cleaning products, antifreeze, pesticides and polyurethane foams. It is, therefore, crucial to find reliable ways to produce and transform renewable ethylene in order to decarbonise this industry.
of existing infrastructure improves the overall economic viability of the technology. Atol bio- ethylene can therefore be fed into existing or new units for PE, EO, ethylene glycol, PET, polyolefins, alpha-olefins for linear alkylbenzene and poly-alpha-olefins, benzene alkylation for polystyrene or acrylonitrile-butadiene. It thus enables a solution to decarbonise industries that rely on these chemical intermediates. Developed through industrial collaboration The partnership between TotalEnergies, IFPEN, and its affiliate Axens began in 2011, following a strategic decision taken in the 2000s by Axens and IFPEN to move into the alcohols sector. Atol benefits from each partner bringing mutually compatible skills to the table. TotalEnergies developed a high-performance catalyst formulation at its research centre in Feluy, Belgium, and has considerable experience in cracker operations, including ethylene purification. IFPEN brought its extensive know- how in scale-up, modelling, and heat recovery strategy, while Axens industrialised the catalyst formulation and finalised the process with a particular focus on energy efficiency. While TotalEnergies and IFPEN are the co-owners of the technology, Axens is the sole entity responsible for commercialising Atol, providing all licensing services (basic engineering package, training, technical assistance, digitalisation with remote monitoring) and catalyst manufacturing so end customers and investors can benefit from end-to-end guarantees. The Atol alcohol dehydration programme has led to a family of processes with the clear ambition of bringing bio-olefins production to scale, unlocking the potential of alcohols for biofuel and biochemical applications. This strategy clearly anticipated the challenges that would arise in terms of climate change after the Paris Agreement signature in 2015. Catalyst offers optimal performance and energy management Atol offers a simple and easy-to-operate process with conventional equipment. At the core of the technology is a unique catalyst that pushes the performance of the process beyond the boundaries of classical dehydration processes: it features much higher resistance
Ethylene production in an era of decarbonisation
The traditional process of producing ethylene from steam cracker plants has relied primarily on fossil fuels, such as naphtha or natural gas. To comply with new governmental regulations aimed at reducing carbon emissions and respond to society’s rising demands for more sustainable or low-carbon products, industries manufacturing plastics and chemicals will need to find innovative pathways for responsibly producing the ethylene required for their activities. To this end, several bio-based alternatives to fossil feedstocks are currently available to reduce the carbon footprint of the ethylene industry, though many present their own challenges. To comply with new governmental regulations, industries manufacturing plastics and chemicals will need to find innovative pathways for responsibly producing the ethylene required for their activities One route for overcoming these issues has been paved by the French technology provider Axens, which offers solutions for the conversion of oil and biomass to cleaner fuels and chemicals. Together with TotalEnergies and IFPEN, the company has developed Atol, a technology for producing polymer-grade, bio- based ethylene through the dehydration of a wide range of bio-ethanol feedstocks, including agricultural or forestry residues, thereby reducing our reliance on fossil fuels and non- renewable resources. The process converts bio-ethanol into its olefin partner, bio-ethylene, which is chemically indistinguishable from fossil-based ethylene. This means that the bio-ethylene has the potential to replace fossil-based ethylene partially or totally in the full range of existing downstream industrial assets. The reutilisation
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