Production of propylene oxide using the HPPO process

This post was last edited by Guderian on 2015-11-5 at 11:04; it seems to be in collaboration with Shanghai Shengbang. The news is as follows: In 2015, Shanghai Shengbang collaborated with Jiangsu Blue Planet Environmental New Materials Co., Ltd. to sign a contract for the collaborative design of a project for producing 600,000 tons per year of propylene from methanol (MTP) and 400,000 tons per year of propylene oxide (HPPO). This project uses the bulk chemical methanol as a raw material, and employs the methanol-to-propylene technology to produce propylene. The resulting propylene is then oxidized with hydrogen peroxide to yield propylene oxide, a high-value product in short supply in the market. This technology is advanced, mature, environmentally friendly, and cost-effective; it falls under the category of projects encouraged by the **Industrial Structure Adjustment Guidance Catalogue**.

Dialogue with Blue Planet: An annual production capacity of 400,000 tons of propylene oxide – the largest share in the country. Blue Planet Chemical New Materials covers an area of 1,500 mu, with 300,000 square meters allocated for factory buildings and supporting facilities. New key equipment such as MTP reactors, heat exchange units, and compressors have been installed, enabling an annual production capacity of 600,000 tons of propylene, 400,000 tons of polypropylene sheets, 100,000 tons of polyolefin elastomers, 70,000 tons of chlorinated polypropylene, 150,000 tons of epichlorohydrin, 60,000 tons of acrylonitrile, and polyether polyols. In the Jintan Economic Development Zone, the reporter interviewed Chen Jianhai, general manager of Jiangsu Blue Planet Environmental Protection Technology Co., Ltd., on the open, still-being-levelled planned land. Reporter: President Chen, it is understood that Jiangsu Blue Planet Environmental Protection Technology Co., Ltd. is a young environmental protection enterprise. Could you provide more details on the background of its establishment as well as its product focus? Chen Jianhai: Blue Planet belongs to Jiangsu Kangtai Holding Group Co., Ltd., and is mainly engaged in the research, development, production, and sales of new types of environmentally friendly refrigerants and blowing agents, fluorine-containing new materials and their monomers, as well as fluorine-containing fine chemical products. The company’s main products include HFC-134a, HFC-125, HCFC-141b, CTFE, TFE, etc., which are primarily used in four sectors: automotive, home appliances, construction, and pharmaceuticals. The various products manufactured by the company are primarily used in key aspects of related downstream industries, and they are characterized by high technical complexity, stringent performance requirements, and critical application roles. As an innovative enterprise in Jiangsu Province as well as a private technology-based enterprise in the same province, the company adheres to the strategic guiding principle of \"best quality, highest production capacity, and best service.\" It has always adopted technological innovation as its development strategy, won market share through product quality, and achieved profitability by relying on its superior products. The company invests heavily each year in the research and development of new technologies and products, and has developed and mastered a range of core technologies, keeping itself at the international forefront in terms of technology and leading its peers in the industry in terms of quality. Reporter: When was the planning for this large project of Blue Planet in Jintan started, and what are its prospects in the market? Chen Jianhai: This project was planned starting from the first half of last year; market research was conducted throughout that initial phase. We are working in partnership with the Dalian Institute of Physical Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, with the aim of converting methanol into propylene, and then propylene into propylene oxide. Dalian has the necessary technological capabilities for this, and by collaborating with them, this project is relatively environmentally friendly. Currently, the main method for producing propylene oxide in China is the chlorohydrin process; the production of one ton of propylene oxide generates around 50 tons of wastewater. The project we have introduced, which uses propylene to produce propylene oxide, will generate only one ton of wastewater. Propylene oxide is mainly used in the production of polyether polyols, propylene glycol, and various non-ionic surfactants. Polyether polyols are important raw materials for manufacturing polyurethane foams, insulation materials, elastomers, adhesives, and coatings. Various non-ionic surfactants are widely used in industries such as petroleum, chemicals, pesticides, textiles, and personal care products. At the same time, propylene oxide is also an important basic chemical raw material. Reporter: **Kai**, with increasingly strict environmental regulations, as a chemical company, does Blue Planet take more environmental considerations into account? Chen Jianhai: Blue Planet is innovative in terms of technology. One of our major advantages is that we use propylene and hydrogen peroxide for oxidation to produce propylene oxide; the wastewater generated has good biodegradability, and there are fewer by-products compared to traditional processes. The original process involved reacting chlorine with propylene; as a result of this reaction, hydrochloric acid was produced, which was then neutralized using lime water to yield an aqueous solution of calcium chloride. This solution contained high levels of organic substances and salts, making subsequent treatment difficult and requiring substantial investment. Reporter: After production starts, where is your product mainly distributed? What scale will the production capacity reach? Chen Jianhai: Based on the current market distribution, the largest production of propylene oxide takes place in Shandong. Our goal is to sell our products to Zhejiang, Jiangsu, and Shanghai in East China once production starts, thereby serving the East China market. However, exporting is not our main focus, as our products are not sold directly; instead, we work in partnership with downstream enterprises. We establish connections with manufacturers and bring them to our industrial park, where the products are manufactured before being exported, thus building up the entire industry chain. The production capacity is 400,000 tons, the largest in the country. Reporter: In the future, will you approach other companies in the downstream part of the industrial chain based on your products, in order to attract them to work together and complement each other’s capabilities? Do you already have a timeline for this project, and has cooperation with those downstream companies already begun? Chen Jianhai: After the groundbreaking ceremony in March, work began on site leveling and road hardening. All roads need to be paved by the end of March, as the rainy season is about to arrive. In April, the equipment orders are issued, and simultaneously all the infrastructure required for the equipment is prepared; work on the steel framework begins. In July and August, the ordered equipment arrives at the site where installation starts, including positioning and the setup of the equipment pipelines. By mid-November, there is a one-month period allocated for testing the pipelines to identify any leaks, performing pressure tests, and carrying out inspections. Operations are started for commissioning at the end of January. If everything goes well, qualified products will be available to supply the market before the Spring Festival. By the end of the year, the downstream supporting enterprises must also be in place.

Project Timeline: Project Name – Blue Planet Methanol-to-Propylene and Downstream Chemical New Materials Industrial Park. Location: The intersection of Jinyi Road and Jinhua Road in Jintan Economic Development Zone. Investment amount: 5 billion yuan. Key products: Propylene, propylene oxide. Applications of these products: Automotive industry, plastics, building materials, home appliances, etc. Target market: Local consumption as well as exports to the East China region. Expected start date for operation: Blue Planet – end of 2017； Industrial park: By the end of 2020, annual sales volume after full production – Blue Planet: 10 billion yuan ； Industrial park: 35 billion yuan in annual profits and taxes; Blue Planet: 1.5 billion yuan ； Industrial park: 4.5 billion yuan; total number of employees at Blue Planet: around 230 people ； Industrial park: Over 1,000 employees. Main job categories include chemicals, equipment, electrical engineering, and automation control. Related industries (sub-categories): polyether polyols, polypropylene sheets and pipes, chlorinated polypropylene, etc. Related service industries (sub-categories): warehousing, packaging, land and water logistics, etc. Project milestones: May 13, 2015 – Official commencement of the Blue Planet 400,000-ton propylene oxide project; end of August 2015 – Completion of the circulating water tank and supporting facilities as well as the steel structure framework; end of December 2015 – Pilot production of the 400,000-ton per year propylene oxide project; end of December 2017 – Commissioning of the 600,000-ton per year propylene project; end of December 2020 – Full operation of the enterprises providing support services for the industrial park

This post was last edited by sunjl1981 on 2016-3-5 09:27. It’s a process package provided by our company; if you want to know more, just contact me – you can reach me through the in-site messaging system

Around that time, I communicated with two Mr. Lis from Dalian Zhongcuici, and they mentioned it was Dalian Zhongcuici’s process package.

It turns out that Engineer Liu works at Zhong Chucai. Your company indeed has strong technical capabilities; I really admire that.

You’re too kind; Zhengzhou University is also very strong in this area

Please leave your contact information, General Guderian from Zhengzhou University and Engineer Liu

Hello, I’m from Zhenyang, Ningbo. Our company is interested in using the HPPo method for propylene oxide production. Could you please provide your contact information?

Take a look at how the catalysts among you are doing. . . .