phenol production, UPR, ecoinvent 3.6, Undefined
Location: GLO - Global
This dataset represents the production of 1 kg of liquid phenol. Phenol is at room temperature a solid of colourless crystal prisms, and above its melting point it is a clear, colourless liquid. The two most important uses of phenol are its function as intermediate in the production of phenol-formaldehyde resins and its use in the production of bisphenol A. Bisphenol A is especially used for the production of high-grade polycarbonates for compact discs, for glazing, and for the automotive industry. It is also an important intermediate for the production of epoxy resins. The second largest consumption of phenol is for the production of phenolic resins with formaldehyde. They are mainly used for underseal applications in the automotive industry. Besides this, other important intermediates are produced out of phenol, such as aniline, alkylphenols, diphenols, and salicylic acid (Weber et al. 2004).
The main production route for phenol is the Hock process, which uses cumene as raw material. Due to a lack of industrial data, this dataset is based on stoichiometric calculations as well as estimations based on data from a large chemical plant (Gendorf 2016).
References:
Weber, M., Weber, M. and Kleine-Boymann, M. 2004. Phenol. Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry.
Althaus H.-J., Chudacoff M., Hischier R., Jungbluth N., Osses M. and Primas A. (2007) Life Cycle Inventories of Chemicals. ecoinvent report No. 8, v2.0. EMPA Dübendorf, Swiss Centre for Life Cycle Inventories, Dübendorf, CH.
Gendorf (2016) Umwelterklärung 2015, Werk Gendorf Industriepark, www.gendorf.de.
Undefined unit processes (UPRs) are the unlinked, multi-product activity datasets that form the basis for all of the system models available in the ecoinvent database. This is the way the datasets are obtained and entered into the database by the data providers. These activity datasets are useful for investigating the environmental impacts of a specific activity (gate-to-gate), without regard to its upstream or downstream impacts.
This dataset models the Hock process, which is the main process that is used for the production of phenol. In this process, cumene is transformed into phenol in two stages: (i) oxidation of the cumene, and (ii) cleavage into phenol and acetone.
The oxidation happens in large reactors at a temperature of about 90-120°C and 0.5-0.7 MPa pressure. The whole reaction is autocatalytic and exothermic, releasing about 800 kJ per kilogram of cumene hydroperoxide to the environment by active cooling systems, mainly water.
The second reaction – the cleavage – is an acid-catalyzed reaction, using almost exclusively sulphuric acid as catalyst. Two different ways are used within industry – called homogeneous phase (using 0.1-2% sulphuric acid) rsp. heterogeneous phase (40-45% sulphuric acid at a concentrate-acid ratio of 1:5). Also this second step is strongly exothermic – releasing ca. 1680 kJ per kilogram of cumene hydroperoxide cleaved.
After the cleavage, further cleaning steps are used to achieve in the end a phenol purity of >99.9%. This includes neutralization and removing of sulphuric acid, followed by distillation processes. The overall yield of the production of phenol for this case here is assumed to be in the order of 95%.
The inventory is based on stoechiometric calculations. The emissions to air (0.2 wt% of raw material input) and water were estimated using mass balance. Treatment of the wastewater in an internal wastewater treatment plant is assumed (elimination efficiency of 90% for C).
References:
Althaus H.-J., Chudacoff M., Hischier R., Jungbluth N., Osses M. and Primas A. (2007) Life Cycle Inventories of Chemicals. ecoinvent report No. 8, v2.0. EMPA Dübendorf, Swiss Centre for Life Cycle Inventories, Dübendorf, CH.
ecoinvent EULA