To break through the technological monopoly, Wanhua will build a 400,000-ton PO project, and there will be 6 million tons of propylene oxide on the road in the future

Recently, the official website of Wanhua Chemical Group (referred to as Wanhua) announced the draft for comments on the environmental impact report of the propylene oxide (PO) project with an annual output of 400,000 tons
.
The project adopts the cumene hydrogen peroxide process (POCHP) process independently developed by Wanhua, using cumene, propylene and hydrogen as raw materials, under the action of a catalyst, through a series of reactions, rectification separation to produce propylene oxide products and recovery Cumene is planned to be completed and put into production in June 2023
.

With Wanhua's increasing demand for polyethers, Wanhua's existing propylene oxide production processes all have by-products that are restricted by market uncertainty, while advanced propylene oxide production processes have always been monopolized by foreign technology, and the development of products is concentrated, The production process of propylene oxide with less investment and easy control of production capacity is imperative
.
Therefore, Wanhua started to carry out the research and development of the cumene hydrogen peroxide method since 2014, and developed a complete set of POCHP technology with independent intellectual property rights
.
In 2014, the POCHP small-scale process technology development was started, and the pilot test was completed in May 2020.
At present, the industrialization test research has been completed, and the process technology with independent intellectual property rights has been formed through the appraisal of experts from the China Petrochemical Federation.
Scale up the capacity for basic and industrialized production plant construction
.

After the completion of the project, Wanhua Chemical Group will have both PO/MTBE (240,000 tons/year propylene oxide and 780,000 tons/year methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) units, which started in September 2012, and will be built in 2015.
A successful start-up in August), PO/SM (30/650,000 tons of propylene oxide/styrene plant has been handed over on October 23, 2021, and is planned to be put into operation by the end of this year) and POCHP three industrialized production technologies, breaking foreign technology The blockade will make Wanhua the third company in the world to master the technology
.

Three major propylene oxide production technologies

The production process of propylene oxide mainly includes chlorohydrin method, co-oxidation method and direct oxidation method
.
The production capacity of the chlorohydrin method accounts for the largest proportion in China, but the environmental protection problems are prominent, and the new production capacity has been restricted by the state for a long time
.
As for the co-oxidation process, although some enterprises such as Zhenhai Lyondell Basel, Jinling Huntsman and China Overseas Shell have production capacity, these three are joint ventures with domestic refineries provided by foreign companies, and domestic investors have not obtained the technology.
, without the consent of overseas partners, it does not have the ability to expand production capacity
.

In order to break through the limitations of production expansion, many domestic enterprises have tried the HPPO method, but the operating rate of the current production units is relatively low, and due to the high risk of process safety, no progress has been made in the preliminary planning projects
.
In the future, even if the HPPO method can achieve stable production, the cost is still about 2,500 yuan/ton higher than that of the chlorohydrin method and the co-oxidation method
.

However, as Wanhua entered the propylene oxide industry, the pattern of the entire industry began to undergo fundamental changes
.
Through independent research and development, Wanhua has successfully achieved a technological breakthrough in PO/SM, and has the ability to independently expand production.
The new production capacity of 300,000 tons that is about to be put into production has enabled Wanhua to take the lead in realizing a technological breakthrough in the co-oxidation method in China
.
In the future, Wanhua is expected to continue to expand production and become the most important player in the market by virtue of the cost and the integrated advantages of producing polyether with MDI
.
In addition, the propylene oxide project supporting the extension of propylene from large refining or light hydrocarbon dehydrogenation/cracking to the downstream industrial chain will also have more cost advantages
.

my country's propylene oxide production capacity statistics

According to incomplete statistics, the current domestic production capacity of propylene oxide under construction or planning is close to 3.
3 million tons
.
The production capacity of the PO/SM route is about 2.
1 million tons, the HPPO route is about 1 million tons, and the CHP route is only 150,000 tons
.

In 2020, there are 19 propylene oxide production enterprises in China (see Table 1 for details), of which 13 are located in East China, with production capacity accounting for 69.
3% of the country's total production capacity
.
The province with the largest number of production enterprises is Shandong Province, and the production capacity of propylene oxide accounts for 47.
2% of the national production capacity
.

At present, domestic chlorohydrin method propylene oxide production enterprises are mainly located in Shandong and Jiangsu provinces
.
The production cost of propylene oxide by the chlorohydrin method is low, but the pollution problem limits the further development of this technology
.
Since 2014, Shandong has strictly restricted indicators such as industrial wastewater COD discharge, and some chlorohydrin companies can only seek to relocate or stop production
.

Among the four companies using co-oxidation technology, Zhenli Chemical and CNOOC Shell use the propylene oxide/SM process, and the technology comes from Lyondell and Shell respectively; Yantai Wanhua and Jinling Huntsman use propylene oxide/SM technology.
MTBE technology, technology from Huntsman
.
Among the enterprises adopting the HP propylene oxide process, the Sinopec Changling 100,000-ton/year demonstration unit is Sinopec's own technology
.

Table 1 Overview of major propylene oxide producers in my country in 2020 10,000 tons/year

According to statistics, there are 24 propylene oxide projects under construction in China, with a total production capacity of about 5.
945 million tons per year.
The projects are mainly distributed in East China, South China and North China
.
The "Industrial Structure Adjustment Guidance Catalogue" (2019) clearly proposes to "eliminate the chlorohydrin production technology of propylene oxide with serious environmental pollution".
Therefore, the proposed projects under construction mainly adopt the HP propylene oxide method and the propylene oxide/SM method.

.

Regardless of the elimination of the existing chlorohydrin method, it is estimated that by 2025, the domestic production capacity of propylene oxide will reach 9.
23 million tons/year
.
See Table 2 for details of propylene oxide projects under construction in China
.

Table 2 Some propylene oxide projects under construction in my country 10,000 tons/year

In the next few years, the expansion of domestic PO production capacity will continue
.
In terms of demand, driven by fields such as polyether polyols and propylene glycol, China's propylene oxide demand will reach 4.
05 million tons in 2025, and China's propylene oxide will be self-sufficient
.