Abundant reserves of natural gas exist in locations too remote from market areas to be recovered on a commercial basis by present methods. Hence, the natural gas is often flared or shut in. Morgantown Energy Technology Center is investigating processes that have the potential of being economically viable methods to use this energy resource. One approach is to convert the natural gas to gasoline- or diesel-range hydrocarbons. A new conversion technology with this approach that has commercial potential employs catalytic oxidative coupling as the first step. The oxidative coupling step converts natural gas to olefins with the major reaction being the dimerization of methane to form ethylene. The olefins are subsequently converted to higher hydrocarbons using zeolite-based catalysts. A key to developing this technology is optimizing the oxidative coupling process step. Catalytic oxidative coupling of methane was examined in a fixed-bed laboratory reactor in a cofeeding mode over some perovskite-type oxides and compared with some single component oxides. Of the oxides examined, La-Mn perovskites doped with sodium showed superior C/sub 2/ hydrocarbon yields. For La/sub O.9/Na/sub O.1/MnO/sub 3/, the C/sub 2/ hydrocarbon selectivity increased with increasing temperature up to a maximum value of 63.4 mole carbon percent at 1,093 K.more » Further increase in temperature resulted in increased formation of carbon oxides. At 1,093 {Kappa}, 50.6 kPa CH/sub 4/, 10.2 kPa O/sub 2/, 40.5 kPa He, and 1.35 WHSV CH/sub 4/, a methane conversion of 21.0 percent and an oxygen conversion of 93.2 percent were observed.« less
This paper describes the utilization of extended surface tubing on the pyrolysis coil design for high selectivity and high capacity heaters. The results of heat transfer and pressure drop experiments for this new material are reviewed and utilization of this material in new heaters is discussed.
The El Segundo Refinery Cogeneration Project is Chevron's first large cogeneration installation in a major manufacturing facility. It differs in some respects from what one might call a typical cogeneration installation in that its main purpose is not to generate power, but rather to generate steam and reduce emissions.
New applications for helium have resulted in significant growth in helium demand in recent years. The primary source of helium in the USA is natural gas reservoirs. Typically natural gas reservoirs that contain helium also contain nitrogen. The presence of nitrogen requires that the heating value of the gas be upgraded using nitrogen rejection units (NRU). Thermal integration of the NRU process with the helium recovery process is described. Further integration of NRU and helium recovery process to produce cold helium gas suitable for use as a feed to a helium liquefier is also described. A key aspect of the integrated process is the use of refrigeration from the NRU to reduce power requirements, and capital cost for the helium recovery process.
The conversion of wood to gasoline is discussed via fast pyrolysis to oxygenated vapors followed by catalytic conversion with ZSM-5 of those vapors to gasoline at atmospheric pressure and without added hydrogen. The effect of by-product distribution on the potential yield is discussed. Liquid products from a soft-wood feedstock are compared to those from methanol under similar conditions. The gasoline product is very heavily dominated by methylated benzenes and is expected to have a very high blending octane. A process flow diagram is presented.
Elemental sulfur can be recovered from high H/sub 2/S-containing natural gas through the Claus Process. With the depletion of the Canadian sulfur stockpiles, a sulfur supply deficit is seen in the near future and the recovery of sulfur from high sour gas wells has become increasingly attractive. Often associated with the development of super sour gas wells is sulfur plugging along the well pipe. A new technology using sulfur-dissolving agents has been developed to unplug the wells efficiently and keep sour gas freely flowing. The sulfur-dissolving agent of choice, dimethyl disulfide (DMDS), can be used periodically or continuously. Optionally, this agent can be regenerated and reused downhole. Economics of the once-through and regeneration processes are also discussed in this paper.
New microprocessor-based instruments can provide refiners with control tools capable of improving process operations. This paper discusses features and control enhancement capabilities of new instrumentation as well as its ability to provide truly centralized control. Examples illustrate integration of microprocessor-based control systems that result in highly cost-effective solutions for increasing refinery production and energy conservation.
The thesis of this paper is that while remote gas processing to liquid fuels is not currently competitive with crude oil refining or LNG, developments are under way that will alter this situation. For one thing, the price of crude oil is bound to rise relative to the price of gas. As the price of crude oil increases to previous values, interest in gas conversion will increase. In addition, new technology is on the horizon that is capable of bringing about a true cost breakthrough. The costs presented in this paper are generic in the sense that they apply to a range of process technologies and are not location-specific. The only stipulation with regard to location is that it be remote. These costs, which include a full complement of offsites, are believed to be realistic for many locations. They are, however, too low for an area such as Alaska, where construction is difficult. In any event, each specific project will be different, and an individual evaluation is needed to assess the economics for a given situation.
Carbon dioxide triple-point crystallization (TPC) has been developed to produce pure liquid carbon dioxide absorbent for use in the Consolidated Natural Gas (CNG) acid gas removal process. The sharp separation of carbon dioxide from sulfurous compounds achieved by TPC makes TPC an attractive process to increase the hydrogen sulfide concentration of acid gas streams produced by other acid gas removal processes. TPC, together with CNG sulfurous compound absorption with liquid carbon dioxide, can improve the economics of conventional Claus sulfur recovery processes and achieve essentially zero emission of sulfurous compounds.
The tendency to lead phase-out has its origin in the USA in the late sixties. This tendency opened the market to oxygenated products, as octane enhancers, able to fill the octane gap created by the reduction of lead in gasoline. Suprisingly the first industrial studies on oxygenated products as octane boosters was carried out in Europe and particularly in Italy by the ENI Group. In 1968 at ENI's Research Laboratories experimental activity on MTBE synthesis was started taking into account C/sub 4/ olefinic feedstock from different sources. At the same time a wide experimentation on the product was carried out in order to deeply investigate MTBE performance in terms of blending properties, toxicological and environmental aspects and particularly its suitability as engine fuel component. This experience of ENI Group with oxygenates is the subject of discussion of this paper.
Un nouveau catalyseur zeolitique AROMAX a ete developpe par Chevron pour reformer les fractions petrolieres legeres riches en composes paraffiniques C 6 -C 8 . Son utilisation a ete etudiee dans une installation pilote au cours du reformage d'un grand nombre de charges d'apport, de provenance differente, dans des conditions operatoires identiques a celles des procedes conventionnels faisant appel a des catalyseurs bimetalliques. Le catalyseur AROMAX a un rendement en produits aromatiques liquides et en hydrogene tres superieur a celui des catalyseurs bimetalliques utilises habituellement
The conversion of a crude distillation unit into a modern energy efficient crude unit is described. Emphasis is placed on the operational and economic advantages of four major retrofits. The overriding concern during the retrofits was to have the capacity to operate as efficiently as possible while taking maximum advantage of product price differentials at acceptable ROI. A large Vacuum Distillation Crude Unit at Texaco's Port Arthur Plant began continuous service in the early 1970's. In 1980, the unit was upgraded to 170k BPD. The increased capacity was accomplished by three basic changes. They were: the construction of a third atmospheric heater; additional heat integration for crude preheat; and additional capacity for heat removal in the upper section of the atmospheric tower.
L'usine Ferrandina de traitement du gaz acide a ete readaptee pour traiter le gaz acide provenant du champ Ferrandina (Italie du Sud). Le procede selefining permet de separer le sulfure d'hydrogene des gaz naturels ou synthetiques contenant du dioxyde de carbone. Celui-ci est hydrate en acide carbonique qui en reagissant avec une amine tertiaire est piege sous forme de carbonate. La premiere utilisation industrielle de ce procede ainsi que son cout economique sont presentes
The role of the cooling tower is to remove waste heat from petrochemical reactions. A reduction in operating temperature, always desirable for economic reasons, may be obtained by simply increasing the cooling tower's capability. Practically all cooling towers can be upgraded to perform at higher efficiency levels, which can provide a rapid, cost-effective payback. The return on such an investment can be a surprising factor in operations and should not be neglected.
Isomerization technology for conversion of normal butane to isobutane has new significance in the current marketplace. This is mainly because of the recent efforts to achieve complete lead phasedown in gasoline and the subsequent need for higher octane blending components. The Reid vapor pressure (RVP) limits being proposed for motor gasoline are another force in the marketplace. The paper presented in this session provides a general overview of butane isomerization technology and discusses ways to integrate this process into various complexes for optimum butane utilization now and for the future.
The US petrochemical industry, which includes SIC 28 (Chemicals and Allied Products) and SIC 29 (Petroleum and Coal Products), has historically accounted for about one-half of total industrial gas consumption, or about 3.0 to 3.2 quads per year. Natural gas consumed by the petrochemical industry is used either for fuel and power, or as process feed material for conversion to other intermediate or finished-product chemicals. Of the 3,125 billion cubic feet (bcf) of natural gas sales to the petrochemical industry in 1980, fuel uses, excluding fuels for feedstock conversion, accounted for 63.4% (1,982 bcf). The remaining 36.6% (1,143 bcf) was used as a chemical feedstock and as fuel associated with the conversion of methane to commodity chemicals.
Peat characteristics and reserves of peat in the US, Canada, and Soviet Union are reviewed. Dry harvesting of peat typically removes 3-6 inches per year in northern climates and 12-18 inches in southern regions. A wet extraction method is described in which the full depth of peat can be mined at one time with floating equipment, thereby cutting the acreage under development and allowing reclamation to be initiated immediately after production. The peat slurry containing about 10% solids is transported via pipeline to a processing plant for dewatering. The J.P. Energy process is a wet carbonization process which thermally treats the peat under 20 atmospheres pressure at 400 F for 15-30 minutes, producing a high density, moisture resistant, dust-free fuel with a heating value over 11,000 Btu/lb. Some process heat is supplied by the anaerobic digestion of waste water from the process. A 290,000 tons/yr plant is proposed for Milford, Maine. The process description, development, and equipment, the Northern Peat Energy Project, and future applications of the peat wet carbonization technology are summarized. 7 references.
