· Styrenic monomer catalyst specially developed for ultra-low water-oil ratio
· Higher activity and selectivity, save cost while increasing yield
· The catalyst shows excellent performance in Taiwan Guoqiao Petrochemical Co., Ltd.
Munich, Germany, November 8, 2016-Clariant, a leading global manufacturer of specialty chemicals, today announced the launch of a new high-performance ethylbenzene dehydrogenation catalyst, StyroMax® UL3. With its proprietary design, the catalyst achieves excellent activity and selectivity at ultra-low water-oil ratios (ie, water vapor / hydrocarbon ratio SHR). Therefore, the catalyst is more efficient than other advanced catalysts in the production of styrene monomer. StyroMax® UL3 was officially released at the 2016 Clariant Styrene Symposium in Xi'an, China, October 12-14.
StyroMax® UL3 solves important problems in the production of styrene monomer. Ethylbenzene uses hot steam as an energy source to produce styrene monomer, and relies on a catalyst to promote the dehydrogenation reaction. Due to the high energy consumption required to produce steam, the latest plant process designs need to rely on ultra-low SHR conditions to save costs. However, the performance of the previous styrene catalysts under such low SHR conditions is average, and their activity and selectivity cannot be achieved.
In contrast, Clariant's StyroMax® UL3 catalyst has been proven to provide superior activity and excellent selectivity at ultra-low SHR conditions (1.0 by weight). In May 2016, Taiwan Guoqiao Petrochemical Co., Ltd. (GPPC) 's styrene production plant applied this new catalyst. Compared with previous operations, it has been able to achieve styrene design productivity at lower temperatures. . Moreover, compared with the previous catalyst performance, the catalyst selectivity is now improved by 0.5%.
The high activity of StyroMax® UL3 can increase yield, and the higher selectivity can reduce the production of by-products such as toluene and benzene, which are usually less economic than styrene monomer. For manufacturers, this means significant cost savings and a significant increase in productivity. In addition, the catalyst exhibits optimal performance at ultra-low SHR ratios, making the current styrene monomer production process more sustainable.
Stefan Heuser, senior vice president and general manager of Clariant's Catalysts business unit, said: "We are very proud to work with the GPPC to make GPPC the first industrial pilot plant of StyroMax® UL3. With StyroMax® UL3 An industry-leading catalyst, we can serve the most challenging application areas in the industry and provide our customers with considerable economic benefits. "
Mr. Yang Pinzheng, General Manager of GPPC, added: "In order to significantly reduce the production costs of our plant, we need a catalyst that can operate efficiently under ultra-low SHR conditions. Since May 2016, we have been using the new StyroMax® UL3 We are very satisfied with the performance of this catalyst for the production of styrene monomer. "