Integrated processes utilizing water electrolysis and oxidative dehydrogenation of ethane

Abstract

Processes for converting ethane into ethylene include the steps of subjecting a water feed stream to electrolysis to form O2 and H2, subjecting a mixture of ethane and O2 to oxidative dehydrogenation to form a reaction product containing ethylene, acetic acid, water, and CO/CO2, separating the reaction product into an ethylene product stream, an acetic acid product stream, a water product stream, and a gas stream containing CO/CO2, and introducing the water product stream into the water feed stream for electrolysis. The ethylene product stream can be contacted with a suitable polymerization or oligomerization catalyst composition to produce ethylene polymers or ethylene oligomers.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.