Process of producing ethylene
AssigneePrecision Combustion, Inc.
InventorsJeffrey G Weissman, Codruta Maria Zoican-Loebick
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A process of producing ethylene involving steam cracking ethane to produce a steam cracker product stream containing ethylene; cooling and drying the steam cracker product stream; contacting the cooled and dried steam cracker product stream with a MOF sorbent capable of adsorbing ethylene from the product stream, and desorbing the ethylene from the MOF sorbent using an ethylene sweep gas. The process replaces complex and energy intensive fractionation steps of the prior art with a selective adsorption step for separating ethylene from the steam cracker product stream. An energy efficient ethylene sorbent regeneration method and related apparatus systems are also disclosed.
Claims20
A process of producing ethylene comprising:
- (a) contacting an ethane feedstream and steam in a steam cracker under process conditions sufficient to prepare a steam cracker product stream comprising ethylene, unreacted ethane, water, and condensable hydrocarbons;
- (b) cooling the steam cracker product stream under conditions sufficient to obtain a cooled steam cracker product stream substantially free of water and liquid hydrocarbon condensates;
- (c) contacting the cooled steam cracker product stream with an ethylene sorbent comprising a substrate having supported thereon a metal-organic framework compound capable of selectively adsorbing ethylene, under adsorption conditions sufficient to remove the ethylene from the cooled stream cracker product stream;
- (d) when the ethylene sorbent is at least partially saturated with ethylene, stopping the flow of the cooled steam cracker product stream;
- and contacting the at least partially saturated ethylene sorbent with a flow of sweep ethylene under desorption conditions sufficient to regenerate the ethylene sorbent and recover a purified ethylene product stream comprising the sweep ethylene and desorbed ethylene.
An apparatus system for producing ethylene comprising:
- (a) a steam cracker configured to convert a mixture of ethane and steam into a steam cracker product stream;
- (b) a cooling module fluidly coupled to the steam cracker and configured with a cooling module inlet configured to receive the steam cracker product stream and further configured with a cooling module outlet configured to output a cooled steam cracker product stream substantially free of water and liquid hydrocarbon condensates;
- (c) at least one ethylene adsorption unit fluidly coupled to the cooling module and having disposed therein an ethylene sorbent comprising a substrate having supported thereon a metal-organic framework compound capable of selectively adsorbing ethylene;
- the at least one ethylene adsorption unit (c) further configured for an adsorption cycle with (c)(i) an adsorption cycle inlet configured to receive the cooled steam cracker product stream and to contact said cooled steam cracker product stream with the ethylene sorbent so as to remove ethylene, and (c)(ii) an adsorption cycle outlet configured to output a steam cracker product stream substantially free of ethylene;
- the at least one ethylene adsorption unit (c) further configured for a desorption cycle with (c)(iii) a desorption cycle inlet configured to receive an ethylene sweep stream and to contact said ethylene sweep stream with an at least partially saturated ethylene sorbent;
- and (c)(iv) a desorption cycle outlet configured to output a purified ethylene product stream comprising the sweep ethylene and desorbed ethylene.
A method of separating a chemical product stream comprising ethylene, the method comprising:
- (a) contacting a chemical product stream comprising ethylene with an ethylene sorbent comprising a substrate having supported thereon a metal-organic framework compound capable of selectively adsorbing ethylene, under adsorption conditions sufficient to remove the ethylene and produce a chemical product stream substantially free of ethylene;
- and thereafter
- (b) when the ethylene sorbent is at least partially saturated with ethylene, stopping the flow of the chemical product stream comprising ethylene, and contacting the ethylene sorbent with a flow of sweep ethylene under desorption conditions sufficient to produce a purified ethylene product stream comprising sweep ethylene and desorbed ethylene.
A process of regenerating an ethylene sorbent comprising contacting a flow of sweep ethylene with an ethylene sorbent comprising a substrate having supported thereon a metal-organic framework compound, the ethylene sorbent being at least partially saturated with adsorbed ethylene, the contacting occurring under desorption conditions sufficient to regenerate the ethylene sorbent and to produce a purified ethylene product stream comprising the sweep ethylene and desorbed ethylene.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.