HYDROGENATION OF MULTI-BROMINATED ALKANES

1 . A method comprising:

reacting at least hydrogen and multi-brominated alkanes in the presence of a catalyst to form a hydrogenated stream comprising brominated alkanes having fewer bromine substituents than the multi-brominated alkanes reacted with the hydrogen.

2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the multi-brominated alkanes comprise di-brominated methane, and wherein the brominated alkanes having fewer bromine substituents comprise mono-brominated methane.

3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the catalyst comprises a catalyst capable of forming multiple thermally reversible complexes with bromine.

4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the catalyst comprises a catalyst selected from the group consisting of iron oxide deposited on a support and platinum dispersed on a support.

5 . A method comprising:

forming bromination products comprising brominated alkanes from bromination reactants comprising alkanes and bromine, wherein the brominated alkanes comprise mono-brominated alkanes and multi-brominated alkanes;

forming hydrogenation products comprising additional mono-brominated alkanes from hydrogenation reactants comprising hydrogen and at least a portion of the multi-brominated alkanes formed from the bromination reactants; and

forming synthesis products comprising hydrocarbons from synthesis reactants comprising reactant mono-brominated bromines, wherein the reactant mono-brominated bromines comprise at least a portion of the mono-brominated alkanes formed from the bromination reactants and at least a portion of the additional mono-brominated alkanes formed from the hydrogenation reactants.

6 . The method of claim 5 , wherein the multi-brominated alkanes present in the brominated alkanes comprise di-brominated methane.

7 . The method of claim 5 , wherein forming the bromination products comprises reacting at least the alkanes and the bromine in the presence of a catalyst.

8 . The method of claim 5 , wherein forming the hydrogenation products comprises reacting at least the hydrogen and the portion of the multi-brominated alkanes in the presence of a catalyst.

9 . The method of claim 8 , wherein the catalyst comprises a catalyst capable of forming multiple thermally reversible complexes with bromine.

10 . The method of claim 8 , wherein the catalyst comprises a catalyst selected from the group consisting of iron oxide deposited on a support and platinum dispersed on a support.

11 . The method of claim 5 , comprising reacting at least alkanes and steam to form produced hydrogen, wherein the hydrogen present in the hydrogenation reactants comprises the produced hydrogen.

12 . The method of claim 5 , comprising electrolyzing hydrogen bromide to form produced hydrogen, wherein the hydrogen present in the hydrogenation reactants comprises the produced hydrogen.

13 . The method of claim 5 , comprising electrolyzing a metal bromide salt to form produced hydrogen, wherein the hydrogen present in the hydrogenation reactants comprises the produced hydrogen.

14 . The method of claim 5 , wherein forming the synthesis products comprises reacting at least the reactant mono-brominated alkanes in the presence of a catalyst.

15 . The method of claim 14 , wherein the catalyst comprises a synthetic crystalline aluminosilicate oxide framework.

16 . The method of claim 5 , comprising recovering a liquid product stream comprising C5+ hydrocarbons, wherein the C5+ hydrocarbons are present in the hydrocarbons formed in the step of forming synthesis products.

17 . The method of claim 5 , comprising recovering a liquid product stream comprising olefins, wherein the olefins are present in the hydrocarbons formed in the step of forming synthesis products.

18 . The method of claim 5 , comprising:

separating hydrogen bromide from at least a portion of the hydrocarbons present in the synthesis products by dissolving the hydrogen bromide in water;

neutralizing at least a portion of the hydrogen bromide to form a metal bromide salt; and

oxidizing at least a portion of the metal bromide salt to form oxidation products comprising recovered bromine; and

recycling the recovered bromine formed in the oxidizing step, wherein the recovered bromide is used in forming additional brominated alkanes.

19 . The method of claim 18 , comprising:

electrolyzing another portion of the hydrogen bromide to form electrolysis products comprising produced hydrogen and additional recovered bromine,

recycling the produced hydrogen, and

recycling the additional recovered bromine.

20 . The method of claim 18 , comprising:

electrolyzing another portion of the metal bromide salt to form electrolysis products comprising produced hydrogen and additional recovered bromine,

recycling the produced hydrogen, and

recycling the additional recovered bromine.

21 . The method of claim 5 , comprising separating hydrogen bromide from at least a portion of the hydrocarbons present in the synthesis products, the separating comprising reacting the hydrogen bromide with a metal oxide to form a metal bromide;

oxidizing the metal bromide to form oxidation products comprising the metal oxide and recovered bromine; and

recycling the recovered bromine formed in the oxidizing step, wherein the recovered bromine is used in forming additional brominated alkanes.

22 . The method of claim 21 , comprising:

prior to the step of separating the hydrogen bromide, separating the synthesis products into a first synthesis product stream and a second synthesis product stream, wherein the first synthesis product stream comprises the portion of the hydrocarbons reacted with the metal oxide;

separating additional hydrogen bromide from the hydrocarbons present in the second synthesis product stream; and

electrolyzing at least a portion of the additional hydrogen bromide to form electrolysis products comprising produced hydrogen and additional recovered bromine;

recycling the produced hydrogen; and

recycling the recovered bromine.

23 . The method of claim 21 , comprising:

prior to the step of separating the hydrogen bromide, separating the synthesis products into a first synthesis product stream and a second synthesis product stream, wherein the first synthesis product stream comprises the portion of the hydrocarbons reacted with the metal oxide;

separating additional hydrogen bromide from the hydrocarbons present in the second synthesis product stream;

neutralizing the additional hydrogen bromide to form neutralization products comprising a metal bromide salt;

electrolyzing at least a portion of the additional metal bromide salt to form electrolysis products comprising produced hydrogen and additional recovered bromine;

recycling the produced hydrogen; and

recycling the additional recovered bromine.

24 . The method of claim 5 , comprising:

introducing the synthesis products into a product recovery unit, wherein the synthesis products further comprise hydrogen bromide and unreacted methane;

removing a liquid product stream comprising product hydrocarbons from the product recovery unit;

removing a stream comprising the hydrogen bromide and the unreacted methane from the product recovery unit;

electrolyzing at least a portion of the hydrogen bromide to form electrolysis products comprising recovered bromine and produced hydrogen;

recycling the recovered bromine; and

recycling at least a portion of the produced hydrogen.

25 . The method of claim 5 , comprising: operating at least one electrolysis cell used in the electrolyzing step in an air-depolarized mode, such that the electrolysis products further comprise water.

26 . The method of claim 5 , comprising separating the bromination products into a bypass stream and a hydrogenation feed stream comprising the hydrogenation reactants.

27 . The method of claim 26 , wherein the separating step comprises cooling the bromination products.

28 . The method of claim 27 , comprising:

heating the bypass stream; and

heating the hydrogenation feed stream.

29 . A system comprising:

a bromination reactor configured to form bromination products comprising brominated alkanes from bromination reactants comprising alkanes and bromine, wherein the brominated alkanes comprise mono-brominated alkanes and multi-brominated alkanes;

a hydrogenation reactor in fluid communication with the bromination reactor and configured to form hydrogenation products comprising additional mono-brominated alkanes from hydrogenation reactants comprising hydrogen and at least a portion of the multi-brominated alkanes from the bromination reactor; and

a synthesis reactor in fluid communication with the hydrogenation reactor and configured to form synthesis products comprising hydrocarbons from synthesis reactants comprising reactant mono-brominated bromines, wherein the reactant mono-brominated bromines comprise at least a portion of the mono-brominated alkanes from the bromination reactor and at least a portion of the additional mono-brominated alkanes from the hydrogenation reactor.

30 . The method of claim 5 , wherein the alkanes are sourced from natural gas, coal-bed methane, regasified liquefied natural gas, gas derived from gas hydrates and/or chlathrates, gas derived from anerobic decomposition of organic matter or biomass, gas derived in the processing of tar sands, synthetically produced natural gas or alkanes, or mixtures of these sources.

31 . The method of claim 5 , wherein the alkanes are sourced from synthetically produced alkanes.

32 . The method of claim 5 , wherein the alkanes are sourced from synthetically produced natural gas.

33 . The method of claim 5 , wherein the alkanes are sourced from gas derived in the processing of tar sands.