PRODUCTION OF ETHYLENE

GLYCOL FROM COAL

ENCH4PP – PETROLEUM & SYNTHETIC FUEL PROCESSING: 2019
Lecturer: Prof A.H. Mohammadi

Annaleah Bhawanibik 215001302

Shivani Mahadow 215001296
 Overview
Introduction
Background
Ethylene Glycol Production Process
Coal Gasification
Synthesis Gas to Ethylene Glycol Process
Carbonylation Section
DMO Hydrogenation Section
MEG Purification Section
Nitrite Regeneration Section
Synthesis Gas to Ethylene Glycol Process: Advantages & Disadvantages
Conclusions
 Introduction
Monoethylene glycol (MEG) also referred to as ethylene glycol, is by far the
largest-volume product produced in the ethylene glycols market, accounting for
90% of the market.
Ethylene glycol is used in a variety of applications, such as (Yang et al., 2018):
 Production of polyester fibers and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) resins.
An antifreeze and coolant in automobiles.
A de-icing fluid of aircrafts.
Industrial heat transfer fluid.
 Inhibitors in the gas and oil industry.
 Introduction Continued…
 Ethylene glycol is a 32 million tonne global market (ISH Markit, 2018).

Figure 1: Global consumption of ethylene Figure 2: Ethylene glycol consumption 2017

glycol by region (ISH Markit, 2018). (Penney, 2017).
 Background
Ethylene glycol is produced from multiple raw materials, such as coal, natural gas,
crude oil and most recently biomass.
In recent years there has been a shift from the traditional oil-based feedstocks to coal.

There are two kinds of technologies for the production of ethylene glycol in industry:
Traditional oil-based routes, represented by the ethylene oxide hydration
technology and
Coal-based routes.
 EG Production Process
The first coal-based ethylene glycol process was developed by Japan’s Ube Industries
in the 1970’s.
This process harnesses synthesis gas (syngas), made from coal, to produce ethylene
glycol through a multiple-step reaction involving the consumption and regeneration of
methyl nitrite.
The process did not catch on at the time, however, it resurfaced in China about 10
years ago.
The oxalate process is used to produce ethylene glycol.

Figure 3: Oxalate process (Penney, 2017).

 EG Production Process Continued…
Coal Gasification:
The first step in the production of ethylene glycol from coal, is the production of
synthesis gas. This is done by coal gasification.
Coal gasification involves subjecting coal to high temperatures, in the controlled
presence of oxygen with limited combustion(Clarke Energy, 2019).
The coal is fed into a gasifier where it is reacted with oxygen and steam to produce
syngas.
The resulting syngas primarily consists of hydrogen, carbon monoxide, and some
carbon dioxide.
 EG Production Process Continued…
Some of the advantages of using coal as the feedstock are:
The fluctuation of coal price has less impact on production costs (Yang et al.,
2018)
EG production costs can be saved by 39.50 % when utilising coal as feed stock as
compared to a crude oil feedstock, due to the price of crude oil being much higher
than coal resources (Wei et al., 2018) .
Syngas and ethylene glycol production plants may be situated close to the coal
mines mouth to exploit the benefits of the coal supply.
 Synthesis Gas to Ethylene Glycol Process
The process consists of four sub-sections: carbonylation, DMO hydrogenation, product
purification and nitrite regeneration.
 CO undergoes a coupling reaction to produce dimethyl oxalate (DMO) then EG is obtained by
the hydrogenation of DMO

Figure 4: Process of producing EG from synthesis gas (Polyestertime, 2017).

 Carbonylation Section
The feed gas is first separated into CO and H2.
The CO is fed to the reactors along with a recycle
of methyl nitrite.
DMO is produced via the following reaction:

Pd/Al2O3 catalyst is used.

The product from the reactors is two phase, the
liquid stream is rich in DMO.
CO and NO to nitrite-regeneration section and
DMO to hydrogenation section.
Figure 5: Carbonylation Section
(Polyestertime, 2017).
 DMO Hydrogenation Section
Liquid DMO rich stream is fed to
hydrogenation reactors along with H2 from
syngas feed.
EG is produced via a series of reactions:

By-products: methyl glycolate and ethanol

The product from the reactors is two phase,
the liquid stream is rich in EG.
Figure 6: DMO Hydrogenation Section Vapor stream recycled to hydrogenation
(Polyestertime, 2017). section and liquid to purification section.
 MEG Purification Section
Consists of series of distillation
columns.
Fiber-grade EG is separated from
methanol and ethanol.
Methanol is recovered from an
intermediate column and sent to the
nitrite-regeneration section.

Figure 7: MEG Purification Section

(Polyestertime, 2017).
 Nitrite Regeneration Section
Recovered NO stream from the
carbonylation section is mixed with O2 and
contacted in a reactive absorber with
methanol.
Methanol is from the purification section.
The reaction produces methyl nitrite and
water.
The methyl-nitrite stream is further purified
and recycled to carbonylation section.
The reactor bottom product is sent to a
Figure 8: Nitrite Regeneration Section water-removal distillation column.
(Polyestertime, 2017).
 Synthesis Gas to Ethylene Glycol Process:
Advantages & Disadvantages
Advantages: Disadvantages:
This route has been demonstrated to be Utilises synthesis gas which is produced
an attractive process with a higher from coal, a non-renewable natural
conversion and lower energy resource.
consumption. Methyl nitrite is highly flammable,
In terms of equipment and operating explosive and toxic.
costs for coal-based and petroleum-based
production of EG, coal-based production
is much cheaper.
The catalyst has a good stability, high
conversion and selectivity.
Since there are recycle loops, there is
lower cost for fresh feedstock of methanol
and H2 required.
 Conclusions
The traditional feed stock used to produce ethylene glycol is petroleum. In recent
years due to decreasing petroleum resources, and the high price of crude oil there
has been a shift to use coal as feedstock.
Coal gasification produces syngas, which primarily consists of hydrogen, carbon
monoxide, and some carbon dioxide.
The EG production process consists of four sub-sections.
Each section has its own reactions, some of which produce by-products such as
methyl glycolate and ethanol.
In terms of costs for coal-based production of EG, coal-based production is much
cheaper than other methods.
 Bibliography
Clarke Energy. (2019). Syngas Cogeneration / Combined Heat & Power. [online]. Available at:
https://www.clarke-energy.com/synthesis-gas-syngas/ [Accessed 29 Sept. 2019]
ISH Markit. (2018). Ethylene glycols. [online]. Available at:
https://ihsmarkit.com/products/ethylene-glycols-chemical-economics-handbook.html [Accessed 29
Sept. 2019]
Penney, J. (2017). Ethylene Glycol Production from coal: A new route. [PDF]. Available at:
https://www.globalsyngas.org/uploads/downloads/2017-presentations/s2-3-penney.pdf [Accessed 29
Sept. 2019]
Polyestertime. (2017). Ethylene Glycol Production from Synthesis Gas - Ethylene Glycol •
Polyestertime. [online] Available at: https://www.polyestertime.com/ethylene-glycol-production-
from-synthesis-gas-ethylene-glycol/ [Accessed 20 Sept. 2019].
Wei, R., Yan, C., Yang, A., Shen, W., Li, J. (2018).Improved process design and optimization of 200
kt/a ethylene glycol production using coal-based syngas, Chemical Engineering Research and
Design.
Yang Q, Zhang D, Zhou H, Zhang C,.(2018) Process simulation, analysis and optimization of a coal
to ethylene glycol process, Energy. doi: 10.1016/j.energy.2018.04.153.
Thank you!