Methyl Ethyl Ketone

Process Flow Sheet and

Components
From Week 1
● Plant Capacity
● Choice of Starting Material
● Location of Plant
Plant Capacity

Imports to Indian Market

~50 KTA-1 Import in India

~10 KTA-1 produced in India (Cetex Petrochemicals)
Therefore, ~30-40 KTA-1 plant capacity to start with
Source: https://www.zauba.com/importanalysis-methyl+ethyl+ketone-report.html
Choice of Starting Material
For the process of producing MEK from SBA, we need butene as the starting material. To obtain
butene for our plant, we have the following options:

1. Butane and butene outsourced from refineries

2. Butene obtained in our plant by catalytic cracking of higher molecular weight hydrocarbons
produced during crude oil refining. The cracking process yields a mixture of products, and the
butene is extracted from this by fractional distillation.
Choice of Starting Material

We are planning to receive butane and butene from refineries near the plant. This is more
economical than obtaining butane and conducting a catalytic cracking and refining to extract butene.

Cetex Petrochemicals, catering to the market in South East Asia, uses raw materials received through
pipeline from Chennai Petroleum Corporation Limited (CPCL), Govt of India undertaking - an
integrated petrochemical refinery complex (very close to the plant)
Plant Location
● Since we’ll be receiving raw material (butane and butene) from a refinery, an ideal location
would be where the refineries are large scale and pipelines can be used to receive the raw
materials
● We chose Gujarat as a plant location because of the following reasons:
○ We can set up a plant in proximity to refineries. Example: Reliance Oil Refinery, Jamnagar
○ It is closer to the coast - hence a strategic location for exports and imports
○ Industrial taxes are favourable and will help make our plant more economical
○ Industrial belt in that area which use MEK will also boost sales
Reaction Route
Process Flow Chart
Step 1: Hydration Reaction
Composition of Reactant Feed
(%, by mass)

Propane 0.09

Propylene 0.22

n-Butane 19.85

cis-Butylene-2 31.76

trans-Butylene-2 46.54

n-Butylene-1 0.67

iso-Butylene 0.4
Step 1: Hydration Reaction
Operating Conditions:

1. Packed Bed Reactor

2. Reaction Temperature : 135 °C - 175 °C
3. Reaction Pressure : 8.0MPa
4. Residence time : 50-60 min
Step 1: Hydration Reaction
Based on different catalysts, three different processes were used in industry :

1. Vitriol Indirect Hydration

a. Huge Energy Consumption
b. High Cost of Investment
c. Equipment cauterization
d. Complicated treatment procedures for the exhaust gas, wastewater, and waste residue
2. Resin Direct Hydration
a. Comparatively lower investment
b. Higher efficiency
3. Motley Acid Direct Hydration
a. Too high investment
b. Rigorous Operating Conditions
 Catalytic packed bed
reactor with interstage
cooling for hydration
reaction
● Exothermic reaction
● Heterogeneous catalyst
● Butylene per pass conversion > 8%
● Selectivity of SBA > 98%
● Conversion of SBA > 85%
Step 2: Dehydrogenation Reaction
Step 2: Dehydrogenation Reaction
Operating Conditions:

1. Shell and Tube Reactor

2. Reaction pressure: 0.6MPa
3. Temperature (Heat Conduction Oil) : 260 °C - 320 °C (in shells)
4. Reaction pressure in inlet : 0.2MPa
5. Reaction Temperature : 250 °C - 280 °C
6. Catalyst: bed of zinc oxide (ZnO) or brass (zinc-copper alloy)
7. Residence time of SBA : 15 min
Shell and tube heat exchanger reactor
● Heat conduction oil is passed to heat the mixture
● Massive amounts of fluid can be cooled or heated
● Catalytic reaction
● Flexibility to choose temperature and pressure
● Relative insensitivity to fouling and scaling
References
https://www.cetexpetro.com/Cetex_Annual_Report_Final_10-12-2015.pdf

https://www.zauba.com/importanalysis-methyl+ethyl+ketone-report.html

https://www.cetexpetro.com/

https://www3.epa.gov/ttn/chief/le/mek_l&e.pdf

https://www.livemint.com/Politics/ESB7aEmttqCaHSM2BLjEmM/Gujarat-offers-new-tax-incentives-to-firms-under-SGST.html