Cool olefins
5 Jul 2005
A Canadian consortium led by Quantiam Technologies of Edmonton has been awarded $1.45 million from Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC) to develop and deploy a new technology that will allow olefins to be manufactured with less heat energy than conventional methods.
Quantiam Technologies believes that its technology could lower the energy costs of olefins manufacturing by as much as 20%.
In addition to the SDTC funding, the project has also received $8.3 million from other private and public sources, including NOVA Chemicals Corporation, a leading olefins producer.
Conventional hydrocarbon steam cracking used to produce olefins is the most energy-intensive process in the chemical industry, with energy costs exceeding $10 billion a year and significant CO2 emissions worldwide.
To lower the temperature requirements, Quantiam Technologies is developing a new generation of catalytic coatings that will be used on the internal surfaces of furnace coils used in olefin (primarily ethylene) manufacturing furnaces.
In addition to reducing energy consumption and emissions, the technology could significantly improve plant efficiencies and profitability. The overall economic and environmental impacts are significant for an industry producing more than 110 million tonnes annually of ethylene alone (the single most important olefin) at a value of $80 billion.
Quantiam is now building a pilot manufacturing plant for the new olefins technology as a stepping stone to full commercialization.
