【Ten Years of Rapid Development in Chemical Equipment】1886–2024: The mobile-bed propane dehydrogenation PST-100 catalyst sets a new world record for continuous operation

01 Technical Background In recent years, China’s demand for propylene has shown a steady upward trend, and it is expected to continue growing steadily in the coming period. The existing capacity for producing propylene from oil sources is not sufficient to meet this increasing market demand. Among them, the propane catalytic dehydrogenation process (PDH) has become an important technology for increasing propylene production. Characterized by high propylene yield, high value of the by-produced hydrogen, high technical maturity, and low investment costs, it is one of the most competitive propylene production processes available today. In 2023, PDH-based propylene production accounted for 29% of the total propylene production capacity, and this share is set to continue rising in the future. 02 R&D History: Building on decades of experience in the research, development, and application of continuous reforming catalysts as well as fluidized bed processes, the R&D team at the Institute of Petrochemistry successfully developed the first generation of fluidized bed propane dehydrogenation catalyst with independent intellectual property rights, PST-100, in 2016. In 2018, the PST-100 catalyst was used for the first time on an industrial scale in a 450,000 tons per year moving-bed propane dehydrogenation unit. The unit started up successfully and operated smoothly; the operational results showed that the catalyst had high activity and a low carbon deposition rate, with only 1.16 tons of propane required to produce one ton of propylene at a WAIT temperature of 630°C ； The catalyst has high strength and low dust levels, which can effectively reduce screen clogging and facilitate the long-term stable operation of the equipment ； The catalyst has a strong chlorine retention capacity; the amount of chlorine required for regeneration is only 1/5 that of similar catalysts. This helps to improve the activity and stability of the catalyst, while reducing the corrosion caused by chlorine on the equipment.

After three years of continuous and stable operation, the experts from the technical review panel gave high praise to the PST-100 propane dehydrogenation catalyst. The PST-100, which is a precious-metal-based moving-bed propane dehydrogenation catalyst developed in China for the first time, has demonstrated, through 3 years of industrial application, high activity, good selectivity, a low carbon deposition rate, high strength, excellent wear resistance, and strong chlorine tolerance; its overall performance is at the international leading level. ” Thereafter, the PST-100 propane dehydrogenation catalyst continued to operate continuously for a long period, sustaining stable operation for over 65 months. 03 Integrated Technology: Building on the successful industrial application of catalysts, in July 2021, the China Academy of Petroleum Sciences collaborated with Sinopec Guangzhou (Luoyang) Engineering Company to develop a 600,000 tons per year moving-bed propane dehydrogenation to propylene (SPDH) process package. The first set of propane dehydrogenation industrial plants with independent intellectual property rights is expected to be handed over by the end of 2024. 04 Iterative Improvement: Building on the successful industrial application of PST-100, the propane dehydrogenation technology team at the China Institute of Petroleum Science developed a new generation of propane dehydrogenation catalyst, PST-200 (with an average particle size of 1.85 mm), to meet the requirements of various application scenarios. This new catalyst maintains high strength and low wear rates, while simultaneously enhancing its activity and stability and reducing the rate of carbon deposition. In July 2023, the PST-200 catalyst was used for the first time in an industrial setting in a company’s 600,000 tons per year moving-bed propane dehydrogenation plant; the plant started up successfully on the first attempt, with a daily propylene production of up to 1,820 tons. The calibration results of the unit show that the new generation of PST-200 catalysts exhibit excellent reaction performance, with high propylene selectivity; only 1.14 tons of propane are required to produce one ton of propylene. The carbon content in the raw catalyst has been significantly reduced, which creates more favorable conditions for further increasing the operating intensity of the unit and enhancing its economic efficiency. Subsequently, the technical team from the Institute of Rock Mechanics further optimized the operating parameters of the device, resulting in an increased propylene production level of 1,960 tons per day – an increase of about 8% compared to the baseline production amount.

05 Technical Features Industrial application results show that the PST series of catalysts possesses the following advantages: 1 High activity and selectivity, resulting in high propylene yields. The propylene yield per ton of catalyst throughout its entire life cycle can exceed 10,000 tons, while the propane consumption per ton of propylene produced is less than 1.16. 2. Low carbon deposition rate and excellent regeneration performance: A lower carbon deposition rate enhances the activity and stability of the catalyst, ensures proper operation of the regenerator, and allows operation under higher reaction temperatures and lower hydrogen-to-hydrocarbon ratios, thereby increasing the propylene production of the plant. 3. It has high strength and low dust levels; the dust content is no more than 0.03% of the catalyst circulation rate. Lower dust levels reduce the likelihood of screen clogging and slow down the increase in reactor pressure drop, thereby facilitating long-term stable operation of the facility. 4. Strong chlorine retention capacity: The chlorine addition rate is only 0.1–0.3% of the catalyst circulation rate. This excellent chlorine retention capacity ensures a high degree of Pt dispersion in the catalyst, thereby guaranteeing its high activity ； A lower chlorine injection rate can significantly reduce the consumption of liquid chlorine and extend the service life of the dechlorination agents used in the facility. 5 Diverse applications: In addition to being used in propane dehydrogenation, the PST series of catalysts can also be employed in isobutane dehydrogenation as well as in the combined dehydrogenation of propane/isobutane.

Moving-bed propane dehydrogenation PST-100 catalyst sets new world record for continuous operation