate kinetic separation, the studied materials are potential candidates, in the following order CaNa- > MgNa- > LiNa- > Na-LTA, for the separation of C 3 H 6 from C 3 H 8 by adsorption-based technologies. [Display omitted] • Adsorption enthalpies of C3 on LTA zeolites have been measured by microcalorimetry. • LTA zeolite with Li+ and Na+ are able to kinetically separate C3 mixture. • LTA with Ca2+ and Mg2+ are promising candidates for thermodynamic separation. • Ca2+ cations effectively improve the IAST selectivity 3 times with respect to Mg2+. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]