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C4 Acetylene Converter (C4AC)
C4 Acetylenes in raw C4 feeds to BEUs (Butadiene Extraction Units) can cause severe fouling problems in EDCs (Extractive Distillation Column) resulting in frequent plant shutdowns and additional 1,3-Butadiene loss. SK-KBR Technologies provides a C4AC technology to remove C4 Acetylenes in raw C4s through selective hydrogenation. The conversion of C4 Acetylenes eliminates fouling in the EDCs and helps to increase 1,3-Butadiene yield (by 2-3%) and reduce energy consumption (by up to 20%). C4AC technology can also decrease total investment cost by removing the second EDC unit which is mainly for Vinyl Acetylene Removal in conventional BEUs.
C4 Acetylene Converter (C4AC)
In a typical petrochemical complex, butadiene is extracted from naphtha cracked C4, which consists 40~50% of butadiene. Butadiene is used in automobiles and appliances, and demand continuously grows. Trouble is, 1~2% of acetylenes are present in the feed (methyl, ethyl and vinyl-acetylene, together) and, they are impurities in many downstream products. Removal of these acetylenes is costly as they must be diluted for safety concerns. In many applications, product—butadiene is used as diluent and its loss is inevitable. In addition, vinyl-acetylene causes fouling, resulting in a periodic shutdown and maintenance. C4AC(C4 Acetylene Converter) is developed to solve such problems. By converting acetylenes to butadiene and raffinate, the diluent loss is prevented and increase in butadiene yield is attained.
C4AC process sits in the upstream of BEU(Butadiene Extraction Unit), converting acetylenes to butadiene and raffinate by selective hydrogenation of the proprietary catalyst. As a result, significant economic gain, which can pay out the total investment in a year, is attainable (suppose nominal butadiene price is $2,000, 3% yield increase is worth tens of million Dollars). In addition, fouling-related maintenance reduces. Advantage of C4AC is maximized when revamp is concerned. A combined process of C4AC and BEU will eliminate many unnecessary equipments from the conventional BEU design, resulting in CAPEX and OPEX saving.
