Forming ethylene

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9403737-B2
Application number	US-201214233211-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 18, 2012
Priority date	Jul 18, 2011
Publication date	Aug 2, 2016
Grant date	Aug 2, 2016

Abstract

Form ethylene via a method that includes vaporizing elemental sulfur, providing a metal sulfide catalyst, and contacting the metal sulfide catalyst with a mixture of methane and the vaporized elemental sulfur to form ethylene. The mixture has a methane to sulfur molar ratio greater than 1.2:1.0.

First claim

What is claimed:

1. A method of forming ethylene comprising:
vaporizing elemental sulfur;
providing a metal sulfide catalyst;
supplying an inert gas to transport a mixture of methane and the vaporized elemental sulfur to the metal sulfide catalyst; and
contacting the metal sulfide catalyst with the mixture of methane and the vaporized elemental sulfur to form ethylene, wherein the mixture has a methane to sulfur molar ratio greater than 1.2:1.0 and a mass of the methane in grams per hour divided by a mass of the metal sulfide catalyst in grams has a value in a range of from 6000 mL·g −1 ·h −1 to 30000 mL·g −1 ·h −1 .

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the metal sulfide catalyst is selected from the group consisting of palladium sulfide, palladium subsulfides, molybdenum sulfide, titanium sulfide, ruthenium sulfide, tantalum sulfide, or a combination thereof.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the mixture of methane and the vaporized elemental sulfur has a methane to sulfur molar ratio in a range of from greater than 1.2:1.0 up to 8.5:1.0.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the mixture of methane and the vaporized elemental sulfur has a methane to sulfur molar ratio in a range of from greater than 1.2:1.0 up to 5.8:1.0.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein contacting the metal sulfide catalyst with the mixture of methane and the vaporized elemental sulfur occurs at a temperature in range of from 200 degrees Celsius to 2000 degrees Celsius.

6. The method of claim 5 , wherein contacting the metal sulfide catalyst with the mixture of methane and the vaporized elemental sulfur occurs at a temperature in range of from 825 degrees Celsius to 1325 degrees Celsius.

Assignees

• Marks Tobin
• Zhu Qingjun
• Wegener Staci
• Univ Northwestern

Inventors

• Marks Tobin
• Zhu Qingjun
• Wegener Staci

Classifications

• C07C2/84 Primary

  catalytic · CPC title

• B01J27/051

  Molybdenum · CPC title

• C07C2527/051

  Molybdenum · CPC title

• Y02P20/52

  using catalysts, e.g. selective catalysts · CPC title

• B01J27/04

  Sulfides · CPC title