The Changing Landscape of Hydrocarbon
Feedstocks for Chemical Production
Implications for Catalysis
Proceedings of a Workshop
Joe Alper, Rapporteur
Board on Chemical Sciences and Technology
Division on Earth and Life Studies
THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS
Washington, DC
www.nap.edu
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This activity was supported by the American Chemistry Council, The Dow Chemical Company, the National Science Foundation (Contract No. CBET-1524272), SABIC, and the U.S. Department of Energy (Contract No. DE-SC0014060).
This publication was prepared as an account of work sponsored in part by agencies of the U.S. government. Neither the U.S government nor any agency thereof, nor any of their employees, makes any warranty, express or implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed, or represents that its use would not infringe privately owned rights. Reference herein to a specific commercial product, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the U.S. government or any agency thereof. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of any organization or agency that provided support for the project.
International Standard Book Number-13: 978-0-309-44479-8
International Standard Book Number-10: 0-309-44479-9
Digital Object Identifier: 10.17226/23555
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Cover design by Claire Ballweg.
Suggested citation: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2016. The Changing Landscape of Hydrocarbon Feedstocks for Chemical Production: Implications for Catalysis: Proceedings of a Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/23555.
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WORKSHOP PLANNING COMMITTEE
ALEXIS T. BELL (Chair), University of California, Berkeley
MONTY ALGER, Pennsylvania State University
MARIA FLYTZANI-STEPHANOPOULOS, Tufts University
T. BRENT GUNNOE, University of Virginia
JOHANNES A. LERCHER, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
JAMES C. STEVENS, The Dow Chemical Company (retired)
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Staff
CAMLY TRAN, Associate Program Officer
CLAIRE BALLWEG, Program Coordinator
Consultant
JOE ALPER, Science Writer
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BOARD ON CHEMICAL SCIENCES AND TECHNOLOGY
Co-Chairs
DAVID BEM, PPG Industries
DAVID R. WALT, Tufts University
Members
HÉCTOR D. ABRUÑA, Cornell University
JOEL C. BARRISH, Bristol-Myers Squibb
MARK A. BARTEAU, NAE, University of Michigan
JOAN BRENNECKE, NAE, University of Notre Dame
MICHELLE V. BUCHANAN, Oak Ridge National Laboratory
DAVID W. CHRISTIANSON, University of Pennsylvania
JENNIFER SINCLAIR CURTIS, University of California, Davis
RICHARD EISENBERG, NAS, University of Rochester
SAMUEL H. GELLMAN, NAS, University of Wisconsin–Madison
SHARON C. GLOTZER, NAS, University of Michigan
MIRIAM E. JOHN, Sandia National Laboratories (retired)
FRANCES S. LIGLER, NAE, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and North Carolina State University
SANDER G. MILLS, Merck Research Laboratories (retired)
JOSEPH B. POWELL, Shell
PETER J. ROSSKY, NAS, Rice University
TIMOTHY SWAGER, NAS, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Staff
TERESA FRYBERGER, Director
DOUGLAS FRIEDMAN, Senior Program Officer
CAMLY TRAN, Associate Program Officer
CLAIRE BALLWEG, Program Coordinator
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Acknowledgments
This Proceedings of a Workshop has been reviewed in draft form by individuals chosen for their diverse perspectives and technical expertise. The purpose of this independent review is to provide candid and critical comments that will assist the institution in making its published Proceedings of a Workshop as sound as possible and to ensure that the Proceedings of a Workshop meets institutional standards for objectivity, evidence, and responsiveness to the study charge. The review comments and draft manuscript remain confidential to protect the integrity of the process.
We wish to thank the following individuals for their review of this Proceedings of a Workshop:
Jeffery Bricker, Honeywell UOP
Karen Goldberg, University of Washington
Graham Hutchings, Cardiff Catalysis Institute
José Santiesteban, Exxon Research and Engineering Company
Susannah Scott, University of California, Santa Barbara
Although the reviewers listed above have provided many constructive comments and suggestions, they did not see the final draft of the Proceedings of a Workshop before its release. The review of this Proceedings of a Workshop was overseen by Levi Thompson, University of Michigan, who was responsible for making certain that an independent examination of this Proceedings of a Workshop was carried out in accordance with institutional procedures and that all review comments were carefully considered. Responsibility for the final content of this Proceedings of a Workshop rests entirely with the rapporteur and the institution.
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Contents
Structure of the Proceedings of a Workshop
2 THE SHALE GAS BOOM AND ITS IMPACT ON THE AMERICAN CHEMICAL INDUSTRY
Catalytic Conversion of Methane
Catalytic Conversion of Ethane
Catalytic Conversion of Propane
3 CATALYTIC CONVERSION OF METHANE
Methane to Ethylene via Oxidative Coupling
4 CATALYTIC CONVERSION OF LIGHT ALKANES
History and State of the Art of Ethane and Propane Dehydrogenation Catalysis
Heterogeneous Catalysis: Lessons Learned from Experiment and Theory
Homogeneous Catalysis for Carbon–Hydrogen Bond Activation
Light Alkanes to Alkenes and Dienes
Emerging Opportunities for Novel Approaches
Activation of Natural Gas Using Nontraditional Oxidants
Environmental Impacts on Energy-Mobility Chemicals
Changing the System of Chemical Manufacturing Processes
Quantitative Sustainability-Guided Process Design
Environmental Catalysis Related to Feedstock Change
B Biographic Sketches of Workshop Speakers and Organizing Committee Members
Boxes, Figures, and Table
BOXES
3-1 Methane Working Group Questions
4-1 Working Groups 1–3 Session Questions
4-2 Working Group 4 Session Questions
FIGURES
1-1 Relative position of the U.S. petrochemical production costs
1-2 U.S. proven reserves of natural gas and natural gas liquids, 1984-2014
2-1 A snapshot of the chemical industry and its major products
2-2 Growth in production of natural gas liquids
2-3 Growth of the U.S. chemical industry since the start of the shale gas boom
2-4 A comparison of naphtha and ethane cracking
2-6 Potential approaches to converting methane and light alkanes into other valuable products
3-1 Conversion efficiency and selectivity of oxidative coupling catalysts
4-1 The growing gap between propylene supply and demand
4-2 Propane dehydrogenation provides the highest yields of propylene
4-3 The Lummus Catofin process flow diagram
4-4 The UOP Oleflex process flow diagram
4-5 Examples of high-selectivity catalysts for oxidative dehydrogenation of ethane
4-6 Catalyzed conversion of natural gas to chemicals
4-7 The effect of platinum particle size on carbon accumulation
4-8 Graphene initiation occurring at the steps of large platinum particles
4-9 Projected growth of α-olefins
4-10 The Shilov system for methane oxidation
4-11 The UOP dehydrocyclodimerization process
4-12 Ethane to ethylene fuel cell
4-13 Methane conversion to methyl halide using a molten salt configuration
5-1 Global energy consumption versus production volumes of the top 18 large-volume chemicals in 2010
5-2 Quantitative sustainability analysis-aided discovery and development
TABLE
Acronyms and Abbreviations
| ACC | American Chemistry Council |
| AIChE | American Institute of Chemical Engineering |
| ARPA-E | Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy |
| ASU | air separation unit |
| BTU | British thermal unit |
| DOE | U.S. Department of Energy |
| EIA | U.S. Energy Information Administration |
| LLDPE | linear low-density polyethylene |
| ME | Middle East |
| MIT | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| MTO | methane-to-olefin |
| NGL | natural gas liquid |
| NSF | National Science Foundation |
| PDH | propane dehydrogenation |
| PET | polyethylene terephthalate |
| PHB | polyhydroxybutyrate |
| USGC | U.S. Gulf Coast |
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