PHTHALIC ANHYDRIDE PRODUCTION

Production of phthalic anhydride is achieved by the

catalytic air oxidation of o-xylene or naphthalene.
Formaldehyde and other oxygenated compounds are produced as a
byproduct of this reaction.

Process Description
Basic operations that may be used for the production of
phthalic anhydride are presented in Figure 11.26 Either
naphthalene or o-xylene is fed to a reactor and converted, with
air, to phthalic anhydride by vapor-phase oxidation in the
presence of a vanadium pentoxide catalyst. The gaseous
product is condensed and dehydrated to remove water formed
during the reaction.The crude phthalic anhydride is then
stripped of light ends and distilled under vacuum for final
purification.

Emissions
The main process waste gas from the phthalic anhydride
condensers (Source A in Figure 11), may contain a small amount
of formaldehyde and is controlled either by a
scrubber-incinerator combination or by direct incineration.
The latter method has the advantage of providing control of
carbon monoxide as well as the organic species in the waste
gas.Use of direct incineration has been reported at an
o-xylene-based plant.

The uncontrolled formaldehyde emission factor from the

phthalic anhydride switch condensers and the controlled
formaldehyde emission factor from the direct incineration
control system are estimated as follows:27
--
Uncontrolled -- 2.1 kg/Mg of phthalic anhydride
--
Controlled -- 0.074 kg/Mg of phthalic anhydride
Phthalic anhydride production plants may vary in configuration
and level of control.The reader is encouraged to contact
plant personnel to confirm the existence of emitting operations
and control technology at a particular facility prior to
estimating its emissions.