Petrochemical

Summary

Petrochemicals (sometimes abbreviated as petchems) are the chemical products obtained from petroleum by refining. Some chemical compounds made from petroleum are also obtained from other fossil fuels, such as coal or natural gas, or renewable sources such as maize, palm fruit or sugar cane. The two most common petrochemical classes are olefins (including ethylene and propylene) and aromatics (including benzene, toluene and xylene isomers). Oil refineries produce olefins and aromatics by fluid catalytic cracking of petroleum fractions. Chemical plants produce olefins by steam cracking of natural gas liquids like ethane and propane. Aromatics are produced by catalytic reforming of naphtha. Olefins and aromatics are the building-blocks for a wide range of materials such as solvents, detergents, and adhesives. Olefins are the basis for polymers and oligomers used in plastics, resins, fibers, elastomers, lubricants, and gels. Global ethylene production was 190 million tonnes and propyl

Official source

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petrochemical

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In this study, propane ammoxidation as an exothermic process is thermally coupled with the endothermic naphtha reforming process which resulted in the elimination of the naphtha reforming furnaces. Both processes are available in petrochemical plants. Naphtha reforming produces aromatics (BTX, Toluene, Ethylbenzene) as well as hydrogen, while propane ammoxidation reactions on V-Sb-Al oxide catalyst produce acrylonitrile (ACN) as the main product which is a known intermediate for the production of various polymers and polyamides. In addition to energy saving, the aromatics production in the proposed scheme increased by 10% compared to conventional naphtha reforming (CNR). Furthermore, the effect of operating temperature, the number of tubes of the reactors, and the inlet molar flow rate of propane on the hydrogen production and aromatics yield in the naphtha reforming process have been investigated.

2019

A risk-based multi-level stress test methodology: application to six critical non-nuclear infrastructures in Europe

José Pedro Gamito de Saldanha Calado Matos, Daniela Rodrigues, Anton Schleiss

Recent natural disasters that seriously affected critical infrastructure (CI) with significant socio-economic losses and impact revealed the need for the development of reliable methodologies for vulnerability and risk assessment. In this paper, a risk-based multi-level stress test method that has been recently proposed, aimed at enhancing procedures for evaluation of the risk of critical non-nuclear infrastructure systems against natural hazards, is specified and applied to six key representative CIs in Europe, exposed to variant hazards. The following CIs are considered: an oil refinery and petrochemical plant in Milazzo, Italy, a conceptual alpine earth-fill dam in Switzerland, the Baku–Tbilisi–Ceyhan pipeline in Turkey, part of the Gasunie national gas storage and distribution network in the Netherlands, the port infrastructure of Thessaloniki, Greece, and an industrial district in the region of Tuscany, Italy. The six case studies are presented following the workflow of the stress test framework comprised of four phases: pre-assessment phase, assessment phase, decision phase and report phase. First, the goals, the method, the time frame and the appropriate stress test level to apply are defined. Then, the stress test is performed at component and system levels and the outcomes are checked and compared to risk acceptance criteria. A stress test grade is assigned, and the global outcome is determined by employing a grading system. Finally, critical components and events and risk mitigation strategies are formulated and reported to stakeholders and authorities.

2020

Direct Conversion of Mono- and Polysaccharides into 5-Hydroxymethylfurfural Using Ionic-Liquid Mixtures

Paul Joseph Dyson, Zhaofu Fei, Philip Gregory Jessop, Rosario Scopelliti, Sviatlana Siankevich, Ning Yan

Platform chemicals are usually derived from petrochemical feedstocks. A sustainable alternative commences with lignocellulosic biomass, a renewable feedstock, but one that is highly challenging to process. Ionic liquids (ILs) are able to solubilize biomass and, in the presence of catalysts, convert the biomass into useful platform chemicals. Herein, we demonstrate that mixtures of ILs are powerful systems for the selective catalytic transformation of cellulose into 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF). Combining ILs with continuous HMF extraction into methyl-isobutyl ketone or 1,2-dimethoxyethane, which form a biphase with the IL mixture, allows the online separation of HMF in high yield. This one-step process is operated under relatively mild conditions and represents a significant step forward towards sustainable HMF production.

Wiley-VCH Verlag Berlin2016