Explosion limits estimation and process optimization of direct propylene epoxidation with H2 and O2 |
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| Authors: | Mengke Lu Yanqiang Tang Wenyao Chen Guanghua Ye Gang Qian Xuezhi Duan Weikang Yuan Xinggui Zhou |
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| Affiliation: | State Key Laboratory of Chemical Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai 200237, China;State Key Laboratory of Chemical Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai 200237, China;State Key Laboratory of Chemical Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai 200237, China;State Key Laboratory of Chemical Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai 200237, China;State Key Laboratory of Chemical Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai 200237, China;State Key Laboratory of Chemical Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai 200237, China;State Key Laboratory of Chemical Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai 200237, China;State Key Laboratory of Chemical Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai 200237, China |
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| Abstract: | Direct propylene epoxidation with H2 and O2, an attractive process to produce propylene oxide (PO), has a potential explosion danger due to the coexistence of flammable gases (i.e., C3H6 and H2) and oxidizer (i.e., O2). The unknown explosion limits of the multi-component feed gas mixture make it difficult to optimize the reaction process under safe operation conditions. In this work, a distribution method is proposed and verified to be effective by comparing estimated and experimental explosion limits of more than 200 kinds of flammable gas mixture. Then, it is employed to estimate the explosion limits of the feed gas mixture, some results of which are also validated by the classic Le Chatelier's Rule and flammable resistance method. Based on the estimated explosion limits, process optimization is carried out using commercially high and inherently safe reactant concentrations to enhance reaction performance. The promising results are directly obtained through the interface called gOPT in gPROMS only by using a simple, easy-constructed and mature packed-bed reactor, such as the PO yield of 13.3%, PO selectivity of 85.1% and outlet PO fraction of 1.8%. These results can be rationalized by indepth analyses and discussion about the effects of the decision variables on the operation safety and reaction performance. The insights revealed here could shed new light on the process development of the PO production based on the estimation of the explosion limits of the multi-component feed gas mixture containing flammable gases, inert gas and O2, followed by process optimization. |
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| Keywords: | Direct propylene epoxidation with H2/O2 Propylene oxide Safe operation Explosion limits estimation Process optimization |
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