Evaluation and Analysis of Ethane Transformation to Liquid Hydrocarbons Through Steam Cracking

Process design and sensitivity studies for a steam cracking reactor was performed. Steam cracking is commonly employed to convert ethane to ethylene, a building block of many other products. Although this technology is generally employed at large scale (\u3e6 Billion pounds of ethylene per year), understanding the process and its economic performance is critical to set target criteria for other processes under development. Aspen Plus was used to simulate the ethane steam cracking reactor and other process units. Sensitivity analysis was performed to determine the most efficient and cost-effective operation regarding product yield. The results show that the maximum product yield is attained by operating the reactor at 900°C, a pressure of 1.6 bar, and a steam-to-hydrocarbon ratio of 0.3. This study provides conclusions and recommendations based on the sensitivity analysis