Colgate Palmolive Company

Jeffersonville, In
SO3 Sulfonation Plant Process Overview

General Description
The sulfonation process consists of two continuous falling film ballestra reactors capable of approximately 50/tons per day of active ingredient. The design of the processing plant encompasses a gas plant, sulfur burning, SO3 conversion, sulfonation reactors, aging, neutralization, hydrolization, pH trim and exhaust gas treatment The original process was designed for sulfonation of dodecyl benzene and ethoxylated alcohols. It was later converted to sulfonate alpha olefins and lauryl alochols

Plant History
Chemithon sulfonation plant commissioned in 1977 for liquid detergent business Produced Sulfonated Dodecyl benzenes and ethoxylated alcohol surfactants for first 20 years of production An additional sidestream Ballestra reactor added in 1982 for sodium lauryl sulfate surfactants Refurbished with new reactors and process control system in 1996 to produce Alpha Olefin and Exthoxylated Alcohol surfactants Plant scheduled for shutdown in October of 2006

Plant Metrics
The gas plant of the process is designed to burn 450 lbs/hr of sulfur and is the limiting processing system The process has two Ballestra sulfonation reactors, one with seventy two tubes and one with thirteen tubes. In 2005, asset utilization was 87% and the plant has produced in excess of 55 million pounds of various surfactants the last two years

Process Systems
Raw Material Storage and Handling SO3 Gas Plant Reactor Sulfonation Neutralization (sodium hydroxide) Hydrolizer ( Alpha Olefins only) Exhaust Gas Treatment Finished Product Storage and Loading Utilities and Process control

Building 42 - Sulfonation

Alcohol & Alkane storage

Molten Sulfur Storage

Primary blower Gardner Denver

Air Dryers Alternating Dual system

Sulfur burner

SO2 to SO3 Converter

SO3 Cooler and Mist Eliminator

Top of Ballestra Reactor (60 Tubes)

Bottom of Reactor Liquid/Gas Separator

Neutralization Skid

Hydrolizer Unit Alpha Olefins only

Sulfuric Acid Scrubber

Caustic Scrubber exhaust gas

Electrostatic Precipitators exhaust gas

East Product Storage & Loading

West Storage and Loading

Wonderware & Allen Bradley PLC Controls

Trane Chiller

Process Cooling Tower

Utility & Energy Consumption

Available thru technology suppliers

Technology Suppliers
Chemithon Corporation
5430 West Marginal Way SW Seattle, WA 98106 USA Tel: (206) 937-9954 Fax: (206) 932-3786, (206) 937-9933 E-mail: chemoffice@chemithon.com chemsurfin@chemithon.com

Ballestra Corporation
Via Piero Portaluppi 17 20138 Milano (Italy) tel +39 2 50831 fax +39 2 58018449 mail@ballestra.com