OMT Catalyst Developed by SINOPEC Shanghai Research Institute of Petrochemical T

Manufacture of propylene via butylene disproportionation reaction is an important technology for regulating the ethylene and propylene yield and increasing the propylene production. With the development of domestic coal-to-olefin process in China, the number of new units adopting the olefin metathesis technology (OMT)is increasing gradually, but at present this technology and its associated catalyst are monopolized by foreign companies. The localization of OMT and its catalyst will help enterprises reduce costs and increase profits.Hence, the SINOPEC Shanghai Research Institute of Petrochemical Technology (SRIPT) in cooperation with the Shanghai SECCO Petrochemical Company Limited has been engaging in the project for commercial test of olefin disproportionation catalyst.

In December 2018 the OMT catalyst after being loaded in the olefin conversion unit (OCU) was subjected to activation, and on April 9, 2019 the unit was started when the feedstock was fed into the unit. Till now this unit has been operating smoothly for over 1500 hours to achieve a once-through C4olefins conversion rate of over 70% and a propylene selectivity of more than 98%. The on-line monitoring shows that the propylene product can comply with the spec, with its purity reaching 99.96%. The 72-hour continuous calibration test has revealed that the performance of this OMT catalyst in OCU unit is satisfactory and can meet the design requirements.