Recently, the "New Process for Producing Epichlorohydrin by Direct Oxidation of Propylene with Hydrogen Peroxide in a Liquid-Solid Circulating Fluidized Bed (FHPECH)" passed the scientific and technological achievement evaluation organized by the China Petroleum and Chemical Industry Federation (referred to as "the Federation" hereafter). The evaluation committee unanimously recognized the achievement for its advanced technology, strong innovation, promising application prospects, and international leadership. They agreed on passing the evaluation and recommended accelerating the technology's dissemination.
It's reported that this process was co-developed by the research team of Professor Jiahui Huang and Senior Engineer Yingchun Liu from the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, in collaboration with Binhua Group Co., Ltd. The process employs an independently developed high-performance titanium silicate molecular sieve catalyst and a liquid-solid circulating fluidized bed reaction-regeneration system. This setup achieves continuous catalyst circulation and regeneration, enhances heat and mass transfer in the propylene epoxidation reaction, reduces by-product formation, and improves the production efficiency and safety of epichlorohydrin. Characterized by its green, low-carbon, safe, and economically favorable features, the technology has obtained multiple patent licenses and has a well-structured proprietary intellectual property layout. The successful development of this technology is set to push China's epichlorohydrin industry towards greener and more low-carbon development.
The FHPECH kiloton-level industrial trial plant commenced construction in 2022, was completed and began operation in 2023, and passed a continuous 72-hour assessment organized by the Federation from January 21 to 24, 2024. The plant achieved full-load operation, with a hydrogen peroxide conversion rate of 99.7%, an epichlorohydrin selectivity of 96.6%, and an effective utilization rate of hydrogen peroxide of 99.8%.
FHPECH Industrialization Experimental Apparatus. Image provided by Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics.
