The dominant end use of Maleic anhydride (MA) is in the production of unsaturated polyester resins. These laminating resins, which have high structural strength and good dielectric properties, have a variety of applications in automobile bodies, building panels, molded boats, chemical storage tanks, lightweight pipe, machinery housings and furniture. Other end products are fumaric acid, agricultural chemicals, alkyd resins, lubricants, copolymers, plastics, succinic acid, surface active agents, and more. In the United States, one plant uses only n-butane and another uses n-butane for 20% of its feedstock, but the primary raw material used in the production of Maleic Anhydride is benzene. The Maleic Anhydride industry is converting old benzene plants and building new plants to use n-butane. Maleic Anhydride also is a byproduct of the production of phthalic anhydride. It is a solid at room temperature but is a liquid or gas during production. It is a strong irritant to skin, eyes, and mucous membranes of the upper respiratory system.
Background
Maleic anhydride is a chemical intermediate that is used to produce food acids, resins, surface coatings, lubricant additives and agricultural chemicals. This product manufactured globally via a range of different processing routes which may differ in the feedstock utilized, reaction conditions, types of catalyst, and product recovery and purification methods.
Aim
The aim of the report is to determine the feasibility of constructing a maleic anhydride plant to manufacture 15000tons/year of this product. The work done was to calculate the best operating temperature for the production which will give us the maximum amount of gross profit.
2. Literature Review
Maleic anhydride was first commercially produced in the early 1930s by the Vapor-phase oxidation of benzene. The use of benzene as a feedstock for the production of Maleic anhydride was dominant in the world market well into the 1980s. Several
References: Wankat, P., Equilibrium Staged Separation Processes, Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ, (1988) Harriot, P., Chemical reactor design, Marcel Dekker, Incorporated, USA (2002). Nexant ChemSystems Reports, Maleic anhydride process evaluation (2005). Yang, W-C., Handbook of fluidization and fluid particle systems, Marcel Dekker, USA (2003). Articles from www.scrib.com/maleic anhydride production, USA 2004