BKF2343 MATERIAL & ENERGY BALANCE

PRODUCTION OF 50,000 MTA OF ISOPROPYL ALCOHOL

FROM PROPYLENE AND WATER

REPORT

PREPARED BY: GROUP 5

LECTURER'S: DR. ASMIDA BINTI IDERIS

NO NAME ID
1. SAEED ADEL SAEED BIN AWON KA16265
2. ABDULAZIZ SALEH HUSSEIN BIN GHARAMAH KA17242
3. SARMESWARI A/P GUNASEGARAN KA19073
4. SHIVANIE A/P A.JAYAKANTHAN KA19071
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

1.1 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................... 1

1.2 OBJECTIVE ............................................................................................................ 3
1.3 PROCESS DESCRIPTION ..................................................................................... 3
1.4 REACTION KINETIC & REACTOR CONFIGURATION ................................... 4
2.0 PROCESS FLOW DIAGRAM (PFD) .......................................................................... 5
2.1 Auxiliary Equipment ..................................................................................................... 6
3.0 MATERIAL BALANCE .............................................................................................. 7
3.1 Reactor (R-101) ............................................................................................................ 8
3.2 Distillation Column (T-101) ....................................................................................... 10
3.3 Distillation Column (T-102) ....................................................................................... 12
3.4 Distillation Column (T-103) ....................................................................................... 14
3.5 Mixer (M-101) ............................................................................................................ 15
4.0 Energy Balance ........................................................................................................... 16
4.1 Reactor (R-101) .......................................................................................................... 17
4.2 Distillation Column (T-101) ....................................................................................... 20
4.3 Distillation Column (T-102) ....................................................................................... 24
4.4 Distillation Column (T-103) ....................................................................................... 28
4.5 Heat Exchanger (H-101) ............................................................................................. 30
4.6 Heat Exchanger (H-102) ............................................................................................. 32
4.7 Cooler (H-103) ............................................................................................................ 33
4.8 Pump (P-101) .............................................................................................................. 37
4.9 Compressor (C-101).................................................................................................... 38
5.0 CONCLUSION ........................................................................................................... 39
6.0 REFERENCES ........................................................................................................... 40

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1.1 INTRODUCTION

Propylene (C3H6), or propene by IUPAC (International Union of Pure and Applied

Chemistry) nomenclature is probably the oldest petrochemical feedstock. It is a colourless
fuel gas with a naturally pungent smell. Basically, the molecular structure is almost similar
to propane, but it has a double bond which gives it a combustion advantage as shown in
Figure 1.1. Propylene or 1-propene is extremely flammable and non-toxic. According to
Eisle & Killpack (1993), propylene can be classified into three categories which are
polymer grade propylene (99.5–99.8% purity), chemical grade propylene (92-95% purity)
and refinery grade propylene (50-70% purity).

Figure 1.1: Molecular structure of propylene

Typical route of producing propylene is from the refinery catalytic cracking process
used to make gasoline and also steam cracking process used to make ethylene (Shell
Chemicals, 2017). In refinery production, propylene is formed as a by-product of catalytic
cracking of gas oils. In steam cracking, a mixed stream of hydrocarbons ranging from
ethane to gas oils is pyrolyzed with steam. The product can be changed to optimize the
production of ethylene, propylene, or other alkenes by altering feedstock, temperature, and
other parameters. Propylene can also be obtained by the catalytic dehydrogenation of
propane in which the propane value is low and derivatives are limited.

1
 Propylene is volatile, colourless, and has an odour similar to garlic. At low
concentrations, it forms an explosive and flammable mixture with air, while at high
concentrations it can cause asphyxiation and skin burns. Propylene is shipped as a liquefied
gas under its own vapor pressure. Table 1.1 shows the physical and chemical properties of
propylene.

Table 1.1: Physical and Chemical Properties of Propylene

(National Centre for Biotechnology Information, 2020)
Properties Unit Value

Molecular Formula - C3H6 or CH2CHCH3

Colour - Colourless

Odor - Faint, petroleum-like

Molecular Weight g/mol 42.08

Viscosity μp 83.4

Density kg/m3 786

Melting Point °C -185.25

Boiling Point °C -47.69

Propylene is a key component of countless end use products. It is an attractive

alternative to propane for heating and cutting due to its superior combustion performance.
It is widely used as a fuel gas for high-velocity oxygen fuel processes. Non-fuel
applications include organic synthesis to produce materials such as acetone. Propylene can
be polymerised to form polypropylene plastic. It can also be employed as a refrigerant, or
in calibration mixtures, and as a chemical intermediate. In addition, it is used for efficiency
testing of gas burners and engines. The most used propylene is for producing
polypropylene where it accounting for nearly two-thirds of global propylene consumption.
Propylene is also used to produce acrylonitrile, propylene oxide, and alcohol.

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1.2 OBJECTIVE
As a process engineer at a petrochemical company, we will perform an evaluation
task to produce 50,000 metric ton per annum (MTA) of isopropyl alcohol with 99.8%
purity.

1.3 PROCESS DESCRIPTION

Initially, propylene containing 8% propane is supplied at 25°C and 1 bar. Water is

stored in storage tank at room temperature and ambient pressure. Propylene is mixed in a
mixer (M-101) with the recycled propylene before passing through the heat exchanger (H-
101) to increase the temperature and compressor (C-101) to increase the pressure.
Meanwhile, fresh water is entering a heat exchanger (H-102) to increase temperature to
160°C and a pump (P- 101) to increase pressure to 80 bars. Both streams then are mix in a
mixer (M-102) before entering packed bed reactor (R-101) which operates at 160°C and
80 bars with the present of catalyst namely Amberlyst in solid forms. The reaction takes
place in the liquid phase between dissolved propylene and water.

Propylene, propane, water, isopropyl alcohol, and diisopropyl ether will be

produced after the reaction. Before entering distillation column (T-101), the temperature is
decreased to 20°C by using (H-103) cooler also the valve (VLV- 101) decreased the
pressure to achieving 1 bar. Propylene, propane, and a small amount of isopropyl alcohol,
diisopropyl ether, and water are exit as vapor. It then is fed to another distillation column
(T-102) to separate between propylene and propane. However, due to the close boiling
point of propylene and propane, only small amount of them can be separated. The top
product consists of some of the propylene and propane that will be recycled back to the
feed of propylene and mix with make-up feed of propylene and propane. Meanwhile,
isopropyl alcohol, diisopropyl ether, water, and balance of propylene-propane will be
present at the bottom product which then will be purged.

The bottom product of column (T-101) which consists of water, isopropyl alcohol,
and diisopropyl ether is fed to distillation column (T-103) for further separation. The main
function of distillation column is to separate isopropyl alcohol – water mixture. In
distillation column (T-103), the distillate products are isopropyl alcohol and small amount

3
of diisopropyl ether. Isopropyl alcohol with a purity of 99.8% then will be discharged to
the storage tank. The bottom product of distillation column (T-103) consists of waste water.

1.4 REACTION KINETIC & REACTOR CONFIGURATION

The main reaction is shown in Equation 1.1, where propylene reacts directly with
water to produce isopropyl alcohol. There will be byproduct which is diisopropyl ether
(DIPE). It will be formed by the reaction as shown in Equation 1.2. Typical operating
conditions for the process vary from 80 to 120 atm and from 130 to 180°C. The optimal
production of isopropyl alcohol is achieved at 160°C and 80 atm. The raw material of
propylene can be converted at a high conversion rate of at least 80%. This can be done by
selecting the reaction conditions adequately in the process of liquid phase using a solid
catalyst. However, high selectivity of isopropyl alcohol (from 95 to 99%) can only be
achieved by controlling by-product of isopropyl ether during the reaction. For this purpose,
typical processes require at least ten times in mole as much water as that of the raw material
propylene to supplied into an inlet of the reactor (Dutia, 2012).

𝐶𝐻3𝐶𝐻 = 𝐶𝐻2 + 𝐻2𝑂 → (𝐶𝐻3)2𝐶𝐻𝑂𝐻 (Equation 1.1)

2(𝐶𝐻3)2𝐶𝐻𝑂𝐻 → 𝐻2𝑂 + ((𝐶𝐻3)2𝐶𝐻)2𝑂 (Equation 1.2)

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 2.0 PROCESS FLOW DIAGRAM (PFD)

Mixer Heater Compressor Pump Valve Reactor Distillation column

M-101 H-101 C-101 P-101 VLV-101 R-101 T-101

M-102 H-102 T-102
H-103 T-103

5
1

12

10
1

T-102 9
1
25 20 160 160
1 1 1 80
11 13
17 1 2 3
Waste of propane
C-101 160 170 170 20
H-101 80 80 1 1
Propylene 90
Propane M-101 8 1
6 7 9 10
15
160
80

VLV-101 80
H-103 1
25 160 M-102 T-101 isopropyl alcohol
1 1 R-101 14
4 5

water 120
H-102 1
P-101
16

wastewater

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2.1 Auxiliary Equipment

Equipment design for this chapter included all equipment in the plant. There is a
total of 12 equipment which are reactor, distillation column, mixer, pump, compressor,
valve, and heat exchanger. Table 2.1 shows the total quantity of each identical equipment.

Table 2.1: Quantity of identical equipment

NAME OF EQUIPMENT EQUIPMENT LABEL QUANTITY
Mixer M-101 & M-102 2
Heater H-101, H-102 & H-103 3
Compressor C-101 1
Pump P-101 1
Valve VLV-101 1
Reactor R-101 1
Distillation Column T-101, T-102 & T-103 3
TOTAL 12

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3.0 MATERIAL BALANCE

There are some basic assumptions had been made for material balance calculations:

1. The plant is operating for 8000 hours per year.

2. The accumulation rate for each process is equal to zero as the system is in steady
state.
3. All equipment in the system is in ideal state of condition.

Convert MT/year to mol/h

Assuming that in 1 year 8,000 hour production

50,000 MT 1 year 1,000 kg 1 kmol

1 year 8,000 hour 1 MT 60.09 kg

= 104.01 mol/h

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3.1 Reactor (R-101)

8
9
3.2 Distillation Column (T-101)

10
11
3.3 Distillation Column (T-102)

12
13
3.4 Distillation Column (T-103)

14
3.5 Mixer (M-101)

15
4.0 Energy Balance
In this section, Table 4.1 shows the boiling point for each species. Table 4.2
shows the heat capacities constant for each species.

Table 4.1: Boiling point for each species

(Felder & Rousseau, 2016); (Yaws, 1999)
Components Formula Tb (oC)
Propylene (g) C3H6 -47.70
Propane (g) C3H8 -42.07
Water (l) H2O 100
Isopropyl Alcohol (l) C3H8O 82.24
Diisopropyl Ether (l) C6H14O 69

Table 4.2: Heat capacity constant of each species

(Felder & Rousseau, 2016); (Yaws, 1999)
Components Formula A B C D
Propylene (g) C3H6 59.580x10-3 17.71x10-5 -10.17x10-8 24.60x10-12
Propane (g) C3H8 68.032x10-3 22.59x10-5 -13.11x10-8 31.71x10-12
Water (l) H2O 75.4x10-3 - - -
Isopropyl C 3 H8 O 72.525x10-3 7.9553x10-5 -2.6330x10-8 3.6498x10-12
Alcohol (l)
Diisopropyl C6H14O 73.085x10-3 1.1235x10-5 -3.7356x10-8 5.2200x10-12
Ether (l)

16
4.1 Reactor (R-101)

17
18
19
4.2 Distillation Column (T-101)

20
21
22
23
4.3 Distillation Column (T-102)

24
25
26
27
4.4 Distillation Column (T-103)

28
29
4.5 Heat Exchanger (H-101)

30
31
4.6 Heat Exchanger (H-102)

32
4.7 Cooler (H-103)

33
34
35
36
4.8 Pump (P-101)

37
4.9 Compressor (C-101)

38
5.0 CONCLUSION

There are multiple possible methods when it comes to production of isopropyl

alcohol (isopropanol). From all the methods, direct hydration of propylene is the best since
it produces isopropanol in a simplest way by using low value of propylene. Initiating the
process by using propylene with 8% of propane at suitable temperature and pressure (25oC,
1atm) and the end product will be wastewater and isopropanol at 90oC and 1 atm. This
whole process is done with the presence of catalyst named Amberlyst in solid forms in
order to fasten the rate of reaction. The intermediate processes will be proceeded with the
aid of equipment like mixer, pump, compressor, distillation column and reactor. By
maintaining suitable conditions, 50000MTA isopropanol is produced at the end of the
process without creating any environmental pollutions which is the major advantage of
direct hydration of propylene process.

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6.0 REFERENCES

Eisele, P. & Killpack, R. (1993) Propene. In: Elvers, B., Hawkins, S., Russey, W. & Schulz,
G., eds, Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry, 5th rev. ed., Vol. A22, New York,
VCH Publishers, pp. 211–222.

Shell Chemicals. (2017). Propylene Product Stewardship Summary. Retrieved from

https://www.shell.com/business customers/chemicals/safe-product-handling-and-transp
ortation/product stewardshipsummaries/jcrcontent/par/expandablelist/expandable ectio
n_2027007687.stream/1523032151730/95b7f70aa908b3d80406 6854d4fc89e2a95ab61/p
ropylene-product-stewardship-summary-december-2017.pdf

National Center for Biotechnology Information (2020). PubChem Compound Summary

for CID 8252, Propylene. Retrieved from
https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/Propylene

Dutia, P. (2012). Isopropyl alcohol: a techno-commercial profile, Chem. Week. 211– 216.
Retrieved from www.chemicalweekly.com/Profiles/Isopropyl_ Alcohol.pdf

Kroschwitz, J. I. (2004). Isopropyl Alcohol in Kirk-Othmer Encyclopedia of Chemical

Technology, 5th edition, New York, Wiley-Interscience

Chien, I. L. Zeng, K. L. & Chao, H. Y. (2004). Design and control of a complete

heterogeneous azeotropic distillation column system. Ind. Eng. Chem, 43, 2160–2174

Yaws, C. L. (1999). Chemical Properties Handbook. McGraw-Hill Education.

Felder. R., and Rousseau, W. R. (2016). Elementary Principles of Chemical Processes. 4th
Ed.

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