Evolution and Development of Fluidized Catalytic Dehydrogenation (FCDh) Technology

For decades, the world has been in search of an economic Circulating Fluid Bed (CFB) Technology for the production of olefins through Fluidized Catalytic Dehydrogenation (FCDh). Dow's UNIFINITY(TM) FCDh Technology is the culmination of the world's search and is now available for license by Univation Technologies, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Dow. This paper will describe FCDh's evolution from the original bubbling bed reactor concepts introduced in Russia by Yarsintez and later improved upon by Snamprogetti for the production of C4's to the modern day Fluidized Catalytic Dehydrogenation (FCDh) technology commercialized by Dow for the production of propylene. The reasons for the migration from bubbling bed reactor to modern day fast fluidized/turbulent bed reactors with short contact time separation will be discussed. In addition, some of the conceptual tools Dow has used in scale-up of the technology from laboratory scale to full scale production will be described. The presentation will conclude by updating the technical community on the status of the Dow FCDh plant for the production of propylene in Plaquemine, Louisiana.