【Ten Years of Great Progress in Chemical Technology】The world’s first petrochemical-based project capable of producing 10,000 tons of maleic anhydride per year through the hydrogenation of succinic anhydride was put into operation from 2023 to 253
Thread Content
Ten years of rapid development in chemical engineering technology – praising the prosperity and strength of modern China. This is just a starting point to encourage further discussion among everyone; with your participation, things will become even more interesting. [Ten Years of Development in Chemical Engineering Equipment] – continuous updates and summaries available; feel free to join the discussions at https://bbs.hcbbs.com/thread-3576046-1-1.html. Enhancing quality awareness to promote high-quality development. ----------------------------------------- In August 2023, the 30,000 tons per year PBAT/PBS production facility and the 10,000 tons per year succinic acid/succinic anhydride production facility owned by Xuke New Materials (Shandong) Co., Ltd., which were constructed under the general contract of China Wuhuan Engineering Co., Ltd., came online and began producing succinic acid and succinic anhydride with a purity of over 99.5%. This project is the world’s first oil-based facility capable of producing ten thousand tons per year of maleic anhydride through hydrogenation; it focuses on research, production, sales, and service related to high-performance new materials, and mainly manufactures biodegradable materials as well as various fine chemical products. The PBS unit of this project utilizes new technologies developed jointly by Wuhuan Company’s process development team, Axcore Company’s technical expert team, and Jiangnan University’s R&D team. R&D personnel carried out technical research and improvements based on the polymerization characteristics of PBS, enabling it to perform excellently in terms of product quality control and the long-term stable operation of the equipment. At the same time, the device boasts high production flexibility. The device can be used for polymerization using succinic acid as a raw material, or it can also be used directly with succinic anhydride as the raw material; the products obtained have a higher degree of polymerization, better color, and an extremely low acid value. The production facilities for succinic anhydride and succinic acid in this project also utilize newly developed technologies. For the first time, a selective hydrogenation reaction of maleic anhydride was carried out on an industrial scale of 10,000 tons; the conversion rate of maleic anhydride was 100%, and the selectivity for succinic anhydride was also 100%. This approach offers numerous advantages, including low levels of by-products, high yields of anhydrides, and reduced overall energy consumption. The R&D team from Jiangnan University provided catalysts and technical support, while Wuhuan Company was responsible for the technical development and engineering design. It is worth mentioning that the project was the first in the world to use the succinic anhydride hydrolysis slitting process to produce succinic acid. This process features low investment, low energy consumption, and high product purity, and is fully capable of meeting the demands for polymer-grade PBS raw materials. The entire set of process technologies is innovative and advanced, laying a solid technical foundation for the subsequent construction of 100,000-ton-scale facilities. Currently, Phase 1 of the project includes two units, and after the expansion in Phase 2, the annual production capacity of the corresponding products will increase to over 100,000 tons.
【Robots in Chemical Plants】Discussion series summary post https://bbs.hcbbs.com/thread-4874069-1-1.html (Source: Haichuan Chemical Industry Forum Website)
On May 19, 2021, the \"100,000 tons per year process package for the hydrogenation and hydrolysis of maleic anhydride to produce succinic acid,\" developed by the Dalian Research Institute of Petrochemicals under Sinopec and prepared by Shanghai Engineering Company, passed the review organized by the Ministry of Science and Technology. This process package can provide key technical support for the large-scale development of copolyester-based biodegradable materials in China. The Dalian Petrochemical Research Institute of Sinopec holds the independent intellectual property rights for this set of technologies; based on these, it developed China’s first process package for a 100,000-ton/year succinic acid production facility. The quality of the succinic acid produced meets standards superior to those specified in GB/T 34686-2017 for top-grade products, and it fully satisfies the requirements of the polymerization processes at the downstream stages of the industrial chain. The review committee stated that the process package design and equipment selection are reasonable, the production plan is flexible, and the emissions of waste materials meet the requirements of environmental protection regulations. It is understood that since 2009, the Dalian Institute has been working on research and development for a project aimed at producing succinic acid through the hydrogenation and hydrolysis of maleic anhydride. This project passed the evaluation by the Ministry of Science and Technology in 2015; it solved the key problems associated with the high heat generation during the hydrogenation reaction of maleic anhydride and the tendency for heat buildup. Long-term operation tests were conducted to verify the reliability of this technology, and 5 Chinese invention patents have been granted for it. Efforts are currently being accelerated to industrialize succinic acid technology and to promote the production and use of biodegradable materials. Furthermore, in May 2021, the Sinopec Beijing Research Institute’s \"process package for a 60,000-ton/year production facility for PBST (biodegradable polyester materials)\\" and the \"catalyst for maleic anhydride hydrogenation along with a complete set of technical processes for producing succinic acid via maleic anhydride hydrogenation on a 20,000-ton/year scale\" were successively approved by the Group’s Science and Technology Department. Based on these approvals, engineering designs for industrial production facilities will be carried out, providing key technical support for the large-scale development of biodegradable polyester materials in China.