What are the two process routes for maleic anhydride?
Comparison of the two process routes
The production technologies of Maleic Anhydride mainly include benzene oxidation and n-butane oxidation technologies in terms of raw material routes. A comparison of benzene oxidation and n-butane oxidation in terms of process:
Process flow: The two methods have similar process flows; the main difference lies in the catalyst.
Technology maturity: Both technologies are quite mature. Foreign production facilities mainly adopt the n-butane method, while domestic production facilities mainly use the benzene method.
n-butane method as the development trend: From the perspective of foreign technology development, the global maleic anhydride industry mostly adopts the n-butane process. Therefore, the proportion of n-butane-based production capacity continues to increase. Foreign n-butane resources are abundant, and 100% of newly built production facilities use the n-butane method. The n-butane production process in Europe has accounted for 89% of the current maleic anhydride production capacity, initially completing the raw material route transformation. In China, due to the abundant coking benzene resources from coal chemical by-products, the benzene-based maleic anhydride production process accounts for 90% of the country's total maleic anhydride production capacity.