Propylene oxide production technology is in a dilemma

Epoxy propane (PO) market is currently strong, the demand for PO in the polyurethane sector remains high, but technical strict control has been curbing the establishment of new factories., but given China's recent new production lines, this won't last long. Among acrylic derivatives, PO has increased at a rate of 3.5% per year from 2010 to 2016. Demand for polyol products is expected to grow by nearly 4% over the next 10 years, and PO's current level of growth will remain unchanged.the combination ofpolyester and diphenyl methane diocyanate (MDI) and toluene diocyanate (TDI) forms a polyurethane foam, which is used as furniture, mattress car seats when made into soft bubbles, and mainly for the production of insulation materials when made into hard bubbles. Non-foam polyurethanes are also becoming increasingly important, especially in slurry, and are gradually replacing thermoplastics in automotive bumpers and electronics applications.is a typical versatile product that can be used in a variety of applications. The product can change at any time to form a variety of required products, do not need a lot of tools, labor costs are not much.high demand for downstream POthe use of soft bubbles in mattresses is driving the development of emerging markets, modern home manufacturing has gradually shifted from the original use of traditional materials to soft bubbles. It is reported that in 2010 and 2016, the annual use of polyols in Africa, South Asia increased by 8%.the polyol market in developed countries has also developed rapidly, but it is more used to improve the insulation of buildings and white electricity, and of course there has been progress in developing new uses.polyurethane insulation material with its thickness has the highest current insulation performance, the best anti-thermal effect. Polyol production is easier and is usually dispersed locally. The installation of polyether polyol equipment is relatively simple and the cost is low. However, the shortage of PO raw materials is more serious.forecast that the global PO operating rate will be 87% in 2017, of which only 70% will be for polyether polyols. Given this speed, more PO devices need to be installed to meet demand.the following are three generations of PO plant technology:first generation: chloropropanol method. The conversion of propylene to chloropropanol is dechlorinated. This method has two problems, one is the high pollution of calcium chloride waste, and the other is the need for a large amount of chlorine.second generation: acrylic oxide with organic peroxide. Commonly used are statin hydrogen peroxide and ethyl benzene peroxide. By-products are statins (TBAs) used to make methyl butyl ether (MTBE) and ethyl benzene for styrene production. This approach increases the complexity of investment decisions.third generation: this method was developed by Degussa-Uhde (now Utsa) and BASF/Dow Chemical.2006, Sumitomo developed a method of oxidizing dead ole hydroxide peroxides. The by-product of dead grass alcohol can circulate back to deadene. In 2008, Degussa-Uhde (now Evinik) and BASF/Dow Chemical also discovered that propylene oxide could be oxidized by hydrogen peroxide (HPPO), thus producing only water as a by-product.to overcome production problems environmental pollution and cost problems of the first generation of chloropropanol technology are not very serious. Factories using this technology are found in the 1960s and 1970s, and new plants have been built in China since 1990. Construction has slowed in recent years. Since 2010, factories with at least 175,000 tonnes/year capacity in China have been closed.a second-generation by-product styrene or MTBE factory? Epoxy propane/Styrene Monosyl (POSM) technology is frequently used in Japan, Spain, Russia and China. This technology is an improved version of the original technology developed by Leander (ARCO) and Shell. There are currently 14 POSM plants worldwide. The problem with POSM plants is that demand for styrene is not growing as fast as PO: consumption of styrene rose by 1.7% in 2010-2016, while demand for PO grew by 3.7% per year.such as India or China, where demand for styrene is still growing, product shortages and new POSM equipment is justified. In the United States, in the long run, the styrene market does not see the need for any new POSM equipment. Shell withdrew from Saudi joint venture SADAF in January. The move could cut the possibility of new POSM production facilities in the Middle East, at least in the short term.about using PO/TBA technology factories? Previously, Liand Basel purchased technology holders ARCO Chemical and Huntsman. So the technology is now in the hands of Liand Basel. There are currently only five PO/TBA plants in the world: two in the United States, two in Europe and one in China. A sixth plant with a capacity of 240,000 tonnes per year is to be built in Nanjing, China, jointly owned by Hensmay and Sinopec. Liand Basel says it is considering building a such plant in the United States. The actual TBA production of these plants is twice that of PO, and the MTBE market should be more worrying than its PO market., Sumitomo's technology has not yet met the company's expectations. It has only two plants worldwide, one in Japan and the other in Saudi Arabia, both founded in 2009 by PetroRabigh, a Saudi Ame oil/Sumitomo joint venture. Two other Sumitomo-licensed plants are planned to open in Asia. One will be officially established in South Korea in 2018 and will be operated by S-Oil, while the second will be in Thailand, operated by PPT Global Chemical in 2019.cost-effective options for Modernindustry sources say the PO/TBA production process is still too complex and expensive compared to the recently efficient HPPO technology. The HPPO production process is relatively simple and has few by-products. As a result, it is considered to be the most modern and cost-effective production technology. Degussa-Uhde says the first plant to use the process was built in South Korea in 2008 by SK Chemical. Shortly thereafter, in the same year, BASF/Dow also built an HPPO plant in Antwerp., BASF/Dow built two new plants, one in Thailand in 2011 and another in Saudi Arabia in 2017.。 Degussa-Uhde (currently owned by Ingtrous) sold the technology license to Giessen Chemical in Jilin, China (effective 2014). However, several Chinese players are developing their own HPPO technology, which could change the current PO market landscape. Now China is promoting HPPO-type PO production line.if the Chinese industry succeeds, a new batch of PO plants will emerge and supply will ease. In addition, there has been an increase in the number of TBA and POSM plants, particularly in China and India, where more MTBE and styrene are needed.
。