Ethane industrial production

Natural gas liquids represent a significant source of feedstocks for the production of important chemical building blocks that form the basis for many commercial and industrial products. Ethylene (qv) is produced by steam-cracking the ethane and propane fractions obtained from natural gas, and the butane fraction can be catalytically dehydrogenated to yield 1,3-butadiene, a compound used in the preparation of many polymers (see Butadiene). The -butane fraction can also be used as a feedstock in the manufacture of MTBE. 

While natural gas reforming is the primary process for the industrial production of H2, the reforming of other gaseous hydrocarbons such as ethane, propane, and n-butane have been explored for the production of H2 for fuel cells.52,97 The reforming of propane and n-butane received particular attention in recent years, because they are the primary constituents of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), which is available commercially and can be easily transported and stored on-site. LPG could be an attractive fuel for solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) and PEMFCs for mobile applications.98 01 The chemistry, thermodynamics, catalysts, kinetics, and reaction mechanism involved in the reforming of C2-C4 hydrocarbons are briefly discussed in this section. 

The market value of natural gas Hquids is highly volatile and historically has been weakly related to the world price of cmde oil. During the 1980s, the market value of natural gas Hquids ranged from approximately 60% of the price of cmde to 73% (12). In this 10-year interval, several fluctuations occurred in the natural gas Hquid market. Because of the variabiHty of the natural gas Hquid market, the NGL recovery plants need to have flexibiHty. Natural gas Hquid products compete in the following markets ethane propane a Hquefted petroleum gas (LPG) a C-3/C-4 mix and / -butane all compete as petrochemical feedstocks. Propane and LPG are also used as industrial and domestic fuels, whereas 2-butane and natural gasoline, consisting of C-5 and heavier hydrocarbons, are used as refinery feedstocks. 

Petroleum and Goal. The alkanolarnines have found wide use in the petroleum industry. The ethanolamines are used as lubricants and stabilizers in drilling muds. Reaction products of the ethan olamines and fatty acids are used as emulsion stabilizers, chemical washes, and bore cleaners (168). Oil recovery has been enhanced through the use of ethan olamine petroleum sulfonates (169—174). OH—water emulsions pumped from wells have been demulsifted through the addition of triethanolarnine derivatives. Alkanolarnines have been used in recovering coal in aqueous slurries and as coal—oil mix stabilizers (175—177). 

Three industrial processes have been used for the production of ethyl chloride hydrochlorination of ethylene, reaction of hydrochloric acid with ethanol, and chlorination of ethane. Hydrochlorination of ethylene is used to manufacture most of the ethyl chloride produced in the United States. Because of its prohibitive cost, the ethanol route to ethyl chloride has not been used commercially in the United States since about 1972. Thermal chlorination of ethane has the disadvantage of producing undesired by-products, and has not been used commercially since about 1975. 

The principal U.S. producers of 1,1,1-trichloroethane include The Dow Chemical Company, PPG Industries Inc., and Vulcan Materials Co. Several European and Japanese companies also produce large amounts aimually. Over 70% of the production is based on the vinyl chloride-1,1-dichloroethane process, 20% on the 1,1-dichloroethylene process, and about 10% on the direct chlorination of ethane. 

The petrochemical industry also includes the treatment of hydrocarbon streams from the petroleum refining industry and natural gas liquids from the oil and gas production industry. Some of the raw materials used in the petrochemical industry include petroleum, natural gas, ethane, hydrocarbons, naphtha, heavy fractions. 

Methanol dehydrogenation to ethylene and propylene. In some remote ioca-tions, transportation costs become very important. Moving ethane is almost out of the question. Hauling propane for feed or ethylene itself in pressurized or supercooled vessels is expensive. Moving naphtha or gas oil as feed requires that an expensive olefins plant with unwanted by-products be built. So what s a company to do if they need an olefins-based industry at a remote site One solution that has been commercialized is the dehydrogenation of methanol to ethylene and propylene. While it may seem like paddling upstream, the transportation costs to get the feeds to the remote sites plus the capital costs of the plant make the economics of ethylene and its derivatives okay. 

The chlorofluorocarbon compounds of methane and ethane are collectively known as freons. They are extremely stable, unreactlve, non-toxic, non-corrosive and easily liquefiable gases. Freon 12 (CCI2F2) Is one of the most common freons In Industrial use. It Is manufactured from tetrachloromethane by Swarts reaction. These are usually produced for aerosol propellants, refrigeration and air conditioning purposes. By 1974, total freon production In the world was about 2 billion pounds annually. Most freon, even that used In refrigeration, eventually makes Its way Into the atmosphere where It diffuses unchanged Into the stratosphere. In stratosphere, freon Is able to Initiate radical chain reactions that can upset the natural ozone balance (Unit 14, Class XI). 

The chlorinated ethanes and ethylenes are used as solvents, cleaning agents, and intermediates. Vinyl chloride (chloroethylene) is used in the production of plastic polyvinyl chloride (PVC). In the pesticide industry, approximately 23 products are suspected to contain a member of this group of priority pollutants. The main pollutants include 1,2-dichloroethane, which is used as a solvent in seven pesticides and tetrachloroethylene, which is used as a solvent in two pesticides. 

The other polyethyleneglycol compounds (no. 63-71) are also industrial chemicals which are specific to a single source and which are traceable to that source. Identification of 1,2-bis (2-chloroethoxy) ethane in the river water near Philadelphia initiated a search for a possible source. According to the 1974 U.S. Tariff Commission Report (10), one of the companies in the area is the sole commercial producer of this compound, and holds a patent for its production (28). Similarity, l-(2-chlorethoxy) 2-phenoxy-ethane, bis (2-chloroethyl) ether, and compounds 68,69, and 70 are produced or patented by the same company. 

Ethyl alcohol, also called ethanol, absolute alcohol, or grain alcohol, is a clear, colorless, flammable liquid with a pleasant odor. It is associated primarily with alcoholic beverages, but it has numerous uses in the chemical industry. The word alcohol is derived from the Arabic word al kuhul, which was a fine powder of the element antimony used as a cosmetic. In Medieval times, the word al kuhul came to be associated with the distilled products known as alcohols. The hydroxyl group, -OH, bonded to a carbon, characterizes alcohols. Ethyl is derived from the root of the two-carbon hydrocarbon ethane. 

Acetaldehyde. Until the early 1970s, the main use of industrial ethanol was for the production of acetaldehyde [75-07-0]. By 1977, the ethanol route to acetaldehyde had largely been phased out in the United States as ethylene and ethane became the preferred feedstocks for acetaldehyde production (286—304). Acetaldehyde usage itself has also changed two primary derivatives of acetaldehyde, acetic acid, and butanol, are now produced from feedstocks other than acetaldehyde. Acetaldehyde is still produced from ethanol in India. 

Table 9.1 summarizes catalyst compositions and corresponding performances. The oxidation of ethane to acetic acid is now commercial an industrial plant is installed, with the technology developed by Saudi Basic. Elements that have contributed to the successful development of the process are (1) the discovery of a catalytically active compound, the multifunctional properties of which can be modified and tuned to be adapted to reaction conditions through incorporation of various elements (2) the stability of the main products, ethylene and acetic acid, which do not undergo extensive consecutive degradation reactions (3) the possibility of recycling the unconverted reactant and the major by-product, ethylene (4) the use of reaction conditions that minimize the formation of CO and (5) an acceptable overall process yield. 

Using this set-up, two new catalysts were found for the oxidative dehydrogenation of ethane to ethene. With Cr/Mo-Ox and Co/Cr/Sn/W-O, catalysts an industrially relevant product yield of more than 60% was reached. 

As with ethane and other paraffin hydrocarbons, propane is an important raw material for the ethylene petrochemical industry. The decomposition of propane in hot tubes to form ethylene also yields another important product, propylene. The oxidation of propane to compounds such as acetaldehyde is also of commercial interest. 

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