The companies, which have been developing E-ODH independently for many years, said the partnership combines their complementary patent positions, expert know-how and common commitment to a lower-carbon future and will accelerate deployment of the technology across the wider chemicals sector. Linde will market the technology under the name Edhox.

“With the Edhox process, we have not only developed a cost-efficient alternative but are also providing the petrochemical industry with a low-emission process,” said John van der Velden, senior vice president global sales & technology at Linde Engineering. “For decades, we have been actively developing technologies for more sustainability in this industry - from efficiency improvements to carbon management and new process routes. We are convinced that Linde´s Edhox technology position will be strengthened by Shell´s intellectual property and know-how in this area.”

The technology, which has been commercially validated in a demonstration plant at Pullach, Germany, is suitable for ethylene producers as well as industrial customers who need both ethylene and acetic acid to produce chemicals such as vinyl acetate monomer, ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer and polyvinyl alcohol products.

As a further advantage, the pure CO₂ stream that is extracted is suitable for further downstream processes or storage. Edhox can also be combined with other Linde technologies, such as its FlexASU process for the flexible production of gases or liquefied gases, or it can increase the capacity of steam crackers with potential CO₂ reduction.

In June, Shell teamed up with Dow to develop, design and scale-up cracking technology that can use renewable electricity rather than fossil fuels. Shell said using renewable electricity to heat steam cracker furnaces could become one of the routes to decarbonize the chemicals industry.

Work on designing and scaling ‘e-cracker’ technologies is already underway by project teams in Amsterdam and Terneuzen, the Netherlands, and Texas, USA. In the coming years, the teams will work to first prove process technology innovations in laboratory and pilot operations, and to then scale up to commercial crackers.

Author: Elaine Burridge, Freelance Journalist