CONVERTING ETHANE TO LIQUID FUELS AND CHEMICALS

• Main Authors: GHONASGI DHANANJAY, YAO JIANHUA, EWERT WARREN, CHOUDHARY TUSHAR
• Format: Patent
• Language: English
• Published: 16.06.2016
• Subjects: ADDING MATERIALS TO FUELS OR FIRES TO REDUCE SMOKE ORUNDESIRABLE DEPOSITS OR TO FACILITATE SOOT REMOVAL; CHEMISTRY; CRACKING HYDROCARBON OILS; FIRELIGHTERS; FUELS; FUELS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; LIQUEFIED PETROLEUM GAS; LUBRICANTS; METALLURGY; MINERAL WAXES; NATURAL GAS; PEAT; PETROLEUM, GAS OR COKE INDUSTRIES; PRODUCTION OF LIQUID HYDROCARBON MIXTURES, e.g. BY DESTRUCTIVEHYDROGENATION, OLIGOMERISATION, POLYMERISATION; RECOVERY OF HYDROCARBON OILS FROM OIL-SHALE, OIL-SAND, ORGASES; REFINING MIXTURES MAINLY CONSISTING OF HYDROCARBONS; REFORMING OF NAPHTHA; SYNTHETIC NATURAL GAS OBTAINED BY PROCESSES NOT COVERED BYSUBCLASSES C10G, C10K; TECHNICAL GASES CONTAINING CARBON MONOXIDE

A process for converting ethane to liquid fuels may involve directing an ethane stream into an ethane cracking unit to produce an intermediate hydrocarbon stream and a raw ethylene stream; fractionating the intermediate hydrocarbon stream into a gasoline fraction and a diesel fraction; introducing the raw ethylene stream into an oligomerization unit; contacting the raw ethylene stream with an oligomerization catalyst to produce a liquid hydrocarbon stream and an off-gas stream; recycling an off-gas recycle stream from an off-gas stream of the oligomerization unit separation unit to an inlet of the oligomerization reactor; introducing at least part of the off-gas stream into a hydrogenation reactor to remove unconverted olefins; separating a hydrogen component and a plurality of light paraffin components in a post hydrogenation reactor separation unit using a PSA technology or membrane technology; and recycling the light paraffins stream into the ethane cracking unit.