(428g) Olefins From Methane without Syngas: Heteroatom Methane Activation

Olefins from Methane without Syngas:  Heteroatom Methane Activation

The chemical industry is
built on the base feedstocks of ethylene, propylene and aromatics produced on
purpose from cracking of naphtha or natural gas liquids as well as
co-produced during crude refining for fuels. 
The current monetization of shale gas in the US has increased ethane supply
making North America competitive once again for chemical production.  
However, the primary component of natural gas is not ethane, but methane, and
the utilization of this methane to economically produce basic chemicals at the
industrial scale is one of the holy grails of our industry.   While known
technology is able to produce prime olefins through a value chain of methane
partial oxidation to syngas and subsequent conversion through methanol, this
many-step chemical transformation requires capital intensity that does not
currently allow economic competition relative to in-ground natural gas
liquids.  As part of Dow's 2015
sustainability goals, Dow Core R&D has spent considerable effort
investigating alternative methane activation routes, attempting to economically
convert methane-to-olefins with world-scale selectivity and capital intensity
requirements in mind.   This talk will focus on methane activation with
heteroatoms via chlorination, sulfonation, and amination, with special
attention to the amination route including subsequent transformation to
olefins.