My senior design product investigate the feasibility of constructing a global scale formalin plant based on current market prices and demand.

1. Group 11: Formalin Plant Design
Megan Paraschak, Peniel Onyukwu, Mahmoud Hallak, Joseph Wrona

2. Overview
• Annual global production of formaldehyde: 46 billion lb (21 billion kg)
• Industrial Uses:
• Casein Formaldehyde (small plastic items)
• Resins
• Phenolic (synthetic plastics, Bakelite)
• Urea-formaldehyde (adhesives, laminates, etc.)
• Melamine-formaldehyde (heat, water, and
detergent resistant plastics)
• Medical Uses
• Preservative (embalming)
• Bactericide
• Project Scope:
• 37 wt.% formaldehyde solution in water (Formalin)
• World-scale formalin plant: 564 million lb/yr (256 million kg/yr)
Figure 1: Global Output of Formaldehyde by Country

3. Hot Feed
𝑇 = 600 − 700 ℃
Cooled Product
𝑇 ≤ 650 ℃
Silver Catalyst
Bed
Waste Heat
Boiler
Chemistry: Reactor Design
Thickness:
1.18 in.
Particle Size:
0.004-0.08 in
Figure 2: Fixed Bed Catalytic Reactor[4]
Figure 3: Silver Catalyst Bed Layers [4]

4. Chemistry: Reaction Stoichiometry
Reaction Heats of Reaction
(1) Methanol Oxidation (50-60%) CH3OH +
1
2
O2 → HCHO + H2O ∆𝐻 = −159 𝑘𝐽/𝑚𝑜𝑙
(2) Methanol Dehydrogenation CH3OH ↔ HCHO + H2 ∆𝐻 = 84 𝑘𝐽/𝑚𝑜𝑙
Side Reactions (T > 650 oC)
(3) Formaldehyde Combustion HCHO + O2 → CO2 + H2O ∆𝐻 = −514 𝑘𝐽/𝑚𝑜𝑙
(4) Gas-phase Decomposition HCHO ↔ CO + H2 ∆𝐻 = 7 𝑘𝐽/𝑚𝑜𝑙

5. Chemistry: Operation Point
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
300.00 400.00 500.00 600.00 700.00
Selectivity/Conversion(%)
Temperature (°C)
Artificial Neural Network Simulation Results (P = 1.1 atm)
Formaldehyde Selectivity Carbon Dioxide Selectivity Carbon Monoxide Selectivity Methanol Conversion
CO2
CO
CHCO
CH3OH
Model Input Molar Ratios
CH3OH / O2 / H2O / N2
2.25 / 1.00 / 1.70 / 20.00
𝐶𝑜𝑛𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑛 % =
𝐶𝐻3 𝑂𝐻 𝑖𝑛 − 𝐶𝐻3 𝑂𝐻 𝑜𝑢𝑡
𝐶𝐻3 𝑂𝐻 𝑖𝑛
× 100%
𝑆𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑖𝑡𝑦 % =
𝑃𝑟𝑜𝑑𝑢𝑐𝑡 𝑜𝑢𝑡
𝐶𝐻3 𝑂𝐻 𝑖𝑛 − 𝐶𝐻3 𝑂𝐻 𝑜𝑢𝑡
× 100%
680 oC
(1) CH3OH +
1
2
O2 → HCHO + H2O
(3) HCHO + O2 → CO2 + H2O

6. Chemistry: Absorber Design
Absorber Oligomer Equilibrium Stoichiometry
Reaction 1 H2O + CH2O ↔ CH4O2
Reaction 2 2CH4O2 ↔ C2H6O3 + H2O
Reaction 3 C2H6O3 + CH4O2 ↔ C3H8O4 + H2O
Reaction 4 C3H8O4 + CH4O2 ↔ C4H10O5 + H2O
Reaction 5 C4H10O5 + CH4O2 ↔ C5H12O6 + H2O
Reaction 6 CH3OH + CH2O ↔ C2H6O2
Reaction 7 2C2H6O2 ↔ C3H8O3 + CH3OH
Reaction 8 C3H8O3 + C2H6O2 ↔ C4H10O4 + CH3OH
Reaction 9 C4H10O4 + C2H6O2 ↔ C5H12O5 + CH3OH
Reaction 10 C5H12O5 + C2H6O2 ↔ C6H14O6 + CH3OH
𝑇 = 69 ℃
𝑃 = 1.2 𝑎𝑡𝑚
𝑇 = 68 ℃
𝑃 = 1.2 𝑎𝑡𝑚
𝑇 = 21 ℃
𝑃 = 4.4 𝑎𝑡𝑚
𝑇 = 120 ℃
𝑃 = 1.4 𝑎𝑡𝑚
Cooled
Reaction Gas
Product
Absorbent
Water
Off Gas
Concentrated
Formaldehyde
Solution
Figure 4: Absorber Tower Design

7. Process: Preheat and Reactor Section

8. Process: Absorber Section

9. Optimization: Absorber Section
• Two sensitivity
studies carried
out on the
absorber column
1. Recycle
stream split
fraction
2. Fresh water
stream
flowrate

10. Optimization Results: Split Fraction
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
LostFormaldehyde(wt.%)
Split Fraction
Lost Formaldehyde vs. Absorber Recycle Split Fraction

11. Optimization Results: Fresh Water Flowrate
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
0 0.05 0.1 0.15 0.2 0.25 0.3 0.35 0.4 0.45 0.5 0.55 0.6 0.65 0.7
FormaldehydeLost(wt.%)
Freshwater Flowrate (kg/s)
Formaldehyde Lost vs. Freshwater Flowrate

12. Optimization Results: Fresh Water Flowrate
$2,000,000
$3,000,000
$4,000,000
$5,000,000
$6,000,000
$7,000,000
$8,000,000
$9,000,000
$10,000,000
$11,000,000
0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7
DeltaProfit
Freshwater Feed Flowrate (kg/s)
Formaldehyde Recovery Profit vs. Fresh Water Flowrate

13. Optimization Results: Absorber Conclusions
1. Remove recycle stream completely
2. Reduce fresh water flowrate to 0.5 kg/s
Yearly Revenue Increase : $1.86 billion
Formaldehyde Recovery: 95.32 wt. %  99.56 wt. %

14. Optimization: Sodium Bicarbonate Tower
• Conversion of CO2 in off gas to
sodium bicarbonate
• Economically unfeasible
Component Cost ($/hr)
NaOH Caustic -200.00
Sodium Bicarbonate 76.20
Carbon Dioxide 14.81
Delta -108.99

15. Major Safety Concerns
● Flammability
○ Vapors below LEL
○ Potential leaks
○ Tank farm
● Tank Design
○ Corrosion
○ Vapor containment
○ Operations
● Spill Containment
● Process Safety Management
Figure 5: Standard Floating Roof Tank Design - Courtesy of Anson Industry

16. Major Environmental Concerns
● Off gas
○ Composition: CO, CO2, Residual Methanol & Formaldehyde
○ Flaring
○ Considered Optimization
● Waste Heat Optimization
● High Water Intensity =
𝑀𝑎𝑠𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝐹𝑟𝑒𝑠ℎ 𝑊𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝐶𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑢𝑚𝑒𝑑 (𝑘𝑔)
𝑂𝑢𝑡𝑝𝑢𝑡
● High Greenhouse Gases Intensity=
𝐶𝑂2 𝐸𝑞𝑢𝑖𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑚 𝑓𝑢𝑒𝑙𝑠,𝐸𝑚𝑚𝑖𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑊𝑎𝑠𝑡𝑒 (𝑘𝑔)
𝑂𝑢𝑡𝑝𝑢𝑡

17. Economic Feasibility Analysis
Economic Information per annum
Revenue from Sales $4,489,586,264
CRM (Raw Materials Costs) $65,919,832
CUT (Cost of Utilities) $5,080,000
CWT (Waste Treatment Costs) $4,038,350
COL (Cost of Operating Labor) $20,100,000
Profit (Revenue - Costs) $4,394,448,083
• Base Case: Formalin Price of $18.5 per kg
• Annual profit from Formalin sales: $4.39 billion

18. Manufacturing and Fixed Assets Costs
• Total Fixed equipment costs add up to $171,402,200
• Total manufacturing cost: $261 million
Equipment Total Equipment Cost Utility Used
Drives $ 5,778,000 Electricity
Air Blowers $ 5,900,000 Electricity
Evaporators $ 4,268,000 Low-Pressure Steam
Waste Heat Boilers $ 442,200 Cooling Water
Fired Heaters $ 7,779,000 Natural Gas
Fin-Fan Coolers $ 245,900 Electricity
Pumps $ 3,206,000 Electricity
Reactors $ 1,210,000 Natural Gas
Storage Vessels $ 151,760,000 N/A
Absorber Columns $ 730,400 Water

19. Discounted Cash Flow Analysis
-4000.0
-2000.0
0.0
2000.0
4000.0
6000.0
8000.0
10000.0
12000.0
14000.0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
ProjectValue(millionsofdollars)
Project Life (Years)
Cash Flow Diagram
• 20 year analysis period

20. Discounted Cash Flow Analysis
• Determines Profitability
• Using a 10 yr. MACR’s Depreciation Schedule
• Avg IRR for launching a product in chemical industry: 13 −18% [2]
Discounted Profitability Criterion
Net Present Value (millions) 12,918
Discounted Cash Flow Rate of Return 72.35%
Discounted Payback Period (years) 0.5

21. Economic Sensitivity and Forecast
• Methanol (main raw material) price/gal fluctuates monthly
• Study accounts for future Methanol price fluctuation

22. Cash Flow Sensitivity Analysis:
Varying Formalin Price
*Keeping market conditions constant

23. Cash Flow Sensitivity Analysis:
Varying Formalin Price
Formalin
Price
Revenue (billions
of dollars $)
Discounted Rate
of Return (%)
Discounted
Payback Period
(Years)
$13/kg 3.15 60.18 0.7
$16/kg 3.88 67.20 0.5
$18.5/kg 4.49 72.35 0.5
$20/kg 4.85 75.20 0.4
$25/kg 6.07 83.67 0.3
Continued…
*Base case operating Formalin Price

24. Conclusion
• 11 identical production trains will be constructed
• Total fixed capital investment: $812 million
• Payback time of initial investment: 0.5 years
• Annual profit: $4.4 billion
• Recommendation:
Profitable
Feasible
Environmental Impact
Detailed Design and Potential Implementation
(not the worst)

25. References
1. A.C. Papes Filho, Simulation and optimization of a silver formaldehyde reactor, using
artificial intelligence techniques, PhD Thesis (in English), UNICAMP – University of
Campinas, Brazil, 2007.
2. M. Miremadi, C. Musso, and J. Oxgaard, “Chemical innovation: An investment for the ages.”
[Online].Available:https://www.mckinsey.com/~/media/mckinsey/dotcom/client_service/c
hemicals/pdfs/chemical_innovation_an_investment_for_the_ages.ashx. [Accessed: 09-
Dec-2018].
3. Industrial Production of Formaldehyde Using Polycrystalline Silver Catalyst, Graeme J.
Millar and Mary Collins, Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research 2017 56 (33), 9247-
9265, DOI:10.1021/acs.iecr.7b02388
4. “Methanex Monthly Average Regional Posted Contract Price History.” Methanex, 30 Jan.
2018. https://www.methanex.com/sites/default/files/methanol-
price/MxAvgPrice_Jan%2030%2C%202018.pdf
5. Industrial Production of Formaldehyde Using Polycrystalline Silver Catalyst, Graeme J.
Millar and Mary Collins, Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research 2017 56 (33), 9247-
9265, DOI: 10.1021/acs.iecr.7b02388
6. Zhang, Luoping. (2018). Formaldehyde - Exposure, Toxicity and Health Effects - 1.5.1
Production Capacity and Output. Royal Society of Chemistry. Retrieved from
https://app.knovel.com/hotlink/pdf/id:kt011OGQY4/formaldehyde-exposure/production-
capacity-output

26. Questions?