Huntsman

Air is compressed to modest pressures, typically 100 to 200 kPa ( 15-30 psig) with either a centrifugal or radial compressor, and mixed with superheated vaporized butane. Static mixers are normally employed to ensure good mixing. Butane concentrations are often limited to less than 1.7 mol 1 to stay below the lower flammable limit of butane (144). Operation of the reactor at butane concentrations below the flammable limit does not eliminate the requirement for combustion venting, and consequendy most processes use mpture disks on both the inlet and exit reactor heads. A dow diagram of the Huntsman fixed-bed maleic anhydride process is shown in Figure 1. 

Fig. 1. Schematic dow diagram of the Huntsman fixed-bed maleic anhydride process. MAN = maleic anhydride.

Data for the production and sales of maleic anhydride and fumaric acid ia the United States between 1979 and 1992 are shown ia Table 5. Production of maleic anhydride during this time grew - 2% on average per year. Production of fumaric acid has declined during the same period as customers have switched to the less cosdy maleic anhydride when possible. All production of maleic anhydride in the United States in 1992 was from butane-based plants which used fixed-bed reactor technology as shown in Table 6. The number of fumaric acid producers has been reduced considerably since the early 1980s with only two producers left in the United States in 1992 as shown in Table 6. Pfizer shut down its fumaric acid plant at the end of 1993. However, Bartek of Canada will start up an expanded fumaric acid faciUty to supply the North American market for both their own and Huntsman s requirements. 

K. T. Tchang and L. P. Barnes, Huntsman Specialty Chemicals Corp., personal communication, 1994. 

Vista, Huntsman, and other linear alkylben2ene (LAB) producers feed chlorinated paraffins to an alkylation reactor to produce detergent alkylate without prior separation of the unreacted paraffins. Large amounts of paraffins must be recycled in these processes. 

Huntsman (Bayport, Tex.) 568 Mobd-Badger ZSM-5 Fina-Badger dehydro... 

Toluene demand in 1996 increased because of the new Amoco and Mobil (Chalmette) disproportionation plants as well as other capacity changes at Coastal (Eagle Point), Phillips (Sweeney), Gulf Chemicals (Arochem plant, Puerto Rico), Koch, and Texaco (Huntsman, Port Arthur). Dewitt (71) forecasts continued increase for this appHcation at the rate of about 14% between 1995 and the year 2000. These will have a significant effect on toluene price and availabiUty in the later 1990s. On the other hand, toluene demand for gasoline blending is expected to decline by about 283 million Hters by 1997-1998. 

The American Chemistry Council PSS was chaired by Peter Lodal (Eastman Chemical) and included representatives from DuPont Shell Chemical ExxonMobil Chemical Huntsman Dow Chemical Solutia Celanese Rohm 8i Haas Company Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. Monsanto Union Carbide Montell Eastman Chemical and Lyondell. 

High molecular weight atactic polyropylene is now available (Rexene-Huntsman). This is miscible with isotactic polypropylene in any proportion to give transparent blends of interest in packaging applications. 

Hindustan Organic Chemicals (India) Huntsman Chemical Huntsman ICI Group (UK)... 

GFS Chemicals Honeywell Performance P C Huntsman Ineos (Belgium)... 

Exxon Mobil Chemical Huntsman Chemical J.T. Baker Lyondell... 

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