Cradle to Gate
Identity ID
f1087fa7-1346-40c5-86f3-986f8af6b938
Materials
Associated ID
9f06cc64-c025-40d1-818f-4779e6d7aec1
Included activities starts
Included activities ends
Description
Bisphenol A is mainly used for the production of various polymer materials such as polycarbonate, epoxy resin, polysulfone resin, polyphenylene ether resin and unsaturated polyester resin, and can also be used for the production of fine chemical products such as plasticizers, flame retardants, antioxidants, heat stabilizers, rubber antioxidants, pesticides and coatings. Bisphenol A is modelled as a pure substance; when modelling this substance, the user is required to add a solvent of their choice in the model. The dataset includes the main raw and auxiliary materials, energy, wastes and atmospheric emissions of the production process, in which the preliminary treatment of wastewater in the utility/auxiliary processes and the waste-gas treatment process are included within the dataset boundary, while infrastructure such as the manufacture of production equipment and plant construction is not included within the dataset boundary; the data inventory is formed by merging data from multiple sources; the production activities of this product include reaction, crystallization feeding, crystallization purification, distillation recovery of mother liquor and n-pentane, dephenolization and residual oil recovery, tail-gas and phenol-water recovery, incineration of waste gas and waste residual oil and other process steps.
Activity Description
The production activities of this product include reaction, crystallization feed, crystallization purification, mother liquor and n-pentane distillation recovery, dephenolization and residual oil recovery, tail gas and phenolic water recovery, waste gas and waste residual oil incineration and other processes.
Process Description
Bisphenol A has the chemical formula C15H16O2 and CAS number 80-05-7. It typically occurs as white needle-like crystals or flakes with a faint phenolic odor. Its melting point is approximately 158–159°C, its normal boiling point is approximately 360°C, and its density is approximately 1.20 g/cm³. Bisphenol A is poorly soluble in water and soluble in ethanol, diethyl ether, acetone, benzene, and dilute alkaline solutions. It is mainly used to produce polycarbonate and epoxy resins and is also used in polysulfone resins, unsaturated polyester resins, other polymeric materials, and fine chemical products.
Time period
2020
2026
Geography
China
Macroeconomic value
Business-as-Usual
Data validation
Yes
Technology
Current Technology
Technology comment
The resin-catalyzed condensation of phenol and acetone is the predominant technology for bisphenol A production. The process is clean and produces a high-purity product, accounting for more than 90% of total bisphenol A production in China. This dataset represents that technology. Phenol and acetone are used as the principal raw materials and undergo catalytic condensation to form bisphenol A, which is then purified to obtain the finished product. Mother liquor and n-pentane are recovered by distillation and reused; phenol is recovered in the dephenolization unit; heavy residues from the residual-oil reactor are burned as fuel in the waste-oil furnace; and collected off-gas is also incinerated in that furnace. The principal reaction is: 2C6H6O + C3H6O = C15H16O2 + H2O.