Gas to olefins processes with coproduction of hydrogen

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12071389-B2
Application number	US-202318220404-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 11, 2023
Priority date	Sep 29, 2022
Publication date	Aug 27, 2024
Grant date	Aug 27, 2024

Abstract

The present disclosure relates in its first aspect to a process of converting a stream comprising methane into chemicals, said process being remarkable in that it comprises the steps of providing a first stream (1, 5, 11) comprising methane, providing a second stream (79) which is a bromine-rich stream, putting into contact said first stream (15) with said second stream (79) to obtain a third stream (21) comprising at least unreacted methane, methyl bromide, dibromomethane, and hydrogen bromide and removing said dibromomethane from said third stream (21), to produce a dibromomethane stream (103) and a fourth stream (27) comprising unreacted methane, methyl bromide and hydrogen bromide; wherein the fourth stream (27) is converted into chemicals. In its second aspect, the present disclosure concerns an installation for carrying out the process of the first aspect.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. Installation for carrying out a process of conversion of natural gas into chemicals, said installation being characterized in that it comprises:
a bromination unit comprising at least one bromination reactor and at least one dibromomethane separator, the one or more dibromomethane separators being downstream of said at least one bromination reactor;
a conversion unit comprising at least one homologation reactor;
a physical separation unit;

wherein the bromination unit, the conversion unit and the physical separation unit are fluidically connected in series, the conversion unit being downstream of said bromination unit and upstream of said physical separation unit;
wherein said installation further comprises a first line to conduct the chemicals exiting the physical separation unit into one products-recovery unit and wherein the installation further comprises a third line to conduct one hydrogen bromide-rich stream into an electrolysis unit.

2. The installation according to claim 1 , wherein it further comprises a second line to conduct the dibromomethane stream exiting the bromination unit to a carbonization reactor being an electrothermal fluidized bed reactor.

3. The installation according to claim 1 further comprising a pre-treatment unit of natural gas comprising a demethanizer.

4. The installation according to claim 1 further comprising a pre-treatment unit of natural gas comprising a demethanizer and a purification unit wherein the purification unit is placed upstream of the demethanizer.

5. The installation according to claim 1 further comprising a pre-treatment unit of natural gas comprising a demethanizer and one or more heat exchangers including one or more cold boxes placed upstream of the demethanizer.

6. The installation according to claim 1 further comprising a pre-treatment unit of natural gas comprising a demethanizer being a cryogenic distillation column.

7. The installation according to claim 1 wherein the at least one bromination reactor is devoid of catalyst or comprises a catalyst being selected from a strongly acidic catalyst and a supported Group VIII metal catalyst.

8. The installation according to claim 1 wherein the at least one dibromomethane separator is selected from one or more distillation columns, one or more adsorption columns, one or more absorption columns, and any combinations thereof.

9. The installation according to claim 1 , wherein said at least one homologation reactor loaded with a first catalytical composition comprising at least one homologation catalyst comprising comprise one or more zeolites and a binder wherein said one or more zeolites comprise at least one 10-membered ring channel.

10. The installation according to claim 1 , wherein said conversion unit further comprises at least one cracking reactor.

11. The installation according to claim 1 , wherein said conversion unit further comprises at least one cracking reactor selected from a fixed bed reactor or a fluidized bed reactor.

12. The installation according to claim 1 , wherein said conversion unit further comprises at least one cracking reactor loaded with a second catalytical composition comprising at least one cracking catalyst selected from one or more zeolites, one or more clays, and their mixtures.

13. The installation according to claim 1 , wherein the physical separation unit comprises one or more separation column.

14. The installation according to claim 1 , wherein the physical separation unit comprises one or more separation column wherein the first separation column is a debutanizer.

15. The installation according to claim 1 , wherein the physical separation unit comprises one or more separation column including a first separation column is a debutanizer and an adsorption column to remove hydrogen bromide placed downstream the first separation column.

16. The installation according to claim 1 , wherein the physical separation unit comprises an extractive distillation system or a water stripper column.

17. The installation according to claim 1 , wherein the physical separation unit comprises an extractive distillation system comprising an extractive distillation column loaded with a solvent comprising at least one selected from alcohol, carboxylic acid, ketone, organobromine compounds, ionic liquid, organic acid anhydride, and nitrile.

18. The installation according to claim 1 , wherein said installation further comprises a bromine-recovery unit, said bromine-recovery unit being downstream of said electrolysis unit or upstream of said bromination unit.

19. The installation according to claim 18 , wherein the bromine-recovery unit comprises a washing tower.

20. The installation according to claim 1 , wherein the electrolysis unit comprises a proton-exchange membrane electrolysis cell.

Assignees

• Totalenergies Onetech
• Sulzer Management Ag

Inventors

• Coupan Romuald
• Nesterenko Nikolai
• Veryasov Gleb

Classifications

• C25B1/24

  Halogens or compounds thereof · CPC title

• C25B1/02

  Hydrogen or oxygen · CPC title

• C07C2529/04

  having base-exchange properties, e.g. crystalline zeolites, pillared clays · CPC title

• C07C4/06

  Catalytic processes {(C07C4/025 takes precedence)} · CPC title

• C01B7/093

  Hydrogen bromide · CPC title