RAPID Funded Projects

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Efficient Chemicals Production via Chemical Looping

This project will develop chemical looping technology (CLT) into a general process intensification (PI) strategy for modular upgrading of natural gas to commodity chemicals. Nonoxidative upgrading of methane, ethane and propane to alkenes and aromatics is often limited by equilbrium. CLT is an effective PI strategy to circumvent such limitations by either reactive separation or selective oxidation of a subset of products from the reaction mixture to restore the thermodynamic driving force.

Investigators

Raul Lobo

Partner Organizations

University of Delaware Dow

Focus Areas

Date approved

November 01, 2017
Current TRL
3

Intensified Commercial Scale Production of Dispersants

This project will demonstrate conversion of a large-volume chemical commodities process from batch to continuous processing. It is focused to create an order of magnitude reduction in equipment size (and associated capital cost) by transitioning the traditionally batch production of dispersants, specifically succinimide dispersants, into a continuous process. Succinimide dispersants are a relatively large volume family of products that vary by molecular weight, and structure.

Investigators

Götz Veser
Professor of Chemical Engineering

Partner Organizations

University of Pittsburgh

Focus Areas

Date approved

November 01, 2017
Current TRL
4

Modular Conversion of Stranded Ethane to Liquid Fuels

Ethane can represent up to 20 vol.% of shale-gas, exceeding the 10 vol. % allowed in “pipeline-quality” natural gas. Each year, over 210 million barrels (liquid equivalent) of ethane are rejected in the lower 48 states. Upgrading low- to negative-value ethane to easily transportable liquid fuels is a promising solution to this supply glut. The key to this process is development of modular systems that can operate economically at stranded sites. Conventional gas-to-liquids (GTL) technologies face significant challenges such as high capital cost and limited efficiency.

Investigators

Fanxing Li
Associate Professor

Partner Organizations

North Carolina State University

Focus Areas

Date approved

November 01, 2017
Current TRL
3

Para-xylene Selective Membrane Reactor

The current approach to p-xylene production includes an isomerization step that gives a nearly equilibrium distribution of mixed xylenes, followed by a separate step to recover p-xylene, then recycling of p-xylene depleted product for further isomerization. This project aims to develop and validate para-xylene ultra-selective zeolite membranes and integrate them with an appropriately designed isomerization catalyst in a membrane reactor to accomplish selective para-xylene production.

Investigators

Michael Tsapatsis

Partner Organizations

University of Minnesota ExxonMobil Research & Engineering Company

Focus Areas

Date approved

November 01, 2017
Current TRL
3

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