SELOx TM process for the production of propylene oxide/tert-butanol – complete technology suite and industrial demonstration plant
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This post was last edited by Zhi Zi Ming on 2021-3-5 at 13:17. Recently, China’s first set of technology for producing propylene oxide using the co-oxidation method, developed through a collaboration between Binhua Group and Tsinghua University’s Institute of Industrial Research – namely the “SELOx TM process for the production of propylene oxide/tert-butanol and its industrial application” (PO/TBA) – passed the evaluation of scientific and technological achievements organized by the China Petroleum and Chemical Industry Federation. Its industrial demonstration plant, the \"300,000 tons per year of propylene oxide with 780,000 tons per year of tert-butanol production facility,\" is set to begin construction in the near future, with a construction period of 2 years.
The main domestic methods for producing propylene oxide include the chlorohydrin process, the co-oxidation process, the hydrogen peroxide process for propylene oxide production (HPPO), and the cumene oxidation process for propylene oxide production (CHPPO). Among these, the chlorohydrin method accounts for the largest share; in China, only one company uses the CHPPO process, and there are no manufacturers that employ the direct oxidation method using air (or oxygen). Due to issues such as severe equipment corrosion and large amounts of wastewater generated, the chlorohydrin process has been classified as a restricted process in the \"Guidelines for Industrial Structure Adjustment (2019 Edition)\\", and the construction of new chlorohydrin production facilities has been banned since 2015. Co-oxidation and HPPO will be the main technologies for propylene oxide production in China in the future. Looking at the projects under construction and those in the planning stage over the past two years, the domestic combined oxidation method and the HPPO method are advancing side by side, each accounting for about half.
Previously, on December 17, 2020, the PO/TBA industrialization test was successfully completed; the industrial demonstration plant (a facility capable of producing 300,000 tons of propylene oxide along with 780,000 tons of tert-butanol) was contracted out to Huisheng Engineering for overall construction.
Binhua also falls under Stream B; right after the successful completion of its industrial trial, it proceeded to build a 300,000-ton industrial demonstration plant.