【Ten Years of Great Progress in Chemical Technology】003-2023: 400,000 tons per year PVC production via the calcium carbide method achieved mercury-free manufacturing
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On February 17, 2023, at the technology launch event held by Ordos Electro-Metallurgical Group, the group’s 400,000 tons per year calcium carbide-based PVC production facility achieved mercury-free operation. Industry experts say that this project has achieved 100% use of mercury-free catalysts, serving as a positive example for the PVC industry in its pursuit of green transformation through the elimination of mercury. It lays a solid foundation for further conducting technical and economic evaluations of mercury-free catalysts in the calcium carbide-based PVC production process.
In 2015, the company established a dedicated technical team to work on mercury-free PVC production. After 7 years of research and development, it succeeded in developing a complete set of mercury-free catalytic processes. A PVC production facility with an annual capacity of 400,000 tons was built using the calcium carbide method, and by the end of August 2022, all the catalysts in this facility had been replaced with mercury-free ones.
I would like to ask, what type of catalyst is being used? Gold-based or copper-based?
The 400,000-ton per year mercury-free PVC project of Ordos Electro-Metallurgical Group represents an upgrade from partial mercury-free production to fully mercury-free production. It will serve as the first industrial example of the chlor-alkali industry’s transition toward a fully mercury-free, green model, and holds significant symbolic value in helping to resolve the key issues that have hindered the sustainable development of the calcium carbide-based PVC industry.
The Kimki catalyst; it’s not clear whether it is 0.2% or higher.
Development of mercury-free catalysts: Research on mercury-free catalysts in China began in the 1980s, focusing on the use of other chlorinated heavy metals as substitutes for mercury chloride, with reactions carried out in homogeneous or heterogeneous systems. After decades of effort, domestic manufacturers have collaborated with research institutions to conduct active trials and explorations regarding different catalyst formulations, types of carriers, catalyst preparation methods, as well as suitable reaction technologies and reactors. However, due to the high difficulty of research and development and the long time required, no breakthrough progress has been achieved yet. Currently, some research institutions in collaboration with manufacturing companies have begun conducting pilot tests on mercury-free catalyst production lines.
【Ten Years of Great Progress in Chemical Technology】Breakthroughs have been achieved in the industrialization of domestic production technology for diacrylylbenzene between 2004 and 2023. https://bbs.hcbbs.com/forum.php?mod=viewthread&tid=3593919 (Source: Haichuan Network – Chemical Industry News)