Enhanced Oxidative Dehydrogenation of Ethane with Facilitated Transport Membranes for Low Cost Production of Ethylene

Ethylene demand is expected to increase by 50% domestically and worldwide over the next 5 years. Much of this and future growth is likely to be met from shale gas based ethane. Dr. Anne Gaffney of the US-DOE has invented a mixed metal oxide catalyst, M1, for the oxidative dehydrogenation of ethane (C2- ODH) to ethylene at high conversions and very high selectivities. A major hurdle for commercial use is the low-cost concentration of this ethylene to polymer-grade ethylene. The reactor effluent from the O2-ODH process integrates well with Compact Membrane Systems (CMS) Facilitated Transport Membrane (FTM). Operating at near ambient temperatures for ethylene-ethane separation, high purity ethylene can be recovered with minimal infrastructure and operating costs. Additionally, using patented yields, C2-ODH reactor effluent composition aligns well with CMS FTM, allowing for easy adoption and application. Composition, temperatures, and pressures seem to match with the optimum operating conditions for the CMS FTM. The Phase I program focuses on evaluating the C2-ODH reactor design and separations process. Two reactor designs, packed bed and tubular, will be simulated and evaluated. Depending on the number of reactors/stages, amount of conversion, and choice of diluent, Manhattan College (MC) simulations will provide CMS with multiple reactor effluent compositions and conditions. The compositions will be used by CMS as the FTM feed composition. Once the FTM is tested, MC will use the CMS FTM data to evaluate the optimal reactor and plant design for C2ODH. Commercial Applications and Other Benefits: The program will enhance low-cost synthesis of ethylene from shale gas based ethylene. This creates value added products from ethane.