THE CHEMICAL WORLD THIS WEEK C & E N REPORTS: Meeting of N a t i o n a l C a p i t o l S e c t i o n , AlChE
Synthetic Fuel, Plarfonriing, O x © Processes Can A l l e v i a t e Shortages S p e a k e r predicts possible a n n u a l p r o d u c t i o n of a b o u t 2 0 0 million gallons of p e t r o l e u m b e n z e n e in not t o o distant future W A S H I N G T O N . - M o t o r fuels from oil shale are now capable of competing successfully with' fuels from petroleum. In fact, an oil shale plant designed to produce gasoline, motor oil, and Diesel fuel will pay for itself in 8 to 10 years. On the other hand, if an oil shale plant were operated to manufacture chemicals ( such as hydrogen, methane, ethane, ethylene, propylene, benzene, toluene, xylenes, styrene, naphthalene, and tar b a s e s ) , it could pay for itself in a mere two or three years. Of course, t h e success of such a venture would necessarily depend upon demand—particularly the demand for ethylene, which the process yields in large volume. These were the conclusions drawn by W. C. Schroeder, chief of the Office of Synthetic Liquid Fuels, U. S. Bureau of Mines, at the symposium on new processes for critical organic chemicals presented here last week b y the National Capital section of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers. The program consisted of a three-man panel, with L. C. Kemp, director of Research of Texas Co., as moderator. T h e speakers were Vladimir Haensel of Universal Oil Products, who spoke on the production of aromatics b y the platforming process, C. L. Levesque of Rohm & Haas Co., who discussed the oxo process, and W . C. Schroeder, who outlined the synthesis of chemicals from coal and oil shale. Synthetic Fuels Dr. Schroeder emphasized that although the United States may expect a satisfactory supply of petroleum until 1954, the subsequent years will bring increasing shortages. " W e must get our synthetic fuels industry into being before we are pressed very much harder by growing scarcities," he said. During the question-and-answer period, one member of t h e audience urged that the nation should hold off the development of a synthetic fuels industry7 in order to encourage the exploration of new petroleum deposits in the United States and also to promote the importation of petroleum and t h u s the saving of U. S. resources. Dr. Schroeder disagreed strongly, stating that in. the next war there is a strong possibility that we will lose Middle East sources of oil. "Imports are a poor reed upon which to h a n g our hopes," he said. "Besides, the 1830
ewistenu' of a synthetic fuels industry in t h e United States will not only relieve s e v e r e shortages in this country but will place a ceiling on what w e will have to p a y for imported oil." In t h e coming years, the cost of petroleum will inevitably srise because of the added costs for exploration, and for the drilling of deeper and d e e p e r wells. "At the same time," Dr. Schroeder added, "the cost of obtaining fuels from coal and oil shale is bound to deelirme." JPlatformhag Process Vladimir Haensel described t h e develo p m e n t of the platforming process, which permits t h e conversion of selected gasoline fractions into benzene and higher aromatics. I n t h e production of synthetic benzene, cyclohexane and methylcyclopentane are t h e r a w materials, both of which are found in various gasolines. "Over the last t w o years," Dr. Haensel said, " w e have discussed the production of highoctanie motor fuel by the UOP platforming process. This process involves the continuous reforming of straight-run a n d cracked gasolines in the presence of a supported platinum catalyst a n d also t h e me of a. hydrogen recycle. O n e of t h e major reactions in platforming is the formation of aromatic hydrocarbons. Thus, a plant, which operates for the production of rmotor fuel can operate equally well for aromatic production. Some plants are b e ing designed to operate intermittently for the production of aromatics a n d motor fuel. Others are being designed for aromatic production a n d still others for motor fuel operation. In any case, t h e conversion from motor fuel operation to aromatic production is readily accomplished a n d has been carried out on a commercial scale." D r . Iiaensel went on to say: "Using t h e published 1949 figures for straight-run gasoline and natural gasoline production, we have made an estimate of the total potential benzene yield . . . . T h e over-all yield amounts to between 600 and 8 0 0 million gallons of potential benzene p e r year. These figures do not include t h e benzene yield that could be realized from thermally cracked and catalytically cracked gasolines, which contain a certain a m o u n t of Eiaphthenic hydrocarbons convertible to benzene. It is not out of the question t o consider the possibility of producing someCHEMICAL
thing of the order of 200 million gallons of benzene per year from petroleum in the not too distant future . . . . The over-all conclusion is that the petroleum industry can provide quantities of benzene in excess of the foreseen d e m a n d without affecting the motor fuel supply from the s t a n d p o i n t of either quality or octane n u m b e r . " After presenting a detailed discussion of the platforming operation, Dr. Haensel concluded by saying: "There are a n u m b e r of points which should be considered i n connection with the conversion of n a p h thenes to aromatics. T h e first a n d m o s t important is that t h e catalyst should possess the power to convert both C:, a n d C« rings to aromatics. If only C e rings are converted, approximately half of the po— tential aromatics are lost. Second, t h e operating conditions and catalyst properties must b e such that undesirable and relatively irreversible side reactions, sucb as ring opening a n d demethylation, are minimized. Third, long catalyst life i s economically necessary, and for this reason, operating conditions and catalyst properties must be such that catalyst carbonization is avoided. W e have found that all of these conditions are met in t h e production of aromatics by the platforming process." Oxo Process T h e oxo reaction, a chemical synthesis which was developed in Germany in a b o u t 1938 a n d w a s also studied at a b o u t t h e same time by the Bureau of Mines here in the United States, shows i m p a r t a n t possibilities for t h e production of longchain alcohols for use in detergents, synthetic lubricants, and plasticizers. C . L . L e v e s q u e further stated t h a t t h e process is of immense value as a method of synthesizing aldehydes. T h e reaction involves t h e addition of carbon monoxide a n d h y drogen to a n olefinic double b o n d at high pressure in the presence of a cobalt-containing catalyst. In t h e United States, t h e reaction h a s been principally used as a m e t h o d of synthesizing alcohols from petroleum h y d r o carbons by hydrogénation of the a l d e h y d e formed in the initial reaction. S t a n d a r d Oil of New Jersey is operating a plant t o p r o d u c e isooctyl alcohol from a mixture of heptenes. T h e r e are reports that S t a n d a r d of Indiana will p u t u p an oxo plant soon. T h e R o h m & Haas Co. is operating a pilot plant to produce several derivatives of 3,5,5-trimethylhexaldehyde from diisobutylene. T h e isolation of aldehydes b y this m e t h o d has thus far been confined mainly to t h e laboratory. Dr. Levesque stated that the use of t h e oxo reaction to produce C 8 alcohols h a s already helped materially to relieve t h e shortage of 2-ethylhexanol, a p r i m e r a w material for the production of plasticizers. If the reaction is controlled t o p r o d u c e aldehydes primarily, it offers a ready route to the corresponding acids, which can De used in t h e manufacture of d r i e r s a n d p e r h a p s of the n a p a l m - t y p e fire-bombs. AND
ENGINEERING
N E ^ S
