Production-of-formaldehyde-from-methanol

PRODUCTION OF FORMALDEHYDE FROM METHANOL ABSTRACT The main purpose of this project is to conduct a comprehensive study that would lead ultimately to an integrated design, in a chemical engineering point of view, of a plant that produces formaldehyde with a production capacity specified in advance. This study will take into consideration aspects including the entire plant’s process unit design, process flow diagrams, cost estimations, operation parameters, equipment sizing, construction materials and environment/safety precautions. This project requires the theoretical and practical application of mass transfer, heat transfer, fluid dynamics, unit operations, reaction kinetics and process control. There are several tasks that are crucial to the completion of the project outlines including mass and energy balances, Hysys simulation of the Process Flow Diagrams, design of the reactor, design of heat exchangers, design of the absorber and distillation column, energy optimization, economic analysis and hazard analysis. Formaldehyde (CH2O), the target product of the project’s plant, is an organic compound representing the simplest form of the aldehydes. It acts as a synthesis baseline for many other chemical compounds including phenol formaldehyde, urea formaldehyde and melamine resin. The most widely produced grade is formalin (37 wt. % formaldehyde in water) aqueous solution. In this project’s study, formaldehyde is to be produced through a catalytic vapor-phase oxidation reaction involving methanol and oxygen according to the following reactions:

The desired reaction is the first which is exothermic with a selectivity of 9, while the second is an endothermic reaction. The project’s target is to design a plant with a capacity of 60,000 tons formalin/year. This plant is to include three major units; a reactor, an absorber and a distillation column. Also it includes pumps, compressors and heat exchangers. All are to be designed and operated according to this production capacity.

KINETICS

Where: 

A is methanol



B is Oxygen.



C is formaldehyde.



D is Water.



E is hydrogen



I is Nitrogen inert gas

MOLE BALANCE The basic mole balances of all components involved in the main reaction are:

NET RATE LAWS

RATE LAWS

CHEMICALS INVOLVED: 

Methanol



Formaldehyde



Mixed Liquids

PROCESS FLOW DIAGRAM

ALTERNATIVE PROCESS This last part of the chapter is aimed to study an alternative modern process of the production of formaldehyde from methanol. The goal of this study is to achieve a 98% conversion of methanol by means of removing the distillation column and replacing it with a higher duty cooler to bring the product to 37 wt. % of formaldehyde. A comparison is to be done between the original design and the alternative and their efficiencies. Below are screenshots of the simulated plant using HYSYS: