Analysis, Synthesis, and Design of Chemical Processes, 5th Edition

Project 6: Design of a New, 100,000-Metric-Tons-per-Year Cumene Production Facility

C.6.1 Background

In the opinion of our marketing research department, the demand for phenol-derived plasticizers is on the rise. Therefore, we are investigating the possibility of a new, grassroots phenol plant to handle the anticipated increase. Because phenol is made from cumene, a grassroots cumene plant would also be necessary. Given your experience in troubleshooting our existing cumene process, we would like you to study the economics of a new cumene plant. Specifically, we would like a complete preliminary design of a grassroots, 100,000 tonne/y cumene process using benzene and propylene.

There is a new, proprietary catalyst, and the kinetics are included ...