Making more propylene oxide without the extras
Chinese chemical producer, Qixiang Tengda, started up a new hydrogen peroxide to propylene oxide (HPPO) plant in Zibo City, China using Evonik and Thyssenkrupp Udhe’s process technology.
A little context. The world produces more than 10 million tons of propylene oxide (PO) each year. About 70% of it is used to make polyether polyols (which become polyurethanes), 20% becomes propylene glycol, and the rest mainly becomes propylene glycol ethers. Most of that PO is made via the chlorohydrin and peroxidation (PO/SM and PO/TBA) processes, not the HPPO process.
So, what’s up with HPPO? The conventional routes to PO create coproducts. HPPO is coproduct-free: the hydrogen-peroxide-based epoxidation of propylene is catalyzed with titanium silicalite in methanol — PO and water is produced, and the methanol is recycled.
Bigger picture. Evonik initiated an exclusive partnership with Thyssenkrupp in 2001. The process was piloted in 2008, the first world-scale site was built in 2014, and now this site in Zibo City is the fourth of its kind. As the demand for polyurethanes continues to grow, this coproduct-free route to a high-value hydrogen peroxide derivative will only become more popular.
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