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Coupling of thermal cracking with noncatalytic oxidative conversion of Ethane to Ethylene
Author(s) -
Choudhary Vasant R.,
Mulla Shafeek A. R.
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
aiche journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.958
H-Index - 167
eISSN - 1547-5905
pISSN - 0001-1541
DOI - 10.1002/aic.690430617
Subject(s) - endothermic process , exothermic reaction , cracking , coke , chemistry , exothermic process , ethylene , thermal , oxidative coupling of methane , chemical engineering , thermodynamics , organic chemistry , catalysis , adsorption , physics , engineering
Homogeneous thermal cracking of ethane, which is an endothermic and hence energy‐intensive process, was carried out in the presence of limited O 2 under different process conditions (at 600°–850°C; O 2 /ethane ratio of 0–0.2; H 2 O/ethane ratio of 0–3.3; and space velocity of 2,000–11,000 h −1 ). The influence of a sulfur additive in the feed and reactor material on the process performance was also investigated. Noncatalytic oxycarcking of ethane in the presence of limited O 2 , greatly enhances not only the total conversion of ethane but also the conversion of ethane by purely thermal cracking. This process also occurs at a much lower contact time than that required to achieve the same conversion for the thermal cracking process. Also, both the exothermic oxidative conversion and the endothermic thermal cracking of ethane occur simultaneously, which makes this process very energy‐efficeint, with a drastic reduction in external energy requirement and coke formation. By manipulating the process conditions, particularly the temperature and O 2 /C 2 H 6 ratio, the overall process can be made almost thermoneutral, mildly exothermic, or mildly endothermic.