System integration and evaluation of residual oil deep catalytic cracking process coupled with CO2 recycle to produce polypropyl carbonate

Abstract

A system for the production of polypropyl carbonate (PPC) from residual oil deep catalytic cracking process coupled with CO2 recycle (DCC-P&CO2-PPC), based on the actual refinery (1.5 million tons of residual oil per year), is proposed in this work. The CO2 in the flue gas emitted from the factory is used as raw material to produce high-value-added PPC. The novel DCC-P&CO2-PPC simulation process is established and verified by Aspen Plus software, and the key parameters and process conditions of the system units are optimized. The feasibility and development potential of the DCC-P&CO2-PPC system are elucidated by analyzing the characteristics and composition of the economy, elemental flow, total exergy distribution, and exergy cost of the system. To sum up, the DCC-P&CO2-PPC system converts CO2 and primary product propylene into high-value-added PPC, expands the downstream industry chain of LPG, makes full use of the elemental complementarity between CO2 in flue gas and the refinery products and achieves the dual goals of low-carbon production and economic efficiency improvement of the refinery, thus providing a new technical route and practical solution for the low-carbon transition development of residue catalytic cracking refineries.