REACTION 35 LLC — Department of Energy SBIR Phase I: 22a

Description

The boom in shale gas development has caused US ethylene producers to shift to ethane feedstock, which has dramatically reduced the amount of higher hydrocarbon co-products, such as C3 and C4 olefins, that are themselves important feedstocks for derivative chemicals. In order to maintain productivity, chemical producers are interested in new technologies that can make these petrochemicals cost-effectively. Reaction35 is developing a Butane to Mixed Butenes application of its platform technology to provide U.S. chemical producers with a supply of butenes directly from a domestic resource. In order to advance the technology, Reaction35 will leverage its capabilities with catalyst development and optimization as well as engineering design. A Conceptual Engineering Model has been developed by Reaction35 and reviewed by Ford, Bacon & Davis. Even at this preliminary stage, the Butane to Mixed Butenes application presents several compelling advantages over conventional routes (steam cracking and alkane dehydrogenation), including 30% lower capital cost, 25% lower operating expense, 10% higher feedstock efficiency and 50% lower greenhouse gas emissions. The overall objective of Phase I is the identification of a catalyst that regenerates bromine, the key reactant that enables the production of olefins while avoiding deep oxidation products. During Phase I, Reaction35 will synthesize various catalysts consisting of a metal oxide supported on alpha alumina. The catalyst will be examined for important reaction properties such as r initiation temperature and activity control. The most promising catalysts will be identified by incorporating the test results into a Conceptual Engineering Model, though which the effectiveness of the catalyst will be gauged by determining the impact on the cost of the Butane to Mixed Butenes application, All work will be carried out at the Reaction35 facilities in Santa Barbara, CA, but will leverage capabilities of the user facilities at University of California Santa Barbara for characterization of material properties. Successful completion of the proposed work will enable the testing of the Butane to Mixed Butenes application in a demonstration facility that Reaction35 will design in conjunction with Ford, Bacon & Davis. Due to the increasing market demand for butenes and the availability of butane from natural gas liquids, the Reaction35 Butane to Mixed Butenes application is a very promising application for market entry of this novel technology. The successful development of this application will help enable other applications of the Reaction35 Technology which, due its platform nature, can be used to convert natural gas liquids to a number of high-value petrochemicals.