EXPERIMENT NUMBER 1

AIM: Literature survey for Plant engineering and project economics of an Acetone
production plant.
Pre-requisite knowledge:
1. Process overview
2. Reaction kinetics
3. Process thermodynamics
4. Process flow diagram
5. Preliminary economic evaluation
6. Industrial application of product and market analysis
THEORY:
In the experiment, a thorough literature survey of the acrylic acid production plant was
done aiming to acquire all necessary parameters mentioned in the pre-requisites for
general designing and preliminary economic evaluation of the plant.
Literature survey guides or helps the researcher to define/find out/identify a
problem. It is something when you look at a literature (publications) in a surface level, or an
Ariel view. It includes the survey of place people and publications is context of Research. It
is a phase where the researcher tries to know of what are all the literature related to one
area of interest. And the relevant literature are short-listed. Whereas a literature review is
going into the depth of the literature surveyed. It is a process of re-examining, evaluating or
assessing the short-listed literature [literature survey phase]. Review of literature gives a
clarity & better understanding of the research/project. Objectives of literature survey:
1. Gaining an understanding on the fundamentals and state-of-the art of the area.
2. Learning the definitions of the concepts.
3. Access to latest approaches, methods and theories.
4. Discovering research topics based on the existing research
5. Concentrate on your own field of expertise.
6. It improves the quality of the literature survey to exclude sidetracks.

Literature survey done in the experiment consists for product analysis, product
properties, industrial applications, production process, reaction kinetics, reactions involved,
process description, process flow diagram, by-products and references. This literature
survey forms the basis for further future work on the project which includes mass balance,
HAZOP study, capacity of plant, plant layout and preliminary economic evaluation.
INTRODUCTION :

Acetone (dimethyl ketone, 2-propane, CH3COCH3 ), formulation weight 58,079, is

the simplest and the most important of the ketones. It is a colourless, mobile, flammable
liquid with a mildly pungent and somewhat aromatic odour. It is miscible in all proportions
with water and with organic solvents such as ether, methanol, ethyl alcohol, and esters.
Acetone is produced in various ways :

 The Cumene Hydroperoxide Process for Phenol and Acetone

 Isopropyl Alcohol Dehydrogenation
 Direct Oxidation of Hydrocarbons to a Number of Oxygeanted Products .

Including Acetone :

 Catalytic Oxidation of Isopropyl Alcohol

 Acetone as a By-Product of the Propylene Oxide Process Used by Oxirane
 The p-Cymene Hydroperoxide Process for p Cresol and Acetone
 The Di-isopropylbenzene Process for Hydroquinone (or Resorcinol ) and
Acetone

PROCESS DESCRIPTION :
At the beginning of the process, feed including i-propyl alcohol and water, and recycle
stream are mixed in feed drum. From here, this mixture is send to vaporizer to change
stream’s phase as vapour. After vaporizer, mixture is heated to reaction temperature in the
heater. Reactor used is a tubular flow reactor. Acetone, hydrogen gas (H2) are produced
and
water and i-propyl-alcohol are discharged. The mixture with acetone, hydrogen, water,
ipropyl-
alcohol are sent to cooler and then to condenser. After condenser the mixture is sent to
flash unit. Hydrogen, acetone, i-propyl-alcohol and water are obtained as top product. This
top product is sent to scrubber to remove hydrogen. The bottom product of flash unit
which is
formed by acetone, water, i-propyl-alcohol are mixed with the bottom product of scrubber
before acetone column. In acetone column, acetone is obtained from top product with 99
wt%.
İ-propyl alcohol and water and also 0.1% of acetone is sent to i-propyl-alcohol column from
bottom product. The top product of this column is sent to feed drum and bottom product is
thrown away as waste water.
INDUSTRIAL APPLICATION :

Acetone may be a simple chemical, but don’t judge a book by its cover. All industries can
benefit from incorporating it. Florida chemical supply leader, Bell Chem, understands how
versatile it is; here’s how different industries can utilize acetone to their advantage.

 Personal care industry: Acetone is best known as the primary ingredient in nail polish
remover. Other cosmetic products, such as skin creams and makeup, contain acetone
as a solvent to deliver different chemicals. It’s also a key ingredient in chemical skin
peels to combat acne.
 Pharmaceutical industry: Active ingredients and fillers use acetone as a solvent to
deliver the correct amount of medication each dose; therefore, common drugs tend
to use acetone as an excipient. Acetone is often used to denature alcohol as well.

 Textile industry: Acetone not only removes nail polish, it can also remove gum, oil,
and other sticky substances from raw textiles like cotton or silk. As a solvent, acetone
thins or entirely removes resins, epoxy, and glue from hard or soft surfaces. When
welding, applying acetone after a final weld removes rosin flux. Acetone is a great
degreaser in metalworking as well.
 Electronics industry: For maximum performance, electronics require exceptionally
clean components, and acetone expels all debris.
 Environmental industry: Acetone helps contain oil spills because it dissolves sludge,
removing it from the surface of water, marine plants, or animals. Because acetone is
an organic compound, it’s considered non-toxic to animals and the environment.
 Petroleum industry: As a gasoline additive, it causes gas to more easily diffuse inside
engines since it thins it, allowing it to vaporize. This improves fuel efficiency.

MARKET ANALYSIS :
Asia

Asia Acetone supply fell due to Q3’s production cuts. South Korea’s LG Chem cut production
to 90% at its Daesan plant. Compatriot Kumho’s Line 2 remains shut while Lines 3 and 4
reduced production to below 70%. Taiwan’s Formosa Chemicals & Fibre Corp (FCFC)
reduced production to below 85%. Compatriot Changchun Plastics and India’s Deepak
Phenolics run at 90%. Mitsui Phenol Singapore (MPS) reduced run rates to 80%. PTT
Thailand runs one line at 70%.
Summer heat typically impedes acetone production and downstream paint and coating
demand. Pre-Golden Week, environmental checks conducted by government bodies at
downstream factories became increasingly rampant, causing demand to dip further.
Persistent slides in domestic Chinese currency against the US dollar during the China-US
trade war clipped importers’ purchasing power. Buying activities picked up towards the
quarter-end, as buyers were prompted to seek cargoes with the expectations of rising
prices into the new quarter.

US

Supply of US acetone declined in the third quarter as an ongoing antidumping (ADD)

investigation discouraged imports. The ADD investigation involves the top five sources for
US acetone imports. Supply also was reduced as declining demand for co-product phenol
lowered production rates. However, acetone remained readily available due to inventories
and low demand.Demand for US acetone declined in the third quarter amid poor
performance in the downstream automotive and construction sectors. Automotive sales
are down globally, while the peak season for construction was less than typical. Ongoing
downstream outages and an overall bearish global economy continued in the third quarter.

Conclusion:
Thus, a thorough literature survey of all possible aspects which affect the production of
Acetone compound was done which serves as a basis for future study involving plant
engineering and project economics.