ExxonMobil’s zeolite catalysts are the heart of the Badger EBMax℠ process. Originally developed by Mobil Oil, the MCM-22 family of zeolite catalysts revolutionized the production of ethylbenzene (EB). With their high activity and selectivity to EB, ExxonMobil catalysts enable a simple, liquid phase process that replaced the older aluminum chloride and solid phosphoric acid technologies – all while improving the ethylbenzene product purity.
Today Badger and ExxonMobil continue to build upon a 35+ year relationship to deliver an optimized, cost-efficient, easy-to-operate technology to enable our customers’ success for the production of EB in the styrenics value chain.
Key Benefits:
Lower Variable Operating Costs
Superior yields
Low B/E and B/PEB ratios minimize recycle and energy consumption
High energy efficiency
Low consumption of HP steam
Low Initial Capital Investment
High selectivity to EB reduces distillation column sizes
High activity catalyst enables a smaller reactor volume and catalyst quantity
High catalyst activity enables increased capacity
High Reliability
High purity ethylbenzene
Minimal production downtime
Stable yields through the catalyst life
Long, stable catalyst life necessitates fewer replacements
Alkylation reactor
An alkylation reactor uses ExxonMobil catalyst to convert benzene and ethylene to ethylbenzene (EB) in the liquid phase. A small fraction of the EB is further alkylated to polyethylbenzenes (PEB), which is recovered in distillation and converted back to EB in the transalkylation reactor.
Transalkylation reactor
A transalkylation reactor uses ExxonMobil catalyst to convert the small amount of EB with benzene in the liquid phase. The effluent is sent to distillation to recover the additional EB production.
Purification
A simple distillation train recovers unreacted benzene, produces EB product, and recycles PEB to transalkylation.
ExxonMobil’s zeolite catalysts are the heart of the Badger EBMax℠ process. Originally developed by Mobil Oil, the MCM-22 family of zeolite catalysts revolutionized the production of ethylbenzene (EB). With their high activity and selectivity to EB, ExxonMobil catalysts enable a simple, liquid phase process that replaced the older aluminum chloride and solid phosphoric acid technologies – all while improving the ethylbenzene product purity.
Today Badger and ExxonMobil continue to build upon a 35+ year relationship to deliver an optimized, cost-efficient, easy-to-operate technology to enable our customers’ success for the production of EB in the styrenics value chain.
Key Benefits:
Lower Variable Operating Costs
- Superior yields
- Low B/E and B/PEB ratios minimize recycle and energy consumption
- High energy efficiency
- Low consumption of HP steam
Low Initial Capital Investment
- High selectivity to EB reduces distillation column sizes
- High activity catalyst enables a smaller reactor volume and catalyst quantity
- High catalyst activity enables increased capacity
High Reliability
- High purity ethylbenzene
- Minimal production downtime
- Stable yields through the catalyst life
- Long, stable catalyst life necessitates fewer replacements
Alkylation reactor
An alkylation reactor uses ExxonMobil catalyst to convert benzene and ethylene to ethylbenzene (EB) in the liquid phase. A small fraction of the EB is further alkylated to polyethylbenzenes (PEB), which is recovered in distillation and converted back to EB in the transalkylation reactor.
Transalkylation reactor
A transalkylation reactor uses ExxonMobil catalyst to convert the small amount of EB with benzene in the liquid phase. The effluent is sent to distillation to recover the additional EB production.
Purification
A simple distillation train recovers unreacted benzene, produces EB product, and recycles PEB to transalkylation.
