【Ten Years of Great Progress in Chemical Technology】Pilot project for the two-step production of methyl methacrylate (MMA) from ethylene launched from 2024 to 2023
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This post was last edited by FishSwimmingInTheDesert on September 6, 2023, at 16:15. Over the past decade, there has been tremendous development in chemical engineering and technology; truly, it’s a glorious era for China’s prosperity and strength! This post serves as an opening gambit to encourage more participation from everyone—the community becomes even more vibrant with everyone’s involvement. With you here, Haichuan becomes even better! This is a continuously updated compilation post regarding “Ten Years of Great Development in Chemical Engineering Equipment”; all are welcome to join the discussion: https://bbs.hcbbs.com/thread-3576046-1-1.html. Let us enhance our awareness of quality and strive for high-quality development. ----------------------------------------- On September 5, 2023, construction commenced on the pilot project for methyl methacrylate (MMA) production at Shaanxi Yanchang Petroleum Yan’an Energy & Chemical Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Yan’an Energy & Chemical Company”). At the pilot project site, the construction contractor is carrying out work on the foundation of the equipment, while the prefabrication and anti-corrosion coating of pipelines are progressing in an orderly manner as planned. Yan’an Energy Chemical Co., Ltd. has partnered with CNOOC Research Institute of Chemical Engineering and New Materials (Beijing) Co., Ltd. By leveraging its advantages in syngas and ethylene resources, it has developed a two-step process for producing methyl methacrylate (MMA) from ethylene. It has carried out industrial pilot tests for the production of MMA as well as prepared the corresponding process documentation, thereby mastering the most technically and economically efficient method for manufacturing MMA. This approach enables the domestic use of ethylene carbonylation technology for MMA production, providing technical support for oil refining and chemical industries, as well as coal chemical enterprises, in order to make better use of low-carbon olefin resources. The existing comprehensive utilization projects for coal, oil, and gas resources at Shaanxi Yanchang Yan’an Energy Chemicals. The project uses coal, oil, and gas as raw materials, and includes facilities for producing 1.8 million tons of methanol, 600,000 tons of methanol derivatives, 400,000 tons of refinery light oils, 450,000 tons of polyethylene, 250,000 tons of polypropylene, 200,000 tons of butyl octanol, and 60,000 tons of EPDM. On March 30, 2023, Yan’an Energy and Chemical Group Co., Ltd. organized a meeting to advance the pilot project for methyl methacrylate (MMA) and acryloyl elastomer (PBE). .
The Methyl Methacrylate (MMA) Technology and Market Forum will be held in Hangzhou on April 25, 2023. Organized by Yuhua Consulting, the forum will discuss the development prospects of the MMA and PMMA industries in the context of technological innovation. Experts from various domestic providers of MMA technology based on the ethylene process, as well as engineering companies, will give presentations at the conference to discuss the technological aspects and prospects for industrialization. The acetonitrile hydroxyl method (ACH) is a mature technology and has long been the main route for MMA production in China; in 2022, it accounted for approximately 73% of the total production capacity. Notable companies using this method include Chongqing Yixiang, Jihua, and Sierbang. However, in the **Guidance Catalogue for Industrial Structure Adjustment (2019 edition) issued by the National Development and Reform Commission, ACH process MMA is classified as a restricted category. Ethylene carbonylation for MMA production is a technology that is encouraged under China’s 13th Five-Year Plan, and it offers significant advantages in terms of reducing carbon emissions and saving energy ； Compared with the traditional ACH synthesis route, it has a wide range of raw material sources, a shorter process flow, and is environmentally friendly. According to data from Yahuazhixun, internationally, Germany’s BASF produces MMA using the ethylene-propionaldehyde method, while Lucite produces MMA using the ethylene-methyl propionate method ； Several domestic companies and institutions have also joined forces to develop MMA technology using the ethylene method.
——Pujing Chemical and Anglo American Resources On October 18, 2022, Shanghai Pujing Chemical Technology Co., Ltd. (Pujing Chemical) and Anglo American Resources Trading (China) Co., Ltd. (Anglo American Resources) signed a framework agreement for the MMA production project using the ethylene process at Pujing Chemical’s headquarters. However, due to the high technical barriers associated with this route, China does not yet have industrial production facilities for it. After more than a decade of experimental research, Pu Jing’s R&D team has made significant breakthroughs in the development of a two-step ethylene-based process for synthesizing MMA, and has resolved the issue of recovering platinum group metals from this catalyst system. As a global producer of platinum group metals, Anglo American is committed to continuously expanding the market applications for these metals, with a focus on promoting their use in advanced applications as well as the commercialization and market development of proprietary technologies.
——According to data from Yaha Consulting and the Institute of Process Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, in March 2023, Henan Zhongke Puyuan New Materials Company was carrying out tender processes for the formaldehyde production facility and related reaction equipment for its MMA project. Henan Zhongke Puyuan New Materials Co., Ltd.’s 100,000 tons per year MMA production project uses the four-step ethylene process; the technology was developed in collaboration with the Institute of Process Engineering of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and the project is being implemented in phases, with the first phase having a capacity of 50,000 tons per year. On July 1, 2022, the groundbreaking ceremony for the first phase of Henan Zhongke Puyuan New Materials Co., Ltd.’s 300,000-ton per year MMA production project was held in the Puyang Economic and Technological Development Zone. This event marked the deployment in practice of China’s first set of new ion liquid-catalyzed technology for producing MMA from ethylene, a technology developed through cooperation between the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Henan Zhongyuan Dahuahua Group Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Zhongyuan Dahuahua”). Henan Zhongke Puyuan New Materials Co., Ltd. was established in March 2022 as a joint venture of Zhongyuan Dahuahua, Puyang Financial Holding Co., Ltd., and Puyang Economic and Technological Development Zone Urban Construction Investment Co., Ltd.
——Huayi New Materials and Tianjin University: According to public information, in 2017, Shanghai Huayi Group Company, together with Nanjing Nuoao New Materials Company and Tianjin University, carried out a pilot-scale test involving the synthesis of 1,000 tons of methacraldehyde from propionaldehyde and formaldehyde, as well as developing the process specifications for an industrial facility capable of producing 90,000 tons per year. This technology could be applied to the MMA project at Guangxi Hua Yi New Materials Co., Ltd. The Huayi Qinzhou Chemical New Materials Integrated Base project has a total investment of around 90 billion yuan, covering four major industrial chains: modern coal chemical industry, light hydrocarbon cracking, salt chemical industry, and downstream petrochemical industry. It will be implemented in three phases. It mainly involves the construction of integrated projects for propylene and its downstream processing, including a propane dehydrogenation (PDH) unit, a butanol plant, acrylic acid and ester plants, a sodium polyacrylate superabsorbent resin (SAP) plant, a methyl methacrylate (MMA) plant, an isopropylbenzene plant, a phenol-cyclohexane plant, a bisphenol A plant, as well as supporting utility systems and auxiliary facilities.
——Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Panjin Sanli Zhongke New Materials and Huisheng Engineering. This project is carried out in technical cooperation with the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences; the process package was developed jointly by Huisheng Engineering and the Sanli project owner, representing advanced technology in China. By combining three processes – \"ethylene hydroformylation to propionaldehyde\", \"aldol condensation of propionaldehyde and formaldehyde to acrolein\", and \"one-step oxidative esterification of acrolein to MMA\" – a new three-step process for synthesizing MMA from ethylene is achieved. This approach offers advantages such as a short reaction sequence, mild reaction conditions, no emission of toxic substances, as well as high conversion rates and selectivity, thus opening up new pathways for MMA synthesis. The project investor is Panjin Sanli Zhongke New Materials Co., Ltd. Project timeline: In April 2021, the new material production project with an annual capacity of 100,000 tons – the “Methyl Methacrylate (MMA) Industrialization Project” – was established in Panjin. Laboratory-scale tests have been completed, and pilot-scale tests at 1,000-ton capacity were carried out at the Panjin Research and Development Institute affiliated with the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences. In January 2022, the industrialization project for MMA new materials with an annual production capacity of 100,000 tons carried out by Sanli Zhongke began construction. On July 12, 2022, the groundbreaking ceremony for the annual production capacity of 100,000 tons of new materials at Panjin Sanli Zhongke New Materials Co., Ltd., a project constructed under the PC general contracting arrangement by Huisheng Engineering, was successfully held.
——On July 28, 2022, Xinjiang Zhongyou Puhui Technology Co., Ltd. held a launch ceremony for the products of Phase 1 of the project to produce 110,000 tons per year of methyl methacrylate (MMA), a new type of polymer synthesis material. This event marked the successful operation of China’s first production process for MMA based on coal, one that features entirely independent intellectual property rights. The 10,000-ton plant achieved continuous and stable operation of the entire system in January 2023; at present, its production capacity has reached around 60% of the designed level, with a daily output of 18 to 20 tons of methyl methacrylate. The project adopts the methyl acetate process developed by the Institute of Process Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, for the synthesis of MMA. The main raw material is methanol, which is readily available and results in low production costs; this is a clean manufacturing process with significant environmental benefits.
【Ten Years of Rapid Development in Chemical Engineering Equipment】China’s First Nine-Axis Fully Positionable Intelligent Welding Robot from 1132 to 2023 https://bbs.hcbbs.com/thread-4835682-1-1.html (Source: Haichuan Chemical Industry Forum Website)