Since alkenes are mainly produced as mixtures with alkanes, the separation of alkanes and alkenes is of commercial interest. Separation technologies often rely on facilitated transport membranes containing Ag or Cu salts that reversibly bind alkenes.
In argentation chromatography, stationary phases that contain silver salts are used to analyze organic compounds on the basis of the number and type of alkene (olefin) groups. This methodology is commonly employed for the analysis of the unsaturated content in fats and fatty acids.