Simulation And Analysis Of Coal Based Olefins Process

Growing global demand for oil and more generally for energy will have significant impact on the availability and pricing of traditional feedstocks for light olefin production. This has led to a great increase in the exploration of using coal as a raw material for the production of petrochemical especially in China, which has abundant coal resource but poor crude oil reserves.The combination of coal-based methanol production technology and methanol-to-olefin (MTO) technology provides an economic attractive route for conversion coal to light olefins. This process has some advantages over the light fractions of petroleum, due to the fact that MTO can provide a wider and more flexible range of ethylene to propylene ratio relative to those of conventional processes to meet market demand.A coal-based light olefins production process was investigated. The process consists of a coal gasifier, methanol synthesis reactor, and methanol to light olefins reactor as the main units. The process was analyzed based on the simulation results. The key parameters, such as the temperature, pressure and the ratio of methanol to steam in methanol to light olefins unit were discussed. The process analysis identified the key units that contribute to the work lost of the integrated process. Finally, the elemental analysis for carbon and sulfur along the integrated process was carried out.