![]() The resulting product streams are separated and purified, leaving valuable compounds called “olefins”: ethylene, propylene, and others. ![]() ![]() The cracked feedstock is then rapidly quenched (cooled) to stop the hydrocarbon molecules from being completely consumed. Steam cracking these hydrocarbons is accomplished by first mixing them with steam, then running them through tubes in a cracking furnace where the feedstock is briefly heated to very high temperatures. Naphtha is primarily derived from crude oil, while ethane is more prevalent in natural gas and natural gas liquids (aka NGLs, a mixture of various hydrocarbons often co-produced along with natural gas). In the petrochemical industry, two of the main feedstocks for steam crackers are naphtha and ethane. The majority of ethylene is produced using a process called “steam cracking”, a thermal process where hydrocarbons are broken down, or “cracked” into smaller molecules that are then used to manufacture more useful (and valuable) chemicals. Let’s investigate naphtha and ethane cracking.Įthylene – because its molecules have very distinctive and useful chemical properties – is manufactured in greater amounts than any other chemical. ![]() Understanding Naphtha and Ethane Cracking Processes By: Frank Caprio | On: June 6, 2017 ![]()
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