Petrochemicals from coal-derived syngas
- Univ. of Akron, OH (United States). Dept. of Chemical Engineering
The development of the Liquid Phase Dimethyl Ether (LPDME) process has established a means to effectively convert CO-rich syngas to dimethyl ether (DME) in a mechanically agitated slurry reactor. By operating in a dual catalyst mode, in-situ produced methanol may be converted to DME, thereby alleviating the chemical equilibrium limitation imposed on the methanol synthesis reaction. As a result, higher syngas conversions and methyl productivities are seen over methanol synthesis alone. This effective route to DME production over methanol has led to the development of conversion technologies based on a DME feedstock. Oxygenates, in particular, ethers and their precursors, are very important as potential clean fuel additives and have been postulated through vinylation/hydrogenation and oxidative coupling reactions. Specialty chemicals such as methyl acetate and acetic acid have widescale industrial importance in the conversion to ethanol from a non-agricultural feedstock. Vapor phase oxidative dimerization of DME over tin based catalysts produced precursors of ethylene glycol. Finally, DME has been extensively used as a feedstock for hydrocarbon synthesis including olefins, paraffins and gasoline range hydrocarbons, over zeolite based catalysts with a 46% increase in product selectivity over methanol. The efficient production of DME in the liquid phase has given it widescale industrial significance as a potential replacement for methanol and as a keystone for more important petrochemicals.
- OSTI ID:
- 504693
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-960954--
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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