Process for converting c2-c5 hydrocarbons to gasoline and diesel fuel blendstocks
AssigneeSwift Fuels, LLC
InventorsChris D'Acosta, Jeffery Miller, Kurtis Sluss, Benjamin Wegenhart
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A process for converting C2-5 alkanes to higher value C5-24 hydrocarbon fuels and blendstocks. The C2-5 alkanes are converted to olefins by thermal olefination, without the use of a dehydrogenation catalyst and without the use of steam. The product olefins are fed to an oligomerization reactor containing a zeolite catalyst to crack, oligomerize and cyclize the olens to the fuel products which are then recovered. Optionally, hydrogen and methane are removed from the product olefin stream prior to oligomerization. Further optionally, C2-5 alkanes are removed from the product olefin stream prior to oligomerization.
Claims13
A method for converting C2-5 alkanes to a broad-range of fuel products constituting higher-value C5-24 hydrocarbon fuels or fuel blendstocks, comprising:
- passing a fresh, C2-5 alkane-rich feedstream through a thermal olefination reactor, the fresh, C2-5 alkane-rich feedstream containing at least 90 wt % C2-5 feed alkanes, the C2-5 alkane-rich feedstream containing at least one of the group consisting of C2, C3, C4 and C5 alkanes, the thermal olefination reactor operating without a dehydrogenation catalyst and without steam, the olefination reactor converting the C2-5 feed alkanes to product olefins in an effluent olefination stream;
- passing at least a portion of the effluent olefination stream to an oligomerization reactor containing a zeolite catalyst and operating at a temperature, pressure and space velocity to crack, oligomerize and cyclize the product olefins to form an effluent oligomerization stream comprising the fuel products, unconverted C2-4 alkanes and methane;
- passing a recycle stream comprising unconverted C2-4 alkanes and methane from the effluent oligomerization stream directly back through the thermal olefination reactor, the olefination reactor operating at a temperature, pressure and space velocity to convert at least 80 wt % of the feed C2-5 alkanes to fuel products comprising, alkanes, olefins aromatics in the effluent olefination stream;
- and
- recovering the fuel products from the effluent oligomerization stream.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.