What happens when you crack ethane?

An ethane cracker takes ethane, a component of natural gas found in abundance in the Marcellus shale, and process, or ‘crack’ it into ethylene. It does this by heating the ethane up so hot that it breaks apart the molecular bonds holding it together to form ethylene.

What is the process of breaking the ethane molecules called?

This process is called cracking, because heat energy is used to break apart or crack molecules to form new molecules. At that temperature ethane (C2H6) molecules lose two hydrogen molecules, which split off to form a separate, stable hydrogen molecule (H2), leaving molecules which are about 80 percent ethylene (C2H4).

How is ethylene cracked?

The first step in the production of ethylene is to take the feedstock and crack it into ethylene and other various products in a furnace. This process is called pyrolysis. Pyrolysis is the thermal cracking of petroleum hydrocarbons with steam, also called steam cracking.

How does thermal cracking work?

Thermal cracking is a process in which hydrocarbons present in crude oil are subject to high heat and temperature to break the molecular bonds and breaking down long-chained, higher-boiling hydrocarbons into shorter-chained, lower-boiling hydrocarbons.

Why is cracking important in the petroleum industry?

Cracking is important for two main reasons: It helps to match the supply of fractions with the demand for them. The supply is how much of a fraction an oil refinery produces. Since cracking converts larger hydrocarbons into smaller hydrocarbons, the supply of fuels is improved.

What is the purpose of cracking in the production of ethene?

Steam cracking is a petrochemical process in which saturated hydrocarbons are broken down into smaller, often unsaturated, hydrocarbons. It is the principal industrial method for producing lighter alkenes (olefins), including ethene (or ethylene) and propene (or propylene) (Figure 3.2).

What does the cracking process produce?

Cracking, in petroleum refining, the process by which heavy hydrocarbon molecules are broken up into lighter molecules by means of heat and usually pressure and sometimes catalysts. Cracking is the most important process for the commercial production of gasoline and diesel fuel.

How is ethene made from ethane?

It is produced by heating either natural gas, especially its ethane and propane components, or petroleum to 800–900 °C (1,470–1,650 °F), giving a mixture of gases from which the ethylene is separated.

How does ethane become ethylene?

Then, at the cracker, the ethane gets put into tubes and is heated to around 1,500 degrees. In particular, ethane’s two carbon atoms form a double bond with one another, resulting in a new molecule: ethylene.

What happens in the cracking process?

Cracking is a reaction in which larger saturated hydrocarbon molecules are broken down into smaller, more useful hydrocarbon molecules, some of which are unsaturated: the products of cracking include alkanes and alkenes , members of a different homologous series.

What is the process of cracking?

cracking, in petroleum refining, the process by which heavy hydrocarbon molecules are broken up into lighter molecules by means of heat and usually pressure and sometimes catalysts. Cracking is the most important process for the commercial production of gasoline and diesel fuel.

What happens to the ethane molecules after cracking?

After cracking occurs, most of the ethane molecules have been transformed into ethylene molecules (consisting of two carbon atoms and four hydrogen atoms) plus hydrogen gas (consisting of the leftover hydrogen atoms).9 The resulting mixture includes ethylene, steam, and other hydrocarbons (chemicals made up of carbon and hydrogen atoms).

Which is the most common method of cracking ethylene?

Although other methods exist for “cracking” petrochemicals, thermal cracking by steam is the most commonly employed method for producing ethylene.6 The process may be different at different facilities, but a general ethane steam cracker design involves several common steps. The centerpiece of an ethane steam cracker is a furnace.

What does shell plan to do with the ethane cracker?

Shell’s plans for the complex include an ethane cracker that would process ethane feedstock from “wet” Marcellus Shale gas to supply ethylene for a wide variety of intermediate sales to industries and for final end use in manufactured products.

How are ethylene and olefins produced by steam cracking?

Ethylene and olefins are usually produced by the steam cracking process with an indirect heating of the hydrocarbon feed in pyrolysis furnaces. Several research attempts have been and are continuously spent to find alternatives to this conventional process.