ABSTRACT
Less than 20% of LAB is produced from alpha olefins. Purchased alpha olefins may be economical for LAB production when a small volume of LAB is required. At large volumes, routes based on n-paraffins often are more attractive. There is a trend to lower paraffinic crude oils that may result in a shift in the LAB production economics to favor alpha olefins. Perhaps offsetting this effect, recent improvements in catalyst efficiency by UOP (1] have improved the economics of the paraffin route. The economics are also influenced by the differences in the cost of paraffins and the cost of ethylene.
