OMEGA Process
Shell鈥檚 OMEGA process for producing mono-ethylene glycol (MEG) from ethylene in a 2-stage, fully catalytic process, which has enabled many operators to achieve a conversion efficiency of over 99% compared to around 90% for conventional processes which utilise a thermal route to convert ethylene oxide (EO) into MEG.
Achieve Over 99% Conversion with the OMEGA Process
Shell Catalysts & Technologies is the world鈥檚 leading licensor of ethylene oxide/glycol technology. Shell鈥檚 affiliates are also among the world鈥檚 largest ethylene oxide (EO) producers and significant global ethylene glycol (EG) manufacturers.
Shell has issued licenses for 89 , 53 of which are still operating. Nearly 40% of the world鈥檚 EO is produced in Shell-licensed and designed plants. More than 50% of the world鈥檚 EO is made using Shell Catalysts & Technologies鈥� catalysts.
Shell鈥檚 OMEGA process for producing mono-ethylene glycol (MEG) from EO has enabled many operators to achieve a conversion efficiency of over 99% compared to around 90% for conventional processes.
OMEGA stands for 鈥淥nly MEG Advantage鈥�. Unlike conventional processes, OMEGA enables operators to avoid production of co-products (diethylene glycol and triethylene glycol) which removes the need for handling and storage facilities for these co-products.
OMEGA combines a Shell Catalysts & Technologies high-selectivity (HS) or high performance (HP) catalyst for the conversion of ethylene to ethylene oxide (EO) with a catalytic process to convert EO to MEG.
OMEGA enables many operators to use about 20% less steam and about 30% less wastewater than a traditional thermal conversion MEG plant with the same capacity. OMEGA enables many operators to produce significantly less carbon dioxide per tonne of MEG than conventional processes.
An OMEGA plant also costs less to build for the same MEG yield than a traditional plant, so it stands out on economic grounds as well. As every plant is tailor-made and tuned to customer wishes and local conditions and constraints, capital investment costs will vary from plant to plant.
After plant start-up, Shell Catalysts & Technologies will continue to provide operational support. Process design studies relating to plant modifications or debottlenecking can also be accommodated.
OMEGA is the world鈥檚 first entirely catalytic commercial process for production of EO/EG.
Shell鈥檚 OMEGA process, compared to conventional alternatives, in most cases, enables operators to produce MEG without co-products, minimising the costs of storage and handling facilities.
OMEGA allows operators to achieve by far the lowest consumption of ethylene per tonne of MEG achieved so far in the industry. For every tonne of ethylene, operators with OMEGA have produced up to 1.95 tonnes of MEG compared with conventional processes which produce between 1.53 tonnes to 1.70 tonnes.
