Catalysis has contributed significantly to recent progress in technology for the petrochemical industry.
Single site metallocene catalysts for polyolefins and biphasic homogeneous catalysis are two examples. In general, environmental objectives will require catalysts and process design for much higher conversions and much better selectivities which would not be economic otherwise. There is an increasing overlap between refinery and petrochemical operations. Petrochemicals are produced on a large scale for the gasoline pool and the two industries are linked to supply of raw materials. Catalysts plays a key role in optimizing this interaction.
This paper focuses on attempts for converting natural gas to improve catalytic routes to the main materials for the industry, syngas, and olefins. The manufacture of syngas is efficient, but expensive. The choice of technology depends on the scale of operation. Schemes to make methanol directly from natural gas are analyzed.
Methanol may also be manufactured in coproduction schemes in ammonia plants or in power plants. Direct conversion of natural gas into olefins appears non-feasible. It may be more promising to manufacture olefins via methanol. Methanol and DME are syngas derived products which may be useful in both the refinery and the petrochemical industry. Cheap large scale DME may represent a challenge for the petrochemical industry. 1. TRENDS IN THE CATALYTIC PROCESS INDUSTRY 1 .I. The environmental challenge Catalysis is a key to better economics and environmental acceptance of the chemical industry. Environmental objectives formulated by society has not only led to the introduction of new products replacing non-acceptable products like CFCs, but it has also necessitated the design of reactors for much higher conversion and much better selectivities, which will not otherwise be economic'. In principle, the target is to develop processes with 100% yield at minimum use of energy. This is rarely possible and the challenge is to manage the formation of byproducts and to identify methods to treat them or even to convert them into useful products. On the process side, it also means a challenge to replace complex multistep processes with simple direct schemes avoiding exposure to dangerous intermediates. An example is the manufacture of methyl ¡so-cyanates. The process based on phosgene has been replaced by a catalytic scheme', which eliminates the use of phosgene and converts methyl ¡so-Cyanate in-situ to the final agrichemical product. A similar trend is the use of fixed bed alkylation3 to avoid the risks of dealing with HF and concentrated H, SO,.
The environmental requirements have also had an impact on the refinery industry and thereby on the supply of raw materials to the petrochemical industry. Legislation will sp
