Report No. 37 ACETIC ACID by SHIGEYOSHI TAKAOKA March 1968 A private report by the PROCESS ECONOMICS PROGRAM STANFORD RESEARCH INSTITUTE I I MENLO PARK, CALIFORNIA
CONTENTS 1 INTRODUCTION........................ 1 2 SUMMARY................... *...... 3 3 INDUSTRY STATUS...................... 13 4 ACETIC ACID BY OXIDATION OF ACETALDEHYDE.......... 21 Introduction.......... 21 Chemistry........... 21 Reaction Mechanism...... 21 Kinetics........... 24 Review of Processes...... 26 Feed Specification...... 27 Temperature......... 31 Pressure........... 31 Catalyst........... 31 Explosion.......... 32 Purification......... 32 Material of Construction... 33 Process Description...... 34 Process Discussion....... 41 Cost Estimates......... 43 Capital Costs........ 43 Production Costs....... 48 5 ACETIC ACID BY OXIDATION OF PARAFFINIC HYDROCARBONS... Introduction... Chemistry.... Reaction Mechanism... Initiation... Propagation... Termination... Kinetics... Review of Processes... Feed Specifications... Temperature... Pressure... Catalyst... Oxidation Products... 53 53 53 53 55 55 62 63 66 66 72 72 73 74 iii
CONTENTS 5 (continued) Type of Reactor... *. 75 Purification..... 75 Material of Construction..... 77 Process Description..... 77 Process Discussion..... 97 Cost Estimates..... 102 Capital Costs..... 102 Production costs..... 110 6 ACETIC ACID BY OLEFIN OXIDATION... Introduction... Chemistry... Review of Processes... Vapor-Phase Catalytic Oxidation Processes... Liquid-Phase Noncatalytic Oxidation Processes... Liquid-Phase Two-Step Process Using n-butene... Process Description... Process Discussion... Cost Estimates... Capital Costs... Production Costs..... 121.. 121.. 121.. 122.. 127.. 128.. 129.. 129.. 145.. 148.. 148.. 149 7 ACETIC ACID SYNTHESIS FROM METHANOL AND CARSON MONOXIDE.. 159 Introduction..... 159 Chemistry... i..... 159 Reaction Mechanism..... 159 Kinetics..... 162 Review of Processes..... 164 Feed Specifications..... 164 Temperature..... 170 Pressure..... 170 Catalyst...... 170 Reaction Time..... 171 Recovery and Purification of Catalyst and Acetic Acid.. 171 Material of Construction..... 172 iv
CONTENTS (continued) Process Description... Process Discussion... Cost Estimates... Capital Costs... Production Costs...... 173... 181... 185... 185... 186 ACETIC ACID BY OTHER PROCESSES.............. SEPARATION AND PURIFICATION OF ACETIC ACID........ Azeotropic Distillation...... Liquid-Liquid Extraction...... Extractive Distillation...... Other Processes...... APPENDIX A DESIGN AND COST BASIS, DEFINITIONS... APPENDIX B PHYSICAL PROPERTIES... APPENDIX C RAW MATERIAL AND PRODUCT SPECIFICATIONS... APPENDIX D SAFETY... APPENDIX E MATERIAL OF CONSTRUCTION... REFERENCES... SUPPLEMENTARY REFERENCES... 195 201 201 202 202 203 209 213 215 217 219 221 247 V
ILLUSTRATIONS 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 5.7 5.8 5.9 6.1 6.2 6.3 7.1 Acetic Acid by Acetaldehyde Oxidation............ 37 Acetic Acid by Acetaldehyde Oxidation Effect of Plant Capacity on Process Unit Investment..... 47 Effect of Acetaldehyde Cost on Acetic Acid Production Cost.. 51 Acetic Acid by Acetaldehyde Oxidation Effect of Operating Level and Production Capacity on Production Cost... 52 Effect of Air-Flow gate and Temperature on n-butane Oxidation... 64 Acetic Acid by Oxidation of Naphtha............. 83 Acetic Acid by Oxidation of n-butane............ 91 Acetic Acid by Oxidation of Naphtha Effect of Plant Capacity on Fixed Capital.......... 108 Acetic Acid by Oxidation of n-butane (Column Reactor) Effect of Plant Capacity on Fixed Capital.......... 109 Effect of Naphtha Cost and By-Product Credit on Net Production Cost of Acetic Acid (Tubular Reactor).... 113 Effect of n-butane Cost and By-Product Credit on Net Production Cost of Acetic Acid (Column Reactor)..... 117 Effect of Operating Level and Production Capacity on Total Production Cost of Acetic Acid by Oxidation of Naphtha (Tubular Reactor).................. 118 Effect of Operating Level and Production Capacity on Total Production Cost of Acetic Acid by Oxidation of n-butane (Column Reactor).................. 119 Acetic Acid from n-butenes................. 135 Effect of n-butenes Cost and By-Product Credit on Acetic Acid Production Cost................. 157 Effect of Operating Level and Production Capacity on Net Production Cost of Acetic Acid from n-butenes...... 158 Acetic Acid from Methanol and Carbon Monoxide........ 177 Vii
ILLUSTRATIONS 7.2 Acetic Acid from Methanol and Carbon Monoxide Effect of Plant Capacity on Capital Cost.......... 190 7.3 Acetic Acid from Methanol and Carbon Monoxide Effect of Raw Material Cost on Production Cost....... 193 7.4 Effect of Operating Level and Production Capacity on Production Cost of Acetic Acid from Methanol and Carbon Monoxide.......................... 194 9.1 Process Unit Investment of Acetic Acid Recovery Plant.... 205 9.2 Operating Cost of Acetic Acid Recovery Plant........ 206 E.l Material Selection Chart for Acetic Acid.......... 219 Viii
_ TABLES 2.1 Summary of Acetic Acid Processes.......,..,.. 4 2.2 Summary of Technical Characteristics of Evaluated Acetic Acid Processes.................. 7 3.1 Acetic Acid Plant Capacities North and South America................. 3.2 Acetic Acid Plant Capacities Europe and U.S.S.R..............,..... 3.3 Acetic Acid Plant Capacities Asia........................... 15 17 19 4.1 Acetic Acid by Acetaldehyde Oxidation Summary of Processes................... 29 4.2 Acetic Acid by Acetaldehyde Oxidation Major Process Equipment and Utilities Summary...... 4.3 Acetic Acid by Acetaldehyde Oxidation Stream Flows... 4.4 Acetic Acid by Acetaldehyde Oxidation Process Unit and Utilities Investment.......... 4.5 Acetic Acid by Acetaldehyde Oxidation Total Capital Investment................. 4.6 Acetic Acid by Oxidation of Acetaldehyde Production Costs..................... 37 39 45 46 49 5.1 5.2 5.3 Acetic Acid by Oxidation of Paraffinic Hydrocarbons Summary of Processes................... Acetic Acid by Oxidation of Naphtha (Tubular Reactor) Major Process Equipment and Utilities Summary...... Acetic Acid by Oxidation of Naphtha (Tubular Reactor) Stream Flows... 67 82 87 IX
TABLES 5.4 Acetic Acid by Oxidation of n-butane (Column Reactor) Major Process Equipment and Utilities Summary...... 5.5 Acetic Acid by Oxidation of n-butane (Column Reactor) Stream Flows...................... 5.6 Acetic Acid by Oxidation of Naphtha (Tubular Reactor) Process Unit and Utilities Investment.......... 5.7 Acetic Acid by Oxidation of n-butane (Column Reactor) Process Unit and Utilities Investment.......... 5.8 Acetic Acid by Oxidation of Naphtha (Tubular Reactor) Total Capital Investment................ 5.9 Acetic Acid by Oxidation of n-butane (Column Reactor) Total Capital Investment................ 5.10 Acetic Acid by Oxidation of Naphtha (Tubular Reactor) Production Costs.................... 5.11 Acetic Acid by Oxidation of n-butane (Column Reactor) Production Costs.................... 6.1 Acetic Acid by Olefin Oxidation Summary of Processes.................. 6.2 Acetic Acid from n-butenes Major Process Equipment and Utilities Summary...... 6.3 Acetic Acid from n-butenes Stream Flows...................... 6.4 Acetic Acid from n-butenes Process Unit and Utilities Investment.......... 6.5 Acetic Acid from n-butenes Total Capital Investment................ 6.6 Acetic Acid from n-butenes Production Costs.................... 91 95 104 105 106 107 111 115 123 133 141 151 153 155
..-. TABLES 7.1 Acetic Acid from Methanol and Carbon Monoxide Summary of Processes................... 165 7.2 Acetic Acid from Methanol and Carbon Monoxide Major Process Equipment and Utilities Summary...... 177 7.3 Acetic Acid from Methanol and Carbon Monoxide Stream Flows... 179 7.4 Acetic Acid from Methanol and Carbon Monoxide Process Unit and Utilities Investment.......... 188 7.5 Acetic Acid from Methanol and Carbon Monoxide Total Capital Investment................. 189 7.6 Acetic Acid from Methanol and Carbon Monoxide Production Costs............,......., 191 l 8.1 Acetic Acid by Other Processes Summary of Patents... 197 Xi