Simulation and Performance Assessment of a Pure Acetone Production Facility via Isopropanol Dehydrogenation in a Heterogeneous Catalytic Reactor

Abstract

Nowadays, considering the country's extensive need for acetone as a strategic product, innovative processes for its production can be explored. Up to 75% of the formulation and production of chemical and healthcare products are influenced by the presence of this valuable product in their structure. Among the older processes for acetone production, direct hydroperoxide conversion of cumene according to the Wacker-Hoechst method and direct acetone production from phenol according to the Hock method can be mentioned. In this article, an acetone production process using hydrogenation of inexpensive 2-propanol feedstock is simulated with the help of Aspen HYSYS and Aspen Plus software, utilizing first-order kinetics and industrial data. Subsequently, necessary optimizations were made to prevent water wastage and achieve 98-99% pure acetone production by reclaiming two additional water streams and part of the unused reaction feed. The acetone production process, based on hydrogenation, has led to increased purity in the production unit compared to common and old methods, along with a 32% reduction in energy consumption due to the utilization of a novel process. This method lacks explosion risks associated with high pressure and temperature in the reactor, typically accompanied by oxygenated water in conventional acetone production methods.