Conversion of methane to C4+ aliphatic products in high yields using an integrated recycle reactor system
AssigneeThe Texas A&M University System
InventorsJack H. Lunsford, Serguei Pak
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
This invention relates to processes and systems for the conversion of methane in high yields to C4+ hydrocarbons. The principal steps of the recycle process include reacting methane and O2 in an oxidative coupling reactor over a Mn/Na2WO4/SiO2 catalyst at 800° C. to convert the methane to ethylene, and oligomerizing the ethylene product by reacting it with an H-ZSM-5 zeolite catalyst at 275° C. in a catalytic reactor for subsequent conversion of the ethylene to higher hydrocarbons. Total yields of C4+ products using the process of the invention are in the range of about 60% to about 80%, and yields of C4+ nonaromatic hydrocarbons are in the range of about 50% to about 60%.
Claims30
A process for producing C4+ aliphatic hydrocarbons in high yields from methane comprising the steps of:
- providing a stream of methane and a stream of O2;
- conveying the stream of methane and stream of O2 to an oxidative coupling reactor;
- converting the methane to ethylene in the presence of a catalyst comprising Mn, Na2WO4, and SiO2 in the oxidative coupling reactor thereby producing an ethylene-containing product stream;
- conveying the ethylene-containing product stream to a catalytic reactor;
- oligomerizing the ethylene in the catalytic reactor by reacting the ethylene over an acidic pentasil zeolite catalyst to produce an end product-containing stream, said end product-containing stream comprising hydrocarbons having four or more carbons;
- removing the hydrocarbons having four or more carbons from the end product-containing stream leaving an effluent stream;
- and
- recycling the effluent stream through the oxidative coupling reactor.
A process for producing C4+ hydrocarbons in high yields from methane comprising the steps of:
- reacting methane and O2 in the presence of a first catalyst comprising Mn, Na2WO4, and SiO2 in an oxidative coupling reactor to produce a first product stream, said first product stream comprising ethylene;
- reacting said first product stream in a catalytic reactor in the presence of a second catalyst to produce a second product stream, said second product stream comprising C4+ hydrocarbons;
- removing C4+ hydrocarbons from the second product stream leaving an effluent stream;
- and
- recycling the effluent stream through the oxidative coupling reactor.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.