Recovering linear alpha olefins (LAOs) Linear alpha olefins are important petrochemicals and can be used in a wide range of applications, for example as co-monomers in polyethylene production, plasticisers, copolymers and detergents.

Linear alpha olefins (LAOs) are single, unsaturated hydrocarbons ranging between four and more than 20 carbon atoms in length. They have a terminal double bond.

LAOs are produced by the oligomerisation of ethylene. They can also be separated from Fischer Tropsch synthesis products using a proprietary separation scheme. This option is an attractive route for recovering LAOs in the C5 to C8 range and can be used to produce 1-pentene, 1-hexene, 1-heptene and 1-octene.