Production of Acrolein

Background

Acrolein is a highly toxic, flammable material with extreme lacrimatory

properties. At room temperature acrolein is a liquid with volatility and flammability

somewhat similar to acetone, but unlike acetone, its solubility in water is limited.

Acrolein has been produced commercially since 1938. In 1995, worldwide-refined

acrolein nameplate capacity was about 113,000 ton/yr. Because of its antimicrobial

activity, acrolein has found use as an agent to control the growth of microbes in process

feed lines, thereby controlling the rates of plugging and corrosion. Acrolein at a

concentration of <500 ppm is also used to protect liquid fuels against microorganisms

[1]. The goal of this project is to design a grass roots facility that will safely and

efficiently produce 50,000 metric tons per year of acrolein from propylene, air, and

steam.

Process Description

A base case PFD is shown in Figure 1. Propylene (Stream 2), steam (Stream 4),

and compressed air (Stream 6) are mixed and heated to 250°C. The resultant stream

(Stream 8) is sent to a catalytic packed bed reactor where propylene and oxygen react to

form acrolein. The reactor effluent is quickly quenched to 50°C with deionized water

(Stream 13) to avoid further homogeneous oxidation reactions. Stream 14 is then sent to

an absorber, T-101, where it is scrubbed with water and acrolein is recovered in the

bottoms (Stream 17). The off gas, Stream 16, is sent to an incinerator for combustion.

Stream 17 is then distilled in T-102 to separate acrolein and propylene from water and
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acrylic acid. The bottoms (Stream18) consisting of wastewater and acrylic acid are sent

to waste treatment. The distillate (Stream 19) is sent to T-103 where propylene is

separated from acrolein and the remaining water in the system. The distillate from T-

103, contains 98.4% propylene. The possibility of recycling this stream can be

investigated. The bottoms (Stream 21) is then sent to T-104 where acrolein is separated

from water. Stream 23 is sent to waste treatment, and the distillate (Stream 22) consists

of 98% pure acrolein.

Necessary Information and Simulation Hints

For safety reasons, the following criteria for the inlet composition to the reactor,

R-101, must be strictly observed [2]:

mol% inert must be > 40%

mol% oxygen must be < 12%

mol% propylene must be< 12%

The temperature throughout the reactor must be kept below 330°C. At

temperatures above 330°C, coke deposits form on the catalyst.

The following reactions and side reactions lead to the production of acrolein [2]:

C3 H 6 + O2 → C3 H 4O + H 2O (1)

7
C3 H 4O + O2 → 3CO2 + 2 H 2O (2)
2

1
C3 H 4O + O2 → C3 H 4O2 (3)
2

9
C3 H 6 + O2 → 3CO2 + 3H 2O (4)
2

These reactions are accompanied by the following kinetics [2]:

Ei  1 1   PO2   Px 
−  −   
R  T T   PO2   Px 
ki (1 + K1 + K 2 + K 3 )e
ri =
 PC3H 6 PO PC H O 
1 + K1 + K 2 2 + K3 3 4 2 
 PC3H 6 PO2 PC3H 4O2 

K1 =2, K 2 =4, K 3 =2, T =623K, R =1.987cal/mole/K, PC 3 H 6 =28.1kPa, PO2 =13.1kPa,

Pc3 H 4O2 =6.6kPa.

Reaction Activation Energy Pre-exponential Factor x

i (kcal/kmol) (kmol/ft3 reactor/hr)

1 15,000 0.1080 C3H6

2 25,000 0.0162 C3H4O

3 20,000 0.0108 C3H4O

4 25,000 0.0054 C3H6

The process was simulated using the UNIFAC thermodynamic package for K-

values and SRK for enthalpy. Other thermodynamic packages considered for the k-value

(SRK, Peng Robinson, UNIQUAC) suggested an azeotrope between acrolein and water

which would not allow purification of the acolein to the purity obtained here. The

formation of an azeotrope must be considered in the final design since this may have a

substantial impact on the design of the separation system.

Equipment Description

C-101 Feed Air Compressor

E-101 Reactor Preheater

E-102 Condenser

E-103 Reboiler
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E-104 Condenser

E-105 Reboiler

E-106 Condenser

E-107 Reboiler

P-101A/B Water Pump

P-102A/B Reflux Pump

P-103A/B Reflux Pump

P-104A/B Reflux Pump

R-101 Packed Bed Reactor

T-101 Acrolein Absorber

T-102 Water Distillation Tower

T-103 Propylene Distillation Tower

T-104 Acrolein Distillation Tower

V-101 Reflux Vessel

V-102 Reflux Vessel

V-103 Reflux Vessel

References

1. “Acrolein and Derivatives,” Kirk-Othmer Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology, 4th

2. Personal Communication. Jean Cropley. Union Carbide Corporation.

Stream Tables

Stream 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Temp. (°C) 204 197 159 144 25 111 140 250
Press. (kPa) 1157 203 600 203 101 203 203 203
Vapor Fraction 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
Total Flow (kmol/h) 240 240 1100 1100 1473 1473 2813 2813
Component Flows (kmol/h)
Propylene 240.0 240.0 -- -- -- -- 240.0 240.0
Water -- -- 1100.0 1100.0 -- -- 1100.0 1100.0
Nitrogen -- -- -- -- 1158.0 1158.0 1158.0 1158.0
Oxygen -- -- -- -- 315.0 315.0 315.0 315.0
Acrolein -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Acrylic Acid -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Carbon Dioxide -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

Stream 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
Temp. (°C) 327 25 25 50 25 26 47
Press. (kPa) 197 101 197 197 101 101 101
Vapor Fraction 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total Flow (kmol/h) 2813 45000 45000 47814 10000 1386 56427
Component Flows (kmol/h)
Propylene 78.8 -- -- 78.8 -- 44.4 34.4
Water 1310.9 45000.0 45000.0 46311.0 10000.0 46.2 56264.7
Nitrogen 1158.0 -- -- 1158.0 -- 1157.8 0.2
Oxygen 55.2 -- -- 55.2 -- 55.1 --
Acrolein 113.2 -- -- 113.2 -- 8.3 104.8
Acrylic Acid 23.1 -- -- 23.1 -- -- 23.2
Carbon Dioxide 74.6 -- -- 74.6 -- 74.5 0.2
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Stream 16 17 18 19 20 21
Temp. (°C) 100 -71 -91 52 48 82
Press. (kPa) 101 101 101 101 101 101
Vapor Fraction 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total Flow (kmol/h) 56233 195 34.6 160 105.3 55.1
Component Flows (kmol/h)
Propylene -- 34.4 34.00 0.3 0.3 --
Water 56208.0 56.3 -- 56.3 1.8 54.52
Nitrogen -- 0.2 0.24 -- -- --
Oxygen -- -- 0.03 -- -- --
Acrolein 1.0 103.8 0.1 103.7 103.2 0.53
Acrylic Acid 23.1 -- 0.18 -- -- 0.02
Carbon Dioxide -- 0.2 -- -- -- --