Analysis of two Alternatives to Produce Ethylene from Shale Gas

Abstract The recent discoveries of shale gas have caused a decrease in the price of natural gas, which has opened a window of opportunities for its use not only as a source of energy but also as a feedstock for the production of chemical products. In this work, the use of shale gas for the production of ethylene is analysed. Two methods, the Oxidative Coupling of Methane (OCM) and the Methanol to Olefins (MTO) process are considered. The OCM is a direct-conversion process in which methane is converted to ethylene using a catalytic reactor. The MTO is a process with several steps where methane has to be first converted to syngas and then to methanol. The product, crude methanol, is finally converted to ethylene. Based on process simulations, an assessment of economic, energy and environmental considerations for each process was carried out. The results show that the MTO process provides a better alternative for the production of ethylene using shale gas. A sensitivity analysis shows that the OCM process can only be profitable under low prices of shale gas and high prices of ethylene.