Integrated Design Project

Production of Propanal (Propionaldehyde) Using Dehydration and Hydrogenation

The global demand for triglyceride-based biodiesel is rapidly growing whereas the demand for its glycerol by-product is not as popular. This leads to the lower price of glycerol, which is thus economically and environmentally interesting as a starting point, is in the synthesis of different compounds and material. Propanal, also known as propionaldehyde is one of the compounds that can be produced from glycerol. It is predicted that there will be a continuous high demand for propanal in future markets due to the increasing use of propanal in end-use industries such as chemicals, pharmaceuticals as well as cosmetics. In the following sections, propanal, glycerol and acrolein are discussed.

The project report consist of 72 pages that specify all the demanded information for

IDP Final Report - G27 (1).pdf

Introduction and Market Analysis

Introduction: which gives a brief about the Production of Propanal Process and the information needed for all physical and chemical material properties.

Market Analysis: Propanal is not used directly, but mainly used as intermediates and converted into other chemical compounds. Propanal is widely used to manufacture plastics, produce propionic acid, and synthesis of aroma compounds. Propanal is used in industries such as pharmaceuticals, home care, and basic chemicals. Asia-Pacific is expected to experience fast growth due to rapidly expanding industrial user base and increasing demand fertilizers and personal care products in major regional economies like India and China it is the region.

Mass and Energy Balances

Mass and Energy: One of the fundamental laws of physics states that mass can neither be produced nor destroyed that is, mass is conserved. Equally fundamental is the law of conservation of energy. Although energy can change in form, it can not be created or destroyed. These two laws of physics provide the basis for two tools which are used routinely in environmental engineering and science the mass balance and the energy balance. This portion of the course deals with these tools. Mass balances are developed and applied in some detail in the following section, after which the concept of the energy balance is presented and applied.

Safety, Health and Environmental Considerations

Safety, Health and Environmental Considerations: The importance of safety, health and environment consideration in a chemical plant cannot be overstated. Failure to adhere to safety regulations in a chemical plant can lead to long term catastrophic consequences.

Feasibility Study and Process Specification

Feasibility Study: Glycerol (C3H8O3) is a triol with a structure of propane substituted at positions 1,2 and 3 by hydroxy groups. It is a colorless, clear, viscous, sweet-tasting liquid belonging to the alcohol family of organic compounds. Up until 1948. Glycerol was obtained as a by-product in making soaps from animal and vegetable fats and oils.

Process Specification: Propanal is being produced by using glycerol as a starting material. Glycerol undergoes dehydration first. An intermediate, acrolein is formed before it is further hydrogenated into propanal. Section 4.2 and 4.3 shows the process flow diagram and process flow sheet for this process. All reactions taking place occur in the gaseous state. The product yield of propanal is 93.5 mol%. Whereas, the conversion of acrolein and selectivity for propanal conversion are both 100%. To simplify simulation of the process and also manual calculations for the mass and energy balances, a few assumptions were made.

Economic Feasibility of Propanal Production

Economic Feasibility: To evaluate the process, it was decided to conduct an economic evaluation of the results. It is advantageous to research the findings from an economic point of view to better understand the effect of the various scenarios. Since cooling water is relatively inexpensive and will not have a significant effect on operating costs, it has been overlooked in the calculations. Investment and profit calculations are carried out with respect to January 2021 price listing in Malaysia.

Simulation Part

For sure all of this should be verified by any simulation software which it used the ASPEN HYSYS V11 simulation software to do it neatly.

The simulation part had to be the tough part duo to the The complexity of Aspen Hysys software which it needs days of practices.

Thanks for Process Synthesis and Simulation Course that taught me all knowledge needed for such a project.

Conclusion

To review, the production of propanal from glycerol is an economically and technically feasible process. It also contributes to a more sustainable economy as the glycerol would be sourced from by-products of biodiesel production. A steady growth for the global market of propanal is predicted over the years to come. This guarantees the demand for propanal in current and future markets. Propanal is widely used for applications in industries ranging from home and personal care, chemicals, agricultural, fragrances, pharmaceuticals and more. This report has discussed the different pathways for producing propanal including the most common one applied in industries today, which is the hydroformylation of ethylene in Section 3. From there, we can deduce that the process we are proposing, which is a two-step process, from dehydrating glycerol to hydrogenating acrolein, is highly promising and profitable, with a high conversion and selectivity. Last but not least, the selected pathway also carries low environmental impacts and requires a low cost.

IDP Final Report - G27 (2).pdf

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