Alternative Ordering of Process Hierarchy for More Efficient and Cost-Effective Valorization of Shale Resources
Two processes with the proposed hierarchy (A) Process I, the configuration with a high-pressure dehydrogenation reactor operated at 6 bar. (B) Process II, the configuration with a low-pressure dehydrogenation reactor operated at 2 bar.

Alternative Ordering of Process Hierarchy for More Efficient and Cost-Effective Valorization of Shale Resources

Alternative Ordering of Process Hierarchy for More Efficient and Cost-Effective Valorization of Shale Resources, published in Cell Reports Physical Science. Dr. Rakesh Agrawal, Winthrop E. Stone Distinguished Professor of Chemical Engineering in the Davidson School of Chemical Engineering, and his team at Purdue University have created a new, more economical process for converting natural gas liquid (NGL) to liquid fuel. With this unprecedented method, shale gas has the ability to become an economic and valuable resource to serve as a ‘bridge fuel’ as sustainable energy technologies are implemented over the next several decades.

This process exploits the presence of methane in shale gas by directly feeding shale gas to the alkane cracker thereby lowering the concentration of NGLs in the cracker and primarily providing ethylene as the product. This leads to process intensification and simplification by eliminating expensive process equipment that is generally present in conventional processes. This is exciting as it provides us with the unique opportunity for remote shale gas processing at a small scale for NGL valorization