On November 23, 2018 the project —“Development of an 100 kt/a package technology for manufacture of propylene oxide via oxidation of propylene by hydrogen peroxide”, being one of the ten key task projects envisaged in the SINOPEC’s plan to be jointly undertaken by SINOPEC’s five Institutions, including the Research Institute of Petroleum Processing (RIPP)and the SINOPEC Changling Branch Company, had passed the technical appraisal organized by the Science and Technology Division of Sinopec Corp. following the successful realization of the set targets. The experts attending the appraisal meeting have unanimously admitted that the said technology has an innovative nature with independent intellectual property rights,which is on a par with the internationally advanced level,while assuming a leading role in terms of the catalytic technology and materials consumption. The experts attending the appraisal meeting have recommended to speed up the dissemination of this technology.

Propylene oxide (PO) is an important organic chemical feedstock with vast market prospect both at home and outside of China. The one-step synthesis of PO via reaction of propylene with H2O2(the HPPO process)features a simpler process technology, a single product slate, a higher utilization rate of atomic economy, and a cleaner production process.

After a lot of tests, including the small-scale tests, the sideline tests, the pilot tests, and the commercial scale-uptests, the research team has overcome a series of technical difficulties after development of a series of technologies covering: the synthesis and modification of multi-hollow titanium silicate zeolite with silicon species concentrated on the surface, the preparation and regeneration of the highly selective HPO-1 catalyst, the realization of epoxidation and serial reaction process coupled with systematic control technique, the integrated technique for propylene oxide refinement, the duel-effect rectification of methanol and heat integration technique, and the technology for design and fabrication of large tubular reactor to successfully implement the engineering research on such large project, while securing the safe, smooth, full-load and long-cycle operation of the said commercial unit. All indicators collected during the calibration tests have been superior to the guaranteed design data. The PO product has been successfully adopted in the downstream sectors and has been affirmed and praised by the users, especially by the users in the polyether industry which poses a tough demand for the product quality.

This project has been granted 71 invention patents,including 12 overseas patents and 59 domestic patents,and has applied for 14 proprietary technologies owned by SINOPEC, which can cover an omni-directional intellectual property rights system related with zeolites,catalysts, process technology, equipment, safety and environmental protection, making SINOPEC the third patent licensor of HPPO technology and the package technology provider in the world.