Processes and systems for using silica particles in fluid bed reactor

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2020002271-A1
Application number	US-201916455366-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Jun 27, 2019
Priority date	Jun 28, 2018
Publication date	Jan 2, 2020
Grant date	—

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to fluid bed processes that utilize silica particles as a fluidization aid. The process comprises reacting one or more reactants in a reactor comprising a fluid bed to form a product. The fluid bed comprises a catalyst composition comprising a catalyst and an inert additive composition comprising silica particles from 0.5 wt % to 30 wt %, based on the total weight of the catalyst composition. The silica particles are discrete, inert particles that are mixed with the catalyst in the fluid bed.

First claim

We claim:

1 . A process comprising:
reacting one or more reactants in a reactor comprising a fluid bed to form a product; wherein the fluid bed comprises a catalyst composition comprising a catalyst and an inert additive composition comprising from 0.5 wt % to 30 wt % of silica particles, based on the total weight of the catalyst composition, wherein the silica particles have an equivalent median particle diameter ranging from 10 microns to 500 microns.

2 . The process of claim 1 , wherein the catalyst comprises one or more of antimony, uranium, iron, bismuth, vanadium, molybdenum, nickel, potassium, cobalt, oxides thereof, or salts thereof.

3 . The process of claim 1 , wherein the catalyst has an equivalent median diameter ranging from 1 microns to 125 microns.

4 . The process of claim 1 , wherein the silica particles have a real density ranging from 1.8 g/cm 3 to 2.8 g/cm 3 , and wherein the difference between the density of the silica particles and the catalyst is less than 75%.

5 . The process of claim 1 , wherein the silica particles have a surface area less than 50 m 2 /g, and wherein the silica particles have a hardness ranging from 500 to 720 as measured by ASTM E384 (2018).

6 . The process of claim 1 , wherein the silica particles have a sphericity ranging from 60% to 99.9%

7 . The process of claim 1 , wherein the catalyst composition further comprises alumina particles, wherein a weight ratio of alumina particles to silica particles is less than 1:1.

8 . The process of claim 1 , wherein the inert additive composition comprises no alumina.

9 . The process of claim 1 , wherein the process reduces consumption of the catalyst by greater than 5% per kilogram of product produced compared to other fluidization aids.

10 . The process of claim 1 , wherein the silica particles reduce erosion of the reactor by greater than 10% compared to a similar process conducted without from 0.5 wt % to 30 wt % silica particles.

11 . The process of claim 1 , wherein the process demonstrates a product yield greater than 0.2% greater than that of a similar process conducted without from 0.5 wt % to 30 wt % silica particles.

12 . The process of claim 1 , wherein the silica particles have a real density ranging from 2.1 g/cm 3 to 2.5 g/cm 3 , wherein the silica particles have a surface area less than 1 m 2 /g, wherein the silica particles have a hardness ranging from 500 to 720 as measured by ASTM E384 (2018), and wherein the product yield is greater than 70%.

13 . The process of claim 1 , wherein the silica particles have an equivalent median particle diameter ranging from 20 microns to 100 microns, wherein the silica particles have a real density ranging from 2.1 g/cm 3 to 2.5 g/cm 3 , wherein the silica particles have a sphericity greater than 67%, wherein the silica particles comprise greater than 99 wt % silica, wherein the product yield is greater than 70%.

14 . A process for producing acrylonitrile product, the process comprising:
reacting one or more reactants in a reactor comprising a fluid bed to form an acrylonitrile product; wherein the fluid bed comprises a catalyst composition comprising a catalyst and an inert additive composition comprising silica particles having a density from 1.8 g/cm 3 to 2.8 g/cm 3 , wherein the silica particles have a sphericity ranging from 60% to 99.9%.

15 . The process of claim 14 , wherein the difference between the density of the silica particles and the catalyst is less than 75%, wherein the process demonstrates an acrylonitrile product yield greater than 0.2% greater than that of a similar process conducted without silica particles.

16 . The process of claim 14 , wherein the one or more reactants comprises an olefin, ammonia, and an oxygen-containing gas.

17 . A reactor system for preparing acrylonitrile product, comprising:
a fluid bed comprising a catalyst composition comprising a catalyst and an inert additive composition comprising from 0.5 wt % to 30 wt % of silica particles, based on the total weight of the catalyst composition; and one or more gas inlet feeds for passing one or more reactants upwardly through the fluid bed to form an acrylonitrile product, wherein the difference between the density of the silica particles and the catalyst particles ranges from 0.5% to 75%, wherein the silica particles reduce erosion of the reactor by greater than 10% compared to a similar process conducted without from 0.5 wt % to 30 wt % silica particles.

18 . The system of claim 17 , wherein the silica particles have a real density ranging from 1.8 g/cm 3 to 2.8 g/cm 3 , wherein the silica particles have a surface area less than 50 m 2 /g, wherein the silica particles have a hardness ranging from 500 to 720 as measured by ASTM E384 (2018), and wherein the product yield is greater than 70%.

19 . The system of claim 17 , wherein the process demonstrates an acrylonitrile product yield greater than 0.2% greater than that of a similar process conducted without from 0.5 wt % to 30 wt % silica particles.

20 . The system of claim 17 , wherein the reactor system further comprises:
one or more gas inlet feeds for passing the one or more reactants upwardly through the fluid bed; and one or more cyclones to separate particles from the gas flowing upwardly through the fluid bed of the reactor, the cyclones being in communication with the upwardly flowing gas exiting the fluid bed, wherein the one or more cyclones comprise a particle discharge pipe for returning separated particles to the fluid bed.

Assignees

• Ascend Performance Mat Operations Llc

Inventors

• Chi Yawu T
• Sutton James
• Akhavan Ali
• Kniepmann Celia L
• Cox Matthew D
• Monical Valerie S

Classifications

• B01J8/0055

  using cyclones · CPC title

• C07C253/24

  by ammoxidation of hydrocarbons or substituted hydrocarbons · CPC title

• B01J8/0025 Primary

  by an ascending fluid · CPC title

• C07C253/18 Primary

  by reaction of ammonia or amines with compounds containing carbon-to-carbon multiple bonds other than in six-membered aromatic rings · CPC title

• B01J8/1863

  followed by a downward movement outside the reactor and subsequently re-entering it · CPC title