University of Pennsylvania ScholarlyCommons Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Senior Design Reports (CBE) Engineering 5-4-2015 Production of 1,3-Butadiene from Propylene Amanda Nestlerode University of Pennsylvania Victor Ngo University of Pennsylvania Safia Haidermota Follow this and additional works at: https://repository.upenn.edu/cbe_sdr Part of the Biochemical and Biomolecular Engineering Commons Nestlerode, Amanda; Ngo, Victor; and Haidermota, Safia, "Production of 1,3-Butadiene from Propylene" (2015). Senior Design Reports (CBE). 77. https://repository.upenn.edu/cbe_sdr/77 This paper is posted at ScholarlyCommons. https://repository.upenn.edu/cbe_sdr/77 For more information, please contact [email protected]. Production of 1,3-Butadiene from Propylene Abstract Our proposed plant design produces 103 million lb/year of 1,3 butadiene from propylene. Today, there are three chief methods to produce 1,3 butadiene. These include the Houdry process, oxidative dehydrogenation of 2-butenes and steam cracking of saturated hydrocarbons. The latter is the most widely used. The primary motivation behind this project was the production of 1,3 butadiene without the need for olefin cracker C4 crude oil streams. Olefin cracker C4 streams will decrease in availability as the trend towards lighter feedstock increases. Our plant is divided into four sections, namely metathesis, distillation, oxidative dehydrogenation and extractive distillation. The two byproducts include gasoline and ethylene. 1,3 butadiene is separated through extractive distillation with the help of solvent, NMP and is 99.9533% pure. The cost of purchase of propylene is $0.65/lb and the selling cost of 1,3 butadiene is $1/ lb. However, it costs 2 propylene molecules to make one molecule of butadiene. This report provides a detailed design and economic analysis for 1,3-butadiene production in the Gulf Coast. Process flow sheets, energy and utility requirements and reactor design have been considered during our analysis below. The total cost of equipment is $44,918,915 and the variable cost is $200,958,000. Due to the large amounts of propylene, NMP and utilities required, our process is not profitable. The exploration of the metathesis step catalyst to improve 2-butene yields would significantly help the process. Profitability is also heavily dependent to the price ratio of 1,3 butadiene to propylene. We expect based on our market research that the cost of 1,3 butadiene will rise in the future. Disciplines Biochemical and Biomolecular Engineering | Chemical Engineering | Engineering This working paper is available at ScholarlyCommons: https://repository.upenn.edu/cbe_sdr/77 UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA, DEPARTMENT OF CHEMICAL AND BIOMOLECULAR ENGINEERING Production of 1,3-Butadiene from Propylene Amanda Nestlerode, Victor Ngo and Safia Haidermota 4/14/2015 1 University of Pennsylvania School of Engineering & Applied Science 220 S 33rd Street Philadelphia, PA 19104 April 15, 2015 Dear Mr. Fabiano and Dr. Riggleman, Enclosed is our proposed project design to convert propylene to 1,3-butadiene in response to the project suggested by Mr. Gary Sawyer. This process addresses a growing need for 1,3-butadiene. The demand for 1,3-butadiene will rise as lighter feedstock s such as ethylene prove to be more lucrative. As the demand for lighter feedstock increases, the availability of C4 crude oil and therefore 1,3 butadiene decreases. Therefore, this proposed method does not use C4s as a starting raw material for 1,3-butadiene production. Our process is made up of four main parts: metathesis, distillation, oxidative dehydrogenation, and extractive distillation. Our aim was to produce 100 million lb of 1,3- butadiene/ year. Therefore, a feed of 258,000,000 lb propylene /year is being consumed by our plant. The two byproducts that emerge from this process and are sold for a profit are ethylene and gasoline. The solvent for extractive distillation, NMP is recycled and only 1% of the total extractant needed has to be replaced annually. This report focuses on the overall process design and economic analysis of the 1,3- butadiene plant. It provides detailed process flowsheets, equipment and utility costs, and reactor design. A major hurdle is in the metathesis process, where a 15% conversion per pass of propylene is expected. Extensive research has to develop a suitable metathesis catalyst to improve metathesis before this project can be implemented. Thank you for your assistance, Safia Haidermota Amanda Nestlerode Victor Ngo 2 CBE 459 Senior Design Project: SYNTHESIS OF 1,3 BUTADIENE FROM PROPENE By: Safia Haidermota, Amanda Nestlerode, and Victor Ngo Presented To: Mr. Leonard Fabiano, Dr. Warren Seider, Dr. Riggleman, and Mr. Sawyer April 11, 2015 Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering University of Pennsylvania School of Engineering and Applied Science 3 Haidermota ⦁Nestlerode ⦁Ngo TABLE OF CONTENTS 1.0 Abstract .................................................................................................................................... 6 2.0 Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 7 3.0 Objective Time Chart ............................................................................................................. 9 4.0 Technology Readiness Assesment ........................................................................................ 10 4.1 Innovation Map ................................................................................................................. 10 4.2 Market and Competitive Analysis ................................................................................... 11 4.3 Preliminary Process Synthesis ......................................................................................... 12 4.4 Assembly of Database ....................................................................................................... 13 5.0 Process Flow Diagrams and Material Balances ................................................................. 14 5.1 Overview ............................................................................................................................ 14 5.2 Section 100: Metathesis of Propylene to 2-Butene ......................................................... 16 5.3 Section 200: Distillation to Recover Butenes .................................................................. 20 5.4 Section 300: Oxidative Dehydrogenation ........................................................................ 23 5.5 Section 400: Extractive Distillation ................................................................................. 26 6.0 Reactor Design ...................................................................................................................... 33 6.1 Metathesis Reaction .......................................................................................................... 33 6.2 Oxidative Dehydrogenation .............................................................................................. 44 7.0 Energy .................................................................................................................................... 50 7.1 Energy Balances ................................................................................................................ 50 7.2 Utilities................................................................................................................................ 53 7.2.1 Electricity...................................................................................................................... 53 7.2.2 Steam ............................................................................................................................ 54 7.2.3 Cooling Water............................................................................................................... 55 7.2.4 Chilled Water ................................................................................................................ 56 7.2.5 Propane ......................................................................................................................... 56 8.0 Equipment ............................................................................................................................. 58 8.1 Equipment List .................................................................................................................. 58 8.2 Unit Descriptions ............................................................................................................... 61 4 Haidermota ⦁Nestlerode ⦁Ngo 8.2.1 Pumps ........................................................................................................................... 61 8.2.2 Compressors ................................................................................................................. 62 8.2.3 Heat Exchangers ........................................................................................................... 62 8.2.4 Reactors ........................................................................................................................ 63 8.2.5 Distillation Columns ..................................................................................................... 64 8.2.6 Condensers.................................................................................................................... 68 8.2.7 Reboilers ......................................................................................................................