US 11,912,655 B2
Process for upgrading natural gas liquids from shale gas without front-end demethanizer
Rakesh Agrawal, West Lafayette, IN (US); and Yiru Li, West Lafayette, IN (US)
Assigned to PURDUE RESEARCH FOUNDATION, West Lafayette, IN (US)
Filed by PURDUE RESEARCH FOUNDATION, West Lafayette, IN (US)
Filed on May 18, 2022, as Appl. No. 17/747,637.
Application 17/747,637 is a continuation of application No. 16/831,993, filed on Mar. 27, 2020, granted, now 11,339,104, issued on May 24, 2022.
Claims priority of provisional application 62/847,234, filed on May 13, 2019.
Claims priority of provisional application 62/826,313, filed on Mar. 29, 2019.
Prior Publication US 2022/0281782 A1, Sep. 8, 2022
This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.
Int. Cl. C07C 5/333 (2006.01); C07C 2/06 (2006.01); C10L 3/10 (2006.01); C07C 11/02 (2006.01); C10G 5/00 (2006.01)
CPC C07C 5/333 (2013.01) [C07C 2/06 (2013.01); C10L 3/102 (2013.01); C10L 3/106 (2013.01); C07C 11/02 (2013.01); C10G 5/00 (2013.01)] 20 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A process for upgrading natural gas liquids (NGL) into higher molecular weight hydrocarbons, comprising:
providing a hydrocarbon gas comprising 30 mol % to about 95 mol % of methane, and about 5 mol % to about 40 mol % C2+ alkanes;
dehydrogenating, in the presence of the methane, at least a portion of the C2+ alkanes in the hydrocarbon gas to provide a dehydrogenation effluent comprising the methane, hydrogen, ethylene, propylene and one or more unconverted C2+ alkanes;
oligomerizing, in the presence of the methane, at least a portion of the ethylene and propylene in the dehydrogenation effluent to provide one or more C4 to C26 hydrocarbons; and then
separating the methane from the one or more C4 to C26 hydrocarbons.