In this work, we investigated the application of ion transport membranes (ITM) in the co-production of hydrogen (H 2 ) and ethylene (C 2 H 4 ) through water (H 2 O) splitting and ethane (C 2 H 6 ) oxidative dehydrogenation, respectively, using BaFe 0.9 Zr 0.1 O 3-δ (BFZ) mixed ionic-electronic conducting (MIEC) materials. Experimental measurements showed that a 1.1mm thick BFZ membrane exhibited an oxygen flux (J O2 ) of ≈ 2.0 µmole/cm 2 /sec when operating at T=900°C with inlet steam mole fraction at the feed side equal to X H2O =50% and inlet ethane mole fraction at the fuel side equal to X C2H6 =10%. Under the same conditions, ethane conversion and selectivity to ethylene were 95% and 83%, respectively. Lowering the temperature to T=850°C decreased J O2 to ≈ 1.0 µmole/cm 2 /sec and conversion of ethane to 79%, but the selectivity to ethylene increased to 93%. The proposed technology shows significant performance advantages compared to traditional ethane cracking and hence is a promising method for chemical conversion processes.
Recent major discoveries of gas and oil in the United States in shale plays have significantly increased the amount of ethane available for steam-cracking to produce ethylene; and numerous large petrochemical companies have built new ethane crackers on the U.S. Gulf Coast since 2016. Steam-cracking, however, is energy intensive; and there is a need to develop moreenergy-efficient processes to produce ethylene. Oxidative dehydrogenation of ethane to ethylene in an oxygen-ion-transportmembrane reactor is thought to be one such process; and experimental work has demonstrated that (1) a mixed ionic and electronic conducting membrane with the stoichiometry BaFe 0.9 Zr 0.1 O 3−δ is capable of splitting steam into gaseous hydrogen and oxygen ions on the feed gas−membrane interface, and (2) the oxygen ions can diffuse through the membrane to react with ethane on the fuel-side gas−membrane interface, producing ethylene in yields ranging from 46 to 77% at ethylene selectivities as high as 98%.
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