ETHYLBENZENE PRODUCTION PLANT

Proponents:

CENA, Alexa B.
ROMAN, Madelaine L.
SABORDO, Ian Jasper E.

PetE-5204
Introduction
Ethylbenzene is an organic chemical compound which is an aromatic hydrocarbon.
Its major use is in the petrochemical industry as an intermediate compound for the
production of styrene, which in turn is used for making polystyrene, a commonly used
plastic material. Although often present in small amounts in crude oil, ethyl benzene is
produced in bulk quantities by combining the petrochemicals benzene and ethylene in an
acid-catalyzed chemical reaction. Catalytic hydrogenation of the ethyl benzene then gives
hydrogen gas and styrene, which is vinyl benzene. Ethyl benzene is also an ingredient in
some paints. Ethylbenzene is used almost exclusively as intermediate in the production
of styrene monomer. It is produced by liquid phase alkylation’s or vapor phase alkylation’s
of benzene with ethylene.
Location
 The location that the proponents have decided is at Brgy. Alas Asin, Mariveles,
Bataan. This is selected since the raw materials of the proposed plant is from Petron
Corporation in Limay, Bataan. Also, it is accessible since it is located beside the national
road and is also located near the waters.
This site is considered a feasible zone for the construction as proven by the factors
discussed in the next sections:
1. Raw Material Availability
Petron Corporation is the largest oil refining and marketing company in the
Philippines and is a leading player in the Malaysian market. The reformer uses
a catalyst to increase the octane number of naphtha while producing LPG,
gasoline, and reformate. Meanwhile, reformate is further converted to become
petrochemical feedstocks benzene, toluene, and mixed xylene. To be specific,
Petron Corporation in Bataan produces over 50000 MT of benzene annually
which will be sufficient for the feedstock needed for the production of
ethylbenzene.
2. Water Source
Since coolers are located all around the plant which uses water streams, a
nearby water source is needed. Output of the alkylator reactor mixed that of the
transalkylator and the combined stream will pass through a cooler, and also a
vapor stream from the separator which will go through a compressor to
increase stream pressure to column pressure will also need a cooler to reduce
temperature which rose due to compression.
3. Transportation Facilities
Brgy. Alas Asin is a strategic place since it is located near the national road
and is near transport facilities like Seasia Nectar Port Services and others. It is
also near Petron Corporation and will make the transportation of the required
feed benzene easier and safer.
Process Involved
Ethyl benzene is mainly manufactured via liquid phase alkylation or a gas phase
alkylation of benzene. The traditional method used in industries is the liquid phase
alkylation of benzene with ethylene over AlCl3 as the catalyst. It has been observed that
in case of liquid phase alkylation, temperature is lower while selectivity of ethyl benzene
and pressure required is higher compared to gas phase alkylation.
1. Alkylation
Alkylation of benzene in liquid phase using aluminum chloride as catalyst is the
most used method for ethylbenzene production. Different companies like shell,
union carbide, Dow chemicals use this method. The reaction is exothermic in
nature (∆H=-114 kJ/mol), kinetically fast and produce good yields of
ethylbenzene. Generally hydrogen chloride or ethyl chloride is used as a
catalyst promoter which decreases the amount of aluminum chloride needed.
Instead of AlCl3, Lewis acids catalysts are also used.

Supply and Demand Projection

Global ethylbenzene production grew to 31.6 million tons in 2018, with the largest
application being the production of styrene. Increased demand has been driven by
investment in downstream derivatives in the Middle East and China. With new global
capacity, demand growth of 1.98 percent per year is expected through 2025.