Читать книгу Process Intensification and Integration for Sustainable Design - Группа авторов - Страница 20

Benzene is an important starting molecule in the petrochemical industry. The production of benzene from shale gas was considered in Pérez‐Uresti et al. [31], and a process based on the direct methane aromatization (DMA) route was designed. In this process, methane is fed to a DMA reactor operating at 800 °C and atmospheric pressure. The main products of the reaction are benzene and hydrogen. The effluent from the DMA reactor is sent to a membrane unit to separate the hydrogen. Then, the remaining stream is cooled and compressed to be separated in a flash tank. The gas stream obtained from the flash separator is methane‐rich and is recycled to the DMA reactor. The liquid stream is fed to a distillation column where benzene is obtained as a top product. Although the DMA process competes with the traditional production routes based on catalytic reforming or steam cracking of liquid petroleum feedstocks, it represents an attractive alternative given the low prices of natural gas.