Continuous process for converting natural gas to liquid hydrocarbons

1. A method comprising:

providing a halogen stream;

providing a first alkane stream;

reacting at least a portion of the halogen stream with at least a portion of the first alkane stream to form a halogenated stream, wherein the halogenated stream comprises alkyl monohalides, alkyl polyhalides, and hydrogen halide;

providing a second alkane stream;

reacting at least a portion of the second alkane stream with at least a portion of the alkyl polyhalides to create at least some additional alkyl monohalides;

contacting at least some of the alkyl monohalides and additional alkyl monohalides with a coupling catalyst to form a product stream that comprises at least some higher hydrocarbons and hydrogen halide;

contacting the product stream with a solid reactant to remove at least a portion of the hydrogen halide from the product stream; and

reacting the solid reactant with a source of oxygen to generate a corresponding halogen.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein contacting the product stream with a solid reactant and reacting the solid reactant with a source of oxygen occur at different temperatures.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the solid reactant comprises a calcium silicate.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein the calcium silicate is doped with an alkali metal.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the solid reactant comprises at least one material selected from the group consisting of: a nickel oxide, a cobalt oxide, a copper oxide, a calcium oxide, an iron oxide, and a combination thereof.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein the solid reactant is synthesized using a sol-gel method, a sol-gel method coupled with oil-drop method, a co-precipitation based method, or a combination thereof.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the solid reactant comprises a fluorinated alumina.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein the solid reactant comprises an impregnated metal oxide.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein the solid reactant is doped with an alkali or alkali earth metal.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein the solid reactant is formed by contacting an alumina with a fluorinated agent.

11. The method of 1 further comprising:

combining an aqueous fluid with the product stream in a quench column to lower the temperature of the product stream prior to contacting the product stream with the solid reactant.

12. The method of 11 wherein the aqueous fluid is water.

13. The method of 11 wherein the quench column comprises at least one column type selected from the group consisting of: a packed bed column and a spray tower.

14. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

after contacting the product stream with the solid reactant to remove at least a portion of the hydrogen halide, further contacting the product stream with an organic solvent to absorb at least some of the higher hydrocarbons; and

separating the organic solvent from at least some of the higher hydrocarbons.

15. The method of claim 14 wherein the organic solvent is contacted with the product stream in an absorber.

16. The method of claim 14 wherein the organic solvent comprises a non-volatile hydrocarbon.

17. The method of claim 14 wherein the organic solvent comprises at least one solvent selected from the group consisting of: mesitylene, diesel, a mixture of non-volatile hydrocarbons, and a combination thereof.

18. The method of claim 14 wherein the higher hydrocarbons are separated from the organic solvent in a series of separators to produce a plurality of streams with different hydrocarbon fractions.

19. The method of claim 1 wherein the product stream further comprises light hydrocarbons and heavier hydrocarbons.

20. The method of claim 19 further comprising:

passing the product stream through an expansion valve, wherein the temperature of the product stream drops during expansion and at least a portion of the heavier hydrocarbons condense; and

separating the condensed heavier hydrocarbons from the light hydrocarbons.

21. The method of claim 20 further comprising:

thermally contacting the separated light hydrocarbons with the product stream in a heat exchanger prior to the product stream passing through the expansion valve.

22. A method comprising:

providing an alkyl halide stream comprising alkyl halides;

contacting at least some of the alkyl halides with a coupling catalyst to form a product stream comprising at least some higher hydrocarbons and hydrogen halide;

separating at least some of the product stream from the hydrogen halide; and

contacting the hydrogen halide with oxygen and an aqueous solution comprising a metal capable of forming multiple stable oxidation states to generate a corresponding halogen and water.

23. The method of claim 22 wherein the metal capable of forming multiple oxidation states comprises at least one metal selected from the group consisting of: Cu, Fe, Sb, Mn, V, As, Ru, and a combination thereof.

24. The method of claim 22 wherein the aqueous solution has a pH less than about 7.0.

25. The method of claim 22 wherein the contacting of the hydrogen halide, oxygen, and the aqueous solution takes place at a temperature from about 65° C. to about 300° C.

26. The method of claim 22 wherein the contacting of the hydrogen halide, oxygen, and the aqueous solution takes place at a pressure from about 0.1 atm to about 40 atm.

27. The method of claim 22 further comprising separating the corresponding halogen and the water.

28. The method of claim 27 wherein the steps of contacting the hydrogen halide with oxygen and an aqueous solution and separating the corresponding halogen and the water both take place in a reactive distillation unit.

29. The method of claim 27 further comprising:

providing an alkane stream;

contacting the alkane stream with the separated corresponding halogen to form the alkyl halide stream.