TECHNOLOGY FOR THE PRODUCTION OF EPICHLOROHYDRIN

PROCESS FEATURES

With its improved epichlorohydrin process CONSER has secured a leading position in the epichlorohydrin market.
CONSER has the widest experience of any licensor offering epichlorohydrin know how.
The epichlorohydrin plants designed and licensed by CONSER are producing the most exacting specifications and chemical purity (better than 99.9%) based on easy, safe and reliable operation.
Know how is also available on the design of the auxiliary units, including the effluent
disposal system.

 

REFERENCES

Company	Location	Capacity T/Y
S.I.R.	Italy	36000
ALCLOR	Brasil	15000
TECHCORP	Iraq	10000
HYCC	S. Korea	20000
TAMILNADU PETR. LTD	India	10000
CHINA PETROCH. INT’L	China	24000
BLUESTAR NEW CHEMICAL MATERIALAS	China	30000

PROCESS DESCRIPTION

CONSER epichlorohydrin process consists of the following main steps:

• Chlorination of propylene
• Chlorohydrination of allylchloride
• Dehydrochlorination of dichlorohydrins
• Epichlorohydrin purification

Chlorination of propylene

Allylchloride is obtained by direct chlorination of propylene with chlorine in gas phase
at rather high temperatures.
The stream leaving the reactor is fed to a depropanizer tower which separates
overhead hydrogen chloride and propylene from raw allylchloride.
This latter is rectified in a two column fractionating system.
The gas mixture from the depropanizer is washed with water for absorbing HCl to obtain commercial hydrochloric acid.
After the washing the resulting wet propylene is compressed, condensed, dried and recycled to the reaction.

Chlorohydrination of allylchloride

Chlorohydrination of allylchloride is performed by reacting allylchloride with
hypochlorous acid.
The rectified allylchloride, water and chlorine react at nearly ambient temperature to give dichlorohydrins with relatively high yields.

Dichlorohydrins hydrolysis

The hydrolysis of dichlorohydrins to epichlorohydrin, using milk of lime as saponifying agent, is accomplished in a distillation tower where epichlorohydrin is stripped by live steam injected to the bottom of the tower.
Waste water is taken off from the bottom of stripper, while an organic phase,
consisting of raw epichlorohydrin, is separated overhead.

Epichlorohydrin purification

The raw epichlorohydrin is rectified in a fractionation column system.
In the purification system high purity epichlorohydrin is separated from water and low and high boiling impurities.