PROCESS PLANT DESIGN

CDB 3044
ACETYLENE PRODUCTION BY PARTIAL OXIDATION
BY HYDROCARBON FEEDSTOCK

GROUP
GROUP

2
MOHAMAD MUKHZIN BIN MOHD RASHID

18867

MEMBERS

UMMU ATHIYAH BT MUHD IDRIS LUFTI

19145

MOHAMAD ALIF BIN ROSLAN

19428

BRYAN TEE HWANG CHUNG

19543

NORLIAFARHANA BINTI ABDUL KADIR

DR RAJASHEKHAR PENDYALA
1/4/2016

19944

LECTURER
SUMBISSION
DATE

1 | Page

Table of Contents
1.0 Introduction

2.0 Potential Plant Locations

3.0 Comparison for Each Locations 11

4.0 Weighted Evaluation 12

5.0 Conclusion 14

6.0 Plant Layout

15

7.0 References 16

1.0 INTRODUCTION
2 | Page

Acetylene (C2H2) is a colorless gas which is used as a fuel or coal and a

chemical building block. Acetylene is unsaturated in the form of alkyne as its two
carbon atoms are bonded together in a triple bond having CCH bond angles of 180 o.
It is unstable in pure form and thus is usually handled as a solution. Pure acetylene
is odorless, but commercial grades usually have a marked odor due to impurities.
Acetylene is widely used in many chemical industries such as petrochemical
industry. It is also used in nonchemical applications such as welding of metals and
the production of carbon for batteries. There are advantages to the use of
acetylene in the chemical industry because a variety of valuable products can be
produced from acetylene with known technology. In the recent years, the crude oil
deposits dwindle and the high oil price exerts pressure on the naphtha-derived
olefins production. Those issues renew the interest in the long-dormant subject of
acetylene production based on natural gas. The use of a natural gas-based
acetylene industry is becoming more important to meet the large demand for
chemical feedstock in the organic synthetic industry.
For this process, the production of acetylene is formed by partial oxidation
from hydrocarbon feedstock, particularly methane. The partial oxidation process
produces acetylene by burning hydrocarbons with oxygen to provide the energy for
the pyrolysis of the residual hydrocarbons. Acetylene is a reaction intermediate in
the process, and the reacting gas should be rapidly quenched at the point of
optimum yield of acetylene. The process is catalyst free, thus the plant lifetime is
long. The co-production of synthesis gas has enhanced its economic advantage over
the polluting calcium carbide route. With a projected future where natural gas is a
main chemical feedstock, the process might become a main route to produce
acetylene. The energy requirement to convert hydrocarbons to acetylene is
massively large and which can be supplied by very high temperature. For paraffinic
feedstock, the heat of formation for a gram atom carbon in acetylene decreases
with the increasing length of the chain and it increases in the case of olefinic
hydrocarbons. The heat of formation is of the order of magnitude required for the
dissociation of steam.
2CH4 + 174,000 Btu

C2H2 + 3H2

The formation of acetylene begins at a relatively high temperature; in the

case of methane occurs around 815oC. The temperature required decreases with the
increase in the number of carbon atoms of the hydrocarbon feed. The reaction
below shows the formation of acetylene from natural gas by partial oxidation.
CH4 + 2O2
2CH4

CO2 + 2H2O

C2H2 + 3H2 H = + 79.8 kcals

To meet the increasing demand of the acetylene market, improvements in

production efficiency and scaling-up of the partial oxidation reactor are needed.

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Thus, a strategic plant location and layout must be considered in order to meet the
requirements of the desired product.

Flowsheet of Manufacturing of Acetylene from Natural Gas

(Methane)

4 | Page

2.0 POTENTIAL PLANT LOCATIONS

2.1

Bintulu, Sarawak

Land price
According to Bintulu Development Authority (BDA), the land prize in Bintulu is
around RM 544, 000 per hectare and subject to change from time to time by the
State Government of Sarawak.

Area available
It is estimated around 2023 hectares of land in Bintulu is empty and under the
State Government of Sarawak property.

Water supplier
In Bintulu, the water is supply by the private company named LAKU Management
Sdn. Bhd. and it is wholly owned by the State government of Sarawak. The
company entered into a 25 year concession agreement with the State
Government for the production, distribution of potable water and collection of
water revenue in the 3 Northern urban townships of Miri, Bintulu and Limbang in
Sarawak.

Electricity supplier
Sarawak Energy Berhad (SEB) is responsible for the generation, transmission and
distribution of electricity for the Sarawak state in Malaysia. It is wholly owned by
the State Government of Sarawak. Sarawak Energy provides electricity to about
382 000 customers. Over the last four years, sales of electrical grew at an
average of 8 per cent per annum. Sarawak Energy has over 4000 employees and
is total asset currently stands around RM 4.0 billion.

Methane supplier
Shells Bintulu Gas-to Liquid (GTL) Plant is established by the Royal Dutch Shell as
the worlds first Shell Middle Distillate Synthesis plant (Shell MDS) in 1993. The
plant has a production capacity of 14,770 barrels per day with a total investment
of over US$1 billion as of the year 2010. The plant is staffed with 380 people, of
whom 93% are Malaysians, with 80% of the staff coming from Sarawak.

Highway
Pan-Borneo Highway is a road network on Borneo Island connecting two
Malaysian states, Sabah and Sarawak, with Brunei. The length of the entire
highway is expected to be about 2,083 km for the Malaysian section. As of 2002,
about 95.2% (997.18 km) of the highway has been completed.

Railway

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As of 2016, there is currently none railway is operated in Sarawak. This might be

due to the Sarawak land is very large in size and it is very hard to connect the
town with railway. However, the state government has started to plan to build a
railway station in Sarawak recently according to the news in Malaysias
newspapers.

Airport
Bintulu
Airport
is
an airport serving Bintulu,
a
town
in
the
state
of Sarawak in Malaysia. The airport is located 5 km, 23 km by road southwest of
the city, and although small, it is able to handle planes as large as a Boeing 747.
In 2008, the airport handled 417,918 passengers and 16,787 aircraft movements.

Port facility
Bintulu Port Sdn. Bhd. (BPSB) is located at the doorstep of one of the most
dynamic industrial development zone in Borneo, handling oil & gas related
industries, timber based and palm oil products. Its location also facilitates the
feedering and transloading operation between various regional ports for faster
shipping transit time to major international ports and export destination.
BPSB current hinterland covers as far North as Limbang & Lawas in Sarawak and
up until the whole of Brunei DS plus Sabah. In the other direction (South
East), BPSB coverage extend down to Kuching in Sarawak and further down to
Pontianak in Kalimantan, Indonesia.

Labor supply
As Bintulu has emerged as a well renounce place with lots of oil and gas
production sites, it is indeed attracting more civilians to work there. People
around Malaysia and other parts of the world has come to Bintulu to work in
various petroleum based industry there.

Waste disposal
The garbage dumpsite located in Tanjung Kidurong has collected around 20 tons
of domestic and commercial waste per day for the last year. This massive amount
of waste produced is might be due to Bintulu is developing fast as more people
working and staying there.

Political, economic and strategic consideration

Bintulu has achieved a high speed economic growth due to the oil and gas
industry. Its gross domestic product (GDP) has increase by 7% from year 1995 to
2000.

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2.2

Pengerang, Johor Bahru, Johor

Land price
Since PETRONAS RAPID Project has started in Pengerang, the land price spike
more than 800% within space of two years
Area available
Some of the area available which is suitable for industrial need is only for
rent.
Available that is nearest to PETRONAS Rapid Project is up to RM 914 per m 2

Water Supplier
Konsortium Asia Baru is a joint venture between renowned water supplier in
Johor which are Asia Baru Construction Sdn Bhd and Putra Perdana
Construction Sdn Bhd
It comprises the construction of an intake pump station at Sungai Sedili Besar
dam, a terminal reservoir at Bukit Panjang, a water impoundment reservoir
and booster pump station at Sungai Seluyut as well as 88km of water
pipelines.

Electricity supplier
Pengerang will have co-generation plan (PCP) which comprise of four
generation unit to provide continuous steam supply up to 1480 tons per hour
Co-generation plant has higher efficiency than national electricity grid and
onsite gas boiler. This allows for approximately 40% when compared to
conventional power source
Onsite production of power
Methane supplier
Technip deal with PETRONAS Refinery and Petrochemical Integrated
Development (RAPID) between RM 244 - RM 487 million) allows production of
hydrogen from methane
Hence, raw methane should be available as well
Highway
Senai-Desaru Expressway shortens travelling time by half an hour

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 Three major road works are undergoing construction because of Pengerang

Rapid (Eastern, Dispersal Link, Johor Bahru Costal Road and Johor Bahru
Middle Ring Road)
Railway
Stesen Kereta Api Johor Bahru for raw material transport
Stations in Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) and Jurong East (Singapore) expected to
cut travel time from 4-6 hours to 90 minutes

Airport
Situated 116 km from Senai International Airport
Only 147 km from Changi Airport
Port facility
Pengerang Deepwater Terminal project is undergoing with estimated cost of
RM 5 billion
Sheltered harbor
The construction of a deep water jetty facility with water depth of 24 meters,
would facilitate handling Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs)
Labor supply
About 50,000 to 70,000 specialized and general workers are expected for the
Malaysias Economic Transformation Program in Pengerang
Waste disposal
60 acres Waste Management Treatment near Sungai Rengit for solid waste
conversion and water treatment
Political, economic and strategic consideration
Under Malaysias Economic Transformation Program
Access to existing major international shipping routes
Proximity to major trading hub (Singapore)
Few Environmentally Sensitive Area (ESA)

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2.3

Spring Hill City, Port Dickson, Negeri Sembilan

Land price
The industrial land area available for purchase targeted is around 50.55 hectares
and is priced around RM 322.93/m2.

Area available
The area is located on the southern west coast of Peninsular Malaysia in the State
of Negeri Sembilan. It is located in Springhill City which is in the Port Dickson
district and is under a freehold term.

Water supplier
Meanwhile, supply of water is managed and distributed by the state water
company, Syarikat Air Negeri Sembilan Sdn. Bhd. (SAINS). The company is able to
supply a large amount of water continuously.

Electricity supplier
In addition, Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) is responsible in supplying electricity
throughout the Malaysia including the proposed area which is Port Dickson. The
nearest power plant managed by TNB in the area is the Jimah Power Plant which
is allocated just 20 km from Port Dickson.

Methane supplier
Furthermore, raw material needed which is Methane, can be obtained from the
PETRONAS Penapisan Melaka and LNG Terminal in Melaka. The material is
imported from the Gas Processing Plant (GPP) in Terengganu, in which sales gas
or Methane is distributed to customers through the PGU gas transmission
network extending through the country. As a result, there are a lot of chemical
and power plants that received their supply of raw materials along the network.
There are also other oil refineries plants in Port Dickson such as the Shell Refining
Company (FOM) Berhad and Esso (Malaysia) Berhad.

Highway
Apart from that, there is a large extension of highway along the west coast of
peninsular Malaysia more known as the North-South Expressway (NSE) managed
by PLUS Malaysia Berhad. The highway also extends to Negeri Sembilan and one
9 | Page

can take the exit and go through Lebuhraya Seremban-Port Dickson which
connects Port Dickson to the capital city and the NSE highway.
Railway
Additionally, there is an existing railway station nearby which is the Seremban
Railway Station. It is managed by Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad (KTMB) and the
railway is also connected to the vast expense of railway network throughout the
country and even extending outside the country and into neighbouring countries
such as Thailand and Singapore.

Airport
Besides that, Port Dickson is only 90 km or around 45 min from the nearest
airport, the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) in Sepang. The airport is
capable of handling 35 million passengers and 1.2 million tons of cargo annually
in its current state.
Port Facility
Moreover, Port Dickson also has its own port which is located only around 10km
from the proposed land. The sea port is authorized by the Shell Refining Company
and contains a majority of the minimum facilities required.
Labor Supply
Port Dickson also boost on a large population of labor workers available locally
and internationally. It is due to Malaysias Policy that allows industries to recruit
foreign work labor to fulfill their companys needs.
Waste Disposal
Meanwhile, the closest waste disposal service available is provided by Kualiti
Alam Sdn Bhd and it is very convenient that its waste management center is
located in Port Dickson. This can help to reduce on cost as well. It is the only
waste disposal company in Malaysia to operate an integrated hazardous waste
management center and holds license 76 out of 77 listed scheduled waste under
the Environmental Quality (Scheduled Wastes) Regulations 2005.

Political, economic and strategic consideration

Lastly, in terms of political, economic and strategic considerations, the
government listed it as one of the industrial areas in the country to be given
additional incentives under the Investment Incentive Act 1968. Due to the
countrys policies, foreign investors have a 100% hold over any new projects
regardless of their export levels. Other than that, there are not that many
incentives given by the state government regarding the industry apart from the
ones implemented by the government.

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3.0 COMPARISON FOR EACH LOCATIONS

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Criteria

Bintulu, Sarawak

Pengerang, Johor

Land price
Area
available
Water
supplier

RM 54.40/m2
2023.43 hectares

RM 484/m2
18 hectares

LAKU Management
Sdn. Bhd.

Konsortium Asia
Baru (KAP)

Electricity
supplier

Sarawak Energy
Berhad (SEB)

Methane
supplier
Highway

Shells Bintulu GTL

Plant
- Pan-Borneo
Highway
- Bintulu-Miri
Highway

Pengerang CoGeneration Plant

(PCP)
Technip Reunidas

Railway

None

Airport

- Bintulu Airport

Port facility

Bintulu Port Sdn.

Bhd
Large population
Tanjung Kidurong

Labor supply
Waste
disposal
Political,
Economic
and Strategic
consideratio
n

- Vast raw material

availability
- Speed economic
growth due to oil
and gas industry
- GDP increase by
7% from 1995 to
2000
- High technology
incentive

- Senai-Desaru
Expressway
- Eastern, Dispersal
Link (EDL)
- Johor Bahru
Coastal Road
Stesen Kereta Api
Johor Bahru
- Senai
International
Airport
- Changi
International
Airport
Pengerang
Deepwater Terminal
Large population
Sungai Rengit
- Access to existing
major international
shipping lanes
(Middle EastSingapore-China)
- Proximity to major
trading hub
(Singapore)
- Deepwater of 24m
(enables
VLCC&ULCC)
- Few
Environmentally
Sensitive Area
(ESA)
- Close to Senai
International
Airport

Port Dickson,
Negeri Sembilan
RM 322.93/m2
50.55 hectares
Syarikat Air Negeri
Sembilan Sdn Bhd
(SAINS)
Tenaga Nasional
Berhad (TNB)
Petronas Gas
Berhad (PGB)
- Lebuhraya
Seremban-Port
Dickson
- North-South
Expressway (NSE)
- PLUS Malaysia
Berhad
Seremban Railway
Station
- Kuala Lumpur
International
Airport (KLIA)

Port Dickson
Large Population
Kualiti Alam Sdn
Bhd
- Foreign investors
hold 100%
ownership of all
new projects
regardless of export
levels
- Additional
incentives under
the Investment
Incentive Act

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4.0 WEIGHTED EVALUATION

The three proposed sites are evaluated in a table as per below. The ranking was
done from 1 (poor), 2 (fair), 3 (good), 4 (very good) to 5 (excellent).

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Criteria

Bintulu, Sarawak

Land price
Factors
Area
available
Land
price
Water
supplier
Electricity
Raw material
supplier
supplier
Methane
supplier
Highway
facilities
Railway
facilities
Airport
Water
Port
facilities
Supplier
Labor supply
Waste
disposal
Incentives
Total
Electricity
Percentage
supplier
(%)
Ranking

5
5-4 4Marks
Price of land
3 RM
below than
100
4
Able to obtain
large
5
raw material
supply
locally 4

Port facility

< 10 km proximity
to
port
Availability of
international
airport
Complete network
and
well maintained
railway
Excellent tax
benefits
Major trading hub
Few
Environmentally
Sensitive Area
(ESA)

Airport
Railway

Political,
Economic
and Strategic
Consideration

0
3
Able to obtain
large 3
5
water supply
from
5
the
same state
3
44
Able to obtain
large 73.3
electricity supply
3
from
the same state

Pengerang,
Johor
2
3-2 Marks
3
Price of land more
than RM5100

Port Dickson,
Negeri Sembilan
3
1-0 Marks
3
Price of land more
than RM 3500

5
Able to obtain
large
5
raw material
supply
5
from near
neighbouring
5
countries

4
Able to obtain
large
5
raw material
supply
locally or5from
near
4
neighbouring
countries
4 obtain
Unable to
3
enough water
supply 5
5

5
Able to obtain
5
large
5
water supply
from
5
the
neighbouring
5
state
55
Able to obtain
large 91.7
electricity supply
1
from
neighbouring
state
< 30 km proximity
to
port
Availability of
domestic airport

4
48
Unable to obtain
enough 80
electricity
supply

> 30 km proximity
to
port
Unavailability of
airport

Complete network
of
railway

Unavailability of
railway

Good tax benefits

Small trading hub

No tax benefits
No trading hub

5.0 CONCLUSION
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Based on the weighted evaluation done, Pengerang, Johor achieved the highest
score and thus chosen as the strategic location for the plant. The deductions are
rationalized as follows:

The land available is limited and most expensive of all three sites, however,
it is located in Pengerang which is fully optimized for petrochemical

production.
The location is strategic because it is near major international route and deep
water of up to 24 meters depth makes it possible for VLCC (Very Large Crude

Carrier)
Very near

to

PETRONAS

development project

refinery

(RAPID)

and

hence,

petrochemical

material

for

integrated

methane

is

also

available. Apart from that, continuous supply of steam is available because

the area uses of co-generation plant to power up. It is much more efficient

than using electricity from national grid.

Pengerang industry is from under Malaysia Economic Transformation
Program which include tax incentive and support from state and federal

government.
Pengerang has its own deep water port facility (Pengerang Deep Water
Terminal) which is designed specifically for loading and offloading of large
carrier. The port facility is a sheltered harbor which is protected from
storm and other risk of danger. The port is able to store up to 5million cubic

meters of material. It has an area of 500 acres.

About 50,000 to 70,000 specialised and general workers are expected

for the Malaysias Economic Transformation Program in Pengerang

Complete railway network for travelling between Kuala Lumpur and
Singapore allows shorter travelling time. In return, this ease monitoring from

Kuala Lumpur.
Few ESA, Environmentally Sensitive Area in Pengerang makes it easier to
dispose waste and less restriction is imposed.

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6.0 PLANT LOCATION

7.0 REFERENCES

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Asia. Institute of
Southeast Asian Studies. Retrieved from

https://books.google.com.my/books?id=
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+sembilan&sourc

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e=bl&ots=1EUc9HmVEH&sig=n_xwrtltNIvHoHlAIdkSXdj7xuc&hl=en&sa=X&r
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nepage&q=industrial%20incentives%20in%20negeri%20sembilan&f=false
Benjamin, N. (2014, May 22). Johors Oil and Gas Sector Needs Up to 70,000 Skilled
Workers. The
Star. Retrieved from
http://www.thestar.com.my/news/community/2014/05/22/
opportunity-for-youths-johors-oil-and-gas-sector-needs-up-to-70000-skilledworkers/
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http://www.jba.gov.my
/index.php/direktori-jba/senarai-syarikat-air-negeri
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Project (PIPC).
Retrieved
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from

http://dutchcham.sg/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Investor-

Kualiti
Alam
(n.d.).
http://www.kualitialam.

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Management

Centre.

Retrieved

from

com.my/contactus-waste-management-centre.php
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Factories for
Lease/Sale. Retrieved from http://www.nsic.com.my/factory.html
Patel,
N.
K.
(n.d.)
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Pengerang
Integrated
Petroleum
http://www.mprc.gov.my/our

Complex.

(n.d.).

Retrieved
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from

businesses/pengerang-integrated-petroleum-complex-pipc
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Pengerang Johor,
Malaysia. Retrieved from http://pengerangmaritime.com.my/location.html
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http://www.hydrocarbons-

Southern

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Malaysia

(n.d).

Retrieved

from

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technology.com/projects/petronas-rapid-project-malaysia/
Petronas Signs Contract for Pengerang Raw Water Suply Project. (2014, May 2). The
Malay
Mail Online. Retrieved from
http://www.themalaymailonline.com/money/article/petronas
signs contract-for pengerang-raw-water-supply-project
Petronas. (2014, November 3). PETRONAS Kicks Off Its Pengerang Co-Generation
Power Plant [Press
Release]. Retrieved from

http://www.petronas.com.my/media-relations/media
releases/Pages/article/PETRONASGENERATION-POWER

KICKS-OFF-ITS-PENGERANG-CO-

PLANT.aspx
Port of Port Dickson (Malaysia). (n.d.). Retrieved from
https://www.searates.com/port/port_dickson_my.htm
Rapid Land Woes. (2014, May 23). The Star. Retrieved from
http://www.thestar.com.my/business/business-

news/2014/05/23/rapid-land-

woes/
Tenaga
Nasional
Berhad.
(n.d.).
https://www.tnb.com.my/tnbf/jimah.php

Jimah.

Retrieved

from

Trotus, I. T., Zimmerman, T., & Schuth, F. (2013). Catalytic Reactions of Acetylene: A
Feedstock for
The Chemical Industry Revisited. Chem. Rev., 114(3), pp 1761-1782.
Retrieved from

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/258524881_Catalytic_Reactions_of_Acetyl
ene_
A_Feedstock_for_the_Chemical_Industry_Revisited

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