Advanced technology to produce high-purity cumene from propylene and benzene using patented catalytic distillation (CD) technology. The CD Cumene process uses a specially formulated zeolite alkylation catalyst packaged in a proprietary CD structure and another specially formulated zeolite transalkylation catalyst in loose form.
The CD column (1) combines reaction and fractionation in a single-unit operation. Alkylation takes place isothermally and at low temprature. CD also promotes the continuous removal of reaction products from reaction zones. These factors limit byproduct impurities and enhance product purity and yield. Low operating temperatures and pressures also decrease capital investment, improve operational safety and minimize fugitive emissions.
In the mixed-phase CD reaction system, propylene concentration in the liquid phase is kept extremely low (<0.1 wt%) due to the higher volatility of propylene to benzene. This minimizes propylene oligomerization, the primary cause of catalyst deactivation and results in catalyst run lengths of 3 to 6 years. The vapor-liquid equilibrium effect provides propylene dilution unachievable in fixed-bed systems, even with expensive reactor pumparound and/or benzene recycle arrangements. Overhead vapor from the CD column (1) is condensed and returned as reflux after removing propane and lights (P). The CD column bottom section strips benzene from cumene and heavies. The distillation train separates cumene product and recovers polyisopropylbenzenes (PIPB) and some heavy aromatics (H) from the net bottoms. PIPB reacts with benzene in the transalkylator (2) for maximum cumene yield. Operating conditions are mild and noncorrosive; standard carbon steel can be used for all equipment. Yields: 100,000 metric tons (mt) of cumene are produced from 65,000 mt of benzene and 35,300 mt of propylene giving a product yield of over 99.7%. Cumene product is at least 99.95% pure and has a Bromine Index of less than 2, without clay treatment. Licensor: CDTECH, a partnership between Lummus Technology and Chemical Research & Licensing
