Oxidative coupling of methane: Optimal operating policies for a membrane reactor network

Abstract

The oxidative coupling of methane (OCM), in which methane is turned into ethylene and ethane, presents an opportunity for using natural gas to produce desired C 2 hydrocarbons. The main challenge for the successful implementation of the process is the reduction of undesired by-products, such as CO 2. This contribution deals with the optimization of a membrane reactor network for the OCM process with the goal of maximizing yield while maintaining simultaneously a high selectivity in C 2 products. The network consists of a plug flow/fixed-bed reactor, a conventional packed-bed membrane reactor and a so-called proposed packed-bed membrane reactor. Copyright © 2012 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.