Published July 2024
1,3-Butadiene is almost entirely produced as a by-product of ethylene steam cracking of naphtha or gasoil feedstocks. With the growing demand of 1,3-butadiene driven by rising global car production, it is not economically feasible to meet this rising demand through the expansion of ethylene steam cracker facilities. Petrochemical producers have expanded their butadiene production capacity through the installation of on-purpose butadiene production facilities.
PEP Report 35E (2012) presented the process economics of two commercially successful processes: (i) n-butane dehydrogenation based on the Lummus Catadiene® process and (ii) mixed butenes oxidative dehydrogenation based on the TPC Oxo-DTM process. The process economics of two additional processes for the oxidative dehydrogenation of n-butene were later covered in PEP Report 35F (2014): (i) low energy-intense process by TPC and (ii) dual catalyst system by SK Energy.
In this review, we will explore the oxidative dehydrogenation of n-butenes based on patent information from LG Chem. The production economic assessment presented in this review is based on a plant located in the United States Gulf Coast (USGC) region, with an annual production capacity of 100,000 tons/year of 1,3-butadiene. An interactive iPEP Navigator® module, which is an Excel-based computer costing tool developed by S&P Global Commodity Insights, is also attached with the electronic version of this review to allow quick calculation of the process economics in other major regions of the world.
The technological and economic assessments of the process are Process Economics Program (PEP)’s independent interpretation of the commercial process based on information presented in the open literature, such as patents or technical articles. Although they may not reflect in whole or in part the actual plant configuration, we do believe that they are sufficiently representative of the process and process economics within the range of accuracy required for a conceptual process design evaluation.