PROCESS AND APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING ETHYLENE VIA PREPARATION OF SYNGAS

• US 20130224808A1
• Filed: 11/02/2011
• Published: 08/29/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 11/09/2010
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Ineos Sales (Uk) Limited (Ineos AG)
• Original Assignee: Ineos Commercial Services UK Limited (Ineos Grangemouth Plc)
• Inventors: Bell, Peter Simpson, Turnbull, Neil, Parker, Graeme Alexander, Williams, Vaughn Clifford
• Application Number:
  US13/881,126
• Publication Number:
  US 20130224808A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 435/123
• CPC Class Codes: C07C 1/24 by elimination of water
• CPC Class Codes: C07C 11/04 Ethylene
• CPC Class Codes: C12M 21/12 for producing fuels or solvents C12M21/04 takes precedence; liquid carbonaceous fuels C10L1/00, solid fuels C10L5/00
• CPC Class Codes: C12M 43/02 Bioreactors or fermenters combined with devices for liquid fuel extraction; Biorefineries
• CPC Class Codes: C12P 5/026 Unsaturated compounds, i.e. alkenes, alkynes or allenes
• CPC Class Codes: C12P 7/065 with microorganisms other than yeasts
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 50/10 Biofuels, e.g. bio-diesel
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 50/30 Fuel from waste, e.g. synthetic alcohol or diesel

Abstract

A process for producing ethylene from a carbonaceous containing feedstock the process comprising the steps of a) reforming the carbonaceous containing feedstock into a first product stream comprising carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide and hydrogen; b) fermenting the first product stream with an acetogenic anaerobic bacteria to produce a second product stream comprising ethanol; c) concentrating ethanol from the second product stream into a third product stream and; d) dehydrating ethanol in the third product stream to produce ethylene.

Claims

1-18. -18. (canceled)

19. A process for producing ethylene from a carbonaceous containing feedstock the process comprising the steps of

a) reforming the carbonaceous containing feedstock into a first product stream comprising carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide and hydrogen;

b) fermenting the first product stream with an acetogenic anaerobic bacteria to produce a second product stream comprising ethanol;

c) concentrating ethanol from the second product stream into a third product stream; and

d) dehydrating ethanol in the third product stream to produce a first, ethylene enriched, carbonaceous fraction, a second, ethylene depleted, carbonaceous fraction and water and

d1) recycling at least a part of the water, optionally after treatment, to step b) and/or to step a) and/or recycling at least a part of the second, ethylene depleted carbonaceous fraction as a feedstock to step a).

21. A process as claimed in claim 19 wherein the steps a) to c) are performed within 5 km of each other.

22. A process as claimed in claim 19 wherein steps a) to d) are performed within 5 km of each other.

23. A process as claimed in claim 19 wherein the process produces at least 80 te/d ethylene.

24. A process as claimed in claim 19 wherein the process produces at least 200 te/d ethylene.

25. A process as claimed in claim 19 wherein less than 2 te methane equivalent feed stock is used per te of ethylene produced.

28. A process as claimed in claim 19 wherein step d) is performed at a pressure in the range of 0.1 to 3 MN/m².

29. A process as claimed in claim 19 wherein the dehydration to ethylene step d) is performed in a plurality of reactors.

30. A process as claimed in claim 19 wherein step d) uses a propylene refrigeration system in the recovery of the ethylene enriched carbonaceous fraction.

31. A process as claimed in claim 19 wherein the carbonaceous feedstock is at least partially obtained by anaerobic digestion of biomass.

32. A process as claimed in claim 19 wherein step c) comprises the step of distillation in a plurality of distillation stages arranged in parallel operating at different pressures such that distillate passing from a first distillation stage heats bottoms of a second distillation stage.

33. A process as claimed in claim 19 wherein surplus energy in the form of steam generated in the dehydration step d) is utilized in the ethanol recovery step c).

35. A process for the production of ethanol according to claim 19 wherein the ethanol producing step b) is performed in a plurality of biochemical reactors.

36. A process for the production of ethanol according to claim 19 wherein the carbonaceous feedstock reforming step a) comprises one or more, similar or different reforming reactors.

20. A process for producing an olefin derivative the process comprising

a) reforming the carbonaceous containing feedstock into a first product stream comprising carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide and hydrogen;

b) fermenting the first product stream with an acetogenic anaerobic bacteria to produce a second product stream comprising ethanol;

c) concentrating ethanol from the second product stream into a third product stream;

d) dehydrating ethanol in the third product stream to produce a first, ethylene enriched, carbonaceous fraction, a second, ethylene depleted, carbonaceous fraction and water and

d1) recycling at least a part of the water, optionally after treatment, to step b) and/or to step a) and/or recycling at least a part of the second, ethylene depleted carbonaceous fraction as a feedstock to step a); and

e) converting the ethylene into an olefin derivative.

26. A process as claimed in claim 20 wherein step e) comprises polymerizing ethylene to form polyethylene and/or converting ethylene to ethylene oxide and/or converting ethylene into ethylene dichloride, and/or converting ethylene into ethylbenzene.

27. A process as claimed in claim 26 wherein the ethylene oxide is converted into ethylene glycol.

34. A process according to claim 20, wherein unreacted portions of the ethylene used in the derivative process are recovered, optionally treated, and used as a co-feed to the ethylene recovery cryogenic distillation stage of the ethanol dehydration step c).

37. Apparatus for producing ethylene comprising

i) a reformer for reforming a carbonaceous feedstock into a first product stream comprising carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide and hydrogen;

ii) a fermenter for fermenting the first product stream into a second product stream comprising ethanol;

iii) means for concentrating ethanol from the second product stream;

iv) a dehydrator for dehydrating the ethanol to a first, ethylene enriched, carbonaceous fraction, a second, ethylene depleted, carbonaceous fraction and water;

and either or both

v) means for recycling at least a portion of the second, ethylene depleted, carbonaceous fraction to the reformer and

vi) means for recycling at least a portion of the water to the fermenter and/or reformer.

38. Apparatus as claimed in claim 37 further comprising vii) means for treating water recycled to the fermenter and/or reformer.