National Technology & Engineering Solutions of Sandia, LLC

Unm Rainforest Innovations

Andrew De La Riva

Abhaya K Datye

Stanley Shihyao Chou

Christopher Ryan Riley

Steam cracking of ethane, a non-catalytic thermochemical process, remains the dominant means of ethylene production. The severe reaction conditions and energy expenditure involved in this process incentivize the search for alternative reaction pathways and reactor designs which maximize ethylene yield while minimizing cost and energy input. According to the present invention, ethylene yields as high as 68% were obtained with a quartz open tube reactor without the use of a catalyst or a cofed stream of oxidizing agents. The open tube reactor design promotes simplicity, low cost, and negligible coke formation. Reactor designs can be optimized to improve the conversion of ethane to ethylene via non-oxidative dehydrogenation, an approach which shows promise for decentralized production of ethylene from natural gas deposits.

Growing community of inventors

Albuquerque, NM, United States of America

Andrew De La Riva