Abstract: Industrially applied non-catalytic hydration of ethylene oxide to ethylene glycol has many disadvantages, such as low selectivity, high water ratio, high investment and energy consumption. Development of novel catalytic hydration technologies, especially direct catalytic hydration, is carried out worldwide, with direct catalytic hydration catching the eye. Based on data from a 1500t/a pilot plant, the process and catalyst features of direct catalytic hydration technology were elaborated. Techno-economic comparison showed that catalytic hydration process was efficient in reducing investment and energy consumption and upgrading plant profit. Therefore, the catalytic hydration of ethylene oxide to ethylene glycol is endowed the foundation and possibility for its industrialization both technically and economically, and will be the future development trend.

Key words: ethylene oxide, catalytic hydration, simulation, techno-economic analysis

摘要： 工业上主要采用的环氧乙烷直接水合制乙二醇技术存在乙二醇选择性低、水比高、投资与能耗高等缺点,全球乙二醇生产公司均致力于开发催化水合技术,其中直接催化水合技术具有流程简化、明显节能降耗的优势。本文基于1500t/a环氧乙烷直接催化水合制乙二醇中试数据,阐述了环氧乙烷催化水合工艺过程以及催化剂的特点;通过模拟计算分析了直接催化水合制乙二醇工艺的技术经济性,并与非催化水合技术进行对比,表明催化方法能够有效降低投资成本和能耗,并提高生产装置收益,实现增值。催化水合工艺在技术上和经济性上都具备了工业化应用的基础和条件,将是未来乙二醇生产的发展方向。

关键词: 环氧乙烷, 催化水合, 模拟计算, 技术经济分析