(513bo) Plasma-Assisted Non-Oxidative Methane Coupling to Olefins
AIChE Annual Meeting
2020
2020 Virtual AIChE Annual Meeting
Catalysis and Reaction Engineering Division
Poster Session: Catalysis and Reaction Engineering (CRE) Division
Friday, November 20, 2020 - 8:00am to 9:00am
Novel plasma reactor systems employing NPDs are investigated and optimized at lab scale. We found that direct plasma-assisted non-oxidative methane coupling to ethylene is possible at elevated pressures (ethylene yield ~20% per pass, consuming 2020 kJ/molC2H4; Figure 1a and Figure 1b). Alternatively, hybrid plasma-catalytic reactor systems operating at ambient pressure can enable low energy-cost methane conversion to ethylene (ethylene yield ~26% per pass, consuming 1642 kJ/molC2H4; Figure 1c). Catalyst pretreatment by means of NPD in the dielectric barrier discharge regime can enhance active metal dispersion on the catalyst surface, thereby its activity, reducing further the total energy cost of the process. Methane fragmentation patterns and the main C2 formation pathways as function of operating conditions and discharge regime have also been mechanistically explored. Further, plantwide process models of both the hybrid plasma-catalytic and direct ethylene formation processes have been developed to define the economically preferable operating window and assess the economic potential of such electrified processes. Break-even electricity prices have been calculated and compared to the current electricity prices (Figure 1d). Finally, aspects of process decoking, performance stability and reactor up-scaling are discussed.