Lv Jianhui: Concentrate on the research of catalyst regeneration technology

"If the chip is the heart and soul of modern industry, then the catalyst can be regarded as the 'chip'
of chemical production.
Whoever masters the catalyst research and development technology will grasp the key move
of the development of the chemical industry.
Talking about the catalyst research and development project that he led the team to focus on, Lv Jianhui, a researcher at the Institute of Fine Chemical Industry of the Jihua Research Institute, talked
eloquently.

In recent years, Lv Jianhui has devoted himself to the research of catalyst regeneration technology, and through independent innovation, the catalyst has been "resurrected", which not only realizes the cost reduction and pressure fee, but also breaks the monopoly
of foreign technology.
This year, Lv Jianhui was honorably elected as the fourth top ten outstanding young people
of Jihua Company.

"The hydrocarbonization and dehydrocarbonization catalysts of the Jihua styrene plant are all imported
from abroad.
As the operating time of the device increases, carbon deposits will gradually form on the surface of the catalyst, resulting in a decrease in activity, which can only be solved by stopping and changing the agent, which undoubtedly increases the process cost
.
” Sun Runde, president of the Jihua Research Institute, said
.
To this end, Lv Jianhui and his research group first aimed at the research
of "deactivation mechanism and regeneration process of synthetic ethylbenzene imported catalyst".

Without relevant information, Lv Jianhui explored by himself, first using X-ray diffractometer, scanning electron microscopy and other equipment and chemical element analysis, thermogravimetric analysis and other methods to do a comprehensive physical examination of inactivated catalysts, regenerative catalysts and fresh catalysts, and then simulated industrial devices with small fixed-bed reaction devices to evaluate the activity, selectivity and stability
of catalysts.
However, after more than 9 months and nearly 400 tests, the activity recovery of the inactivated catalyst was less than 60%, and the expected regeneration effect
was not achieved.

What's the problem? The scientific research process must not be impetuous, and Lu Jianhui calmed down and started
again.
He spent the night searching for information and delving into the microstructure and preparation
mechanism of the catalyst.
"The microstructure of the catalyst is like a 'honeycomb', and it is difficult to restore activity
by conventional methods.
If the influence of structure and carbon content is excluded, the key condition is the concentration
of the acid during the cleaning process.
Lu Jianhui suddenly realized
.
After more than 100 tests, it was finally proved that acid concentration is indeed the most direct limiting factor
of the catalyst.
Lv Jianhui led the research team to use the "roasting-ion exchange-re-roasting" method to solve the most critical technical problems
.

In order to verify this technology, Lv Jianhui applied laboratory trials to production practice
.
However, during the first verification, the hydrocarbonization catalyst and antihydrocarbonization catalyst discharged from the styrene plant were seriously
broken.
Lv Jianhui repeatedly analyzed and demonstrated, and finally proposed the scheme of ion exchange in the open water tank, deep drying and roasting of the catalyst in "two steps and one step", and finally broke through the technical bottleneck
.
After 600 hours of stability test, the performance of the regenerated catalyst can be comparable to that of imported
catalysts.
After the production and operation of the plant, this technology alone saved the purchase cost of the catalyst by more than 9 million yuan
.

"The catalyst 'resurrection' technology was quickly introduced to another type of catalyst/adsorbent regeneration
.
" Lu Jianhui said
.
In 2021, their team once again undertook the task
of catalyst regeneration for the styrene plant.
This time, unlike in the past, it is necessary to add a recycled raw material - ammonium nitrate, which is a dangerous chemical, but the purchase and use of ammonium nitrate are strictly restricted, and it is urgent to find an alternative raw material.

After the catalyst is reinstalled, the industrial operation performance reaches the index of imported catalyst, and the purchase cost of catalyst is saved by more than 10 million yuan
again.