【Ten Years of Rapid Development in Chemical Equipment】Industrial-scale test setup calibration completed for green cyanate ester production technology from 2035 to 2025
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Let’s give praise and encouragement to the achievements made in China’s chemical engineering technology and equipment; your participation in discussions is the greatest encouragement. **********************【Ten Years of Progress in Chemical Engineering Equipment】Regular updates and summaries are available; feel free to join the discussions: https://bbs.hcbbs.com/thread-3576046-1-1.html ***************** Recently, the green synthesis technique for diphenylmethane diisocyanate (MDI) using the urea method, developed jointly by the Institute of Process Engineering of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (hereinafter referred to as the Institute of Process Engineering), together with the Shaanxi Coal Technology Development Center and the Shaanxi Coal and Chemical Industry Technology Research Institute, has successfully completed the calibration of the entire process in the industrial-scale testing setup. During the testing period, the device operated stably with good data, meeting the expected criteria. Isocyanates are important raw materials for producing the strategic engineering plastic polyurethane, among which MDI is a representative product that is widely used in key industries such as automobiles, wind power, and high-speed railways. This technology uses bulk chemicals such as aniline, urea, and formaldehyde as raw materials, and employs a phosgene-free approach to produce isocyanates. It represents a green upgrading technology for key industries that is strongly encouraged under the \"dual carbon\" strategy, as well as the future direction for the development of isocyanate production technologies. It is understood that through 10 years of technical research, the teams led by researchers Li Huiquan and Wang Liguo from the Institute of Process Engineering have overcome a series of key technical challenges. They were able to establish a complete operational process for the industrial-scale testing setup, carry out calibration tests, achieve the desired results, and develop a set of green technologies for the production of non-phosgene isocyanates with independent intellectual property rights. This technology creates an overall process route with high atom economy and intrinsic process safety, which facilitates the construction of production facilities of various scales as well as the development of diverse product lines, offering great potential for widespread adoption. In the future, the R&D team will further optimize the complete set of technologies to accelerate the implementation of large-scale projects. Over the years, the R&D team has been engaged in the development of key technologies for the green production of non-phosgene isocyanates as well as their industrial implementation. This effort has led to the creation of integrated green process technologies for the entire production chain, including nitrobenzene hydrogenation at room temperature, the production of isocyanates without the use of phosgene, and the mild synthesis of butylene oxide through short-process methods. A comprehensive set of technical solutions has also been developed for the production of various aromatic isocyanates, specialty aliphatic isocyanates such as XDI and HDI, and bio-based isocyanates like PDI, all without the use of phosgene. At the same time, the team is working with industry leaders to carry out technology research and development as well as engineering applications, in order to promote the green and high-end development of the isocyanate-polyurethane industry chain.
Isocyanates are important raw materials for producing polyurethanes, which are strategic engineering plastics; among them, diphenylmethane diisocyanate (MDI) is a representative product that is widely used in key industries such as automobiles, wind power, and high-speed railways. There are two MDI production methods: the phosgene method and the non-phosgene method. Most manufacturers around the world use the phosgenation method to produce MDI; the main raw materials include benzene, liquid chlorine, and carbon monoxide. The production process involves steps such as the amination of benzene, phosgenation, and subsequent purification. The phosgene-free method is a MDI production method that does not use phosgene as a raw material, and mainly includes the urea method and the dimethyl carbonate method. The specific steps are as follows: Aniline and urea are added to the reactor in a certain molar ratio; the reaction temperature and time are controlled to produce MDI and the by-product water; finally, separation and purification are carried out to obtain MDI products of high purity. The urea process for producing phosgene-free diphenylmethane diisocyanate (MDI) offers significant economic advantages over the traditional phosgene process. Firstly, the urea method uses inexpensive and readily available urea and aniline as raw materials, thereby significantly reducing production costs, whereas the phosgene method relies on highly toxic phosgene, resulting in higher costs for its storage, transportation, and safety measures. Secondly, the urea method eliminates the use of phosgene, which not only improves production safety but also reduces additional costs associated with safety measures. Furthermore, the urea method does not involve phosgene in the production process, which reduces the emission of harmful substances, lowers environmental protection pressures, and cuts waste treatment costs. In contrast, the phosgene method generates by-products such as hydrogen chloride, which require additional treatment and thus increase environmental protection costs. At the same time, the production process using urea is relatively simple, with lower equipment investment and operating costs, whereas the phosgene process is complex, requires sophisticated equipment, and incurs higher maintenance and operating costs. Finally, the urea method complies with current environmental protection policies and may qualify for government subsidies or tax incentives, whereas the phosgene method faces stricter regulations and higher risks of penalties. In summary, the urea method is superior to the phosgene method in terms of raw material costs, safety, environmental friendliness, process simplification, and policy support, making it a more economically advantageous production process. This technology uses bulk chemicals such as aniline, urea, and formaldehyde as raw materials to produce isocyanates (MDI) through a phosgene-free process; it represents a green upgrading technology for industries that is strongly encouraged under the \"Dual Carbon Strategy\", as well as the future direction for MDI production technologies. After 10 years of technical efforts, the R&D team overcame a series of key core technologies, successfully completed the entire process for the industrial-scale testing setup, carried out calibration tests, achieved the desired results, and mastered a set of green production technologies for non-phosgene isocyanates (MDI) with independent intellectual property rights. This technology creates an overall process route with high atom economy and intrinsic safety in the production process, which facilitates the construction of production facilities of various scales as well as the development of a diverse product portfolio, offering great potential for widespread adoption. The R&D team will further optimize the complete set of technologies to accelerate the implementation of large-scale projects. The research and development of this technology has continued to receive support from projects such as the **National Natural Science Foundation, the Key Direction Projects of the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Knowledge Innovation Program, the **Science and Technology Support Program, the Strategic Priority Research Programs of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and the **Key R&D Programs.
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The R&D team has been working for a long time on the green synthesis of non-phosgene isocyanates