New BASF Dehydration Catalyst Relies On Novel Geometry
Sept. 30, 2022
BASF CircleStar catalyst decreases CO2 footprint in the bio-ethylene value chain for products ranging from jet fuel to plastics.
By Chemical Processing Staff
BASF introduces CircleStar, a dehydration catalyst to process renewable feedstocks. The novel star-shaped catalyst achieves a 99.5% selectivity for the ethanol-to-ethylene (E2E) conversion. With an operating temperature that is more than 25°C lower compared to conventional processes, CircleStar reportedly helps to decrease the carbon footprint in the bio-ethylene value chain for products ranging from jet fuel to plastics by more than 10% while keeping the same performance.
The advanced performance of this innovative catalyst is due to its unique star shape that maximizes the active geometrical surface area for the reaction, according to the company. In addition, the packed density in the reactor bed is significantly lower compared to conventionally shaped catalysts, which impacts the overall cost optimization of the reaction. The novel geometry reportedly also leads to a better mass transfer and a longer catalyst lifetime due to the beneficial operation temperature and pressure-drop profile.
The E2E process plays a fundamental role for the chemical industry to transform to climate neutrality and to achieve their net-zero targets. Existing ethylene is 99% fossil-based while BASF says the E2E catalyst offers the possibility of changing the ethylene and its downstream value chain to make it bio-based. In this process, CircleStar helps to further decrease the CO2 emissions in the bio-based route by enabling lower temperature operations, longer lifetime and lower pressure drop in the catalyst bed, according to BASF.
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