Via: Ethane from Coal at 8 Cents a Pound | Research & Development; wherein it's disclosed, in the report: "Synthesis of Light Hydrocarbon Gases from Coal Gas; S. Singh, et. al.; Battelle Columbus Labs, OH; National meeting of the American Chemical Society;1976"; we can learn that, in 1976, a process had been developed which would, in addition to, primarily, synthesizing Methane from Coal, also generate, as a by-product, significant quantities of Ethane, at a cost, then, of only 8 cents a pound.
Again, the primary product of that technology is Methane, and, by now, from our many reports concerning the fact, including:Standard Oil 1944 CO2 + CH4 + H20 = Aviation Fuel | Research & Development | News; you should know, that, once we have Methane, CH4, as produced by, for just one example, the Battelle Labs' process, from Coal, we can react such Coal-derived Methane with Carbon Dioxide, recovered from whatever handy source, and thereby synthesize some very useful, and valuable, hydrocarbon compounds.
As it happens, the same is also true of the Battelle Labs' inexpensive, Coal-derived, by-product Ethane.
Excerpts from the initial link in this dispatch, with additional links and comment appended, explain how Ethane, too, can be reacted with Carbon Dioxide, reclaimed from whatever source, and be made thereby to synthesize the compound, Ethylene, a substance, as we will document, of rather significant value:
"Oxidative Dehydrogenation of Ethane to Ethylene with CO2 as an Oxidant
Naoki Mimura, et. al.
Affliliations: National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (and) Tokyo Institute
of Technology, Japan.
Catalytic dehydrogenation of ethane ... as a new energy-saving method for producing light olefins.
Carbon dioxide is a promising oxidant for dehydrogenation of ethane.
In the dehydrogenation reaction, CO2 is expected to serve as a medium for supplying heat to the endothermic dehydrogenation reaction, to increase equilibrium conversion by diluting light alkanes; and to maintain the activity of the catalyst over a long time by removing coke formed on the catalyst.
We have found that the Cr/HZSM-5 catalysts are very active for the dehydrogenation of ethane to ethylene in the presence of carbon dioxide ... ."
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We can, in other words, use Carbon Dioxide to convert Ethane, made, say, cheaply, as a byproduct of the Battelle Coal-to-Methane process, from Coal, into Ethylene.
Aside from the fact that the Japanese scientists utilized a catalyst in their work which sounds very much like the "ZSM-5" zeolite specified by ExxonMobil in their "MTG"(r), methanol-to-gasoline, technology, wherein the Methanol is projected to be made from Coal, consider that Ethylene, according to a number of accessible sources, is one of the most-produced hydrocarbon compounds in the world, with much, if not most, of it coming from the Persian Gulf.
More can be learned via: Ethylene Uses and Market Data; wherein it's reported, that:
"Ethylene is the raw material used in the manufacture of polymers such as polyethylene (PE), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and polystyrene (PS), as well as fibres and other organic chemicals. These products are used in a wide variety of industrial and consumer markets such as the packaging, transportation, electrical/electronic, textile and construction industries as well as consumer chemicals, coatings and adhesives.
Ethylene is one of the largest-volume petrochemicals. With a diverse range of end-uses, demand is sensitive to both economic and energy cycles. It is often seen as a barometer to the performance of the petrochemical industry as whole.
Ethylene consumption is estimated to have increased by 1.3% in 2009; it is forecast to grow an average 4.1%/year up to 2014, slowing to 3.4%/year from 2014 to 2019."
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And, the report from Japan, as linked and excerpted above, relating how such a commercially-important product can be synthesized from Coal-use by-products, one, CO2, arising from Coal's combustion for power generation and the other, Ethane, from Coal's conversion into Methane, isn't an isolated example.
The essential facts are confirmed again by one source a little closer to home, as in:
"Oxidative Dehydrogenation of Ethane to Ethylene with CO2
American Chemical Society; July, 2009
Shuang Deng, et. al., The Ohio State University and (the) Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing
Abstract: The catalytic performance of Fe−Cr/ZrO2 catalysts, ... were examined in oxidative dehydrogenation of ethane to ethylene using CO2 as an oxidant. (Tests) show that Fe−Cr/ZrO2 catalysts prepared by coprecipitation−impregnation have higher catalytic stability, higher CO2 conversion, and lower ethylene selectivity in comparison to Fe−Cr/ZrO2 prepared by coprecipitation."
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The above, to us, represents a possible route for the recycling of Carbon Dioxide, through the use of, and through reactions with, what is, essentially, an inexpensive by-product, Ethane, of one process for converting Coal, as in the Battelle Labs process, into Methane.
However, we must remind you that technologies do exist, as documented in:
DuPont 1952 Ethylene from Coal | Research & Development; concerning: "USP 2,623,011 - Preparation of Olefins by Coal Carbonization; 1952; Assignee: E.I. DuPont and Coompany, DE; Abstract: This invention relates to an improved process for the preparation of unsaturated hydrocarbons, and more particularly, to the preparation of ethylene by the carbonization of coal";
and, in:
USDOE 1986 Ethylene from Coal | Research & Development; concerning: "USP 4,563,197 - Production of Ethylene and Other Hydrocarbons from Coal; 1986; Assignee: The United States of America; Abstract: A process for the production of economically significant amounts of ethyl and other hydrocarbon compounds, such as benzene, from coal";
that would enable us to: if we want, instead, make all of the Ethylene, "one of the largest-volume petrochemicals" in the world, directly from our abundant Coal.