Kinetic and scale-up studies on modular ethene production through high pressure autothermal operation

Ethylene is one of the largest volume commodity chemicals manufactured in the United States, and its production through steam cracking of hydrocarbons accounts for up to 1% of total U.S. energy consumption. Alternative, energy efficient methods for ethylene production would have a major impact on the energy and carbon footprint of the chemical process industry.

In this project, the investigators will develop novel reactor configurations for ethylene production that efficiently use the evolved heat of reaction by directing it towards increasing the temperature of ethane and oxygen feeds that enter at room temperature. Reactor design strategies to be explored not only shrink the energy demand and greenhouse gas emissions associated with ethylene production, but also facilitate process modularization, making it possible to bring the process to the feedstock and renewable energy sources.

In addition to advancing U.S. energy security through CO2-free manufacturing technologies, the project will provide the investigators with the opportunity to engage students underrepresented in STEM fields from the Houston area through participation in the University of Houston Energy Day and Chevron Girls Engineering the Future Day, and by developing and piloting gaming modules that can be readily integrated into 8th grade chemistry classes.

The overarching goal of this proposal is to address fundamental catalyst design, reaction kinetics, and reactor scale-up challenges in the development of CO2-free processes for ethylene production by oxidative dehydrogenation of ethane (ODHE), where autothermal operation is key to energy efficient reactor operation. While catalyst design for and kinetics studies of ODHE are common in the open literature, the question as to what is the most suitable reactor design for such a process has not been clearly addressed thus far -- answering this question is the focus and primary Intellectual Merit of the proposed work.

The research plan combines catalyst synthesis and characterization, kinetic studies, and reactor modeling and design to overcome the fundamental challenges of high-pressure autothermal ODHE operation. The concepts explored in this project are applicable to a variety of exothermic reactions of industrial relevance and potentially lay the foundation for a more reaction engineering-grounded approach to improving the efficiency, sustainability, intensification, and modularization of energy intensive chemical manufacturing processes.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.