【Ten Years of Rapid Development in Chemical Equipment】2162-2024: Breaking Monopolies! New technology for producing maleic anhydride from butane using ionic liquids has been approved

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Give praise and support to the achievements made in China’s chemical engineering technology and equipment; your participation in discussions is the greatest encouragement. **********************【Ten Years of Great Development in Chemical Engineering Equipment】Regular updates and summaries are available; feel free to join the discussions at https://bbs.hcbbs.com/thread-3576046-1-1.html ***************** By the end of 2024, the project titled “New Catalysts and Processes for the Efficient Oxidation of Butane to Maleic Anhydride Using Ionic Liquids, along with Their Industrial Application,” which was carried out jointly by the Institute of Process Engineering of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Liaoning Shengze Catalyst Technology Co., Ltd., and Luoyang Refining & Chemical Co., Ltd., passed the evaluation of scientific and technological achievements organized by the China Petroleum and Chemical Industry Federation in Beijing. The appraisal committee, led by He Mingyuan, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, unanimously agreed that this achievement is at the international leading level, marking a significant technological breakthrough in China’s maleic anhydride industry. Through 10 years of research, the project team has developed a new type of catalyst for the oxidation of butane to maleic anhydride, as well as a set of green and low-carbon technologies, all of which possess independent intellectual property rights. By innovatively utilizing the microenvironment of ionic liquids, special hydrogen bonds, coordination complexes, and targeted introduction of elements to precisely construct the catalyst, they created low-acidity lattice oxygen catalysts (ILO) with multiple active sites. This approach enabled effective control over the solvent environment and activation conditions, and a set of technologies for the large-scale production of ILO catalysts was developed. The catalysts produced exhibit controllable structure, excellent quality, and stable performance. At the same time, new types of catalysts, high-efficiency butane oxidation reactors, and activation devices were developed. Key technologies such as gas distribution, heat removal during the reaction, and the proper packing of catalysts were overcome, enabling efficient and selective conversion of butane and breaking the long-term monopoly held by international giants over succinic anhydride production technology. In recent years, this achievement has been successfully applied to more than 10 industrial succinic anhydride plants, including those operated by Luoyang Refining & Chemical, Huizhou Yuxin, and Karamay Jinyuan Fine Chemicals, yielding significant economic and environmental benefits, with economic gains exceeding 20 billion yuan. Compared with traditional technologies, the new catalyst performs excellently in the production of maleic anhydride: the one-pass conversion rate of butane exceeds 85%, the selectivity for maleic anhydride is greater than 82%, the selectivity for light acids is below 0.1%, the quality yield of maleic anhydride increases by 10%, and the amount of light acid by-products is reduced by over 90%. The process conditions are improved, with the peak temperature decreasing by 20–30°C. The average butane consumption per ton of maleic anhydride produced is reduced to 1.03 tons per ton. The overall performance of this catalyst is superior to that of similar products available domestically and internationally. 　Experts believe that the operation results of the device show it is ahead of existing technologies in terms of improved catalyst performance, industrial application, and environmental sustainability. The promotion and application of this technology will drive the chemical industry toward a low-carbon, green direction, further enhancing the international influence of ion liquid research and development. Through large-scale industrialization, not only has the efficiency of utilizing petrochemical resources been effectively improved, but environmental pollution has also been significantly reduced, thereby promoting the high-quality development of the industry. 　　It is reported that tetraalkanes (butane) are one of the common by-products of associated gas in oil fields during oil extraction, as well as in the petroleum refining process. They are primarily used as low-value fuels for direct combustion, resulting in significant carbon emissions. The production of maleic anhydride, the world’s third-largest organic anhydride, from n-butane and oxygen (air) not only enables the high-value conversion and utilization of alkanes but also facilitates the integrated development of carbon-negative technologies with emerging industries such as high-end unsaturated resins, electronic packaging, and food and pharmaceuticals. Vanadium phosphorus oxide (VPO)-based catalysts are currently the most effective catalysts for the oxidation of n-butane to maleic anhydride, as well as the only catalysts for the selective oxidation of lower alkanes that have been put into industrial use. However, they suffer from issues such as low conversion rates and poor selectivity, and their core technologies are controlled by foreign countries.