Oxidative Coupling of Methane to Ethylene

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Oxidative Coupling of Methane to Ethylene University of Pennsylvania ScholarlyCommons Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Senior Design Reports (CBE) Engineering 4-2014 Oxidative Coupling of Methane to Ethylene Tyler Fini University of Pennsylvania Corey Patz University of Pennsylvania Rebecca Wentzel Follow this and additional works at: https://repository.upenn.edu/cbe_sdr Part of the Biochemical and Biomolecular Engineering Commons Fini, Tyler; Patz, Corey; and Wentzel, Rebecca, "Oxidative Coupling of Methane to Ethylene" (2014). Senior Design Reports (CBE). 64. https://repository.upenn.edu/cbe_sdr/64 This paper is posted at ScholarlyCommons. https://repository.upenn.edu/cbe_sdr/64 For more information, please contact [email protected]. Oxidative Coupling of Methane to Ethylene Abstract This report details the design of a plant using the oxidative coupling of methane (OCM) to produce one billion pounds of ethylene and 534 million pounds of ethane per year. The ethylene and ethane produced are produced for sale to an olefins plant for further refining into polymers and plastics. The OCM process consumes a total feed of 9.10 billion pounds of methane and 4.62 billion pounds of oxygen per year. The methane and oxygen will be converted in four isothermal fixed-bed catalytic reactors operating at 1292°F and 96 psi. The catalyst is LiMgO in the form of 50 mm diameter spherical pellets. The remainder of the process encompasses an intricate separations train involving condensation, pressure swing adsorption, and cryogenic distillation. The unconverted methane is combusted to produce steam that is fed to a turbine to provide power to the plant with a residual 108 MW of electricity sent into the grid. The plant will be located in Baytown, Texas where access to feedstock and the olefin plants buying the products are easily attainable. After conducting an analysis of the sensitivity of the plant’s Internal Rate of Return with variable pricing and ethylene prices, it was determined that the plant is profitable exhibiting a Return on Investment of 25.61% and a Net Present Value of $517.2 million. Further research into catalysts increasing conversion of methane coupled with increased selectivity to C2 hydrocarbons will offer more attractive returns. Disciplines Biochemical and Biomolecular Engineering | Chemical Engineering | Engineering This working paper is available at ScholarlyCommons: https://repository.upenn.edu/cbe_sdr/64 Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering Senior Design Reports (CBE) University of Pennsylvania Year 2014 OXIDATIVE COUPLING OF METHANE TO ETHYLENE Tyler Fini Corey Patz University of Pennsylvania University of Pennsylvania Rebecca Wentzel University of Pennsylvania 1 Oxidative Coupling of Methane to Ethylene Design Project Authors: Tyler Fini Corey Patz Rebecca Wentzel Presented to: Professor Leonard Fabiano Dr. John Vohs April 15, 2014 Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering University of Pennsylvania School of Engineering and Applied Science 2 University of Pennsylvania School of Engineering and Applied Science Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering 220 South 33rd Street Philadelphia, PA 19104 April 15, 2014 Dear Professor Fabiano and Dr. Vohs, We would like to present our solution to the Oxidative Coupling of Methane to Ethylene design project recommended by Mr. Gary Sawyer. We have designed a plant to be located in Baytown, Texas that will produce 1 billion pounds of ethylene per year from natural gas. The methane will undergo oxidative coupling using parallel fixed-bed reactors filled with an LiMgO catalyst. The products of the oxidative coupling will be separated using condensation, adsorbents, and cryogenic distillation. This approach to the production of ethylene is presented as an alternative to ethane cracking that currently controls the ethylene market. The enclosed report contains the details of the operation of the plant as well as the process equipment being used. To produce the required amount of ethylene, our plant will need 9.1 billion pounds of natural gas per year. In addition, this report also discloses the reasoning behind every process unit chosen, as well as our decision behind the location of the plant. We provide a discussion of the economics of building and running a plant, as well as describe its profitability and market analysis. The Internal Rate of Return for this project is 25.61% and the current Net Present Value is $517,165,400. As of today, due to the current prices of natural gas and ethane, our plant will make a profit and has a ROI of 21.58%. Sincerely, ____________________ ____________________ ____________________ Tyler Fini Corey Patz Rebecca Wentzel 3 Table of Contents Section 1- Abstract ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6 Section 2- Introduction ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 8 Section 3- Project Charter -------------------------------------------------------------------------- 12 Section 4- Innovation Map ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 14 Section 5- Market and Competitive Analysis ---------------------------------------------------- 16 Section 6- Process Flow Diagram, Material Balances & Process Description -------------- 19 Overall Process Flow Diagram ----------------------------------------------------------- 20 100: Reactor --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 21 200: Separations and Storage ------------------------------------------------------------- 31 300: Refrigeration -------------------------------------------------------------------------- 41 400: Combustion ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 51 500: Electricity Generation ---------------------------------------------------------------- 56 Section 7- Energy Balance and Utility Requirements ------------------------------------------ 60 Section 8- Economic Analysis --------------------------------------------------------------------- 67 Equipment Cost ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 69 Cost Summaries ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 76 Variable Costs ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 76 Working Capital ------------------------------------------------------------------- 77 Fixed Costs ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 78 Investment Summary ------------------------------------------------------------- 79 Cash Flows ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 80 Sensitivity Analysis ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 83 Section 9- Safety and Other Considerations ----------------------------------------------------- 87 Safety ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 88 Environmental Concerns ------------------------------------------------------------------ 89 Location -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 90 Plant Startup --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 91 Maintenance --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 92 4 Section 10- Equipment List and Unit Descriptions --------------------------------------------- 94 100: Reactor --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 96 200: Separations and Storage ------------------------------------------------------------- 101 300: Refrigeration -------------------------------------------------------------------------- 106 400: Combustion ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 110 500: Electricity Generation --------------------------------------------------------------- 111 Section 11- Specification Sheets ------------------------------------------------------------------ 113 Section 12- Conclusions and Recommendations ------------------------------------------------ 180 Section 13- Acknowledgements ------------------------------------------------------------------- 183 Appendix --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 184 Sample Calculations ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 185 Problem Statement-------------------------------------------------------------------------- 188 Selected Aspen Block Reports ----------------------------------------------------------- 190 Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) Reports ------------------------------------------ 209 Bibliography-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 265 5 Section 1- Abstract 6 This report details the design of a plant using the oxidative coupling of methane (OCM) to produce one billion pounds of ethylene and 534 million pounds of ethane per year. The ethylene and ethane produced are produced for sale to an olefins plant for further refining into polymers and plastics. The OCM process consumes a total feed of 9.10 billion pounds of methane and 4.62 billion pounds of oxygen per year. The methane and oxygen will be converted in four isothermal fixed-bed catalytic reactors operating at 1292°F and 96 psi. The catalyst is LiMgO in the form of 50 mm diameter spherical pellets. The remainder of the process encompasses an intricate separations train involving condensation,
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