Q-MAX PROCESS FOR CUMENE PRODUCTION

INTRODUCTION:-
Cumene is the common name for isopropyl benzene.
USES OF CUMENE:-
to produce phenol, acetone, acetophenone, and methyl styrene.
used as a thinner in paints, lacquers, and enamels.
Production process:-
Cumene is produced commercially through the alkylation of benzene with
propylene over an acid catalyst such as BF3, AlCl3,HF,H3PO4 etc.
limitations of using these catalyst:-
Cumene yield is limited to about 95 percent, because of the oligomerization
of propylene and the formation of heavy alkylate by-products.
The catalyst is not regenerable and must be disposed of at the end of each
catalyst cycle.

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To overcome these problems, UOP had selected the most promising catalyst
based on beta-zeolite for cumene production and then began to optimize the
process design around this new catalyst. The result of this work is the Q-Max
process and the QZ-2000 catalyst system.

Advantages of Q-Max process:-

1. 99.97 wt% product purity.

2. 50-100% capacity expansion for increased revenue.
3. 4-5 wt-% higher yield for lower cost of production.
4. Lower utility cost per unit of cumene product.
5. Regenerable catalyst for less solid waste and lower disposal cost.
6. Longer catalyst cycles for fewer turnarounds.
7. Non-corrosive system for lower maintenance costs.

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 RAW MATERIALS:-

BENZENE
PROPYLENE
ZEOLITE(as catalyst)

PROCESS EQUIPMENTS:-

Alkylation reactor with four catalytic bed.

Depropanizer
Transalkylation reactor
Benzene distillation column
Cumene distillation column
DIPB distillation column

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PROCESS FLOW DIAGRAM:-

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PROCESS CHEMISTRY:-
The synthesis of cumene from benzene and propylene is a
modified Friedel-Crafts alkylation, which can be accomplished by
QZ-2000 catalyst.
Reactions occur in Alkylation Reactor:-

Primary reaction:-

Secondary reaction:-

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PROCESS CHEMISTRY:-

Reaction occurs in Transalkylation Reactor:-

Primary reaction:-

Potential side reaction:-

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PROCESS CHEMISTRY:-
Possible alkylation side reaction:-

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DESCRIPTION OF THE PROCESS FLOW:-
Excess water is removed from Benzene in Depropanizer and
sent to the Alkylation reactor.
In Alkylation Reactor, excess Benzene and Propylene feed is
spread over four catalyst bed.
After reaction, the product is sent to the Depropainizer to
remove propane and water.
The bottoms from depropainizer are sent to the Transalkylation
process to convert DIPB into cumene.
Then the product is passed through Benzene column. After
separation, excess Benzene is recycled and sent to the reactor.
Finally,the bottom product is passed through the cumene
column and DIPB column.

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DESCRIPTION OF THE PROCESS FLOW:-
To run the process smoothly , some steps is taken:-
1. An excess of benzene is used to avoid polyalkylation and to
help minimize olefin oligomerization.
2. As the reaction is exothermic, the temperature rise in the reactor
is controlled by recycling a portion of the reactor effluent to the
reactor inlet, which acts as a heat sink.
3.Recycled Benzene and DIPB is sent to the Transalkylation reactor
to produce cumene directly.
4. the catalyst is typically regenerated ex-situ via a simple carbon
burn by a certified regeneration contractor.

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Impact of Feedstock Contaminants on Cumene Purity:-
Cumene product impurities are primarily a result of impurities in
the feedstocks. Table lists the common cumene impurities of
concern to phenol producers.

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Reactions of feed impurities:-

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Impact of Catalyst Poisons on Catalyst Performance:-
A list of potential Q-Max catalyst poisons is found in Table. All the listed
compounds are known to neutralize the acid sites of zeolites.

Q-MAX PROCESS PRODUCT QUALITY:-

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INVESTMENT AND COST ANALYSIS:-

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THANK YOU