Aniline
Aniline
The Process
Benzene is nitrated with mixed acid (nitric and sulfuric) at high selectivity and conversion to produce MNB. The
nitration product is separated and the spent acid is re-concentrated by removing the water of reaction. The nitration
process utilizes the heat of reaction for the re-concentration of the sulfuric acid. The water produced by nitration of
benzene, as well as the water that enters the nitration system with the nitric acid leaves the nitration/acid concentration
system and is sent to waste treatment. The crude MNB product is washed in a series of contactors to remove residual
acid and nitrophenolic impurities formed during the reaction. Unreacted benzene is removed from the product by
steam stripping and recycled.
MNB is fed together with hydrogen into a liquid phase plug-flow hydrogenation reactor that contains a DuPont
proprietary catalyst. The supported noble metal catalyst has a high selectivity and the MNB conversion per pass is
100%. The reaction conditions are optimized to achieve essentially quantitative yields and the reactor effluent is free
of MNB. Excess hydrogen from the reactor effluent is vented and the reactor product is sent to a dehydration column
to remove the water of reaction followed by a purification column to produce high quality aniline product.
Product Quality
The DuPont/KBR Aniline Process consistently produces a very high quality aniline product, suitable for all MDI
production technologies, and other specialty chemical applications. The typical product quality is:
REACTION WATER
ANILINE
MONONITROBENZENE
HYDROGEN
TARS
High Yields - The process consistently achieves 99.5% efficiency of mono-nitrobenzene utilization.
High Purity Product - Aniline produced from this technology maintains constant high product purity without
variations due to changes in catalyst activity, which are typical of vapor-phase fixed-bed hydrogenation technologies.
The aniline product from this process is the highest quality in the industry, with less than 0.1 ppmwt MNB.
SPENT AIR
Superior Catalyst System – The proprietary DuPont hydrogenation catalyst and the liquid phase hydrogenation system
provides excellent catalyst life. It also avoids the complexity of a catalyst regeneration system typical ofPHENOL
vapor-phase
PRODUCT
technologies. The high selectivity catalyst achieves essentially quantitative yields with minimal by-product formation,
CONCENTRATION PHENOL FRACTIONATION
Low Capital Cost – The DuPont/KBR hydrogenation system is mechanically simple and compact. Unlike vapor-phase
fluidized-bed or fixed-bed technologies, parallel reactor trains or multiple reactor stages are not required.
CLEAVAGE
AIR
CUMENE HYDROCARBON
RECOVERY
PHENOL RECOVERY