Research Challenges in the Light Component Separation for the Methane Future Feedstock Projects

Methane as an alternative feedstock has been studied in the research division for many years. Most of the projects are diminishing as the challenges of reducing high process cost has been increased with the low ethane cost on the market in these years. Methane reformer is one of the successful technology that has been implemented for a few commercial routes in basic chemical industries. Other technologies, like OCM, MTM, MCTO, and combustion pyrolysis, are all under the research and development stages.

In this communication, the authors would like to share the overviews and to discuss the main challenges of these technologies. In particular, for the MCTO technology, the authors will introduce an innovative process design for the light hydrocarbon separation and an optimal integrated process to identify the major milestones required for the future commercial success.