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Last week, news came from Henan Kaixiang Fine Chemicals Co., Ltd. indicating that the country’s first 1,4-butanediol (BDO) production line using domestic catalysts has been successfully put into operation at the company’s 2×45,000 tons per year 1,4-butanediol facility. The core catalyst used in this device – the 1,4-butynediol synthesis catalyst RK-17 (oxide type) – is supplied by Dalian Rike Technology Co., Ltd. The successful application of this catalyst has made Dalian Rike the first company in China to achieve industrial production and application of such catalysts. Currently, this catalyst has been in successful operation at Henan Kaixiang Fine Chemicals for over a year. Operational data show that during the trial period, the 1,4-butynediol synthesis catalyst RK-17 developed by Dalian Rike exhibited relatively stable performance compared to imported catalysts. Specifically, parameters such as the formaldehyde concentration at the outlet of each reactor, the copper ion concentration in the solution at the outlet of the reaction system, the particle size distribution of the extracted catalyst, the filtration time, and the pressure difference in the reaction system remained relatively stable, meeting the performance criteria of the catalyst used as an input. The 1,4-butanediol industry is in an upward cycle. Using acetylene and formaldehyde as raw materials, the modified alkyne-aldehyde method remains the mainstream process for producing 1,4-butanediol: acetylene and formaldehyde react under the action of a catalyst to form 1,4-butyne diol, which is then hydrogenated to produce 1,4-butanediol. The core of this process, the synthesis of 1,4-butyne diol, primarily uses copper-bismuth catalysts. Until now, the manufacturing technology for copper-bismuth catalysts has been in the hands of foreign companies; as a result, these catalysts are expensive and have long lead times, which hinders the development of the 1,4-butanediol industry in China. In 2017, Dalian Rike developed the RK-17 (oxide-type) catalyst for the synthesis of 1,4-butynediol, which features good activity, stability, selectivity, and filtration properties. The catalyst is primarily composed of oxides such as copper, bismuth, magnesium, and silicon; among these, the content of copper oxide ranges from 45.0% to 50.0%, bismuth oxide from 3.5% to 4.5%, magnesium oxide from 6.5% to 8.5%, and silicon oxide from 40.0% to 45.0%. In January 2020, the first batch of 15 tons of catalysts was tested in Reactor C of Henan Kaixiang Fine Chemical Co., Ltd., which has a capacity of 2×45,000 tons per year for the production of 1,4-butanediol; its performance metrics met or exceeded those of foreign catalysts. In July 2020, the Reactors A and B at Kaixiang Chemical also used the 1,4-butyne diol synthesis catalyst RK-17 from Dalian Ruike. This catalyst accelerates and enhances the reaction rate between formalin solution and acetylene gas in the alkyneation reactor of the 1,4-butanediol production facility, increases the reaction conversion rate under the same reaction time, and ultimately improves the production efficiency and quality of 1,4-butanediol products.