Sustainable Propylene Oxide Production Begins in China

Operations have begun at chemical producer Qixiang Tengda’s new hydrogen peroxide to propylene oxide (HPPO) complex in Zibo City, China, using HPPO production technology from Evonik and thyssenkrupp Uhde.

With the capacity to produce 300,000 tons of propylene oxide each year, the new complex involves two main plants. One is a world-scale HPPO facility to synthesize propylene oxide directly from hydrogen peroxide using a method licensed from Evonik and thyssenkrupp Uhde. The other is a new hydrogen peroxide megaplant licensed from Evonik to provide the raw material directly on-site.

Through HPPO, propylene oxide can be synthesized directly from hydrogen peroxide without generating any co-products other than water. It is enabled by a catalyst developed and continuously improved by Evonik specifically for this purpose. Through this combination of streamlined chemical process and high-performance catalyst, HPPO slashes energy and resource use, saves emissions, reduces costs, and avoids unwanted co-products compared to conventional propylene oxide production, said Evonik in a press release.