Most olefins （e.g., ethylene and propylene） will continue to be produced through steam cracking （SC） ofhydrocarbons in the coming decade. In an uncertain commodity market, the chemical industry is investingvery li...Most olefins （e.g., ethylene and propylene） will continue to be produced through steam cracking （SC） ofhydrocarbons in the coming decade. In an uncertain commodity market, the chemical industry is investingvery little in alternative technologies and feedstocks because of their current lack of economic viability,despite decreasing crude oil reserves and the recognition of global warming. In this perspective, some of themost promising alternatives are compared with the conventional SC process, and the major bottlenecks ofeach of the competing processes are highlighted. These technologies emerge especially from the abundanceof cheap propane, ethane, and methane from shale gas and stranded gas. From an economic point of view,methane is an interesting starting material, if chemicals can be produced from it. The huge availability ofcrude oil and the expected substantial decline in the demand for fuels imply that the future for proventechnologies such as Fischer-Tropsch synthesis （FFS） or methanol to gasoline is not bright. The abundance ofcheap ethane and the large availability of crude oil, on the other hand, have caused the SC industry to shiftto these two extremes, making room for the on-purpose production of light olefins, such as by the catalyticdehydrogenation of orooane.展开更多
基金supported by the Long-Term Structural Methusalem Funding (BOF09/01M00409)by the Flemish Government and the European Union’s Horizon H2020 Programme (H2020SPIRE-0 4-2016) under grant agreement No. 72370 6+2 种基金financial support from SABIC Geleenfinancial support from a doctoral fellowship from the Fund for Scientific Research Flanders (FWO)
文摘Most olefins （e.g., ethylene and propylene） will continue to be produced through steam cracking （SC） ofhydrocarbons in the coming decade. In an uncertain commodity market, the chemical industry is investingvery little in alternative technologies and feedstocks because of their current lack of economic viability,despite decreasing crude oil reserves and the recognition of global warming. In this perspective, some of themost promising alternatives are compared with the conventional SC process, and the major bottlenecks ofeach of the competing processes are highlighted. These technologies emerge especially from the abundanceof cheap propane, ethane, and methane from shale gas and stranded gas. From an economic point of view,methane is an interesting starting material, if chemicals can be produced from it. The huge availability ofcrude oil and the expected substantial decline in the demand for fuels imply that the future for proventechnologies such as Fischer-Tropsch synthesis （FFS） or methanol to gasoline is not bright. The abundance ofcheap ethane and the large availability of crude oil, on the other hand, have caused the SC industry to shiftto these two extremes, making room for the on-purpose production of light olefins, such as by the catalyticdehydrogenation of orooane.
