Conversion of Ethanol to Ethylene

Abstract

Being a raw material for 75% of the petrochemicals, Ethylene is considered as the bedrock of chemical industry. Although its demand is increasing day by day, yet there is no industry in Pakistan producing Ethylene and all the needs are met by relying on imports. All Ethene manufacture processes which are being implemented across the globe have been compared in detail. After considering Pakistan’s self-sufficiency in terms of raw material, as well as other factors such as eco-friendliness and energy efficiency, the process of Ethanol dehydration has been finalized. For implementing the process Nano-CAT (a modified HZSM-5 zeolite) has been utilized at a low pressure of 1.5 atm giving high conversions of ethanol (99.2%) with a very high ethylene selectivity (98.69%), at a considerably lower temperature of 240℃. Nano-CAT produces no CO2 and very low amounts of CO, thereby eliminating the needs of CO2 absorber and C2 splitter respectively, to cut down on the overall equipment cost. The process has been successful in achieving the required polymer grade purity of ethene (99.9%) Overall the process thus presents a sustainable, environment friendly and energy efficient pathway to meet the ever-increasing demands of Ethylene. The report then includes a detailed process flow diagram, material and energy balance, equipment design, instrumentation, simulation, economic analysis and HAZOP analysis of the whole plant.