Process for cyanic acid production
First Claim
1. A process for the production of hydrogen cyanide by reacting methane, ammonia and oxygen in the presence of a catalyst, the process comprising(i) establishing a temperature for the catalyst in the reaction using air as a source for oxygen, and(ii) providing additional oxygen to the reaction to provide oxygen enrichment of the reaction feed, while also adjusting the amount of ammonia and methane reactants in the reaction feed such that the volume percent of the ammonia and methane is above the upper flammability limit, with the methane/ammonia ratio after adjustment being in the range of from about 50 to 98% of the methane/ammonia ratio used in establishing (i), and the temperature of the catalyst is within 50°
- C. of the temperature of the catalyst established in (i).
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Abstract
Provided is a process for the production of hydrogen cyanide by reacting methane, ammonia and oxygen in the presence of a catalyst. The process, more specifically, comprises first establishing a temperature for the catalyst in the reaction using air as a source for oxygen. This essentially establishes the gauze temperature of the plant. Additional oxygen is then provided to the reaction to provide oxygen enrichment of the reaction feed, while also adjusting the amount of ammonia and methane reactants in the reaction feed such that the volume percent of the ammonia and methane is above the upper flammability limit and the temperature of catalyst is maintained within 50° C. of the temperature of the catalyst originally established as the fixed gauze temperature of the plant. The process of the present invention allows one to increase production of hydrogen cyanide while maintaining safe operation and not sacrificing catalyst performance in return. In particular, the process of the present invention has applicability to existing plants which need to be improved with regard to hydrogen cyanide production. The process would allow one to take the existing plant, optimize production, capacity and selectivity, while operating safely without adversely affecting catalyst performance.
17 Citations
17 Claims
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1. A process for the production of hydrogen cyanide by reacting methane, ammonia and oxygen in the presence of a catalyst, the process comprising
(i) establishing a temperature for the catalyst in the reaction using air as a source for oxygen, and (ii) providing additional oxygen to the reaction to provide oxygen enrichment of the reaction feed, while also adjusting the amount of ammonia and methane reactants in the reaction feed such that the volume percent of the ammonia and methane is above the upper flammability limit, with the methane/ammonia ratio after adjustment being in the range of from about 50 to 98% of the methane/ammonia ratio used in establishing (i), and the temperature of the catalyst is within 50° - C. of the temperature of the catalyst established in (i).
- View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 16)
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14. A process for the production of hydrogen cyanide by reacting methane, ammonia and oxygen, in the presence of a catalyst, where air is a source for oxygen, the process comprising enriching the feed with oxygen by an amount of oxygen greater than that provided by air alone, adjusting the amount of ammonia and methane reactants in the reaction feed such that the volume % of the ammonia and methane is above the upper flammability limit, with the methane/ammonia ratio after adjustment being in the range of from about 50 to 98% of the methane/ammonia ratio prior to adjustment, and that the sum of the ratios CH4 /air plus NH3 /air is greater than 0.40 and the temperature of the catalyst is within 50°
- C. of the catalyst temperature for a reaction where air is the sole source of oxygen.
- View Dependent Claims (15, 17)
Specification