Production of Acrylic Fibers by SOHIO Process

Introduction:
Acrylic substances are those materials that have the Acryl functional group attached to them. The general acrylic
substances are:
Acrylic Fiber: A synthetic polymer fiber which contains at least 85% Acrylonitrile.
Acrylic Paint: Fast drying paint containing pigments suspended in acrylic polymer emulsion.
Acrylic Glass: Polymethyl methacrylate (also known as "acrylic glass" and "Plexiglas"), the synthetic polymer
of methyl methacrylate.
Acrylic Carbon Fiber: A material double the strength of steel but a lot less in weight.
Acrylic Fiber Characteristics
Outstanding workability & quick drying to move moisture from body surface.
Flexible aesthetics for wool-like, cotton-like, or blended appearance.
Easily washed, retains shape.
Resistant to moths, oil, and chemicals.
Dye able to bright shades with excellent fastness.
Superior resistance to sunlight degradation.
Acrylic fibers are synthetic fibers made from a polymer with a weight average molecular weight of ~100,000. To
be called acrylic in the U.S., the polymer must contain at least 85% acrylonitrile monomer. Typical comonomers are vinyl
acetate or methyl acrylate. The polymer is formed by free radical polymerization.
The fiber is produced by dissolving the polymer in a solvent such as N,N-dimethylformamide or aqueous sodium
thiocyanate, metering it through a multi-hole spinnerette and coagulating the resultant filaments in an aqueous solution
of the same solvent. Washing, stretching, drying and crimping complete the processing. End uses include sweaters, hand-
knitting yarns, rugs, awnings, boat covers, and as a precursor for carbon fiber.
SELECTION PARAMETERS:
In designing a project it is necessary to determine the most suitable process for obtaining a desired product. The
following parameters should be considered in a comparison of this type:
i- Technical Factors
a- Process flexibility
b- Continuous operation
c- Special controls involved
d- Commercial yields
e- Technical difficulties involved
f- Energy requirements
g- Auxiliaries required
h- Possibilities of future developments
i- Health & safety hazards
ii- Raw Materials
a- Present & future availability
b- Processing required
c- Storage required
d- Materials handling
iii- Waste & By-products
a- Amount produced
b- Value
c- Potential markets & uses
d- Manner of discard
e- Environmental aspects
iv- Equipments
a- Availability
b- Materials of construction
c- Initial costs
d- Maintenance & installation costs
e- Replacement requirements
f- Special designs
v- Plant Location
a- Size of land required
b- Transportation facilities
c- Proximity to market & raw material sources
d- Availability of service & power facilities
e- Availability of labor
f- Climate
g- Legal restrictions & taxes
vi- Costs
a- Raw materials
b- Energy
c- Depreciation
d- Other fixed charges
e- Processing & overhead
f- Special labor requirements
g- Real estate
h- Patent rights
i- Environmental controls
vii- Time Factor
a- Project completion deadline
b- Process development required
c- Market timeliness
d- Value of money
viii- Process Description
a- Technology availability
b- Raw materials common with other processes
c- Consistency of products within company
d- General company objectives
COMPARISION OF THE PROCESSES:
FACTORS ACID PROCESS SOHIO PROCESS CRUDE PROCESS

OPERATION

Both Batch &
Continuous

Continuous

Continuous

YIELD

Low

High

High

TECHNICAL
DIFFICULTIES
More
More Equipments &
processes involved
Less
Except in the recovery
section
Less
Except in the recovery
section

ENERGY REQUIRMENT

High

Medium

High

PRODUCT
SPECIFICATION
Not good,
due to low conversion
Good,
due to maximum
conversion
Not good,
due to impurities

MAINTENANCE
REQUIRED
More
Due to more
equipments

Little

Little

DESIGN
Complicated
Due to old technique

Not Complicated

Less Complicated

DEPRECIATION COST

Medium

Less

High

FIXED CHARGES

High

Less

High

WORKING CAPITAL

Less

High

High

AVAILABILITY OF RAW
MATERIAL

Self manufacturing

Self Manufacturing

Self Manufacturing,
Except Crude oil

BY-PRODUCT

Water, Nitrogen &
Nitrogen Oxides

Water

Organic water & oil

LABOR REQUIRED

High

Less

High


PROCESS SELECTED:
From the above comparison it is quite obvious that the process 2 or the Sohio Process is better & suitable
among the rest of the two processes. So we select the Sohio Process to manufacture Acrylon (Acrylic Fiber) from
Acrylonitrile & Vinyl Acetate or Methyl Acrylate, and Dimethylformamide as the solvent of the process.
DETAIL OF THE SOHIO PROCESS:
The raw materials i.e. ACN & MA are stored in a storage tank separately. The DMF is also stored in a separate
storage tank. Both of the reactants along with the DMF are added into a mixer where a mixture of the reactants and the
solvent are made in a required proportion.
2CH
3
-CH=CH
2
+ 2NH
3
+ 3O
2
2CH
2
=CH-CN + 6H
2
O
This mixture is heated to 45
o
C and pumped to the polymerizer 1 where the catalyst AIBN and the brightening
agent-Malic Acid are added. The catalyst initializes the reaction and due to its exothermic nature heat is given out, but
the rxn temperature is maintained at 70
o
C for desired product of polymer. The cooling is done through shell & tube heat
exchangers by cold water. Polymerizer 1 attains upto 22% conversion. The mixture is then forward to the polymerizer 2
where the rxn proceeds and upto 37% conversion is attained and polymerizer 3 gives upto 65% conversion. The
residence time of each reactor is 4hrs making a total of 12hrs of residence time.
As the polymer mixture now obtained contains reacted as well as unreacted polymer alongwith DMF, therefore a
Thin film distillation column is used to separate the unreacted & unwanted materials from the Reacted polymer. The
separated unreacted polymer is cycled back to the polymerizer 1 and the whole procedure is repeated again. The polymer
obtained is then filtered and centrifuged for any remains of impurities. The water is sprayed on it to dilute and separate
any DMF left on the Polymer.
The polymer is now either sent for dry-spinning or wet-spinning. In our process we will undertake wet-spinning
as gives a product of more desired quality and less complexability is required. After the wet spinning the Acrylic Polymer
is send for drying and packaging area.
Uses:
Acrylonitrile is used principally as a monomer in the manufacture of synthetic polymers, especially
polyacrylonitrile which comprises acrylic fibers. Acrylic fibers are, among other uses, precursor for well-known carbon-
fiber. It is also a component of synthetic rubber. Dimerization of acrylonitrile affords adiponitrile, used in the synthesis of
certain Nylons.
Small amounts are also used as a fumigant. Acrylonitrile and derivatives such as 2-chloro-acrylonitrile are
dienophiles in Diels-Alder reactions. Acrylonitrile is also a precursor in the industrial manufacture of acrylamide and
acrylic acid.

ACRYLIC FIBER IN PAKISTAN
Pakistan is a developing country. It is producing many types of synthetic fibers including PET, Nylon, Rayon, & many
others which also include Acrylic Fiber. In Pakistan, Acrylic fiber is being only manufactured at DEWAN SALMAN
TEXTILES, Hattar Haripur.
DEWAN SALMAN TEXTILES is producing acrylic fiber by both Methyl Acrylate & Vinyl Acetate individually with Acrylonitrile
as the basic monomer. Their total annual production is 25000 tons based on 335 working days per year. The methyl
acrylate unit is producing 55 tons/day and the vinyl acetate unit is producing 20 tons/day. The plant is licensed under
Noyvallesina Engineering of Italy.
Except from DEWAN SALMAN TEXTILES, no other textile company is manufacturing Acrylic Fiber though it has major use
in Pakistan. It is expected that ICI will be setting its Acrylic Fiber plant soon near Karachi.

References
"Acrylic Fibers" by C. W. Davis & P. Shapiro; Encyclopedia of Polymer Science & Technology; Vol.1, 2
nd
Edition.

"Acrylic & Modacrylic Fibers" by D. W. Chaney; Encyclopedia of Polymer Science & Technology; Vol.1, 2
nd

Edition.

"Acrylonitrile Polymers" by C. H. Bamford & G. C. Eastmond; Encyclopedia of Polymer Science & Technology;
Vol.1, 2
nd
Edition.

Acrylonitrile Copolymers byG. P. Ziemba.

Harris' Handbook of Textile Fibers.

Man-Made Fibers by R. W. Moncrieff.

Analytic Chemistry of Polymers by G. M. Kline.

Handbook of Chemical Microscopy; Vol.1, 3
rd
Edition.

World's Synthetic Fibers by H. Hendrix & W. Fester.

Principles of Polymer Chemistry by P. J. Flory.

"Fractionation of High Polymers" by G. Guzman; Progress in High Polymers.

Polymer Science by L. Nicolas.

Asian Fibers by A. M. Yoakum.

Textile Technology by K. Richter.

Techniques of Polymer Characterization by P. W. Allen.