Recent Advances in Intensified Ethylene Production—A Review

Steam cracking is a well-established commercial technology for ethylene production. Despite decades of optimization efforts, the process is nevertheless highly energy and carbon intensive. This review covers the recent advances in alternative approaches that hold promise in the intensification of ethylene production from hydrocarbon feedstocks ranging from methane to naphtha. Oxidative as well as nonoxidative approaches using conventional, chemical looping, membrane, electrochemical, and plasma-assisted systems are discussed. We note that catalysts, electrocatalysts, and/or redox catalysts play critical roles in the performance of these alternative ethylene production technologies. Meanwhile, the complexity in producing polymer-grade ethylene also requires comprehensive considerations of not only (catalytic) reactions for ethylene formation but also feedstock preparation (e.g., air separation for oxidative conversion) and product separations. Although these alternative technologies have yet to be commerci...