A research group led by Prof. GAO Jin and Prof. XU Jie from the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics (DICP) of the Chinse Academy of Sciences (CAS) developed a new technology for liquid phase oxidation and then esterification of o-xylene to produce dimethyl phthalate. In cooperation with Shaanxi Yanchang Petroleum (Group) Co., Ltd., they built the first 2000 t/a industrial test equipment.
The industrial test was completed in July 2019. And recently, it passed the on-site assessment by experts organized by China Petroleum and Chemical Industry Federation.
The First 2000 t/a Industrial Test Equipment for Liquid Phase Oxidation of o-Xylene (Photo by HUANG Yizheng)
Compared with the traditional gas phase oxidation process, the oxidation reaction temperature in the new technology was reduced by 160-180 °C, and the yield of dimethyl phthalate was increased by 12-17 percentage. It could greatly reduce the consumption of o-xylene and the emission of CO2.
On September 27th, the technology passed the appraisal of scientific and technological achievements organized by China Petroleum and Chemical Industry Federation in Beijing. Experts of the appraisal committee agreed that the technology had independent intellectual property rights, advanced technology, strong innovation, and the comprehensive technical level had reached international leading level.
This work was supported by Major Project of National Natural Science Foundation of China, the Strategic Priority Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, etc. (Text by HUANG Yizheng and FENG Tianshi)