Cradle to Gate
Identity ID
ba353d85-597f-4fdf-a3ad-ef636fe908c4
Materials
Associated ID
9a51214b-a20b-4404-b09d-f3a1cd641c7c
Included activities starts
Included activities ends
Description
Propylene is a co-product generated during the coal-based methanol-to-ethylene glycol production process and can be used for manufacturing polypropylene (67%), acrylonitrile (6%), propylene oxide (8%), among others. This dataset includes major raw and auxiliary materials, energy inputs, atmospheric emissions, and wastewater discharges from the production process. Environmental burdens related to infrastructure such as production equipment and factory construction, waste treatment (e.g., incineration), and equipment maintenance are excluded from the system boundary of this dataset. The life cycle inventory is compiled from multiple data sources and optimized and modeled based on the best available data for 2022. The process flow for producing propylene from coal-based methanol includes coal powder gasification and purification. , methanol synthesis, distillation, olefin separation, olefin cracking for ethylene production, ethylene oxidation for ethylene oxide production, ethylene oxide hydration for ethylene glycol production, and other processes.
Activity Description
The process flow for producing propylene from coal-based methanol includes coal powder gasification, purification, methanol synthesis, distillation, olefin separation, olefin cracking to produce ethylene, ethylene oxidation to produce ethylene oxide, and ethylene oxide hydration to produce ethylene glycol.
Process Description
Propylene is an organic compound with the molecular formula C3H6. It is a colorless, odorless gas with a slightly sweet smell. It is flammable and produces a bright flame when burned, with an explosive limit in air of 2% to 11.1%. It is insoluble in water but readily soluble in ethanol and ether.
Time period
2020
2026
Geography
China
Macroeconomic value
Business-as-Usual
Data validation
Yes
Technology
Current Technology
Technology comment
The specific process includes: (1) pulverized coal gasification to produce raw synthesis gas, which undergoes sulfur-resistant partial conversion via Co-Mo catalytic process, followed by cold methanol washing for sulfur recovery with liquid sulfur as a by-product. (2) The purified synthesis gas is processed through low-pressure methanol synthesis units (e.g., Lurgi process), methanol distillation columns, and hydrogen recovery units to produce methanol; the methanol is then separated into olefins via MTO (methanol-to-olefins) technology, and the olefins are cracked to produce ethylene. (3) Ethylene is oxidized to produce ethylene oxide, which is then hydrated to produce ethylene glycol.