Recent advances in gas-to-liquids process intensification with emphasis on reactive distillation

Process intensification (PI) is a branch of process synthesis that encompasses and impacts a number of process technologies. Research in PI has recently gained considerable attention due to challenges related to energy and the environment, alongside risks in capital investment decisions. These challenges necessitate the development of optimization-based computational tools for process synthesis and design, which enable the integration of multiple phenomena that occur at different scales in an intensified unit. Current efforts in the field are yielding promising results that indicate the transformation of the petrochemical industry. This review highlights the role that PI can play in the production of fuels, chemicals and electricity from natural/shale gas, using reactive distillation with a Fischer-Tropsch-based gas-to-liquids application. We also discuss several related gas processing PI applications along with recent algorithmic developments for process synthesis.