Production of ethylene from ethanol

Abstract

Ethylene is the most important platform chemical in the petrochemical industry. Although it does not have several end uses, it is used as a building block for important chemicals and polymers, such as polyethylene, which is the most used polymer in the world. Ethylene is traditionally produced from the steam cracking of petroleum feedstock, but the increasing price of oil and its limited availability, together with the current concern about global warming has led to an interest in producing ethylene from renewable resources.

This thesis refers to a feasibility study on the production of ethylene from bioethanol. A broad review on the existing technologies for the production of ethylene was conducted and the best available technology was found to be the Chematur process. The process design for the Chematur process provided the required information to estimate the investment cost for a production plant of bioethylene in Finland.

After an extensive cost estimation, and sensitivity analysis, the Chematur process and thus, the production of bio ethylene in Finland were found industrially attractive.