Oxidative Dehydrogenation of Ethane to Ethylene with H2S and Sulfur

The steam cracking process currently used for
ethylene production is highly endothermic and relies
on methane combustion to satisfy its large energy
demand. The cost of burning methane and the related
CO2 emission has been a concern for the operations.
Consequently, oxidative dehydrogenation (ODH) of
ethane, an exothermic or mild endothermic reaction
using oxidizing agent, has been widely investigated
as an alternative to steam cracking. This book
investigated the chemistry of ODH of ethane to
ethylene with sulfur as oxidant, demonstrating that
sulfur species generated either from liquid sulfur
or formed in-situ by H2S/O2 reaction were able to
selectively convert ethane to ethylene.
Specifically, a single pass ethylene yield of 76%
with the selectivity of 89% was obtained in the
ethane - sulfur reaction at conditions comparable to
steam cracking. This research presents interesting
possibility of producing ethylene at a lower energy
cost by using sulfur and the waste heat from the
Claus process, and should be especially useful for
professionals working on olefin production,
oxidative dehydrogenation or oxidative
coupling of hydrocarbons.

Autorentext

PhD: studied chemistry at University of Calgary
after spending nearly 10 years in oil industry managing chemical
operations. Currently the Program Director of Upgrading at Alberta
Energy Research Institute (AERI), Alberta, Canada.

Klappentext

The steam cracking process currently used for
ethylene production is highly endothermic and relies
on methane combustion to satisfy its large energy
demand. The cost of burning methane and the related
CO2 emission has been a concern for the operations.
Consequently, oxidative dehydrogenation (ODH) of
ethane, an exothermic or mild endothermic reaction
using oxidizing agent, has been widely investigated
as an alternative to steam cracking. This book
investigated the chemistry of ODH of ethane to
ethylene with sulfur as oxidant, demonstrating that
sulfur species generated either from liquid sulfur
or formed in-situ by H2S/O2 reaction were able to
selectively convert ethane to ethylene.
Specifically, a single pass ethylene yield of 76%
with the selectivity of 89% was obtained in the
ethane - sulfur reaction at conditions comparable to
steam cracking. This research presents interesting
possibility of producing ethylene at a lower energy
cost by using sulfur and the waste heat from the
Claus process, and should be especially useful for
professionals working on olefin production,
oxidative dehydrogenation or oxidative
coupling of hydrocarbons.