The production process of MMA

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Methyl methacrylate is primarily used in the fields of polymerization and copolymerization, and each application requires a specific polymerization process using initiators that are either free-radical type (organic peroxides, azo compounds) or ionic type. Plexiglass can be produced through bulk polymerization. Used in artificial decorative materials, construction industry components, optical information materials, electrical component packaging, etc. Coatings can be produced through emulsion polymerization ； Varnish, adhesives ； Waterproofing agents, additives for adjusting lubricant viscosity, etc. It can replace styrene as a crosslinking agent, dilute unsaturated polyester resins, and serve as a modifier for natural and synthetic rubbers. Methyl methacrylate is primarily used in the acrylic industry, but it is also widely applied in many other fields. Currently, in the field of medical functional polymers (polymer materials and polymer-based drugs), as well as in textiles (acrylonitrile’s second monomer), it is used as a functional monomer and has also found wide application in areas such as coatings, paints, and adhesives. Currently, the global total production of MMA is approximately 2.2 million tons, with the majority produced in the United States, Western Europe, and Japan. China’s total MMA production is only around 20,000 tons, accounting for less than 1% of the world’s total production. Moreover, all Chinese companies use the traditional ACH method, which relies on propylene and hydrogen cyanide (HCN) as raw materials; this approach results in small-scale production, low efficiency, and significant pollution, thus severely hindering the development of the MMA industry. “During the 11th Five-Year Plan period, China’s annual demand for MMA is expected to exceed 300,000 tons per year, with an average annual growth rate in MMA consumption of around 20%. The supply-demand imbalance is quite significant; therefore, it is of great practical importance to develop clean production technologies for MMA using tert-butanol in China. The direct oxidation esterification of isobutylene (tert-butanol) is the most industrially competitive route for producing methyl methacrylate. Research and analysis of domestic and international literature as well as technical developments show that the process of converting mixed C4 hydrocarbons into tert-butanol through hydration, and then using tert-butanol to synthesize methyl methacrylate, represents a new technological route for achieving high-value utilization of C4 resources. Only Japan in the world has recently completed industrial-scale tests of this route. The Institute of Process Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, in collaboration with Puyang Chlor-Alkali Plant, has successfully developed a clean process technology for the direct oxidation-esterification production of MMA using tert-butanol as raw material. The successful research and development of this technology will fundamentally solve the problem of optimizing the use of C4 resources in our country, improve the backward state of MMA processing technologies there, and hold great significance in breaking international technological monopolies and creating model projects for clean production. The production of methyl methacrylate from C4 consists of two steps: the first step involves obtaining tert-butanol from mixed C4 feedstocks; the second step involves the direct oxidation of tert-butanol to produce the product

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