Downstream utilization of propylene

Produces acrylonitrile. Due to the slow growth in consumption of acrylic fiber, which is the main downstream product of acrylonitrile, demand for acrylonitrile is also growing slowly; it is expected that by 2018 its share in the overall acrylonitrile consumption structure will drop to 8.5%. Additionally, other important derivatives of propylene include carbonyl alcohols and propylene oxide; in 2008, they accounted for 8% and 7% of the total propylene consumption respectively. It is expected that their share in the propylene consumption structure will decline slightly in the coming years. Driven by the rapid growth in demand for downstream derivatives, global propylene consumption has increased significantly in recent years, disrupting the traditional supply and demand pattern for olefins. Over the past 10 years, the growth rate of global demand for propylene has exceeded that of demand for ethylene, and this trend is set to continue; as a result, the world may face a shortage of propylene resources in the future. It is expected that the average annual growth rate of global demand for propylene over the next 5 years will be 4.5%. By then, the demand for propylene from downstream industries will reach 84.2 million tons, and the market supply will remain tight. From 2010 to 2015, global demand for propylene will continue to grow at an average annual rate of 4.9%. Asia will become the world’s largest market for propylene by 2015, while the Middle East will experience the fastest growth in consumption. In the coming years, Iran’s demand for propylene is set to grow at a faster rate than that of China and India, making it the country with the fastest-growing demand in the world, with an expected growth rate of 18.7%. Iran is vigorously developing its petrochemical industry, and a large capacity for producing polypropylene for export will come online; the polypropylene products manufactured there will be mainly exported to Asia and Western Europe. In our country, most of the propylene is used to produce polypropylene, accounting for about 74.8% of the total propylene consumption. A portion is also used to manufacture other chemical products such as acrylonitrile and propylene oxide, accounting for about 25.2% of the total propylene consumption. 2. Acrylonitrile: Acrylonitrile is a colorless liquid with a pungent odor. It is a basic organic chemical product that serves as a fundamental and important raw material for the three major synthetic materials – synthetic fibers, synthetic rubber, and plastics. It has wide-ranging applications in the field of organic synthesis as well as in people’s economic lives. By the end of August 2012, there were 9 manufacturers of acrylonitrile, with a total production capacity of 1.275 million tons. All production facilities used the acrylonitrile production process based on ammoxidation of propylene; initially, they relied on technology imported from BP, but later most of them were upgraded and expanded using technology developed by the Sinopec Shanghai Research Institute of Petrochemical Technology. Except for Shanghai Sinopec Petrochemical Co., Ltd., the remaining plants are equipped with downstream production facilities (such as acrylic fiber, ABS resin, or nitrile rubber). Production facilities are mainly located in enterprises affiliated with Sinopec Group and CNPC Group; among them, Sinopec Group’s total production capacity amounts to 550,000 tons, accounting for approximately 43.14% of the country’s overall production capacity ； The total production capacity of China National Petroleum Corporation is 725,000 tons per year, accounting for approximately 56.86% of the country’s total production capacity. Among them, Jilin Petrochemical Company of China National Petroleum Corporation is currently the largest producer of acrylonitrile in China, with a production capacity of 424,000 tons per year, accounting for approximately 33.25% of the country’s total production capacity ； Next is Sinopec Shanghai Petrochemical Co., Ltd., with a production capacity of 260,000 tons per year, accounting for approximately 20.39% of the total domestic production capacity. II. Production of phenol and propylene by the isopropylbenzene method 1. Main methods for producing phenol Phenol was first recovered and extracted from coal tar. Later, sulfonation alkali fusion methods using benzene as a raw material, the chlorobenzene method, the toluene oxidation method, the isopropylbenzene method, and others were developed. (l) The sulfonation-alkali fusion method is a classical approach to producing phenol; benzene is sulfonated to yield benzenesulfonic acid, which is then converted into phenol through neutralization, alkali fusion, and acidification. It was phased out because this method produces large amounts of sulfates as a by-product, resulting in high production costs and significant environmental pollution. (2) Chlorobenzene method: Benzene is used as a starting material, which is chlorinated or oxychlorinated to produce chlorobenzene; chlorobenzene is then subjected to liquid-phase basic hydrolysis or gas-phase acidic hydrolysis to yield phenol. This method has a low conversion rate and is highly corrosive to equipment. (3) Toluene oxidation method: Toluene is used as a raw material to be oxidized to produce benzoic acid, which is then oxidized and decarboxylated to yield phenol. This method has a short catalyst lifespan and produces tar. (4) Cyclohexane oxidation-dehydrogenation method: Cyclohexane is used as a starting material, which is oxidized to yield cyclohexanone and cyclohexanol, and then catalytically dehydrogenated to produce phenol. The production cost of this method is relatively high.

Let’s gather to maximize benefits:D