Pipeless Batch Plants for Emulsion Copolymerisation

1
Pipeless Batch Plants for Emulsion
Copolymerisation

• Multidisciplinary Project 2001/2002
• Second Trimester Group 1
• Erik Otto (Project leader)
• Hugo Peeters (Treasurer)
• Fara Rasolondraibe
• Marcel Snel
• Mark Antkowiak
• Serge Mennecier
• Gerald van Heugten

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Contents (1)

• Project goals
• Emulsion polymerisation
• Products
• Recipe
• Layouts
• Simple line-up
• Central buffer layout

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Contents (2)

• Vessel design
• Seed latex
• Final plant layout
• Economical feasibility
• Conclusions
• Acknowledgements
• Questions

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Goals of the project

• Compare pipeless batch plant with
  conventional batch plant
• Technical feasibility
• Does it work?
• Economical feasibility
• Does it pay?

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Emulsion Copolymerisation

• Emulsion polymerisation process
• Composition drift
• Chemical composition distribution (CCD)
• ? Control the monomer concentration

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Products

• Styrene methyl acrylate copolymer
• (25 Styrene)
• Styrene methyl acrylate copolymer
• (70 Styrene)
• Seed latex
• (25wt Polystyrene seed)

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Recipe

• Loading
• Heating / Swelling / Mixing
• Injecting initiator
• Injecting monomer
• Unloading
• Cleaning

5 min 360 min 0 min 167 min 5 min 5 min

542 min
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Simple line-up layout (SLL)
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(Dis-)advantages SLL

• Advantages
• -        Simple process control
• -        Simple buffer system (FiFo)
• -        Simple transport system
• -        Easy process expansion
• Disadvantages
• -       Not flexible
• - Number of buffers

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Central buffer layout (CBL)
20 m
U
C
I1
L
8 vessels
8 vessels
8 vessels
20 m
I6
U
8 vessels
Unloading station
I2
75 vessels
8 vessels
C
Cleaning station
L
Loading station
8 vessels
8 vessels
I5
I3
I
Injection station no
8 vessels
I4
Exit
Crane system
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(Dis-)advantages CBL

• Advantages
• - Flexibility
• -   Cheap transport system
•  
• Disadvantages
• - Special equipment (e.g. rotating discs)

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Station usage
SLL CBL
- One crane central buffer layout
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Vessel design (1)

• Vessel size 600 L
• Vessel material Stainless steel
• Heating/cooling system Jacket coil
• Stirring system 2 impellers
• Initiator vessel 20 L

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Vessel design (2)
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Seed latex

• Batchwise production
• Reaction in 600 L vessels
• Initiator removal in 5400 L vessels
• Pulsed Packed Columns
• Not economically attractive
• (125 PPCs needed)

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Final plant layout
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Economical feasibility (1)

• Comparison SLL - CBL
• Comparison conventional batch plant -
  pipeless batch plant
• Total Cost of Ownership (TCO)
• Design costs (our project costs)
• Capital Investment (equipment)
• Maintenance and Service
• C.I. MS 1 4
• Economical lifetime of 10 years

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Economical feasibility (2)
Conventional batch plant 0,25 per kg
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Economical feasibility (3)

• CBL cheaper than SLL (difference of about 0.05
  /kg)
• AGV system is too expensive
• (40 of total equipment cost)
• Batch plant cheaper than pipeless plant
• Ingredient price 75 80 of product price
• Possible inaccurate estimation

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Conclusions (1)

• Technical feasibility
• SLL and CBL are feasible
• CBL more flexible than SLL
• Vessel is suited for reaction
• One crane system is probably not feasible

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Conclusions (2)

• Economical feasibility
• Equipment costs can be reduced further
• Ingredient costs too high for target price
• CBL cheaper than SLL

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Acknowledgements

• Ir. M. Pepers
• Dr. Ir. C. Scholtens
• Ir. J. Wijers
• Prof. Dr. A. van Weele
• Prof. Dr. Ir. J. Rooda
• S. Tonneijk and associates at NeoResins

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