【Ten Years of Rapid Development in Chemical Equipment】1654–2011: China’s first industrial plant for producing ethylenediamine through the hydroamination of ethanolamine using hydrogen was put into operation

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Happy May Day 2024! Safety first. Let’s give praise and support to the achievements in China’s chemical technology and equipment sector. **********************【Ten Years of Progress in Chemical Equipment】A continuously updated summary post is available; feel free to join the discussions at https://bbs.hcbbs.com/thread-3576046-1-1.html (Source: Haichuan Chemical Forum Website) ***************** The first industrial-scale production facility for ethylenediamine using the MEA method (the process of producing ethylenediamine through the hydroamination of monoethanolamine using hydrogen) was built by Shandong Lianmeng Chemical Co., Ltd., utilizing patented technology from the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences. On August 25, 2011, this facility completed its trial operation, operating smoothly and producing qualified products. The production capacity of this facility amounts to 10,000 tons per year, and it will continue to be expanded steadily in the future, thereby enabling the domestic market to move away from its complete reliance on imported ethylenediamine. 　　The Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics has utilized this industrial-scale MEA method for ethylenediamine, developed with entirely independent intellectual property rights, to complete the development of a complete set of technologies ranging from core technologies to process packages for the first time. At present, the annual production capacity of this facility is 10,000 tons, and an additional 50,000 tons of production capacity will be added each year over the next 3 to 5 years to gradually meet domestic market demand. 　　It is reported that the traditional ethylenediamine production method using dichloroethane is constrained by high energy consumption, significant pollution, and severe corrosion, which has prevented large-scale production from being achieved. The MEA method is a clean technology for producing ethylenediamine; due to foreign technological restrictions, China had previously been unable to master its core technology. In recent years, the production scale of monoethanolamine, diethanolamine, and triethanolamine produced via the amination of ethylene oxide in China has increased significantly. The expansion of domestic supply of monoethanolamine provides a raw material guarantee for ethylenediamine produced by the MEA method. 　　To this end, the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics began to develop the MEA process technology on its own in 2008, and by 2009 it had completed catalyst screening, scale-up experiments using a single-tube trickle bed with the selected catalyst, as well as side-stream scale-up tests. In March 2010, the new technology passed the technical appraisal organized by the Liaoning Provincial Department of Science and Technology and the Shenyang Branch of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. On this basis, they completed the final version of the process software package for the production of ethylenediamine via theMEA method in May 2010, finished the review of the basic engineering design by Shanghai Huanqiu Engineering Company in August 2010, essentially completed the construction of the industrial facility by the end of June this year, and it officially went into operation this month. The time required for this technology to progress from research and development to industrial application has been reduced from typically 5 to 20 years to two and a half years, providing a new industrialization model for scientific research on ethylenediamine production in the country. 　　It is understood that ethylenediamine is widely used in industries such as pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, detergents, and pesticides; it is also effective in removing heavy metal contamination from drinking water. The by-products generated during its production are similarly utilized extensively in insecticides and blood pressure medications. The annual consumption of ethylenediamine products in our country is around 70,000 tons. Due to the lack of core production technologies, apart from a small amount (approximately 1,000 tons per year) produced using dichloroethane as raw material, over 95% of the market demand relies on imports, with the import price ranging from 25,000 to 50,000 yuan per ton.