Ethylene Oxide/Ethylene Glycol (EO/EG)
Summary
Ethylene oxide (EO) is one of the major products from ethylene. EO can be made from petroleum-based or bio-based ethylene and is used as an intermediate in the manufacture of plastics, fibers, detergents and other downstream chemicals. More than 70% of EO is consumed in the production of monoethylene glycol (MEG), a key raw material in polyester fibers and PET bottles, and the main ingredient in antifreeze. EO also is used to produce other derivatives including alkoxylates, ethanol amines and glycol ethers
For ethylene oxide (EO) and ethylene glycol (EG), the equations for the reactions are as follows:
Features
Major process technology can be summarized into three processes such as Shell, SD (Scientific Design), and Dow Chemical where most of EO/EG is produced in the world. Toyo-Korea has the experiences with SD technology. In case of SD process, ethylene and oxygen are combined to produce EO in a multi-tubular catalytic reactor.
EO produced in the reactor can be separated to high quality purified EO and/or further processed to produce fiber-grade monoethylene glycol (MEG) as well as di- and triethylene glycols (DEG, TEG). The technology considering the energy saving and less investment cost and Toyo-Korea has contributed to the plant cost reduction of new plant by the application of our extensive experience.
[Process flow diagram of SD(Scientific Design) EO/EG]