TOLUENE

HYDRODEALKYLATION
165,593 MTPA of Benzene
265 mol/hr if 8000 operating hours
A study case Douglas 1988
~ before the change to alternative toluene processing:
disproportionation (cracking) when Xylene price raised-up
Composition Profile of Components
Level 1 Decision
REACTIONS

C
6
H
5
CH
3
+ H
2
C
6
H
6
+ CH
4
Toluene

benzene

2C
6
H
6
C
12
H
10
+ H
2
Benzene Diphenyl
Profit Based on Reaction with
Selectivity using Reactor Cost
Reactions
Catalyst Deactivation equations of deactivation rate
from Literature. FOR THE SAKE OF SIMPLICITY
SKIPPED and not discussed here (assumed no catalyst)
Product purity
Raw Materials
Constraints gas exposure limits
Other Plant and Site Date: facilities and utilities available
in the existing ~ if sites selected before
Utilities: Fuel supply, levels of steam pressure, Cooling water inlet
and outlet T, Refrigeration levels and electric power
Waste disposal facilities
Physical Property Data new materials
Cost Data
Input info for Tol HDA
EP1 > 0
Yield (in CRE)
Level 2 Decisions
Considerations
Purification of feeds, if impurity
Inert and significant, remove it
Present in a gas feed, first guess is process it
In a liquid feed, also a by-product or a product component,
separate it
Present in large amount, remove it
Present as an azeotrope with a reactant, process it
Inert but easier to separate to separate from the product that the
feed, process it
Catalyst poison, remove it.
Recover or Recycle Reversible By-Products
Gas Recycle and Purge
Destination codes and component
classifications
Number of Product Streams
List all the components that are expected to leave the
reactor
It is never advantageous to separate two stream and then
mix them together
Input-Output Structure of Tol HDA
Process
Design variables, overall material
balances, and stream costs
Material Balance of Tol HDA Process
Yield
Stream Costs: Economic Potential
Alternative for the Tol HDA Process
1. Purify the hydrogen feed stream
2. Recycle the diphenyl to extinction
3. Purify the H
2
-recycle stream
Level 3 Decision Recycle Stream
1. How many reactor systems are required? Is there any
separation between the reactor systems?
2. How many recycle streams are required?
3. Do you want to use an excess of one reactant at the
reactor inlet?
4. Is a gas compressor required? What are the costs?
5. Should the reactor be operated adiabatically, with direct
heating or cooling, or is a diluent or heat carrier
required?
6. Do we want to shift the equilibrium conversion? How?
7. How do the reactor costs affect the economic potential?
Concern 1: Quantity of Reactor Systems
Both take place at the same T and P without catalyst
Therefore one reactor
Concerns 2, 3 and 4: Quantity of Recycle
Streams Including Excess Reactant
Redo the destination coding as in Concern 2.
Liquid and Gas Recycle
X
F
F
FT
T
=
Feed to the Reactor
Liquid:-
Gas:-
O
H2

F
FT
(1-MRx)/x
Reactor Heat Effect
The reaction conducted adiabatically while the heat
from diphenyl production (the 2
nd
reaction) is neglected.


O AO
o A
X
T T R
E
k
F
X C
T T R
E
k
dV
dX
v
) 1 (
1 1
exp ) 1 (
1 1
exp
1
1
1
1

(

|
|
.
|

\
|

|
|
.
|

\
|

=
T rxn
Q F H = A
Compressor
Cost of Compressor Operation vs Ratio
(y
PH
)
For x = 0.75
Reactor Design
Parallel Reactions
Reactor Design for Reactions in Series
Mole balance calculation for each species would give t
opt



But because diphenyl production is negligible (low x),
reactor designed based on single reaction

4 2 4 2
CH H
2
1
D
2
1
CH B H Tol + + + +
( )
0 0
0
1
opt
opt
x TP
V
T P
t v c
vt
+
= =
T
T
F dV
dx r
=

Using Runge-Kutta 4 method

Economic Potential 3
Level 4 Decision - Separation
Each VRS usually generates a liquid stream that must be
purified
The purification would be considered in the subsequent
liquid recovery system.
(a) Gas Recovery
For a conversion x = 0.75 and a purge composition y
PH
=
0.4, using the sharp-split method, the vapour flows from
the phase splitter is as follows:-








Separation system recycle loop
(b) Liquid Recovery and Complete
Separation System
x
B
= 0.947
Economic Potential for Level 4
EP4 = P
B
*$
B1988
+ P
D
*$
DF1988
+ F
E
*$
H2F1988
+ P
G
*$GF1988
P
B
/S*$
T1988
F
G
*$
G1988

V
PFR
*InstCostShell&Tube1988
InstCostCompressor1988
OperatCostCompressor1988
InstCostStabilizerCol1988 InstCostProdCol1988
InsCostRecyCol1988
Where P
D
, F
E
, P
G
, F
G
and V
PFR
changed with separation
efficiency at level 4
-
- Operating Cost = flow rate*$
MaterialOfEquipment
Annualized Profit vs Conversion
Rigorous Material Balance
Detail calculation is
again done using
linear material
balancing
Modification for
previous decisions
may be needed if the
difference is
significant
The use of Aspen
Plus, Hysis and other
simulation software to
aid
Level 5 Decision HDA Heat Exchanger
Network
Economic Potential for Level 5
EP5 = EP4 InstalCostHeatExchanger UtilityCost