Issue 34/2015 - MCM-49 zeolite independent technology upgrade Significantly reduce the energy consumption of cumene production

The long-term and large-load evaluation of the 1000-hour MCM-49 zeolite catalyst of Jilin Petrochemical Research Institute has been recently completed, which marks the first successful
synthesis of MCM-49 zeolite catalyst by 8m3 kettle in China.
The catalyst can replace the imported catalyst used in the alkylation and anti-alkylation device for the synthesis of cumene, the reaction temperature is 20 °C lower than the existing catalyst, and the benzene ratio is reduced from the original 4:1~5:1 to 2.
5:1, which can save more than 6,000 tons of steam and 560,000 tons of water every year, and the effect of energy saving and efficiency is very obvious
.

The evaluation results show that the performance of the catalyst synthesized by 8m3 kettle is improved compared with that of the previous 1m3 kettle, and the characteristics of low reaction temperature and low ratio of benzene are more prominent
.
From the perspective of microstructure, MCM-49 zeolite catalyst is layered structure, with large effective catalytic area and high activity, while β zeolite catalyst is a three-dimensional structure, the effective catalytic area is small, macromolecules cannot diffuse, and carbon deposits are easy, which creates the advantages of
low reaction temperature and low phenylene ratio of MCM-49 zeolite catalyst.
Low reaction temperature will make the device energy saving and consumption reduction, and the low ratio of benzene means that the benzene to be recycled in excess in the past has been reduced from more than 50 cubic meters to more than ten cubic meters, which is equivalent to more than 30 cubic meters of benzene is no longer repeatedly separated, purified, and reused, thereby greatly reducing energy consumption
.

For every 10°C drop in reaction temperature, the energy consumption of the plant will be reduced by 10%, and the reduction of the benzene ratio can not only reduce consumption, but also increase the production capacity of the
original plant.
In addition, in the past, the production equipment had to be washed every 3 months, using 70~80 tons of benzene each time, which not only caused the waste of benzene, but also put forward high requirements
for safe production due to frequent start-up and stopping.
The use of MCM-49 zeolite catalyst eliminates the benzene washing process, and the service life can reach 3 years, so the comprehensive benefits are very significant
.
(Chemical)