# US 11,078,156 B2 · Ammoxidation reactor control > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 11,078,156 B2 - Document ID: US11078156B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 16/301,882 - Filed: 2017-05-04 - Published: 2019-05-23 - Granted: 2021-08-03 - Earliest claimed: 2016-05-24 - Assignees: Ineos Europe AG - Applicants: Ineos Europe AG - Inventors: Manoj Shrikant Shouche; Timothy Robert McDonel; Jay Robert Couch - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US11078156B2 ## CPC - C07C 253/26: containing carbon-to-carbon multiple bonds, e.g. unsaturated aldehydes - B01J 8/1809: {Controlling processes} - B01J 8/1827: {the fluidising gas being a reactant} - B01J 8/1836: {Heating and cooling the reactor (B01J8/42 takes precedence)} - C07C 253/24: by ammoxidation of hydrocarbons or substituted hydrocarbons - B01J 2208/00141: Coils - B01J 2208/00548: Flow - B01J 2208/00628: Controlling the composition of the reactive mixture - C07C: ACYCLIC OR CARBOCYCLIC COMPOUNDS - B01J: CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROCESSES, e.g. CATALYSIS OR COLLOID CHEMISTRY; THEIR RELEVANT APPARATUS ## Abstract A process is provided for control of an ammoxidation reactor. More specifically, the process includes controlling an amount of oxygen added to the reactor, steam temperature and linear velocity to minimize reactor temperature deviations. ## Claims ### Claim 1 An ammoxidation process comprising: introducing a flow of reactant stream into an ammoxidation reactor, wherein the reactant stream includes ammonia, an oxygen containing gas, a hydrocarbon selected from the group consisting of propane, propylene, isobutene, and isobutylene, or mixtures thereof; providing superheated steam to superheat coils disposed in the ammoxidation reactor to provide a reactor operating temperature of about 350° C. to about 480° C., wherein reactor temperature deviations are maintained at about 10° C. or less during changes in a heat transfer area of the superheat coils; and conveying a reactor effluent to an absorber, wherein the absorber has a pressure of about 35 psig to about 40 psig, wherein an amount of the oxygen added to the reactor and the steam temperature are controlled to maintain a superficial reactor linear velocity between about 0.5 m/s to 1.5 m/s, wherein a total available superheat coil area per reactor cross sectional area (ft2/ft2) is about 1 to about 7. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The process of claim 1 wherein the superficial reactor linear velocity is maintained between about 0.7 m/s to about 1.0 m/s. ### Claim 3 (depends on 2) The process of claim 2 wherein the superficial reactor linear velocity is maintained between about 0.75 m/s to about 0.80 m/s. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The process of claim 1 wherein the superheat steam is provided with a temperature of about 355° C. to about 400° C. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The process of claim 1 wherein a reactor top pressure is maintained at about 3.8 psig to about 5.0 psig. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The process of claim 1 wherein the superheat coil area (ft2) per heat removed by the superheat coils (kcal) per metric ton of acrylonitrile produced is about 275,000 to about 475,000. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The process of claim 1 wherein the reactant stream includes propylene. ### Claim 8 (depends on 7) The process of claim 7 wherein a flowrate of propylene to the ammoxidation reactor is effective for providing a ratio of oxygen to propylene of about 2 to about 2.1 and a ratio of ammonia to propylene of about 1 to about 1.5. ### Claim 9 An ammoxidation process comprising: introducing a flow of reactant stream into an ammoxidation reactor, wherein the reactant stream includes ammonia, an oxygen containing gas, a hydrocarbon selected from the group consisting of propane, propylene, isobutene, and isobutylene, or mixtures thereof; and providing steam to coils disposed in the ammoxidation reactor to provide a reactor operating temperature of about 350° C. to about 480° C., wherein reactor temperature deviations are maintained within about 98% of the reactor temperature during changes in a heat transfer area of the coils; and conveying a reactor effluent to an absorber, wherein the absorber has a pressure of about 35 psig to about 40 psig, wherein an amount of the oxygen added to the reactor and the steam temperature are controlled and a superficial reactor linear velocity is maintained within about 95% of a target superficial reactor linear velocity of between about 0.5 m/s to about 1.5 m/s and within about 95% of a target reactor temperature, wherein a total available superheat coil area per reactor cross sectional area (ft2/ft2) is about 1 to about 7. ### Claim 10 (depends on 9) The process of claim 9 wherein the superficial reactor linear velocity is maintained within about 98% of the target superficial reactor linear velocity. ### Claim 11 (depends on 9) The process of claim 9 wherein the steam is superheated steam and the coils are superheated coils. ### Claim 12 (depends on 11) The process of claim 11 wherein the superheat steam is provided with a temperature of about 355° C. to about 400° C. ### Claim 13 (depends on 9) The process of claim 9 wherein a reactor pressure is maintained at about 3.8 psig to about 5.0 psig. ### Claim 14 (depends on 9) The process of claim 9 wherein the superheat coil area (ft2) per heat removed by the superheat coils (kcal) per metric ton of acrylonitrile produced is about 275,000 to about 475,000. ### Claim 15 (depends on 9) The process of claim 9 wherein the reactant stream includes propylene. ### Claim 16 (depends on 15) The process of claim 15 wherein a flowrate of propylene to the ammoxidation reactor is effective for providing a ratio of oxygen to propylene of about 2 to about 2.1 and a ratio of ammonia to propylene of about 1 to about 1.5. ### Claim 17 An ammoxidation process comprising: introducing a flow of reactant stream into an ammoxidation reactor, wherein the reactant stream includes ammonia, a hydrocarbon selected from the group consisting of propane, propylene, isobutene, and isobutylene, or mixtures thereof, and an oxygen containing gas; providing superheated steam to superheat coils disposed in the ammoxidation reactor, wherein reactor temperature deviations are maintained at about 10° C. or less during changes in a heat transfer area of the superheat coils; and conveying a reactor effluent to an absorber, wherein the absorber has a pressure of about 35 psig to about 40 psig, wherein the process includes controlling superficial reactor linear velocity and reactor operating temperature based on model predictive control to determine simultaneous control actions for manipulated variables in order to optimize at least one set of parameters while controlling at least one set of controlled variables, wherein the set of manipulated variables includes superheated steam temperature, absorber pressure and amount of lean water to an absorber and the set of controlled variable includes a reactor linear velocity and a reactor temperature, wherein the process provides a superficial reactor linear velocity of about 0.5 m/s to about 1.5 m/s. ### Claim 18 (depends on 17) The process of claim 17 wherein the process provides a reactor linear velocity of about 0.7 m/s to about 1.0 m/s. ### Claim 19 (depends on 18) The process of claim 18 wherein the process provides a reactor linear velocity of about 0.75 m/s to about 080 m/s. ### Claim 20 (depends on 17) The process of claim 17 wherein the reactor pressure is maintained at about 3.8 psig to about 5.0 psig. ### Claim 21 (depends on 17) The process of claim 17 wherein reactor temperature deviations are maintained at about 5° C. or less during changes in a heat transfer area of the coils. ### Claim 22 (depends on 17) The process of claim 17 wherein the superheat steam has a temperature of about 355° C. to about 400° C. ### Claim 23 (depends on 17) The process of claim 17 wherein a flowrate of propylene to the ammoxidation reactor is effective for providing a ratio of oxygen to propylene of about 2 to about 2.1 and a ratio of ammonia to propylene of about 1 to about 1.5.