How much do you know about the styrene dehydrogenation reactor, the most complex reactor in refining and chemical processing units? (II) Badger process dehydrogenation reactor
Thread Content
Continuing from the previous article: How much do you know about the styrene dehydrogenation reactor, the most complex reactor in refining units? (1) Lummus process dehydrogenation reactor: https://bbs.hcbbs.com/thread-5703091-1-1.html (Source: Haichuan Chemical Industry Forum) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Badger process dehydrogenation reactor: In recent years, among the large-scale styrene production facilities built in China, apart from the Lummus technology, another widely used technology is the Badger process. Compared to the Lummus process, the reactor structure of Badger is relatively simple. Badger Company’s styrene process consists of two main parts: reaction and distillation. In its standard design, the reaction section includes two steam superheaters, two radial-flow reactors, an inter-reactor reheat heat exchanger, a feed/effluent heat exchanger, a reactor effluent condenser, a gas/hydrocarbon-liquid/water separator, and an exhaust gas compression system. Unlike the Lummus unit, which integrates functions such as feed mixing and intermediate reheating highly within the reactor, the styrene reactor of Badger has a more pure function and a simpler structure. Before entering the main reactor, the steam is thoroughly mixed with the ethylbenzene/steam feed in a separate mixer, thereby achieving a uniform ethylbenzene concentration at the catalyst inlet; whereas Lummus’ mixer is integrated at the inlet of the lower section of the first reactor. Furthermore, Badger’s process installs the reheat exchanger between the first and second reactors separately, rather than embedding it above the second reactor as in the Lummus technology.
Another feature of the Badger process reactor is the large elbow at the steam outlet at the bottom of the first reactor. Badger believes that a nozzle structure at 90° to the reactor axis will result in uneven distribution of the fluid around the catalytic bed; therefore, the nozzles connected at 90° were replaced with elbow pipes with bypass sections, thereby enabling rapid mixing of gases within these elbows. The similarity between the two processes lies in the arrangement of the catalyst screens inside the reactor, as well as the parabolic-shaped internal distribution tube, which are used to reduce the residence time of the material and ensure uniform distribution of the feed in both the axial and radial directions within the catalyst bed. The Gulei refining and chemical integration project in 2020, as well as the Beifang Huajin and Jilin Petrochemical projects in 2024, all adopted the Badger process technology.
How much do you know about the styrene dehydrogenation reactor, the most complex reactor in refining and chemical processing units? (III) Sinopec ST process dehydrogenation reactor https://bbs.hcbbs.com/thread-5703093-1-1.html (Source: Haichuan Chemical Industry Forum)
【Ten Years of Rapid Development in Chemical Engineering Equipment】From 2027 to 2034, the world’s first industrial-scale solar thermal synthetic fuel project, “DAWN”, began operational testing. https://bbs.hcbbs.com/thread-5702880-1-1.html (Source: Haichuan Chemical Industry Forum)
【Ten Years of Rapid Development in Chemical Engineering Equipment】Acceptance of 2736-2025 long-shaft centrifugal pumps for oil fields completed; new advances achieved in water injection equipment for offshore platforms https://bbs.hcbbs.com/thread-5702942-1-1.html (Source: Haichuan Chemical Industry Forum)
【Ten Years of Rapid Development in Chemical Engineering Equipment】2738-2025: \"Shenmu Machinery’s Development of China’s First Eight-Stage Multi-Axis Carbon Dioxide Compressor\" Contributed to the Successful Operation of the World’s Largest Coal-Fired Power Plant Carbon Capture Project https://bbs.hcbbs.com/thread-5702987-1-1.html (Source: Haichuan Chemical Industry Forum)
【Ten Years of Rapid Development in Chemical Engineering Equipment】2739-2025: Accelerating breakthroughs in challenging problems and technical bottlenecks; the Chinese Academy of Sciences launches an international scientific initiative on the biological conversion of carbon dioxide https://bbs.hcbbs.com/thread-5703002-1-1.html (Source: Haichuan Chemical Engineering Forum)
【Ten Years of Rapid Development in Chemical Equipment】2743-2025: Industrialization breakthrough of furan hydrogenation refining catalysts at Hyosung Chemical, by China National Research Institute for Chemical Industry https://bbs.hcbbs.com/thread-5703034-1-1.html (Source: Haichuan Chemical Forum)