【Haichuan Chemical Salary News】China has developed a new process for producing epichlorohydrin using the hydrogen peroxide method for the first time in the country

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On October 26, the new process for producing epichlorohydrin using hydrogen peroxide (DECH), jointly developed by the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Xin County Huaxiang Salt Chemical Co., Ltd., passed the achievement appraisal organized by the China Petroleum and Chemical Industry Federation in Beijing. Currently, there are mainly three industrial methods for producing epichlorohydrin: the chlorohydrin method, the allyl acetate-allyl alcohol method, and the glycerol method. In our country, it has been discontinued due to the long process flow of the allyl alcohol method, as well as the relatively high investment costs and expenses. Both the chlorohydrin method and the glycerol method present serious environmental problems related to high-salt wastewater, making there an urgent need for green manufacturing methods for epichlorohydrin. Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation, the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, has been engaged in fundamental research on the green epoxidation of olefins since the 1990s. In May 2001, Researcher Xi Zuwai and others from the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics proposed a new type of catalytic system – reaction-controlled phase-transfer catalysts. These catalysts are insoluble in the reaction medium themselves, but under the action of hydrogen peroxide they form active species that are soluble in the reaction medium; these active species then react with olefins to produce the desired products with high selectivity. Once the hydrogen peroxide is depleted, the catalyst is released back from the reaction system. After this research finding was published in Science, it attracted widespread attention in the industrial sector, and it is considered to be an extremely ideal \"green\" route for producing propylene oxide. Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation, the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, has been engaged in fundamental research on the green epoxidation of olefins since the 1990s. In May 2001, Researcher Xi Zuwai and others from the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics proposed a new type of catalytic system – reaction-controlled phase-transfer catalysts. These catalysts are insoluble in the reaction medium themselves, but under the action of hydrogen peroxide they form active species that are soluble in the reaction medium; these active species then react with olefins to produce the desired products with high selectivity. Once the hydrogen peroxide is depleted, the catalyst is released back from the reaction system. After this research finding was published in Science, it attracted widespread attention in the industrial sector, and it is considered to be an extremely ideal \"green\" route for producing propylene oxide. Since 2001, the selective oxidation research group led by Researcher Gao Shuang, with the support of projects such as the National Natural Science Foundation of China’s key funds, Sinopec, and the Ministry of Science and Technology’s 973 program, has developed a new process for the direct oxidation of chloropropene to epichlorohydrin using hydrogen peroxide under solvent-free conditions and phase-transfer catalysis, while simultaneously researching propylene epoxidation technology. On May 31, 2007, the Liaoning Provincial Department of Science and Technology approved the pilot-scale test results for this technology: The Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, utilized reaction-controlled phase-transfer catalysis to carry out an epoxidation reaction between H2O2 and chloropropene in a solvent-free environment, successfully synthesizing epichlorohydrin in the laboratory ； The catalyst can be reused; this process offers advantages such as mild reaction conditions, high selectivity and yield, as well as no pollution. Its cost is lower than that of traditional methods, making it an environmentally friendly process that is unique both domestically and internationally. In 2010, this technology completed pilot-scale research at 10 tons per year in the laboratory, and won the First Prize for Scientific and Technological Progress in Dalian. During that period, the project also received support from Jinchuan Group and CNOOC Shandong Haihua Group. Xin County Huaxiang Salt Chemical Co., Ltd. has been using the chlorohydrin method to produce epichlorohydrin; the wastewater generated through saponification is large in volume and difficult to treat. Under the increasing pressure to protect the environment, there is an urgent need to improve the process routes. The needs of the enterprise align with the advancement and maturity of the process technology developed by the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, which has facilitated the industrial research, development, and application of this technology. In February 2015, the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics and Xin County Huaxiang Salt Chemical Co., Ltd., in collaboration with Shandong Kaitai Technology Co., Ltd., developed the world’s first 5,000-ton/year production facility for epichlorohydrin using the hydrogen peroxide process, which was put into operation in December 2016.