Overview of Acetylene Hydrogenation in Frontend and Backend Acetylene Converters

This session will provide an overview on C2 selective hydrogenation operations in ethylene plants. The presentation will be on selective hydrogenation of acetylene and provide background information for the succeeding papers in this session.

We will share information on the acetylene and MAPD amounts formed as a function of the furnace feed and operating conditions. The paper will cover acetylene hydrogenation in vapor phase, in both adiabatic and isothermal fixed bed reactors. We will highlight the options for locating selective hydrogenation units within ethylene plant sequences and the pros/cons for each location.

In discussing the operating strategy, we will cover topics such as, safety in operations, the mechanism of runaway reactions in front-end acetylene reactors (please note: not covering Tail End systems), the impact of a runaway on catalyst life, green oil formation and mechanisms to protect from runaway reaction.

During the presentation commercial data of different units will be shared which will show safe operations and the risks of temperature runaways.