Integrated process for producing olefins from methane-containing gas mixtures
AssigneesSnamprogetti S.p.A., Eniricerche S.p.A.
InventorsDomenico Sanfilippo, Stefano Rossini
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Abstract
Disclosed is an integrated process for producing olefins by starting from methane containing gas mixture, which process essentially comprises the following steps: converting methane into higher hydrocarbons by oxidative coupling carried out in the presence of air and/or oxygen; dehydrogenating, with the aid of a catalyst, said higher hydrocarbons, with an olefin-rich mixture being obtained; removing H.sub.2 O, CO.sub.2, CO and H.sub.2 from the resulting olefinic mixture; removing from said olefinic mixture any not converted methane, and recycling it upstream from the oxidating coupling; separating ethylene from the olefinic mixture; separating any not dehydrogenated ethane from the olefinic mixture.
Claims15
A process for producing olefins from a methane containing gas mixture comprising the steps of:
- converting methane in said methane containing gas mixture into higher hydrocarbons by oxidative coupling in the presence of air and/or oxygen at a molar ratio of CH.sub.4 /O.sub.2 of 1:1 to 100:1, at a temperature of 500.degree. to 1,000.degree. C., at a pressure of 0.01 to 10 atm. and at a contact time of 0.01 to 10 seconds,
- catalytically non-oxidatively dehydrogenating said higher hydrocarbons with hydrogen formation at a temperature of 400.degree. to 950.degree. C., at a pressure of 0.01 to 10 atm. and at a contact time of 0.01 to 50 seconds to obtain a mixture comprising the corresponding olefins,
- removing H.sub.2 O, CO.sub.2 and H.sub.2 from the resulting olefinic mixture,
- removing unconverted methane from said resulting olefinic mixture and recycling it to said oxidative coupling step,
- separating ethylene and/or propylene from said resulting olefinic mixture,
- and separating any non-dehydrogenated hydrocarbon from said olefinic mixture.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.