Direct Conversion of Natural Gas Components to High Value Petrochemicals: Isobutane to High Purity Isobutylene.

The boom in shale gas development has caused US crackers to shift to ethane feedstock which has dramatically reduced the amount of higher hydrocarbon co-products, such as C4 olefins and dienes, which are important feedstocks for commodity chemicals. In order to maintain productivity, chemical producers have started importing these feedstocks. Reaction 35 is developing an isobtuane to high purity isobutylene application (HPIB Process) of its platform technology to provide US chemical producers with a local source of isobutylene directly from a domestic resource. In order to advance the HPIB Process, Reaction 35 will leverage its capabilities with catalyst development and optimization as well as engineering design. A Conceptual Engineering Model has been developed by Reaction 35 and reviewed by Technip Stone & Webster. Even at this preliminary stage, the HPIB Process presents several compelling advantages over conventional routes (steam cracking and isobutane dehydrogenation), including 30% lower capital cost, 25% lower operating expense, 10% higher feedstock efficiency and 50% lower greenhouse gas emissions. The overall objective of Phase I is a comprehensive engineering model for the HPIB Process which will verify the stated advantages and enable further commercialization efforts. During Phase I, Reaction 35 will conduct laboratory experiments and engineering design work to confirm key assumptions used in the Conceptual Engineering Model, the validity of which have a direct impact on the magnitude of the advantages projected for the HPIB Process. Specific assumptions that will be verified include the conversion, selectivity and catalyst performance of key reactions at commercial operating conditions (e.g. temperature, pressure, feedstock composition, etc.). All work will be carried out at the Reaction 35 facilities in Santa Barbara, CA, but will leverage capabilities of the user facilities at University of California Santa Barbara for characterization of material properties. Successful completion of the proposed work will enable incorporation of the HPIB Process into a demonstration facility that Reaction 35 will design in conjunction with Technip Stone & Webster and the Energy & Environmental Research Center (EERC) of the University of North Dakota. Due to the current market need for domestically sourced isobutylene and the availability of isobutane from natural gas liquids, the Reaction 35 HPIB Process is very promising application for market entry of this novel technology. The successful development of the HPIB Process will help enable other applications of the Reaction 35 Technology which, due its platform nature, can be used to convert natural gas liquids to a number of commodity petrochemicals and transportation fuels. As the largest importer of isobutylene, a starting material for numerous consumer products, the US is in need of an on-purpose chemical process that will economically utilize domestic resources for its production. Reaction 35 is applying its three-step platform technology to produce isobutylene from natural gas liquids (HPIB Process).