Ethyl Benzene
Ethyl Benzene
Ethyl Benzene
Index
• Process Summary
• Process Definition
• Process Conditions
• Chemistry/Kinetics
• Key Parameters
• References
This Aspen Plus simulation models the production of ethylbenzene (EB) by liquid-phase benzene alkylation.
It is intended to resemble Lummus Crest/Unocal/UOP liquid-phase alkylation process that uses a zeolite catalyst
in both their alkylation and the transalkylation reactors, commercialized in 1989. In the Aspen model, the plant
(base case) is designed to produce 1,150 million lb/yr (522,000 t/yr) of EB from benzene and ethylene. This
capacity is sufficient to supply feedstock for the production of 1,000 to 1,075 million lb/yr (454,000 to 488,000
t/yr) of styrene. The process consists of the alkylation and EB recovery sections. Results from the Aspen
simulation shows that the purity of EB obtained is approximately 99.9%. Vent gas (722 lb/hr) from a scrubber
reflux drum and residue (1,866 lb/hr) from the bottom of the polyethylbenzene column are used as fuel.
Wastewater (43 lb/hr) containing trace light paraffins, ethylene, benzene, and EB from the scrubber reflux drum is
sent to wastewater treatment.
Most commercial ethylbenzene (EB) is produced from benzene and ethylene by vapor-phase or liquid-phase
alkylation. These reactions can be classified by catalyst type: zeolite-based or Lewis acid catalysts. These two
types of catalysts have different reaction mechanisms and also result in different by-products. The alkylation by-
products, mainly diethylbenzene, can be converted to EB by transalkylation. In 1989, Lummus Crest/Unocal/UOP
commercialized a new liquid-phase alkylation process that uses a zeolite catalyst in both the alkylation and the
transalkylation reactors. Mobil/Badger introduced a third-generation vapor-phase alkylation process, with a
secondary reactor added and only one alkylation reactor required. Some of these processes allow the use of dilute
ethylene feedstock, although with modifications. The first commercial installation of a vapor-phase alkylation
process using dilute ethylene feedstock from fluidized catalytic cracking came on stream at Shell’s Stanlow plant
in 1991. Other noncommercial processes for EB production include the use of Catalyst Distillation Technologies’
(CDTECH’s) catalytic distillation process, benzene alkylation with ethanol, and 4-vinylcyclohexene (VCH)
dehydrogenation. Table 1 provides a summary of the commercial processes for producing EB and their licensor.
This Aspen simulation model the liquid-phase benzene alkylation using a zeolite catalyst, which is a
relatively new process, developed by Lummus Crest/Unocal/UOP. The liquid-phase alkylation process uses a
zeolite catalyst that Union Oil of California (Unocal) developed for hydrocracking, later modifying it for EB
production (330770, 330773, 517045, 517088, 517090). Lummus Crest/Unocal/UOP commercialized the process
in 1989. Only one alkylation reactor is required because the catalyst needs to be regenerated only once a year,
during normal plant shutdown. In addition, xylenes formation is minimized, which results in simpler purification
steps and allows the use of smaller equipment to remove by-products. The low operating temperature also reduces
energy costs and allows the use of carbon steel rather than stainless steel as the material of construction. The
Unocal catalyst is environmentally inert, which avoids the disposal problems associated with the process using
AlCl3 catalyst.
A separate reactor transalkylates by-products, mainly diethylbenzene, to EB. The transalkylation reactor,
which also uses a zeolite catalyst, operates at 230-3400C (450-6500F) and 250-700 psig, and uses a WHSV of 2-10
and a phenyl/ethyl group mol ratio of 4-10. Because transalkylation reactions evolve insignificant heat and are
limited by chemical equilibrium, the transalkylation reactor is operated isothermally.
In an optional diphenylalkane converter, the PEB column bottoms can be converted to benzene, EB, PEB,
and high boiling compounds (517088). The diphenylethane converter is loaded with zeolite catalyst and operated
at 2320 to 3710C (4500 to 7000F) with residence times of 10 to 60 minutes. Alternatively, the effluent from the
alkylation reactor can be mixed with the recycled PEB and introduced directly into the transalkylation reactor to
reduce the benzene recycle rate. The feed ethylene concentration can be as low as 30%, with the reactor modified
to provide additional residence time to accommodate the accumulation of inerts.
A moving bed reactor with at least one stage of catalyst bed has been proposed (517033). The bed is moved
countercurrently with respect to the olefin and benzene feed, and the catalyst is continuously withdrawn from the
bottom of each stage into a holding tank. Periodically, the catalyst is regenerated in a kiln under a controlled
oxygen atmosphere. After regeneration, the catalyst is transferred to a holding tank for continuous or periodic feed
to the top of each stage.
In a catalytic distillation process, the catalyst bed also functions as a distillation unit (517070). This
technology was originally developed to produce tert-amyl-methyl ether (TAME), ethyl-tert-butyl ether (ETBE), or
methyl-tert-butyl ether (MTBE) using an acidic ion-exchange resin. For EB production, ethylene is fed below the
Y-zeolite catalyst bed, and excess benzene is added through the reflux. EB is recovered from the bottoms.
PEP Process Module 4 10/18/99
SRI Consulting
Process Definition
The Aspen Plus model is developed to simulate the steady-state production of EB by liquid-phase benzene
alkylation using zeolite catalyst. The design is intended to resemble the new liquid-phase EB process offered by
Lummus Crest, which uses a zeolite catalyst developed by Unocal. In the liquid-phase process the alkylation
reactor operates at higher pressure but lower temperature than the vapor-phase alkylation process. Figure 1 in the
Aspen Plus model file shows the process flow diagram, which consists of the benzene alkylation and EB recovery
sections.
In the Aspen model, ethane and 1,2-diphenylethane are used to represent the light paraffins and heavies
respectively. The alkylation by-products also include xylenes and PEB. Compound o-xylene is used to represent
the xylenes. Since PEB is essentially diethylbenzene, 1,4-diethylbenzene is used to represent PEB. The
distillation columns are assumed to have tray efficiencies of about 0.65. Thus, the number of trays used in the
Aspen simulation is approximately 0.65x the number of trays shown in the PEP Report. Aspen Plus Radfrac
models are used to represent the distillation columns. Due to insufficient kinetics information, Aspen Plus
RSTOIC reactor models are used to represent R-101 and 2. The reactor is considered to have 2 valid phases;
vapor and liquid phases.
The aromatic stream (which primarily consists of benzene and some EB) from the EB recovery section is
preheated in effluent exchangers E-103A and B by exchanging heat with the combined effluent of the alkylation
and the transalkylation reactors. Subsequently, the aromatic stream is further heated in feed preheater E-104 to
263°C (505°F). Most of the aromatic stream is combined with ethylene to feed alkylation reactor R-101. A small
fraction of the aromatic stream, together with the recycled PEB from the EB recovery section, is diverted to feed
transalkylation reactor R-102.
The alkylation reactor consists of four stages. All of the benzene required for alkylation is charged into the
first stage while fresh ethylene is introduced into all the four stage. Each stage is packed with zeolite catalyst. In
the Aspen model however, both the benzene and ethylene feeds are mixed and fed into the alkylation reactor.
Under about 500 psig operating pressure, benzene and heavier aromatics remain in the liquid form. With a total
benzene/ethylene feed molar ratio of 7.2 and a total WHSV of 5.9 (equivalent to a WHSV of 0.27 based on
ethylene), the conversion based on ethylene is nearly 100%, and selectivities to EB and PEB are 92.0 mol% and
3.3 mol%, respectively. After being separated, PEB is fed to the transalkylation reactor to produce more EB. Other
by-products include light paraffins, heavies, and xylenes in the EB product. Because the alkylation is exothermic,
an adiabatic temperature rise occurs across the catalytic bed; the rise is limited to less than 56°C (100°F) by
coordinating the ethylene feed rate to each stage. The effluents from the first two stages are cooled to generate
medium-pressure (150 psig) steam in alkylation intercoolers. The effluents are further quenched by mixing with
In separate transalkylation reactor R-102, EB is also produced by transalkylation. After reaction with
benzene, PEB reaches equilibrium. The reaction is carried out almost isothermally at 250°C (482°F) and 510 psig
in the presence of a zeolite catalyst similar to the one used for alkylation.
The liquid effluents from the alkylation and transalkylation reactors are combined and cooled to 198°C in
effluent exchangers E-103A and B by exchanging heat with the aromatic feed stream from the EB recovery
section. The combined effluent is then flashed at 135 psig in flash drum V-201 to vaporize some of the benzene.
The resulting vapor stream, together with the vapor effluent from the alkylation reactor, is sent to the bottom of
vent gas scrubber C-201 to strip off the light paraffins and to supply heat to the scrubber. In the meantime, fresh
benzene is fed to C-201 to remove entrained water, which is sent for wastewater treatment. The noncondensable
light paraffins from the C-201 overhead are purged and credited as fuel.
From the bottom of C-201, the dry aromatic stream is combined with the liquid phase from the flash drum to
feed benzene fractionator C-202. The aromatic stream, consisting mainly of benzene, is recovered from the
overhead of C-202 and is recycled to the alkylation section. The bottoms from C-202 are fed to column C-203 to
recover EB overhead. After being cooled to 66°C (150°F) in air cooler E-206, EB is sent to rundown tanks. The
bottoms from C-203 are fed to column C-204, which is operated under vacuum, where PEB is recovered
overhead. The recovered PEB stream is recycled to the transalkylation reactor. Residue from the bottom of C-204
is sent to storage and is credited as fuel. In columns C-202 through C-204, hot oil is used in the reboilers and low-
pressure steam is generated in the condensers.
The physical property method used in the Aspen Plus simulation is RK-SOAVE. The RK-SOAVE property
method uses the:
• Redlich-Kwong-Soave (RKS) cubic equation of state for all thermodynamic properties except liquid
molar volume.
• API method for liquid molar volume of pseudocomponents and the Rackett model for real
components.
This property method is comparable to the PENG-ROB property method. It is recommended for gas
processing, refinery, and petrochemical applications, appropriate for our model. The RK-SOAVE property
method has built-in binary parameters, RKSKIJ, that are used automatically in ASPEN PLUS for VLE and LLE
calculations. The available built-in binary parameters can be reviewed using the property parameters binary
interaction RKSKIJ-1 form. Data Regression System (DRS) can also be used to determine the binary parameters
from experimental phase equilibrium data (usually binary VLE data).
where n =2 to 6 and the ΔHoR is the average heat of reaction per mole of ethylene. Diethylbenzene is the dominant
PEB, and the distribution shifts toward diethylbenzene as the aromatic/ethylene (A/E) ratio increases. Other side
reactions produce light paraffins, xylenes, cumene, polycyclic compounds, and compounds with boiling points
between those of EB and diethylbenzene.
The reactions (with their conversions) used to model the RSTOIC reactor R-101 and 2 in the Aspen model
are summarized below:
R - 101 :
Ethylene + Benzene → EB (Fractional conversion = 91.56% Ethylene)
2 Ethylene + Benzene → PEB (Fractional conversion = 6.55% Ethylene)
Ethylene + Benzene → Xylene (Fractional conversion = 0.02% Ethylene)
2 Ethylene + 2 Benzene → Lites + Heavies (Fractional conversion = 1.4% Ethylene)
R - 102 :
PEB + Benzene → 2 EB (Fractional conversion = 92.9% PEB)
517088 Sardina, G.D., et al. (to Lummus Crest), “ Manufacture of Alkylbenzenes,” PCt Int. Appl. 89/10910
(Nov 16, 1989)
517045 Inwood, T.V., et al. (to Union Oil of California), “Liquid-Phase Alkylation and Transalkylation
Process,” US 4,459,426 (July 10, 1984)
330770 Wight, C.G. (to Union Oil of California), “ Manufacture of Ethylbenzene,” US 4,169,111 (Sept. 25,
1979)
330773 Ward, J.W., et al. (to Union Oil of California), “ Alkylation of Aromatic Hydrocarbons,” US 4,185,040
(Jan. 22, 1980)
517132 Idemitsu Kosan, “Preparation of Monoalkylbenzene Used to Manufacture e.g., Ethylbenzene,” Japan
Kokai 1-135728 (May 29, 1989)
517089 Suciu, G. D., et al. (to Lummus Crest), “Improved Process for the Transalkylation of
Polyalkylbenzenes,” PCt Int. Appl. 89/12613 (Dec. 28, 1989)
517090 West, M., et al. (to Union Oil of California), “ Alkylation Catalyst and Processes for Its Use,” PCt Int.
Appl. 90/14160 (Nov. 29, 1990)
517070 Smith, L.A., Jr. (to Chemical Research and Licensing), “ Alkylation of Organic Aromatic Compounds,”
US 4,849,569 (July 18, 1989)
517084 Berna Tejero, J.L., et al. (to Petroquimica Espanola), “ Alkylation of Aromatic Hydrocarbons in a Fixed
Bed Catalytic Process,” European 306,181 (June 7, 1989)
517075 Innes, R.A., et al. “Liquid Phase Alkylation or Transalkylation Process Using Zeolite Beta,” US
4,891,458 (Jan. 2, 1990)
517085 Juguin, B., et al. (to Institut Francis du Petrole), “Synthesis of Alkylbenzene(s),” European 366,515
(May 2, 1990)
517033 Johnson, R.C., et al. (to Lummus Crest), “ Alkylation of Benzene in a Moving Bed,” US 4,973,780
(Nov. 27, 1990)