(293d) Electric Cracking Towers for Ethylene Production

Ethylene is an essential building block for countless modern products and services [1-3]. Global production surged to ~150 million tons in 2020 and is projected to grow to ~255 million tons by 2035 [4]. While Flame-heated Tubular Crackers (FTCs), illustrated in Figure 1, have dominated ethylene production for the last century [5-6], they face challenges with scalability, thermal management, and carbon emissions, accounting for ~0.6% of global releases [7-9].

In response, electrically heated crackers have re-emerged as a more sustainable option aligned with Net-Zero goals [10-11]. However, state-of-the-are designs, illustrated in Figure 2, encounter limitations akin to traditional FTCs, relying on heat transfer to the gas from the tube walls.

This study introduces Electric Cracking Towers (E-CRATOS), [US Patent App. 63/561,869, 2024] a novel reactor configuration, illustrated in Figure 3, designed to overcome the constraints of both traditional FTCs and current electric crackers [14-16]. E-CRATOS employs electric heating elements organized into stages along the reactor length, enabling superior thermal performance and scalability. As an electrically powered solution, E-CRATOS retains the benefits of decarbonization, reducing CO₂ emissions by up to ~95% compared to FTCs. The internal heating elements allow the use of larger diameter tubes for scaling, reducing construction metal and transportation weight. Additionally, strategic control of the heating elements facilitates temperature profile optimization, enhancing ethylene yield while reducing hot spots.

Our detailed Computational Fluid Dynamic (CFD) simulations, based on detail free radical kinetics and rigorous thermodynamics [17-19], show the potential for E-CRATOS to produce up to 4.2 times more ethylene than state-of-the-are electric tubular crackers for the same diameter, length, and surface temperature. Furthermore, by dynamically adjusting the heated length, E-CRATOS shows unparallel capabilities to withstand fluctuations in power delivery, making it an ideal technology for integration with renewable energy sources [14].

By fundamentally changing the reactor design, E-CRATOS represents an opportunity to achieve dramatic carbon emissions reductions while boosting production, bringing ethylene production one step closer to a Net-Zero Future [20-22].

References:

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