OMEGA Process

Achieve Over 99% Conversion with OMEGA

Shell Catalysts & Technologies is the world’s leading licensor of ethylene oxide/glycol technology. Shell’s affiliates are also among the world’s largest ethylene oxide (EO) producers and significant global ethylene glycol (EG) manufacturers.

Shell has issued licenses for 89 EO/EG plants worldwide, 53 of which are still operating. Nearly 40% of the world’s EO is produced in Shell-licensed and designed plants. More than 50% of the world’s EO is made using Shell Catalysts & Technologies’ catalysts.

Shell’s 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 “Only MEG Advantage”. 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.