SP-034

Standard Proposal For

Formalin Plant
 Standard Proposal For Formalin Plant

Introduction
WonJin Heavy Industries Co,.Ltd. was established in 1990 to provide domestic and
international clients with basic design and manufacturing of chemical equipment,
pressure vessels, and storage tanks for chemical and industrial plants.

Formalin is the aqueous form of formaldehyde produced mostly from methanol by an

oxidation process. Recently, the production volume of formaldehyde has grown
rapidly thanks to the every-increasing demand in the manufacturing sector for
resins including phnolic, urea, melamin, acetal and many additives. Other additional
application areas of formaldehyde include surface coating, leather tanning, bindery
applications, laminates, insulation materials, etc.

There are two processes known to produce formalin from methanol--methanol

excess and air excess. The basic difference between them is the catalyst applied.
The methanol excess process, called the silver process, employs silver as the
catalyst while the air excess process (molybdenum process) uses metallic oxides of
iron and molybdenum. In considering higher investment cost and more complicated
operation than the silver process, we recommend that our clients use the silver
process

WonJin Heavy Industries' advanced technology and expertise have earned high
marks in the industry, especially regarding methanol chemical plants. We are
positioned to deliver professional, in-depth services in engineering and constructing
formalin, chemical, and industrial plants.

KOPIA
 Applications
Usage
�Phenol Resin and Adhesives / Urea and Melamine Adhesives
�Urea Resign / Melamine Resin / Hexamethy Lenetetramine
�Pentaerythritol / Paraformaldehyde
�Medicines and Agricultural Chemicals
�TMP / TME / NPG
�Polyacetal Resin (POM)
�MDI / Hemiformal
�Others

Products Specifications (Typical)

Content Unit Standard Operation RG Operation
�HCHO Wt.% 37~40 50~55
�CH3OH Wt.% 0.5~3 0.2~1.0
�HCOOH PPM 80 Max. 100 Max.
�Appearance - Colorless transparent liquid Colorless transparent liquid

Technical Data and Information

Process Description
The evaporated methanol, filtrated air and steam are fed into the mixer where theses
gases are mixed uniformly, and then sent to reactor. Most of the methanol is
converted into formaldehyde when the mixed gas passes through the catalyst.

This reacted gas is immediately quenched in the waste heat boiler integrated with
the reactor. At the same time, the waste heat boiler recovers reaction heat to
generate stem, which is effectively used as heat sources for the methanol
evaporator and other heaters, and as stem supply for the mixer.

The reaction gas is introduced into the absorber where produced formaldehyde and
residual methanol are absorbed by recycling formalin at the lower section of the
absorber.

The vent gas from the absorber, containing about 20% of hydrogen, can be used as
boiler fuel to generate steam and prevent air pollution.

The concentration of formalin produced in the absorber can be adjusted as required

by regulating the treated water flow rate. The formic acid content in the raw formalin
as produced from the absorber bottom is usually 60~150 ppm, but the lower formic
acid content can be obtained by treating it through the ion-exchanger.

The product yield of the reaction is more than 91% (wt) and this process requires
small utilities and the cost of catalyst is very low.

WON JIN
 Standard Proposal For Formalin Plant

Features of Silver Catalyst Process

�High yield and selectivity
�Possible to produce 35~55% formalin with low methanol content without distillation
�The catalyst life is 3~6 months and the catalyst cost extremely low because of pos
sibility of repeated regeneration and easy replacement within one day.
�The utility consumption is small
�Utilizing absorber vent gas as boiler fuel will save oil and prevent air from pollution.
�The reactor is compact and completely free from heat loss and corrosion.
�Due to the simple and streamlined process, rather compact equipment and smaller
site space are required.
�Automatic and easy plant operation is available and in the emergency, the plant is
shut-down to the safe side automatically.
�This process is more suitable than any other process in production of POM, MDI,
Pentaerythritol, TMP, Hexamine, NPG, and Phenol Resin.

Process Flow Diagram

Equipment and Machinery (Typical )

�Reactor / Absorber / Air Filter / Suction Filter / Gas Mixer
�Gas Water Separator / FML Filter /Drain Separator
�Evaporator / Mixed Gas Filter / M.V. Preheater / Air Preheater
�Formalin Cooler / Start-Up Heater / Flame Arrester / Air Blower
�Air Compressor / RG Blower / RG Preheater / Cooling Tower
�Various Tanks for Raw Feed Materials and Product
�Various Pumps and Others

KOPIA
 Proposed Standard Plant
Production Capacity
�4,000 M3/Day
Working Condition : 12 Hours/day

Raw Material and Utility Consumption

For the production of one ton of 37% Formalin
Description Unit Standard Operation RG Operation
�Methanol Kg 440~455 440~455
�Steam(1.5 K) Kg 20~30 135~145
�Steam generated by WG Boiler(7.0 K) Kg 470~480 460~470
�Electricity Kwh 25~30 40~50
�Process Water Kg 400~500 300~400
�Cooling Water M3 45~50 40~45
�Catalyst Gr 0.1~0.2 0.1~0.2

Land and Buildings

�Land : 3,000 M2
�Buildings : 1,000 M2

Construction Schedule
About eighteen (18) months after receipt of the down payment, the plant will be completed.
However, this proposed schedule may be extended or shortened according to on-
site construction circumstances.

WON JIN
 Standard Proposal For Formalin Plant
Operation Manpower
Classification
�Plant Manager
�Engineer
�Production Operator
�General Worker
�Total (based on Korean)
Recommended Work Division
Work Activities
�All Approvals / Permits
�Basic Engineering/Design
�Equipment/Machinery
�Ocean Transportation
�Custom Clearance/Tax
�Inland Transportation up to Site
�Civil/Buildings
�All Site Construction
�Site Supervision
�Commissioning/Start-Up
under Company's Supervision
�Field Training
KOPIA
No of Persons
1
1
3
5
10Per Shift
×
Owner Company
× ‐
‐ ×
‐ ×
‐ ×
× ‐
× ‐
× ‐
× ‐
‐ ×
× ‐
× ×
Technology Transfer with Training Program
The Company will provide the Owner with the latest technology and operational exper
tise for the effective management of the Plant in addition to the training of the Owner's
engineers and skilled workers at the Plant site and or in Korea, when required.

Plant Layout

Experience Record
Description Unit Consumption
�150 T/D Formalin Plant UJin Chemical 1986
�60 T/D Formalin Reactor Samyang Chemical 1994
�150 T/D High Content Haein Enterprise 1996
Formaldehyde Plant
�150 T/D Formalin Plant Haein Enterprise 1997
�150 T/D Formalin reactor Samyang Chemical 1998

* Year of completion and start of commercial operation

Supplier Won Jin Heavy Industries Co., Ltd

Add : #89-13 Kwang An-Dong, Sooyoung-Ku, Pusan, Korea
Tel : +82-51-759-5090~1
Fax : +82-51-759-5092
URL : www.wonjinhi.com
E-mail : wonjinhi@chol.com

WON JIN
Standard Proposal For
Formalin Plant

4Th Fl., KOAMI Bldg., 13-31, Yeouido-dong

Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, 150-729, KOREA
Tel : 82-2-369-7973~7
Fax : 82-2-369-7978
E-mail : plant@kopia.or.kr