196
journey of commercial technologies of four important propylene-derived chemicals
viz. propylene oxide, acrylonitrile, acrylic acid, and isopropanol, and recent
advancement in regard to the processes and catalysts used in the production of these
chemicals have been reviewed and presented. As chemical industries are looking for
improving environmental footprints of the existing chemical production processes,
a lot of thrust is now being given on the development of greener production routes
for improving sustainability in the chemical industry. As demand for by-product
free production routes is need of the hour, the chemical industry is putting greater
efforts on the development of energy-efficient and environment-friendly processes.
Stringent environment regulations and the need for reducing dependency on
petroleum- based feedstock will drive use of alternative feedstock, chemicals, and
new catalytic materials. The use of traditional refinery feedstock will see decline in
the production of petrochemicals while gas and renewable hydrogen-based economy will take center stage at twenty-first century.
In the near future, a significant amount of propylene production will come from
on-purpose routes using locally available sources such as natural gas and coal.
Methanol produced from syngas through gasification of municipal solid waste and
biomass, and its further conversion to propylene holds promise to partly reduce the
carbon footprint of the propylene production. High severity FCC process will be
used increasingly to produce more propylene as feedstock in the integrated petrochemicals complex as demand for liquid transportation fuel is expected to decline
due to the advent of CNG, hybrid, and EVs. Also, lighter feedstocks such as propane, butane will be used for production of olefins in the short to medium term. In
medium to long term, a significant amount of propylene production will come from
methanol derived from biomass or hydrogenation of recycling CO 2 when these technology mature. As the cost of renewable electricity is decreasing significantly, it
will find greater applications in the production of renewable hydrogen through alkaline water electrolysis, PEM (proton exchange membrane), and high temperature
SOEC (solid oxide electrolyzer cell)-based processes, which in turn will be used in
the chemicals production. Hydrogenation of CO and CO 2 using renewable hydrogen is expected to play an important role in the production of various chemicals via
syngas and methanol intermediates. The use of new types of feedstocks will demand
new types of catalytic material with robust performance toward activity, selectivity,
and stability.
By-product free processes with simpler process steps will attract more interest in
the production of chemicals. The use of hydrogen peroxide and molecular oxygen
as an environmental-friendly oxidant will find greater roles in the production of
propylene oxide and other oxygenated chemicals. Research and developmental
efforts toward the development of acrolein and acrylic acid production from biobased renewable sources will attract more interest to counter the propylene price
volatility and reduce environmental and carbon footprints. Two renewable feedstocks, glycerol and 3-hydroxyl propionic acid, hold promise for acrolein and
acrylic acid production. The most efficient route for glycerol to acrylic acid would
be based on one-step catalytic oxydehydration. The development of efficient and
selective bi-functional catalyst containing both active acid and redox sites is
C. Samanta and R. K. Das
journey of commercial technologies of four important propylene-derived chemicals
viz. propylene oxide, acrylonitrile, acrylic acid, and isopropanol, and recent
advancement in regard to the processes and catalysts used in the production of these
chemicals have been reviewed and presented. As chemical industries are looking for
improving environmental footprints of the existing chemical production processes,
a lot of thrust is now being given on the development of greener production routes
for improving sustainability in the chemical industry. As demand for by-product
free production routes is need of the hour, the chemical industry is putting greater
efforts on the development of energy-efficient and environment-friendly processes.
Stringent environment regulations and the need for reducing dependency on
petroleum- based feedstock will drive use of alternative feedstock, chemicals, and
new catalytic materials. The use of traditional refinery feedstock will see decline in
the production of petrochemicals while gas and renewable hydrogen-based economy will take center stage at twenty-first century.
In the near future, a significant amount of propylene production will come from
on-purpose routes using locally available sources such as natural gas and coal.
Methanol produced from syngas through gasification of municipal solid waste and
biomass, and its further conversion to propylene holds promise to partly reduce the
carbon footprint of the propylene production. High severity FCC process will be
used increasingly to produce more propylene as feedstock in the integrated petrochemicals complex as demand for liquid transportation fuel is expected to decline
due to the advent of CNG, hybrid, and EVs. Also, lighter feedstocks such as propane, butane will be used for production of olefins in the short to medium term. In
medium to long term, a significant amount of propylene production will come from
methanol derived from biomass or hydrogenation of recycling CO 2 when these technology mature. As the cost of renewable electricity is decreasing significantly, it
will find greater applications in the production of renewable hydrogen through alkaline water electrolysis, PEM (proton exchange membrane), and high temperature
SOEC (solid oxide electrolyzer cell)-based processes, which in turn will be used in
the chemicals production. Hydrogenation of CO and CO 2 using renewable hydrogen is expected to play an important role in the production of various chemicals via
syngas and methanol intermediates. The use of new types of feedstocks will demand
new types of catalytic material with robust performance toward activity, selectivity,
and stability.
By-product free processes with simpler process steps will attract more interest in
the production of chemicals. The use of hydrogen peroxide and molecular oxygen
as an environmental-friendly oxidant will find greater roles in the production of
propylene oxide and other oxygenated chemicals. Research and developmental
efforts toward the development of acrolein and acrylic acid production from biobased renewable sources will attract more interest to counter the propylene price
volatility and reduce environmental and carbon footprints. Two renewable feedstocks, glycerol and 3-hydroxyl propionic acid, hold promise for acrolein and
acrylic acid production. The most efficient route for glycerol to acrylic acid would
be based on one-step catalytic oxydehydration. The development of efficient and
selective bi-functional catalyst containing both active acid and redox sites is
C. Samanta and R. K. Das