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New route to produce MMA from methyl acetate and formaldehyde unveiled Author/Source: China Chemical Industry News Date: 11-19-2018 Clicks: 49 Recently, a pilot-scale plant for producing methyl acrylate (MMA) from methyl acetate and formaldehyde, developed by Beijing Xuyang Technology Co., Ltd., was successfully put into operation. As the world’s first installation of its kind, Risen Sun Technology has made breakthroughs in the industrialization of new technologies and processes for MMA production. Currently, the main production methods for MMA worldwide are the Alpha process, the propylene cyanohydrin process, and the isobutylene process. These methods involve the further processing of petrochemical feedstocks such as C2/C3/C4 to produce MMA products. Although the propyl cyanohydrin method and the isobutylene method have been successfully developed in China, the most competitive Alpha method remains under foreign control, and for some reason, production facilities for this method are also very rare worldwide. Xuyang Technology is an important part of the technology division under Xuyang Holdings Limited (referred to as “Xuyang Group”). In its process of transformation and upgrading, Xuyang Group adheres to independent innovation and places emphasis on the research and development of high-tech products. The company continuously increases its investment in R&D efforts, striving to achieve breakthroughs in certain fields in order to gain control over key technical achievements and enhance its core competitiveness as well as its ability for sustainable development. According to the head of Xuyang Technology’s R&D team, the newly developed MMA technology by Xuyang Technology opens up a new synthetic route for MMA using methyl acetate and formaldehyde as starting materials derived from C1 chemical raw materials, and this approach is unique on a global scale. The commissioning of this pilot plant enabled the scale-up of the catalyst, process validation, and the separation and purification of the product. The results from the pilot test showed that they were superior to those obtained in laboratory tests, and the quality of the product after separation and purification met the standards for high-grade products as defined by national regulations. During the operation of the pilot project, the R&D personnel at Xuyang Technology successfully collected the basic data required for scaling up the design and preparing the process packages, laying a solid foundation for the industrial implementation of this groundbreaking innovation technology. The official said that as a globally pioneering process technology for producing MMA from methyl acetate and formaldehyde, the company spent many years working hard on this project; it overcame numerous difficulties throughout the processes of establishing the production route, optimizing the techniques, scaling up catalyst use, and conducting process simulations, and resolved a great number of challenges. The company has developed 12 patented technologies in areas such as reaction processes, catalyst preparation, and reactors that involve its own intellectual property rights, of which 10 have been granted licenses. “The success of this pilot test represents an important step forward in moving from the laboratory stage to industrial application; it indicates that the MMA production process using methyl acetate has been successfully developed, which will enrich and expand China’s methanol industry chain. At the same time, its unique production process allows for the flexible use of ethylene and propylene as raw materials to produce MMA, thereby creating a new, green manufacturing route with significant economic and social benefits. ”The person in charge said. It is also reported that Xuyang Technology has currently completed the feasibility study report for a 100,000 tons per year MMA project. The assessment shows that the project has good economic benefits, strong overall profitability, and high market competitiveness.