Novel Catalytic Alkane Oxidation Process

Ethanol is a versatile chemical that is used as a chemical solvent, sterilizer, antifreeze, chemical intermediate, but mostly an oxygenate in fuels. Ethanol is produced primarily by fermentation of grains; however, there are a few industrial processes that manufacture high purity ethanol, mostly from the hydration of ethylene. Due to its projected use as an oxygenate in gasoline, ethanol demand is projected to grow by as much as 10% per year. Currently, 83% of the ethanol in the U.S. is produced by fermentation processes from corn. As a result, food prices spiked in 2008, in part driven by the fact that farmers were growing corn for ethanol production instead of for food crops. If synthetic ethanol could instead be made directly by oxidizing the cheaper light alkanes that are found in abundance in the petroleum industry, these low value fuel gases could be converted into a high value alcohol. Conversion of low value ethane to high value ethanol would be an advantage for both the fuels and chemical industries. TDA Research, Inc. (TDA) has identified a novel catalyst to convert light alkanes to valuable oxygenates such as alcohols. Since the process directly oxidizes light alkanes instead of olefins, it could operate far more cheaply than current industrial synthetic alcohol manufacturing processes. In the Phase I project, TDA successfully demonstrated that it can convert light alkanes such as ethane directly to ethanol in higher yields than reported to date. In addition, we carried out an economic analysis for a 50 million liters/year ethanol plant based on our technology. In the Phase II project, with our partners, we will continue to refine our catalytic process with a combination of modeling, catalyst testing, and process and economic analysis. We are working with a major ethanol manufacturer who will consider adopting our technology should the results our process and economic analysis meet industry benchmarks. Commercial Applications and Other Benefits: Since the alkane feedstock