Complementary Technologies (Ethylene Production)

The BASF NMP-based butadiene extraction process, licensed by Lummus Technology since 1990, is the preferred technology for the production of high purity 1,3-butadiene from crude C₄ cuts. The technology is successfully applied in 41 plants worldwide, with a total capacity exceeding four million tons per year.

Our dealkylation technologies (DETOL®, LITOL® and PYROTOL®) produce high purity benzene from any aromatics-rich feedstock. The yield of benzene from the higher homologs is nearly stoichiometric. Each technology is designed specifically for the feedstock to be processed.

The Ethylene Dimerization process dimerizes ethylene to produce butene-2 and butene-1. The catalyst is formulated to offer a high selectivity to butene-2. The butene-2 to butene-1 product ratio is about nine to one. As such it is ideally suited to applications where ethylene is dimerized as feed to an Olefins Conversion Unit thereby permitting the conversion of ethylene to propylene.

Olefins Conversion Technology (OCT) employs metathesis and isomerization chemistry to produce propylene from reacting ethylene with C₄ and/or C₅ olefins. This is the only commercially demonstrated route to propylene using metathesis chemistry.

The Comonomer Production Technology (CPT) can be utilized to produce two valuable comonomers: butene-1 and hexene-1. These comonomers are commonly used in polyethylene and polypropylene production. Unlike other routes to butene-1 and hexene-1, which dimerize or trimerize polymer grade ethylene to produce the comonomer, CPT uses a much lower cost steam cracker or refinery based C₄ raffinate as the feed.

The BASF process called SELOP is licensed by Lummus Technology for C₄ and C₅ selective hydrogenation. In the process C₄s or C₅s from an ethylene plant or MTO unit are selectively hydrogenated to convert the contained acetylenes and dienes to primarily olefins.

Various refinery processing schemes such as FCC, coker, high olefin FCC and DCC produce C₃ and lighter components that often are rejected to the refinery fuel gas system. Lummus Technology's Low Pressure Recovery (LPR) technology is a highly efficient, low cost and inherently safe process for the recovery of ethylene, propylene, ethane and propane from these and other refinery off gas streams.

Hydrocracking technology plays a major role in meeting the need for cleaner-burning fuels, effective feedstocks for FCC and petrochemical operations, and high quality lubricating oils. ISOCRACKING®, offered by Chevron Lummus Global (CLG), a joint venture between Lummus Technology and Chevron U.S.A. Inc., is CLG’s hydrocracking technology with more than 65 new units licensed since 2000. 

Patented process technology and proprietary know-how developed by Lummus Technology are used in more than 200 natural gas plants around the world.

Building on a track record of over 100 Pressure Swing Adsorption (PSA) units since 1969, Lummus Technology is your full-range supplier of adsorption-based gas separation plants for hydrogen, helium and other high-value gases.