3

Vinyl chloride and polyvinyl chloride

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ThyssenKrupp Uhde
2

Table of contents

1. Company profile 3
2. The Vinnolit VCM process 4
2.1 General process description 5
2.2 Direct chlorination 6
2.3 Oxychlorination 8
2.4 EDC distillation 10
2.5 EDC cracking 11
2.6 VCM distillation 12
2.7 Measures to recover by-products and
to protect the environment 13
2.7.1 HCl recycling with waste gas heat recovery 13
2.7.2 Waste water treatment 13
2.7.3 Liquid and waste gas collection systems 13
2.8 Cumulated capacity of reference plants 14
3. The Vinnolit S-PVC process 16
3.1 Description of the S-PVC process 17
3.2 Advantages of the S-PVC process 18
3.3 The new Vinnolit High-Performance Reactor
for suspension PVC 19
3.4 The Vinnolit MST Cyclone Drier 20
3.5 Products and applications 21
4. References 22
 3

1. Company profile

With its highly specialised workforce of more than 5,600 employees Vinnolit is one of Europe’s leading EDC, VCM and PVC producers
and its international network of subsidiaries and branch offices, Uhde, with a capacity of 780,000 t/year of PVC, 665,000 t/year of VCM
a Dortmund-based engineering contractor, has to date successfully and upstream chlorine plants. They enhance and optimise their
completed over 2,000 projects throughout the world. process technology on a permanent basis. Vinnolit was founded in
1993 as a 50/50 joint venture between Hoechst AG and Wacker
Uhde’s international reputation has been built on the successful Chemie GmbH. The new company drew on the experience of its
application of its motto Engineering with ideas to yield cost-effective two founders, both active in the vinyl sector for almost 60 years.
high-tech solutions for its customers. The ever-increasing demands In 2000 Advent International acquired Vinnolit. Advent is one of
placed upon process and application technology in the fields of the world’s largest and most experienced private equity invest-
chemical processing, energy and environmental protection are met ment firms.
through a combination of specialist know-how, comprehensive
service packages, top-quality engineering and impeccable punctuality. Since 1964 the licensor has granted licences for a capacity of
more than 14 million tonnes of EDC, approx. 6.5 million tonnes
Uhde and Vinnolit – Partners for vinyl chloride and polyvinyl chloride of VCM and about 2.9 million tonnes of S-PVC.

Our licensor for the Ethylene Dichloride (EDC), Vinyl Chloride Mono- The cooperation between the licensor and Uhde has been success-
mer (VCM) and for the Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) process is Vinnolit ful for some 40 years. Uhde is the sole basic engineering partner for
GmbH & Co. KG. Vinnolit’s EDC, VCM and PVC processes.
4

2. The Vinnolit VCM process

Knapsack (Cologne), which have a com-

bined capacity of 665,000 t/year, as well
as at many other plants worldwide.

The modern Vinnolit process for the pro-

duction of VCM has the following major
distinctive features:

High operational reliability:

• Reliable reaction control
• Time-proven materials and equipment
• State-of-the-art process control system

High economic efficiency:

• Low energy consumption due to the
utilisation of reaction and waste gas
heat and integration with PVC or
caustic soda plants
• High yields
• Optimised reaction conditions and
Qatar Vinyl Company (QVC), Vinyl chloride (VCM), which is made from reaction control
Mesaieed, Qatar
ethylene and chlorine, is used as feedstock • Utilisation of by-products containing
Capacities of the complex:
in the production of the standard plastic Cl2 along with the recycling of HCl gas
360,000 t/year of DC-EDC material PVC. • High on-stream factor
175,000 t/year of Oxy-EDC • Low personnel requirement
230,000 t/year of VCM The market for PVC and hence VCM has • Low maintenance costs
continued to grow, thus dispelling the fore- • High flexible, wide range of load
casts made in the 80s, according to which
PVC would be substituted by other plastics. Extremely low pollution levels:
• ≤ 0.01 ppm VCM (annual average)
The reasons for this were not only the mani- in working areas
fold applications and properties of PVC, but • Extremely low VCM emissions
also the progress made in limiting emissions • Small waste water quantities
and by-products during production. PVC pro- with EDC/VCM contents ≤ 1 ppm
duction capacity attained growth rates of • In-plant disposal of low-boiling
approx. 6% per year, accounting for approx. and high-boiling constituents in conjunc-
47 million tonnes worldwide in 2010. For the tion with HCl gas recycling and steam
next few years, growth rates in the order of generation
4% per year are again expected. • Special facilities for preventing emissions
when the plant is shut down
As a chemical engineering contractor, Uhde • Thermal waste gas treatment
added VCM to its range of processes some
40 years ago and has to date designed and
Expected consumption figures for raw
constructed plants with a total nominal ca- materials and utilities per 1,000 kg VCM
pacity of approx. 6 million tonnes. product
Ethylene (100 %) 459 kg
The VCM process applied by Uhde is licen-
sed by Vinnolit. The current high technologi- Chlorine (100 %) 575 kg
cal standard was reached through intensive Oxygen (100 %) 139 kg
development work on the part of Vinnolit
Steam 250 kg1
in collaboration with Uhde. The process has
been successfully applied at Vinnolit’s ex- Fuel gas 2.7 GJ
isting plants at Gendorf (Bavaria) and at 1)
Combined figure for VCM / PVC plant: 435 kg
 5

2.1 General process description

Biggest VCM plant in China

SINOPEC Qilu Petrochemical Corp.
Linzi, Zibo, Shandong Prov., China
400,000 t/year of VCM (balanced)

1st section:
C2H4 + Cl2 C2H4Cl2 + 218 kJ/mole

2nd section:
C2H4 + 2HCl + ½O2
C2H4Cl2 + H2O + 238 kJ/mole

3rd section:
C2H4Cl2 C2H3Cl + HCl - 71 kJ/mole

The process for the production of vinyl chlo-

ride monomer (VCM) from ethylene proceeds
in several process sections.

In the first process section, ethylene dichlo-

ride (EDC; 1,2 dichloroethane) is produced
by direct chlorination, in the second section
by oxychlorination. Both reactions are exo-
thermal.

The EDC produced by direct chlorination is

fed straight into the cracking section without In the third process section, the EDC is well as liquid by-products are fed to the HCl
any further purification. cracked, and the VCM formed there, as well recovery unit and converted to HCl, CO2 and
as the hydrogen chloride and unconverted water.
The heat of this exothermic reaction can be EDC, are separated in a VCM distillation unit.
used for PVC drying in the PVC plant or for The VCM is temporarily stored in a tank, The recovered HCl is reused in the oxychlo-
heating of columns in the EDC distillation while the HCl is returned to the oxychlorina- rination process, which leads to a complete
unit depending on the individual plant con- tion unit and the unconverted EDC to the conversion of the input chlorine.
figuration. cracking section.
The diagram shows the individual sections
The EDC formed by oxychlorination passes Any process water obtained undergoes treat- of the overall process which are described
through a purification stage (EDC distillation). ment. Waste gases containing pollutants as on the following pages.

VCM synthesis: 2 C2H4 + Cl2 + 1⁄2 O2 2 C2H3Cl + H2O Schematic diagram of a VCM plant

Chlorine Direct EDC VCM Vinyl chloride

EDC
Cl2 chlorination cracking distillation VCM
Cat ΔH
C2H4 + Cl2 C2H4Cl2
C2H4Cl2 + 218 k J/mole C2H3Cl + HCl – 71 k J/mole

Ethylene EDC recycle EDC liquid + gaseous

C 2H 4 distillation chlorination by-products
HCl

Oxygen by-product
Oxychlorination HCl
O2 recovery
Cat
C2H4 + 2 HCl + 1⁄2 O2 C2H4Cl2 + H2O + 238 k J/mole
6

2.2 Direct chlorination

In the direct chlorination process, EDC is Gaseous chlorine is added via an injector The process is particularly
produced by means of a highly exothermal nozzle to a relatively small circulating EDC environment-friendly, because:
reaction of ethylene and chlorine. side stream withdrawn in the downcomer • The energy recovery options lead to a
section of the CNC reactor and cooled to significant reduction of CO2-emissions
The main feature of the Vinnolit direct allow the chlorine to be better pre-dissolved. • The formation of high-boiling
chlorination process is an innovative boil- This cooling provides another opportunity to constituents is significantly reduced
ing reactor with natural convection flow. recover the heat of reaction. • Extremely small quantities of low-boiling
Recently, as a result of a joint development constituents are formed (only a few ppm)
project of Uhde and Vinnolit, the compact The ethylene solution and the completely • No scrubbing water is required and
natural circulation (CNC) reactor was devel- predissolved chlorine are mixed in the reac- • No catalyst is discharged with the product.
oped and now is ready for introduction on tion zone of the riser and react to EDC in a
the market. In the CNC reactor, the natural fast liquid-phase reaction which significantly The catalyst has no corrosive properties be-
circulation is established in an internal loop lowers by-product formation. cause of its complex structure, and therefore
consisting of a riser section and a down- the process equipment can be made mainly
comer section, leading to a more comact Due to the reduced static pressure head in of ordinary carbon steel. Existing plants can
and cost-saving reactor design. the top section of the riser, the EDC starts be converted without any difficulty.
boiling. The product amount and some ex-
The Vinnolit Direct Chlorination process cess EDC are withdrawn from the upper The advantages of the process can be
operates at boiling conditions with a tem- part of the CNC reactor and passed on to summarised as follows:
perature of 120°C. The heat of reaction is the product vessel and a stripping column • Nearly no consumption of catalyst
removed by boiling off EDC from the boiling to achieve 'Sales EDC' quality, if required. • High raw material yields
reactor. A big portion of this heat can be The excess EDC is recycled to the main • High EDC purity: 99.9 %
recovered by several heat recovery options, reactor loop. • Utilisation of reaction heat, e.g. for
e.g. heating of distillation columns in the heating of distillation columns or drying
EDC distillation unit or heating of a fluidised In contrast to competitive direct chlorination of PVC, leading to a reduction in steam
bed PVC drier in the PVC plant yielding a processes, the Vinnolit Direct Chlorination consumption of up to 700 kg / tonne
reduction of steam consumption of up to process does not use FeCl3, but a complex of EDC.
700 kg / tonne of EDC. compound as catalyst. The catalyst sup- • Low investment costs
presses the formation of by-products and • Complete reaction in only one reactor
The reaction is carried out in the riser sec- ensures higher selectivity to EDC. • Proven materials and reliable and simple
tion of the CNC reactor. In contrast to other equipment
processes, gaseous ethylene is first com- Thus the Vinnolit Direct Chlorination process • High active and selective catalyst
pletely pre-dissolved in the lower part of the combines the energy efficiency of a high-
riser section of the CNC reactor. temperature chlorination (HTC) process with Utilising the reaction heat saves energy and
the EDC purity of a low-temperature chlorin- reduces emissions of CO2 by an amount
ation (LTC) process. The catalyst is fed to the equivalent to the energy savings. Thus, car-
reactor loop before start-up and does not bon certificate trading has a positive effect
have to be topped up in normal operation. on production costs.
 7

Refrigerant
Direct chlorination process
using a boiling reactor Waste gas
to incineration
CW
Heat
recovery

Chlorine

Product Stripping
vessel column
Ethylene

Sales - EDC
Heat N2
recovery
CNC Reactor Furnace feed EDC
8

2.3 Oxychlorination

In the oxychlorination process, EDC is formed mixture, consisting of C2H4, HCl and O2, is
by a highly exothermal catalytic reaction of catalytically converted in the fluidised-bed
ethylene with hydrogen chloride and oxygen. reactor to EDC in a highly exothermal reac-
tion at a temperature of > 200°C. The heat
The reaction takes place in a fluidised- is dissipated via internal cooling coils and
bed reactor, and the reaction heat is used recovered to generate steam. Independent
for steam generation. In the downstream of load the generated steam has a constant
quench column, a major portion of the reac- pressure level.
tion water is removed by condensation. To
remove small quantities of chlorinated hydro- The excellent distribution in the fluidised-bed
carbons from the reaction water, it is trans- makes it possible to maintain a constant tem-
ferred to the effluent treatment facilities. perature, to ensure low by-product formation
and to achieve optimum process control.
By cooling the reaction gases further by
means of cooling water (CW) and refrigerant The reaction gas passes a filter unit in
(R), the raw EDC is removed by condensation which the catalyst fines are separated from
and fed to the EDC distillation unit, where it the gas. Depending on customer's require-
is purified to obtain “feed EDC quality”. ments, also a waste water treatment section
comprising a precipitation and sludge filtra-
The Vinnolit oxychlorination process can tion step can be implemented. To remove
use oxygen from air separation units as well the reaction water, the hot reaction gases
as oxygen from pressure swing adsorption are quenched and the EDC is condensed
units (PSA oxygen). In the reactor the cata- with the aid of chilled water in a multi-stage
lyst is fluidised with circulation gas. Just condensation unit. The crude EDC is puri-
enough oxygen is added to the reactor to fied in an EDC distillation unit to obtain
keep the concentration of the circulation gas “feed EDC quality”.
outside the flammable range (oxygen lean
operation). The very small off-gas stream The reaction water obtained is passed to
of inerts and carbon oxides which is formed the waste water treatment facilities to re-
in the process is fed to the HCl recycle unit move the small quantities of chlorinated
without further treatment. The reaction hydrocarbons it contains.

Refrigerant

Waste gas to
incineration

Steam
CW
HCl from TDI / MDI possible

Hydrogenation Catalyst
reactor filtration

Boiler
feedwater

Hydrogen
Oxychlorination
Hydrogen chloride Quench
reactor
column Crude EDC
Oxygen
Circulating-gas
Ethylene compressor
Effluent to waste
water treatment
 9

Oxychlorination reactor Erection of oxychlorination reactor BorsodChem Rt., Hungary

The modern oxychlorination process of Vinnolit has

the following distinctive features:
• Fluidised-bed reactor with good reaction heat distribution:
no hot spots, no catalyst stickiness
• Proven materials and reliable and simple equipment
• Reactor and cooling coils made of carbon steel
• Crude EDC purity: 99.6 %
• High conversion of C2H4 to EDC: 99.0 %
• Low catalyst consumption
• Removal of catalyst fines either by simple waste water
treatment or by catalyst filtration
• High flexibility of the plant, wide range of load
• Production of 10 bar steam for distillation units possible
• High safety standard, O2 content < 1 %
10

2.4 EDC distillation

To produce pure feed EDC, both the EDC The dry bottom product from the heads
obtained in the oxychlorination process column together with the unconverted EDC
and the EDC not converted in the cracking from the cracking process are separated
process (recycle EDC) are treated in the EDC from the high-boiling compounds in the
distillation unit in order to remove water as high-boil and vacuum columns. These high-
well as low-boiling and high-boiling com- boiling compounds are withdrawn from the
ponents. bottom of the vacuum column and sent to
the incineration unit.
The wet raw EDC from the oxychlorination
unit is fed to the heads column in order to By default, the high-boil column is oper-
remove the water and low-boiling substanc- ated at elevated pressure and the overhead
es by distillation. The water phase of the vapours of this column are used to heat
head product containing small quantities the heads column and the vacuum column.
of chlorinated hydrocarbons and sodium Depending on customer's requirements
chloride is transferred to the waste water also other heat recovery options can be
treatment unit. The organic phase and the realized.
off-gas are fed to the incineration unit.
EDC evaporator and cracking furnace

Waste gas to incineration

Recycle EDC
CW
from VCM distillation
CW CW R

Heads
column

High-boils Vacuum
column column

Crude EDC
from
oxychlorination
from cracking

Steam High-boiling
Cond. components to
incineration

Cracking EDC

Low-boiling components to incineration

Effluent to waste water treatment

 11

2.5 EDC cracking

The cracking of 1,2 dichloroethane takes The advantages of Vinnolit’s modern EDC
place in a cracking furnace heated by fuel. cracking process can be summarised as
VCM and HCl are formed at temperatures of follows:
480°C, the reaction being endothermic and
incomplete. • High reliability due to low coke formation
• High savings in primary and secondary
In addition to VCM and HCl, by-products of energy, due to:
various chemical structures and coke are - External EDC pre-evaporation using
formed. cracking gas heat

The external EDC pre-evaporation facility - Utilisation of flue gas and cracking
reduces the formation of coke in the crack- gas heat to preheat combustion air,
ing furnace considerably. The operating to generate steam or to preheat EDC
periods between two decoking intervals are • Low maintenance costs
very long (up to 2 years). • Proven materials and reliable equipment

3D model of one of the world's largest PVC complexes

ARVAND Petrochemical Co., Bandar Imam, Iran
On the left: The EDC cracking furnaces

Capacities of the complex:

570,000 t/year of chlorine
329,000 t/year of sales EDC
343,000 t/year of VCM
340,000 t/year of PVCa

Cracking EDC

CW HCl
Combustion air

Cond. Steam

to VCM distillation

Cracking product
to VCM distillation

Fuel Fuel

Recyle EDC
to EDC distillation
12

2.6 VCM distillation

The product from the cracking unit consists The Vinnolit EDC distillation unit can do
of VCM, HCl, unconverted EDC and by-prod- without a low-boil column for recycle EDC
ucts of various chemical structures. with all its related problems.

Hydrogen chloride is recovered in the HCl Advantages of the VCM column:

column and fed to the oxychlorination unit. • HCl content in VCM < 1 ppm without
Vinyl chloride is obtained at the top of the using caustic
VCM column. • Long on-stream time of VCM distillation
unit, because of no coke carry over from
Any traces of HCl are removed from the VCM hot quench system
in the HCl stripper. The overhead product of • Vapor feed of HCl stripper overhead
the HCl stripper is recycled to the HCl col- product to the HCl column, no conden-
umn via a H2O removal unit which removes sation system necessary
moisture from the distillation process and • Lower power consumption for HCl con-
protects against moisture build-up. densation compared to low pressure
HCl column
The bottom product of the VCM column,
i.e. un-converted EDC, is returned to the Advantages of the recycle EDC chlorination:
EDC distillation process after the low-boiling • No separation of low-boiling compounds
compounds have been converted by chlo- necessary
rination to high-boiling compounds. Thus • Low investment cost in comparison to
the difficult and energy-consuming separa- a low-boil column
tion of recycle EDC from other low-boiling • Easy operation
components is avoided. • No steam consumption
• Low maintenance cost

HCl to oxychlorination
H2O removal

CW

Refrigerant

from Cracking HCl column VCM column HCl stripper

quench

Cracking
unit product

Steam Steam Steam CW

Cond. Cond. Cond.
Heat Product
recovery
VCM
EDC chlorination unit
Recycle EDC
to EDC distillation
Cl2
 13

2.7 Measures to recover by-products

and to protect the environment

HCl recovery unit

The treated waste gas complies with all
applicable German statutory regulations in
force since 3.5.2000, including those con-
cerning the concentration of dioxins and
furanes (< 0.1 ng TE/m3).

The advantages of the HCl recycling

process are:

• Recovery of hydrogen chloride from the

by-products
• Optimum utilisation of the input chlorine
to produce VCM
• Utilisation of the energy content of the
by-products in the form of steam
• Use of proven technology and materials
• Environment-friendly process

2.7.2 Waste water treatment

The process effluent from the VCM plant

and any splash water are sent to a waste
water treatment unit. Chlorinated hydrocar-
bons are removed by distillation, hydrogen
chloride by neutralisation with caustic soda
solution. A copper content of less than
1 ppm is ensured either by dry catalyst
filtration in the oxychlorination or by treat-
ment of the waste water using flocculation,
sedimentation and filtration.

The treated effluent, which meets the statu-

tory purity requirements, is subsequently fed
to a biological treatment unit.

The sludge obtained as a waste product is

dumped or incinerated.
2.7.1 HCl recycling oxidation process to form CO2, water and
with waste gas heat recovery hydrogen chloride. This process operates 2.7.3 Liquid and waste gas collection
with an excess of air at approx. 1,150°C. systems
In the production of VCM, not only 1,2
dichloro-ethane is produced as a desirable The heat of the hot combustion gases is ex- Liquid EDC and VCM from drains, cleaning of
intermediate product, but also further by- ploited to generate steam, and the hydrogen filters, reboilers etc. are collected in closed
products, consisting of a mixture of high- chloride is recovered as a valuable feed- systems and returned to the process loop to
boiling and low-boiling compounds, are stock which is returned in gaseous form to protect the environment.
obtained in liquid or gaseous form. the oxychlorination process.
Sources of continuous waste gas streams
In a new modified Vinnolit process, these Alternatively, aqueous HCl of 25 to 30% can are connected to waste gas headers and
by-products are completely converted in an be produced. the gas is sent to the HCl recovery unit.
14

2.8 Cumulated capacity of reference plants

Uhde is one of the world’s leading engineering companies in the fields of EDC and VCM,
having built plants with a total capacity of more than 8 million tonnes per year of EDC
and approx. 5 million tonnes per year of VCM (see diagram).

Cumulated Capacity of EDC & VCM Plants Designed by Uhde

10

6
EDC
5

4
million tonnes per annum

3 VCM

1970 1980 1990 2000 2010

Year of commissioning
 15

The view of Europe's biggest and

most modern VCM plant at Vinnolit
in Knapsack near Cologne.

Capacity: 190,000 t/year of EDC

370,000 t/year of VCM
16

3. The Vinnolit S-PVC process

3D model of one of the world's

The suspension polymerisation process Vinnolit technology is characterised by:
largest PVC complexes
ARVAND Petrochemical Co., for manufacturing polyvinyl chloride is the
Bandar Imam, Iran most important way to produce a variety of • Vinnolit‘s proprietary technology for all units
general-purpose and highly sophisticated • Clean and closed reactor technology
Capacities of the complex: grades of PVC. This process was invented in • High productivity
570,000 t/year of chlorine
1935 and first patented by Wacker Chemie • Low raw materials consumption
329,000 t/year of sales EDC
343,000 t/year of VCM GmbH, one of the former parent companies • Low waste water amount
340,000 t/year of PVC of Vinnolit. Continuous developments had (waste water recovery)
been made in recipes, product quality and • Low energy consumption
technology. Due to this long experience and
• Low investment cost
continuous improvements, Vinnolit can offer
• Low maintenance cost
a modern and highly economic process
• High safety level
for the production of S-PVC worldwide. A
Vinnolit team of specialists is available to • Leading in environmental
tailor plant design according to licensee’s protection – DIN ISO 14001 certified
requirements. • High product quality – DIN ISO 9001
certified
 17

3.1 Description of the S-PVC process

Vinyl chloride and hot water are fed to The wet PVC is dried by means of heated Consumption per 1,000kg of PVC
the Vinnolit High-Performance Reactor by air in a fluidized bed drier or the Vinnolit powder at the production plant including
means of a special charging program. MST Cyclone drier VCM recovery:

Vinyl chloride 1,001 kg

Once the polymerisation has been completed After drying, the PVC powder is conveyed
the content of the reactor is discharged into pneumatically to the silo and bagging unit. Demineralised water 1.4 m3)
a blowdown vessel and from here continu- Chemicals 2.5 kg
ously fed to the Intensive Degassing System. Consumption figures for raw materials Steam 700 kg4)
and energy 3)
Without waste water recovery 2.3 m3
The nonconverted monomer is stripped out, 4)
Combined figure for VCM and PVC plant: 435 kg
condensed and fed back into the process. Low consumption of monomers, demin.
water, chemicals and auxiliary materials, This data is based on average values.
After degassing and recovery of the latent low energy consumption due to heat re- The consumption values depend on K
heat, the water is separated by centrifuge covery, results in low production cost. values, on recipes and location.
and the wet PVC leaving the centrifuge is fed
into the drying section. A big part of the water Especially, the utilization of hot water gener-
from the centrifuge is recovered in a waste ated in the VCM plant for heating of the PVC
water recovery unit (for pipe grade) and sent drier yields very low energy consumption in
back to the high performance reactors. the PVC plant.

CW off-air

Recovered VCM

VCM

Activator

Demin. water
Centrifuge
Dispersing agent

Fluidized bed drier

Hot
water

CW Steam

Hot water
Slurry
PVC powder to silo

Air
Waste water
recovery
to waste water treatment unit

High-performance- Blowdown Pre-degassing Degassing

reactor vessel vessel column
Polymerisation Degassing Drying
18

3.2 Advantages of
the S-PVC process

Clean reactor technology • Excellent reproducibility of the process giv-

ing extremely consistent product quality
Scale-free operation is achieved through • High level of plant safety and reliability
the use of reliable lining inhibitors, optimum
• Low personnel requirement
operating conditions during polymerisation
and a reactor designed to suit the require-
ments specified. Intensive Degassing System

This means: Our own work on the development of an

intensive column degassing technology has
• High-Performance Reactor
resulted in perfect, continuously operating
• Clean and closed reactor technology processes with the following conditions:
• Heat dissipation remains constant
• Extremely low residual VCM content in
the PVC slurry and in the PVC products
It is therefore not necessary to frequently
open the reactor for cleaning purposes. • Gentle degassing conditions
• Grade change without opening the
Process control system column
• Extremely low VCM emissions
Polymerisation Reactors
The whole plant is controlled with the aid
of a digital process control system. Drying The safety concept

This results in: In a fluidized bed drier, the PVC is dried The whole safety concept, including its
• Precise metering of the individual to the required moisture content. This op- computer process control system, permits
components during reactor charging eration can be performed highly economic a particularly high level of operational
• High constancy of the present process because of the possible heat integration safety.
parameters with the VCM plant.
In addition, the polymerisation system is
completely safeguarded and can stop the
PVC High-Performance Reactor (inside view) reaction under extreme conditions e.g.
simultaneous failure of coolant and power
supply.

Emissions

According to Vinnolit’s commitment with

regard to environmental protection, the
offered S-PVC process sets a new standard.

Clean and closed reactor technology, pro-

cess automation and effective degassing of
product means that VCM emissions are kept
at an extremely low level and under normal
operating conditions are far lower than the
figures required at present:
• Less than 1 mg/m3 in drier off-air
• Less than 1 mg/m3 in waste water
• Less than 2 vol. ppm (shift average
value in the air at the workplace).

Effective measures keep PVC emissions in

the drier off-air to less than 10 mg/m3.
 19

3.3 The Vinnolit High-Performance

Reactor for suspension PVC

Step by step Vinnolit has realised all • High output of up to 600 mt/m3/year
requirements for a high-performance poly- - Very short non-reaction time
merisation reactor. The inner cooler reactor - Very short reaction time
was developed as a last link in the optimi- • High quality of product grades
sation. This completely new reactor design
- Use of the Vinnolit recipes
has been created and improved by Vinnolit
- Wide range of licensed grades
engineers. The inner cooler reactor has
- Heat dissipation only in the liquid phase
demonstrated its outstanding suitability for
as in a conventional reactor
the production of suspension PVC on an
industrial scale for many years and is there- • Large reactor Volumes of up to 160 m3
fore a proven design. ensuring
- Low investment costs
In view of Vinnolit’s inner cooler reactor, the - Low maintenance costs
choice was made for a combination of: • Large heat transfer area and high heat-
• Increased heat transfer area due to the transition coefficient, providing a cooling
half-pipe coil on the inner reactor wall capacity twice that of a conventional reac-
tor; therefore no additional cooling area
• Improved heat-transition coefficient due
(such as a reflux condenser) is required
to the reduced thickness of the half-pipe
coil • Very simple and safe operation
• Increased heat transfer due to higher - Closed and clean reactor technology:
The requirements of a modern high-perfor- turbulences at the wall. using the Vinnolit anti-fouling tech-
mance polymerisation reactor with a high nology dispenses with high-pressure
productivity: cleaning or reactor opening
This design combines high heat transfer
• Short non-reaction time rate with safe operation in a closed mode. - Automatic catalyst charging
to be reached by: Of course the other internal components - Simultaneous charging of hot water
- Closed and clean reactor technology of the inner cooler reactor like the agitator, and VCM
- Efficient anti-fouling technology baffles and nozzles are optimised as well to - No heating up by means of a heating
- No reactor opening apply the reactor technology in the same jacket
- No high-pressure cleaning way as in Vinnolit’s conventional reactors. • Low operating costs because of
- No heating up of the batch - Adapted recipes
- Optimised charging procedure, i.e. The essential advantages of the Vinnolit - Use of cooling water instead of chilled
simultaneous hot water/VCM charging High-Performance Reactor are: water
- Automatic catalyst charging
• Minimal reaction time to be reached by: Heat transfer graph (typical) Heat transfer graph (typical)
of conventional reactor cooling of Vinnolit’s High-Performance Reactor
- Fast reaction-heat dissipation
- Large reactor technology
- Volumes up to 160 m3
- Adapted recipes

To achieve a minimal reaction time, the

A Cooling channel
reaction heat has to be dissipated out of the
reactor quickly. B Cladded steel wall

• by increasing the heat transfer area by C PVC-suspension

arrangement of half pipe coils inside D Half-pipe wall

• by increasing the differential temperature E Cooling coil

between inside reactor and jacket, e.g. Suspension
using chilled water
• by improving the heat-transition coef-
ficient, e.g. using a thinner wall between
A B C D E
inside reactor and cooling water
• by adding an external condenser
20

3.4 Waste Water Recycling

Ultrafiltration unit for waste water in an S-PVC plant

Description

Suspension PVC is produced in an aque- content. But today the required purity can and is recycled into the polymerization pro-
ous process. Approx. 2.3 m3 of precious be achieved by a tailor-made special filtra- cess in order to reduce the consumption of
water are used in a conventional process tion process. fresh de-mineralized water and at the same
per ton of PVC. Up to now this water could time the amount of waste water. The flux
only be used for flushing purposes, but the Ultrafiltration through the membranes can be preserved
demand for flush water in the downstream on an acceptable level by regular cleaning
units is small compared with the water de- Ultrafiltration is employed to remove any operations for at least 1 year.
mand for polymerisation. So the water is solids from the decantation waste water.
usually after treatment in a biological waste Ceramic membranes compatible with the Features
water treatment discharged to a recipient. other ingredients in the waste water are
used in that process. The PVC contami- • Reduction of fresh water consumption
Re-use of the waste water in the poly- nated waste water from the decantation to approx. 1.4 m3/t PVC (pipe grade)
merisation was so far inhibited by quality centrifuge is treated in the special filtration • Reduction of waste water
problems caused by the residual PVC solid unit. The treated water is free of PVC solids • Proven in production scale for pipe grade

Re-use of waste water in

the suspension PVC process Thermal PVC solid
Drying PVC
H20 vapor
VC Recycling
VC

Poly- Centrifuge PVC

Additives merisation Drying PVC separation
H 20
H 20
Reuse
 21

3.5 Products and applications

S-PVC, in particular, can be produced in

both a crystal clear, hard and a very soft
flexible finished form, with good electrical
properties. Only the major applications
of the different basic types are listed as
follows:
• Coarse-grained, porous, free-flowing
S-types with a high bulk density for rigid
and semi-rigid extrusion (pipes, sections,
plates), bubble extrusion (hollow items)
and injection moulding, low-fish-eye
S-types for the calendering of rigid and
semi-rigid film, the production of PVC
bristles and deep-drawable rigid film.
• Coarse-grained, highly porous, free-
flowing plasticiser S-types for dry blend
production, free-flowing plasticised PVC
mix for low-fish-eye extrudates and film,
Probably no other plastic can match the wide variety of possible uses offered by PVC. for cable sheaths and hoses.

Application K value Viscosity Bulk Screen analysis Plasticiser

number density absorption
T est method g/l < 63 µm > 250 µm > 315 µm
ISO 1628/2 ISO 1628/2 DIN 53468 DIN 53734 DIN 53417

Injection-moulded articles, 57 80 600 2% <1% < 0.1 % low

rigid film, hollow articles

Rigid film, injection-moulded 60 89 570 2% <1% < 0.1 % medium

articles, plates, bristles

Rigid and semi-rigid 65 105 580 1% <5% < 0.1 % medium

sections

Rigid pipes and sections 67 112 570 1% <5% < 0.1 % medium

Rigid pipes and sections 68 116 570 1% <5% < 0.1 % medium

Plasticised film, sections 65 124 510 5% <1% high

and flexible tubing

Plasticised film, sections, 70 124 480 5% <1% high

injection-moulded articles,
cable

Platicised film and profiles, 75 145 470 5% <1% < 0.1 % high For further product information please
medical articles refer to Vinnolit’s internet hompage:
www.vinnolit.com
22

4. References

Completion Customer Plant Site Product Plant Capacity mtpy

Recent references of EDC and VCM plants

2015 Sayanskchimplast Sayansk, Russia VCM 350,000

2014 Qatar Vinyl Co. Mesaieed, Qatar EDC (Expansion) 470,000
(QVC)
2014 Mexichem SA de CV Coatzacoalcos, EDC, Direct Chlorination 460,000
Mexico EDC, Oxychlorination 480,000
VCM, EDC Cracking 600,000
2013 Petroquímica de Maracaibo, Venezuela EDC (Expansion) 155,000
Venezuela VCM (Expansion)
2010 S.N.E.P. Morocco EDC Direct chlorination, 115,000
EDC, Oxychlorination 112,000
2010 Sayanskchimplast Russia VCM, EDC Cracking 200,000
2009 ARVAND Petrochemical Co. Bandar Imam, Iran EDC, Direct chlorination 551,000
EDC, Oxychlorination 332,000
(Sales EDC) 329,000
VCM, EDC Cracking 343,000
2008 Formosa Plastics Corp. USA EDC Cracking 240,000
2007 Sahara Petrochemical Co. KSA EDC Direct chlorination 300,000
(Basic engineering
implementation pending)
2009 Vinnolit GmbH & Co. Middle East EDC Direct chlorination 660,000
EDC, Oxychlorination 1,300,000
Sales EDC 100,000
VCM 1,020,000
2008 Tokuyama Corp. Japan EDC, Direct chlorination 200,000
(Basic engineering for feasibility study)
2007 Liwa Petrochemical Sohar, Oman EDC, Direct chlorination 307,000
Company LLC
2006 Limburgse Vinyl Tessenderlo, Belgium EDC, Direct chlorination 250,000
Maatschappij (LVM)
2005 Sasol Polymers Sasolburg, South Africa EDC, Direct chlorination 168,000
EDC, Oxychlorination 160,000
VCM, EDC Cracking 205,000
(Expansion)
2005 VESTOLIT GmbH Marl Germany VCM, EDC Cracking 190,000
(Revamp)
2004 Sinopec International / Zibo, Shandong, China EDC, Direct chlorination 330,000
Qilu Petrochemical Co. EDC, Oxychlorination 315,000
VCM, EDC Cracking 400,000
2004 BorsodChem Rt. Kazincbarcika, Hungary EDC, Oxychlorination 225,000
(Expansion)
2004 Shanghai Chlor Shanghai, China VCM, EDC Cracking 130,000
Alkali Chemical Co. (Expansion)
2003 Petkim Petrokimya Aliaga/Izmir, Turkey EDC, Direct chlorination 136,000
Holding VCM, EDC Cracking 152,000
2002 Vinnolit GmbH & Co. KG Knapsack, Germany EDC, Oxychlorination 170,000
VCM, EDC Cracking 330,000
 23

Completion Customer Plant Site Product Plant Capacity mtpy

Recent references of PVC plants

2013 Petroquímica de Maracaibo, Venezuela S-PVC (Expansion) 48,000

Venezuela
2010 Lukoil Neftochim JSC Kalush, Ukraine S-PVC, Polymerisation 300,000
S-PVC, Degasing
S-PVC, Cyclone drier
2009 S.N.E.P. Morocco S-PVC, Cyclone drier 85,000
2009 Ercros Spain S-PVC, Polymerisation 120,000
2008 Spolana A.S. Czech Republic S-PVC, Cyclone drier 2 x 100,000
2007 Braskem Brasil S-PVC, Polymerisation 130,000
2007 Undisclosed USA S-PVC, Polymerisation 250,000
2006 ARVAND Petrochemical Co. Bandar Imam, Iran S-PVC 300,000
PVC-E 40,000
2002 Zaklady Azotowe w Tarnow, Poland S-PVC 100,000
Tarnowie-Moscicach
2001 Royal Polymer Ltd. Sarnia, Canada S-PVC, Cyclone drier 80,000
1997 S.N.E.P. Morocco S-PVC, Cyclone drier 52,000
1996 Hydro Polymers Ltd. Newton Aycliffe, UK S-PVC, Cyclone drier 92,000
1996 Georgia Gulf Corp. Aberdeen, MS, USA S-PVC, Cyclone drier 110,000
(former Vista Chemical
Corporation)
2

OP 400e / 1500 03 / 2012 Uhde / TK Printmedia / Printed in Germany

Thyssen Krupp Uhde GmbH

Friedrich-Uhde-Strasse 15 · 44141 Dortmund · Germany
Phone +49 231 547-0 · Fax +49 231 547-3032
www.uhde.eu