Dehydrogenation of ethylbenzene to styrene

Table of Contents 1.
 Introduction
 1.1.
 History
 1.2.
 Uses
 1.3.
 Main
producers
 1.3.1.
 Styrene
market
 1.4.
 Regulatory
treatment
of
styrene
 1.4.1.
 European Union Risk Assessment Review
 2.
 Properties
 2.1.
 Physical
properties
 3.
 Production
methods
 3.1.
 Styrene­Propylene
oxide
process
 3.2.
 Styrene
via
benzene
and
ethane
 3.3.
 Dehydrogenation
of
ethylbenzene
 3.3.1.
 Chemistry of ethylbenzene dehydrogenation
 3.3.2.
 Steam in ethylbenzene dehydrogenation
 3.3.3.
 Catalysts
 3.3.4.
 Catalyst promoters
 3.3.5.
 Isothermal dehydrogenation
 3.3.6.
 Adiabatic dehydrogenation
 3.3.7.
 Comparison between isothermal and adiabatic dehydrogenation
 3.3.8.
 By-products in ethylbenzene dehydrogenation
 3.3.9.
 Purification of styrene
 3.3.10.
 Economical
analysis
 Works
Cited
 2
 2
 3
 5
 6
 7
 7
 8
 8
 9
 10
 11
 12
 12
 14
 15
 17
 18
 19
 21
 21
 22
 24
 26


1


Dehydrogenation of ethylbenzene to styrene

1. Introduction
1.1. History

Styrene [C6H5-CH=CH2], also known as phenylethylene, vinylbenzene, styrol, or cinnamene is one of the most important monomers in modern petrochemical industry. It occurs naturally in small quantities in some plants and foods. A study published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry in 1994 showed that concentrations of styrene are present in cinnamon, beef, coffee beans, peanuts, wheat, oats, strawberries, and peaches. It was isolated for the first time in the nineteenth century by steam distillation of styrax, a balsam obtained from the trunk of a tree called Liquidambar orientalis. Although it was known to polymerize, no commercial applications were attempted for many years because the polymers were brittle and readily cracked. InteressenGemeinschaft Farbenindustrie AG in Germany and Dow Chemical in the United States achieved the development of the commercial processes for the manufacture of styrene based on dehydrogenation of ethylbenzene in the 1930s.