1. Maleic Anhydride Plant
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17A Marlen Drive w Hamilton, NJ w USA Tel: (609) w Fax: (609)

2. General Overview Start Up: 1970 Shut Down: July 2007
Capacity: 15 kmta (starting with benzene)
Technology: Benzene oxidation process
Upgrades: € 8MM invested in 2000

3. General Overview
Access to road and rail service with a harbor less than 100 km away
Large quantity of new spare parts
Process equipment was cleaned with water and is currently being kept under a nitrogen pad
Process area footprint is 100m by 50m and the highest structure is about 35m tall
There are no other chemical facilities located in the immediate area

4. General Overview Utilities Consumed: Raw Materials:
Electricity
Natural Gas
Water
Steam (produced from the exothermic reaction)
Benzene or Butane
Air
Vanadium Catalyst
Consumption Figures:
Products Produced:
1235kWh of electricity
22.5kw of LNG
9 tons of steam
5.7m3 of demineralized water
9.8kg of Nitrogen
Maleic Anhydride
Production Figures:
11.9 tons of steam
750 kWh through a thermic fluid

5. Process Description Summary of Operations
The plant produces 15 kmta of maleic anhydride starting with benzene due to a partnership with a neighboring coal processing plant which produced a benzols stream.
This process of extracting benzols from the benzols stream has been removed from the site.
The process currently uses benzene reacted with oxygen over a vandium catalyst to produce maleic anhydride
Maleic anhydride is a solid at room temperature, but the plant maintains the process temperature above the 40°C melting point to keep the product fluid. This process is very efficient regarding benzene conversion with only 2 ppm of residual benzene remaining (specification is 5 ppm).
The reaction is highly exothermic, producing 60 kmta of 18 bar steam.
The Gillendorf reactor runs at 4 bar pressure and is basically a large shell and tube exchanger with over 1,000 tubes packed with the vanadium catalyst.

6. Process Description Summary of Operations
The oxygen is obtained from air, which is compressed to the reactor pressure of 4 bar with a large 40,000 m3/hr Brown Boveri-Sulzer centrifugal compressor with a 1,250 kw electric drive.
The “100” section of the plant consists of the main reaction: oxidation of benzene. It also includes the condensation reaction and subsequent adsorption of the product into water with a packed tower.
The “200” section of the plant is dehydration utilizing a 32m2 Luwa wiped film evaporator.
The “300” section of the plant vacuum distills the crude Maleic Anhydride, removing residual impurities and residue. The vacuum is created by modern, liquid-ring vacuum pumps.
The control system for the plant is a relatively new Foxboro DCS system with flat screen monitors.

7. Environmental, Health & Safety
Process Description
Utilities
A natural gas-fired hot oil furnace using Marlotherm as the heat exchange fluid is used for much of the process heating.
The reactor is cooled with a molten salt system circulating 80 metric tons per hour of salt.
There is a demineralized water system used in the adsorption process.
The system produces a very high quality water product due to the requirements for process water in the plant.
Environmental, Health & Safety
A stainless steel carbon bed vent adsorption system was installed in 2001 to remove all benzene and other hydrocarbons from the process vents.
The final vent goes to the atmosphere, with a gas chromatograph on the vent stack to detect any residual hydrocarbons.

8. Process Flow

9. Equipment Section “100”: Reactor –78m3 capacity, 316L
Exchanger – A285 grade C shell, (2) A201 grade B plates, (493) A179 tubes
Exchanger – 1,750 liter capacity
Exchanger – 373.5m2 capacity, AC (1278) tubes
Exchanger – 240m2 capacity, 316L
Exchanger – 316L
(2) Exchangers – A285 grade C
Sima Exchanger – 373.5m2, double jacket, A283 grade C shell, A42 C1 inside, A 179 tubes
Turbo Compressor – Cast Iron / CS
Tank – A42 C1 double jacket, 316L
Tank – 35m3 capacity, 316L
Tank – 55m3 capacity, SS 23 CN 18-10,
Salt tank with coil – 42m3 capacity, A42 C1
Absorption Column – 316L

10. Equipment Section “200”: Section “300”:
Evaporator – 12m2 capacity, 316L
Luwa Evaporator – 316L
SMS Tank – 800 liter capacity, CS, double jacket,
Sima Tank –30m3 capacity, CS double jacket, 316L shell
(3) Tanks – 316L
(2) Exchangers – 316L
Exchanger – A42Cl shell, 316Ti tubes
Section “300”:
Exchanger – CS shell, 316L tubes/top
Exchanger – NS22 S double jacket, 316L tubes
Exchanger – NSMC shell w/ 316L tubes
Tank – 316L shell and A37S coil
Distillation Column – 316L
Tank – CS double jacket, 316L shell

11. Photos

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14. Contact Information
MICHAEL JOACHIM
DIRECTOR, PLANTS DEPT.
Tele: (direct)
Mobile:
SANJEEV REGE
VP GLOBAL PLANT SALES
Tele: (direct)
Mobile: