Ethane thermal cracking ethylene oxide production

Although ethylene is produced by various methods as follows, only a few are commercially proven thermal cracking of hydrocarbons, catalytic pyrolysis, membrane dehydrogenation of ethane, oxydehydrogenation of ethane, oxidative coupling of methane, methanol to ethylene, dehydration of ethanol, ethylene from coal, disproportionation of propylene, and ethylene as a by-product. 

Methane-based commercial production of ethylene via oxidative coupling has been investigated, but to date the lower per pass conversions required for acceptable ethylene selectivities combined with purified oxygen costs make this process noncompetitive with thermal cracking of ethane from natural gas liquids. 

It is possible to use CO as an oxidant, instead of oxygen or with limited oxygen, in the noncatalytic (thermal) hydrocarbon cracking processes for the production of ethylene and other olefins. Choudhaiy et al. investigated the noncatalytic cracking of ethane at atmospheric pressure in the presence of COj at different CO /ethane ratios (0-2>0) with or without oxygen (O /ethane ratio=0 to 0<3) at different temperature (750-900°C) and space velocities (1500-9000 h ) in the absence of steam in the feed [98]. 

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