FORMIC ACID
New SD/Bethlehem Steel process can produce formic acid from synthesis gas for the growing demand of agricultural applications. Formic acid has proved itself to be a most efficient and economical method of silage preservation, particularly in countries where the growing season is short and the weather damp. Using formic acid as a preservative for stored forage provides a number of positive benefits over field dried silage. For example, silage preserved with formic acid allows for higher recovery of food values from the stored feed. It also increases animal production per ton of ensiled feed, permits a higher cattle density per acre and provides for a healthier, more productive animal. Scientific Design (SD), together with Bethlehem Steel, has developed a catalytic process which produces formic acid from cheap raw materials (water and carbon monoxide) in a plant that requires modest capital investment. The reactants can be obtained from a variety of sources and, in the case of the SD/Bethlehem Steel formic acid process, synthesis gas with CO concentrations as low as 50% can be used economically. In addition,
this process is clean and relatively simple as opposed to the conventional formic acid route which consumes large quantities of caustic and sulfuric acid, with the attendant problem of sodium sulfate disposal. In the process, dry synthesis gas passes through a two-stage reactor system at elevated pressure. If the CO concentration in the syngas is high, a simpler one-stage system at reduced pressure can be used. The CO contacts methanol in the presence of a catalyst to make methyl formate, which is then concentrated and hydrolyzed to yield methanol and formic acid. The methanol is recycled and the final product is typically an 85% aqueous solution of the acid. Scientific Design can license this economical process for producing formic acid and engineer a plant to optimize yields. For more information, write on your company letterhead to: SCIENTIFIC DESIGN COMPANY INC., Dept. CN-8, 2 Park Avenue, New York, NY10016, U.S.A., or SCIENTIFIC DESIGN COMPANY LTD., Dept. CN-8, Bush House, Aldwych, London, WC2B4QB, England.
SCIENTIFIC DESIGN COMPANY, INC. Scientific Design, Halcon Research a n d Development a n d Halcon Catalyst Industries are Halcon SD Group Companies
