Partial Oxidation of Light Alkanes as a Base of New Generation of Gas Chemical Processes

Recent developments in unconventional natural gas production increase the need for principally new small-scale technologies for gas processing and transportation. The promising way for small-scale gas processing is its autothermal partial oxidation to syngas or direct partial oxidation to chemicals. The paper considers some prospective gas chemical processes based on the partial oxidation of light alkanes. Among them are the conversion of natural gas to syngas in volumetric (3D) matrix burners made of a gas permeable material and direct conversion of methane to methanol without its preliminary conversion to syngas (DMTM). As a more simple technology that lets to use fat associated oil gas often flaring in remote sites, it can be suggested the selective oxidative cracking of heavier components of natural gas. This process converts heavy methane homologues from propane to pentane and heavier into ethylene, methane, ethane, hydrogen, and carbon monoxide, thus increasing methane index (octane number) of gas and making it suitable for feeding modern gas piston and gas turbine power engines. One more interesting prospect is the creation of technologies making use of the subsequent processing of valuable oxycracking products, such as olefins, CO, and hydrogen, for example, by their catalytic co-polymerization without preliminary separation from gas phase. The co-polymerization of CO and ethylene, followed by the separation of resulting liquid products, can considerably improve the economic attractiveness of the oxycracing process. Thus, despite the absence of economically proved and industrial-scale tested smallcapacity direct and indirect gas chemical technologies, intensive efforts to develop such alternative technologies let to expect near bright future for them

New Potentialities for Utilization of Associated Petroleum Gases in Power Generation and Chemicals Production

New possibilities for the utilization of associated petroleum gases (APG) and monetization of small-scale and remote Natural Gas resources by power generation and chemicals production are considered and tested. One possibility is the oxy-cracking of APG. This technology allows selective transformation of heavier hydrocarbons that have low octane (methane) numbers and inclined to soot and tar formation, into lighter compounds with higher octane numbers, thus producing gas suitable to feed different types of power engines. Another possibility is the small-scale conversion of APG to syngas to produce more easily transportable and more valuable chemicals or liquid fuels via well-known Fischer–Tropsch process or catalytic synthesis of methanol. For this purpose we have suggested principally new technology for natural gases conversion into syngas, based on the use of 3D (volumetric) matrixes. It allows the relative simple and very compact non-catalytic reformers to be designed for small-scale gas-to liquid (GTL) technologies. Their main advantages are autothermal character of the process without any need in additional heating or power supply, absence of catalyst that allows processing hydrocarbon gases of practically any composition, including APG, without additional pretreatment, very high specific volume capacity, at any rate 10 times higher than that of steam reforming, and simplicity in construction and operation

Partial conversion of hydrocarbons to syngas and hydrogen in volumetric radiation burners as a prospective way to enhance the performance characteristics of power engines

New type of syngas generator based on the partial conversion of natural gas (methane) or heavier hydrocarbons in volumetric permeable matrix burners in the conditions of locked infrared (IR) radiation is suggested as a high-productive, adaptable, and rather simple way of syngas and hydrogen production for various low-scale applications including enhancing the performance characteristics of power engines