Acrylonitrile

Abstract

Chemical grade propylene and fertiliser grade ammonia are fed with air to a fluid bed catalytic reactor operating at 420-480oC and 1.3 to 3 bar. High conversions are obtained in 5-10 seconds in an exothermic reactor. Steam generated here is used later during purification. The reactor effluent is scrubbed with water. Since an acrylonitrile/water azeotrope forms at 80oC, a room temperature separation is performed followed by dehydration and fractionation to remove light and heavy impurities.