OMEGA process

The OMEGA process ( for Only Mono Ethylene Glycol -Advanced Process) is a method of Royal Dutch Shell to produce highly selective mono- Ethylenlglycol of ethylene oxide, carbon dioxide and water.

Process

The conventional representation of mono- ethylene glycol ( MEG) is carried out by reaction of ethylene oxide with water. However, the mono- ethylene glycol produced in the first reaction stage reacts with ethylene oxide to further di-and triethylene glycol that make working up by distillation necessary. Selectivity to MEG is about 90%.

The OMEGA process, the ethylene oxide first with carbon dioxide ( CO2) is converted to ethylene and then to react with water in a second step to selectively mono- ethylene glycol. The carbon dioxide is released again in this step and can be fed back into the process circuit. The carbon dioxide is derived in part from the production of ethylene oxide wherein a part of the ethylene is oxidized via the stage of the epoxide addition.

(1)

(2)

The selectivity is approximately 99.5%.

(Mono) ethyleneglycol is used mainly for the production of polyethylene terephthalate, and as a corrosion inhibitor in cooling fluids.

A full-scale plant with 750,000 tonnes annual capacity went into operation in 2009.