|
Description:
|
Ethylene is one of the most important petrochemical intermediates and feedstocks
for many different products . The motivating force of this work is to compare a new
process of ethylene production developed at Texas A &M University to the most common
processes . Ethylene is produced commercially using a wide variety of feedstocks ranging
from ethane to heavy fuel oils . Of them , the thermal cracking of ethane and propane
using a fired tubular heater is the most common process in the United States . In Europe
and Japan , where natural gas is not abundant , thermal cracking of naphtha using a fired
heater is the most common process . In addition to these processes ; ethylene could also be
produced from crude oil by autothermic and fluidized bed techniques and from coal and
heavy oils by synthesis from carbon monoxide and hydrogen .
At Texas A &M University , a group of researchers developed a new process that
can convert natural gas into liquids (GTL ) or to ethylene (GTE ) . This technology is a
direct conversion method that does not require producing syngas . When selecting a
process for ethylene production , the dominant factor is the selection of hydrocarbon
feedstocks . Based upon plant capacity of 321 million pounds of ethylene per year , this
study has shown that using natural gas , as a feedstock , is more economical than using
ethane , propane , naphtha , and other feedstocks . Therefore , it is more economical to convert natural gas directly to ethylene than separating ethane or propane from natural
gas and then converting it to ethylene . A process simulation package ProMax is used to
run the GTE process ; and a software program , Capcost , is used to evaluate fixed capital
costs of the GTE process . Finally , the cost index is used to update the cost of the other
processes of ethylene production today . |