Selection of equipment materials for acetic acid hydrogenation reactors
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Dear engineers: Regarding the material selection for acetic acid hydrogenation reactors, I have gathered some information as follows: 1. For carbonylation acetic acid reactors, a zirconium lining is used, while the tower body for acetic acid distillation is made of 316L steel. 2. The temperature in acetic acid hydrogenation reactors ranges from 250 to 300°C, with a pressure of 3 to 5 MPa. Regarding the material choice, the laboratory uses 316L for experiments; it has been in use for over a thousand hours so far with no issues detected. I’m not sure whether 316L material can be used to make acetic acid hydrogenation reactors for industrial applications. I hope to get some suggestions or discuss this together.
316 stainless steel has poor corrosion resistance to both acetic acid and hydrogen. May I ask what the scale of your laboratory is?
The amount of catalyst used is not large, only a few hundred grams. The material of our other hydrogenation unit is 304, and hydrogen has little impact on this material
Following expert consultation, duplex steel can be used for the acetic acid hydrogenation material. An 90% acetic acid aqueous solution results in a corrosion rate of 1 mm/year on 316L at 200°C; industrial plants generally cannot tolerate such a high corrosion rate.
For acetic acid, we use 316L here; the hydrogenation of acetic acid seems to have been designed by the Southwest Institute! There is a facility in Zhumadian that produces alcohol through the hydrogenation of acetic acid!
My sister is testing her skills with water here again. . . I’ll stop talking. . . Going to bed
How long can your 316L material withstand operation in an acetic acid hydrogenation system? Corrosion is not noticeable over short periods of time (e.g., <2000 hours); however, if operation continues for >6000 hours, relatively significant corrosion occurs in some equipment (such as the condenser after the reactor, where an acetic acid aqueous solution is present).