Economic route for natural gas conversion to ethylene and propylene

Publisher Summary The major component of natural gas is methane, which can be converted into methanol. Methanol is an important industrial intermediate in the manufacture of a number of products such as formaldehyde, acetic acid, and methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE). Methanol can also be used as a transportation fuel, but its use has been limited because of its other properties, such as its high water solubility and its blending vapor pressure. Natural gas can be converted to olefins with the help of GTO process. The first step in the process is the conversion of natural gas to methanol followed by the UOP/Hydro methanol to olefins (MTO) process using UOP's unique silicoaluminophosphate (SAPO)-34 catalyst. The primary products are ethylene and propylene. The processes most widely used in the conversion of natural gas to methanol include (1) ICI low-pressure methanol process, (2) Lurgi two-step reforming, and (3) Haldor Topsoe two-step reforming process.