Glycerol Epichlorohydrin Becomes Market Mainstream

The rapid increase in the output of biodiesel-produced glycerol and the significant cost reduction have brought about tremendous changes in the production process of epichlorohydrin. Due to the low cost, the vast majority of newly-established large-scale epichlorohydrin devices use glycerin as a raw material, and the glycerol epichlorohydrin process is becoming mainstream in the market.

The classical method of industrial production of epichlorohydrin is propylene high-temperature chlorination. The method has the advantages of stable operation, high level of self-control, but has the disadvantages of low yield, high energy consumption, and "three wastes". The glycerol epichlorohydrin production technology was successfully applied many years ago. However, due to the shortage of glycerol resources and high prices, the industry abandoned the technology. As resources become increasingly tight and countries implement alternative energy strategies, biodiesel has developed rapidly. For every 10 tons of biodiesel produced, one ton of glycerol is by-produced. The development of biodiesel has caused a serious oversupply of glycerin worldwide, and prices have fallen sharply. This prompted a renewed interest in the production of glycerol epichlorohydrin.

The Epicerol process for the production of epichlorohydrin from glycerol was first developed by the Belgian Solvay company. The process uses the bio-fuel by-product glycerol as a raw material. Compared with the propylene high temperature chlorination process, Epicerol technology can reduce the consumption of non-renewable energy by 50%, reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 20%, and greatly reduce water consumption and chlorination by-products.

In 2007, Solvay built a 10,000-ton/year glycerol epichlorohydrin industrial plant in France, and then expanded it to 20,000 tons/year, obtaining technology and application patents. After many years of stable operation in a French factory, Vinythai, a subsidiary of Solvay, used Epicerol technology to build a 100,000-ton/year epichlorohydrin plant in the Mata Industrial Zone in Thailand, and in February 2012. Started production in Thailand.

Solvay said that it is expected that the epichlorohydrin market in China will grow at an annual rate of 8% in the next few years and will account for 35% of global total demand by 2016. Therefore, in June this year, Solvay announced that its Thai subsidiary Vinythai will build a new epichlorohydrin plant in Taixing, China to meet China's growing market demand. The factory plans to invest 155 million euros, the initial production capacity of 100,000 tons / year, and put into operation in the second half of 2014. In addition, Solvay also plans to promote the application of this process technology in Japan and other Southeast Asian countries to meet the rapid growth of the epichlorohydrin market in Asia.

China has also set off an upsurge in the construction of the glycerol epichlorohydrin project. For example, Yangnong Chemical owns a production capacity of 60,000 tons/year and is expanding capacity to achieve a total capacity of 120,000 tons/year. It is expected that it will be fully operational by the end of 2012. The domestic glycerol giant, Yihai Kerry Group, will build glycerol epichlorohydrin projects in Lianyungang and Shandong. Currently, Lianyungang’s 50,000 t/y glycerol epichlorohydrin plant has been completed and is expected to be available in the market during the year. The second stage 50,000 tons/year glycerol epichlorohydrin plant will be constructed according to market conditions. In addition, several 30,000 to 50,000 tons/year projects are under construction or have already been put into production.

According to market analysis, the application of the glycerol epichlorohydrin process will continue to expand. In particular, new installations will adopt this method more. However, the traditional propylene high-temperature chlorination process equipment will not disappear. Because these devices are usually integrated with the upstream chlor-alkali plant, co-production projects include chlor-alkali, allyl chloride, epichlorohydrin, and chlorohydrin rubber.

It is also known that there is still a method of producing epichlorohydrin on the market - Japan Showa Denko's allyl alcohol process technology. Compared with the conventional propylene high-temperature chlorination method, the reaction conditions are milder and easier to control. The consumption of chlorine gas is only about half that of the conventional process, and the energy consumption, by-products, and the amount of waste water are all reduced. This method is being further promoted. At present, the process is authorized for use by Triplex Chemical in Taiwan, Tianjin Chemical Industry Corporation in China, and Jubail Chemical Industry Company in Saudi Arabia, and has started to produce epichlorohydrin products.

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