BONUS REPORT:
CYBER SECURITY
®
HydrocarbonProcessing.com | OCTOBER 2014
Beat malware, hackers and
viruses to safeguard information
and control systems
HPI FOCUS:
PETROCHEMICALS UPDATE
Process technologies find
‘green’ applications
MAINTENANCE
AND RELIABILITY
Performance evaluations
increase equipment availability
SPECIAL REPORT:
Process Control and
Information Systems
Originally appeared in:
October 2014, pgs 69-71.
Used with permission.
HPI Focus
Petrochemical Update
R. V. SCHNEIDER III and S. GOYAL, The Scientific
Design Company, Inc., Little Ferry, New Jersey
Consider integrated ethanol-to-EO/EG processes
Ethanol-based production of ethylene, ethylene oxide (EO)
and ethylene glycol (EG) dates back to the 1960s. The process is commercially proven and has been extensively applied
industrially. Recent trends in small, purpose-built EO-only
plants with no nearby source of ethylene, and the consumer
push for bio-monoethylene glycol (MEG)-based green packaging, have created new opportunities for this once-thoughtto-be-obsolete know-how technology.
ETHANOL TO ETHYLENE
Industrial ethanol dehydration catalysts were developed
in the 1960s.1 By the 1980s, the first commercial ethanol-toethylene (E2E) process was licensed.1 While newer catalysts
are touted to be more active than alumina-based catalyst, the
proven alumina-based catalyst is very selective and is suitable
for high, one-pass conversion applications that reduce capital
investment and use a simpler process. The overall dehydration
proceeds, then, according to the overall reaction:
C2H5OH → C2H4 + H2O
is a simplified diagram of the E2E process. In 2006, a
60-Mtpy E2E unit was licensed in Brazil.2 Later in 2010, three
60-Mtpy E2E units were licensed by TCI-Sanmar, in Port Said,
Egypt. The first of these three units was successfully commissioned in March 2014 (FIG. 2). The TCI Sanmar plant uses imported ethanol feedstock, as it has no local ethylene sources
to feed the downstream and existing vinyl chloride monomer
(VCM) units at this site.
FIG. 1
INTEGRATED ETHANOL-TO-EO/EG TECHNOLOGY
FIG. 3 illustrates an integrated process for producing EO or
EG.3 The bio-ethanol feed is dehydrated under appropriate
conditions to produce ethylene. Heat integration is maximized
to increase overall processing efficiency. Ethylene purification can accommodate either ethylene-specific applications or
downstream uses such as EO/EG.
Especially in the case of EO/EG applications, it is imperative to either clean up the bioethanol or to purify the intermediate ethylene product to protect sensitive silver-based, highselectivity EO catalyst. Most EO operators will use the most
cost-advantaged ethanol. While cost-effective ethanol is adequate for fuel applications, it is a less-than-perfect choice for
chemicals application, mostly due to the inherent and varying
sulfur content of an agricultural-based feedstock. It remains to
be seen what advantages clean generation II cellulosic-based
ethanol will bring to the table.
Industry applications. As shown in FIG. 4, once ethylene has
been produced, it can then be used for purified EO (PEO)
and MEG production. The basics of EO and EG production
are well known in the industry, and have been exhaustively
documented in the past. The EO/EG process can be supplied
on a flexi-feed basis to accommodate bio-derived ethylene or
petro-based ethylene.1 This technology has been applied to
some ethanol-based plants in China, which are now in commercial operation. China has been home to several recent ethanol-based projects, and nine different units have been licensed
over the past five to six years.1 Four of the licensed units use
flexi-feed, and three plants were commissioned between 2011
and 2013. At present, the process design package (PDP) for
a green EO plant is being finalized for a US installation. The
plant should be operational within the next couple of years.
Process advantages. The integrated process offers several
processing advantages, such as:1
Ethanol
Ethanol purification
(as needed)
Ethanol
vaporization
Dehydration
reaction
Furnace
Heat
recovery
Ethylene purification
(as needed)
FIG. 1. A simplified diagram of the E2E process.
FIG. 2. The TCI Sanmar plant in Port Said, Egypt.
HYDROCARBON PROCESSING OCTOBER 2014
Purified bio-ethylene
Petrochemical Update
• Single-pass conversion with no recycling of reactor effluents
• High ethylene yield
Ethanol-based production of ethylene,
EO and EG dates back to the 1960s.
The process is commercially proven.
• No requirement for intermediate ethylene storage
• Energy integration to minimize operating expense
(OPEX)
• Flexi-feed option—the ability to switch between bioand petro-based ethylene to meet varying market demand
and feedstock pricing constraints
• Ability to produce excess bio-ethylene suitable as on-spec
feedstock for other downstream products such as
VCM and high-density polyethylene (HDPE)
• Fiber-grade MEG product that is indistinguishable
from that produced from petro-based ethylene.
Installations. In 1986, the world’s first fully integrated ethanol-to-EG plant was licensed in India, and it became fully operational in 1989. Today, this plant is the world’s largest singleEthanol
Ethanol purification
(as needed)
Heat
recovery
site producer of green MEG, with a capacity of more than 150
Mtpy. Ethanol at this plant is either made onsite by fermentation, or it is imported from Brazil, depending on
product-specific requirements.
GREEN MEG DRIVERS
Green MEG is enjoying a huge upside in the market
due to consumer demand for green packaging. For example, Coca-Cola’s PlantBottle™, packaging features a
polyethylene terephthalate (PET)-based bottle that is
about 1⁄3 bio-derived, which has been widely deployed
in the US and internationally. Other consumer product companies are, likewise, making plans for their own green
packaging. Green plastics have been used in automotive applications by companies such as Toyota, and green PE-film packaging
has also had some limited commercial application. Expectations
are that green MEG as used in PET applications, could reach as
high as 1⁄3 of the total global MEG, production by the year 2018,
as shown in FIG. 5. Will this be a certainty? Not necessarily, but it
surely is possible, given current trends within the industry. Other drivers include lack of local ethylene supply for small purposebuilt plants, as well as the looming notion that EO transport by
rail could eventually be severely limited.
Process economics. While, undoubtedly, bio-based ethylene cannot compete with present US Gulf Coast-based ethylene production costs, on a global basis, it can be competitive
depending upon the local cost of ethanol production or the
purchase price. Depending on the local ethylene cost, which, in
Ethanol
vaporization
TABLE 1. Economics for a bio-ethylene plant
Super-heated steam
Furnace
Dehydration
reaction
Usages
Crude bio-ethylene
Ethanol, Mt/Mt
1.8
MP steam, Mt/Mt
3.3
Power2, kW/Mt
EO/EG
Purified
bio-ethylene
Ethylene purification
(as needed)
300
Costs1
Ethanol3, $/Mt
Other products
(optional)
945–1,260
Utilities/catalysts,$/Mt
70–100
Total, $/Mt
FIG. 3. Flow diagram of an integrated ethanol-to-EO/EG process.
1,015–1,360
Ethylene market price, $/Mt
1,050–1,450
Per Mt of ethylene
2
With ethylene purification
3
Ethanol cost = $525/Mt–$700/Mt
1
Purified ethylene
O2
EO stripping/reabsorption
EO scrubbing
Feed
separation
Fiber-grade MEG
Glycol
purification
Glycol
reaction
EO
purification
FIG. 4. Flow diagram of an integrated ethanol-to-EO/EG and
MEG production.
PEO
Total MEG in PET production, Kton
EO reaction
7,000
6,000
Green MEG production could be more than 30% of total MEG
used in PET by 2018 or almost 3,000 Kton of green MEG
Non-green MEG
Green MEG
5,000
4,000
3,000
2,000
1,000
0
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
Year
2015
FIG. 5. Green MEG market potential, 2010–2018.
HYDROCARBON PROCESSING OCTOBER 2014
2016
2017
2018
Petrochemical Update
some imported cases, is quite expensive, the ethanol-based process with feedstock costs ranging between $525/ton and $700/
ton can be competitive, as summarized in TABLE 1.
THE BIOREFINERY
The concept of a so-called biorefinery has been proposed
for several years now. It is now gaining ground in various parts
of the world, including North America. The new ethanol-toEO/EG process is an ideal candidate for an ethanol-based biorefinery.1 It provides synergy with both upstream and downstream units in the refinery, and yields appreciable savings in
both CAPEX and OPEX. An inherent capability of this process
is its ability to provide for excess bio-ethylene that can expand
the refinery’s product portfolio beyond EO and its derivatives
to include other high-value products such as VCM and HDPE.
FIG. 6 shows a typical biorefinery as envisioned based on the
fermentation of sugar cane. This same concept, however, could
just as easily be imagined for ethanol made from second-generation cellulosic-based ethanol.
OUTLOOK
Ethylene and EO/EG from ethanol, while somewhat of a
niche play, is enjoying renewed popularity in the industry due
to local infrastructural issues, EO transport concerns, and the
push for green packaging. The new integrated process is well
proven and commercially demonstrated by a number of indusBagasse
Milling/
treatment
Sugar cane
Treated juice
Ethanol
production
Sugar
Steam
Steam
generation
Ethanol
Green EO
production
MEG
DEG
TEG
Green
glycols
production
Green EO
derivative
production
EO
FIG. 6. Typical biorefinery processing scheme.
Ethoxylates
Glycol ethers
Ethanolamines
trial applications. Economics can be favorable, using GEN I ethanol priced at $700/ton or less. It remains to be seen how much
more competitive this process could be if there is breakthrough
pricing for second-generation ethanol in the future. This flexible process can be the basis for conventional products such as
ethylene, EO or MEG—or, in the alternative, it can be used as a
link for many other industrially important derivative products,
including alkoxylates, ethanolamines or glycol ethers. The process can be seamlessly integrated with other process units in a
biorefinery with appreciable cost advantages.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
This article is based on an earlier presentation at the 2014 International Refining
and Petrochemical Conference in Verona, Italy, June 25–26.
NOTES
Scientific Design’s (SD’s) ethanol-based process for producing ethylene, EO
and/or EG dates back to the 1960s with their development of industrial ethanol
dehydration catalyst. By the 1980s, SD had developed and licensed a commercial
ethanol-to-ethylene process. In 1986, SD licensed the world’s first integrated
ethanol-to-EG plant. Recently, with renewed interest in bio-based technologies,
SD has licensed its integrated EO/EG process for nine plants in China and is in
PDP development stage for one in US.
2
SD made the decision to sell the E2E technology to Chematur AB in 1988.
However, in 2005, SD signed an agreement with Chematur to sub-license the
technology and jointly collaborate on new projects.
3
SD integrated process for producing EO or EG.
1
ROBERT V. SCHNEIDER is the senior vice president and
director of Engineering and Licensing for Scientific Design Co.
in Little Ferry, New Jersey. He has over 40 years of chemical
process industry experience and has a background in process
engineering for ammonia, methanol and hydrogen plants,
industrial catalysis, sales and marketing, technology licensing,
and company senior management. Mr. Schneider held
previous positions with Kvaerner Process, The M.W. Kellogg Co. and
United Catalysts (now Clariant). He holds a BS degree in chemical engineering
from the University of Louisville (Kentucky), an MBA degree from the University
of South Florida (Tampa). Mr. Schneider is a registered professional engineer
in the states of Texas, Kentucky and Florida.
SANJEEV GOYAL is the manager of projects at Scientific
Design Co. in Little Ferry, New Jersey. He has over 25 years of
experience in EO/ EG Process and was involved in the process
design package development and the commissioning of
various EO/ EG plants in China, India, Saudi Arabia, Taiwan,
Thailand and the US. Prior to joining Scientific Design, he held
positions in India Glycols and Reliance Industries, which
includes working for world’s first ethanol-to-EO/EG plant for 15 years since its
inception. Mr. Goyal holds a BS degree in chemical engineering from the Indian
Institute of Technology, Roorkee (India).
Eprinted and posted with permission to Scientific Design Company, Inc. from Hydrocarbon Processing
October © 2014 Gulf Publishing Company
Scientific Design Company, INC.
A SABIC – Clariant Partnership Company
49 Industrial Avenue • Little Ferry, New Jersey 07643-1901, USA
Telephone: (201) 641-0500 • Web: www.scidesign.com • Fax: (201) 641-6986