Application of the Chemical-Looping Concept for Azoetrope Separation

The need for the separation of azeotropic mixtures for the production of high-end chemicals and resource recovery has spurred significant research into the development of new separation methods in the chemical industry. In this paper, a green and sustainable method for azeotrope separation is proposed based on a chemical-looping concept with the help of reversible-reaction-assisted distillation. The central concept in the chemical-looping separation (CLS) method is the selection of a reactant that can react with the azeotrope components and can also be recycled by the reverse reaction to close the loop and achieve cyclic azeotrope separation. This paper aims to provide an informative perspective on the fundamental theory and applications of the CLS method based on the separation principle, reactant selection, and case analysis, for example, the separation of alkenes, alkane, aromatics, and polyol products. In summary, we provide guidance and references for chemical separation process intensification in product refining and separation from azeotropic systems for the development of a more sustainable chemical industry.