Source: HANDBOOK OF PETROLEUM REFINING PROCESSES

CHAPTER 13.4

OXYPRO PROCESS
Steve Krupa, Larry Richardson, and Jill Meister
UOP LLC Des Plaines, Illinois

PROCESS DESCRIPTION
The UOP* Oxypro* process is a unique, low-cost, refinery-based catalytic process for the production of di-isopropyl ether (DIPE) from propylene and water. The ether DIPE has high octane, low vapor pressure, and excellent gasoline blending properties. The Oxypro process is especially well suited for processing propylene derived from the fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) unit within the refinery. After amine and Merox* treating, the FCC-derived propylene is fed directly along with water to the Oxypro process. The propylene and water are converted to DIPE at more than 98 wt % selectivity. The Oxypro product has a purity of more than 98 wt % DIPE and a research octane number clear (RONC) and motor octane number clear (MONC) that are comparable to other ethers, such as MTBE and TAME. The Oxypro product shows a clear octane advantage over both catalytic polymerization and alkylation of propylene. DIPE from the Oxypro process generates 112 RONC and 98 MONC compared to only 90 RONC and 89 MONC for C3 alkylate and 93 RONC and 82 MONC for catalytic polymerization gasoline. The combination of high-octane product and near 100 percent overall conversion gives the Oxypro process superior performance compared to other refinery C3 alternatives.

PROCESS FLOW SCHEME

A simplified flow scheme of the Oxypro process is shown in Fig. 13.4.1. The amine- and Merox-treated mixed-C3 stream from the FCC unit enters the unit and is mixed with makeup water and internal recycle streams of propylene, isopropyl alcohol (IPA), and water. The combined streams are processed downflow in a fixed-bed reactor. The reactor effluent is sent to fractionation, where the light ends and propane are removed. The propane product meets typical liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) specifications of less than 5 wt % propylene. The fractionation product is then sent to product recovery, where water, IPA, and DIPE are

*Trademark and/or service mark of UOP.

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OXYPRO PROCESS

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FIGURE 13.4.1 Oxypro flow scheme.

OXYPRO PROCESS
OXYPRO PROCESS

13.21

separated. The IPA and water are recycled to the reactor to maximize DIPE production. The DIPE product has a purity of more than 98 wt %.

YIELDS
The yields from an Oxypro unit designed to produce 96,000 metric tons per year (MTA) [2500 barrels per day (BPD)] of DIPE product are shown in Table 13.4.1. The feedstock used to generate these yields is representative of a mixed propane-propylene stream from an FCC after amine and Merox treating. Specifications typical for an Oxypro unit DIPE product are shown in Table 13.4.2.

OPERATING COSTS AND ECONOMICS

The estimated inside-battery-limits erected cost of an Oxypro unit built on the U.S. Gulf Coast in 2002 with a capacity to produce 88,500 MTA (2300 BPD) of DIPE is about $26 million. Utility requirements for this unit are given in Table 13.4.3.

TABLE 13.4.1

Oxypro Unit Yield Summary BPSD kg/h 10,050 4,100 2,170 4,310 12,010

Feed: Propylene Propane H2O Product: LPG DIPE

Note: BPSD

2,918 1,239 328 1,300 2,500

barrels per stream-day.

TABLE 13.4.2 Typical Oxypro Unit Product Specifications Specific gravity DIPE, wt % Water, wt ppm IPA, wt % C6 , wt % Octane: RONC MONC 0.73 98 100 0.5 2 112 98

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OXYPRO PROCESS 13.22

OXYGENATES PRODUCTION TECHNOLOGIES

TABLE 13.4.3

Operating Utility Requirements 537 11.3 (24.9) 8.7 (19.1) 336 (1,437)

Power, kWh Steam, MT/h (klb/h): Low-pressure High-pressure Cooling water, m3/h (gal/min)
Note: MT/h

metric tons per hour.

COMMERCIAL EXPERIENCE
Construction of the first Oxypro unit was completed in mid-2002. The Oxypro process equipment and operating conditions are well within normal refinery boundaries with low process temperatures and reactor pressures similar to hydrotreating units. The reaction chemistry is similar to that of MTBE, ETBE, and TAME ethers units. UOP has designed and licensed more than 700 hydrotreaters and more than 40 MTBE, ETBE, and TAME units. (See Chaps. 13.1 and 13.2.) The Oxypro process draws on the expertise of these designs as well as on experience gained in more than 80 years of UOP process commercialization.

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